Shiko's massive body slammed down onto the ground.
A deep crater formed beneath his feet.
The moment he appeared,
he immediately drew the attention of the Ferrothorn on the mountaintop.
GeoGreymon's terrifying aura surged outward.
The Ferrothorn instantly realized how strong Shiko was.
The atmosphere on the mountain tightened in an instant.
Shiko's gaze swept across the forest ahead.
On each tall, lush tree,
hung one Ferrothorn after another.
There were a lot of them—
at least over a thousand.
Far more than the Corviknight and Scizor tribes from before.
That was normal.
After all, plant-type Pokémon reproduced quickly.
Found it!
As his eyes moved,
Shiko spotted the Pokémon with the strongest aura in the forest.
At the very deepest part of the woods, on the top of a towering tree,
what was coiled there wasn't an ordinary silver-gray Pokémon.
An Elite Four peak Ferrothorn!
There was no doubt about it—
the overlord of this tribe.
Its body was even larger than a typical Ferrothorn's,
and its shell looked like razor-edged alloy.
Even the iron balls at the vine junctions on its head—
there were four of them in total,
one more than an ordinary Ferrothorn.
Ferrothorn stared straight at Shiko.
A faint spark flared in its eyes.
Shiko's body radiated an aggressive, overwhelming aura,
making Ferrothorn feel a powerful hostility.
It recognized that Shiko's strength was on the same level as its own—
both were Elite Four peak opponents.
Ferrothorn didn't hesitate.
It detached from the tall tree, the vines atop its head snapping open and shut a few times,
then it began moving rapidly through the forest—
from tree to tree.
In no time, it closed the distance with Shiko.
The moment Shiko entered its attack range,
Ferrothorn stopped.
Its vine-iron balls smashed viciously toward Shiko.
The vines extended without end,
wrapped in green Grass-type energy.
A Vine Whip lashed straight at Shiko.
And the iron spiked ball at the tip
made this Vine Whip far more brutal than a normal Pokémon's!
Shiko's expression was icy.
That lightning-fast attack posed basically no threat to him.
Finish it fast!
With this much experience today, he had to harvest every last bit clean!
Dense Fire-type energy condensed—
forming a huge crimson sphere at his mouth.
A searing, oversized fireball blasted out.
It hit Ferrothorn's vines dead-on.
Szzzt!!
A piercing sound rang out.
Ferrothorn's Vine Whip was instantly scorched black,
turning to ash.
The fireball didn't slow down at all.
Before Ferrothorn could even react,
it slammed straight into its steel-like body.
Even an Elite Four peak Pokémon,
after taking that hit,
couldn't withstand it at all.
Ferrothorn was engulfed in blazing fire.
It let out a miserable scream.
Its steel shell cracked and shattered continuously under the flames.
A moment later,
when the flames finally dispersed,
Ferrothorn had already collapsed on the ground, unconscious.
One-shot!
The overwhelming dominance Shiko displayed
instantly intimidated every Ferrothorn in the entire forest…
"ROAR!!"
Shiko let out an enraged bellow.
His Elite Four peak aura and draconic pressure swept out and covered everything,
shocking all the Pokémon once again.
In the instant they froze in stunned sluggishness,
Shiko had already begun harvesting this enormous pile of experience.
This time,
he almost drained every last trace of Fire-type energy in his body,
spitting fireball after fireball into the forest.
Explosions sounded one after another without end.
Terrifying heat waves and flames surged and rolled through the woods.
[Congratulations, Host, you have gained 0.2 experience points]
[Congratulations, Host, you have gained 0.4 experience points]
[Congratulations, Host, you have gained 0.1 experience points]
…
System notifications rang repeatedly in Shiko's mind.
Drops of experience poured in nonstop.
Shiko watched his experience bar climb rapidly.
It didn't take long
before it reached the threshold to level up.
Then, right after that—
he broke through the limit of Level 69,
reaching Level 70: Champion rank!
In the sky,
Himeko dove down while riding a Pidgeot.
And right at that moment,
a trace of shock appeared in her eyes.
Because she could keenly sense—
Shiko's aura had surged again by a huge margin!
He…!
He leveled up again!?
No!
That wasn't right!
This didn't feel like a simple level-up—
it felt like a direct advancement!
Which meant Shiko was no longer Elite Four rank…
He had reached Champion rank!
(End of Chapter)
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