1033 This...This is...

After enduring Flareon's Flare Blitz, Arcanine seemed unaffected by the pain. It swiftly stabilized itself at the edge of the circular platform and then used Extreme Speed towards Flareon.

Since Fire-type moves couldn't affect Flareon, it decided to use other moves.

The Extreme Speed's defining feature is speed. Before Flareon could react, it was struck, continuously pushed back by Arcanine. Its claws tightly gripped the circular platform, leaving deep marks.

After the Extreme Speed attack, Arcanine didn't stop there. It immediately followed up with a Close Combat. The transitions between the two moves were so seamless and rapid that Flareon, still reeling from the effects of Extreme Speed, was hit again by the Close Combat.

The sturdy hind legs of Arcanine viciously kicked Flareon in its stomach, contorting its face in agony. Before Flareon could fly off, Arcanine bit its front leg, dragged it back, flung it to the ground, and then stomped on its chest.

Flareon struggled intensely, seemingly close to breaking free. However, a kick to its waist sent it flying.

Close Combat emphasizes uninterrupted and fluid movements between attacks. Arcanine had mastered this artistry.

Flareon, thrown into the lava pool, left the other Pokémon spectators baffled. Did... did it lose?

However, not long after, the lava pool began bubbling furiously, resembling boiling water. A fiery-red figure rapidly shot out from the lava pool.

The crimson silhouette was none other than Flareon that had fallen into the lava.

With its ability to absorb fire, Flareon remained unharmed after falling into the lava pool. Not only was it unharmed, but after absorbing the flames in the lava pool, its strength significantly increased.

At this moment, Flareon's fluffy fur was enveloped in strands of golden flames, as if adorned in a golden battle armor, incredibly powerful.

The airborne Flareon initially launched a Fire Fang towards Arcanine. The dog agilely evaded the attack, leaving a deep pit in the solid circular platform caused by Flareon's Fire Fang. The shattered rocks scattered, landing in the lava pool and melting instantly due to the high temperature.

As the first strike missed, Flareon swiftly leaped from the ground and instantly collided with the just-landed Arcanine. A tremendous force transmitted from Flareon's body, causing the Arcanine to groan and continually retreat. Meanwhile, Flareon landed lightly, leaping away from Arcanine in just a few hops.

Flareon used a Fighting-type move, Superpower, when it charged towards Arcanine. This move's power was exceptionally strong. Given that both Arcanine and Flareon had their defenses lowered (using Superpower reduces both Pokémon's defenses), this blow seriously injured Arcanine.

Feeling too much pain, Arcanine, initially planning a counter-attack, abandoned its previous strategy and unleashed a Dragon Pulse towards Flareon.

Dragon Pulse was a move it had learned from Dragon-type Pokémon in the Ecopark, even though it wasn't a Dragon-type Pokémon. However, with its exceptional potential, learning Dragon Pulse wasn't too challenging.

The blue draconic energy hit Flareon, strike after strike.

Flareon toiled in evading Arcanine's Dragon Pulse, creating explosions in the lava pool, sending out waves of scorching heat, forcing the onlookers, including Yuga, to step back.

Yuga is not a Flareon, and being accidentally splashed by lava is no laughing matter.

Bang!!!

Arcanine might have gone overboard as an immense Dragon Pulse inadvertently hit an evolution stone vein not far from the lava pool. The ground trembled, and the shattered rocks tumbled down.

Yuga's reward from the system was a super-sized Fire Stone vein. Despite extracting many Fire Stones and trading them for various resources, the Fire Stone vein showed no signs of depletion.

Arcanine's full-force Dragon Pulse not only shattered rocks but also crushed a large portion of the Fire Stones beneath.

The Flareon witnessing this scene were distraught. If the Fire Stones shattered, they wouldn't be as valuable! Considering the area damaged due to the mine's collapse, the number of damaged Fire Stones would undoubtedly be substantial.

Seeing this, the Flareon were in no mood for the spectacle. Volcarona directly intervened, halting the battle between Arcanine and Flareon.

Spendthrift!

