Roaring pillars of flame surged into blazing torrents that coiled around its massive body. The ferocious ancient dragon—Gouging Fire—launched its attack the moment it appeared!
"That roar again!"
Entei charged a violet Eruption in its mouth.
"Who are you?!"
This voice that had long tormented the fake Entei, causing it unending pain, felt like the fury of a stolen identity. But it didn't even recognize the creature standing before it—
Even though it had a face eerily similar to its own!
"Roar!!"
The violet Eruption exploded against Gouging Fire, but in the next instant, the purple flames were completely absorbed by the ancient fire dragon, transformed into pure momentum—
Flare Blitz!
That exaggerated golden shield-like horn smashed violently into Entei's body, sending it flying from its original position. The tremendous force startled Molly, who had initially intended to start a Pokémon battle. She frowned, clearly nervous—
And then heard Entei's call:
"Don't be afraid, Molly! Give me a command! I must defeat this foe before me!"
"This is your world. Everything here exists because of you. If you will it, you can do anything!"
"I…"
Molly bit her lip, took a deep breath, and stared at the raging, charging ancient fire dragon.
"Daddy—use Flamethrower!'"
Emboldened by the will and encouragement of his "daughter," Entei's wounds instantly vanished. This made Hikaru narrow his eyes slightly.
Just like in the movie, the Pokémon connected to Molly had seemingly infinite stamina, and an ability that grew stronger the more they were believed in.
This wasn't just a matter of being an "illegal Pokémon"—this thing couldn't even be considered a Pokémon anymore.
It was even more busted than hacking in cheat codes!
Fierce flames surged toward Gouging Fire's body, but in the next instant, the fire scattered—
A dazzling ring-shaped fire barrier blocked the Flamethrower, even absorbing all of its heat and converting it!
Flame Shield!
Gouging Fire's signature move. It puts the user in a Protect-like state, shielding it from most physical or special moves used by other Pokémon.
And when hit by contact moves during this shielded state, the attacker is burned!
"Tch!"
Gouging Fire bared its fangs in a mocking grin, spinning its fire shield tauntingly. Entei's expression only grew more furious in response.
"Even if it can't be hurt, that's a bit unfair... but luckily, the one I created has a similar ability."
Hikaru used the Crystal Heart to call out to Gouging Fire's spirit. Unexpectedly, the ancient fire dragon had already noticed him.
Just like Walking Wake, it wasn't a mere mental projection—
It had been pulled in from a dream from time immemorial by the Dragon Plate!
And not only had it sensed the pull of the Plate and some mysterious power, Hikaru's body also bore a familiar scent—
The scent of Walking Wake.
"Rooar…"
Gouging Fire looked at Hikaru in confusion. It was certain they didn't know each other…
But it still felt compelled to thank this human for pulling it from its nightmare.
Well…
In the distant ancient past, some "humans" had once worshipped it. It could more or less understand the situation—probably some kind of time-space travel.
Compared to the impulsive and troublesome Walking Wake, Gouging Fire clearly had greater wisdom.
"You're asking why I smell like Walking Wake? Because it has already crossed into this world."
Hikaru watched Gouging Fire's reaction with surprise. The beast blinked, clearly thinking deeply—then gave a very human-like nod, as if saying, "Got it."
"You can understand me?"
"Roar."
Gouging Fire tapped the ground with a claw, showing it had long experienced something similar.
"So the ancient Entei sighted in Johto… was that you?"
"Roar?"
Gouging Fire's eyes rolled up.
How would it know? Maybe it was itself… or maybe it was another creature that just looked like it.
Like this imposter standing right in front of it!
It had recently been trapped in an ancient nightmare, where something had warped its form and power, creating a being it didn't even recognize.
And the source of that so-called "phantom" power?
Ruins. Statues. Murals. And memories—
Memories from ancient times, and even from other worlds!
Gouging Fire let out a furious roar!
It was time to end this nightmare!
The figure it had glimpsed within that nightmare was now standing clearly before its eyes!
"How dare you call me a fake! You're the twisted illusion!"
