Roy and the others landed on a small clearing outside.
This clearing was right on the edge of a cliff, and a few steps forward was a bottomless canyon.
Overhead was the blue sky and white clouds, and the sunlight was dazzling.
Compared to that pitch-black cave, this place was simply another world.
Roy looked up at the sky.
Two figures, one gray and one red, were chasing each other crazily high in the sky.
Aerodactyl's speed was indeed fast.
Outrageously fast.
When it flew in the sky, its body stretched into a gray line.
If not for the flames on Charizard's body, which made it particularly conspicuous in the sky, the naked eye would hardly be able to keep up with those two shadows.
Delia stood beside Roy, one hand shielding her eyes from the sun.
She squinted for a long time, only seeing two blurry shadows darting back and forth in the sky.
"So fast..."
"I can't tell who is who at all."
Misty nodded vigorously beside her.
"Me too!"
"I just see one red and one gray line flying around in the sky."
"But the red one seems a bit brighter?"
The corners of Roy's mouth lifted slightly.
His gaze remained locked on the battle in the sky.
Aerodactyl's speed was indeed fast; this was its asset as the ancient overlord of the sky.
But Charizard was not slow either.
The bottle of speed potion previously used on Charizard had permanently increased its speed performance by 20 percent.
Furthermore, Charizard was now Gym-level, inherently suppressing Aerodactyl in terms of level.
In terms of speed, Charizard did not lose to this ancient overlord at all.
In the sky.
Aerodactyl made a sudden sharp turn, its body like a gray bolt of lightning, flying against the cliff wall.
It looked back.
That orange-red figure was still biting hard on its tail.
There was no sign of it being shaken off at all.
A flash of irritability flickered in Aerodactyl's vertical pupils.
It suddenly increased its altitude again, flapping its wings hard, its body rushing upward almost vertically.
Charizard followed closely, its flaming tail carving a dazzling arc in the air.
Aerodactyl looked down again.
That orange-red guy was still there.
And it seemed... getting closer?
Aerodactyl's vertical pupils contracted.
It couldn't quite accept this fact.
It was the overlord of the ancient sky.
In its era, nothing in the sky could fly faster than it.
It was the embodiment of speed.
But it had just woken up from a nap.
How did the world change like this after one sleep?
How could even a junior dragon fly so fast?
This was unreasonable.
This was very unreasonable.
The more Aerodactyl thought, the angrier it became.
The angrier it got, the more impatient it became.
It suddenly opened its mouth full of sharp teeth and fired a Hyper Beam upon turning its head.
A thick golden beam erupted from its mouth, carrying destructive energy, blasting straight at the Charizard behind it.
Charizard tucked its wings, its body suddenly sinking downward.
The Hyper Beam flew past, grazing its back.
Charizard pulled its altitude back up, opening its mouth to fire a Flamethrower.
The orange-red flames spread out in the sky, like a fire dragon, rolling toward Aerodactyl.
Aerodactyl dodged to the side, the flames grazing the edge of its wings.
The two giant dragons bombarded each other in the sky, one firing a beam, the other flames.
Everywhere in the sky were splashing sparks and residual energy waves.
The sound of explosions bounced back and forth between the valleys.
Delia watched with trepidation.
Misty watched with eyes shining.
"So amazing!"
"Charizard is too amazing!"
Roy's expression was calm.
But his perception remained locked on the battle in the air.
Charizard's speed could be even faster.
The Aura within him, when commanding Pokémon in battle, could further increase the Pokémon's speed by 20 percent.
In other words.
Now, Charizard's speed had already surpassed Aerodactyl.
Aerodactyl also discovered this.
It realized that the Charizard behind it was getting closer and closer.
At first, it could barely maintain the distance.
But now, that Charizard was like it had taken drugs, its speed getting faster and faster.
Aerodactyl's pressure increased twofold.
It felt that it had lost some face.
A dignified ancient sky overlord, actually suppressed in speed by a junior dragon?
If this got out, how would it mingle in the fossil circle?
Aerodactyl looked back again.
It wanted to confirm Charizard's position.
Then it froze.
Behind it was empty.
There was nothing.
That orange-red Charizard... gone?
Aerodactyl blinked.
It scanned around carefully again.
There were only a few white clouds in the sky, and a few bird-type Pokémon flying in the distance.
Indeed, there was no sign of that Charizard.