Volcarona cursed Arcanine internally, completely forgetting it had tacitly allowed Arcanine and Flareon's intense battle.

Arcanine also realized it had gone too far and was feeling extremely guilty.

Yuga, after witnessing the collapsed Fire Stone vein, felt the same heartache. These were valuable assets! If he k ow it, he will ignored Volcarona's objections and firmly stopped their fight!

Yuga was filled with deep regret.

"Alright, let's clean up the collapsed area first and then assess the specific extent of the damage."

Yuga called out to the equally regretful Flareon. If they didn't address the collapse, it could pose a danger to other Pokémon mining in the future.

With the efforts of the Flareon, the damaged section was quickly assessed. At least six to seven hundred Fire Stone pieces had crumbled.

Hearing this figure, Yuga's face turned green. Millions had just disappeared.

"Never mind, let's keep these Fire Stone fragments for our own use in the future." Yuga weakly comforted the Pokémon.

Although the fragments couldn't be sold, using them personally wouldn't pose any issues. Fire Stones had a supportive role in Flareon's training, and the fragments held the same potential.

However, the fragmented Fire Stones would inevitably lose much energy, making it impossible for Flareon to evolve using them, even in large quantities.

Flareon needed Fire Stones for evolution because these stones contained abundant Fire-type energy, which could impact their overly stable evolution factors.

Yuga's comforting words didn't lift the spirits of the Flareon. They preferred intact Fire Stones over fragments.

Moreover, Yuga had never lacked in providing their training resources. They were prudent and frugal Pokémon; wasting so many Fire Stones was indeed distressing.

Not only were Yuga's Pokémon heartbroken, but Flin's Flareon also felt the same as they were left breathless with distress.

Fire Stones! So many Fire Stones! Now, they're all in fragments!

Seeing the pile of Fire Stone fragments not far away, Flareon was almost suffocating from sadness, feeling like collapsing and pounding the ground.

What sin has been committed!

So many Fire Stones, how comfortable it would be to sleep on them! Flareon "extravagantly" thought.

But the trainer's friend is seriously rich; they actually have so many Fire Stones! Flareon was envious to the point of death. Why is its trainer such a pauper?

Among the Elite Four, Flint is a complete pauper, fearing comparisons. Compared to Yuga, its trainer is as good as dust.

For the first time, Flareon felt it had misjudged people. How did it end up with a trainer whose pockets were as empty as holed pockets? There are so many rich people in the world... its dream of sleeping on Fire Stones can only remain a dream for a lifetime...

Sigh, I wonder if it's too late to change trainers now...

Just when Yuga and the Pokémon were in deep distress, a shout suddenly came from a distance from the Ninetales leader and the Houndoom leader.

"What happened?" Yuga shouted to the couple.

"Ninetales... Ninetales..." Ninetales's call came.

Filled with curiosity, Yuga hurried over, only to see Houndoom continuously digging at a patch of debris. Gradually, a piece of the rock wall was exposed, embedded with dazzling and radiant Supreme-grade Fire Stones.

The brightness and purity of Supreme-grade evolution stones far exceeded regular ones, making them easily distinguishable.

One, two, three... eight, nine, a total of nine Supreme-grade Fire Stones.

"This... this..." Yuga was so excited that they became a little incoherent. This was truly an unexpected joy.

However, after the brief joy, Yuga suddenly felt that there wasn't much to be happy about. These Supreme-grade Fire Stones wouldn't run away; although they were discovered early, losing so many regular Fire Stones seemed like more trouble than it was worth.

"Handle these Supreme-grade Fire Stones, notify me once they're dug out," Yuga said half-heartedly to the Ninetales couple.

The Ninetales couple looked at each other, unsure why Yuga suddenly changed his mood; wasn't he happy just now? Oh well, let him be... The Ninetales couple nodded at Yuga, assuring that they would mine the Supreme-grade Fire Stones properly.

Even though Yuga now had the Innovation Potion, its usage was limited, not as precious as Supreme-grade evolution stones. Although the usage of Supreme-grade evolution stones was also restricted, they were still incomparable to the Innovation Potion.

