Salazzle seized an opening and spat a jet of [Venoshock] at Arcanine.
Unluckily, the poisonous liquid hit Arcanine squarely in the right eye.
Instantly blinded, Arcanine howled in excruciating pain.
Seeing their foe weakened, the surrounding Salandits wasted no ti and lunged forward ferociously.
They wouldn't miss a chance to kick their enemy while she was down.
Monts later...
Arcanine collapsed into a pool of blood, barely clinging to life.
Hiss!
Just as the Salandits prepared to tear Arcanine apart completely...
Salazzle abruptly hissed, stopping them in their tracks.
Then, stepping forward with an air she considered elegant, she placed a foot atop Arcanine's head.
It seed Salazzle intended to vent her humiliation from earlier.
One stomp, two stomps, three stomps…
She cruelly pressed down on Arcanine's head, over and over.
Arcanine appeared completely lifeless, offering no resistance.
Half a minute passed...
Seeing Arcanine remain utterly still, Salazzle grew bored and turned away, heading toward He Yongsen instead.
After all, Arcanine was rely a helper. He Yongsen, the trainer, was the true mastermind behind her injuries. Salazzle wouldn't let him off lightly.
However, the mont Salazzle turned her back—
Arcanine's remaining eye snapped open.
Summoning every ounce of strength left within her body, she struggled to her feet, lunging forward and clamping her jaws firmly around the back of Salazzle's neck.
The surrounding Salandits were stunned speechless.
Never had they expected Arcanine, in such a condition, to launch a counterattack.
Recovering quickly, the Salandits desperately tried to force Arcanine to release their queen—
But Arcanine seed numb to pain, refusing to loosen her grip.
Only after Salazzle ceased her frantic struggling and fell silent did Arcanine finally release her.
Even then, Arcanine remained standing, sweeping her fierce, single-eyed glare across the Salandits.
Her terrifying presence, combined with her blood-soaked appearance, made her seem like a demon wolf fresh from hell, terrifying the Salandits into stunned hesitation.
They even began doubting—
Just who here was driven mad by the natural disaster?
This Arcanine is far crazier than any of us!
Finally, exchanging frightened glances, the Salandits swiftly picked up their queen and fled without looking back.
This crazed dog isn't soone we can handle!
Seeing the Salandits retreat—
Arcanine limped slowly toward her trainer.
With each painful step, she left a trail of crimson blood on the scorched ground.
Blood continuously dripped from the corner of her mouth.
At any mont, she seed ready to collapse.
But an unbreakable resolve pushed Arcanine onward, refusing to let her fall before she reached her trainer.
Finally reaching He Yongsen's side, Arcanine collapsed at last, utterly spent.
Gently licking her trainer's fingers, she recalled countless warm mories.
In the end, with a satisfied expression, she fell peacefully into eternal sleep.
Trainer, you walked with through life; I protected you till death.
This was Arcanine's promise to He Yongsen.
Today, she had fulfilled it.
---
"Captain!"
The two rescuers finally erged at the foot of the mountain, escorting the civilians they had rescued to the firefighters' staging area.
Cough, cough!
As soon as they escaped the inferno, the two rescuers and two Pokémon sumr-camp instructors collapsed onto the ground.
Noticing their state, the attentive captain saw that the rescuers' protective gear had disappeared, now draped around the campers and a Nul.
Even the escape route they'd opened was still blazing, occasionally showered by falling embers from above.
To ensure the children's safety, the rescuers had given up their gear without hesitation, resulting in several fresh burns on their own bodies.
"dic! We need a dic here!"
Heart aching at his teammates' condition, the captain urgently called for assistance.
Fortunately, Pokémon hospital ambulances had already been waiting nearby, along with healing Pokémon like Blissey.
Hearing the call, paradics quickly rushed over with stretchers, carefully loading the injured onto them.
Just as one of the rescuers was about to be carried away, he desperately grabbed the captain's arm and shouted, frantic:
"Captain, Yongsen is still up there!"
