Roars rang out.
The blood-red haze before Baimu's eyes vanished.
He stood, clutching his pounding heart and gasping for air. His eyes stung as though they were burning, and tears spilled from their corners.
"Hydreigon!"
No answer came.
He looked at Hydreigon, who had fallen silent after its roar. Its stamina and energy were nearly exhausted.
If it used Roost to recover, it would have no energy left to fight with.
If it attacked or tried to restrict its opponent, it might have only one move left—if it could even act before being knocked Unable to Battle.
After defeating two of Drake's main Pokémon, it had every reason to rest.
But...
There was a reason to keep it in the fight.
Drake's last Pokémon was, as expected, a Salamence with the Intimidate Ability. Once an Ability that lowered an opponent's capabilities had triggered, it was highly unlikely to trigger again so soon.
And if Hydreigon managed to use another move, that would be a huge gain!
You can do it!
Answer me!
Baimu watched his dragon until a faint, breathless growl reached his ears.
"Shaa..."
Hydreigon's largest head slowly turned toward him. Its mouth spread into something like a smile, determination filling its weakened, blood-red eyes.
The battle wasn't over.
It was a proud and powerful dragon. Every dragon on this land had roared in celebration of its victory.
There were only two ways it would leave the field!
It would defeat its opponent... or its opponent would defeat it!
The answer was that clear.
Baimu didn't have to guess. He simply knew.
Why?
When Hydreigon had nearly failed to withstand Dragon Pulse, Baimu's inner cry had made him feel as though he had become one with it. Traces of that feeling remained.
He remembered...
From three overlapping viewpoints, he