Yuga thought about how to handle these Supreme-grade Fire Stones while walking. It seemed a bit wasteful to directly use them for the Flareon.

Oh well! Let's just hold on to them for now.

As Yuga walked, they suddenly noticed a nearby Flareon. "How about I send you back to Flint?" Yuga suggested.

Hearing this, Flareon suddenly rushed over and hugged Yuga's leg, pleading.

"Flareon... Flareon..."

Don't go! I'll stay here and won't cause any trouble anymore!! Please pity me, I won't dare cause any more trouble, Woo...

Although Flareon stayed here and Flint provided food expenses, it was clear to Flareon that it wasn't as comfortable there as it is now. Out of appreciation for Flint, Yuga often supplemented Flareon. Everything it ate, drank, or used was top-notch. If it were under Flint alone, it'd be frugal... way too frugal.

Yuga: ...

"Fine, but don't cause trouble anymore, or I'll send you straight back!" Yuga reluctantly said.

"Flareon.. Flareon...."

I got it, thank you, thank you... You're a really great person, the trainer's friend!

Too good, no need to leave, really wants to stay here forever.

(｀⌒メ) Yuga: Damn it, I want to punch this Flareon freak to death!

Just as Yuga left the volcano Sub-Ecopark, he suddenly sensed a strange aura coming from the Haunted Mansion Sub-Ecopark. Immediately, he saw the Meowstic running towards him in a panic.

"Meow... meow..."

Oh no! Oh no! Something big has happened!

Yuga listened to the Meowstic shouting until it almost broke its vocal cords, as if someone was pinching its throat, the sharp voice seemed like it could tear through the sky, surely piercing his eardrums.

What's going on? An issue at the laboratory?

The Meowstic ran over, holding Yuga's hand and pulling him towards the Haunted Mansion Sub-Ecopark, muttering incoherently. Yuga couldn't understand what it was saying and just followed along.

As Yuga stepped through the gate leading to the Haunted Mansion, the odd sensation he felt earlier grew stronger.

This is...

Yuga felt this aura was very familiar, powerful, and incredibly majestic.

By now, the entire Haunted Mansion Sub-Ecopark was in chaos. As soon as Yuga arrived, they witnessed a scene of chaos, countless Ghost-type Pokémon were flying around like headless flies. The Misdreavus and Mismagius screamed louder than ever, filled with fear and panic.

The Chandelure, Lampent, and Litwick, which were originally floating in the Ghost Sea, also screamed and surged out of the sea surface, seemingly greatly frightened. Their ghostly blue flames above their heads flickered intensely, casting a blue hue over the entire Haunted Mansion Sub-Ecopark.

The only one managing to remain calm at the scene was Dusknoir. It struggled to console the other Pokémon but to no avail.

Yuga, witnessing this scene, was dumbfounded: What... what's happening here?

Without needing an explanation from anyone, Yuga quickly grasped the reason.

"Roar..."

At this moment, a melodious and cheerful roar echoed from afar, a giant figure glided gracefully closer to the sea surface of the Ghost Sea. As it flew, it emitted delightful roars.

Each time it roared, the other Ghost-type Pokémon panicked and scattered.

As Yuga glimpsed the true form of this Pokémon, their eyes widened involuntarily: What did I just see...

Those golden rings, the black and red stripes, isn't that Giratina? And it's the Origin Forme of Giratina!

Logically speaking, doesn't Giratina transform into different forms outside the Distortion World?

"Am... am I seeing things?" Yuga murmured, watching Giratina joyfully swimming in the Ghost Sea.

However, the chaotic scene before his eyes unequivocally confirmed that his eyesight was just fine. The reason behind the tumult among the Ghost-type Pokémon was the shock caused by Giratina.

Sharp-eyed Yuga quickly noticed a faint blue figure perched on Giratina's head. With every twist of Giratina's body, peculiar laughter emanated from the top of its head.

Isn't that Jellicent that has always stayed in the Distortion World accompanying Giratina?