...
Mr. S might not be dead.
Maybe that motherfucker just got sucked into Thundurus's special space and can't find his way back?
Natsu wasn't sure. Honestly, it'd be a pretty lame way to go out for a "Mr. S." More like "Mr. Sucked-into-a-portal."
His main goal this time was to find Mr. S's body, or more accurately, to find whatever valuable shit he was carrying.
This is what he learned from Hunter W, who runs Opelucid City. Natsu figured if W was telling him this, it was probably some damn good loot.
Natsu had to be extra careful if Mr. S or other hunters were on the island. Of course, he also had to stay alert for the wild Pokémon living here. He wasn't about to get blindsided by some pissed-off rock.
Pokémon that can survive under such intense lightning strikes from Thundurus must be strong as hell, have special moves or abilities, or can boost themselves using Thundurus's lightning. Basically, the island was a fucking gym for Electric-types.
After increasing his vigilance, Natsu continued towards the hill where the stone tablet was located.
The forests, bushes, and all the plants here seemed to be able to somewhat isolate the effects of the thunder current. Like nature had built its own goddamn lightning rods.
For example, Natsu saw that when huge thunder and lightning struck, the hit trees usually turned to ash and dust. But the trees and vegetation here didn't seem affected. When the thunder current touched these plants, it was like it was absorbed, or rather, the thunder current was channeled into the ground through their own unique way. This is the wonder of natural evolution, or as Natsu liked to call it, "Mother Nature giving zero shits about your electric bills."
After entering the forest, he finally started seeing signs of wild Pokémon.
A thread shot out from the top of a tree, but it was immediately blocked by Monferno's fiery fist. However, this thread seemed very fire-resistant. It only burned where it touched the flame, and the fire didn't spread along the thread. Instead, when it was half-burned, it was blocked by a fluffy current wrapped around the thread.
Clearly, this wasn't an ordinary thread. If Natsu had called out Beedrill, it would have recognized it as an electric thread, or "Electroweb." Our sharp-stinger would've known.
Ka ka ka –
With sharp joint-clashing sounds, spider-like, golden-looking Pokémon appeared on the treetops and among the bushes.
Galvantula!
The thread was spat out by one of the Galvantula.
Soon after, it seemed to receive a command. All the Galvantula simultaneously spat out electrified silk threads, quickly weaving a large "Electroweb." With strong adhesive properties, it moved towards Natsu and his location. They were basically trying to net him like a goddamn bug.
"Monff!"
Monferno's body ignited. Streams of fire burst from his mouth, forming a swirling ring of flames, burning the threads.
Although the threads from this group of Galvantula seemed to have relatively strong fire resistance, direct contact with fire was impossible to block. Monferno, as a Fire-type Pokémon, finally started showing its advantage in the forest. "Yeah, bitches, try to web this!" he probably thought.
This group of Galvantula lived on the outer ring of the island. While they had strong teamwork, there weren't any exceptionally powerful individuals. As long as you were careful of their "Electroweb" and "Sticky Web" tricks, they weren't hard to deal with. Just a bunch of glorified electricians.
With Latios, Pokémon that were already agile became even more nimble, and these webs were easy to handle. After Eevee and Vulpix joined the fight, Meloetta naturally moved from Natsu's arm to his shoulder. She was probably just chilling, enjoying the show.
Bang!
As the last Galvantula fell, Monferno stopped.
Galvantula are pretty valuable since their living environment requirements are relatively high; they're not common even in the Unova Region's forests. It's just that the strongest Galvantula here was only (elite) level, which didn't meet Natsu's minimum standard, so he didn't try to catch it, just left it. No point catching a glorified house spider.
And so, they continued their journey.
Natsu also found many Electric-type Pokémon like Galvantula. They easily thrive in this kind of environment, and even if they don't eat, they can still recharge with the rich Electric-type energy. Basically, they were living in a giant battery.
For example, they encountered several Lanturn in the streams on this island. Not only did they not avoid the thunder currents, but they even actively absorbed them. Because of their "Volt Absorb" ability, Thundurus's thunder currents were the best food for them. These Lanturn didn't initiate attacks, and Natsu didn't bother fighting them either. Why mess with a Pokémon just trying to get its dinner?
And with that, they went deeper. It was clear that the falling thunder became more frequent and its power also grew stronger. This made the wild Pokémon all over the island show a very obvious increase in strength. The closer the wild Pokémon lived to the inner area, the stronger they became. It was like a difficulty slider, cranked up to "insane."
