Volcanic Mountain Range, Emberfall City Gym.
"Have you found a way to open that Secret Kingdom?"
With his fingers interlaced, Brandon Jones rested his chin on his hand; his tone was somewhat gloomy.
"That legendary Pokémon is using the power of the volcano to suppress the entrance to that Secret Kingdom."
"The normal methods for opening the Secret Kingdom no longer work. It's necessary to break that force by resorting to brute force."
The man dressed in red kept tapping on the keyboard, projecting a series of data onto the giant screen, until what he considered the most feasible method finally appeared.
"Brute force...?"
"Then it seems we can only resort to the power of the demon god."
Brandon nodded slightly, and then a crimson-red orb appeared in his hand.
...
At the same time, at the Obsidian City Gym.
At that moment, the gym battle had just come to an end.
After finishing the battle, Ethan left the gym together with Litwick.
He left behind the gym leader, Caleb Turner, and the staff of the Pokémon Trainers' Guild, both wearing completely stunned expressions.
"Litwick, how do you feel?"
Ethan patted Litwick, which had perched itself on his shoulder, and asked.
"Litttwwiikk!"
Litwick cried out happily, though a trace of fatigue could be seen on its face.
Pshhh!
Suddenly, several sounds of flames igniting were heard from the void.
Then, one after another, several Litwick figures could be seen abruptly appearing in midair, before flying and fluttering around Ethan.
Finally, all of those Litwick transformed in unison into a mass of purple flames that merged with Litwick's violet fire.
It was obvious that those Litwick that had suddenly appeared in the air were nothing more than substitutes created by Litwick itself.
During the previous battle, Litwick had taken advantage of the cover provided by the move Haze to secretly condense Litwick substitutes, and then, using the special abilities inherent to Ghost-type Pokémon, hide them within the void. Thanks to those unpredictable attacks, it managed to defeat all three of the gym leader Caleb Turner's Pokémon in a single strike.
The move Substitute, the move Inferno, and the ability Flash Fire.
Litwick's battle had practically relied on just these three resources.
However, relying on the strange nature of Ghost-type Pokémon and its perfect control over the move Substitute, Litwick's combat capability was extremely powerful.
If it could evolve smoothly into Chandelure, even while mastering only those two moves, it could become a formidable Pokémon capable of standing on its own!
"The Cross Cup is about to begin."
"It seems it's already time to head to Solaris City... and besides, that matter also needs to be resolved first."
Ethan raised his head toward the sun hanging high in the sky and smiled faintly.
The next day, Charizard carried Ethan from Obsidian City toward Solaris City.
Solaris City is located in the center of the southwestern region of the League, where temperatures are extremely high throughout the year.
Especially now, when it was already June and not far from the hottest month, July.
In the sky, a blazing sun hung high, causing Charizard to roar excitedly without end. According to the League's explanation, during this period this area is completely under the Sunny Day climate, which grants Fire-type Pokémon a certain boost in power.
"This environment really is the best place for Charizard and the others to train."
Ethan looked at the scorching sun in the sky, then at Charizard and Litwick, who appeared especially spirited, and smiled slightly.
If no accidents occurred, they would stay here training until the start of the Cross Cup.
However, before that, he still needed to make a visit to the Pokémon Researchers' Guild of Solaris City.
"By now... they should have already received that photo, right?"
"I really can't wait to see the expressions on President Beckett's face and the others right now."
Ethan took Magmortar's Poké Ball from the belt he wore on his back, and the corner of his mouth curved into a slight smile.
...
Pokémon Researchers' Guild of Solaris City.
At that moment, Grand President Beckett did not know how long he had already been there.
Inside the enormous conference hall, President Morgan of the Pokémon Researchers' Guild of Solaris City had his eyes wide open, staring in disbelief at the photograph projected on the screen.
"Magmortar!"
"It seems Ethan has discovered yet another new evolutionary form of a Pokémon. From the looks of it, should this be Magmar's evolution?"
"I have no idea what method that kid used to make Magmar evolve."
Grand President Beckett calmly observed the photo of Magmortar on the screen, wearing an expression of "I'm already used to this."
After all, Ethan had already given him far too many surprises; a new evolution of Magmar was no longer enough to leave him dumbfounded.
Even so, there was still a hint of doubt in his eyes. They had experimented with countless methods to achieve Magmar's evolution, yet all had failed. How had Ethan managed to do it?
"Magmar is an extremely popular Pokémon. And trainers who specialize in Fire-type Pokémon are not lacking within our League."
"If Ethan really can allow Magmar to complete its evolution, the positive impact on the League would be enormous."
President Morgan took a deep breath, his gaze shifting repeatedly toward the door, clearly showing his impatience.
"Ah, that is Magmar's evolved form."
Just at that moment, a voice suddenly sounded from the entrance.
Immediately afterward, Ethan's figure appeared abruptly in the conference hall, accompanied by Gardevoir.
"Thank you, Gardevoir."
Ethan expressed his thanks, then looked at Grand President Beckett with a somewhat helpless expression.
In order to get him there faster, Grand President Beckett had directly sent Gardevoir to use the move Teleport for the entire journey. Being able to perform Teleport over such a long distance... truly worthy of being Grand President Beckett's signature Pokémon.
"Ethan, you've finally arrived. Hurry up and release Magmortar."
Upon seeing Ethan, President Morgan's eyes lit up immediately. Without caring whether he was being familiar or not, he spoke hastily.
"All right. Go, Magmortar."
Ethan smiled faintly and opened Magmortar's Poké Ball.
"Just like in the photo."
When Magmortar appeared, both President Morgan and Grand President Beckett's gazes brightened.
Then, President Morgan also took out a Poké Ball. With a flash of white light, Magmar's figure appeared.
"Maggaarr!"
After coming out, Magmar also stared at the Magmortar in front of it, showing an expression of astonishment.
Evidently, Magmar also could not comprehend how a Pokémon of the same species had come to reach such a state.
Moreover, in terms of aura, although that strange counterpart did not seem stronger than it, the faint yet clear sense of superiority emanating from its body made Magmar feel a chill in its heart... and caused a vague suspicion to begin forming.
(End of chapter)