Chapter 153: The Conflict Between Mikuri and Fladali!

"There's no mistake, the giant stone must be somewhere around here!"

Da Wu murmured,

Everyone's gaze fell on the two square altars protruding on the left and right sides of the vast plaza,

Shirona seemed to have seen some rare treasure, she quickly stepped forward, her eyes closely examining the appearance of the altar.

She walked around the altar,

Seeing the ancient script hidden beneath the moss, her admiration overflowed.

By comparison, everyone else's performance was much more normal,

but they also quickly surrounded the two altars tightly.

The more playful Yurie, however, focused all her attention on the two semicircular grooves at the center of each altar, as well as the circular groove in the middle.

Crouching at the edge of the groove,

Looking at the hollow part about a meter deep below, Yurie showed a curious expression.

"Pigeon, do you think there might be a hidden space down here?"

"Probably, after all, if you could hide the giant stone, it would be underground."

Clemont thought of the magical staircase behind the door, and he was already deeply impressed by the ancients' wisdom.

"Right, Ash, you have Waveguide Power, don't you? Do you know what's down there?"

Serena's words awakened everyone, and all eyes instantly turned to Ash.

Facing the various gazes of the crowd, Ash nodded slightly.

"The giant stone is indeed down here."

In an instant, everyone abandoned the altars and gathered around the opening in the center.

"We really found it."

"So the giant stone was here all along!"

Fladali took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Come over, get ready to act."

"Understood, we have already located your position and will arrive shortly."

The members of Team Flare, who had been on standby, immediately sprang into action.

A massive aircraft at least a hundred meters long and over sixty meters wide flew up into the sky, finally stopping in the open area outside the ruins.

The hatch opened, and multiple multifunctional vehicles drove in, leaving everyone bewildered.

Da Wu looked at Fladali in confusion, "What is this?"

"It's naturally to investigate the composition of the giant stone so we can safely harness this energy."

Seeing everyone nod in understanding, Fladali immediately waved his hand.

"Alright, start drilling, let's pull out the giant stone."

As his words fell,

The machines sprang into action, a huge drill extending from the vehicles, about to destroy the ruins.

Just then,

Mikuri, who had been on standby, stepped forward.

"Wait!"

But the operators of the machines were all Team Flare members; without the boss's order, they naturally had no intention of stopping.

"Ice Beam!"

A red light shot out from the Poké Ball,

Soon, a creature seven meters long, resembling a water snake, appeared.

She had a cream-colored body, red hair-like fins, lower half with red-and-blue scales, and tail with four rugby-ball-shaped scales.

(Picture shows Qilulian, Hakelong, Meinasu; listeners interested can pause to view.)

Hakelong's erroneous (correct) evolution direction

At this moment,

From this Pokémon's mouth, a sudden icy blue beam shot out, instantly freezing the operating machinery.

"Meinasu?!"

"What a beautiful spirit!"

"But what on earth is going on?"

Fladali's gaze fell on Ash, Shirona, and Da Wu,

In his view, as long as the duke and the two champions don't object, others naturally need not worry,

During this process, the three maintained silence in unison.

Seeing this, Fladali felt reassured, yet he did not know……

The reason the three did not act,

Shirona thought it was none of her business and kept her distance,

while Ash and Da Wu both believed he could not be Mikuri's opponent.

After all, this is the person Da Wu intended to entrust with the champion's position.

Fladali looked at Mikuri.

"Mr. Mikuri, please give me an explanation!"

However, Mikuri was lost in his own admiration of the ruins, showing a pleased expression.

"There's no mistake, this is the place where the ancestors of the Meteor People and the Glass People worshiped Rayquaza, and I……"

Mi Ke Li's tone shifted, and his gaze became incredibly resolute.

"As a descendant of the people of Liuli, I naturally cannot stand by while you destroy this place."

"Is the massive stone right before our eyes, yet we must halt our advance just to protect the relics?"

Yet Mi Ke Li remained steadfast, his stance unwavering.

"I will not yield."

Fu La Da Li frowned, his eyes signaling Ai Lan to deal with the trouble.

However,

When his gaze fell on Ai Lan, all he could see was the back of the person, under Ash's command, busy clearing altar moss with a wooden stick.

Noticing Ash supervising Ai Lan's work nearby,

Fu La Da Li sighed, having shouldered everything himself, and stepped forward.

"Then let us duel to decide the winner."

"Fine! Then we'll settle it with battle," Mi Ke Li said, clearly confident in his own strength.

"Go, Gyarados!"

The imagined massive blue Gyarados never materialized,

instead, appearing before everyone's eyes was a wholly crimson Shiny Gyarados.

"It's actually a Shiny Gyarados!"

"Just like A Du Champion's Gyarados!"

While the crowd gasped,

Mi Ke Li was also slightly surprised, but recalling Fu La Da Li's princely status and assets,

acquiring a Shiny creature was naturally easy, so he didn't find it odd.

Moreover,

a Shiny doesn't boost combat power, nothing to fear!

"Mega Evolution!"

Since they decided to settle the trouble with battle,

Fu La Da Li naturally had no intention of holding back, also to intimidate Ai Lan and show off his muscles.

"Representative can even Ultra‑evolve..."

"The Shiny Gyarados has grown huge!"

The Super Gyarados stood 6.5 m tall, its body length exaggerated, reaching over ten meters,

its presence instantly eclipsed Mei Na Si, prompting gasps from the crowd.

Even Da Wu, upon seeing the scene, clenched his fists, worrying a bit for his friend.

Only…

In Ash's eyes, however, this battle was a completely different picture,

Mei Na Si at level 100, Gyarados at level 92;

the gap between each later level was like a sky‑chasm,

let alone the eight sky‑chasm here,

such a massive level disparity, even Super Evolution could hardly bridge, meaning the battle's outcome was sealed from the start.

"Freeze Beam!"

"Crunch!"

Mei Na Si's mouth slightly opened, endless cold emanated around it, forming frost, as a blue energy sphere rapidly coalesced,

Swish!

From the blue sphere burst an icy‑blue beam!

Super Gyarados gaped its ferocious maw, black energy solidified and gathered on its fangs, making it look even more feral.

Gyarados spun its body, like a high‑speed drill thrusting forward.

The Freeze Beam first collided with Crunch, the two energies devouring each other wildly, but clearly Mei Na Si's Freeze Beam was stronger, forcing the Crunch energy to retreat.

Fortunately, due to the spin, part of the Freeze Beam's energy was flung away,

but in the end…

Mid‑flight, a thick layer of ice crystals coated Super Gyarados's body, freezing it into an ice statue.

Swish!

Before Super Gyarados's body hit the ground,

Mei Na Si launched another Freeze Beam, targeting the ground where Super Gyarados had fallen.

Bang!

Super Gyarados landed, two solid ice blocks colliding without affecting each other, directly preventing the relic's floor from being damaged.

"Gyarados is frozen…"

"Representative lost?"

"There's still a chance; Super Gyarados hasn't exited Ultra‑evolution, has it?"

The Flame Flash Squad subordinate finished speaking, and the next moment, brilliant light flashed over the ice‑sculpted Super Gyarados, ending its Ultra‑evolution.

"This…"

Fu La Da Li and the rest of the Flame Flash Squad members were all stunned by the sight.

How could it end up like this?

"I can't accept this!"