Torkoal glanced at them briefly.
Then, lowering her head, she began greedily gulping down the coal scattered on the ground.
In the next instant—
The flames within the shell on her back erupted furiously to life.
A sound reminiscent of a steam locomotive filled the air as thick smoke billowed fiercely from her nostrils.
Gone was the sluggish Pokémon from moments earlier.
Now, fighting spirit blazed from her body, as vibrant and relentless as the flames she emitted.
"Wow," Guo Yi murmured, impressed. "Eating coal really makes a difference, huh?"
But Torkoal wasn't finished.
She knew clearly that the enemy before her was immensely powerful—so powerful, in fact, that even her greatest efforts might not be enough. Yet, as the leader of her colony, surrendering without a fight was impossible.
"Torkoal!"
A shimmering, phantom sun rose from Torkoal's body, shooting skyward before expanding into a dazzling orb high above.
Her [Drought] ability had activated.
Bright, intense sunlight poured down, further energizing the flames blazing atop the shells of every Torkoal in the area.
Still, Torkoal pushed further—
Cracks abruptly spread across her shell. In moments, a smaller, leaner Torkoal emerged from within the shattered shell.
[Shell Smash]:Breaks the shell, drastically lowering Defense and Special Defense, but significantly raising Attack, Special Attack, and Speed.
It was a move often used by trainers to create formidable sweepers like Cloyster.
But for Torkoal, it was a last-ditch effort—a desperate gamble.
Having exhausted all preparations, she was finally ready to attack.
"Torkoal!"
With an enraged roar, Torkoal unleashed a searing wave of scorching wind toward Beedrill and Guo Yi.
[Drought] + [Shell Smash] + [Charcoal].
Boosted by this triple combination, the force behind Torkoal's attack was frighteningly intense.
The normally invisible gust of [Heat Wave] had transformed into a tangible wall of flame that swept across the battlefield. The incredible heat instantly ignited coal scattered across the ground, fueling the flames and turning the abandoned mine into a hellscape.
Of course—
No matter how spectacular Torkoal's assault appeared, Beedrill felt only a faint flicker of threat from it. The only reason for even that minor feeling of danger was his innate vulnerability to Fire-type moves. Otherwise, he wouldn't have felt threatened at all.
After all, Master-Tier strength was no joke.
"Beedrill, show her the gap between your strengths! Break through that firewall with [X-Scissor]!"
Since Torkoal had gone all out, Guo Yi responded in kind.
"Bzz!"
Beedrill's crimson compound eyes gleamed eagerly as he gazed at the advancing wall of flames.
It's said moths who rush into flames meet a tragic end.
But today—
He, Beedrill, would create a legend all his own!
His wings buzzed rapidly behind him, building tremendous energy.
In reality, given Beedrill's immense strength, flying through flames to defeat Torkoal was easy. This momentary charge was, to outsiders, completely unnecessary.
However—
Beedrill's goal wasn't merely to defeat Torkoal, but to extinguish the flames in a single, grand gesture.
In the next instant—
Beedrill crossed his stingers, forming the familiar crimson X-mark.
He shot forward like an arrow.
Silent as calm waters, swift as a storm.
With a resounding crash—
Beedrill pierced the wall of flames and landed a precise blow on Torkoal.
Yet—
The wall of fire had merely been pierced through its center. Far from extinguishing the burning coals, even the firewall itself still raged fiercely.
And he intended to create a legend with this?
"Bzz!"
[Let the wind fly a little longer!]
Beedrill struck a confident pose.
Whoosh!
Immediately afterward, a powerful blast of wind followed, instantly scattering the wall of fire.
Even the scattered flames burning atop the coal quickly faded, deprived of oxygen by the sustained pressure of Beedrill's windstorm.
It turned out—
Before attacking Torkoal, Beedrill had swiftly circled the mine at blinding speed, creating a vacuum zone with his extreme velocity to snuff out the flames in one spectacular move.
"Well done!" Guo Yi chuckled approvingly. "I'd give that performance a solid 99."
