Chapter 640: The Star of Victory and Rebirth from Fire (6K)

"V-Heat!?"

Xiao Zhi, who was clearly sitting in the spectator stands, nearly jumped to his feet as he cried out in shock.

Yet another move he had never heard of before!

"I can't find any related information on the Navigator either!"

Xiao Sheng beside him was just as excited, but because he was so small, Xiao Yao had her hands on his shoulders, holding him down so he couldn't stand up.

Unable to tear his eyes away from the spectacular battle between powerful trainers, Ah Long asked, "Can Young Lady Xiao Tong find anything?"

In his impression, Xiao Tong, holding her handheld computer, was like an omniscient encyclopedia; perhaps she would know or be able to find something.

Asked by him, Xiao Tong shook her head. "Since even the Navigator connected to the Devon Corporation database cannot find related information, I most likely won't find anything on my end either."

"However—"

Xiao Tong's voice paused; her gaze, through her lenses, fixed on the computer screen on her lap where the camera had been activated, showing data analysis fluctuating violently.

"Flame temperature is rising rapidly, and energy concentration is compressing with an unbelievable degree of aggregation—it's coming!"

When uttering the three words "it's coming," Xiao Tong's voice even cracked slightly from surprise.

Everyone's gaze immediately concentrated on the battle platform.

With the fiercely colliding Salamence and Moltres as the backdrop.

Victini, surging with a brilliant golden aura named "Victory Surge," flew toward Haxorus like a fiery meteor, the V-shape on its head growing increasingly scorching.

Its Ability is named "Victory Star," which in the game has the effect of increasing the accuracy of itself and its allies.

But in this world, "Victory Star" clearly possesses power far beyond that level.

It is a Mythical Pokémon that uses Victory Surge as nourishment for growth; legend says that a trainer carrying Victini will be invincible.

Put another way, the stronger the trainer and the more times they taste victory, the more Victory Surge Victini obtains, making it stronger!

For Victini, the more than half-year spent following Luo Mu allowed it to taste Victory Surge far stronger than during its thousand years staying in Eindoak!

This enabled it to gradually master its two signature moves, which in the past it could only use during moments of high spirits.

And V-Heat, a move with a base power of up to 180 in the game—almost the peak of ordinary moves excluding self-destruct techniques, and even comparable to many Z-Moves.

—Its power is even immeasurable.

Under what could be called a powerful combination of enhancements, the V-shape on Victini's forehead burst forth with dazzling light; endless golden-orange flames gushed out, enveloping its body, frantically burning the surrounding air, and propelling Victini to charge recklessly at Haxorus.

The fiercely burning flames even affected the intense aerial battle above, causing Salamence and Moltres to repeatedly glance over.

Relying on his seasoned experience, Genji instantly realized that this move of Victini's seemed somewhat beyond the standard limits.

But now, whether changing tactics to retreat or dodging sideways, it was already too late; instinct told Genji this move was impossible to evade, and Haxorus had no choice but to take the hit head-on!

"Full-power Outrage!"

Veins bulging on Genji's forehead, his hoarse, weathered voice echoed throughout the space, as if amplified by a loudspeaker.

As a captain who had spent years riding the waves at sea, it was only natural for Genji to possess such a voice.

"Roar!" Haxorus threw back its head and let out a high howl; immediately, terrifying crimson waves of light surged up its entire body, its eyes covered in red glow, its aura becoming soaring and ferocious!

Under the effect of Outrage, Haxorus's already powerful physical capabilities nearly doubled.

Taking powerful strides, Haxorus rushed forward like a rampaging savage beast, fearlessly charging toward Victini, which had nearly transformed into a miniature sun!

Boom—!

A violent explosion erupted from the center of their collision.

The pillar of fire and tremendous noise made the entire Battle Tower tremble; whether spectators, commentators, or Luo Mu and Genji, everyone's vision was firmly locked on the billowing smoke rising up.

