"Go, Charizard, Mega Evolve!"
After finding a suitable opponent, Gu Yuan immediately had Charizard Mega Evolve. A brilliant light surged, and Mega Charizard Y burst forth from the radiance. The opponent Gu Yuan had chosen for Mega Charizard Y was Emboar, one of the Unova League starter Pokémon, often nicknamed "Second Senior Brother."
"Mega Charizard Y, Blast Burn!"
With a wave of his hand, a concentrated fireball rapidly condensed in Mega Charizard Y's claws before being hurled with great force. Its Drought ability activated, making the power of the Blast Burn even more terrifying.
Staring intently at Mega Charizard Y, Emboar's eyes also burned with a fierce fighting spirit. Flames danced across its body before condensing into a sphere, which Emboar pushed out with all its might. Just like the move Mega Charizard Y released, Emboar was also using Blast Burn.
Although there were no trainers in the spatial rift to help it learn this move, Emboar had managed to figure out how to use Blast Burn through its own experience and strength. After all, before humans mastered the technology to capture Pokémon, they relied on their own abilities to explore and learn moves. Even now, humans cannot research many moves suitable for Pokémon to learn; most are simply discoveries of moves that Pokémon already possess but rarely show.
The moment the fireballs collided, an explosion thundered. A large amount of fire scattered, and Mega Charizard Y instinctively used Heat Wave to control these flames, forming a firestorm that enveloped Emboar. Emboar's counterattack was also swift, using Blast Burn again to crush the firestorm.
"Mega Charizard Y, use your aerial advantage to fight Emboar. Use Dragon Dance to buff yourself."
As Gu Yuan's voice rang out, Mega Charizard Y sprang into action. Its wings beat, sending two Air Slash attacks toward Emboar one after the other. Flames surged out as Emboar channeled the power of Fire Blast into a shield, blocking the Air Slash assault. It had to be said that this Emboar's mastery of its own moves was extremely high.
With every flap of its wings, Mega Charizard Y's speed began to climb. It condensed a Heat Wave, utilizing its aerial advantage to strike Emboar from every possible angle. Emboar knew it couldn't just take hits passively, so it immediately condensed the power of Blast Burn into a long spear. It pierced through the Heat Wave while forcing Mega Charizard Y to dodge.
Seizing this opportunity, flames condensed on Emboar's arms once more. The power of Fire Blast burst forth, transforming into two fire pythons during the charge to pincer Mega Charizard Y from both sides.
"Mega Charizard Y, Fire Punch!"
At Gu Yuan's command, dragon claws formed, and flames immediately adhered to them. Ever since seeing Moltres combine the power of Sky Attack and Flare Blitz, Gu Yuan had been experimenting in this area. Now, Mega Charizard Y was able to fuse these less powerful moves to unleash even more staggering power.
The flaming dragon claws swung, directly crushing the two fire pythons. Charging rapidly, Mega Charizard Y dived straight at Emboar. Flames condensed as Emboar began to watch out for the incoming attack. As the distance between them closed, Mega Charizard Y suddenly threw the Blast Burn it held in its hand.
Having been prepared, Emboar immediately retaliated with its own Blast Burn. A deafening explosion occurred. Looking at the scattering flames, Emboar noticed that Mega Charizard Y had not used Heat Wave to condense the fire's power like before. Simultaneously, a sense of crisis rose from behind it.
Turning its head, Emboar saw Mega Charizard Y appearing behind it using Aerial Ace, its flaming dragon claws condensing once more. With no time to dodge, Emboar could only use Flare Blitz, initiating a head-on counterattack. As the two offensives collided, it was clear that the well-prepared Mega Charizard Y held the upper hand.
While dismantling Emboar's counter, it left two wounds on Emboar's body. Then, it spat out a Blast Burn, which collided with the Blast Burn Emboar launched while enduring severe pain. The hasty counterattack meant most of the explosion's impact fell on Emboar. Although Mega Charizard Y was also slightly affected, it was clearly in much better shape.
What surprised Gu Yuan the most was Emboar's combat intuition and experience. Clearly, the special environment of this spatial rift allowed the Pokémon here to perform exceptionally well in battle. This was especially evident once the gap in raw strength was closed.
The battle continued with flames flying across the battlefield. After another collision of Blast Burn, Mega Charizard Y and Emboar briefly separated. Seeing the flames behind Emboar seemingly turn into a physical substance, Gu Yuan knew that Emboar's Blaze ability had been triggered.
"Then let's see who can hold out until the end!"
"Mega Charizard Y, Outrage!"
After Mega Evolving, Mega Charizard Y no longer had Blaze as a trump card, but the existence of Outrage perfectly compensated for that. A second later, Mega Charizard Y collided with Emboar once again, and the battle drew toward its conclusion.
"It's finally ending. I've almost grown rusty waiting here."
Moving slowly toward the return point from the spatial rift, Drake said with a hint of anticipation.
"Yeah, I just wonder how much they've harvested this time."
"With our continued exploration, the special items that used to be common are becoming rarer and rarer."
Beside him, Matsunaga, the leader of the Kalos League team, spoke slowly with a tone of quite some sentiment.
"There's no other way. Even with an entry every five years, the growth rate of those Pokémon is just too slow."
"Especially when a Pokémon's strength reaches a certain level, its lifespan increases as well. I suspect it won't be long before the entry interval increases again."
"Who isn't saying the same thing?"
As Drake and Matsunaga chatted, the surrounding equipment activated again. Soon, a black hole expanded, guiding the trainers within the spatial rift back. Along with streaks of light bursting from the black hole, trainers soon began to return successfully. Once they opened their eyes, they left the open space under the guidance of their respective leaders.
Staring at the open space, Drake still grew nervous even though he knew Gu Yuan couldn't possibly have an accident. Soon, the first person from the Kanto League walked out—it was Longye, the first person who had chatted with Gu Yuan earlier. Following him, the Kanto League members stepped out one after another.
Finally, just as the black hole was about to close, Gu Yuan emerged last. Only then did Drake feel at ease. Exchanging a glance, Drake could see that this kid, Gu Yuan, was returning fully loaded again. And for Drake, having the entire team return safely was its own kind of "returning fully loaded."