The instant the referee's whistle sounded, the entire Castelia Arena erupted in cheers.
Yet Xia Chi felt remarkably calm.
It wasn't that he considered victory a foregone conclusion, nothing worth celebrating.
It was simply that, when he saw the sheer excitement and joy on Dragonite's face, he felt that smile was more precious than the victory itself.
Dragonite paid no heed to the dust covering its body or the exhaustion left by the battle. It spun around, its eyes brimming with irrepressible excitement and delight.
It broke into a goofy grin, then eagerly spread its arms and lunged toward Xia Chi.
Fortunately, Xia Chi had never slacked off on his daily exercise. Anyone else might well have been injured by that "enthusiastic attack."
Xia Chi didn't mind the dust and sweat on Dragonite at all. Instead, he hugged its warm, sturdy body tightly in return.
He raised a hand and gently stroked its large head. "See? I told you that you could do it. You did it, Dragonite. You were amazing."
Dragonite shook its head vigorously. The usual simpleminded look in its eyes was gone, replaced by profound gratitude as it gazed at Xia Chi.
"Fwoo-"
[No, that's not it.]
It murmured at an aura frequency only the two of them could understand.
[It's because of you. It's always been because of you. This victory is for you!]
It knew perfectly well that most of the credit for its spectacular performance on that battlefield, before countless watching eyes, belonged to Xia Chi.
He had nurtured it scientifically, day after day, honing its body and expanding its repertoire of moves.
His scalpel-sharp commands during battle had resolved crisis after crisis, guiding it toward victory.
And above all, that wondrous power of "Bond" he possessed had given it the potential to surpass