Chapter 123: Sudden Explosion!

Just as Xiao Gang was marveling while circling the Ivysaur, Huo La had already reached the video call terminal at the Pokemon Center and deftly dialed his home number.

As soon as the call connected, Mother's face came up close to the screen, her tone full of affection: "My good son, you finally remembered to call Mom! Let Mom see if you've lost weight on this trip, or if you haven't been eating properly?"

Through the screen, Huo La could feel the overwhelming motherly love; he scratched his head a bit embarrassed and said, "Mom… I'm fine, I haven't lost weight."

"You child, I still don't know you?" Mother sighed on the other end, her tone a little exasperated, "If everything were fine you wouldn't call me on your own. Tell me, are you out of money again? Was the allowance I gave you last time not enough?"

"Um… I have money; I just asked Dad for some yesterday," Huo La hurriedly explained.

"Hm?" Mother let out a light gasp, her voice tinged with doubt, "He still has money to give you? I recall I only left 20,000 League Coins for him as pocket money before I left. Where did his money come from?"

Huo La was startled, then remembered the 100,000 League Coins his father transferred yesterday—indeed a heavy fatherly love, giving him his private stash.

"Ahem, Mom, I'm not calling for money this time," Huo La quickly changed the subject, waving toward the back, "I wanted to tell you that my Bulbasaur has evolved into an Ivysaur!"

"Ivysaur!" the Ivysaur immediately leaned into the screen, its huge blossom swaying gently toward the camera as if greeting Huo La's mother.

On the other end, Mother's Ivysaur quickly appeared in the frame; the two Ivysaurs faced each other across the screen, both emitting a "Ivysaur~" cry, making the scene especially warm.

But at that moment, a violent explosion rang out, the screen instantly garbled, and the signal then cut off completely.

Huo La's face darkened, and he sprang to his feet: "Xiao Gang, what's happening?"

His first thought was that Bilan had ignored the warning and gone off with him to raid the game hall.

"I don't know!" Xiao Gang panicked too, looking out the window, "The sound seems to come from the Rainbow Gym! Bad news, Ms. Bamboo is still inside the Gym! I'm coming!"

Before the words finished, Xiao Gang had already dashed toward the Rainbow Gym.

Huo La exhaled—a Rainbow Gym incident most likely wasn't Bilan's fault.

When Ms. Bamboo gave the Leaf Stone, she mentioned a youngster with a Pikachu came to challenge the Gym; now it seems it's probably Ash and the Rocket Team causing trouble again.

"Let's go, Ivysaur, we'll check it out; maybe we can help," Huo La patted the Ivysaur's leaf and hurried after.

Just as he reached the Rainbow Gym entrance, Huo La saw the anxious Xiao Xia and Lilian—their Staryu and Seel were spraying water inside the Gym, trying to suppress the flames, but the fire inside was enormous.

"Xiao Xia, Lilian, are you okay? Where are Ash and Xiao Gang?" Huo La hurried forward to ask.

"We're fine!" Xiao Xia wiped sweat from her face, voice urgent, "Ash is still inside, hasn't come out, Xiao Gang just rushed in to look for him! It looks like the Rocket Team's people caused this, they planted a bomb in the Gym!"

Huo La clicked his tongue, watching the blazing flames inside the Gym, his brows furrowing tighter; the fire was far larger than any scene he remembered—what's up with the Rocket Team this time?

At that moment, Bilan arrived, panting heavily; seeing the blaze and hearing Xiao Xia's words, she immediately tried to rush inside: "No, we have to go in and save them! I have a Squirtle that can put out fire!"

"Wait!" Huo La grabbed her, voice stern, "The fire inside is that intense; a secondary explosion could still occur. If you go in you won't just fail to rescue anyone, you'll also get caught yourself!"

"Then what do we do? We can't just watch them trapped inside!" Bilan stamped her foot anxiously.

The earlier explosion was so powerful that, although it didn't affect the nearby Pokemon Center, the Rainbow Gym was built on highly flammable timber; without clearing and containment, the fire spreads easily.

Huo La gritted his teeth, pulled a deep‑blue stone from his pack, and handed the Water Stone to Bilan: "Take this, evolve Squirtle into Wartortle. You'll use Wartortle outside to suppress the fire while we wait for firefighters; the Ivysaur will cooperate with you, using Razor Leaf to clear flammable material. I'll go inside to find Ash and Xiao Gang."

After speaking, Huo La took out three Pokeballs and tossed them forcefully: "Nidoqueen, Scolipede, Noibat, follow me!" Nidoqueen will use Rock Block to isolate the flames, Scolipede will cut the scorching airflow with air blades, and Noibat will scout the route with Supersonic, clearing a path for me.

The three Pokemon responded at once; Nidoqueen acted first, massive rocks rose from the ground, forming a safe passage through the flames;

Scolipede flapped its wings upward, its sharp air blades slashing the oncoming heat wave;

Noibat circled in the air, using Supersonic to probe the interior of the Gym.

Bilan held the Water Stone in her hand, silent for a moment, then turned and pulled out Squirtle's Pokeball: "Squirtle, there are our friends trapped inside now and they need our help, will you come with me?"

"Squirtle!" Squirtle called firmly, its eyes full of resolve.

"Alright, then let's evolve!" Bilan inhaled deeply, pressing the Water Stone tightly against Squirtle's crown.

A dazzling white flash erupted instantly, Squirtle's body rapidly enlarged within the light, its shell hardened further, and two massive water cannons sprouted from its back.

Moments later, the white light faded, and a huge, imposing Wartortle stood where Squirtle had been.

"Wartortle, use your most powerful water cannon, aim at the densest part of the fire and suppress it!" Bilan shouted.

"Blastoise!" Wartortle thrust its back cannons upward, two thick streams of water gushed out, precisely targeting the Gym's flames.

With Wartortle's addition, the raging fire was instantly quelled, and the air temperature gradually dropped.

"Cough… cough…" The thick smoke choked Huo La, who covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve, waving away the swirling ash; his view was filled with charred foliage and debris, the once‑elegant Gym now a wreck.

Noibat hovered overhead, its Supersonic waves blocked by dense plant debris, the feedback garbled, making it impossible to determine a safe route.

Huo La turned and shouted into the air, "Old Ghost, go in first and scout! Find out where Ash and the others are, give me a clear path—there's too much burnt vegetation here for Supersonic to work."

"Got it, troublesome little ghost," Gastly's voice echoed from within Huo La, and the next second a pale‑purple mist drifted from his collar, like a nimble shadow riding the hot air, instantly diving into the dense fog and vanishing.

Huo La slowed his pace, carefully staying behind Nidoqueen, and shouted, "Ash—! Xiao Gang—! Li Jia Guan Zhu—! Can you hear me? Respond!"

The shout echoed through the thick smoke, and Huo La felt his heart tighten; the longer the delay, the greater the danger.

At that moment, a wisp of pale‑purple mist drifted from the dense fog ahead, Gastly's voice following: "Little ghost, go left! Bypass the collapsing column; Xiao Gang and the green‑haired girl are together; the female Gym leader is in the Pei Yu Shi behind; Ash is with her, but the Pei Yu Shi's door seems jammed!"

Huo La's eyes lit up, and he sprinted toward the direction Gastly indicated: "Copy! Noibat, Scolipede, use air blades to clear the broken wood ahead!"

Noibat and Scolipede immediately dove down, their wings generating sharp gusts that sliced the obstructing broken wood and charred vines into fragments, carving a passage for Huo La.