The noble Psychic-type warrior swung his arm, unleashing a sharp Psycho Cut that sliced clean through the swirling winds surrounding the blood-red wings. The two glowing blades left deep gashes across the Salamence's broad Dragon Wings.
The Salamence snarled in pain, and in that instant, rage overtook him. A deep purple aura surged along his slender tail as he spun with fierce speed.
The glowing purple tail cracked through the air like a whip, creating a sharp sonic boom before slamming hard into Gallade with Dragon Tail.
However, this Gallade was no stranger to battle. Just before the blow could land, his figure blurred and split apart into several identical copies.
Double Team.
The Salamence's furious strike tore through a few of the flickering illusions, but found nothing solid.
A moment later, Gallade stepped out from a distance, his true form revealed — completely unharmed, composure intact.
But it seemed Gallade had misjudged just how battle-hardened this Salamence really was.
The Salamence had grown up inside the Dragon's Nest, a secret realm teeming with Dragon-type Pokémon of every kind. Among creatures whose bloodline carried an almost instinctive belligerence, a Salamence raised in that environment had been fighting since he could walk. On top of that, the time he had spent fighting alongside David against powerful opponents had only sharpened that experience further.
Seeing his Dragon Tail miss its mark, the Salamence shifted his focus without hesitation. If the opponent was too quick to land a direct hit, then he would change his approach.
He raised his front claws high and drove them into the ground with full force. At the same moment, his tail struck down as well. An enormous surge of power rippled through the arena floor, and the earth began to tremble.
The spectators watching from outside the battle stage were surprised to feel a slight shake underfoot. The Earthquake had spread beyond the arena itself, reaching the surrounding hall.
Of course, the venue was only a student battle stage — its durability had limits — but the entire hall had been reinforced to handle Pokémon battles, so there was no risk of structural damage. The audience could watch on without concern.
Back on the arena, even with the distance Gallade had put between them, he had not escaped the move's range.
A low grunt escaped Gallade. The Earthquake had reached him.
Normally, a light-footed, humanoid Pokémon like Gallade would be less vulnerable to Earthquake, and Ground-type moves were not super effective against him. But the sheer force behind this particular Earthquake — powered by the Salamence's massive physical strength — was far beyond what a standard use of the move would produce. A large, powerfully built Pokémon like this Salamence simply had a natural edge in moves that relied on raw force.
David watched the Salamence's performance and gave a quiet, satisfied nod.
Even consumed by battle fury, the Salamence had not let anger cloud his judgment entirely. His rage fueled his power, but it did not take away his ability to think.
"Gallade! Are you all right?!"
Rosa, seated in the trainer's box, had dropped her earlier composure entirely. Her voice carried a clear note of worry as she called out to her Pokémon.
She had expected that after more than twenty straight battles, with his stamina worn thin and having taken the full brunt of a Metal Burst, even a powerful Pokémon had its limits. A Superior-rank Salamence should have been nearly spent by now. But this one kept going, and kept causing trouble.
"Gal!"
Gallade turned his head toward Rosa, his gaze steady. He was fine. She could relax.
The earthquake had dealt some damage, yes, but he had already moved to distance himself before it hit, and a move like Earthquake had a reduced effect on an agile, human-shaped Pokémon like him. The Salamence had used it precisely because he needed a guaranteed hit — otherwise, something like Flamethrower would have been the more natural choice. The damage was real, but not enough to put Gallade out of commission.
He shook it off and settled back into his battle stance.
"Gallade, use Life Dew!"
Small droplets of water shimmering with a vivid blue light gathered between Gallade's palms. A warm, living energy radiated outward from them, strong enough to feel even from outside the arena. As the Life Dew fell, Gallade's injuries began to close — the bruises and cuts from the earthquake and earlier clashes slowly fading.
On the other side, David's expression shifted into a quiet smile.
"Salamence, use Roost."
The Salamence, already standing on the ground, did not need to land. He folded his Dragon Wings inward around himself, and the move activated. The deep gashes Rosa's Gallade had carved into them began to close rapidly — the torn scales pulling back together, the wounds sealing over. Even the damage left behind by Metal Burst showed signs of recovery. The bleeding stopped. The scorch marks faded. Fresh dragon scales grew back in place over the wounds, still faintly new in appearance, but already holding firm.
The difference between the two sides was immediate and obvious.
Rosa's face, in the opposing trainer's box, went very pale.
She understood what this meant. If both Pokémon had effectively reset to the same condition, she and Gallade could not win this — and she knew it. Her teammates had worked hard to wear the Salamence down, and she had been meant to finish the job. But this Salamence knew Roost.
Still, her decision to use Life Dew had not been wrong. Gallade's injuries were not severe enough to be critical, but they were still there. Using a healing move to secure stable ground was reasonable play.
The problem was that a standard Salamence, even as a Flying-type, almost never learned Roost. If anything, a recovery move on a Salamence was more likely to be Rest. That was standard knowledge — but she had walked into the one Salamence in the world for whom that rule did not apply.
If David could have heard her thoughts, he might have gently told her: "It really isn't your fault."
Without the Breath of the Sea God, his Salamence would never have learned Roost in the first place. The Pokémon she was facing had absorbed the divine essence of both the God of the Sky and the God of the Sea. What she was up against was simply something that had no comparison anywhere else in the world.
"This — is this even fair?!"
Alora, who had just walked back from the arena, stared at the regenerating scales on the Salamence's wings, her small face flushed red.
She was practically sputtering.
How were they supposed to beat something like this? Their stamina was worse. Their move power was worse. Their raw strength was worse. And now, after actually managing to push the Salamence to the edge, he simply healed it all away?
Though the battle was still going, the mood among the Sakura students below the stage had already dimmed. A quiet shadow had settled over their expressions.
Their team's supervising teacher, standing nearby, had very likely already unlocked his phone and begun composing his resignation letter.
Not far away, the students from David's team were all smiling broadly.
Two groups, standing almost side by side — and the difference between their faces could not have been more complete.