Rescue

"This way!" Having dodged the fiercest barrage, Xiao Ran led everyone to the right without hesitation. This area was about to become a battlefield for Torkoal and Aerodactyl; staying would only get them caught in the crossfire. He had already picked out a huge boulder to the right. As long as no move struck it directly, they should be relatively safe behind it.

"Roar!" The two Pokémon paid no attention to whether the humans had escaped. They roared and clashed, treating Xiao Ran and the others as insignificant ants they could crush beneath a single foot.

"Holy shit, that rock is huge! Is that Rock Slide?" After sprinting behind the boulder, Jiang Cheng glanced back and was immediately startled by a rock nearly two stories tall hurtling straight toward Torkoal.

"Yes, Rock Slide. Aerodactyl can control rocks, but I've only ever seen Rock Slide on this scale in the Global League." Xiao Ran nodded, his expression grave. As a Rock-type Pokémon capable of manipulating rocks, Aerodactyl would make finding shelter considerably harder.

"We can't just keep hiding here. Sneasel, Charmander, dig into the wall behind us. Try to make a basic cave. Then we'll push this boulder over to block the opening," Xiao Ran said solemnly. He had already spotted the black smoke rising from Torkoal's back.

Lava Plume was a wide-ranging Fire-type move that scorched every enemy around the user with searing flames. Xiao Ran had no idea how far its reach would extend, but filling Magma Cave would certainly be no problem. When that happened, they would be trapped inside and burned alive.

At Xiao Ran's instructions, everyone got to work alongside their Pokémon. Sneasel used Metal Claw to quickly carve a small cave into the wall behind them. After several rounds of digging, both its claws had begun to bleed. Then everyone strained to push the boulder over the cave entrance, leaving only a gap wide enough for one person to pass through.

"Popplio and Froakie, use Water Gun on the entrance together! Then Sneasel, use Icy Wind!" Xiao Ran called out quickly. With every passing moment, the temperature rose higher, and his vision was already swimming with dizziness.

The two Water-type Pokémon were summoned from their Poké Balls. Their thin streams of water briefly wet the rocky entrance before Sneasel's cold wind froze it. The effect was limited, however, and the ice soon melted. Still, Xiao Ran and the others only needed to hold on. If they could last until Lava Plume ended, they would survive.

Compared with Xiao Ran's group, the Hall's Black-Robed Man was having a far worse time. His escape route was blocked. Although he had not entered Magma Cave, the searing heat from Lava Plume was still more than he could bear. He kept retreating, only to find his way cut off by the collapsed entrance.

"Damn it! Nidoking, use Earth Power and clear this passage!" the Black-Robed Man shouted to the Nidoking beside him. As a human, he could hardly withstand the heat here, much less when he could already see Aerodactyl being struck by a blast of Flamethrower in the distance.

Aerodactyl was a Rock- and Flying-type Pokémon and had little to fear from Fire-type attacks, but that did not mean flames could not hurt it. Type advantages and disadvantages were only relative. That massive Rock Slide had looked immensely powerful, yet it had barely injured Torkoal. Compared with Torkoal's size, the rock was still too small.

Struck by two powerful Fire-type moves, Lava Plume and Flamethrower, the already fragile Aerodactyl immediately fell into critical condition. The Black-Robed Man had no choice but to recall it into its Poké Ball, then urge Nidoking to clear the blocked passage behind him.

Rumble! Nidoking manipulated Earth Power, carefully shifting the rocks ahead. The move's range was simply too broad. Inside a cave like this, the slightest carelessness could cause another collapse.

"Roar!" Having dealt with Aerodactyl, Torkoal turned its attention back to the Black-Robed Man and Nidoking at the Secret Realm Entrance. Xiao Ran's shot had merely awakened it and was not enough to draw the giant Torkoal's attention. The attack that had truly hurt it was Nidoking's Hyper Beam, so it remembered that Nidoking all too clearly.

"Damn it, move!" Seeing flames gathering in Torkoal's mouth again, the Black-Robed Man abandoned everything else. He quickly recalled Nidoking into its Poké Ball, then scrambled into the newly opened hole, which was barely large enough for one person to crawl through.

Boom! Searing flames surged out, filling the entire passage. Molten rock dripped from above, and the path Nidoking had spent so long trying to clear was burned straight through by the blast. Yet when the flames subsided, the Black-Robed Man was nowhere to be seen.

"Whew... that was close!" Sheltered beyond two bends in the passage, the Black-Robed Man gasped for breath. A fraction closer and he would have been burned to ashes. Fortunately, he had managed to escape.