—Who held the advantage?

Moments later, the thick smoke dissipated.

On one side was Haxorus, covered in burn marks, kneeling on the ground.

On the other was Victini, panting heavily; although it had some minor injuries and blue light effects indicating stat reductions kept appearing on its body, it still retained most of its ability to move.

Just then, amidst a chorus of gasps from the audience.

A figure, like a sky predator descending from above, carried strong air currents and headed straight for Victini!

It was Salamence, using the thick smoke to conceal its tracks, planning to inflict heavy damage on Victini while it was weakened!

Victini's pupils contracted slightly, but at this moment, it would likely be very difficult for it to dodge Salamence's long-planned attack.

Fortunately, another reliable figure also descended from the sky, blocking in front of Victini and taking Salamence's attack head-on!

It was Moltres!

"Teemi!"

Victini softly thanked Moltres; Moltres merely shook its head, signaling it to focus on the enemy.

Even with Victory Star, it was known to everyone on the farm that Victini was not skilled in battle.

Therefore, from the very beginning, Moltres had kept an eye on Victini, prepared to use its own durability bar to protect Victini, this squishy little one.

"Releasing a move of such tremendous power inevitably comes with accompanying costs and massive consumption, doesn't it?"

Although Salamence's attack failed, looking at Victini panting heavily behind Moltres, Genji inexplicably felt a sense of relief.

Fortunately, this isn't a move that can be released infinitely; otherwise, there would be no point in fighting at all.

Although Haxorus suffered heavy injuries, relying on the robust physique forged over decades sailing the seas with Genji and tempering itself under wind and waves, it still retained some combat capability and did not collapse directly.

What Genji could think of, how could Luo Mu not think of it as well?

Looking at Victini's slightly exhausted state, Luo Mu did not feel surprised.

From the moment he issued the command "V-Heat," he had anticipated that this was a ultimate move that, aside from having no recoil damage, would consume a great deal of Victini's own energy.

Even possessing theoretically infinite energy, Victini's stamina still had an upper limit.

If it underwent arduous training, this limit might be raised, allowing Victini to use "V-Heat" freely, but that was nearly impossible.

Victini was simply not Luo Mu's main battle Pokémon; moreover, Luo Mu brought it out from Eindoak not to subject it to devilish hellish cultivation—it couldn't endure that kind of suffering anyway.

Luo Mu and Drake shared a remarkable tacit understanding.

Although it was a double battle, this exhibition match had discarded most of the brain-burning strategy and gambits; the lineups both sides sent out were of the hard-clashing type capable of providing an excellent visual spectacle, appealing even more to the "layman" audience outside the trainer community.

Only intense sound effects and physical collisions could ignite the excitement of the spectators.

"Truly, the younger generation is formidable."

Drake sighed as he looked at Luo Mu's face, far younger than his own, or even Wallace's and Steven's, while a trace of determination flashed in Emperor Yan Di's eyes.

"It seems that unless I bring it out, I have no way to gain the upper hand in this battle against you."

A deep, sharp light suddenly burst forth in Drake's eyes as he removed the captain's hat from his head.

Then—he flipped it to the other side!

There, embedded quietly in the center of the brim below, was a strangely shaped round stone.

That was, a Key Stone!

"Ride the wind and waves with me, my old partner, Mega Evolve!"

Drake lightly touched the Key Stone, and dazzling, brilliant light erupted forth.

This was an item Drake had accidentally obtained in some ruins on a nameless small island during a voyage not long ago.

It was only after Drake used his authority to consult the Hoenn League's documents, combined with his own exploration, that he discovered the possibility of this new evolution.

Originally, Drake had planned to reserve this ace card for use against any one of the Champions above him in the Champion League, which was routinely held after the upcoming Ever Grande Conference concluded.

But now he had changed his mind; he intended to use it here, under the gaze of the multitude, even if it meant exposing his ace card prematurely.

More loss than gain?

No!

