Back at the Pokémon Center,
Kashiwagi gave both Aggrons a quick check-up before eagerly heading to a secluded spot to begin practicing Dragon Rush.
As a high-tier Dragon-type move, it's known for high power but lower accuracy.
Its secondary effects are its real selling point: it deals double damage to opponents using Minimize and has a chance to make the target flinch.
Typically, this move is performed by Dragon-types with flight capabilities.
Kashiwagi hadn't seen many grounded Pokémon use it in the anime, so he was fascinated to see how a wild Aggron would execute it.
"You can start whenever you're ready!"
he called out to the wild Aggron.
"Gr-oon!"
The wild beast growled in response. After stealing a glance at its larger counterpart, it suddenly exuded a terrifying aura—one that felt as if it intended to tear everything in front of it to shreds.
The two sharp horns atop its head glowed with a brilliant blue light, and soon, a pale blue aura enveloped its entire body, rapidly expanding outward.
"ROAR!"
With a savage bellow, the wild Aggron charged. The blue aura instantly morphed into a massive, snarling energy construct of a dragon's head, encasing its body.
The friction against the air created a terrifying, roaring sound that felt like a physical weight on the spirit.
BOOM!
The energy dragon head dissipated harmlessly as it reached the end of its charge.
The demonstration was complete.
It didn't fly; it simply used the momentum of a ground-based sprint to launch an energy impact, much like Giga Impact.
Compared to the Dragon Rushes in his memory, it lacked wings and an elongated body—likely because Aggron has no wings and remained earthbound.
So that's how a "Land Dragon" does it, Kashiwagi thought, nodding.
He thanked the wild Aggron and turned to his own ace. "Did you catch all that?"
"Agg... ron?"
Aggron scratched his cheek. If he said he understood, what could he really have learned from one demonstration?
But if he said he didn't... he actually had grasped a certain spark.
"Want to try?"
"Roar!"
He nodded and swapped places with the wild one, replaying the images he'd just seen in his mind.
First, build the momentum!
Aggron strained his eyes, clenching his claws and tensing every muscle. But he immediately felt something was off and stopped to adjust his state.
Kashiwagi spoke up: "Killing intent is a tricky thing to master, but there's a shortcut."
"Roar?"
"Imagine that wild Aggron over there just stole your territory. He's planting trees on your mountain, drinking from your spring, and eating the food I made for you—understand?"
Aggron's pupils dilated instantly.
The will honed through countless brutal battles transformed into a tangible, terrifying aura of malice.
His expression became incredibly distorted; the gaze he leveled at the wild Aggron was suddenly filled with icy hostility.
"Roar..."
He bared his teeth with a low growl, and gray-white smoke drifted from his mouth, a physical manifestation of his simmering rage.
The wild Aggron was terrified, frantically trying to look at Kashiwagi for help, but the Trainer spoke first.
"Excellent! That's the aura! Hold it!"
The moment he spoke, Aggron's concentration shattered. The frightening killing intent vanished, and he looked down at himself, confused.
"I guess I shouldn't talk too much during the build-up", Kashiwagi admitted, walking over to pat Aggron's chest.
"Remember that feeling? Killing intent is essentially power driven by emotion. If the emotion isn't there, the move won't manifest."
"Agg-ron..."
"You can roar, buddy. I never said you couldn't."
"ROAR!"
Aggron glanced at the trembling wild Aggron and nodded firmly to Kashiwagi.
...
...
They started over. This time, the wild Aggron joined in to provide a reference and real-time reminders. Both released their aura simultaneously and charged forward.
Predictably, the ace's head didn't light up, while the wild one's did, naturally diffusing the Dragon-type energy into that fearsome dragon-head shape.
Kashiwagi hadn't expected success on the first try; he had planned to break the learning process into four parts:
1. Aura Gathering
2. Internal Generation (Spawning Dragon energy inside the body)
3. Gather at a Point (Gathering that energy at the horns)
4. Dragon Formation (Diffusing it into the full Dragon Rush construct)
Today's goal was just to get used to Part One.
"Again! Don't get discouraged!"
Kashiwagi shouted, boosting Aggron's confidence.
Surprisingly, his ace was a natural at aura control.
In less than half an hour, he could smoothly manipulate his emotions and release that bone-chilling killing intent on command.
"Roar!"
He nudged his Trainer, impatient to move to the next stage.
"You're sure?"
"Roar!"
"Alright."
Seeing his determination, Kashiwagi released Deino from his ball.
Pop!
"Dei-no! Dei-noo?"
The little Deino let out a soft cry, sniffed around, and immediately scrambled over to his Trainer.
Kashiwagi gently held Deino's face.
"I need you to use Dragon Breath on Aggron, okay? But adjust the power—make it very weak. Just let him feel what Dragon energy is like."
Deino nodded obediently.
When a Pokémon learns a move outside its natural type, experiencing that type of energy firsthand is a highly effective, if slightly dangerous, method. It requires a high level of trust and control.
"Dei-no!" Deino trotted over to Aggron.
"Roar!" Aggron growled to let the blind dragon know exactly where he was.
"Okay, position is good. Aggron, lower your head. Deino, open fire!"
Kashiwagi commanded from the sidelines.
Seeing a ball of indigo fire gathering in Deino's mouth, he immediately said,
"Smaller!"
The flame shrank.
"Even smaller!"
It shrank again.
"Okay! Fire!"
Poof!
A small puff of indigo flame hit Aggron square on the forehead, leaving a tiny singe mark.
The giant beast tilted his head back, closing his eyes as if "tasting" the sensation.
"Roar... roar!"
"Again? Alright, one more time!"
"Dei-no!"
Deino gathered another tiny spark and puffed it onto Aggron's head.
The residual Dragon energy swirled between Aggron's horns, seeping into his metallic frame.
While it dealt a negligible amount of damage, something new was beginning to brew within him.