“Damn, it’s Moltres!”
Julian’s mouth hung open in shock. He had never imagined there’d be a Moltres sleeping beneath all that magma.
Judging by its drowsy eyes, it had probably been asleep.
Now he’d woken it up—and it looked like it had a 'serious' case of morning rage.
“tagross, pin it down for ! Don’t let it get away!”
Julian was thrilled. If this Moltres could sleep inside magma, then wouldn’t it make the perfect tool-bird?
Moltres were most commonly spotted near volcanoes—and not just small ones. They preferred massive, active volcanoes.
The Moltres stared at the aggressive tagross with a confused expression.
'This isn’t right… Shouldn’t it be running away in fear at the sight of ? Why isn’t it fleeing? And why is it looking at like that?'
Pokémon: Moltres (Fire/Flying)
Level: 81 (83)
Potential: Blue
Ability: Pressure
Held Item: None
Gender: Genderless
Moves: Gust, Leer, Ember, Safeguard, Wing Attack, Flathrower, Agility, Ancient Power, Incinerate, Air Slash, Roost, Heat Wave, Sunny Day, Hurricane, Endure, Overheat, Sky Attack
TMs: None
Egg Moves: None
Note: Injured Contest Condition
---
'Injured?'
Julian considered the possibility. Besides sleeping in volcanoes, Moltres was also known to enter lava when injured—to ignite its whole body and heal its wounds through intense heat.
When it appeared earlier, it had indeed looked like a massive ball of flas. Maybe it had been healing while taking a nap.
Originally Level 83, but due to the injuries, it had temporarily dropped to 81. Still, it was a pseudo-Champion-level Pokémon.
He couldn’t help but wonder—what on this island could’ve injured it? Was it the island’s guardian? Or maybe another human Trainer?
Moltres hovering in the air suddenly realized its four underlings guarding the entrance were missing.
'Could this guy have taken them out?'
'Humans really are the worst.'
Its injuries had been caused by humans in the first place.
And now Julian had interrupted both its healing and its sleep. The fury in its heart burned even hotter.
The flas on its body flared hotter and brighter. Julian had to signal Dragonite to back off—the sll of his own singed hair was already in the air.
And sohow, after days of rain, the storm suddenly stopped.
The clouds parted, and sunlight poured onto the land once more, making Moltres’s figure appear even more majestic and mysterious.
tagross: 'I’ve beaten birds like you before.'
tagross was referring to Articuno—but that was way back when Julian had just started his first year of university. And back then, tagross had only been at the peak of Advanced level.
"tagross, ga Evolve!"
To end the battle quickly, Julian triggered tagross's ga Evolution.
Its level rose temporarily from 78 to 80, just a step away from pseudo-Champion tier.
The aura it released made the Moltres no longer dare to underestimate this opponent.
Even if Moltres had been at full strength, it doubted it could match the overwhelming presence of ga tagross.
“Psychic!”
A massive wave of psychic energy instantly ensnared Moltres.
The fiery bird felt as though it was trapped in quicksand—completely immobilized, its flas flickering weakly under the suppression.
As ga tagross’s teor Mash approached, Moltres let out a sharp cry.
"Screeee—!"
With a piercing cry, the flas on its body suddenly erupted, breaking through the Psychic hold.
But it was already too late—
BAM!
ga tagross’s teor Mash smashed straight into its face.
Moltres’s body slamd into the side of the volcano’s crater wall, sending chunks of rock tumbling into the magma below. The molten lava that splashed onto Moltres was absorbed by it.
Julian and ga tagross both noticed this—but neither cared.
The difference in power was obvious. Even if Moltres fully subrged itself in magma, it still wouldn’t stand a chance.
Embedded in the rocky wall of the volcano, Moltres spat a stream of scorching fire toward ga tagross.
The steel titan sidestepped effortlessly, while Moltres took the chance to pull itself out of the rock wall and putting so distance between them.
It then unleashed a rapid barrage of Flathrowers, the attacks nearly seamless.
However, ga tagross had already teleported away. The flas scorched nothing but empty air.
Moltres frantically scanned its surroundings, finding no trace of its foe. It realized that tagross was using Teleport to flicker through space.
The mont it showed an opening, it would be hit with a devastating strike.
So it activated Agility, zigzagging erratically to confuse ga tagross with speed.
ga tagross: 'Not entirely stupid, I see.'
Moltres: I’m plenty smart!
Unfortunately, it was not smart enough.
A transparent Light Screen had sohow been set up in Moltres's path during its high-speed movent, and it didn’t notice at all.
THUD!
Moltres slamd face-first into the barrier.
Julian winced — just hearing that sound made his teeth ache.
The Light Screen cracked but didn’t shatter, but Moltres was completely dazed. Its wings flapped out of rhythm in the air, like it had just chugged a bottle of bad liquor.
It looked like a drunkard seconds away from face-planting into the magma.
Then—
WHAM!
Another teor Mash to the skull, and the legendary bird blacked out completely, plumting to the ground.
ga tagross swiftly extended its claw, catching the falling Moltres before it could hit the ground. It gently placed the unconscious bird on the ground, then reverted to its normal form with a flash of light.
tagross: 'This one went down too easy.'
It was disappointed—it hadn’t even ward up, and the opponent was already down.
Honestly, this Moltres felt even weaker than the Articuno it had fought before. At least Articuno had put up a decent fight. But this? Too easy.
And it was true—the biggest difference ca from tagross’s rapid growth.
Back when it fought Articuno, it had only been one year old, and at the peak Advanced level.
Now, at two years old, it had reached late-stage Elite-tier. That kind of progress was downright terrifying.
tagross: 'Wait, I’m already two years old?'
With its ever-deepening power and combat experience, crushing opponents had beco almost routine.
Julian walked over to the unconscious Moltres but didn’t dare get too close. Even while knocked out, the heat radiating from its body was intense.
If he reached out and touched it, he’d basically be barbecuing his own hand.
So he stopped about four ters away. But even at this distance, the air was already 40 degrees Celsius. Any closer, and his skin might start to burn.
And the volcanic environnt didn’t help either.
He did have a protective suit that could block out the heat—but it was a hassle to put on, and just as annoying to take off. So he couldn’t be bothered.
Now that he was closer, Julian noticed a wound on Moltres’s back, it clearly wasn’t from tagross. This was an old injury, likely the main reason Moltres couldn’t fight at full strength.
If it hadn’t been injured, tagross would’ve needed at least a few more rounds to take it down.
*****
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