Ash lowered his head to look at the Pikachu perched on his shoulder, then turned toward Charizard beside him.
"Right, Pikachu? Charizard?"
"Pika pika!"
"CHAAR!"
Pikachu and Charizard answered in unison. Charizard even lifted his head proudly and spread his wings wide, showing off his powerful physique as fighting spirit blazed in his eyes.
May, Brock, and Max also nodded immediately, all expressing that they wanted to go together.
Theo looked at the four of them, all completely determined, and found himself momentarily speechless.
"You guys…"
"Enough talking, Theo, let's hurry and go!" May interrupted decisively, then climbed onto Charizard's back together with Ash without hesitation.
Ash also released Swellow, allowing Brock to ride on it.
At this point, Theo no longer refused. In any case, no matter what danger awaited ahead, he still carried the greatest trump card imaginable on him. That alone should be enough to guarantee everyone's safety.
Theo brought Max over to his side and had him help steady Jirachi while the two of them sat securely atop Volcarona's back together.
Afterward, Theo gestured toward Metagross.
Metagross immediately understood. It shifted into its flying form while releasing a gentle wave of psychic power that wrapped around Jirachi, attempting to soothe its emotions in this way.
Once everyone was ready, Theo lightly patted Volcarona.
"Volcarona, let's go!"
Volcarona flapped its enormous wings covered in flame-like patterns. Golden scales shimmered faintly in the night as it rapidly flew toward the depths of the mountains.
Charizard let out a loud dragonic roar while Swellow gave a sharp cry and soared into the sky. Carrying Ash, May, and Brock, the two Pokémon followed closely behind Volcarona.
The group tore through the darkness, flying straight toward the perilous depths of the mountain range.
The night wind howled, brushing across everyone's faces as Volcarona, Charizard, and Swellow flew at full speed.
After more than ten minutes of rapid flight, the surrounding scenery gradually began to feel wrong.
At first, it was only the grass on the ground turning slightly yellow.
But the closer they got to the deep mountains of Forina, the more severe the situation became.
The once lush and flourishing trees had withered and decayed. Large patches of leaves drifted down like snowflakes, revealing bare branches beneath. The vibrant grasslands had become dry and cracked, as though they had been scorched beneath a blazing sun for months.
Even the air itself carried the smell of burnt vegetation. The refreshing freshness from before had completely vanished.
"Th… this… what's happening?"
May looked down at the scenery below and could not help covering her mouth, her eyes filled with shock.
"How did it become like this?"
Brock also frowned deeply.
"This is too strange. It's like all the life force in the forest has been drained away. A transformation like this definitely has something to do with the danger Jirachi sensed. Everyone, stay alert!"
Theo said nothing. He simply held Jirachi tightly in his arms while staring sharply ahead.
He could feel Jirachi's body beginning to tremble again, and the tiny hand clutching his clothes had tightened further.
After flying a little farther, a dazzling red glow suddenly appeared in the night sky ahead.
The crimson light resembled burning flames, dyeing half the sky red while noticeably increasing the temperature in the air.
"It's right ahead!"
Theo said in a low voice.
"Volcarona, speed up!"
Volcarona let out a soft cry as the frequency of its wingbeats increased, carrying everyone toward the source of the crimson light.
Charizard and Swellow followed closely behind.
As the group continued deeper into the area engulfed in red light, the source of the anomaly gradually revealed itself before Theo and the others.
Red lasers emitted from the underside of a floating altar, intertwining across the ground to form enormous shadows of bizarre shapes, accompanied by flickering ghostly flames.
Beside the metallic altar and on the platform within the massive crater canyon below it stood three figures. Nearby, inside a steel cage, a white figure was desperately slamming itself against the bars.
"That's… Butler?"
Brock was the first to recognize one of the figures, his voice filled with surprise.
"Why is he here? And the people beside him… those are Team Magma uniforms! What are they doing?"
Theo stared at the scene before him, his brows tightly furrowed.
He had never expected that even without directly targeting Jirachi, Butler would still walk down the same path of recreating Groudon. The course of events had astonishingly overlapped with the storyline from the anime in his previous life.
At that moment, the Jirachi in Theo's arms suddenly struggled anxiously. Its tiny hand pointed toward Absol inside the cage as it cried out urgently with "Jira! Jira!" Its eyes were filled with panic.
Theo's group slowly descended and landed steadily upon the crater platform.
The instant his feet touched the ground, Ash stepped forward impatiently and shouted toward Butler atop the altar.
"Mr. Butler, what are you doing? Why are you together with Team Magma?"
Butler slowly turned around. His gaze passed over Ash and locked directly onto Theo.
The gentleness he once carried was gone. In its place remained only a near fanatical obsession.
"Theo."
He spoke, his voice carrying complicated emotions.
"I don't want to hurt any of you. Spending these past few days with you has been very pleasant. But I need Jirachi, and I also need your Volcarona. I want to borrow them for a period of time.
I promise that during that time, I will do my best to ensure they do not suffer any harm. Afterward, I will personally return them to you…"
Before Butler could finish speaking, Brodie had already grown impatient. He suddenly stepped forward and rudely interrupted him.
"Butler, what kind of nonsense are you spouting? Have your experiments fried your brain? For a bunch of little brats like these, we can just take them by force!"
As Brodie spoke, he suddenly threw out two Poké Balls.
Flashes of red light burst forth as Camerupt and Mightyena appeared on the ground, letting out hostile growls.
"So you're Wallace Junior, huh?"
Brodie looked at Theo provocatively, a cold sneer curling across his lips.
"Hurry up and Mega Evolve your Metagross. Let me teach you a proper lesson! I want to see just how capable Steven's Metagross 'offspring really is!"
Beside him, Tabitha looked at the visibly displeased Butler and helplessly shrugged before casually throwing out his own Camerupt and Mightyena as well.
Then, both Brodie and Tabitha simultaneously raised the Key Stones in their hands.
The Key Stones resonated with the Mega Stones carried by their Camerupts, and dazzling light instantly erupted.
"Mega Evolution!"
The two shouts rang out together as both Camerupts underwent drastic transformations within the brilliant light.
Their bodies became covered in hard rocky armor. Their limbs grew thicker and more powerful while scorching heat radiated from their entire bodies.
Finally, the two humps on their backs swelled, merged, and transformed into the shape of a miniature volcano.
Mega Camerupt had arrived!
[Pokémon: Mega Camerupt]
Type: Fire / Ground
Category: Eruption Pokémon
Ability: Sheer Force (Additional effects of moves disappear, but move power is greatly increased.)
Moves: Stomping Tantrum, Burn Up, Smokescreen, Earth Power, Earthquake, Rock Slide, Fire Spin, Sunny Day, Sandstorm, Will O Wisp, Heat Wave, Blast Burn, Overheat, Heat Crash, Flamethrower, Fissure…
(End of Chapter)