He believed that winning this exhibition match would make him stronger!

On the surface of Salamence, a similarly smooth stone emerged from within its body, releasing chains of light that connected with the Key Stone in Drake's hand.

Under the astonished expressions of countless spectators, a blinding light representing evolution enveloped Salamence.

"Salamence can actually evolve again!?"

In the stands, even Hikari, who was usually calm and mature, could not hold back and cried out in surprise.

Amidst the light, Salamence's body began to change rapidly.

Its separated wings fused together, transforming into a single huge crescent-shaped dragon wing.

Its head, neck, torso, and tail all became slimmer, the pair of triangular wings on either side of its face grew significantly, and its tucked-in limbs made its form even more suited for flight.

"Roar—!"

Mega Salamence roared at the sky, and violent air currents exploded outward around its body.

The blood-stained crescent, a top-tier Mega Handler without equal, Mega Salamence has arrived!

Even Moltres felt suppressed by this state of Mega Salamence on the level of life hierarchy, and judging by its aura, its strength lagged comprehensively behind the opponent.

From Mega Salamence, it sensed a pressure similar to that of Dragonite.

To be honest, Luo Mu was somewhat surprised.

Logically speaking, in the current stage of the Pokémon world, aside from some families that had inherited knowledge from the past, those who mastered Mega Evolution were extremely few.

Even Steven and Wallace had not yet mastered it at this time.

—Drake had given himself a huge surprise.

"I'm suddenly a bit regretful I didn't send out Swampert and the others to fight; that way, they would have enjoyed the battle even more."

Murmuring softly while lowering his head, a trace of fighting spirit also surfaced in Luo Mu's Emperor Yan Di.

"I suppose you won't admit defeat in the domain of the sky either, so let's raise hell together!"

So what if his strength was one notch inferior?

Hadn't he himself gradually countered and overcome stronger foes step by step in the past? Admitting defeat immediately upon realizing one was inferior to the opponent was never Luo Mu's style of conduct.

"Brave Bird!"

"Double-Edge!"

The Divine Bird and the Giant Dragon exchanged a glance, their bodies wreathed in sky-blue flames, and collided without a second word.

—However, even some laymen could see that after Salamence completed its evolution, it completely suppressed Moltres, which had previously been evenly matched with it.

Down below, Haxorus and Victini were not idle either.

Not only did they need to launch attacks targeting the opponent to seek a two-versus-one advantage, but they also had to occasionally interfere, under their trainer's command, with the opposing Pokémon engaged in fierce aerial combat above.

From start to finish, this remained a two-on-two double battle; even if both sides "might" not produce any excellent coordination where one plus one is greater than two, the things that could be done must not be neglected.

At this moment, the commentator was already somewhat bewildered.

Clearly, Drake had ordered Salamence to use the Normal-type move "Double-Edge," so why was the manifestation of energy around it violent air currents?

This completely touched upon his blind spot of knowledge.

Luo Mu, however, understood the reason clearly.

After Mega Evolution, Salamence's Ability changed from "Intimidate" or "Moxie" to "Aerilate."

Its manifestation was that Normal-type moves transformed into Flying-type moves, while simultaneously increasing their power by a certain margin.

With the support of this Ability, Mega Salamence thoroughly became one of the highest-quality existences among Mega Evolved Pokémon.

After another intense collision, Moltres, which had flown backward several meters to dissipate the force, wore an ugly expression.

Aside from dealing with Dragonite, this was the first time it had suffered a setback in aerial combat.

However, compared to that time when it had almost no power to fight back, it was no longer passive now; its growth progress, which had stagnated for many years, had clearly been advanced by a large margin.

But relying solely on its current power, it still lacked just a bit of strength to defeat Mega Salamence, whose power increase after Mega Evolution was close to that of Swampert.

After all, previously Moltres could still rely on its longer stamina and health bar to trade blows with Salamence, but now that had become somewhat difficult.