As for why not a perfect score?
It wasn't to prevent Beedrill from growing conceited.
No, it was because that perfect score belonged to himself.
After all, if Beedrill scored 99 points, wasn't it only natural for his trainer to claim a perfect hundred?
"Beedrill, you did a great job! Looks like you've thoroughly mastered your breakthrough."
Guo Yi walked over, warmly praising Beedrill's performance.
Perhaps—
Using such grand techniques against a mere Gym Leader-Tier Torkoal seemed excessive.
But in truth, it wasn't.
Beedrill's actions had been an intentional challenge, pushing his own limits.
At his current strength, finding suitable opponents was no longer easy.
So, if Beedrill wanted to continue improving, he had no choice but to demand even more from himself—just as he'd done today.
If Beedrill had simply defeated Torkoal and then carried his trainer away, returning later when the fire in the mine had naturally died down, it would've been effortless for him.
But doing so would have defeated the entire purpose of his training.
On the other hand, defeating Torkoal while simultaneously extinguishing the flames in a single move was entirely different.
It tested not only Beedrill's speed to its utmost but also honed his precise control over power.
Wielding strength as if lifting a feather, yet able to treat a feather as if lifting great weight—
Whether an attack was devastating or delicate was simply a matter of intent for Beedrill.
After praising Beedrill, Guo Yi approached the unconscious Torkoal and started searching for its [Charcoal].
The Pokémon item [Charcoal] was located within Torkoal's shell. Now that Torkoal was unconscious, the previously raging flames had extinguished, allowing Guo Yi to remove the [Charcoal] easily, without needing Beedrill's help.
After stowing the [Charcoal] safely away, Guo Yi pulled out an empty Poké Ball from his pocket.
That's right—
Guo Yi intended to capture this Torkoal.
Unlike the previously encountered Centiskorch with only Ace-Level potential, a Torkoal with Elite Four-Potential still had market value—especially one with the valuable [Drought] ability. Selling her for a million or so yuan would hardly be a problem.
He gently tapped the Poké Ball against Torkoal's body. A flash of red later, Torkoal disappeared into the Poké Ball.
The Poké Ball shook gently a few times, then settled. The capture was successful.
"Alright, [Charcoal] acquired."
"Time to move on to the next location."
Guo Yi glanced briefly at the map marking his next opportunity, then continued his journey with Beedrill.
---
The mountain fire continued to spread, growing fiercer with each passing moment.
Simultaneously, wild Pokémon with bloodshot eyes rushed madly from within the Secret Realm, viciously attacking everything in sight.
Unfortunately—
The Pokémon summer camp in the mountains was quite close to the Secret Realm's entrance.
"Captain, what should we do now?"
"Maybe… maybe we should just escape?"
One of the instructors saw the intensifying flames and immediately considered abandoning the students. With their skills, their chances of escape were high if they left the students behind.
At moments of life and death, a person's true nature is revealed.
Coldly, Leng Yun—the captain they addressed—shot the instructor an icy look.
"If you want to run, run. But as long as these students call me instructor, I'll never abandon them," Leng Yun stated bluntly.
He didn't scold the instructor further—there was no point. Would a scolding truly change his mind?
Words of escape were not spoken lightly. If someone voiced such thoughts aloud, they were already halfway committed.
So Leng Yun wasted no more words, turning instead to command his Croconaw to put out the spreading flames.
The cowardly instructor exchanged a glance with another colleague. Without hesitation, the two chose to flee toward a weaker area of the flames.
Their actions might draw harsh criticism later, but at least they'd survive.
Even an ant struggles to live, let alone humans!
Yet they failed to grasp that sometimes responsibility mattered more than life itself.
"Damned traitors! Cowards!" cursed Lin, the remaining instructor, his face flushed with anger. He now deeply regretted having such colleagues.
Excluding Captain Leng Yun, the summer camp originally had three instructors. With two gone, their defensive strength halved instantly.
