"Let's go and have a look. I didn't expect Kumanokawa to be hiding a Mythical Pokémon. He played his cards close to his chest," Feng Che muttered.
With a silent ripple of psychic energy, Mewtwo teleported Feng Che directly to the frontline beside Second Elder Yuan Tian.
"Patriarch, you're here!" Yuan Tian said, bowing respectfully.
Feng Che didn't reply immediately. His eyes were locked onto the molten behemoth, Heatran. The air around the beast shimmered with such intensity that the oxygen felt scarce.
"Kumanokawa is at the end of his rope. Heatran is all he has left," Feng Che observed. "If we bring it down, the Bounty Hunters' Guild is finished. Go! Greninja, Sirfetch'd, Incineroar, Flygon, and Gyarados!"
Five Poké Balls burst open. As the Pokémon materialized, they immediately felt the crushing thermal pressure.
Greninja:This thing is a monster. The moisture for miles has been evaporated.
Sirfetch'd:A Fire-type? Why call me out? Is the trainer trying to have a roast duck dinner?
Incineroar:That fire... it contains a unique essence. If I can steal it, I'll transcend.
Gyarados:My Hydro Pump might not be enough to suppress this heat.
Flygon:A legendary Heatran... I don't think I can win.
"Greninja, I've found you a worthy wall to climb. Use this to break into the Heavenly King rank!" Feng Che shouted. "Sirfetch'd, here is today's premium sake—fight to your heart's content! Incineroar, support Greninja and find an opening to absorb Heatran's flame. Flygon, whip up a Sandstorm to trap it! Gyarados, Hydro Pump!"
In the shadows of Feng Che's feet, a pair of crimson eyes snapped open. Gengar let out a manic cackle before vanishing into the darkness of the earth.
The Beast Rebels
"Heatran! I command you! Attack! Turn Floaroma Town into a sea of fire!" Kumanokawa screamed, pointing a trembling finger.
Heatran turned its head slowly. It opened its maw and unleashed a blast of white-hot fire—but not at the town. The flames engulfed Kumanokawa and the nearby stragglers, incinerating them into ash in a heartbeat.
Heatran:Stupid mortal. Did you truly think you could command me like a common tool?
Heatran:However, since you served me well enough as a footman, I'll grant your dying wish and erase these pests.
Heatran lunged forward with terrifying speed for its bulk. It spat a glob of white-hot magma—a Magma Storm—directly at Sirfetch'd. The air hissed as the projectile streaked across the field, leaving a trail of scorched earth.
Just before impact, a red blur intercepted the shot. Incineroar stood before Sirfetch'd, catching the molten sphere with its bare hands. An Omega symbol began to glow on Incineroar's chest belt. It didn't just block the heat; it began to drain the thermal energy, turning the glowing magma into a cold, harmless lump of volcanic rock.
Heatran:Impossible... a common Pokémon catching my Magma? And it's draining my heat? Only a true God should be able to do that!
Enraged, Heatran unleashed a literal ocean of white fire.
The Drunken Knight and the Sea
By now, Sirfetch'd had downed its sake. A dark, chaotic aura erupted from its feathers. "Gah! You're looking for death!"
The duck raised its massive leek, now wreathed in black energy, and delivered a vertical cleave. The sheer force of the wind pressure split the sea of fire in two, carving a path straight to Heatran.
Heatran:How is this duck suddenly so strong?!
The scattered flames were quickly vacuumed up by Incineroar, whose fur began to glow with a white-hot radiance. Incineroar was using the stolen energy to hammer at its own "bottleneck," trying to force a breakthrough to the Heavenly King rank.
Flygon soared overhead, its body glowing with an earthy yellow light as it summoned a massive Sandstorm. The grit and sand acted as a coolant, snuffing out the lingering fires.
Heatran stomped its feet, causing a pillar of fire to erupt toward the sky and turning the ground beneath it into a lake of lava. It rode the wave of magma like a surfer, attempting to overwhelm the sand.
That's when Gyarados and Greninja struck. Gyarados's Hydro Pump punched through the magma wave, blasting Heatran into the air. The moment the water hit the beast's steel hide, clouds of blinding steam filled the battlefield.
Greninja blurred through the mist, its Water Shuriken humming with power. However, before the blades could touch Heatran, they were vaporized by the sheer heat radiating from its body.
"Greninja, fight for the weather! Seize control of the moisture in the air!" Feng Che commanded.
Greninja closed its eyes, an Alpha symbol manifesting on the back of its hands.
The "Drunken" Sirfetch'd, clad in armor made of dark energy, sprinted across the lava lake. It rained a barrage of strikes onto Heatran's steel plating. Clang! Clang! Clang! Even though the armor was forged in a volcano, Sirfetch'd struck the exact same spot with every blow.
CRACK.
A small fissure appeared on Heatran's metallic hide.
Heatran:My armor... cracked? By a duck?!
Heatran lost all reason. It gathered a massive, white-hot sphere of energy in its mouth—not aimed at the Pokémon, but at the defenseless buildings of Floaroma Town.
Heatran:Since you want to protect this place, you can watch it burn!