Chapter 214: Smoked by Smoke and Fire

"Huo La, are you sure this is really feasible?" Xiao Gang wrapped his arms tightly around Huo La's waist, sitting on the broad back of Aerodactyl, unable to help looking down at Bilan, who had shrunk to a small dot on the ground, his tone full of worry.

The high-altitude wind carried the smell of volcanic sulfur, blowing his hair into a mess, and every flap of Aerodactyl's wings beneath him brought a violent bump.

"Rest assured, I'm confident, we're only a little distance away from the crater, it's billowing thick smoke there," Huo La's voice was blown a bit thin by the wind, but his gaze was locked on the crater getting closer and closer ahead, "Aerodactyl is an ancient fossil Pokémon, and its tolerance for harsh environments like volcanoes far exceeds that of ordinary Pokémon."

"Xiao Gang, hold on tight!" Huo La suddenly raised his volume.

Xiao Gang's heart tightened, and the arms holding Huo La's waist tightened a few more times, his knuckles turning white from the force.

"Aerodactyl, rush in!" Huo La gave the order.

Aerodactyl let out a roar that pierced the thick smoke, spread its wings abruptly, stirred up strong airflow, and dived straight into the thick smoke of the crater.

The scorching airflow instantly wrapped around the man and the pet, the thick smoke making people's throats tight, visibility dropping to almost zero, only the whistling sound of Aerodactyl's wings cutting through the air, and the scorching temperature coming from the rock walls.

On the ground, Bilan looked up at the figures of the two disappearing into the thick smoke, her heart in her throat, the folding fan in her hand almost deformed by her grip.

But just then, the heavy stone door that had been tightly closed for a long time suddenly made a heavy "creak" sound and slowly opened inward.

A shiny bald head poked out from behind the door first, followed by a pair of black-rimmed sunglasses and two iconic handlebar mustaches.

The man rubbed his lower back, his tone carrying a hint of impatience from being woken up: "Who's looking for me, can't even have a peaceful poop."

Bilan looked at the man who appeared suddenly. She hurriedly covered her mouth, her voice trembling: "They... they... Huo La and Xiao Gang rode Aerodactyl and rushed into the crater!"

Blaine heard this, pushed his sunglasses slowly, glanced at the direction of the crater, then shook his head helplessly, his mouth letting out a low sigh: "Reckless!"

He paused, seeing Bilan still spinning around in anxiety on the spot, and waved his hand, stepping aside to give way to the passage behind the stone door: "But don't worry, there is a natural ventilation tunnel inside that crater, it will be fine. You go in first, so as not to get heatstroke from the volcanic heat outside."

By the time Huo La brought Xiao Gang riding Aerodactyl and rushed out of the smoke screen of the crater, the two immediately bent their waists and coughed violently at the air.

"Cough cough... if I had known this smoke was so choking, I should have bought a protective mask in town." Huo La coughed until his throat hurt, raised his hand to wipe his face, and his fingertips instantly stained a layer of black ash.

"Cough cough... still too reckless." Xiao Gang also covered his mouth and nose and coughed. After catching his breath, he looked at the ground below outside the smoke screen, his tone carrying a hint of luck: "But fortunately you weren't wrong, there really is an open space behind the smoke screen, and it's a battle field built above the magma."

"Wait, Huo La, look over there—is that Bilan?" Xiao Gang suddenly pointed to the passage at one end of the battle field, his tone full of surprise.

Huo La followed his finger and saw Bilan walking slowly into the battle field behind a shiny bald man.

The man's build and attire were clearly the Cinnabar Gym Leader Blaine they had been looking for for half a day!

"Holy crap, what's the situation!" Huo La exclaimed in surprise, hurriedly patting Aerodactyl's neck: "Quick, land!"

Aerodactyl roared, folded its wings, and landed steadily on the flat ground at the edge of the battle field.

Just as they stood firm, Bilan approached with a smile, but when she saw the appearance of Huo La and Xiao Gang, she instantly couldn't hold it, clutching her stomach and laughing loudly: "Hahaha! Only a few minutes apart, how come you look like you just crawled out of a coal kiln!"

Huo La and Xiao Gang looked at each other, seeing the embarrassment in each other's eyes—the charcoal ash in the volcanic smoke almost covered their whole bodies, their hair and clothes were full of black marks, and even Aerodactyl's originally gray-brown scales were covered with a layer of black, except for the back where the two of them were sitting, which still had a piece of clean original color.

"Magmar, take them to wash up, really two impatient brats." Blaine walked over slowly, pushed his sunglasses, shook his head helplessly, his tone not carrying much reproach, but rather a hint of indulgence of an elder looking at a junior.

As soon as the words fell, a fiery red figure suddenly jumped down from the rock wall beside it, landing steadily in the center of the field.

It was a sturdy Magmar, its whole body wreathed in faint heat waves. It shook its head at Huo La and Xiao Gang, and pointed to the passage behind the rock wall, clearly signaling them to follow.

Huo La couldn't care about the embarrassment anymore. Anyway, Blaine had already appeared, and the matter of challenging the Gym wasn't urgent for a moment, so cleaning off this charcoal ash was the priority.

He nodded at Blaine and followed Magmar toward the passage with Xiao Gang.

Huo La and Xiao Gang, who had finished washing, returned to the battle field above the magma with Magmar. The charcoal ash on their bodies had been completely washed away, and they finally returned to a refreshed appearance.

But Bilan saw Huo La's cool hat, which had been smoked to the point where it was impossible to distinguish its original color or dust, and couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle, even her shoulders shaking slightly.

Blaine looked the two over, the corners of his mouth hooking into a smile that wasn't a smile. It was more like a joke from an elder to a junior than a mockery: "Two brats, quite bold, and quite impatient. I was busy dealing with private matters just now and didn't have time to open the door, but you two are good, directly drilling into the crater and breaking in."

Huo La muttered subconsciously: "Who told you to be full and have nothing to do, setting the Gym so hidden, and hiding it inside the crater."

"Hmm?" Blaine raised his eyebrows, the gaze behind the sunglasses becoming sharp.

Huo La felt a chill in his heart, hurriedly straightened his expression, stepped forward, and gave Blaine a solemn Trainer salute: "Gym Leader Blaine, I am a Trainer from Pallet Town, Huo La, here specifically today to officially challenge the Cinnabar Gym!"

As the words fell, the atmosphere of the entire battle field changed instantly.

The bubbling sound of magma surging became clearer, and the firelight on the rock wall reflected on Blaine's sunglasses, refracting cold light.

"Huo La?"

Blaine pushed his sunglasses and walked slowly to the other end of the battle field: "Since you are here to challenge, then follow the Gym rules—1-on-1 battle, as long as you can win against my Pokémon, the Volcano Badge is yours."

"1-on-1?"

Huo La took a deep breath and clenched the Poké Ball at his waist. Sure enough, it was as rough as in his memory, one round to decide the outcome. The opponent should be that Magmar. ===== CHAPTER 215 =====