"Enough, Lin," Leng Yun interrupted firmly. "Forget those two. Focus on protecting the students. With a wildfire this size, the firefighters will definitely arrive soon."
Leng Yun calmly assessed their situation. With reduced defenses, their only option was to shrink their defense perimeter, prioritizing survival.
"Understood, Capta—"
"AHHH!!"
Before Lin could finish, two chilling screams echoed from the direction the fleeing instructors had run toward.
Clearly, those two were now dead.
Captain Leng Yun's expression darkened grimly.
"Trouble's arrived."
Leng Yun knew perfectly well those two hadn't fled solely because of the fire.
Their real fear was the arrival of a Secret Realm.
If a Secret Realm emerged, blocking their escape routes, the difficulty of rescue and survival would skyrocket. Rescuers from outside would need to cross through unknown terrain, facing rampaging Pokémon driven wild by disaster. Those trapped inside would face the same grim challenge in reverse.
Thus, those two instructors had intended to flee before the Secret Realm descended.
But they'd been a step too late and had paid with their lives.
Suddenly, a fierce roar erupted from the burning forest—
Two Pokémon appeared, calmly stepping through the flames.
"Pyroar!" Leng Yun, experienced in battles, instantly recognized the pair.
Pyroar—Fire and Normal-type Pokémon, evolved from Litleo.
Due to gender differences, their appearances varied distinctly. Male Pyroar resembled male lions, adorned with thick manes of red and gold encircling their faces. Female Pyroar, in contrast, sported flowing, flame-like hair cascading elegantly behind their heads.
The two Pyroar in front of them were exactly one male, one female pair.
If Leng Yun looked closely, he'd easily notice the fresh blood staining their jaws, undoubtedly belonging to the two fleeing instructors.
"Two Ace-Level Pyroar… This is trouble," Leng Yun murmured grimly.
These Pyroar had clearly lived together a long time, and their teamwork was likely impeccable. Even his Croconaw at peak strength would struggle against their combined assault—much less now, exhausted after fighting the flames.
Victory was impossible.
"I have no choice."
"It's all up to you, Venusaur!"
As the summer camp's captain, Leng Yun naturally had more than just one Ace-Level Croconaw. He also possessed a Venusaur at the Gym Leader-Tier.
However, this environment—surrounded by flames—was terrible for Venusaur.
But he had no other choice. Though he had two other Pokémon, they were merely novices at the Qualified tier, barely Lv.11. Sending them out would be little more than feeding them to the Pyroar.
"Vena!"
With its familiar, hearty cry, Venusaur emerged from the Poké Ball, immediately frowning from discomfort due to the oppressive heat. The flower on its back even seemed slightly wilted already, clearly indicating how harsh the conditions were.
"Croconaw, [Water Sport]!" Leng Yun ordered immediately.
He knew well Croconaw's depleted state meant it could only offer support. The heavy burden of offense rested solely on Venusaur.
Croconaw struggled to gather its dwindling Water-type energy—
In the next instant, a refreshing stream washed over Venusaur, relieving it of much discomfort and revitalizing the flower on its back.
"Please… hold on until reinforcements arrive," Leng Yun whispered desperately, hands clenched tightly in anxious prayer.
"ROAR!"
The Pyroar duo didn't wait. Simultaneously opening their mouths, they unleashed twin streams of blazing [Flamethrower], merging midair into a fiery tempest sweeping toward them.
The already searing temperature soared even higher.
"Venusaur, [Seed Bomb]!" Leng Yun shouted desperately. In truth, Venusaur's move pool held few options for countering Fire-type Pokémon directly. He hoped the explosive shockwave of [Seed Bomb] could disperse the flames.
Yet reality was harsh.
While [Seed Bomb]'s detonation weakened the [Flamethrower] significantly, it failed to completely neutralize the attack.
The remaining flames surged relentlessly toward them—
Venusaur was about to be hit!
At this critical moment, a lithe, fiery-orange figure dashed bravely before Venusaur—
Then, in the blink of an eye—it was engulfed by the roaring flames.