Fierce flames burned in Agumon's mouth, thin tongues of fire spilling uncontrollably in every direction and lighting up the entire surrounding area.
Along with them, a presence more powerful than Pepper Breath began to emerge.
Seeing this, and recalling the look in Agumon's eyes a moment earlier, Qingliu instantly understood what was happening. "Don't worry about me. Focus on controlling the flames."
Agumon kept his mouth open without replying, slowly shifting his gaze forward.
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just try to imagine it as a bigger Pepper Breath. Once you feel it's more or less taken shape, fire it straight out."
In theory, Small Explosion was simply a larger Pepper Breath. The two worked along similar lines, which was the fundamental reason Qingliu believed Agumon might be able to learn Small Explosion.
As long as Agumon could master the power of those enlarged flames, he would succeed.
Under Qingliu's guidance and watchful gaze, a faint explosion suddenly sounded within the flames in Agumon's mouth. The fire instantly surged, as though Agumon were holding a flaming octopus in his jaws, its tentacles flailing wildly around his mouth.
It was clearly a sign that he was on the verge of losing control, and Qingliu's heart leaped into his throat.
Success would be fine, but if Agumon accidentally lost control and the flames surged backward, an unguarded blast of Small Explosion-more powerful than Pepper Breath-would strike inside his mouth. Even with his resistance, it would definitely leave him badly injured.
They could find another opportunity, but an injury would not only set them back considerably, it would also force Agumon to suffer. It simply wasn't worth it.
Qingliu opened his mouth, about to tell Agumon to release the flames immediately. Before he could speak, however, another faint explosion sounded from within the fire.
In the next instant, flames even fiercer than before burst forth.
Yet what puzzled Qingliu was that these stronger flames seemed somewhat more docile than the previous ones.
Was he imagining it?
No.
Qingliu turned his gaze to Agumon's eyes.
Agumon's gaze was resolute, his presence fierce, and his eyes were fixed firmly on the boulder opposite him.
Without asking a question or receiving an answer, Qingliu already knew.
Agumon had gained a preliminary grasp of gathering the energy needed for Small Explosion.
Then next...
"Agumon, fire."
As Qingliu spoke, the blazing flames rapidly compressed around their center, transforming into a fireball only one size larger than Pepper Breath.
It didn't look like much of a change, but Qingliu could imagine that the energy inside absolutely dwarfed Pepper Breath. As for just how much...
The burning flames swept through the air with a low, heavy whine, then crossed the distance between Agumon and the boulder at a speed far beyond Pepper Breath's and slammed into the rock.
BOOM!!
A violent explosion thundered in his ears, louder than any of the thousand-plus Pepper Breath attacks before it.
Fragments of rock scattered amid the dust, forcing Qingliu to cover his ears and turn aside to avoid them.
Agumon seemed completely unconcerned, his large green eyes fixed on the spot within the dust cloud where the flames had exploded.
When the dust cleared, a very obvious crater had appeared in the boulder.
Compared with it, the area damaged by the previous thousand-plus Pepper Breath attacks was utterly insignificant.
If the damage Pepper Breath had inflicted on the boulder was the size of a small rice bowl, then the area damaged by that Small Explosion was already larger than a basin.
"Not just the area. The depth is far greater, too."
Qingliu walked up to the crater and reached his hand inside. He had to insert half his forearm before he could touch the bottom.
"And..."
Qingliu carefully felt around the bottom for a while, then withdrew his hand and leaned aside to look inside.
At the bottom of the crater, finger-thick cracks spread like a spiderweb.
"Not only is it several times more powerful, there also seem to be signs of scorching from the residual heat after the explosion."
Qingliu rubbed the still-warm grit clinging to his fingers and looked at Agumon, who was slowly approaching him.
"Great job, Agumon."
Qingliu reached out and patted Agumon's shoulder in celebration.
But before he could put any strength into it, just a light pat sent Agumon toppling sideways toward the ground. If Qingliu hadn't quickly crouched down to catch him, he would have fallen flat.
Seeing Agumon like this, Qingliu's heart lurched. He hurriedly asked, "Agumon, what's wrong? Does something hurt, or are you having some other reaction?"
As he spoke, he scooped Agumon up, ready to head to the Pokémon Center in Solaceon Town for treatment.
Even if there was a chance of exposing Agumon, Qingliu couldn't gamble with this. He had no choice but to take that route.
But before Qingliu had taken two steps, Agumon's stomach began to churn, letting out a long, low rumble.
"Grrrr~~"
Qingliu froze, then stared at Agumon for several seconds, his expression gradually turning speechless.
Agumon scratched his head sheepishly and chuckled. "Hehehe... Sorry. I'm just so hungry that I suddenly didn't have the strength to stand."
"..."
Having genuinely received quite a fright, Qingliu helplessly set Agumon down, took a dozen or so Pokéblocks from his backpack, and handed them over.
Agumon wasted no time stuffing them all into his mouth, his dinosaur-like jaws chewing rapidly as a thoroughly satisfied expression spread across his face.
"I remember giving you a full meal's worth of Pokéblocks right before that last round of training. How did you get hungry so quickly?" Qingliu asked.
"I... I... don't know either. After the attack, I just felt weak all over, and I was really hungry."
Agumon answered between mouthfuls.
Hearing that reply, Qingliu opened the panel, and Agumon's information immediately appeared.
[Species] Agumon [Category] Reptile Pokémon [Type] Dragon [Ability] Tough Claws (The sharpness of his claws increases the power of attacks made with them) [Level] 13 [Exclusive moves] Pepper Breath (Fire-type-power 60), Razor Claw (Fire-type-power 40), Small Explosion (Agumon gathers all his strength to unleash a fire attack with incredible destructive power, but it consumes a large amount of stamina at his current stage, Fire-type-power 75) [Learned moves] None [Base stat total] 360 (HP 50, Attack 72, Defense 55, Special Attack 72, Special Defense 50, Speed 61) [Friendship] 70 (Most important friend) [Status] Hungry (Recovering) [Information summary] XXXXXX...
"So, although Small Explosion is much stronger than Pepper Breath, the price is using up most of his stamina, potentially even leaving him completely drained?"
After reading the information on Small Explosion, Qingliu muttered to himself.
Even so, the entire day's hard work had been worth it. It couldn't serve as an everyday move, but in a stalemate, it could be a trump card that settled everything with a single strike!
"And since Agumon learned Small Explosion, that proves he really can learn other Digimon's moves. By the same logic...
"Now that he's a Pokémon, he should also be able to learn Pokémon moves that match his own type, right?"
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