Pokémon: Dreams Come True Starting in Sinnoh

Chapter 229 Breaking Through the Fierce Fire: The Second Unspoken Agreement

"Oji!"

The little fire monkey that jumped out of the cave realized the danger it was in, so it jumped out of the cave without any hesitation, and at the same time, it released the flame that it had been gathering.

"A good habit, it's just a pity."

Michael crossed his arms and first praised Chimchar's habits, but then shook his head regretfully.

Milotic glanced at the oncoming flames, frowned slightly, and then casually flicked its tail, instantly extinguishing the seemingly powerful flames.

"continue."

Mikkuri spoke calmly, simply addressing Milotic to himself.

After blocking Chimchar's Flamethrower, Milotic raised its tail and stood up, its body, which had been half-coiled, gazing at the sky with its head held high, letting out a long, beautiful cry.

Soon, the sky darkened, and first came drizzles like needles and threads, but then these drizzles began to intertwine and turn into a torrential downpour.

"It still doesn't work..."

Upon seeing this scene, Ash's expression turned serious and tense.

Even though he had many ideas in mind that could briefly break through Milotic, Chimchar's power was still too weak. Flamethrower and Flame Wheel were blocked so easily, without even needing to use any moves.

This vast disparity in strength cannot be overcome by any scheme or plan.

Rain continued to fall from the sky, and the flames on the little fire monkey's buttocks weakened considerably compared to the beginning.

At this point, even if the Pokémon facing Chimchar wasn't Milotic from Wallace, but any other Water-type Pokémon that had undergone some training, Chimchar's chances of winning would be close to zero.

At this point, Mikuri had no intention of giving Chimchar a chance to catch its breath, and instead gave the order directly:

"surf!"

Amidst towering waves and torrential rain, Milotic rode the several-meter-high waves, rushing straight towards Chimchar from one side of the arena.

The surging waves, mixed with the sound of rain hitting the ground, created a powerful sound like the drums and gongs of two armies facing off.

Unfortunately, against such a powerful wave, Chimchar can't maintain the back-and-forth action of a typical battle. Of all its current moves, the only one that can dodge this attack is...

"Dig a hole!"

With Ash and Wallace both fully aware of the situation, Chimchar quickly dug a hole and burrowed underground.

However, at this point, Mikoli was no longer as gentle as she had been at the beginning.

He raised the corner of his eye, revealing a playful smile, and looked at the hole dug by the little fire monkey, saying indifferently, "Put it down."

To break the Dig barrier, all you need to do is have your Pokémon attack the hole with a mid-to-long-range move. But Wallace went even further, having Milotic unleash all the waves it was generating and push them into the pit where Chimchar was.

Mikoli's speed decreased rapidly, and Milotic's movements were also very swift.

Even if Ash wanted Chimchar to rush out quickly, it was too late.

"Wow—"

All I could hear was the roar of the waves.

The battlefield, which originally had no slope, was now completely engulfed by the waves created by Milotic.

The water flooded the land, reaching above Ash's ankles. He shouted at the Chimchar that hadn't yet escaped from the cave, but the Chimchar didn't respond for a long time.

.......

The bell seemed to have already rung, and even Mikuri couldn't help but frown. He had thought that Chimchar should at least be able to break free from the waves and return to the ground, but...

Did I overestimate it?

Only then did Mikuri begin to regret whether he had gone too far, while Ash on the other side also regretted whether he had chosen the wrong occasion.

Ash originally wanted to take advantage of the fact that his opponent was Wallace, giving Chimchar a strong enough opponent to hone its skills and accumulate power in preparation for evolution. Secondly, Ash also wanted to fulfill his promise to Chimchar on this stage and let everyone witness its growth and power.

"Skin?"

Just as Ash was about to have Pikachu use Iron Tail to break the ground and rescue Chimchar, Pikachu seemed to sense something.

No, it should be said that everyone present felt it.

A surge of intense energy erupted from beneath the stage.