The fake Entei was enraged by Gouging Fire's attitude. The more it looked at this thing, the stranger it seemed—
It had the face of a lion, sure, but also an absurd golden horn like a giant shield, and dragon-like claws. Wasn't this a stitched-together monstrosity?!
If we're talking about inconsistencies, clearly the one in front of it was the real fake!
"What kind of Pokémon is that?! Another Entei?!"
From the steps of the Sky Stairway, Ash and the others looked down, witnessing the clash of two "Entei."
But one of them clearly had an abnormal form. Ash instinctively pulled out his Pokédex.
[Beep—Unknown Pokémon detected.]
"Knew it."
The Pokédex from Professor Oak only recorded Pokémon from Kanto and Johto at this point. It couldn't even identify Hoenn or Sinnoh Pokémon—let alone ancient Paradox species.
And Ash wasn't the only one rushing upstairs…
"Tiptoeing around like this—there better be treasure here!"
"No way we're leaving empty-handed at this point!"
"What the—what kind of Pokémon is that?!"
A strange trio crept up beneath the Sky Stairway and were shocked to witness the two Entei clashing.
Wearing white, sharp uniforms marked with a red R, the tall woman had voluminous red hair, the delicate-looking man had short bluish hair—
And they were joined by a talking Meowth.
"Oh-ho! Team Rocket—Jessie, James, and Meowth!"
Your favorite side characters—the True Main Cast—had arrived!
Hikaru blinked. He couldn't recall all the details of the movie, but were they supposed to show up here like this?
The super-geniuses of Team Rocket, who had maxed out every strange skill except for actual criminal success, endlessly chased Ash's Pikachu across regions.
Well… not exactly. They did have criminal skills—
Before running into Ash's group, they were actually wanted by Officer Jenny.
But ever since their encounter with Ash, they had become full-blown comedy characters.
Hard to say if that was a nerf… or a buff.
"Hey—hold it right there!"
"Eek! We've been spotted!"
The trio shouted in unison, nervously looking at the two Entei, and at the unfamiliar "trainer" commanding them.
"You guys seen any Unown?"
Hikaru remembered Team Rocket had stumbled into a hall full of Unown while searching for treasure in the mansion.
"Y-yeah, Meowth saw 'em!" Meowth waved his paws. "In the hall on the left side of the first floor!"
"Thanks!"
Hikaru waved them off.
"Jessie, James, Meowth! Let's talk more once this is over."
Of course they'd talk later—
Hikaru fully intended to learn the secrets of Team Rocket's "hand-built ultra-fast mecha" tech!
Those giant robots they used to catch Pokémon were cheap to build and surprisingly functional.
Sure, they had tons of problems like "this model doesn't resist fire, water, or grass due to budget cuts"…
But that wasn't a real flaw!
With just a few modifications, those bots could be amazing construction tools!
Frankly, it was a crime that the Pokémon League hadn't recruited these three.
With them around, the League's entire engineering corps could retire!
In one anime episode, they even built a space-faring rocket… using spare change from a part-time festival job.
Hikaru couldn't even describe their mechanical skills anymore.
They were basically Pokémon-world Orks—just slap things together and they worked.
"Huh? Does that guy know us?"
"No clue. Weird dude."
"Whatever, let's hurry and find that treasure."
The trio exchanged glances, shrugged, and dashed up the next floor without looking back.
"Hmph."
Entei watched the ascending trio with a mix of contempt and irritation.
Just two floors above was where Molly's real self waited.
Once he finished off the foe in front of him, he had to return immediately!
"Molly… believe in me. As long as you believe in my strength… as long as you believe in me—there's nothing I can't do!"
"…You know, lines like that make us sound like the villains."
Hikaru had already built a baseline of trust with Gouging Fire—
This guy was way more reasonable than Walking Wake.
"Hmph."
Gouging Fire glanced at Hikaru.
So… this was the human who had tamed Walking Wake.
Impressive.
And this power was no ordinary one.
…Very well.
As thanks for pulling me from the nightmare…
And for giving me this opportunity to fight—
I'll follow your lead, for now.
Flames surged across Gouging Fire's body.
Meanwhile, Entei's side was also empowered—
Molly's psychic strength flowed into him!
He opened his mouth wide. Blue flames gathered and swirled.
