Florges's Grass Knot move directly ensnared the Mega Houndoom that was leaping through the air and yanked it downward.
However, Houndoom's reaction was still quite fast: from its mouth it spewed a large amount of dense flames, completely burning away all of Florges's vines. But just as it was about to relax, all the fur on its body suddenly bristled.
"TYRAN!"
At that moment, on the abdomen of Tyranitar, which was standing beside Cain, a red symbol shaped like an "Ω" lit up. In addition, the two legs touching the ground had turned an intense red, as if they had transformed into magma, completely fusing with the earth.
In less than a tenth of a second, just as Mega Houndoom finished burning the vines, an enormous column of blazing red rock erupted from the ground, as if bathed in magma.
Tyranitar Version: Precipice Blades!
The Mega Houndoom in midair had no ability to dodge, and moreover it had spent its last bit of strength using Flamethrower to burn the vines.
In Mega Houndoom's eyes, that pillar was growing larger and larger.
Boom—!
The Precipice Blades move struck it head-on. At the instant of impact, an enormous surge of energy exploded from the top of the column, producing a ferocious blast that launched Mega Houndoom even higher into the air.
The Ground-type move Precipice Blades was especially effective against it.
Just as Mega Houndoom was being hurled upward, Blaziken, who had been waiting in the air for some time, had already completed its preparation.
But Cain pulled out yet another Key Stone from his pocket.
Seeing the Key Stone once again in his hand, the Black Messenger's expression changed immediately, but he had no way to stop him.
"Mega Evolve, Blaziken!" Cain murmured.
Triple Mega Evolution.
The energy of Mega Evolution enveloped Cain and Blaziken at the same time.
In an instant, Blaziken completed its Mega Evolution as it descended. When the multicolored light dispersed, Mega Blaziken appeared.
Mega Blaziken, with two stacks of the Swords Dance boost accumulated.
Cain's goal was not merely to injure Houndoom: he wanted to finish it completely, to strip the Black Messenger of one of his core Pokémon. To achieve that, he accepted the heavy burden of activating a triple Mega Evolution; every second was torture for his body.
"Blaazk!"
After Mega Evolving, Mega Blaziken, connected to Cain's will, sensed the pressure Cain was enduring. That pressure became its driving force, and its entire body was wrapped in golden flames.
Then, under Mega Blaziken's control, all that energy gathered at its knee, forming a crimson-gold flame: Sacred Fire!
Blaziken's strongest Fighting-type move at that moment: High Jump Kick!
A High Jump Kick empowered by double Swords Dance boosts and the Sacred Fire move.
Boom!
It struck Mega Houndoom squarely in midair.
BOOM!
At the instant of contact, the Sacred Fire concentrated on its knee exploded violently, and with the added impact of Blaziken itself, Mega Houndoom plummeted toward the ground at an even greater speed than it had risen.
Crack!
Boom!
An enormous crater opened up in the unstable ground.
With a flash of multicolored light, Mega Houndoom reverted to its normal form and fell into the pit. Its body bore burns of varying severity, and blood flowed from multiple wounds. It was barely breathing.
Clack—
Mega Blaziken itself fell from the air. The energy of Mega Evolution trembled and dissipated: it and Cain had deliberately canceled the Mega Evolution.
Although the mega state lasted only three or four seconds, for Cain those seconds were torment.
Once the mega state was released, Cain dropped to one knee, breathing heavily.
Although his body was under immense strain, to him the result was entirely worth it: he had achieved exactly his objective.
Eliminating a Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution meant that even if the Black Messenger's remaining Pokémon attempted to execute combined attacks, the threat they posed to Cain would be drastically reduced.
Looking at the blood-soaked Houndoom, the Black Messenger's expression grew darker and darker.
He realized that not only others, but even he himself had underestimated Cain.
Although on the surface their Pokémon seemed to be on the same level and perhaps he even had the advantage, when it came to explosiveness... he was completely inferior.
Especially when Cain went all out, his power was overwhelming.
Mega Tyranitar and Mega Blaziken had directly targeted the weaknesses of his Pokémon.
From the moment the Scarlet Sand Inferno formed, the Black Messenger had been thrown into confusion.
He had seen sandstorms, even ones larger than Tyranitar's, since in legion warfare there existed combined attacks that generated massive climates.
But he had never seen a sandstorm like that, where the sand itself had a magma-like temperature. No human could withstand that. Even Pokémon suffered under such a scorching environment.
Added to that Groudon-like Precipice Blades move, and the High Jump Kick enhanced by multiple Swords Dance uses...
Everything had caught him off guard.
Perhaps... could this be described as "quiet as a maiden, lethal as a wild rabbit"?
Hm?
As he prepared the Poké Ball to retrieve Houndoom, the Black Messenger was already thinking about retreating.
Without information on Cain, he had suffered a crushing defeat. But as long as he managed to escape this time, when he returned to hunt Cain again he would do so fully prepared. Then he could finish Cain and obtain the information he desired.
Cain immediately saw through his intention.
If he let him escape today, it would not be so easy next time.
He had to keep him here.
And up until now, the only reason the Sacred Church did not have detailed information about him was because every time a battle ended... he eliminated all witnesses.
The organization had wanted to conceal his Mega Evolution by using alternate spaces, but it had ended up giving Cain a perfect shield. But today, the Black Messenger had seen his Mega Evolution capability. As long as this man lived, Cain would be in danger.
Fortunately, given his personality, it was almost certain that he would not share the information; he would prefer to keep it to himself.
Even so, Cain wanted to eliminate him completely, to cut the problem off at the root.
So he immediately ordered his Pokémon to initiate a full-scale attack.
Tyranitar's Precipice Blades and Blaziken's Fighting-type moves would be the key weapons of this battle.
(End of chapter)