Bam—!
Boom boom!!!
For the first time, horror appeared on Ninetales's face.
With a single kick empowered by Sacred Fire, the blow sent the Shiny Ninetales—who had always maintained an elegant, ethereal posture—smashing straight into the ground, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
Not to mention how much damage that kick dealt to the Shiny Ninetales; the mere fact that it managed to knock her out of that "posing" state was already more than enough.
Once that refined, noble, and elegant appearance was gone, what was left of this Champion-level Shiny Ninetales?
Wasn't she simply... a Champion-level Pokémon?
Well, yes, she was still Champion-level.
But the problem was that she was no longer the only one with Champion-level power. Down below, waiting for quite some time, was the Mega Gengar who was also at the Champion level.
And not only that—around Gengar were many companions, while Ninetales was completely alone.
Before the battle began, when she had let out that howl toward the sky, Cain had thought she was calling for reinforcements. Now it seemed that was not the case.
Even so, the strength of this Shiny Ninetales was truly terrifying. Even in that situation, the counterattacks she launched while resisting still caused considerable damage to Cain's Pokémon.
Fortunately, with Florges present, as long as the injuries were not too severe, given some time they could recover.
"Ninetals!"
After quite a while, with a faint whimper, Ninetales finally lost her ability to fight and collapsed to the ground.
However, the excitement on the faces of Cain's Pokémon had not completely faded. Being able to defeat a Champion-level Pokémon like this was the best proof of their growth so far.
Although the victory had been achieved through an encirclement and by taking advantage of numerical superiority, none of them thought that was something shameful.
This had always been a world ruled by the law of the strongest. Having powerful companions was also a form of strength. There was no need to defeat an enemy in a one-on-one fight to prove one's worth.
Cain and Florges slowly approached the unconscious Shiny Ninetales, looking at her fur now covered in dust.
This Ninetales made Cain hesitate.
Capture her... or not?
Either way, her strength was astonishing. Moreover, she had her own combat style and very distinctive methods. From what had been seen in the fight, she was also an extremely proud Pokémon, with ideas of her own.
Cain was not sure that even if he managed to capture her, she would obey his commands.
After hesitating for a moment, he took out an empty Ultra Ball and threw it at her. After all, she was a fully developed Champion-level Pokémon, with enormous value. Even within Mt. Silver, she belonged to the absolute elite.
Capturing her would surely provoke some opposition from the League, but if he succeeded—even if only to use her temporarily as a transition—the value would still be extremely high.
However, after absorbing her, the Ultra Ball shook several times... and then opened again.
The capture failed.
The Ninetales that emerged once more from the Ultra Ball woke from her unconsciousness, staggering as she got to her feet. Her eyes were fixed on Cain, and constant whimpers escaped her mouth, as if she were complaining to someone about the injustice she had suffered.
Cain slowly furrowed his brow. He had not expected her to wake up so quickly.
Just as he was about to order his Pokémon to attack again, Blaziken at his side suddenly shouted, "Blaaazk!"
Immediately afterward, the other Pokémon also showed tense expressions, even more serious than when they had first faced Ninetales. Even Gengar, who had not yet exited his Mega Evolution state, wore a grim look.
In contrast, an expression of relief appeared on Ninetales's face.
The temperature of the entire valley suddenly began to rise, and Blaziken, the most sensitive to heat, was the first to notice the anomaly.
"KRASHIAR!"
A clear, resonant bird cry pierced the entire valley. The place, which had previously been somewhat gloomy, was completely illuminated, as if a small sun had appeared in the sky.
Cain's expression changed drastically. He snapped his head up and saw a Pokémon he did not even want to look at directly.
It was Moltres!
It was descending from the mountain peak, gliding toward the valley with an overwhelming presence.
Seeing Moltres appear so openly and with such obvious intent to settle accounts, there was no need to think much to know that it had been summoned by the Shiny Ninetales before them.
Cain knew Moltres quite well, and had even had close contact with one.
The last time, when Team Rocket had attempted to obtain the DNA of the Three Legendary Birds, Cain had participated in that operation. Taking advantage of Moltres being unconscious, he had extracted a large amount of its blood. Part of that blood had been mixed into the Pokéblocks that Blaziken was currently consuming, improving its affinity with the Fire type and its control over it.
He had not expected to see another Moltres here.
And judging by its presence alone, this Moltres could not be compared at all to the one from the Seafoam Islands that needed Lugia's protection to survive.
Whether it was the flames on its wings or its plumage, this Moltres looked far more majestic, closer to a true deity.
Fwoosh!
The entire valley was bathed in blazing light. Moltres's flames were far more intense than those of Ninetales, or even Blaziken.
"KRAAASHIIAARR!"
Moltres let out another long cry and descended to stand beside Ninetales. Already wreathed in fire, even its eyes now burned with flames.
Seeing Ninetales's serious condition, it knew it had arrived too late.
The Ninetales who had always maintained a noble and elegant demeanor now showed a pitiful, fragile expression in front of Moltres.
Several black lines appeared once again on Cain's forehead.
Big sister... if you have such a tough backing, couldn't you have warned me before fighting? That way I'd at least know how much strength to use.
If you had shouted from the start, "my father is so-and-so," I definitely wouldn't have attacked so hard, right?
And besides, let's be fair: you were the one who attacked first!
I was talking to you calmly, and you threw a fireball right at my face.
Alright, yes, we used numerical superiority and even openly said that having companions is also a form of strength... but you call over such a powerful Moltres so quickly— isn't that a bit excessive?
Cain's face was filled with indescribable bitterness, but Moltres seemed not to pay the slightest attention to his expression.
The flames on its body rose and slowly began to transfer to the Ninetales beside it, helping her recover her injuries.
At that moment, Ninetales's ability had already returned to normal. Moltres's flames, interacting with the Flash Fire ability, allowed part of her internal energy to be restored.
Although it was not enough for a full recovery, it at least ensured that she would not fall unconscious again.
(End of chapter)