Rescued

Xiao Ran was not the only one struggling. Ye Ling had her hands full too, constantly releasing dark energy and spreading it over as much of the rock blocking the cave as she could. She relied on the cooling properties of Dark-type energy to resist the heat seeping in from outside. Without it, Sneasel's ice seal over the entrance would have been useless.

Even Shen Yue and Charmander were not idle. Charmander was digging deeper into the cave with its claws, inch by inch, allowing everyone to retreat as far underground as possible and avoid being roasted alive.

"Xiao Ran, Lingling, are you two holding up?" Jiang Cheng waved both hands beside them, constantly fanning them in hopes of cooling them down a little. If those two gave out, they would all be done for.

"I'm okay, but I think I heard something outside." Xiao Ran shook his head dazedly. He thought he could faintly hear voices outside, but he could not be sure.

"No way. Is that Black-Robed Man talking to himself?" Jiang Cheng said skeptically. He craned his neck toward a gap to peek outside, only for a deafening crash to scare him back.

Boom! A tremendous explosion rang out, followed immediately by Torkoal's furious roar.

"What? What's going on? Is that Black-Robed Man really that strong?" Jiang Cheng pulled his head back in terror, disbelief written all over his face.

"No! That voice—it's my dad! He just told his Magmar to use Flame Wheel!" Shen Yue suddenly cried out. She moved beside Jiang Cheng, trying to look outside. Of the four, she was the only one still fully alert, so she had heard the sounds outside most clearly.

Bang! Before she could see what was happening outside, a fiery red figure smashed aside the boulder blocking their cave entrance.

"Woof!" The enormous, six-foot-tall dog poked its massive head inside and gave Shen Yue a wet kiss with its tongue, drenching her entire head and neck in slobber.

"Arcanine!!!" Her joy at being rescued instantly turned into boundless fury, and Shen Yue roared at the Arcanine before her.

"Hehe, looks like you two are close! You're safe now! Corsola, give them some Life Dew. Look, they're practically dehydrated." A female Pokémon Trainer in an Alliance Investigator's uniform walked over. Seeing the condition Xiao Ran and the others were in, she summoned a Corsola to restore their vitality.

It was a pink, coral-shaped Pokémon with a Bai belly and limbs and four horns on its back. Its horns could regenerate, growing back even if broken off. A Water- and Rock-type Pokémon, it generally lived in warm seas.

Corsola's Life Dew was far more powerful than Popplio's. Unlike Popplio, it did not need ages to condense a single drop of water infused with vitality. As soon as it emerged from its Poké Ball, Corsola gave a cheerful cry.

Within seconds, Xiao Ran and the others could already feel moisture all around them. With Arcanine's Flash Fire absorbing the surrounding heat as well, the conditions around the four were now little different from normal.

"Thank you, big sis Guan!" Xiao Ran said with a pale smile. He had met most of Nancheng's Investigators. For something like a Secret Realm, he would only notify teams he was on good terms with. After all, this was a major contribution to their record; better to let his own people benefit than outsiders.

A glance around gave him a rough idea of the Investigator team that had entered the Secret Realm today. Their captain, Su Zheng, was a Gym Leader Class Fire-type Pokémon Trainer. The ten-person team consisted entirely of Pokémon Trainers ranging from Elite Class to Gym Leader Candidate Class, making it one of Nancheng's stronger Investigator teams.

The female Pokémon Trainer who had summoned Corsola was Guan Jingxuan, their Team Medic. She was an Elite Class Water-type Pokémon Trainer who specialized in Water-type Healing-type healing. Two others had come with her: the Fire-type Pokémon Trainer Bi Ze and the Rock-type Pokémon Trainer Wei Yan, both Gym Leader Candidate Class.

"Heh, you really are a sweet talker!" Guan Jingxuan said with a smile, unable to resist stepping forward to pinch Xiao Ran's springy cheeks. Clearly, she was very pleased with how he had addressed her.

"Tsk, tsk. You're an old auntie, and you actually have the nerve to answer when he calls you big sis out of politeness," Bi Ze teased from behind her. When it came to courting death, no one on their team could match him.

"Do you have a death wish?" Guan Jingxuan turned around and demanded, glaring at him ferociously.

"Uh, big sis Guan, can we head up now? It's a little too dangerous here. We could get caught in the fighting." Seeing that bloodshed was imminent, Xiao Ran spoke up in time to change the subject.

"Of course. It really isn't safe here. I have no idea how that giant Torkoal grew so huge." Guan Jingxuan turned to look at the Torkoal on the battlefield, her pretty brows drawing into a deep frown.

The battle over there was now in full swing. Blastoise's Hydro Pump had dealt Torkoal considerable damage, filling the entire Magma Cave with mist. The attack only enraged Torkoal further. Black smoke continued pouring from the shell on its back while flames gathered in its mouth. Clearly, it intended to unleash another combination of Lava Plume and Flamethrower.

"Woof!" Hearing that they were leaving, Arcanine barked loudly, then lay down on the ground, signaling for them to climb onto its back.