Moltres's stamina was not infinite, a point that Luo Mu, who had once brought it down, understood better than anyone else.

—So when a Pokémon falls into a disadvantageous battle, it is up to its Trainer to carve out a path to victory from within the cracks.

Watching the collision between Moltres and Mega Salamence while remotely commanding Victini and Haxorus in their skirmish, Luo Mu was waiting for the perfect moment.

He was searching for an opportunity—

As an equally experienced top-tier Trainer, Drake was well aware of this fact.

But although alarm bells were ringing in his mind, he never expected that the opportunity Luo Mu was seeking would be so insane in his eyes.

Under Luo Mu's deliberate guidance, the collision point between Moltres and Mega Salamence drew closer and closer to the arena floor below.

Until, due to the chaotic side effects following Outrage, the gradually exhausting Haxorus exposed itself within Moltres's attack range.

"Victini, use Psychic to lock down Haxorus's movements; Moltres, use Brave Bird!"

Under Luo Mu's command, Moltres almost completely exposed its back to Mega Salamence.

But correspondingly, the Haxorus struggling desperately under Victini's Psychic restraint was also completely locked onto by Moltres.

Having taken another direct hit from Mega Salamence's Dragon Claw, Moltres became enveloped in brilliant golden flames, crashing violently into Haxorus!

Despite viciously biting Moltres after suffering consecutive heavy blows, the accumulated damage still caused Haxorus's vision to go black; its massive, muscular body swayed and fell to the ground with a "Thud," its tightly closed eyes turning into spirals.

"Haxorus is defeated! Contestant Luo Mu takes down Elite Four Drake's first Pokémon!"

The commentator's excited voice echoed throughout the entire Battle Tower via the loudspeakers.

"—But by doing this, he has completely exposed his back to Salamence!"

Hearing the commentator's seemingly regretful tone, Ash could no longer hold back; he shot up with a "Whoosh," shouting aloud: "Oh no!"

Watching Salamence appear behind Moltres at an incredibly fast flight speed, his heart instantly hung in the air.

Even for "Master of Quick Dodging" Ash to judge, he felt it was too late to dodge at this distance!

"Salamence, use Giga Impact!"

Even though he didn't understand why Luo Mu would leave such a huge opening just to finish off Haxorus, which would clearly lose the ability to battle first under Victini's attrition.

But since the opportunity had been seized, Drake naturally wasn't foolish enough to let it slip away.

Sensing the crisis approaching from behind, Moltres wanted to turn and counterattack, but at this distance, it was already too late.

Amidst a violent explosion, Moltres's body was instantly blown away, crashing onto the platform with a dull thud.

Its aura also plummeted rapidly, nearly about to follow in Haxorus's footsteps.

"Although it took down Haxorus, Moltres's condition has dropped to rock bottom, and Victini's state isn't much better; in contrast, Salamence is fighting more fiercely by the minute."

"Has Contestant Luo Mu reached his limit here—!?"

To many spectators supporting Drake, the commentator's questioning words were practically equivalent to declaring Drake's victory.

Some people were already about to pop the champagne.

Not being disturbed by outside noise is part of a Captain's Ji Ben Gong; although victory seemed near, Drake remained fully focused on everything happening on the platform.

—He noticed that, under Luo Mu's command, Victini had moved to Moltres's side.

Several possibilities flashed instantly through Drake's mind regarding the reason for Luo Mu's actions.

Healing? Helping with defense? Or planning to join forces for a final all-or-nothing gamble?

Regardless, there was only one thing he needed to do.

While recalling Haxorus with a raise of his hand, Drake shouted loudly: "Finish them off, one final Giga Impact!"

"Roaaar—!" Mega Salamence roared skyward, its front half enveloped in constantly swirling sky-blue currents, its blood-stained crescent-shaped wings slicing through the air as if to split the entire space in two.

Wherever it passed, countless sharp wind howls ground the scattered rubble on the ground into fine powder!

