Elf: Re-employment of retired champion of Padiya

Chapter 820 The Complete Lava Mode, Wang Luo Couldn't Sit Still
"Something."

Luo Mu raised an eyebrow and commented on Sidson's attack.

Although Arcanine is still in warm-up mode, a temporary suppression is nothing.

However, judging from Sidson's condition, it is clear that it still has some energy left.

But this is not because it is in a berserk state and knows how to assess the situation. Rather, it is more like its remaining rationality is trying its best to control its power.
This is a bit interesting.

Even with the Fireball Slate's support, Heatran was still able to gain the upper hand in his first encounter with Arcanine while fighting against that rampaging power.

It seems that even before it took the island king's stone tablet, this Heatran was already quite powerful.

Given Arcanine's current strength, it will have to go all out to gain the upper hand.

"—Then, open it!"

As Luo Mu delivered his decisive and concise command, Arcanine shook its fur, and its aura suddenly changed!
The intense flames that covered Arcanine's body, belonging to "Flare Charge", suddenly contracted inward, as if compressed to the extreme by some invisible force.

Immediately afterwards, a power far deeper and hotter than before erupted from its body!
"Awooo!"

With a long and powerful roar, the fur on Arcanine's body seemed to transform into flowing dark red lava, and fiery crimson lines lit up, covering its entire body.

The ground beneath the Growlithe's feet turned red and softened at a visible speed, and the air became distorted due to the high temperature.

That was the power that Arcanine mastered after Moltres painstakingly helped Arcanine evolve in the lava.

—Lava Mode!
Arcanine once needed Victini's infinite energy to raise the temperature of its flames to a level where it could transform into this form.

Now, with its strength vastly different from what it once was, Arcanine can unleash such a display all by itself.

In Lava Mode, Arcanine's body ramming into people is like a moving mass of high-temperature magma; just touching it will cause burns.

Even Cyndaquil's Garchomp has suffered because of this.

Not to mention the increased power of Arcanine's moves and the all-around boost to its physical abilities after the flame temperature rises.

However, this is not the end.

After activating Lava Mode, Arcanine immediately triggered another new energy source within its body.

—Rock slabs!
A blinding golden light burst forth from the body of the Growlithe, as if it had just broken free of its shell.

Its posture changed once again.

These golden rays, like the awakening veins of a volcano, surged from deep within Arcanine's body.

A deep hum echoed in the air, and most of Arcanine's body turned completely into pure gold, with fiery red lava patterns covering its entire body. It looked almost exactly like Groudon in its Primal Reversion form.

Arcanine emitted a heart-pounding energy fluctuation, its abundant golden light forming an illusory shape of a thousand arms, signifying the source of its power.

The entire Lava Mountain battlefield was enveloped by the powerful aura generated by Arcanine's second transformation.

Heatran seemed to sense the threat from Arcanine and let out an increasingly agitated growl.

The orange-red flames burning on its body seemed to sway slightly in the face of this power that was of the same origin but different.

"Growlithe—dance!"

Without giving Sidson any more time to react, Luo Mu's command was clearly given.

Before the words were even finished, the figure of the Growlithe suddenly blurred!

call out--!
A golden-red illusory light and shadow instantly tore through the scorching air, rushing out at a speed that exceeded the limits of visual perception!

Lightning fast!
With a roar, Sidson instinctively spewed out a pillar of blazing white fire once more, attempting to cover the area in front of him with an area-of-effect attack.

However, the golden-red light and shadow displayed an unbelievable agility at extreme speeds that should have made it difficult to control its direction.

Arcanine executed a near 90-degree right-angle turn, easily dodging Heatran's raging flames!

The pillar of fire grazed the edge of the afterimage left by the Growlithe and slammed into the distant rock wall, blasting up a sky full of lava and rubble.

Meanwhile, Arcanine had already crossed the distance and closed in on Heatran.

Heatran instinctively propelled his heavy body to exert force, his massive form carrying immense power and intense heat as he slammed into Arcanine.

However, Arcanine reacted even faster than Heatran.

Its four legs bend like springs on the scorching ground, and then exert force.

Its body suddenly rose higher, passing over the charging Sidora in a powerful and beautiful way, appearing behind it without making a sound when it landed.

Having missed its first attack, and seemingly unaware of discouragement, Heatran opened its maw, unleashing a barrage of scorching lava projectiles like a meteor shower!

Breathing fire!

Faced with this overwhelming attack, Arcanine stopped dodging and instead charged straight at it.

It weaves, spins, and leaps through the dense rain of lava projectiles, each subtle movement exquisitely executed, always managing to narrowly escape the scorching lava projectiles at the last second.

