Hearing Roark's question, Xia You shook his head without explaining.
What else could he say?
Say that Riolu had made a breakthrough while battling him?
That would have been somewhat embarrassing for his opponent, so staying silent while letting his hesitant expression convey the answer was the best choice.
Unlike Gardevoir's Telepathy, which established a direct connection with his mind and allowed instructions to be followed without a word, Riolu's Aura lacked that convenience. Yet Riolu had accomplished this by sensing Xia You's changing emotions and facial expressions, knowing where he was looking and how he felt at the time. It truly was impressive.
"Onix is unable to battle. Riolu wins!"
The referee, Yansheng, announced the result again. Although Riolu had defeated another opponent, he was in much worse shape than before.
His heavily depleted stamina and battered body clearly could not support any more intense fighting.
But Xia You had already achieved his objective.
Winning was not the key. What mattered was what they gained from battles like these!
Clearly, Riolu had strengthened an ability far more important than Xia You had anticipated. That counted as an unexpected bonus.
Seeing Roark recall Onix, Xia You waved Riolu back as well.
Once Riolu approached, Xia You crouched down and patted his head.
"Well done. Get some rest now and sit over there to watch how your teammate battles."
Riolu nodded, walked a short distance away, and sat on the ground. Only when he finally relaxed did he notice his body trembling, clearly an aftereffect of the battle. He had overdrawn his stamina a little.
Despite his exhaustion, he held out his canine paw and looked at his palm, still clearly feeling that his Aura had grown stronger!
Just then, Xia You and Roark took out their next Poké Balls at