This was Drake's ace going all out with Aerilate-enhanced Giga Impact!

This was also the confidence backing his plan to challenge the Pokémon League again!

With Moltres and Victini's current conditions, there was likely absolutely no possibility of them withstanding this move.

—But that premise assumed they were fighting individually.

Double battles are never about Pokémon fighting each on their own; between Moltres and Victini, there existed entirely new possibilities.

This was a slightly cheating ability that Luo Mu originally hadn't planned to use.

But since Drake had already brought out Mega Evolution, using it himself carried no burden.

Why did Luo Mu risk letting Moltres suffer heavy injuries just to eliminate Haxorus first and liberate Victini?

The answer reveals itself now.

"Victini, use Helping Hand on Moltres."

"Moltres—Sacred Fire!"

Luo Mu's command rang out like a thunderclap from clear skies.

Under the gaze of countless eyes, Victini, sitting atop the barely re-airborne Moltres, placed its small hands upon it.

The brilliant golden aura that had briefly appeared when using "V-Create" surged upward; waves of victory pulsed around Victini before pouring entirely into Moltres's body!

"Tini!" (You've been buffed, go get 'em!)

As if it had become the Trainer itself, Victini pointed at Mega Salamence!

Fighting and killing really didn't suit it; this was the correct way to unlock its "Victory Star" ability!

At this moment, the multicolored fire seed within Moltres that it could not control began greedily devouring infinite energy to strengthen itself, just like a traveler who had journeyed for a long time through the desert.

After several months of effort, Moltres had already established a good relationship with this fire seed; although it sounded somewhat strange, while the seed was in a state of "pleasure," Moltres could now utilize the seed to transform its own flames into a higher-level existence.

Accompanied by Moltres's high-pitched cry, the flames burning brightly on its wings took on an iridescent sheen, and rainbow-colored blazing fire erupted forth like a volcanic explosion.

Healing wounds and descending as a divine flame of judgment, the fire transformed into a giant fiery divine bird, swallowing Mega Salamence whole!

As if capable of burning everything to ash, the fiery light exploded; amidst rumbling booms, the entire Battle Tower shook violently.

The spectators looked on in shock, while Drake's face wore an expression of astonishment.

Where on earth did a Moltres that looked like a flickering candle in the wind find the power to unleash such a powerful attack!?

A moment later.

The rainbow-colored Xiong Xiong flames vanished, exposing the battle platform, nearly carbonized.

—And revealing the figure of Salamence, having exited Mega Evolution and lost consciousness.

The injuries accumulated from the earlier aerial clash, combined with this "nuclear explosion" of the Super-Boosted Assist: Sacred Fire, meant that even Mega Salamence had exhausted its full strength yet could not win.

Thus, at the very second it was about to seal victory, it frustratingly lost its ability to fight.

And framed by those fading clusters of rainbow flames, Moltres, with most of its injuries healed, resembled a phoenix reborn from fire; its sacred form dazzled countless spectators!

"This—"

Even someone like Drake, who remained unmoved even if Taishan collapsed before him, shockingly lifted the brim of his captain's hat, his widened eyes repeatedly confirming everything before him.

Wait, how did you instantly defeat me and nearly return to full health instead!?

The commentators, after a brief shock, immediately spoke into their mics.

"Oh, oh, oh! An earth-shattering, sky-trembling reversal!"

"The combination move released jointly by Victini and Moltres has actually crushed the unstoppable Salamence!"

"In that case, the winner of this exhibition match is already obvious."

"After an intense battle, the winner of this special exhibition match at the Mossdeep City Battle Tower is—"

"Luo Mu, along with Moltres and Victini!"

After a brief silence, cheers nearly capable of blowing off the Battle Tower's roof erupted one after another.

Moltres and Victini raised their heads, savoring this hard-won victory.

Especially Victini; a massive surge of victory energy instantly flowed in, directly causing its little belly to swell until it stood upright!

(End of Chapter)