That's right! My partners have already helped as much as they reasonably can!
It was me who proposed that we would subjugate the four demon kings!
At the final moment, I have to rely on my own strength!
Charcadet raised its head toward the rain clouds above. It stared into the falling rain, and the firepower within its body surged higher and higher!
Shine. Shine. Push your own radiance to the absolute limit. And then—
A blazing pillar of light speared through the heavens!
The clouds parted, the haze dispersed, and the downpour vanished without a trace. Only dew on the grass and churned mud remained, silently proving that it had just rained here.
And after the rain, what appeared in the sky was the sun—shining with boundless brilliance!
The sun—how warm it was!
"Sunny Day!"
Although plenty of partners on the team could use Sunny Day—and Larvesta even had "illegal" sunlight—Hikaru had never had Charcadet learn it via TM.
After all, a true hero should temper themself through battle, forging moves through hardship, shouldn't they?
By now, it had already "illegally" learned Close Combat, and it even possessed the early foundations of Aura Sphere and Psycho Boost, wavering between its two evolutions.
"If, on this training journey, it can gather both Armarouge's movepool and Ceruledge's movepool…"
It sounded illegal.
But as Entei had said, Pokémon can master special moves through different environments and pressures. As long as it wasn't too outrageous, it wasn't really a big problem.
A Fire-type Pokémon learning something like Eruption—so long as it can actually use it… after all, there was that Heatran from Trails of Light as a precedent.
But if it learned Ice Beam and Blizzard, then that would be illegal in the truest sense.
Then again, maybe not.
Who knows—maybe GF loses their mind and adds it next generation. Just like in Generation VI, there was basically a hidden "perk": almost all Pokémon could learn Double Team.
Later, they confiscated that perk.
After all, even the Regi trio—slow as death—could learn Double Team, which was honestly terrifying.
But who can say learning Double Team is illegal? Only the Pokémon of Gen VII, Gen VIII, and Gen IX would feel indignant about it.
"Kadonk!"
Sunny Day! Weather became harsh sunlight. Fire-type moves were strengthened, and Water-type moves were weakened!
Fire-type damage ×1.5. Water-type damage ×0.5 (aside from Water-type moves that produce steam). No Pokémon could be frozen!
"Wo-chii!"
Seeing Charcadet wreathed in flame, Wo-Chien muttered to itself.
I'm not that easy to make surrender!
Rain can cover my weaknesses, but under sun, I'm strong too!
Growth—under harsh sunlight—raises Attack by two stages and Special Attack by two stages!
Wo-Chien's body steadily swelled and expanded. Growth's power was displayed to the fullest, like a true Grass demon king!
Hah, hah, hah! I'll make you understand—even if your teammates heavily wounded me, I still won't be brought down by you!
Wo-Chien burst into intense light. But it wasn't Giga Drain.
It was Solar Beam!
Under harsh sunlight, Solar Beam required no charge and could be fired immediately!
A dazzling solar cannon blasted forth from Wo-Chien—just like the Electro Shot earlier. At this moment, everyone was a beam-cannon user!
Charcadet charged straight into that terrifying +6 Solar Beam. The ground itself was carved apart by the beam—sunlight fired from that enormous Grass demon king tore the earth open. If it was hit, the fight would end instantly!
Charcadet sprinted at full speed, weaving through the solar cannon with its +6 movement speed!
So I can't waste the damage my teammates bought for me!
A move stronger than Flare Blitz.
A move that can reach farther than Fire Blast.
Sun, oh sun—grant me your strength!
"Kadonk!"
Blazing light erupted from Charcadet's body. At that moment, Hikaru took out a red Fire Plate.
The Plate was glowing. Violent fire energy pooled into it, then surged toward Charcadet!
The Plate's damage boost was only 20%, so it really wasn't as strong as a Fire Gem. But a Plate wasn't a one-time consumable.
A Gem loses its power after one use and needs recharging. A Plate's energy is continuous—and it can even gather nearby fire energy!
A fierce flame—stronger than Flare Blitz and Fire Blast!
Charcadet learned "Overheat"!
A 130-power Fire-type special move. The user attacks with full force; afterward, due to recoil, the user's Special Attack harshly drops!
Wo-Chien's solar cannon locked onto Charcadet. The searing Solar Beam and Overheat slammed into each other. The +6 Solar Beam's power was unmatched, steadily consuming and swallowing that blazing fire!
And then—
Within that blinding sunlight, the little knight wrapped in raging flames charged out again!
A move even more unbelievable than Overheat—its whole body ignited, and under the crushing pressure of Solar Beam, it compressed the fire energy into itself!
Its entire body burned with flame!
"That move isn't quite right." Hikaru watched Charcadet's midair charge and felt it wasn't merely "wrapped in flames." It looked like Charcadet itself was about to burn completely to ash—like it had started to pass on the First Flame.
Entei said, "That… what is it? It feels like something that occasionally appeared during training. I can't confirm what move it is."
"Learning Overheat already is a tremendous achievement. That's one of the biggest finishers among Fire-type Pokémon."
"A move as strong as Overheat—charging while fully engulfed in flame, even stronger than Flare Blitz… aside from V-create, is there anything like that?"
Entei looked toward Victini, but Victini only tilted its head and pointed at Hikaru.
Don't ask me, okay? Ask the leader. See if he used V-Wave!
