He had not been mistaken. There really was a Pokémon at the crater.
"Dragonite, you saw it too, right?"
Dragonite nodded, letting out a low growl. The fire-type energy there is incredibly dense. Its strength is not weak.
For Dragonite to judge it as "not weak," that Pokémon had to be at least at the level of a Champion's main team.
So who exactly was it?
There were quite a few Pokémon that liked living in volcanoes. Silas quickly searched through his memory, eliminating possibilities one by one.
Pokémon that live in volcanoes?
Magcargo seemed likely.
Magmortar was even more probable.
Wait… what the hell, Moltres?!
Silas rubbed his eyes hard, afraid that the volcanic smoke was distorting his vision.
But that massive bird Pokémon within the flames, its wings spreading like blazing fire, its tail engulfed in roaring flames…
It was unmistakably one of the legendary Kanto birds, Moltres.
Compared to the other two, Moltres held a rather special position within the League.
It was also known as the embodiment of the sacred flame. Whenever a League Conference was held, the sacred flame was passed along, and that flame came from Moltres. Trainers battled before it, believing it would bring them victory.
Silas had even heard that the sacred flame atop the Indigo Plateau was transformed from a powerful Moltres, though whether that was true or not remained unknown.
Shaking off his thoughts, Silas focused on the legendary bird at the crater. It folded its wings and sank back into the volcano.
At the same time, as Moltres did so, the volcano began to show even clearer signs of eruption.
It looked like it was about to burst at any moment. Thick plumes of ash rose into the air, turning the sky gray in an instant.
"This…"
Frowning at the scene, Silas recalled the Pokédex entry on Moltres.
It was said that when injured, Moltres would enter a volcano's magma, burning its entire body to heal its wounds.
It had triggered an already active volcano. An eruption was now unavoidable, and the tremors across Cinnabar Island were growing stronger.
Where was the Cinnabar Gym Leader, Blaine? Do something!
Drying himself quickly, Silas changed into a pair of shorts and threw on a T-shirt.
He recalled Torracat and Cinccino, who had just finished drying themselves, into their Poké Balls, then leapt onto Dragonite's back.
No matter what, Moltres could not be allowed to continue healing.
If this continued, the volcano would erupt, and the town below would be completely destroyed.
Man and dragon sped toward the crater at full speed. Dragonite manipulated the airflow to block out the volcanic ash.
Through the thick smoke, Silas spotted two Pokémon battling inside the volcano.
One was Moltres, its wings stirring up massive waves of molten lava with every flap.
Its opponent was a Magmortar, barely holding on, its body covered in charred marks.
It was clearly injured, yet it refused to retreat even a single step, standing between Moltres and the lava pool, preventing it from going deeper to heal, buying time for the evacuation of the residents of Cinnabar Town.
"You there, trainer, leave this place immediately."
An aged Charizard approached, carrying an elderly man on its back.
"Huh? Aren't you the innkeeper?"
"The innkeeper is just my lazy disguise. My true identity is Blaine, the Gym Leader of Cinnabar."
"Nice to meet you, Gym Leader Blaine. Let me formally introduce myself, I am Silas from Kalos."
"So it's you, the young challenger aiming for the Kalos League."
"That's right."
Silas nodded, then tilted his chin toward the crater. "What's going on with Moltres? Who injured it?"
After all, it was a legendary Pokémon, yet it had not managed to defeat Magmortar after all this time. Its strength was clearly not at its peak. Judging by its size and the color of its flames, it had not fully matured yet.
Among Moltres, it would at most be considered a young one.
Blaine patted Charizard's neck, his aged face serious. "This Moltres was injured after fighting Articuno from the Seafoam Islands."
"It is rushing to heal because Zapdos, another of the legendary birds, is on its way here."
As he spoke, Blaine gestured toward the ocean.
On the distant horizon, above the waves, a massive thundercloud was rapidly approaching Cinnabar Island.
Well then. Truly worthy of the "harmonious" trio of legendary birds.
Silas could not help but complain inwardly. Zapdos was coming aggressively. No wonder Moltres was willing to trigger a volcanic eruption just to recover as quickly as possible.
"Charizard, Flamethrower!"
Descending in altitude, Blaine commanded Charizard to attack, interrupting Moltres' assault, then swiftly recalled Magmortar.
"Screech!"
Moltres was furious.
It had already sensed its "good sister" approaching, and a fierce battle was inevitable. Yet these humans kept interfering again and again.
Without hesitation, it turned and unleashed a blazing Flamethrower.
Charizard dodged somewhat clumsily. It was clearly no match for Moltres.
"Dragonite, Thunder Wave."
Electric sparks flickered from Dragonite's antennae, and the paralyzing current struck Moltres.
Startled by the sudden electric attack, Moltres thought Zapdos had already arrived.
But when it turned its head, it saw only a chubby Dragonite provoking it.
Moltres grew even angrier. And when Moltres got angry, the consequences were serious.
Flapping its wings that could light up the night sky, it whipped up a violent firestorm.
"Dodge, Dragonite. Lure Moltres away from the volcano."
Silas's goal was not to defeat it, but to draw it away and prevent the eruption.
Blaine, his beard ruffled by the wind, understood immediately. He commanded Charizard while tossing a Poké Ball toward Silas.
The Poké Ball opened midair, revealing a red baby Pokémon, Magby, which Dragonite caught.
Magby and Dragonite stared at each other in confusion.
Silas tapped Dragonite's shoulder, signaling it to evade.
Blaine quickly followed up, shouting, "Magby, use Follow Me on Moltres!"
Follow Me was a status move that forced the opponent to focus entirely on the user, drawing all attention to itself.
It was essentially the ultimate taunt move, a truly top-tier technique.
Very few Pokémon could learn it naturally. For Magby, it could only be obtained as an egg move.
Hearing its trainer's voice, the barely one-month-old Magby clumsily used its only move.
It waved its tiny fingers above its head, and Moltres' attention was instantly drawn.
To Moltres, that small Pokémon became increasingly irritating the more it looked at it. For some reason, it suddenly had the urge to smack the little one.
And so, a chase began, Dragonite fleeing while Moltres pursued, with no escape in sight.
Every time Moltres' focus began to waver, Magby used Follow Me again.
Like this, Moltres was gradually lured away from the crater without even realizing it.
By the time it reacted, it had already been surrounded.
Silas grinned and threw a Master Ball from his waist.
"Lock on, then fire Zap Cannon. Bring Moltres down."
"Dragonite, get ready with Scale Shot to follow up."
The lights on Registeel's face flickered as it completed its targeting sequence. As it raised its arms, a massive electric cannon condensed, fully charged and ready to fire.
(End of Chapter)