This was the Mind Burst from the original movie.
Though its visuals looked like Sacred Fire, its identity was never confirmed.
Boom!
The illegal sky-blue flame turned into a beam of light.
Gouging Fire's response was simple—
"Flame Shield!"
"Roar!!"
The swirling shield of fire once again blocked the devastating psychic fire.
Gouging Fire quickly glanced at Hikaru—it was waiting for his next command!
"Use War Cry!"
"ROAR!!"
Gouging Fire unleashed War Cry, the shockwave from its roar shaking the very air—
Entei's Attack and Special Attack dropped!
"Use this."
Hikaru pulled out the Ancient Bracelet and held it to Gouging Fire.
A strange energy surged forth—visions of a phantom world filled Gouging Fire's mind!
It was a move tutorial!
A blurry ancient giant surrounded by boulders like cannonballs…
And then, they were launched forward!
[Gouging Fire learned Stone Edge!]
Gaining this powerful move, Gouging Fire was now unstoppable!
A gray Hard Stone was tossed next. Gouging Fire bit down on it—
Immediately, a surge of energy raced through its body!
"The Secret of Rock! All Rock-type powers enhanced!"
"Hard Stone! Boosts Rock-type moves by 20%!"
"Go! Max power Stone Edge!"
With a stomp of its massive claws, the green psychic field trembled with rocky aura.
Pillars of stone erupted from the ground.
Entei, carrying Molly, quickly leapt to one of them—
But when he turned, Gouging Fire was already lunging through the air!
Sharp white-glowing boulders orbited it like twin rings of planets!
"Not good!"
Entei looked back.
To keep his daughter safe, he turned to face Gouging Fire's savage charge!
Even if "Molly" here was just a projection of her mind—
Entei refused to let her get hurt!
From above, Gouging Fire let out a mighty roar—
Max Power Stone Edge!
Rocks rained down like a thunderstorm!
"ROOOAAARR!!"
Entei bellowed in fury, gathering all his power—
And leapt into the air!
"Daddy!"
"Molly! Believe in me! I swear I will win!"
Flames coiled around Entei's body, just like Gouging Fire's first appearance!
"If that fake can use this move… then so can I!"
Flames condensed, concentrated—
And then exploded outward—
Transforming Entei into a blazing fireball!
Flare Blitz!
"Clash it with Stone Edge—Dragon Dive!"
Gouging Fire's body morphed into a rampaging indigo dragon, charged with immense fury and killing intent—
Alongside the storm of jagged stones, it hurled itself toward Entei in a reckless, full-power charge!
Dragon-type might.
Rock-type devastation.
Fire-type fury.
Three forces collided mid-air in a massive explosion!
The freshly formed rocky battlefield was instantly obliterated.
Debris whirled in a maelstrom, spreading across the area.
Gouging Fire's massive horn locked against Entei's.
Both beasts raised their claws—
Stomp!
Dragon Claw!
"I… will never lose!!"
Entei roared and separated from Gouging Fire, gathering power in all four limbs—
In a blur beyond sight, it punched Gouging Fire in the gut and sent it flying!
Extreme Speed!
A priority move only a rare few Pokémon can master!
Body Slam!
As Entei charged again with Extreme Speed, Gouging Fire adjusted its posture mid-air, grabbed Entei's claw—
And slammed its full body weight down!
Boom!
Entei was crushed into a stone pillar, shattering it—
And sparks flickered across its body—
Paralysis!
It looked up to see—
Gouging Fire gathering all its strength.
Ancient stones, glowing with eerie blue light, swirled into a legion behind it!
The earth trembled violently beneath their power!
Max power! Channel all Rock energy into this next strike—
Ancient Power!
All stats rose!
"And now—let that wrathful flame pierce the land!"
Great Indignation!
A colossal column of fire surged from Gouging Fire,
Unrestrained fury shredding everything before it!
In Entei's furious gaze, the flames completely engulfed him.
With a roar of victory, a battered shadow shot upward, breaking through the crystalline layer and fleeing to the top of the Crystal Tower.
The ancient fire dragon let out a triumphant cry,
And shot a wink at the human who had commanded it—
Nice work.
(End of Chapter)
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