Charmeleon soared through the air, its tail tip blazing with pale white flame. It opened its mouth and unleashed a storm of fire that rained down like a shower of stars.
Every wooden platform was hit perfectly.
The ghostly white fire burned so fast that all the planks turned to ash in the blink of an eye.
Leafeon stared in utter disbelief.
Its footing was gone in an instant.
Worse — what was that flying up above?
That was Charmeleon, right?
Since when could Charmeleon fly?!
The next moment,
a raging pillar of flame swept toward it — cold yet scorching, orange-yellow streaked with white light.
What kind of fire was this?
And why was Trainer Lin Yu being so aggressive all of a sudden?
In all his earlier battles,
even against weaker opponents, he'd kept his Pokémon's power in check for a fair fight.
Besides,
this Leafeon was no pushover at Level 33.
Yet it had been cornered in the very first exchange.
"Dive into the lake!"
To Li Yue's credit, she'd fought her way to the finals for a reason.
Shocked as she was, she reacted instantly.
Fire couldn't burn underwater… right?
But the next scene defied all logic.
When the white-glowing flame hit the water, thick steam exploded upward.
Yet several streaks of white flame twisted like eerie white serpents
and clamped down tightly on Leafeon!
Even underwater, the fire showed no sign of going out!
"Leaf!"
With type disadvantage stacking on top, Leafeon's energy plummeted like a deflating balloon.
Still, Charmeleon pressed its attack.
Light blazed around its claws — it dove straight into the water, locked onto Leafeon, and struck it down with one claw.
"Charmeleon wins! Lin Yu is the champion!"
The entire arena fell dead silent.
But Lin Yu was in a hurry.
In that brief trance, he'd seen through Latias's eyes.
Dozens of Pokémon were ganging up on her and Latios.
"Elite Four Ye!"
Real or not, he had to check.
Going alone would be useless.
From the vision, those Pokémon were mostly Gym-tier to Lord-tier, with even a Master-tier among them.
Lin Yu had no way to handle that alone.
But there was exactly one person who did — the man riding Dragonite in the sky.
"Come with me!"
Without waiting, he had Charmeleon fly him to Dragonite.
Before the stunned Dragonite and rider could react, he tugged them toward the danger.
But how could Charmeleon and Lin Yu pull a Peak Elite Four-tier Dragonite?
Ye Rong: "???"
He had no idea what the boy was doing, but between his urgent expression and his strange behavior during the match…
After a moment's thought, he followed.
The crowd was left completely dumbfounded.
Li Yue recalled Leafeon and stood frozen.
"What the hell? He just left after winning?!"
"Did Charmeleon really just use a Fairy-type move? Fairy Wings?!"
"This guy's insane! Frogadier uses Electric moves, Charmeleon uses Fairy moves… is there anything he CAN'T do?!"
"And that white fire! Why won't it go out underwater?!"
The crowd erupted in discussion.
Nobody suspected drugs anymore.
Charmeleon had crushed that idea completely.
BOOM!
The next second,
the water erupted.
The once-calm lake surface churned like a stirred sea, waves surging four or five meters high and flooding the streets.
Crowds screamed in terror — Water Metropolis hadn't seen chaos like this in years.
What was happening?
Water Metropolis had been settled for good reason: its waters were calm and stable, and it had once been an S-Class Secret Realm with dense energy.
It drew Trainers from all over.
Tourism companies turned it into a hotspot with annual Water Festivals and Water-type Pokémon races.
The city was always busy.
But now,
the water seemed to have come alive — angry, like a rage buried for thousands of years finally breaking free.
The flood roared.
Nearly every resident and visiting Trainer owned Water-type Pokémon.
Law enforcement quickly organized the crowd and called on civilian Trainers to calm the currents…
Above Water Metropolis.
"Do you know what's happening?"
Ye Rong frowned at the chaos below.
Lin Yu spoke sharply: "Someone is attacking Latios!"
"Latios?!"
Ye Rong was confused.
Latios was a legendary Pokémon.
How did this boy know it?
How could a legend be under attack?
How strong were the invaders?
But if the boy knew the truth, there was no time to waste.
"Tell me where. Charmeleon is too slow."
Charmeleon bristled but said nothing.
Compared to an Elite Four-tier Dragonite, its speed really was lacking.
But it wasn't discouraged.
With Lin Yu, it would surpass this Dragonite someday!
"Okay! I'll guide you with Aura Power!"
Too urgent to hide anything, Lin Yu unleashed his full Aura Power and locked onto the location.
WHOOSH!
Dragonite accelerated, and Water Metropolis blurred past below like a slideshow.
Inside the underground temple.
"Mmm!" (Brother!)
"Using your body to block us? Let's see how much stamina you have left!"
"Kingdra, another Hydro Pump!"
Kingdra roared, feeling on top of the world.
The Latios in front of it was a legendary Pokémon!
And now it was bullying that legend helplessly.
Pure bliss.
The fierce Hydro Pump slammed into the protective barrier.
A sharp CRACK echoed —
the barrier shattered completely, and the attack struck Latios full-on.
Latias hugged the Soul Dew and hid behind her brother.
The Soul Dew's power stopped her from using Teleport.
"Mmm…"
A fresh wound tore across Latios's body.
Even a legend couldn't withstand endless bombardment.
"Surrender quietly!"
The thieves were wild with greed — capturing a legend and controlling the Soul Dew meant a bright future.
"You're the ones who should surrender!"
In the next instant,
a terrifying aura spread throughout the entire temple!