"You've got to hurry and rescue him!"
The captain suddenly realized, He Yongsen wasn't among those rescued.
"What happened to Yongsen?" he asked urgently.
He Yongsen was his old comrade's son. Back then, his friend had personally entrusted this precious child to him.
If sothing happened to Yongsen…
How could he face his old friend?
"We were trapped by a group of Salandits," the rescuer explained anxiously. "Yongsen stayed behind alone so we could escape."
Hearing this, the captain's face paled.
These two rescuers had only joined the force half a year ago; they weren't yet deeply familiar with Salandits.
But the captain knew better.
Wherever Salandits appeared in groups, there had to be a Salazzle among them.
"We're in trouble now!"
The captain's expression darkened.
He knew exactly how dangerous a Salazzle could be.
He Yongsen, alone…
The odds were grim.
Yet, to avoid burdening the wounded rescuer with worry and to help him accept treatnt calmly, the captain forced a reassuring tone:
"Don't worry! We'll send a rescue team imdiately. Just focus on recovering."
Hearing this, the rescuer finally relaxed and let go, allowing the dics to take him away.
Just then, among the gathered crowd, a plump man—evidently a wealthy boss—spotted Leng Yun and hurried forward anxiously.
"Sir, it's dangerous ahead! Please stay back!"
The police officer on crowd control quickly intervened.
Pointing toward Leng Yun, the boss insisted, "He's my employee! I just want to ask how things went!"
But the officer remained firm. "Sir, please be patient. It's unsafe up ahead."
Frustrated, the boss frowned.
Dangerous? What's so dangerous? Aren't firefighters already handling it?
Unable to get past the officer, the boss could only shout loudly from afar, "Leng Yun! Over here!"
Leng Yun, currently receiving dical treatnt, vaguely heard soone call his na.
Turning his head, he recognized his boss, the owner of the Pokémon sumr camp.
He quickly apologized to the nurse. "Sorry, doctor—I need to step out for a mont."
Glancing toward the waving figure, the doctor nodded understandingly.
"Alright. Your injuries aren't severe; just take care to rest in the next few days."
"Thank you, doctor."
Leng Yun gave his thanks and approached the barricade line.
"How is everyone? Are the campers alright?" the boss asked imdiately.
Leng Yun shook his head uncertainly. "Hard to say. A few kids collapsed upon escaping—they're still being treated. But everyone made it out."
At this, the boss visibly relaxed.
"That's good! As long as they're out, it's not our liability anymore. Otherwise, if anyone had died at the camp, we'd be paying a fortune."
To the boss, survival beyond the campgrounds absolved him completely. Live or die afterward—that was the doctors' problem.
Leng Yun frowned at his boss's blatant callousness. He already knew the man's stingy nature but hadn't expected him to prioritize money even now.
"The campers survived, but two instructors died," Leng Yun said coldly, though he was deeply irritated.
The boss's face turned livid. "What?! How could instructors die if the campers survived? Those kids were defenseless!"
The deaths ant heavy compensation.
Noticing the boss's exaggerated grief, Leng Yun suddenly realized sothing horrifying.
"You didn't buy our insurance, did you?"
Knowing his employer's character, Leng Yun could guess the truth.
Flustered, the boss mumbled weakly, "I…I forgot."
Burning with fury, Leng Yun lost all patience. "Forgot? Then why do you never forget to deduct the insurance fees from our salaries?"
"Zheng Youcai, this isn't over!" Leng Yun shouted, openly using his employer's full na.
Infuriated, Zheng Youcai snapped back viciously, accusing Leng Yun in turn.
The argunt quickly escalated into shouting.
Finally, seeing the growing crowd of onlookers, Leng Yun bit back his rage, shot Zheng one last venomous glare, and stord away.
Zheng spat in disdain, muttering irritably, "What a pretentious employee! We'll see who's afraid of whom!"
