Chapter 30: Dragonite VS Moltres

Heavenly fire plummeted to the earth, easily igniting the weeds of the wasteland; the scorching flames turned the surroundings into a veritable hell on earth, while black smoke generated by the combustion billowed upward.

With such a commotion, even out in the suburbs, it would inevitably be noticed by the people of Pingdie Town sooner or later, and it probably wouldn't be long before the sirens of the police car driven by Miss Miss Junsha could be heard.

We must settle this quickly.

Mimikyu followed at Luo Mu's side, its massive Shadow Claw tearing through the sheets of fire; Luo Mu raised his head, fearlessly meeting Moltres's crimson pupils, and shouted loudly: "Dragonite!"

A gale rushed against their faces; Moltres merely blinked, and Dragonite was already hovering silently before it.

Moltres's pupils instantly constricted; disregarding its heart pounding violently from Dragonite's flight speed, it realized Dragonite was flying even higher than itself. Feeling its authority challenged, Moltres let out a sharp cry, and a hot wind carrying scorching embers swept toward Dragonite.

"Bwooo!!"

Dragonite flapped its wings rapidly; in an instant, the airflow was churned by Dragonite, and the howling gale seemed to form a domain that not only completely neutralized the hot wind but also carved countless tiny wind blades formed from the airflow onto Moltres's body as testament to its achievements.

While controlling the Hurricane, Dragonite let out a sky-shaking dragon roar toward the heavens; thick dark clouds instantly gathered, and raindrops the size of beans fell like a waterfall.

Rain Dance and Hurricane formed the perfect combination technique; as the raindrops contacted the flames on Moltres's body, they evaporated into white steam that lingered over the battlefield in the sky. Relying on its bottomless stamina, Moltres forcibly endured the attack, but that was all it could do.

For it to escape the cage created by Dragonite using its own power was too difficult.

Moltres tried using Hurricane to clash with Dragonite's Hurricane, and it also tried using its signature Fire Blast to blast open a path, but all of this was easily neutralized by Dragonite.

Mimikyu's Shadow Claw propped above Luo Mu's head to shield him from the rain while the wind blew at the hem of his clothes; Luo Mu observed Moltres's move power, demeanor, and experience, already forming a judgment in his heart.

This Moltres was very young; both its mentality and the undeniable immaturity it displayed when using moves spoke of how shallow this Moltres's battle experience and worldly knowledge were.

Dragonite's Hurricane and Rain Dance were not unbreakable; for instance, during the Champion Assessment in the Paldea League, Geeta's General Pu Dao had forcibly broken through with sheer power.

In the few seconds Luo Mu spent pondering, Moltres seemed to finally find the trick; its flying energy transformed into a brave bird engulfed in passionate sky-blue flames, wrapping around its body. At the cost of adding several deep wounds to itself, Moltres exerted its full strength, striking like an eagle soaring through the sky, and forcibly broke through the wind domain.

Dragonite blinked, feeling no anger that its domain had been breached by Moltres, and simply maintained its flight posture while watching Moltres panting heavily in a wretched state.

Noticing that the injuries on Moltres's body were still self-repairing at an extremely rapid pace, Luo Mu sighed that legendary Pokémon truly possessed immense resources, along with their heaven-sent talents; they had found the weakness in the combination technique so quickly and decisively completed the breakthrough at the cost of injury.

His thoughts concluded, and remembering the need to settle this quickly, Luo Mu waved his right hand and shouted toward the sky: "Thunder!"

Dragonite responded with extreme speed; a muffled thunderclap exploded within the thick dark clouds, lightning snakes churning atop them, and in an instant, a vast surge of golden electricity swept across the sky. As if it were the judgment of the Thunder God, the current transformed into a violent sea of thunder that continuously exploded upon Moltres's body.

The deafening roar that vibrated one's eardrums was incessant; Luxray's golden eyes looked toward the sky, and it nodded in satisfaction.

