Novel Full Chapter 1014: Chapter 1231: Vaporized Trail
Chapter 1014: Chapter 1231: Vaporized Trail
The Molten Arena's stamina recovery BUFF for Arcanine didn't seem very useful outside of combat—but once a battle started, especially against a powerful opponent like Metagross, that constant recovery became extremely important.
A Pokémon with built-in recovery had terrifying endurance. It wasn't unusual for them to finish a battle still with over 90% of their stamina intact.
"Arf!"
Arcanine began hurling all sorts of insults at Metagross—truly nasty stuff—so much so that Metagross's Special Attack actually dropped a bit.
Because while cursing, it had actually used the move Snarl.
"Meta!"
The insults were so vicious that even the usually calm Metagross got angry, slashing its claw toward Arcanine's dog face.
But the Metal Claw was caught and clamped tightly in Arcanine's jaws. And before Metagross could raise its other arm, searing flames erupted from Arcanine's mouth the next instant.
The flames instantly engulfed Metagross, forming a swirling vortex.
Fire Spin dealt continuous damage, and the barrier formed by the flames was dense and almost tangible.
Among Julian's Champion-level Pokémon, if they were trapped inside such an attack, aside from Moltres—who could rely on its Fire typing—and Aggron with its extreme defense—the others could endure it, but would come out in terrible condition.
"Meta!"
Faced with the Fire Spin trapping it, Metagross brought down another Meteor Mash. With a thunderous boom, the fiery vortex shattered, sending countless sparks scattering in all directions.
One stray spark even landed on Moltres's neck, making it feel a slight burning sensation.
Moltres: 'This dog is seriously that ridiculous?'
It already realized that the dog was strong and that it wasn't its opponent—but it didn't expect even a tiny spark to make it feel the heat.
It was a Fire-type Champion-level Pokémon—a Legendary one at that.
Luckily, this wasn't Julian's own Arcanine. If it were, it would probably be showing off nonstop.
By the time Metagross broke free from the Fire Spin, Arcanine had already disappeared from its original spot.
"Meta~"
Metagross's psychic spread out like a web, scanning the surroundings—one kilometer, ten kilometers, thirty kilometers—yet it still couldn't find Arcanine.
Suddenly, it looked down at the ground.
Its body plummeted sharply toward the ground, and just as it was about to land and use Earthquake—
The ground beneath it burst open, and Arcanine shot out.
Just as Metagross had predicted, after using Fire Spin, Arcanine had dug underground and even concealed the tunnel entrance.
The moment it emerged, Arcanine fired a beam of earthy-yellow energy from its mouth, striking the descending Metagross.
Metagross was blasted away—but midway through being sent flying, its body suddenly vanished.
Arcanine froze.
Metagross had disappeared from its sight. So it immediately became alert, scanning the surroundings for a sudden ambush.
But soon, it caught Metagross's scent.
Arcanine: '…Why is this scent coming from right below me?'
Confused, Arcanine looked down—and saw Metagross right there, inside the very hole it had just emerged from.
Metagross even gave it a slight "smile."
And the next instant—
A dazzling Meteor Mash slammed into Arcanine's face, sending its body flying like a shooting star.
Earlier, when Metagross had been knocked away by Arcanine's Power Gem, it had instantly used Teleport to move into the very tunnel Arcanine had created.
Since Arcanine had been standing right above that hole, it searched everywhere—but never thought to look beneath itself.
Metagross had pulled off a perfect "blind spot" maneuver. By the time Arcanine caught its scent, it was already too late—the Meteor Mash was already smashing into its face.
It was blasted over a hundred kilometers, smashing through countless rocks before finally coming to a stop.
Blood streamed down its face.
That one punch from Metagross had done no small amount of damage to Arcanine.
And due to Psychic Noise, the Molten Arena's stamina recovery had been temporarily cut off.
Arcanine was injured—and worse, it felt like it had been completely outplayed.
'Damn it… it actually hid in my own tunnel and used my trick against me.'
"Arf!"
At this moment, its ferocity was completely ignited.
Flames engulfed its entire body—and within a few seconds, those flames turned from red to a reddish-purple hue.
The ground beneath it instantly melted into magma… and then began to vaporize under the heat.
The surrounding space itself seemed to warp and burn, as if it were being scorched and incinerated. The terrifyingly intense heat vaporized even the clouds far above.
"Arf!"
Arcanine roared, its body turning into a streak of reddish-purple light, shooting forward like an arrow. Everything in its path was left as a vaporized trail.
It was still a hundred kilometers away from Metagross—but at this speed, that distance would be closed in just a few seconds.
Before Arcanine even arrived, the first thing that struck was a terrifying wave of crimson wind pressure, annihilating everything in its path.
"…The Golden Fire Stone's effect has been triggered."
Julian's expression turned serious.
Arcanine's held item—the Golden Fire Stone—had a 1% chance to boost its Fire- or Rock-type moves power by 10x. It had never activated in the battles up to this point. But as the fight dragged on, the item's ability had finally been unleashed.
It was only a matter of time, after all.
Still, even though he had expected it, the destructive force of a tenfold Flare Blitz far exceeded what he had even imagined.
Just that shockwave alone could outright one-shot Moltres.
Moltres: (◎_◎)
At this moment, Moltres was genuinely shaken.
It had just been boasting about fighting this Arcanine—good thing it hadn't actually gone through with it, or it wouldn't even know how it died.
"Metagross, brace yourself and take it!" Julian spoke, his voice heavy.
Metagross had already been locked onto—dodging wasn't very likely. And if the dodge failed, the power of this tenfold Flare Blitz was enough to critically injure Metagross.
At this level of amplification, the move had undergone a fundamental, qualitative transformation.
Julian had already sent out Deoxys as a precaution.
When the full force of this attack erupted, Moltres wouldn't even be able to protect itself—let alone him.
"Deoxys, protect the Terraflux Magma too."
Although they were quite far from the Terraflux Magma's location, if the aftershock somehow reached the magma and damaged it, the loss would be catastrophic.
Deoxys nodded, then looked at Arcanine with visible surprise.
Was this really the level of destructive power a Champion tier Pokémon could reach?
And the real question was—
Could Metagross withstand it?
*****
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