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"ROOOOAR!!!"
A savage, overwhelming presence flooded the cavern, pressing down on everyone like the weight of a collapsing mountain the oppressive aura of an apex predator.
The intruder was furious. Hydreigon had discovered its nest had been invaded.
And it intended to tear every last intruder apart.
Allen stood frozen, sweat pouring down his back, his hand still outstretched from moments before. He didn't dare move a muscle.
But in his eyes, once dulled by despair, a small spark of hope ignited at the sight of the fearsome dragon.
Trevor, sensing the same chance for survival, straightened, the faint light returning to his eyes as he cast a glance at Allen, silently readying himself.
Noir's reaction, however, was unnervingly strange.
His entire body stiffened, trembling violently. His eyes rolled back, showing pale whites, while froth formed at the corners of his mouth.
Hydreigon's six crimson eyes swept the cavern coldly. Suddenly, its pupils narrowed sharply.
The egg that it had left in the center of its nest was gone.
WHUMPH!
An invisible storm burst outward from Hydreigon, radiating sheer, bone-deep menace.
Furious winds spun like a cyclone, whipping debris into the air.
ROOOOAR!!!
The earth-shaking cry tore through the cavern, reverberating across the mountain.
Far above, a proud Pidgeot tucked its wings and bowed its crested head toward the peak.
In the dense jungle, swarms of Ledyba, once moving like a living river, froze in place as though petrified.
In the coastal shallows, Magikarp and Wishiwashi rolled belly-up, unconscious from the shockwave.
It was as if the entire island had been struck silent, time itself brought to a halt.
Hydreigon's blood-red eyes glowed like six monstrous lanterns in the darkness, sending chills down the spine.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!"
The last thread of control inside Noir's mind snapped. His veins bulged, his voice breaking into a hoarse, frenzied scream.
"Why… WHY does everyone have to get in my way?!"
In the corner, Noivern, shaking from the instinctive urge to bow before Hydreigon's dominance, forced itself upright. Blue-violet energy gathered rapidly in its open jaws.
BOOM! A Dragon-shaped pulse of energy shot toward Hydreigon.
"Dragon Pulse!"
Hydreigon's eyes blazed with pure rage. In an instant, the same blue-violet energy swirled in each of its three maws. The aura matched Noivern's attack but the scale and speed were far greater.
The concentrated Dragon-type power burned like living flame inside its mouth.
"Dragon Pulse!"
The three blasts fused in midair, forming a smaller, perfect energy copy of Hydreigon itself every scale and detail visible, its semi-transparent body wrapped in crackling fire.
It tore forward like a living storm, ignoring Noivern's attack as if swatting away an insect. The sheer energy radiating off it shattered the lesser pulse into fragments.
BOOM!
Blinding blue-violet light flared in the cavern. Rock crashed from the ceiling, burying Noivern under tons of rubble.
Allen kept his head bowed, every muscle locked, terrified of drawing Hydreigon's attention. Yet, in the shadow of his lowered gaze, his eyes sharpened calculating.
Hydreigon, now beyond reason, roared again. The black in its eyes vanished, replaced entirely by searing red.
BOOM! BOOM!
It launched Dragon Pulse after Dragon Pulse into the corner where Noivern had been moments earlier.
Noir clawed at his own head, screaming in a pitch that grated even in Hydreigon's ears. To the dragon, it was nothing but the irritating buzz of an insect.
The leftmost head tilted slightly.
A single Dragon Pulse lanced toward Noir.
The madman didn't even notice his mind was too consumed by the stabbing pain in his skull.
The blast was only seconds from impact when the Poké Balls on Noir's belt shuddered violently.
Click!
Three red beams burst out, releasing Noir's Pokémon in a flash of light.
White shimmering barriers appeared, intercepting Hydreigon's attack and dispersing the deadly energy before it reached their trainer.
Hydreigon's eyes narrowed. The fact that such pests had deflected its strike was an insult it wouldn't forgive. Energy began to gather again in all three mouths.
"That's now!"
Allen's shout cut through the chaos. He yanked off his backpack, the one carrying Hydreigon's egg, and hurled it with all his strength toward Noir.
Without hesitation, he bolted for the exit, Trevor right beside him, both sprinting as if their lives depended on it because they did.
The black backpack sailed through the air, landing exactly where Hydreigon's attack had been aimed.
Inside, it sensed the familiar presence of its egg.
A flicker of rationality returned to the dragon's gaze. Abandoning its assault on the fleeing humans, it turned its full attention to the pack.
A faster Dragon Pulse burst from its mouth, overtaking the previous one and striking it midair.
BOOM!
The two blasts met in a controlled detonation, perfectly neutralizing each other. The bag tumbled to the ground, intact.
Seeing its egg unharmed, Hydreigon exhaled a deep, rumbling breath of relief.
Then the blood-red glare returned, and all six eyes locked on the still-crouching Noir.
Outside the cave, Allen and Trevor pumped their arms furiously, draining every last ounce of stamina as they tore down the mountain path toward safety.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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