That posture didn't look like a savage battle; rather, it was like Luo Mu's command, or even a dance!

All of Heatran's attacks, whether they are raging flame jets, powerful physical attacks, or dense lava bombs, are devastating.

All of these attacks were neutralized by Arcanine, leaving only charred craters and lava marks on the ground in vain.

Outside the crater, Zhubei watched this scene and covered her mouth in surprise.

It's not surprising that your own Espeon makes those dancing-like dodging movements.

After all, Espeon is already very agile, and its psychic abilities help it move, making its body more coordinated.

But what about Arcanine?
Its size is only slightly smaller than that of the island king.

But it was able to repeatedly outmaneuver Sidson with its clever feints, despite its enormous size!

Compared to Zhubei, Guana clearly knows more about Arcanines.

Even though she was mentally prepared for the agility of the Arcanine family, Luo Mu's Arcanine's dancing movements still left her deeply impressed.

To maintain such explosive power while possessing absolute body control, it's no exaggeration to say that the current Arcanine is probably even stronger than its father.

And all of this is very likely the result of Luo Mu, the man who found the Arcanine.

A few rounds down.

Sidson's aura became noticeably more agitated and chaotic.

However, the golden-red light and shadow transformed by Arcanine remained calm and composed.

This made Luo Mu sigh.

If Arcanine could learn "Dragon Dance," even Garchomp, which can fly at supersonic speeds, wouldn't be able to touch it.

If you're not careful, you might get crushed by Arcanine's powerful STAB move with no side effects.

"—Flame Charge!"

When Luo Mu noticed that the berserk Heatran was becoming agitated and its movements were becoming more erratic, he once again sent Arcanine to attack.

As soon as the command was given, Arcanine's body shone with a brilliant golden-red light, and it shot out like an arrow!
It is faster and more powerful than when it used "Flash Charge" before.

With a roar, Sidson spewed out another pillar of blazing white fire.

But this time, the situation is completely different.

The moment Arcanine made contact with the fire pillar, it paused for only a second before tearing the fire pillar apart without any hindrance.

Before Heatran could make any move, Arcanine crashed into him like a burning crimson comet.

boom!
A dull thud resounded as the massive body of Sidora was slammed backward, its four legs carving deep furrows into the rocky ground.

But it wasn't knocked away; instead, it growled and steadied itself. The golden light on its body flickered violently, and the flames swayed, as it actually withstood the attack.

The legendary elf's powerful physique, combined with the power of the stone slab that allowed the Highland King to withstand the onslaught of the Mega Swampert, resulted in Heatran's stamina bar being virtually bottomless.

"Roar!"

Sidora let out an angry roar, and flames surged all over his body.

Instead of backing down, it took a sudden step forward, its huge head lowered, its muscles bulging, as if it wanted to engage in a pure power struggle with Arcanine.

Arcanine showed no weakness, its four paws digging deep into the ground, its body radiating a brilliant golden-red light, and it charged forward without backing down!

In an instant, the two behemoths engaged in the most primitive and savage battle of strength in the center of the lava battlefield!
The already fragile ground beneath their feet cracked inch by inch, with lava gushing out from the fissures.

The scorching heat waves rolled outwards from them, and the air itself emitted a low hum due to the collision of forces.

After several collisions, neither side gained any advantage.

On the contrary, faint fluctuations appeared in the spacetime rift on the distant horizon, as if a bolt of lightning would suddenly strike as the battle dragged on.

Luo Mu showed no signs of anxiety, instead focusing his attention on the center of the battlefield where the two sides were locked in combat, as if waiting for something.

soon.

The time he had been waiting for had arrived.

Once again, the ground trembled violently as the magma collided and boiled.

The golden light emanating from Sidson suddenly dimmed.

In the area where the golden light had dimmed, a charred mark from being burned by the high temperature was clearly visible.

—This means that Heatran, a legendary fire-type Pokémon with the Fireball Stone, lost to Arcanine in terms of fire!

Neither the golden light that made it exceptionally resilient nor the flames engulfing its entire body could protect its body from Arcanine's attacks.

At the same time, thanks to the power of the stone tablet, Arcanine remained lively and energetic despite colliding with Heatran countless times.

Both sides are similar in terms of defensive capabilities.

But in terms of attack performance—they are completely different!
Shedran's injury was like a signal that the tide of battle was beginning to turn.

As the impacts became more frequent, the number of burn marks on Sidson's body increased dramatically.

Until it finally can't take it anymore, its frenzied mind instinctively drives it to seek a more favorable environment.

—Sidoran turned and leaped into the boiling lava of Fire Island!

According to common sense...

Once Heatran jumps into the lava, Arcanine has no way to deal with it.