"Heh, look who we have here! Isn't this Hall Master Che of the Hall? Why are you sitting here looking so miserable?" A mocking voice echoed through the cave. The clatter of footsteps made the Black-Robed Man's heart jolt. He looked up to find four or five Investigators in Alliance uniforms standing before him, amusement in their eyes, each accompanied by their ace Pokémon.

"Damn it. Looks like I won't be getting away today," the Black-Robed Man said helplessly. He tried to think of a way to escape, but after the battle he had just fought, he had no options left.

"Heh, I never thought I'd see the day you surrendered without a fight. Now I'm even more curious about the Pokémon in this cave," the lead Investigator said, looking curiously into its depths. The heat there had yet to dissipate, a clear sign that a terrifyingly powerful Fire-type Pokémon was inside.

"This place doesn't suit me. I'll escort him out first," another Investigator said. His Pokémon was an enormous Venusaur. As a Grass-type specialist, he was ill-suited to this environment, and this gave him the perfect opportunity to leave.

As he finished speaking, two thick Vine Whips extended from Venusaur's body and bound the Black-Robed Man tightly, then stripped him of his belongings. His Poké Balls were locked shut, and every dangerous item was confiscated. Now no different from an ordinary person, the Black-Robed Man could only be carried away, held aloft by Venusaur.

"Wait. Did you see four high school students? Your men said they entered this cave." Unlike the green-uniformed Alliance Investigators, the man speaking wore a fitted red outfit. A majestic Charizard stood beside him. He was Shen Yue's father, Shen Lang, the leader of Nancheng's Cinnabar Gym and a Gym Leader Class Trainer specializing in Fire types.

"Of course they're inside. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come here. But you'd better hope there are still bodies left to find. Hahaha!" At Shen Lang's question, the Black-Robed Man burst into laughter. He had never imagined four high school students would get him into this mess. Still, having two Awakened accompany him to the grave was not a bad consolation. Besides, even if he had been caught, that did not necessarily mean he would die!

"Hmph!" Shen Lang snorted coldly. Without another word, he ran straight into the cave.

"Hey! Wait up! We don't even know what's happening in there yet." The accompanying Alliance Investigators could only follow him helplessly.

"Roar!" Shen Lang rushed into Magma Cave and froze at the sight before him. Molten rock dripped all around, and the heat, fierce enough to vaporize a person, had yet to fully dissipate. Aside from a gigantic Torkoal, there was not a soul in sight. Having lost track of the Black-Robed Man, Torkoal had calmed down and was slowly making its way toward the magma, preparing to sleep again. But the arrival of Shen Lang and the others made it roar in anger once more.

They must be with that man from before. Why do people keep disturbing my rest? I'll teach them a lesson! If Torkoal could speak, those would have been its thoughts.

"Holy shit, how can a Torkoal be that big?" an Alliance Investigator who had followed him in exclaimed, clearly just as startled by the Pokémon before them.

"It looks like this Secret Realm is hiding quite a secret! Go, Magmar!" Shen Lang said gravely. He took out a Poké Ball and summoned a crimson figure wreathed in flames.

Magmar's body burned with searing flames, and its temperature could reach 1,200 degrees Celsius. The hotter its surroundings, the more energetic it became. It lived near volcanic craters, and powerful Magmar could even bathe directly in magma. Its resistance to fire was already on par with this giant Torkoal's.

"Magmar, use Flame Wheel!" Shen Lang shouted.

Magmar obeyed without hesitation. The flames across its body flared fiercely, enveloping it completely. Spinning like a wheel, they carried Magmar charging into Torkoal.

"They should be behind that boulder. Su Zheng, stay here and help me hold it off. The rest of you, go rescue them," Shen Lang said quickly. His hands never stopped moving as he summoned another Pokémon, this time an Arcanine with Flash Fire. Rather than provoke Torkoal, it ran toward the spot where Xiao Ran and the others were hiding.

"Those kids seem pretty clever. Unless I'm mistaken, they used an Ice-type move to seal the entrance against the heat. For students fresh out of high school to get their Pokémon to use Ice-type moves in this environment is quite impressive," the Investigator called Su Zheng said appreciatively, looking at the boulder below. He was the captain of this Investigator squad and a Water-type Gym Leader Class Trainer.

As he finished speaking, the Blastoise that had remained beside him kept its feet planted while the two cannons on its shoulders swiveled to take aim. Thick jets of water immediately blasted toward Torkoal.