Total Suppression, Meng Hongchen's Despair!
Mega Charizard X's right claw flared with blue light. Dragon-type energy condensed into a solid blade at its tip.
With a low growl, he raised his claw and swung it fiercely at Ma Rulong.
The claw shrieked as it tore through the air, sounding like a dragon's roar.
Ma Rulong drew a deep breath and deployed his strongest defense once more: the Invincible Shield!
Clang!
Screeech—
The claw scraped across the shield, leaving gouges behind.
Seeing that Ma Rulong's shield had held, Mega Charizard X grew irritated. He raised his claw again and struck repeatedly.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
With every blow, Ma Rulong sank a little farther.
He gritted his teeth and endured it, feeling every bone in his body tremble.
The dragon couldn't break through the Invincible Shield, but at this rate, Ma Rulong would be pounded to pieces right through it.
His face flushed red as he shouted:
"Xiao Hongchen, quit dawdling! Hurry up and save me!"
Xiao Hongchen was still shaping metal into his 128 Soul Cannons. He replied coolly:
"Stop rushing me. Holding out a little longer won't kill you."
He glanced at Chi Hong nearby. Seeing that the other two Pokémon had not moved, he relaxed his guard a little.
"Brother Ma, I'll help you."
Meng Hongchen, standing behind Ma Rulong, answered softly.
She summoned her Vermilion-Clear Ice Toad and cried:
"You stinking fire dragon, have a taste of my ice toad poison!"
An icy-blue cloud of poison surged toward Mega Charizard X.
The Vermilion-Clear Ice Toad carried the bloodline of a divine beast. Its poisonous mist combined chilling cold and scorching heat, making it astonishingly deadly.
Mega Charizard X cast the approaching mist a disdainful glance.
A divine ice toad?
After his evolution, it was nothing before a Dragon-type Charizard.
And that so-called hot-and-cold poison?
How could it possibly withstand Deep Blue Sunfire, whose temperature surpassed even Ultimate Fire?
Mega Charizard X drew on his power, setting his entire body ablaze with searing blue flames. The instant the mist touched them, the flames devoured it.
The poison even became fuel for the deep-blue fire, which spread toward Meng Hongchen.
"What?"
Meng Hongchen met Mega Charizard X's gaze and shuddered. The ice toad bloodline within her felt as though it had encountered a superior predator far beyond it.
Her strength began to drain away against her will.
"Don't be afraid, little sister. Watch me."
Xiao Hongchen fired all his Soul Cannons at once, blasting Mega Charizard X.
The barrage engulfed the dragon and actually pinned him down for a moment.
Ma Rulong and Meng Hongchen caught a brief chance to breathe.
"Nicely done! I'll trap this fire dragon. You two take care of that Shrek guy!"
Ma Rulong shouted and pulled out his seventh-level Soul Tool, Thunder Prison!
Crackle—
After the flashes of fire faded, purple lightning surged from the ground. Pillars of searing electricity rose and formed an enormous cage!
Mega Charizard X tucked in his wings, trapped inside.
The cannon barrage had barely hurt him, but Thunder Prison would not be so easy to escape.
Ma Rulong had originally prepared it for Ma Xiaotao. Now it had found a use against Mega Charizard X.
Mega Charizard X slashed at the cage, trying to tear free, but its walls were made of searing lightning. Physical attacks were of little use.
"Take your time, Charizard. Use Blazing Inferno to burn through the cage."
Chi Hong remained calm as he gave the order.
Mega Charizard X immediately ignited himself, becoming a deep-blue ball of fire. His Ultimate Fire erupted against the surrounding lightning, each collision ending in an explosion as the two forces annihilated each other.
At this rate, Charizard would soon break free.
Ma Rulong seized the brief opening and released his Martial Soul, the Big-Headed Ape. He transformed into a huge ape that radiated the savage aura of a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast.
He charged forward, straight for Chi Hong.
"I'll deal with you first!"
Meng Hongchen followed close behind. Her Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring lit up, and an aura of extreme cold and heat spread outward.
"Senior Ma, you finally caught on! I'll help you. Fifth soul skill: Ice-Fire Poison Dragon Drill!"
Chi Hong smiled faintly:
"I was waiting for you to come and get yourselves killed. Greninja, use Frost Water Shuriken. Lucario, use Power-Up Punch and beat that monkey into the ground."
Greninja had been waiting for this. His hands formed seals so quickly that only afterimages remained.
Rings of swirling water burst around him, carrying countless razor-sharp ice crystals.
When he finished forming the seals, he raised one hand. All the water and ice converged in an instant, forming a gigantic Frost Water Shuriken.
Now that he had reached the ten-thousand-year level, the move's power had clearly risen another notch.
Lucario attacked first, charging straight at Ma Rulong.
The Big-Headed Ape stood over five meters tall. Beside him, Lucario looked tiny.
They threw punches at the same time.
Boom—!!
The sheer force of the collision sent a powerful shockwave exploding outward.
"Luca!"
Lucario felt exhilarated. His gaze sharpened as he unleashed a flurry of punches.
Ma Rulong refused to back down and answered blow for blow.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
But as they fought, Ma Rulong discovered something startling: the little dog's punches were growing stronger. Every blow hit harder than the last.
The Big-Headed Ape had initially held the advantage through sheer size.
Yet Lucario drove him back step by step, turning the fight against him.
Meanwhile, Meng Hongchen's pupils turned red and blazed with fiery light, while her body gave off a bitter white chill.
The opposing forces did not cancel each other out. They compressed, spun, and intertwined before her, forming a rapidly rotating spiral drill of red and blue.
Meng Hongchen charged with the poison dragon drill.
Unfortunately for her, ice and fire that had not reached the ultimate level were no match for Greninja.
Greninja's eyes flashed with two similar shades, icy blue and deep blue, as the power of his ultimate ice and water spread outward.
Before Meng Hongchen could get close, that power suppressed her.
"Attacking Greninja with elements he has the advantage over? Admirable courage."
Chi Hong praised her with a smile.
As he spoke, Greninja hurled the shuriken above his head forward.
It spun faster as it flew, gathering more ice and water power and growing stronger still.
Worse yet—
The spinning shuriken drew away most of the power from Meng Hongchen's Ice-Fire Poison Dragon Drill. Her move fell apart entirely.
Was the gap between ultimate elements and ordinary ones really this vast?
Meng Hongchen had thought she was an unrivaled genius, just like her brother. But facing these three Soul Beasts with their extraordinary strength, she felt a profound helplessness rise within her.