Two massive bursts of energy crashed into each other, and the field was instantly swallowed in a blaze of light and rushing wind.
David squinted against it and quietly drew on his Aura to see through the chaos.
At first, Bagon carved straight through. Dragon Rush launched it forward like an arrow, aimed directly at Zorua's position. Even the dark shockwave that Night Daze had sent rolling across the field was split apart by the sheer force of Bagon's charge.
But it could not last.
Bagon's stamina had been running far lower than Zorua's for a while now. If it were any other Pokémon — one without Bagon's unusually large and sturdy frame — it would have collapsed long before this moment. Its body was still carrying wounds from earlier in the fight. Its Dragon Dance had been cut off by Taunt, meaning its lowered Attack stat had never been restored. Everything was working against it.
Zorua, on the other hand, had taken only minor damage from Twister. It had been conserving its strength, waiting patiently for Bagon to wear itself down.
In the end, Bagon's Dragon Rush tore through nearly two-thirds of the dark wave — and then stopped. Night Daze swallowed the rest, and Bagon with it.
Even after winning, Zorua let out a quiet breath of relief.
This was the first time a Pokémon it had not yet battled before — a wild one, not part of David's team — had pushed it this far. At the same stage of training, or even at a lower level, no outsider had ever made Zorua work this hard.
And Zorua had not been holding back. It had used somewhere between seventy and eighty percent of its full ability.
Even the professional-tier Pokémon it had faced during previous Gym battles had not drawn that kind of performance out of it. That alone said a great deal about what Bagon was capable of.
Its close-combat strength in particular was something Zorua genuinely respected. Close-range fighting was usually no problem for the little fox — it had trained hard, used every enhancement it had access to, and at its own level, it could go claw-to-claw with almost anything. Back when it was still at the basic stage, it had taken a normal-level Deino's Dragon Claw head-on with Shadow Claw without hesitating.
But if asked to trade direct blows with this Bagon? Zorua would have passed.
Bagon was simply built differently. Bigger, heavier, and stronger than any Bagon its age had any right to be. At equal level, a move like Dragon Claw or Dragon Tail thrown by this Bagon would carry several times the force of the same move used by a top-aptitude Dragon-type of the same stage. Size and raw physicality had rarely looked this impressive.
"Zorua~ (A future companion worth the effort, for sure.)"
Zorua thought quietly to itself.
"Come on out — Lucario, Kirlia! Come meet our newest companion."
David called them both back onto the field. Then he turned to Kirlia.
"Kirlia, I'll need your help with Zorua's and Bagon's injuries, please."
Kirlia stepped forward without a word and got to work, combining Life Dew and Heal Pulse in steady succession to tend to both of them.
Then it turned to David, arms crossed, and made its feelings known.
"Kirlia~ (How come I didn't get to battle? <(－︿－>)"
"Ah, come on," David said, laughing a little. "This was Zorua's moment to shine in front of a future teammate. You'll get your turn — next time, I promise."
It was a fair point that he did not say out loud: Kirlia would have ended things almost immediately. Bagon's move pool leaned heavily on Dragon-type attacks, and Kirlia's Fairy typing made it completely immune to all of them. No matter how physically impressive Bagon was, it could not win a battle on Normal-type moves alone. Sending Kirlia out would have been over before it started.
"Roar~"
Under Kirlia's healing, and helped by the fact that Zorua had held back in that final exchange, Bagon stirred and came back to its senses.
"How are you feeling, Bagon?" David asked. "Zorua put up a real fight out there. I'd say it earned your respect."
"Roar! Roar!"
Bagon nodded firmly, then looked toward Zorua and said something directly to it.
It was praising Zorua's strength — openly and without hesitation.
Zorua's eyes curved into a quiet smile at that.
David was not surprised. Pokémon were straightforward in a way that some people never managed to be. When they said something, they meant it. There was no going back on a word once given.
And Zorua had won fairly. There was nothing more to say about it.
"Right then. You're all teammates now. Let's do proper introductions."
"I'm David. Same as Zorua and the others — just call me David. I'll be your Trainer from here on."
"You already know Zorua. This is Lucario, my second Pokémon. And this is Kirlia — you have it to thank for patching you up just now."
"Welcome to the team."
Beside David, Zorua clapped its paws together in a small, welcoming gesture toward Bagon.
Bagon listened carefully, greeted each of them in turn, and gave Kirlia a respectful nod for the healing.
It was a little funny, honestly — the Bagon that had been so fierce and relentless during battle was calm and composed now, standing there with its round, earnest face. It was surprisingly endearing.
"Alright, Bagon — you can rest in your Poké Ball for now."
David held out a Poké Ball toward it.
Bagon clearly understood what it was. It lowered its head and gently pressed its forehead against the button. A flash of red light followed, and its large body was drawn inside.
"I caught Bagon! Yes!"
David picked up the Poké Ball and struck a pose.
Zorua looked at him with an expression that needed no words. The Trainer is doing it again.
David laughed it off. Though come to think of it — this was actually the first Pokémon he had caught through a proper battle.
With Bagon caught, there was no reason to linger. David made his way back to the starting point of the area.
By then, it was already mid-afternoon inside the secret realm. Most of the day had slipped by.
Butler Zayn was waiting at the entrance. David recalled his team, climbed onto Tropius, and set off on the return journey.
Back at the Moore family's residence near the Dragon Tomb, David had a medical attendant give Bagon a thorough check-up. Once it was confirmed that Bagon had no lingering issues, David gathered all of his Pokémon together for a proper meal — made from rare ingredients sourced from inside the secret realm — before turning in for the night.
The Dragon Festival began tomorrow morning. It was best to go in well-rested.