It was a bright sunlit day, the kind of day when life awakens across the land.
A Hisuian Typhlosion stood calmly, the eerie violet flames flickering from its neck casting strange shadows. Its sharp gaze never left the scene before it: Arcanine demonstrating a new move while Monferno struggled for breath, drenched in sweat as it trained relentlessly.
"Arroooh!"
Arcanine's bark thundered like a challenge, its intimidating aura pressing down upon Monferno. But in its eyes was also a mischievous glimmer, teasing rather than cruel.
"Waaah-cha!"
Monferno, already panting heavily, roared in fury at the provocation. Flames erupted across its body, blazing with rage as it charged recklessly at Arcanine, its movements wild, almost frenzied.
Though not yet evolved, Monferno's aura was anything but weak. It had already reached the threshold of an Elite-tier aura, and with the combined force of its Rage Power and Awakening Mode, the young Pokémon radiated a terrifying pressure.
Arcanine, however, showed no fear. Meeting Monferno's charge head-on, it unleashed its own devastating flames, colliding with Monferno in an explosive clash.
BOOM!!
In an instant, the two Pokémon were locked in a furious melee, striking with savage force, their flames scorching one another's bodies.
The move they both unleashed was Thrash—a rampaging technique where the user attacks in a blind fury, only to fall into confusion afterward. A move as reckless as it was powerful, one often likened to the Dragon-type's infamous Outrage.
Shortly after arriving in Hisui, Paul had arranged for Monferno to learn Thrash from Akari's Hisuian Arcanine, using it as the foundation for deeper training.
And now, though their attacks appeared unrestrained, a careful observer would notice something subtle: neither Pokémon had truly lost its senses. Every strike was calculated, each dodge intentional. They were consciously shaping their rampage, trying to refine Thrash into something more.
Both were experimenting, seeking to awaken a bloodline mode unique to Fire-types.
For Arcanine, this was difficult. For Monferno, it was monumental. Paul's true aim was for Monferno to fuse its bloodline mode, Awakening Mode, and Rage Power into one seamless state. Only then could it ignite the full blaze of its potential and command its own strength perfectly.
This training was not new—it had been repeated hundreds, even thousands of times. The basics were already mastered. But merging all three states together remained an unfinished task.
Meanwhile, a short distance away, the quiet meadow contrasted sharply with the inferno of battle.
There, gathered together in solemn silence, were beings whose very names shaped history: Mewtwo, Giratina, Palkia, Dialga, and Darkrai. All Legendary and Mythical Pokémon captured by Paul and Akari, now sitting in council, listening intently as the two Trainers conversed.
"It's getting late." Paul said gravely. "Giratina and the others have already absorbed the orbs of power I brought them. They've mastered both Rage Power and the bloodline state."
"Your strength is already at its peak. In a short time, there's little more you can achieve. Perhaps it's time you go to Spear Pillar… and sounded the Azure Flute."
Paul's eyes were steady, his tone unwavering.
This world might resemble the games, but it was not the games. There were no fixed levels here, no experience farming, no easy path to level 100.
If facing Arceus in the games had been "a mortal defying God," then Akari had already gone beyond that—her body and spirit refined to their peak, "a mortal made divine."
But when it came to Pokémon battles, most of his partners stood at Champion-tier, some close to Master-tier. Against Arceus, those would matter little. Only his strongest—those already at their absolute peak, could stand as true contenders. And even they had little room left to grow.
"…So have we reached our limit?" Akari murmured, her brow furrowed. "I still believe my Pokémon and I can grow stronger."
Paul tilted his head. "And how exactly do you propose we do that?"
"Uh… well…" Akari hesitated, scratching her cheek. Then suddenly her eyes lit up. "Wait, I've got it! What if you go and find more Orbs? Giratina and the others got way stronger after absorbing just one. If we gathered more, they'd be unstoppable!"
"Come on, Paul, you can travel between worlds, right? Just a few more orbs, please? And—look, I'll even sweeten the deal. When we finally capture the great ruler of Sinnoh, you can have half the credit! And I'll let you play with it for a few extra days!"
Her voice rose with excitement, the idea was snowballing in her mind as she spoke, her bargaining chip offered with a wide grin.
Paul, however, only sighed, his face twisting with exasperation.
"Honestly… if only you put half this much creativity into actual training."
