Moltres, which had burst out of the magma deep within the earth, was clearly in an extremely unstable state.
Its Sacred Fire, which should have symbolized life and rebirth, now glowed an unsettling dark red, as though polluted by endless pain and violent energy.
With every breath, sparks laced with black electrical arcs spewed from its beak.
Its eyes had lost all the reason and majesty a god should possess. All that remained was a pure desire for destruction, born from the torment of endless energy.
It was trapped within its own power, held hostage by the raging volcano beneath it, reduced to a moving natural disaster that knew only how to vent its pain.
"SKREE-!!!!"
Another shriek rang out, sharp enough to pierce eardrums.
Moltres violently beat its enormous wings, which burned with dark red flames.
The next moment, an apocalyptic shower of fiery meteors seemed to rain from the sky.
Countless enormous fireballs, each over ten meters in diameter, trailed long tails of flame. Like burning boulders hurled from catapults, they blotted out the sky as they hurtled indiscriminately toward the Pokémon League's transport planes overhead and the support fleet on the sea below.
A battle between god and humans erupted without warning, leaving no room for maneuver.
"All combat units! Engage immediately! Cover the transports and the expert team!"
Lorelei's voice reached every combat unit through the command channel, calm and composed.
The dozens of Pokémon League special-purpose fighter jets already escorting the transports responded at once.
Like agile falcons, they carved white trails through the air and charged into the rain of fire.
Blastoise's Hydro Pump, Gyarados's Dragon Rage, Golem's Rock Wrecker...
All kinds of Water-type and Rock-type moves effective against Fire-types poured from the fighters' weapon pods toward Moltres in the sky as though they