A flash of doubt flickered in Aerodactyl's vertical pupils.
Then this trace of doubt was quickly replaced by complacency.
Its mouth widened, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.
Hah.
As expected.
Its speed was still faster.
That Charizard had chased for so long, its stamina couldn't keep up, right?
It had been shaken off by itself, right?
Aerodactyl smugly flicked its tail.
It was just preparing to let out a triumphant roar toward the sky.
Just at this moment.
A shadow covered it from overhead.
Aerodactyl froze for a moment.
It hadn't even had time to look up.
An orange-red figure had already descended from the sky, like a burning meteorite, slamming heavily onto its back.
Bang!
Aerodactyl's whole body sank downward from the impact.
It let out a scream of pain.
Charizard's claws were locked tightly onto its back.
Then Charizard opened its mouth, and a Fire Blast was plastered directly onto Aerodactyl's face.
Boom!!!
The flames exploded on top of Aerodactyl's head.
The scorching heat wave engulfed its entire head.
Fire Blast, and at close range to the face.
Aerodactyl let out a shrill scream as it was burned.
Its wings flapped violently, trying to shake Charizard off.
But Charizard's claws were locked tightly onto it, and it couldn't be shaken off at all.
And the flames continued to burn.
The rocky skin on Aerodactyl's body was burned red.
Its speed dropped visibly to the naked eye.
After being burned by the fire, its body became heavy, and its wing flaps were not as powerful as before.
Roy on the ground narrowed his eyes.
The opportunity had arrived.
"Charizard!"
"Seismic Toss!"
Hearing this command, a sharp light flashed in Charizard's pupils.
Its claws released Aerodactyl's back, and then it lunged forward fiercely.
Two thick front claws hugged Aerodactyl's body tightly from behind.
Aerodactyl felt that it was locked.
It struggled frantically, whipping its tail around, flapping its wings desperately.
But Charizard's strength was greater.
It held Aerodactyl tightly in its arms, then tucked its wings, and its body began to rotate.
One circle.
Two circles.
Three circles.
The two giant dragons rotated at high speed in the air, turning into a red and gray whirlwind.
Aerodactyl was spun until it was dizzy and lost its last ability to resist.
After holding it and rotating for seven or eight circles, Charizard suddenly changed direction.
Changing from horizontal rotation to vertical downward.
Like a meteorite, it smashed toward the valley floor below.
The speed was getting faster and faster.
The ears were filled with the sound of whistling wind.
Aerodactyl was held tightly by Charizard, unable to move, and could only watch the ground getting closer.
Getting closer.
Getting closer.
And then—Boom!!!!!
A loud noise exploded at the bottom of the valley.
Gravel splashed, dust flew.
The entire valley floor shook.
Delia and Misty on the clearing felt the vibration under their feet.
Delia nervously grabbed Roy's sleeve.
Misty also widened her eyes and looked down.
The dust at the bottom of the valley slowly dispersed.
Revealing a huge crater.
In the center of the crater, Aerodactyl lay on the ground, its body deeply embedded in the rubble.
Its wings were drooping, and its tail was dragging weakly on the ground.
Its eyes had turned into swirl eyes.
It had completely lost the ability to battle.
Charizard stood beside Aerodactyl.
One of its feet stepped on Aerodactyl's tail, and it raised its head.
A passionate dragon roar erupted from its chest.
Roar!!!
The sound echoed between the valleys, shaking the gravel to rustle down.
Charizard opened its mouth, and a thick flame shot into the sky, exploding into a huge spark in the sky.
It was displaying its dragon might.
It won.
It defeated the overlord of the ancient sky.
It was the new king of the sky.
After hearing Charizard's high-pitched dragon roar, a satisfied smile appeared on the corner of Roy's mouth.
This duel of the sky overlords.
It was his Charizard that won.
And it was a complete victory.
"Delia, Misty."
Roy turned his head to look at the two girls.
"You two stay here and wait for me."
"I'll go down."
Delia was stunned for a moment.
"Go down?"
She took two steps forward and glanced at the bottom of the valley.
It was bottomless below, and the cliff walls were as steep as if they had been cut by a knife.
"Roy, it's very deep down there."
"How will you go down?"
Delia's face was full of worry.
"Be careful, safety first."
Roy smiled at her.
"Don't worry."
"When have I ever done something I wasn't sure about?"