He stalked away, already plotting how to minimize fallout from the instructors' deaths.
If mishandled, this could severely damage his camp's reputation.
...
"Captain, let lead the rescue team!"
"You should stay here and coordinate," pleaded Wang Hao, a firefighter, as he watched the captain hurriedly gear up.
Upon learning that He Yongsen was trapped, the captain had imdiately decided to lead the rescue himself.
As he checked his equipnt, the captain firmly rejected the offer, "No, among these Salandits there must be a Salazzle. All your Pokémon are male. If they get seduced by Salazzle's pheromones, it'd be disastrous."
"My main Pokémon, Swampert, is female, so she's immune to Salazzle's pheromones. I have to go."
"But—" Wang Hao tried to protest again, but the captain cut him off decisively.
"Enough, Wang Hao. I've made up my mind. You stay here and handle the firefighting."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Just as he finished speaking, several explosions erupted from within the mountain forest, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
"What's going on?" shouted the captain.
A firefighter quickly ran over to report.
"Captain, a powerful Fire-type Pokémon has appeared up ahead. It caused those explosions!"
The captain's brows furrowed deeply.
Another problem at such a critical mont?
"What kind of Fire-type Pokémon?" the captain asked urgently.
The firefighter shook his head uncertainly. "We don't recognize it, sir. It seems to be a new species."
"A new Pokémon?!" the captain exclaid. "Take there imdiately!"
Encountering an unknown Pokémon in a fire rescue was the most troubleso scenario, since they knew nothing about its habits or abilities.
Soon, they arrived at the frontline of the blaze—
Amid the roaring flas stood a robust, humanoid-shaped Pokémon, its large body covered with blazing fur. On each arm were cannon-like appendages patterned with swirling flas, constantly firing explosive attacks into its surroundings.
"Magmortar!" the captain gasped upon recognizing it.
"You know this Pokémon, Captain?" asked Wang Hao in surprise. It was his first ti seeing it.
The captain nodded solemnly, beginning to explain, "It's called Magmortar, tentatively identified as an evolved form of Magmar."
"Wait—what do you an by 'tentatively identified'?" Wang Hao interrupted, puzzled. Could evolution be uncertain?
The captain elaborated, "Researchers still haven't figured out exactly how Magmar evolves into Magmortar. They've only confird a relationship between them."
In truth, even the captain knew little about Magmortar due to its rarity. He'd encountered it only once in his entire career. The one before him was only his second.
And precisely because it was so rare, every Magmortar encountered was exceptionally powerful.
This particular Magmortar had clearly reached Pseudo-Elite Four level. Coupled with its fiery environnt, its strength could easily match an actual Elite Four-tier Pokémon.
And now, it stood directly blocking their only route into the mountains.
Frustration clouded the captain's face.
Damn it! By the ti we deal with this Magmortar, Yongsen will already be dead.
His heart twisted bitterly.
Would they really have to abandon Yongsen to his fate?
Kreee—!
Suddenly, a piercing cry rang out from the skies.
BOOM!
Dark clouds rolled overhead, lightning flashing wildly through the sky.
Drip, drip…
The thunderous sound was soon accompanied by raindrops that steadily grew heavier, quickly soaking the scorched earth and soothing its relentless heat.
"Pelipper finally succeeded with [Rain Dance]!" The captain's face broke into relieved delight at the sight of the rain.
He was still deeply curious about the source of that piercing bird cry and why Pelipper had suddenly succeeded now after repeated failures—but this sudden downpour was undeniably a godsend.
The Magmortar, previously wreaking havoc in the flas, suddenly trembled visibly upon hearing the mysterious cry.
Without hesitation, Magmortar turned and fled frantically toward the Secret Realm entrance, as if terrified by sothing truly dreadful.
The firefighters stared at each other in astonishnt.
Finally, one firefighter cautiously broke the silence, "Captain…what do we do next?"
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