On the flooded stage, streaks of red light seemed unable to be suppressed any longer and burst through the water, emerging from the ground.

The temperature on the field began to rise higher and higher, and even Wallace and Ash, who were standing on the sides, felt a strange heat.

"..."

On the shore of Lizhi Lake.

Shinji, who had been watching the match, was about to leave after seeing Chimchar disappear under the surfer, and he even felt disdain for Ash.

But he never expected the change to happen so quickly.

The water on the stage was evaporating at a visible speed, and wisps of white mist began to gradually rise into the sky.

Just as everyone was wondering when the little fire monkey would finally emerge, they never expected that the first thing to come out of the hole that had "buried" the little fire monkey was not its figure, but a towering flame several meters high.

"Oji!"

Then, accompanied by a furious roar filled with fighting spirit, as if declaring that he had not yet fallen, a brand new figure appeared before everyone.

"Mercymon... it actually evolved underground? And..."

Ash looked at Infernape, whose entire body was engulfed in flames, with some concern.

Its eyes were bloodshot, and the flames on its body were completely unconscious, seemingly just venting their excess power as they began to rage wildly in all directions.

Such a stunning scene is naturally rare, but some spectators who had seen the Combination Tournament still recognized this unusual little Flame Monkey.

"Isn't this the same one from the finals of the group competition?!"

The sound didn't last long before it was quickly drowned out by Infernape's roar.

It glared angrily at Milotic, who had driven it into this predicament, and then unleashed a jet of fire several times more powerful than before, as if to burn Milotic completely dry.

"Water cannon".

The match wasn't over yet, but given Infernape's current condition, Mikuri wasn't sure whether the match should continue.

If Ash needed it, he would immediately have Milotic use its full power to knock out Infernape, but Ash on the other side clearly had no intention of giving up the battle, judging from the way he was reaching out to Infernape as if calling out to it.

Ok?

Mikkelsen initially thought so, but the next second he rejected his idea.

The sounds on the field were drowned out by Infernape's roar, and everyone's attention was drawn to Infernape.

But even in this situation, Michael noticed that there seemed to be ripples floating around Ash. He couldn't see them, but he could vaguely sense them.

In fact, Ash was indeed trying to communicate with Infernape at this time.

This was the first time he had connected his Aura with the Pokémon he was fighting on the field in actual combat. His Aura power was still weak at the moment, and in theory, such recklessness could easily cause the Aura to output too much power, to the point that he would faint.

But......

Ash's current thoughts are not these. He simply feels that Infernape is undergoing the trials and tribulations of Infernape; he is also undergoing the trials and tribulations of Aura. They are both challengers, and they both need to overcome the most difficult hurdle in front of them in order to achieve a breakthrough and qualitative change.

He didn't want Infernape to suffer the pain of the trial alone, so he resolutely made this risky choice.

Waveguides are connected to the core of both.

In that very instant.

A flame, seemingly capable of devouring and melting everything, enveloped his body and scorched his skin.

Before he could react, his consciousness began to blur, and his originally peaceful thoughts began to turn toward violence and destruction.

"This is... the raging fire..."

Ash struggled to lift his head and look ahead. His vision was filled with blood red, and the word "destruction" occupied most of his remaining thoughts.

But Ash suppressed this impulse and was not absorbed or assimilated in the world filled with blood red. His powerful will, which even Arceus praised, was fully ignited when he saw Infernape curled up in the distance.

"Just get close to it..."

Xiao Zhi gasped for breath as he strode forward, each step heavy as if it would crush him completely.

Relaxing and aligning with the world seems to be the best option.

If I just lose my breath, I can faint and then I won't have to endure this pain anymore.

Even though he could have simply accepted it, Xiaozhi persisted, walking step by step, for what seemed like an eternity.

Looking back, the world Ash passed through was no longer the blood-red color filled with violence. The world behind him had been smoothed out, and a calm, azure blue, like the surface of a lake on a sunny day, had replaced the original world.

