Chapter 320: First Battle Against Mega (Thanks to Dog Baby's Dad for the Alliance Leader)

After finishing lunch.

Captain Huoyan and her Pokémon visibly perked up.

"The food… was wonderful…"

She seemed to want to keep praising it, but Baimu didn't much care for her review. Warming up, he asked, "How do we fight? Are there rules? Or can we just go at it however we want?"

The Double-Headed Tyrant stared eagerly at Camerupt and the other Pokémon — it had just evolved and could barely hold back its urge for a big battle!

"You can… decide…"

Captain Huoyan said generously and confidently.

"Then let's do singles, three versus three. Switching mid-battle is fine. The side whose Pokémon all fall is considered the loser — attacking the trainer is not allowed."

Seeing she had no objections, he pressed down on the two eager dog-heads of the Double-Headed Tyrant. "For now, leave it to your seniors."

"Hew?" "Hew?"

The Double-Headed Tyrant turned its heads, clearly a little disappointed at not being able to take the field. But it also understood that even after evolving, its strength still couldn't compare to those in front.

It has to get stronger!

Stronger than now — until the trainer's first thought in a tough fight is to call on it!

The Double-Headed Tyrant, feeling humiliated, quietly made up its mind.

Baimu also knew this big fellow was probably a little upset, but Captain Huoyan was very likely an opponent worth his all — not someone to underestimate.

Before the battle truly began, the two recalled their Pokémon and started moving to a new location.

The vegetation on the mountaintop was far too thick — with Camerupt's firepower, it could easily start a wildfire, which was absolutely not something Baimu wanted to see.

Fortunately, not far off there was a slightly flat gravel path, the ground covered only in dew-soaked wild grass. Fighting there would certainly pose no problems.

The two stood on opposite sides, a distance between them.

"Begin…"

Captain Huoyan could hardly wait as she tossed out a Poké Ball.

Pop!

A white light flashed.

"Moo!"

The first to appear was none other than Camerupt, letting out a bray somewhere between a horse and a donkey — in peak condition after that full meal.

At the same time, Baimu sent out his Pokémon.

Pop!

Cherry blossoms drifted as Mawile slowly materialized.

"Chido!"

It stared at Camerupt full of fighting spirit — clearly it understood the latter was no easy opponent.

"Hehe…"

A faint smile crossed Captain Huoyan's face. She raised her right hand. "Analyze… reconstruct… only Team Magma can create a better tomorrow — Mega Evolve!"

"Moo—"

Camerupt bellowed at the sky, and beneath its thick mane a shimmering Mega Stone was revealed.

An invisible psychic link formed between the two, and some hidden power seemed ready to erupt—

"Hold on!"

Baimu suddenly raised his hand.

The one person and two Pokémon present all froze, looking at him in confusion.

"Uh, ahem… since I didn't know what you were about to do earlier, I swiped something and forgot to give it back." Slightly embarrassed, he walked over and returned the Key Stone from his pocket to Captain Huoyan's hand.

As the saying goes, you can never be too careful.

To avoid the possibility that she'd lured him here with some shady intention, he'd quietly removed Captain Huoyan's Key Stone — and then completely forgotten about it just now.

It wasn't until she started shouting that cringey line that he realized he hadn't given the Key Stone back.

"…"

Captain Huoyan looked at the Key Stone in her palm, then looked up at Baimu retreating, and said nothing.

"Moo!"

Camerupt glared at him with a you've-got-to-be-kidding expression — the mood had finally been built up and he ruined it like this.

"Chido~"

Mawile beamed, eyes curving into crescents, and covertly gave its trainer a thumbs-up — it hated watching people show off the most.

Baimu returned to his spot and announced loudly, "Do it again, and we'll pretend nothing happened!"

"…Mega Evolve!"

Captain Huoyan was obviously not going to shout the line a second time — she wasn't crazy — and simply activated the Key Stone in her hand.

"Moo!"

Camerupt turned its anger into power, its body visibly transforming.

Its already thick hide shifted from orange-yellow to orange-red, growing wildly until it hid its lower limbs. The two miniature volcanoes on its back merged into one, swelling huge and terrifying. Uncontainable Mega energy poured out like lava from the crater, only to be tightly sealed by a ring of black rock.

Rumble rumble rumble—

The air kept rumbling with deep thuds, as if something long suppressed was brewing.

Mawile, which had just finished using Magnet Rise and was in the middle of Swords Dance, stared at Mega Camerupt, its brow heavy with caution. It was certain Camerupt was the strongest opponent it had faced so far!

"Camerupt…"

"Moo—!

A long wail like a steam-engine whistle — torrents of white steam burst from Mega Camerupt's nostrils, and the ring of black rock on its back instantly blazed with incandescent white light!

Boom!

A terrifying pillar of lava shot skyward; the dark clouds formed by smoke blotted out the sky, and countless lava balls mixed with rock crashed down toward the ground with a thunderous roar, like a meteor shower from the end of the world!

What terrifying power!

Even though All Baimu had long been mentally prepared, seeing it with his own eyes still made his heart tremble. Dodging as he shouted, "Get out of the way!"

"Chikor!"

Munchlax of course knew how terrifying those lava balls were. Relying on the agility granted by electromagnetic levitation, it dodged while continuously closing in on the Mega Camerupt.

The wildly falling lava balls slammed into the ground with dull thuds, creating one pitch-black crater after another while slowly flowing across the ground as magma.

"Moo!"

Seeing how swiftly Munchlax was darting about, the Mega Camerupt didn't hesitate to unleash another Fire Blast, summoning even more meteor-like lava balls.

What Mega Evolution brings to a Pokémon is a short-term abundance of type energy that seemingly never runs dry—normally one wouldn't dare use too much, for fear of exhausting one's type energy.

Now it could use it freely, without the slightest heartache!

Yet Munchlax's evasive ability was truly outstanding, dodging one falling lava ball after another, not letting a single one so much as graze it.

*Star Striding*

Watching it gradually close in, a smile simultaneously crossed the faces of Captain Huoyan and the Mega Camerupt.

"Smokescreen…"

Hoo!

Black smoke mixed with raging flames surged wildly from the Mega Camerupt's mouth, quickly covering its entire body and forming a barrier that both obscured vision and kept Munchlax from approaching!

"Fairy Wind to blow it away!"

All Baimu didn't panic and gave Munchlax the command.

"Chikor!"

Munchlax spun rapidly around itself, and the pink gale transformed into a visible tornado vortex that slammed into the raging flames and thick smoke, swiftly scattering them.

At the same time, it also dodged a falling lava ball.

Bang!

The lava ball that hit the ground splashed up like magma, and the gravel path had at some unknown point already been covered by the flowing magma; the released heat made All Baimu pour with sweat.

Yet Captain Huoyan, clearly much closer, acted as if nothing were the matter at all.

He knew this had to do with the clothes the other was wearing.

Don't let that bodycon skirt and hooded outfit fool you with their flashy looks—in reality, they were designed with the hope of allowing members to move freely within magma.

Of course.

Whether they could actually move around in magma was unclear, but at the very least their fire-resistance was top-notch.