Tini doesn't know!
"Mela?" Larvesta also stared in shock at Charcadet soaring upward.
Woohoo, amazing. The sun knight is flying now. Bug thinks it's amazing!
Then let me give you one more push!
A fierce firelight flared from Larvesta. Amid the cheers of its partners, the little bug spat out a blazing burst of flame. That flame shot forward at extreme speed and slammed into Charcadet's body!
Charcadet's Ability triggered!
Flash Fire. When hit by a Fire-type move, it absorbs the flames, and its own Fire-type moves become drastically stronger!
Boom!
An incomparable fiery collision erupted from that tiny body, like a newborn sun blooming in midair. Charcadet plunged into Wo-Chien's enlarged withered-leaf body, and then the inferno ignited every leaf at once!
Wo-Chien resisted with all its strength, refusing to retreat even an inch. But the violent flames ultimately brought down this Pokémon that had no further defensive-boosting methods.
Try, try, try—and then you die!
Burning withered leaves drifted everywhere. The charred bamboo tablets told the story of how fierce the battle had been. Wo-Chien lay on the ground, its strength gone, while the little knight was blown away by the explosion. The flames on its body gradually extinguished, and ash even began to fall from it.
Hey—was it really necessary to go that far?
To defeat me, you were willing to stake your own life?
We don't have any grudges. It was just a normal battle, and I was even at a disadvantage.
"Wo-chii?"
What made you do this?
Wo-Chien asked in confusion, just like Chien-Pao had back then. But Pao-pao was only playing. The little snail was serious.
"Ka… donk."
To prove I am a true knight. To forge a suit of armor worthy of glorious merit.
The wild winds open my road. Sun and moon illuminate my campaign.
No matter where it leads, the radiance calls me onward.
To truly reach the form I've dreamed of.
Wo-Chien stared at the little knight that had burned itself nearly to nothing, then suddenly let out a low chuckle.
Interesting. You're only an apprentice knight, yet you pursue your ideals without wavering.
In the historical records, we have always respected such people. Therefore, your deeds will be recorded in lavish detail.
I'll grant you a biography.
It will be written in—
Records of the Historian: Biographies of Knights.
The big snail tilted its head. In the last moment before closing its eyes, it sensed that holy aura it feared so much.
Ah… the power of the White Forest. A purity it had never felt before—white and dazzling…
"Woo-wo-chii!"
Only one request!
Even if you nail me into a shrine, I'll shout it out with my decayed voice!
Don't remove my Dark type!
Even though I have a mountain of weaknesses, I still love this hateful emotion!
After Hikaru used the holy aura of the White Forest to seal away Wo-Chien's passive power that withered all plants, he turned to look at Charcadet.
"That move just now was incredible. How did you pull that off?"
"You've learned something seriously outrageous!"
Hikaru scratched his head. Thinking about it, Charcadet had mastered quite a few high-power moves. If it evolved into Armarouge, it would really be losing out.
So maybe, truly, if Hikaru hadn't intervened, it was naturally meant to evolve into Ceruledge?
Entei had never seen it either, so it asked in puzzlement, "What exactly was that move? I didn't think there was a Fire-type move even I wouldn't understand."
"That one?" Hikaru's expression was also a bit hard to believe. "That was Burn Up!"
"It sets its entire body ablaze, dealing massive damage to the opponent. At the same time, the user's Fire typing disappears."
"Charcadet has lost its flames right now, like ash without fire—that's because it no longer has the Fire type."
"But don't worry, it's only temporary. It just overexerted itself. Once it recovers, it'll be fine."
Hikaru also complained internally.
Looks like Solar Beam pushed Overheat back—and then it suddenly understood it.
That sort of thing happens a lot with Ash's Pokémon. Thunder Armor, swallowing an Energy Ball to manually activate Overgrow—those are his kinds of moves.
And Burn Up is absolutely insane.
It was introduced in Generation VII. Maybe it was originally meant to surpass Overheat and Flare Blitz—to be the ultimate Fire-type finisher.
But later they never did that. In fact, in Generation IX, Burn Up was basically sealed. The data exists, but there's no normal way to obtain it. Even Pokémon that originally knew the move aren't allowed to use it anymore.
At the same time, there's even the famous "Burn Up Arcanine."
Because the move's downside is: a Pokémon that isn't Fire-type can't use Burn Up. Just as the name suggests—it has "burned up."
However, after Terastallization, even if you use Burn Up, you won't lose your Fire typing!
That's a finisher stronger than Flare Blitz, and it doesn't drain your stamina at all!
"It's a competitive battle bug in the game, but in the real world it's a secret tech! Terastallize into Fire first, and you can spam Burn Up with no side effects. Plus you get the Tera STAB 2× modifier—meaning it's effectively a 260-power Fire-type move. That's absurdly strong!"
"Next time, we should check Charcadet's Tera Type and test it, yeah?"
That said, learning Burn Up—sure, it was an accidental, super-illegal move—but it wasn't something I hacked into existence.
Ash without fire, burned to cinders. From the Chosen Undead linking the flame, all the way to the final ash—now it's truly the Lord of Cinder!
If it could learn Sacred Fire too, and carry Sacred Ash…!
Then there's a problem.
By the traditions of Souls-style knights, the last step is always fighting an old man in an empty field.
Does the Amazing Old Man actually exist?!
(End of Chapter)
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