The Camerupt That Couldn't Use Eruption

Although it had not looked as bad as it seemed, the prolonged battle had still left Servine utterly exhausted.

The blood it had shed and the shattered scales were real, and the damage it had taken truly existed—it just was not as severe as it appeared on the surface.

"After the battle, we can have an in-depth discussion about raising Servine. As for now..."

Ye Lan returned to his designated competitor area. Although he would most likely not get the other party's move manuals, learning that such a family existed in the Unova Region still thrilled him.

Who knew how many years these reclusive families had existed? If they truly specialized in the Snivy line, then their understanding of that lineage was surely beyond comparison with his, a rookie Trainer who had entered the world of Pokémon less than half a year ago.

Move manuals were not what Ye Lan cared about most. If their heritage was truly ancient, had they already uncovered the secret of Serperior's Mega Evolution?

In the anime XY & Z, Ash's Froakie had evolved into Greninja in a long-isolated ninja village.

And Greninja's Bond Phenomenon form had first appeared in a portrait left behind by an ancestor in the ninja village shrine.

In other words, Ash's Greninja might not have been the first to master the power of Bond Phenomenon. Someone among the ninja village's ancestors had achieved it as well.

After all, Unova Region's three starter Pokémon had it especially rough. Not a single one could Mega Evolve, as though they had been forgotten by the official developers.

"Maybe this so-called royal candidate is the solution they came up with."

Shaking his head, Ye Lan stopped thinking about it. Right now, he was broke and had no bargaining chips to negotiate with them. There was no point in thinking any further.

Meeting the host's questioning gaze, Ye Lan refocused on the battle and answered, "I choose to continue battling!"

The audience was already somewhat numb. Ye Lan's answer was more or less what they had expected.

They had figured it out by now: as long as Ye Lan's Servine could still use moves, Ye Lan would not choose to stop.

Ye Lan did not have to wait long. His opponent for the thirteenth match soon stepped onto the battle stage.

At the referee's command, the opponent threw out a Poké Ball, and a Pokémon resembling a camel appeared in the arena.

Its humps were rocks shaped like volcanoes, while orange-red skin wrapped around its sturdy limbs. Three bright blue circular markings lined each side of its body. With its body lowered, it looked as if it would charge at its opponent at any moment.

Name: Camerupt

Gender: Male

Type: Fire/Ground

Ability: Magma Armor Effect: A Pokémon with this Ability cannot be frozen. Even if it gains this Ability while already frozen, the frozen condition will immediately be removed. When near a Pokémon Egg, it can speed up hatching.

Known Moves: Ember, Magnitude, Focus Energy, Flame Charge, Earthquake, Earth Power, Yawn, Tackle

Inherited Moves: Energy Ball, Trick Room

Rank: Peak Intermediate

Evolution Progress: None (already evolved into its final form)

Seeing Camerupt's data, Ye Lan desperately wanted to make a joke, but he was afraid he would burst out laughing.

It was one thing for a Camerupt to be unable to use Eruption, but its inherited move was actually the Grass-type Energy Ball.

Although Eruption sounded like some basic early-game move, the truth was completely the opposite.

Not only did it have an absurdly high base power of 150, but in the games, it also had perfect accuracy.

The Pokémon capable of learning it were Cyndaquil, Quilava, Typhlosion, Camerupt, Torkoal, Entei, and Groudon.

Two of those seven Pokémon were Legendary Pokémon, which showed just how valuable Eruption was.

However, Ye Lan felt that Mythical Pokémon with particularly unusual abilities, like Mew, should also be able to transform into one of those seven Pokémon and then use Eruption in reality.

"Though its moveset is terrible, it's at least a Fire-type Pokémon."

After several consecutive matches, aside from Mia's battle, every other opponent had used a Fire-type Pokémon.

Ye Lan would not believe for a second that the battle arena had not tampered with the matchups.

The thorns of Leech Seed were easily broken free of by Fire-type Pokémon, leaving Servine with only Giga Drain to sustain itself.

"Camerupt, Focus Energy!" Camerupt's Trainer gave the command with an excited expression.

Ye Lan was already on a twelve-match winning streak. Even if he only gained half of Ye Lan's battle points for the day, it would still be an astronomical number to him.

Ye Lan's Servine was badly injured, and its stamina had been severely drained by the continuous battles. His own Pokémon had a type advantage over the opponent—how was this any different from picking up free points?!

Yet before he could celebrate for long, Camerupt's miserable cry dragged him back to reality.

Camerupt's Focus Energy was only halfway complete when it was interrupted by a dense barrage of Magical Leaf.

Bloody cuts appeared across Camerupt's body, and the pain forced it to stumble several steps backward.

As Servine rapidly slid across the ground, it had already closed in on Camerupt's side.

Leaf Blade was poised to strike, aiming for Camerupt's soft belly, where there was no rocky protection.

"Camerupt, Flame Charge!" In his panic, Camerupt's Trainer immediately brought out his trump card.

A read! He had actually made a read!

In his estimation, Servine was badly injured and in poor condition, so it would not take the initiative to attack first. This was the perfect time to strengthen itself.

Yet the other side had attacked without the slightest hesitation. Not only that, Servine had already approached Camerupt's flank, completely unconcerned that Camerupt could use a Fire-type move to instantly knock it out.

Surging flames erupted from within Camerupt's body and engulfed the entire battle arena.

Even Ye Lan, standing at the edge of the field, felt a hint of scorching heat on his face, reminding him of roasting firewood back in his hometown as a child.

Flame Charge was not Blast Burn, the ultimate move of Fire-type starters. This move possessed tremendous power while also increasing the user's speed.

Even so, for a Camerupt that was still only at the Intermediate rank, releasing such a large amount of Fire-type energy in a short period would leave it incredibly weakened.

In the spectator seats, Cottonee, sitting on Cheng Xiaolu's lap, covered its eyes with its tiny hands. Yet, curious about the outcome, it secretly peeked through the gaps between its fingers.

"Cotton!"

Its big sister, whom it had only acknowledged for half a day, looked like she was about to be roasted...

As the flames dissipated, the only thing visible in the arena was Camerupt with spirals in its eyes. Servine was nowhere to be found.

Just as everyone was wondering what had happened, Servine's filthy little head suddenly poked out from beneath Camerupt's body.

Seeing that, Ye Lan finally let out a sigh of relief.

It turned out that, just before Camerupt used Flame Charge, Servine had already reached its side.

A heavy Iron Tail sent Camerupt flying. It not only finished off the weakened Camerupt, but in the instant Camerupt's body fell back down, Servine had curled into a ball beneath it, using Camerupt's body to shield itself from the flames.

Even while being roasted beneath it and sweating profusely, Servine had not forgotten Ye Lan's tactical arrangements. That was how it had barely preserved the last of its stamina.

This was also the method Ye Lan had chosen only because he had no other choice.

The situation was stronger than the individual. After defeating that royal Servine, Servine's condition had declined badly. It simply did not have the spare stamina to face a drawn-out battle.

Trick Room gave Ye Lan a headache whenever he saw it. He had no choice. Even knowing that the opponent had a large-area move like Flame Charge, he could only go for it.

"Mia's parents, keep your eyes wide open! She really caused us a lot of trouble!"

(While writing this chapter, Pokémon Legends: Z-A revealed that Unova's three starter Pokémon might receive Mega Evolutions. Fellow readers who like Snivy, let's look forward to it together~)