After speaking, he walked toward the edge of the cliff.
Delia watched Roy's back, always feeling that something was not quite right.
Then she saw Roy walk to the edge of the cliff without any hesitation.
He jumped down directly.
Delia's pupils contracted sharply.
"Ah!!!"
She let out a scream, her voice cracking.
She froze in place, her face turning pale instantly.
Misty hurried over and took Delia's arm.
"Sister Delia!"
"It's okay, it's okay, don't worry!"
Misty said while patting Delia's hand.
"Sigh, this bad guy, always makes people worry."
"How could he jump in front of you?"
"At least he should have let me cover your eyes before he jumped!"
"Isn't this just making you worry for nothing?"
Misty's tone carried a bit of teasing.
She knew the power of Roy's Psychic at any time.
That guy's Confusion could lift himself up to fly in the sky; what was jumping off a cliff?
Delia was amused by Misty's words and chuckled.
A little color finally returned to her pale face.
"Oh, Misty, you're making fun of me again!"
"I saw him jump straight down, it was too sudden!"
Misty also smiled.
"Alright, alright."
"That bad guy is powerful, he won't fall to his death."
"Let's go, let's go check the front."
Misty took Delia and walked toward the front edge, trying to see the situation below.
As soon as the two came to the edge of the slope, Misty's eyes suddenly lit up.
She squatted down, her eyes fixed on a cluster of rock crevices on the slope.
"Eh?"
"What is this?"
Delia also curiously leaned over.
The two seemed to have found something good.
...
Valley floor.
Roy landed lightly on the ground, his toes touching the ground, and the fluctuations of his Psychic slowly dissipated around him.
He stood up and patted the dust off his clothes.
Then he walked toward the big crater.
Aerodactyl was still lying in the crater.
Its eyes were swirling, and it had completely fainted.
Charizard stood beside it, one foot still stepping on Aerodactyl's tail.
Seeing Roy walk over, Charizard raised its head and let out another low dragon roar.
This sound was not as passionate as before, more like reporting the battle results to Roy.
Roy reached out and patted Charizard's abdomen.
"Well done."
"That surprise attack from the sky just now, the timing was grasped very well."
"First using the clouds to block the view, then vertically ascending into its visual blind spot."
"Then killing it in one blow."
"This Aerodactyl's battle experience is not as rich as yours, but among wild ancient Pokémon, it is already considered top-tier."
"You being able to beat it like this shows that your combat power has improved by another level."
Being praised by Roy, Charizard happily vibrated its wings.
It raised its head, shouted at the sky again, and the flame on its tail flared up by a large margin.
Roy smiled, then took out an empty poké ball from his waist.
He walked to Aerodactyl's side and squatted down.
He pressed the poké ball onto Aerodactyl's head.
Aerodactyl's body turned into a red light and was collected into the poké ball.
The poké ball shook a few times in Roy's hand.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Ding.
It became quiet.
Roy looked at the poké ball in his hand, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
Captured.
This ancient sky overlord trapped underground now belonged to him.
Roy held the poké ball and silently recited in his heart.
Panel.
A virtual screen unfolded before his eyes.
[Pokémon: Aerodactyl]
[Type: Rock, Flying]
[Level: lv46 (quasi-Gym-level)]
[Potential: Champion Rank]
[Ability: Rock Head — When using recoil moves, it will not take recoil damage.]
[Moves: Iron Head, Hyper Beam, Scary Face, Rock Tomb, etc.!]
[Held Item: None]
[Special Enhancement: None]
Roy quickly browsed through the panel data.
The level was quasi-Gym-level, level 46.
This level was already considered very high among wild Pokémon.
The ability was Rock Head, immune to recoil damage.
This ability was very practical in actual combat.
Moves like Iron Head and Double-Edge had great power but would have recoil.
With Rock Head, one could use these high-power moves without any scruples.
As for the moves, he had just witnessed Hyper Beam.
The power was indeed great, but there would be stiffness after use, which needed attention.
Rock Tomb was a control move used to restrict the opponent's movement.
Scary Face was an auxiliary move to reduce the opponent's speed.
Iron Head was a high-power physical attack of the Steel type.
Overall, this Aerodactyl's move pool was quite comprehensive.
Attack, control, debuff, everything it should have was there.
Subsequently, Roy's gaze fell on the potential again!
The potential was actually Champion Rank!