Dragonite vs. Moltres

Heavenly fire fell upon the earth, easily igniting the weeds of the wasteland. The blazing flames turned the surroundings into a living hell, while black smoke from the fire billowed upward.

Even out in the suburbs, such a commotion would sooner or later draw the attention of Los Platos's residents. Before long, they would probably hear the sirens of Officer Jenny's police car.

This had to be settled quickly.

Mimikyu followed at Luo Mu's side, its enormous Shadow Claw tearing through sheets of flame. Luo Mu raised his head without fear and met Moltres's crimson eyes, shouting, "Dragonite!"

A gale rushed toward it. Moltres merely blinked, and Dragonite was already silently hovering before it.

Moltres's pupils instantly constricted. Ignoring the violent pounding of its heart at Dragonite's flying speed, it discovered that Dragonite was flying even higher than itself. Feeling its authority challenged, Moltres let out a piercing cry, and scorching Heat Wave streaked with sparks swept toward Dragonite.

"Bo Wu!!"

Dragonite rapidly beat its wings. In an instant, the airflow was churned up by Dragonite, and the howling hurricane seemed to form a domain. Not only did it completely cancel out the Heat Wave, countless tiny wind blades formed from the airflow carved their marks across Moltres's body.

While controlling Hurricane, Dragonite released a thunderous dragon roar toward the sky. Thick storm clouds gathered in an instant, and raindrops as large as beans poured down like a waterfall.

Rain Dance and Hurricane formed the perfect combination. The raindrops touched the flames burning across Moltres's body and evaporated into white steam that shrouded the battlefield in the sky. Moltres relied on its seemingly bottomless stamina to endure the assault, but that was all it could do.

With its strength, escaping the cage Dragonite had created was far too difficult.

Moltres tried using Hurricane to clash with Dragonite's Hurricane, and it also tried using its Best at Flamethrower to blast open a path, but All of This was easily neutralized by Dragonite.

Mimikyu held its Shadow Claw above Luo Mu's head to shield him from the rain. The fierce wind tugged at his clothes as Luo Mu observed Moltres's move power, demeanor, and experience. He had already reached a conclusion.

This Moltres was very young. Whether it was its mentality or the unmistakable immaturity in its use of moves, everything showed that this Moltres had very little battle experience or worldly experience.

Dragonite's Hurricane and Rain Dance were not impossible to break through. For instance, during the Paldea League's Champion Assessment, Geeta's Bisharp had forced its way out with brute strength.

In the few seconds Luo Mu spent thinking, Moltres seemed to have finally found the trick. Flying energy transformed into a Brave Bird burning with vigorous sky-blue flames, enveloping its body. At the cost of adding several deep wounds to itself, Moltres gathered all its strength and broke through the domain of wind with the force of an eagle striking the heavens.

Dragonite blinked, showing no anger at having its domain broken through. It merely maintained its flying posture and watched Moltres panting raggedly in a miserable state.

Noticing that Moltres's wounds were still healing themselves at an extremely fast rate, Luo Mu sighed at how absurdly well-endowed Legendary Pokémon were. Their innate talent was exceptional as well—it had found the weak point in the combination move so quickly and decisively broken through at the cost of injury.

With his thoughts concluded, Luo Mu, who had never forgotten the need for a quick battle, swung his right hand and shouted into the sky, "Thunder!!"

Dragonite responded with incredible speed. Muffled thunder boomed from within the thick clouds, lightning serpents rolling through them. In an instant, vast golden currents streaked across the sky like judgment from the god of thunder, transforming into a violent sea of lightning that continuously exploded across Moltres's body.

The deafening booms rang without pause. Luxray raised its golden eyes toward the sky and nodded in satisfaction.

Dragonite's Thunder had a bit of Luxray's own flair.

At the Los Platos Police Station, Officer Jenny, having received the report, opened the window and Looked at the heavy thunderclouds gathered only over the outskirts. Above Head, the sky remained clear for miles.

The Growlithe at Officer Jenny's side was trembling all over, its tail tucked between its legs, yet it still let out threatening growls at the sky.

Officer Jenny tightened her grip on the police car keys and muttered, "There should be compensation for dying in the line of duty, right?"

At the farm, in the Lake Area.

Luo Mu watched the enormous pit rapidly taking shape beneath Dragonite's relentless bombardment and asked Mimikyu beside him, "Once we bring in the lake water, how about calling this lake Thunderclap Lake?"

Mimikyu followed Luo Mu in everything, so it naturally nodded in agreement.

The rumbling of Thunder continued for a full minute.

The thunder gradually faded, and the sea of lightning dispersed. Dragonite's target, Moltres, slowly came into view.

Most of Moltres's feathers had been charred black. The flames burning over its body had become incredibly weak, and even its instinctive flight had turned unsteady and wavering.

There was no doubt that Moltres was at the end of its rope.

Even reduced to this state, Moltres kept its unfocused eyes open, stubbornly refusing to fall to the ground.

"Holy cow, Legendary Pokémon really have ridiculous stamina." Luo Mu's expression was full of amazement, and a trace of respect rose in his heart. Moltres's performance had lived up to its naturally noble status.

For some reason, Moltres's unfocused eyes turned toward Luo Mu on the ground. Untouched by the rain and as calm as when he had arrived, Luo Mu seemed to be trying to imprint his appearance into Moltres's heart.

With respect for Moltres's unyielding Guts, Luo Mu spoke, bringing an end to this battle whose outcome had been decided from the start. "Dragon Pulse."

A pale blue dragon-shaped phantom released a resounding dragon roar toward the heavens. Under Dragonite's control, it tore through the air and completely swallowed Moltres's body.

Dragonite vs. Moltres, Dragonite won!

By the time Moltres woke up, it was already night.

Officer Jenny, who had come to investigate, had already been sent away by Luo Mu with a few fabricated explanations. Its scar-covered body had also been properly treated by Luo Mu, and several wounds deep enough to expose bone had mostly healed.

"Awake?"

Luo Mu sat on a small stool and added another piece of firewood to the crackling bonfire before him.

Moltres shifted its eyes and let out a weak cry from its beak, seemingly puzzled as to why Luo Mu had treated it. It could not even feel the restraint of having been caught in a Poké Ball.

Though Moltres was young, it still understood most common knowledge.

For example, Legendary Pokémon like it were what Trainers desperately sought. During the time it had been defeated by Dragonite, severely wounded, and unconscious, it would have had absolutely no strength to resist a Poké Ball's power. The capture success rate would definitely have been one hundred percent.

Luo Mu tilted his head. Perhaps it was an ability unique to Legendary Pokémon, but he could actually understand Moltres's meaning. In response to Moltres's confusion, Luo Mu asked, "Why would I catch you? Would you be willing to be caught?"

Moltres felt that it would not be willing. If it woke up and found itself inside a Poké Ball, the most likely outcome would be that it fought desperately or refused to obey any commands at all.

"Exactly." Luo Mu brushed the ash from his palms, leaned closer to Moltres, and smiled. "Besides, your strength has not reached the point where I'm desperate to catch you."

Moltres awkwardly turned its head away. Although Luo Mu was right, once it calmed down from its anger, it could indeed realize that it could not defeat any of the Pokémon at Luo Mu's side.

But why, besides its unwillingness to accept this, was there also a trace of disappointment hidden in its heart?

Moltres only found the feeling especially unfamiliar.