Volcarona opened its small mouth and fiercely spat out a plume of flame. The fire, glowing with an otherworldly hue, shot straight toward Raikou.
Immediately after, Volcarona opened its mouth again, and a sharp, piercing screech echoed from within. The sound was incredibly loud—so loud, in fact, that even though Kelly stood quite a distance away, he still found it jarring and uncomfortable to his ears.
But this sound wasn't just a one-time shriek—it was continuous and relentless.
With no other choice, Kelly could only cover his ears with his hands in an attempt to muffle the noise.
Nathan, however, paid no mind to the shrill noise. After all, he had been fighting alongside Volcarona for many years now.
The sound of the Bug Buzz move—he had long since gotten used to it.
The mystical fire, once released from Volcarona's mouth, surged straight toward Raikou.
Raikou wanted to dodge, but the piercing noise made it instinctively want to cover its ears.
Moreover, the Mystical Fire wasn't a simple ballistic-type move. It was a technique that allowed a degree of manual control.
While it couldn't exactly turn on a dime and strike wherever the user wanted, making it bend or curve toward a target was still within the realm of possibility.
Perhaps in a game, every move would come with a hit rate and a chance of missing.
But this wasn't a game—this was real life!
As an powerful Fire-type Pokémon, Volcarona's control over flames was in no way inferior to that of the Legendary Pokémon Entei.
The only difference was that Entei's tier was Legendary, while Volcarona was still at the Champion level.
But perhaps one day, when Volcarona ascended to the realm of Legendary status, its control over fire might even surpass Entei's.
Raikou used Extreme Speed to create some distance and change directions.
However, the Mystical Fire trailed closely behind, also shifting direction.
The sharp, grating buzz of Volcarona's wings continued to ring out.
These two moves—so long as both of their special effects triggered—would bring Nathan and Volcarona one step closer to victory!
-----------------
Raikou's level was far above Volcarona's. Whether it was special defense or special attack, Raikou's stats were significantly superior.
Even though Volcarona had the benefit of various enhancement potions, such a huge level disparity wasn't something a few little vials could overcome.
This was the point where triggering the secondary effects of moves became absolutely crucial.
Take Bug Buzz, for example. It carried a chance of lowering the opponent's special defense.
If that effect triggered, Nathan would then have a 50% chance of severely wounding Raikou—
And a 50% chance of outright defeating it.
As for the move Mystical Fire, its special effect was to lower the opponent's special attack.
If none of these effects triggered, Nathan would have to rely on Volcarona either taking the brunt of Raikou's attacks or dodging them skillfully.
Just as Raikou dodged with Extreme Speed again, Nathan noticed a faint, dusky glow appear on Raikou's body.
Seeing this glow, Nathan's heart surged with excitement—
The special effect had triggered!
Raikou's special defense had been successfully lowered, and that was just from one move!
Soon after, under the torment of the sharp buzzing, Raikou was struck again. The Mystical Fire landed squarely on its body.
However, this time, Nathan wasn't quite as lucky—Raikou's special attack had not been reduced.
Still, Nathan wasn't the kind of person to be greedy.
The level gap was sitting there as a cold hard fact. Just managing to trigger one special effect was already more than enough.
As Bug Buzz finally ceased, Raikou recovered its majestic and domineering demeanor.
With a thunderous roar toward the sky, Raikou let out a howl that echoed through the air. Within just a few short breaths, a thundercloud materialized in the sky.
"Damn it—it's going to use Thunder!" Nathan exclaimed with concern.
What he feared most right now was precisely this kind of move.
When Raikou cast Thunder, it wasn't just a single lightning strike. Instead, it was a continuous barrage of bolts raining from the sky.
As long as the battle continued, the thundercloud would remain overhead, raining lightning down without end.
The only downside to this powerful move was that it consumed a significant amount of energy.
"Volcarona, use Quiver Dance!" Nathan shouted without hesitation as soon as he saw the thundercloud forming above.
Volcarona danced gracefully in the air, like an exquisite and ethereal fairy, its body surrounded by glowing motes of flame.
"Tsk tsk tsk… Every time I see Volcarona perform this move, it's just so beautiful," Kelly muttered as he quickly zoomed in with his camera, capturing a perfect close-up of the Quiver Dance.
As Volcarona continued its elegant, airborne performance, the thundercloud above began to unleash its fury.
Graceful and gentle Quiver Dance—
Brutal and relentless lightning strikes—
Two utterly different kinds of moves appeared at the same time.
Volcarona dodged a few bolts of lightning, and soon, the Quiver Dance was completed.
A red aura enveloped Volcarona's body.
The dance might have looked beautiful, but it was far more than a visual spectacle.