This Thunder move of Dragonite's had a bit of its own, Luxray's, style.

At the Pingdie Town Police Station, Miss Miss Junsha, having received the report, opened the window and looked at the thick thunderclouds gathering only over that area in the suburbs, while above her own head, the sky remained clear and sunny.

Beside Miss Miss Junsha, her Growlithe's body was trembling uncontrollably with its tail tucked between its legs, yet it still let out a threatening growl toward the sky.

Miss Miss Junsha tightened her grip on the police car keys and murmured to herself: "If I die in the line of duty, there should be a pension, right?"

Farm, Lake District.

Luo Mu watched the massive crater rapidly taking shape under Dragonite's relentless bombardment and asked Mimikyu at his side: "Once we divert the lake water here, how about naming this lake Thunder Roar Lake in the future?"

Mimikyu, who always deferred to Luo Mu, naturally nodded in agreement.

The roar of Thunder continued for a full minute.

The thunder gradually subsided, the sea of thunder dissipated, and the figure of the target of Dragonite's attack, Moltres, slowly emerged.

Most of Moltres's feathers had now turned charred black, the flames burning on its body had become incredibly faint, and even its flight, which should have been instinctual, had become unsteady and wavering.

Undoubtedly, Moltres was now at the end of its rope.

Even reduced to this state, Moltres still kept its dilated pupils open, stubbornly refusing to fall to the ground.

"Good heavens, a legendary Pokémon's stamina is truly outrageous." Luo Mu's expression was one of awe, and a trace of respect rose in his heart; Moltres's performance had truly lived up to its naturally noble status.

For some reason, Moltres's dilated pupils looked toward Luo Mu on the ground, whose figure remained untouched by the raindrops and as carefree as when he had arrived, as if wanting to imprint Luo Mu's appearance into the depths of its heart.

Bearing respect for Moltres's indomitable perseverance, Luo Mu spoke to put an end to this battle whose outcome had been decided from the very beginning: "Dragon Pulse."

A pale blue dragon-shaped phantom let out a high-pitched dragon cry toward the sky and, under Dragonite's control, shot through the air, completely engulfing Moltres's body.

Dragonite versus Moltres, Dragonite wins!

By the time Moltres woke up, it was already night.

Miss Miss Junsha, who had come to investigate, had already been sent away by Luo Mu with some fabricated excuses; Moltres's body, covered in scars, had also been properly treated by Luo Mu, and even some bone-deep wounds had mostly healed.

"Awake?"

Luo Mu sat on a small chair and added a piece of firewood to the crackling bonfire burning before him.

Moltres rotated its pupils and let out a weak cry from its beak, seemingly puzzled as to why Luo Mu would treat it; it couldn't even feel the sense of restraint that comes after being captured in a Poké Ball.

Although Moltres was young, it still knew most common sense.

For instance, legendary Pokémon like itself were creatures that trainers flocked to capture; during the time it was defeated by Dragonite, heavily injured, and unconscious, it absolutely would not have had the strength to resist the power of a Poké Ball, so the success rate of capture would have been one hundred percent.

Luo Mu tilted his head; whether it was a special ability unique to legendary Pokémon or not, he could actually understand Moltres's meaning. In response to Moltres's confusion, Luo Mu countered with a question: "Why would I capture you? Are you willing to be captured?"

Moltres felt that it was not willing; if it woke up to find itself inside a Poké Ball, the most likely outcome would be that it would struggle desperately or completely disobey orders.

"Then that settles it." Luo Mu brushed the dust from his palms, leaned close to Moltres, and smiled as he said: "Besides, your power isn't strong enough yet for me to be impatient to capture you."

Moltres awkwardly turned its head away; although what Luo Mu said was correct, once it had calmed down from its rage, it indeed realized that at that time, every Pokémon at Luo Mu's side was one it could not defeat.

But why, in its heart, was there a hint of disappointment hidden alongside its unwillingness?

Moltres only felt that this emotion was exceptionally unfamiliar.