"We really need to hurry, or the temperature here will shoot up again," Guan Jingxuan said gravely. The battle had barely begun, and she could already feel the temperature rising, even with Arcanine beside them absorbing the heat.

"No, get out now! It's not Lava Plume this time—it's Inferno!" Xiao Ran suddenly cried out. He shoved Shen Yue and Ye Ling onto Arcanine's back and signaled for them to go ahead.

"Inferno? Oh my god!" Guan Jingxuan and the others looked horrified at Xiao Ran's warning. Inferno was even more terrifying than Flamethrower and Lava Plume. Moreover, it was also a move with an enormous area of effect, not something that merely wrapped an enemy in flames as it did in the games.

"Holy shit, it really is Inferno! Come out, Arcanine, Rapidash! Let's move! We can't stay here!" Bi Ze, a Fire-type specialist, recognized it too. With a terrified expression, he summoned two Pokémon, and everyone hurried to climb onto them.

Both Arcanine and Rapidash were extremely fast. A single leap carried them up the cliff, which stood over thirty feet high. An Arcanine that knew Extreme Speed could even make a round trip in that time. By the time Inferno was unleashed, everyone had only just reached the cave entrance and taken shelter behind Shen Lang.

"Dad!" Shen Yue called out happily, but Shen Lang merely nodded, his grave gaze fixed on the Magma Cave.

By then, the entire Magma Cave was engulfed in flames. Su Zheng's Blastoise was using Protect to seal the entrance tightly, keeping even a wisp of fire from escaping. As Su Zheng's ace Pokémon and one of the starter Pokémon, Blastoise was far stronger than the Black-Robed Man's Quagsire. It had completely blocked Inferno without showing signs of exhaustion. What worried Shen Lang now was Magmar, which was still inside the Magma Cave. All fire resistance had its limits. Even a Magmar that could bathe in magma might not withstand an Inferno hotter than magma itself.

"Uncles, this Torkoal didn't grow this big naturally. This should be an evolved state called Dynamax, similar to Mega Evolution. It requires an enormous amount of energy, so it can't last long. As long as we exhaust the Dynamax Energy inside its body, it should revert to a normal Torkoal's size," Xiao Ran reminded them from behind as he watched the flame-filled Magma Cave.

Dynamax required energy from Dynamax Ore. Wild Pokémon could only undergo Dynamax naturally in certain Dynamax Mines. Thus, once the Dynamax Energy within a Pokémon was depleted, it would naturally revert to its normal form. Only after accumulating enough Dynamax Energy again could it evolve once more.

At Xiao Ran's words, Shen Lang's and Su Zheng's eyes lit up. However, their first thought was not that they now had hope of defeating the Dynamax Torkoal, but whether they could master this special method of evolution themselves. If they could, the increase in their strength would undoubtedly be tremendous.

"As expected of Nancheng's genius Pokémon Breeder. I've never even heard of this Dynamax evolution method. We'll have to have a good chat later!" Su Zheng turned back and said with a smile.

"Indeed. Young Xiao, come visit our Gym with Yueyue more often when you have time. It'll do wonders for your strength." Shen Lang likewise smiled at them.

Ugh... Xiao Ran sighed inwardly. How could he fail to understand what they meant? Clearly, both wanted to get their hands on Dynamax, and by revealing its existence, he had become the prize everyone wanted.

At last, Inferno subsided. Although Blastoise had not collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion like Quagsire, its stamina was nearly spent, leaving it unable to continue fighting. Su Zheng had no choice but to recall it and take out another Poké Ball to summon a different Pokémon.

"Go, Golduck! Hit it with another Hydro Pump!" The blue duck appeared at Su Zheng's call and opened its mouth, firing another thick jet of water at Torkoal.

Shen Lang frowned slightly, but he let out a small sigh of relief when he looked at Magmar on the battlefield. It had suffered only minor burns, nothing serious. Apparently, Torkoal's Inferno had not dealt as much damage as he had imagined.

"Go, Charizard! Use Dragon Breath! Magmar, use Fire Blast!" Rather than summon a new Pokémon, Shen Lang called out to the Charizard beside him and the Magmar still on the battlefield.

Although Charizard was not a Dragon-type, it could still learn some Dragon-type moves. Meanwhile, Magmar's Fire Blast was an extremely powerful Fire-type attack. Its damage would be reduced against Torkoal, a fellow Fire-type, but it would still hurt.

Boom!!! Three powerful attacks of different types struck Torkoal squarely, their thunderous impact echoing throughout the cave. Xiao Ran and the others could even feel the ground shaking, and they could not help worrying that the cave might collapse.

Roar!!! Torkoal let out a cry of agony. The relentless fighting and injuries were rapidly draining its stamina and Dynamax Energy.

Finally, before everyone's astonished eyes, dazzling Bai light spread over Torkoal's body. Wisps of purplish-red energy dispersed into the surroundings, while its body steadily shrank within the brilliant light, eventually returning to a height of a little over half a meter.