The setback at the start of the match made Agano Roka's fists clench so tightly that his knuckles turned white. The confidence he took pride in was being crushed inch by inch by the raging Sandstorm on the field. With both his vision and typing at an overwhelming disadvantage, every breath his Bagon took felt like inhaling scalding grit.
"Bagon, stand up!"
Agano Roka's voice was hoarse, carrying a tremble difficult to detect.
"Use Dragon Claw!"
A stubborn growl answered him. Bagon shook its heavy head, forcing away the dizziness from the earlier Headbutt. It propped itself up from the sand with its forelimbs. A sharp white light gathered at its claws and extended outward, taking shape as a pair of razor-edge energy blades. Locking onto the blurred silhouette barely visible within the Sandstorm, it let out a roar and leapt forth!
"Meet it head-on."
Kudo Shiba's command was, as always, concise—yet carried an authority that allowed no refusal.
Gible showed not the slightest hesitation. Facing an opponent larger and higher-level than itself, its eyes burned with primal fighting intent. It extended its own claws, gathering a blinding white glow, and charged straight into Bagon's assault.
Clang! Clang! Clang—!
The harsh metal-like impacts rang out like rapid rainfall. With every collision, fragments of scales and sparks burst within the dim yellow curtain of sand.
The two still-growing pseudo-legendary hatchlings abandoned flashy moves entirely. What remained was raw, savage close-quarters carnage. They fought like resurrected ancient beasts dug up from primordial fossils—biting, rolling, thrashing. Sharp claws carved bone-deep wounds into each other. Hard scales groaned under the burden of violent impacts.
The air in the battle arena felt as though it had ignited. The audience subconsciously rose to their feet, breath held, hearts pounding with every collision.
But reality remained cruel.
Agano Roka's Bagon, in terms of training time and level, held a very real advantage. In such high-intensity attrition, that advantage grew exponentially. Gible's movements began to show minute, nearly imperceptible lag.
"Now! Use Headbutt!"
Agano Roka's eyes lit up. He seized the brief opening instantly and issued a decisive command.
Bagon ducked low beneath Gible's swinging claw and gathered every ounce of its strength into its greatest point of pride—its unbelievably hard skull—before ramming straight into Gible's unprotected, softer abdomen.
A sickening, bone-deep thud.
Gible's body bent sharply like a boiled shrimp. A strangled cry caught in its throat, escaping as a short, painful whimper.
"Guuuh!"
The tremendous force launched it into the air. It drew a miserable arc before crashing heavily into the ground, scattering dust upon impact. Its aura visibly weakened. It struggled, but could no longer stand.
"It's over!"
Agano Roka's eyes flared with triumph. He raised his arm to deliver the finishing order.
"End it—Dragon Rush!"
Bagon released a sky-piercing roar. Dragon-type energy surged around its body, forming a spinning vortex of power as it prepared the decisive blow.
At that very moment, a faint golden spark ignited within Kudo Shiba's calm, dark eyes.
"Dragon Soul Resonance"—activate.
An intangible spiritual link crossed space, pouring Kudo Shiba's unyielding resolve and will—molten-hot like magma—into the battered body on the brink of collapse.
"Stand up."
Kudo Shiba's voice rang directly within Gible's soul.
"What about the vow you made to me?!"
"How can the strongest dragon fall at a moment like this?!"
Sensing its trainer's world-shaking fighting spirit, Gible—barely conscious—felt blazing fire erupt anew within its dimming black eyes.
It jerked its head upward. A suffocated roar, then a sky-shattering bellow, exploded from deep within its chest.
Vrrrrm—!
A torrent of power, far more violent and overwhelming than anything before, awakened explosively within its body!
A blinding evolutionary radiance, like a supernova detonating at center field, swallowed Gible entirely and illuminated the entire arena in pure white.
The audience—referees included, and even Agano Roka—froze, wide-eyed and mind-blank.
Within the brilliant light, a new silhouette rapidly formed. Its body lengthened and grew, becoming taller, more streamlined. Its claws extended, turning into scythe-like blades gleaming with cold menace.
The light faded.
A new Pokémon—brimming with power and brutal beauty—hovered silently in the air. Its deep blue body was built with graceful, aerodynamic lines. Its golden eyes were cold and indifferent, like a deity surveying the world from above.
Gabite had entered the field with unmatched dominance.
[ Ding! Your Gible has evolved into Gabite! Level increased to LV 32! ]
"It evolved… It evolved mid-battle…"
Agano Roka's voice broke. The color drained from his face.
He didn't even have time to react. The newly transformed afterimage had already surged forward—charging straight into Bagon's still-forming Dragon Rush!
BOOM—!
Two massive Dragon-type energies collided, the shockwave so fierce it blew the hats off audience members in the front rows.
But this time—the result was entirely different.
No stalemate.
No equal struggle.
No exchange of power.
Only overwhelming force.
Gabite's gleaming, metal-like blades sliced through the energy cloak of Dragon Rush as if tearing paper, then slammed brutally into Bagon's body.
A piercing scream echoed. Bagon's body shot backward like a severed kite, crashing heavily onto the ground—completely unable to battle.
The referee was stunned for three whole seconds before snapping back to reality. He raised his flag high.
"Bagon is unable to battle! The winner—Trainer Kudo Shiba!"
The arena erupted after a brief silence—thunderous applause and cheers shaking the entire structure.
Kudo Shiba had won the championship match!
After the match, crowds of reporters and high-paying sponsors surged forward. Kudo Shiba simply shook his head calmly and turned them all down.
Under the eyes of thousands, he stepped through the packed crowd and handed the heavy "King's Proof"—the symbol of championship glory—directly into the waiting hands of Takai Yuko, who stood below the stage with sparkling eyes full of pride and excitement.
That night, in the Kudo family manor, study room.
Kudo Shiba reported the results to his family. When Kudo Kazuma heard that his grandson defeated a direct descendant of the Agano family in the Imperial Capital, he slowly set down his teacup.
In his weathered eyes, a sharp gleam flashed.
"The Agano family in the Imperial Capital has always been our greatest commercial rival in the Dragon-type field. Shiba, your victory this time… was earning back honor for our Kudo family."
(End of Chapter)
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