Indeed, when it came to shortcuts and schemes, humans always seemed to possess limitless imagination.
"Heh-heh, so… is that a yes or a no?" Akari pressed, undeterred. "Just think about it! Giratina's strength soared after absorbing one orb. Add the Griseous Orb on top of that, and it became even more powerful. If we could gather more, wouldn't defeating Arceus be a piece of cake?"
Paul's silence lingered.
Because truth be told, the idea had crossed his mind too.
But reality… was never that simple.
"It's useless." Paul shook his head firmly.
"Even if I could find more Orbs, it wouldn't change much."
"Absorbing the first Orb brought a qualitative transformation. But the second, the third… those would only be quantitative. If we can defeat Arceus, then we can defeat it with or without more Orbs. And if we can't, then even ten more Orbs won't help."
Paul kept his tone decisive, rejecting the idea outright. Yet what he didn't say aloud was the instinct gnawing at him: if he traveled randomly to another world again, perhaps next time it wouldn't be an ordinary world at all. Perhaps the next one would be a place where simply arriving meant becoming invincible.
"Ah… is that so?" Akari blinked, then suddenly clenched her fist, regaining her resolve. "Alright then! Let's just fine-tune our condition. In a couple of days, we'll challenge Arceus directly!"
Paul opened his mouth to respond—
"AHHHHHH!!!"
But his words were cut off by a sudden earth-shaking roar.
From afar, a pillar of fire erupted skyward, tearing through the heavens like a lance of molten fury. The scorching heat rolled outward in waves so intense that even hundreds of meters away, Paul felt his skin prickle and burn.
"…What?"
When the fiery storm finally calmed, Paul, Akari, and every Pokémon around them turned as one, eyes locked on the source of that blazing eruption.
There, in the distance, they saw a startling scene:
A Hisuian Typhlosion stood braced, supporting a battered Arcanine at its side. Both Pokémon stared toward a blazing inferno—a firestorm wrapped around the body of Monferno.
The flames writhed violently, alive and maddened, twisting like a demonic spirit. They surged wildly, devouring every ounce of energy nearby, as though the fire itself was hungry for existence.
Sensing nearby life, the monstrous flames lunged outward toward Typhlosion and Arcanine, stretching greedily as though intent on consuming them as fuel.
"Rrrroar…"
Hisuian Typhlosion narrowed its eyes, dread glimmering in their depths. It was about to pull Arcanine away when suddenly—
"Waaaah-cha!!!"
Monferno's roar split the air.
At that very moment, the rampaging fire froze mid-motion. Then, like a leash snapping taut, the flames were wrenched back, collapsing into Monferno's body, drawn inside as though chained by willpower alone.
And then—
The inferno quieted. The battlefield fell still.
From within Monferno's frame, a radiant light began to shine.
Not the ordinary light of growth—no. This was something deeper. A sacred blaze, signaling rebirth.
"Finally…?" Paul murmured from afar. "Is it evolving at last?"
The cocoon of white light swelled, reshaping Monferno's form. Its body grew taller and stronger, its limbs lengthened with graceful power. The tail flame vanished, replaced by a blazing crown of fire roaring atop its head. Golden, whirlpool-shaped armor-like markings spiraled across its shoulders, chest, hands, and knees.
It was no mere transformation.
It was rebirth through fire.
It was Infernape.
The instant its evolution completed, Infernape's eyes blazed open. Its headfire surged higher, and from those flames erupted a colossal apparition: a demonic Flame War-Ape, a raging avatar of fire shaped from its own aura.
As the fiery construct's upper body solidified, it hurled a furious punch toward a nearby hill.
BOOOOM!!
The earth split. Rock crumbled. The hill exploded into smoldering rubble, the ground left blackened and charred.
When the dust settled, the Flame War-Ape dispersed, its blazing figure fading into nothingness. Infernape straightened slowly, its body calm once more.
"Waaah-cha!"
Under the awestruck gazes of every Pokémon present, Infernape strode forward. Step by step, it came to stand before Paul, raising its fist.
"…Heh."
Paul looked at the fist raised before him. And in that moment, he no longer saw the towering warrior. He saw the battered, scarred little Chimchar from long ago—the one who had once burned with desperation just to prove its worth.
Smiling faintly, Paul lifted his own hand and met its fist with his own.
"You've become stronger."
(End of Chapter)
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