After all, even Fire-type Pokémon have their limits when it comes to heat.

There are only a handful of Pokémon in the world that can bathe in lava without batting an eye, and Arcanine is not among them.

Guana, who was watching the game, seemed to recall some unpleasant memory, and her expression turned ugly.

At that time, the island king was helpless against Heatran, who was trapped in the lava, and coupled with the fact that there was indeed a difference in strength, he was defeated.

"Damn it. Did all my efforts just now go to waste?"

Zhu Bei clenched her fists instinctively and gritted her teeth.

But in the next instant, Arcanine's actions stunned the two of them.

At Luo Mu's command, the Arcanine leaped into the churning, boiling sea of ​​lava without hesitation!
The scorching magma was like a warm bath to it, and its golden-red body moved nimbly through it, its speed not much slower than on land!
With a flick of its four paws, the scorching lava was easily pushed aside, and Arcanine headed straight for Heatran, who was clinging to the rock wall!

If Sidson still possessed all his sanity, he would probably be even more shocked than Guana, Zhubei, and the Island King.

The magma environment that it relies on is also easily adapted to by Arcanine.

All of this is thanks to Moltres, its biological mother who is not related to Arcanine by blood, for her painstaking preparations for its evolution.

This allows Arcanine to adapt to the lava environment and even leverage its advantages to further enhance its power.

Arcanine rapidly approached Doran, launching another attack from within the lava.

Its claws and bites, imbued with the intense heat of lava, landed squarely on Sidora's body with each strike, dragging it from the rock wall into the magma.

Heatran tried to fight back, but in the lava, its movements were far less agile than Arcanine's, and it could only passively take hits and retreat step by step.

The golden light on its body flickered, clearly indicating that it was nearing its limit.

"Roar--!!"

Driven to the brink of despair, Shidoran roared furiously, its body flashing with golden light.

It suddenly opened its massive maw, no longer aiming at Arcanine, but frantically absorbing the almost endless magma energy around it.

The entire sea of ​​magma seemed to be stirred by an invisible giant hand, forming a huge vortex centered on Heatran!

A terrifying suction force came, forcibly drawing in and compressing countless magma clumps, which eventually condensed in Heatran's mouth into an extremely unstable, dark red energy ball exuding an aura of destruction.

Lava storm!

This is Heatran's signature move, and with the added power of the fireball slab and the lava environment, its power has reached its peak!

It suddenly spat out the energy ball, which expanded and exploded in the air, transforming into a dark red lava tornado that connected heaven and earth, sweeping towards Arcanine with a terrifying force capable of crushing everything!

Wherever it passed, even space itself seemed to distort due to the intense heat.

Faced with this devastating blow, Luo Mu's voice remained calm: "Double-edged Hammer!"

A sharp glint flashed in the Growlithe's eyes, and instead of retreating, it advanced!

The illusory image of the Thousand-Dimensional Wrist, formed from golden light, was revealed, and the power of the rock slabs within the body, which served as the energy source, was pushed to its limit.

Enveloped in a terrifying vortex of earthy yellow energy, Growlithe leaped onto the rock wall, its four paws slamming against the rock face, propelling it forward like a cannonball, crashing headlong into the engulfing lava storm!
Rumble——! !

An unprecedentedly loud explosion resounded throughout the entire Fire Island!
Arcanine and the lava storm that was heading straight for it were locked in a stalemate.

The golden-red light and the dark red storm intertwined, eroded, and annihilated each other, and the dissipated energy evaporated and threw large swaths of magma into the air.

But the stalemate lasted only a moment.

The next moment, golden-red light tore through the terrifying storm of lava.

Arcanine burst forth from the center of the explosion, its head slamming heavily into Heatran's jaw!

"Hooooo——!"

Severely injured, Sidora let out a painful groan as his massive body was slammed off the rock wall by the force, arcing high into the air before crashing heavily onto the hard ground at the edge of the lava battlefield, creating a deep crater. For a moment, he was unable to get up.

Meanwhile, in the sea of ​​lava, as Heatran, who had triggered the lava storm, was thrown away, the sea gradually returned to calm.

Arcanine calmly leaped out of the lava and landed on the shore, its body shimmering with golden-red light as it looked down at its defeated opponent.

at the same time.

In a corner of the lava sea, where the wind-blown dog had not yet noticed, the water had returned to calm.

In the mirror-like sea of ​​lava, a dark figure swayed past.

The figure sitting on it gazed beyond the boundary between the other side of the world and reality, watching the backs of the Wind Dog and the Luo Mu standing beside it, and uttered a heartfelt question.

"Where exactly did you come from?"

(End of this chapter)