The true effect of Quiver Dance was the increase of special defense, special attack, and speed.
Volcarona was already not slow to begin with. With the bonus from Quiver Dance, its speed reached a whole new level.
Lightning rained down one strike after another, but Volcarona weaved between them, dodging effortlessly.
"Volcarona, use Fiery Dance combined with Flame Charge!"
Simply dodging wasn't Nathan's style. The best defense, after all, was a fierce offense!
Volcarona's body became enveloped in a dazzling blaze.
With the bonus from Quiver Dance, its special attack was raised even further.
If previously Volcarona's special attack was at the level of 65…
Now, after stacking the buffs from both moves, it had reached a level of 75.
Though still a ways off from Raikou's stats, it was now enough to hurt—
Or even seriously wound—Raikou.
As Flame Charge activated, the flames around Volcarona surged explosively.
It transformed into a second sun in the sky, blazing with scalding heat as it charged toward Raikou.
Raikou reacted quickly, commanding the thundercloud above to send lightning strikes down in an attempt to block Volcarona's advance.
Crack!
A bolt of lightning struck Volcarona directly.
Yet the attack barely fazed it.
The flames surrounding Volcarona were so intense that the lightning only slightly weakened the fiery aura.
Seeing that lightning was ineffective, Raikou's body began to crackle with electric energy again.
The electricity rapidly converged into Raikou's open mouth—
It was charging up for Zap Cannon!
Zap Cannon was arguably the most powerful Electric-type move.
Because Zap Cannon allowed for the accumulation of electricity, as long as the user's strength was high enough, it could control and unleash a massive amount of lightning—
Bringing forth unparalleled destructive power!
Unfortunately for Raikou, Nathan and Volcarona were not about to give it the time it needed.
Before Raikou could finish charging its attack, Volcarona had already reached its target.
Seeing the blazing sun-like Volcarona bearing down on him, Raikou could no longer afford to keep charging.
It fired the Zap Cannon on the spot.
Though the charge time was brief, the power was still immense.
A violent explosion erupted in the desert. The deafening boom was so intense, even Nathan, a seasoned trainer, found it overwhelming.
And it wasn't just loud—both Zap Cannon and Flame Charge carried extreme luminosity.
The explosion was blinding.
Kelly, who was still filming from the sidelines, had already shut his eyes. On his camera screen, it was a field of pure white.
When the intense light finally faded and Kelly reopened his eyes—
What he saw was a mushroom cloud!
A mushroom cloud hundreds of meters tall.
Such a powerful explosion—
Even five or six missiles striking the same spot wouldn't have caused this kind of devastation.
Kelly felt like he'd been shocked speechless countless times today.
Were these really Pokémon raised and trained by humans?
They were approaching the level of small nuclear weapons.
Truly, whether hot weapons or humans—none of them could hold a candle to powerful Pokémon.
At that moment, the aftershock of the explosion swept outward.
A powerful wave of pressure surged toward them.
Kelly felt as though his body were a tiny leaf boat adrift in a vast ocean.
And this shockwave was a monstrous tsunami.
Immersed in the aftermath of the blast, Kelly finally came to truly comprehend the sheer might of Pokémon.
And this was just the residual force. What would it have been like at the very center of the explosion?
Kelly couldn't help but feel a rising concern for Volcarona.
That Pokémon was Nathan's cherished companion.
If it perished in that explosion… what a tragic end that would be.
Nathan, meanwhile, kept his gaze firmly fixed on the center of the blast.
Even though the shockwave affected him greatly, his focus never wavered.
He was worried about Volcarona's safety.
Slowly, the mushroom cloud in the sky began to dissipate, and the swirling dust gradually settled.
The scene at the heart of the explosion finally started to come into view.
Who had emerged victorious from this titanic clash?
When Nathan finally saw clearly, a rush of joy surged through his heart—
He spotted a silhouette still flying in the sky—it was Volcarona!
-------------
As the dust finally cleared, Volcarona's figure became more distinct.
Raikou's form also appeared.
On Raikou's body, charred black scorch marks were clearly visible—burns from the earlier attack.
But Raikou had not fallen. It still stood tall, like a war god who would never kneel.
Volcarona, however, wasn't in great shape either.
Its once-beautiful wings were now battered and tattered.
Exhaustion was written all over its face.
Its fluttering wings began to slow, as though it might fall from the sky at any moment.
The sight made Nathan's heart ache deeply.
This was the Volcarona that had followed him for so many years…
Yet he also knew—if Volcarona wanted to grow stronger, these trials were something it had to endure.
The path of strength for a Pokémon was never an easy one.
And just at that moment, Nathan received a notification from the system…
(End of Chapter)