Ash's current destination is Infernape, which is located at the edge of this world.

"call--"

Finally arriving at Infernape's side, Ash exhaled deeply, his breath seemingly carrying intense heat like flames.

His internal organs had lost all sensation; he only held onto the curled-up Fire Monkey with a single belief, a belief born from the agreement made when he captured it.

The Infernape in his arms seemed even hotter than the flames from before. It appeared to have lost consciousness and fainted, but Ash didn't let go. Instead, he whispered in its ear:

"I understand how you feel now, so don't say I'm just making sarcastic remarks..."

He didn't know if the unconscious Infernape could hear his own voice, but since it had overcome the fire, perhaps it meant that it was conscious?

"I promised you that I would let everyone witness your meteoric rise. Perhaps you have always felt that you are weak and have been holding others back... Even recently, you have been anxious to break through the last barrier and evolve as soon as possible."

Ash's consciousness began to become increasingly blurred, and he realized that he didn't have much time left.

Both the world of raging fire and the depletion of his waveguide were causing his spirit to decline rapidly.

"I thought today would be a good opportunity. Your opponent is very strong, and this competition has an audience that is no less than that of the Yuen no Tsuri and the Combination Tournament. I wanted to make this your first battle to make a name for yourself."

"Hmm... Although what I'm doing now might seem to you the same as Shinji's, pushing you into a corner to try and unleash your potential... But as you can see now, I'm also in your world, experiencing the same feelings as you, if the Aura doesn't malfunction..."

"..."

Infernape's fingers trembled slightly.

However, the amplitude was very small, and Xiao Zhi, whose consciousness was blurred, did not notice it.

He simply continued speaking to himself:

"So, since I managed to pull through, you definitely can too! Don't let this environment defeat you; it originated from within yourself. Wouldn't it be pathetic to lose to yourself?"

Xiao Zhi smiled, his tone even carrying a hint of disdain for all of this.

He used his last bit of strength to straighten Infernape's body, his consciousness already at its lowest point.

"Together we will become the strongest in the world, and no one can defeat us. This is another promise I haven't explicitly stated, and now I'm telling you this promise in my heart... To become the strongest in the world, you'll encounter far more trouble than you're facing now. A mere raging fire is nothing! So don't back down, don't be confused, persevere. As long as you take this step, as long as you can suppress the raging fire here, you—"

Before Xiaozhi could finish speaking, his consciousness had already given way and began to dissipate.

That's really lame.

A helpless and bitter smile appeared on Xiaozhi's lips.

I originally wanted to look cool and say my last words before collapsing, but I never expected it to end like this.

Can it be successful?

Xiao Zhi didn't know either.

After all, he wasn't some omniscient and omnipotent god. He couldn't even solve the problems of the Galactic Team, let alone anything else.

Ash's only guarantee was that he had truly given it his all. It was indeed a bit unwise to let Chimchar face such an opponent, but Ash was still willing to give it a try, just in case he succeeded.

boom.

Ash fainted, but his body did not fall to the ground in Blaze World.

The moment his voice faded, Infernape regained consciousness. The flames on its tail were still burning fiercely due to the influence of the fire, but its eyes were unusually clear and calm.

The strange high temperature on my body has also dissipated.

It held the unconscious Ash in its arms, and the once familiar world of flames, filled with a mind-altering atmosphere, had now been completely transformed.

Ash walked across the entire world, and the flames of the entire world were extinguished.

The only small space ahead was a place that Ash had not yet set foot in. It was still burning fiercely as before, except that there was a flame floating in the air in that space.

Gazing at the flame, Infernape couldn't help but grin, then slowly walked forward and reached out to touch the flame.

Immediately.

The once peaceful world was once again engulfed in flames, but this time, the flames that entangled and trapped the world were unusually "gentle."

.......

P.S.: Please give me a gift! Don't forget to send me your love three times a day! The number of gifts I've received has been decreasing over the past two weeks.