Gradually, the wild Pokémon attacking them ranged from just (elite), to peak (elite), and even occasionally they'd run into one or two Gym Leader level Pokémon acting alone.
The presence of Gym Leader level Pokémon doubled the pressure on Monferno and Latios. But with Natsu's expert commands and the excellent cooperation of his Pokémon, the average Gym Leader level Pokémon only caused them a few problems. It wasn't unbearable. Just a bit more of a challenge.
Of course, the stronger the opponents you fight, the more your Pokémon will gain.
Natsu could clearly feel that Monferno had entered a highly excited state. Maybe it was because of Meloetta's singing, as Latios was also very excited. It's just that Latios's excitement was different from Monferno's. Monferno was basically vibrating with pent-up power.
This was a sign that Monferno was close to evolving, and the burning flame within him couldn't help but start bursting out from the inside out. After the high-frequency battles in Rayquaza's space, following the tough combat skill training with Bewear, and the period after returning, Monferno had reached the verge of evolution. He was basically a ticking time bomb of awesome.
Natsu, who had seen Pokémon evolve more than once, felt this very clearly.
In fact, it wasn't just Monferno; Latios's breathing was also fluctuating more frequently. But compared to Latios, Monferno's fluctuations were the most significant. Maybe Monferno himself didn't even notice, too busy being a badass.
Everything continued.
Monferno was in the middle of a frantic energy accumulation.
So Natsu deliberately increased the frequency and amount of Pokéblocks for him to ensure he was in the best state at all times. Gotta fuel that fire, literally.
By fighting wild Pokémon along the way, Monferno and Natsu realized that the time might be coming.
"Melo~~" Meloetta sat on Natsu's shoulder, holding a small metal box in her hand, happily spinning a Pokéblock, popping one after another into her mouth. While savoring the deliciousness that blossomed in her mouth, stimulating her taste buds, she hummed special tunes in a high voice from time to time. She was basically the team's personal DJ and snack queen.
As a Mythical Pokémon that can infect and even control Pokémon's emotions with her singing, her voice inspired Natsu's Pokémon.
There it was, this was simply a peak-level mobile inspiration aura, or a type of full-team morale boost. "Go get 'em, boys!" sung in perfect pitch.
Inspired and already nearing his peak, Monferno darted back and forth through the trees.
Whoosh – A bone club with dark green flames on both ends drew an incredible arc in the air and moved towards Monferno, who was leaping from tree to tree. Facing this sudden attack, Monferno, who couldn't use his full strength in mid-air, could only raise his hands to block.
Bang!
Incredible force slammed Monferno directly out of the air. After rolling on the ground a few times, Monferno stopped. "Oof, that stung!"
"Monf!"
However, Monferno was quick, enduring the pain in his arm and the pain in his back after landing, quickly turning around. His fiery eyes stared in the direction the bone club came from. It was clear that the bone club didn't stop there after hitting Monferno. Instead, it moved very smoothly, passing through the obstacles of many branches, and returned to a Pokémon's hand.
Marowak!
And an Alolan Marowak too! A ghost-fire wielding badass!
Pokémon changing forms to adapt to environments doesn't just happen in specific Regions. On this small Thundurus island, the dense thunder and occasional fires caused by descending thunder made Alolan Marowak more suitable for this environment than regular Marowak. They basically thrive on chaos.
"Maroo!"
Marowak, who had caught its bone club, stared at Monferno on the ground. Its wrist slightly trembled, its bone club rubbing against the ground, and a dark green mass of flame ignited again at the end of the bone club from the friction. He was basically saying, "You want some more of this, hot stuff?"
Monferno wasn't to be outdone, and fire rose from his fists as he clenched them, but this time, it wasn't just his fists; Monferno's entire body was ablaze, as if he had entered a "Blaze" state. He was basically a living inferno, ready to rumble.
Marowak is a very battle-loving Pokémon, and coincidentally, the current Monferno was even more eager to fight. It was a match made in fiery heaven.
"Monf!"
"Maro!"
The two Pokémon seemed to have a tacit understanding.
After each let out a growl, they moved towards each other.
Latios and Eevee were also very interested and didn't intervene. Especially Eevee, who stared at the two Pokémon with fiery eyes. She was probably taking notes for her own future brawls.
Bang!!
Monferno and Marowak, who had rushed in quickly, instantly clashed. Monferno's fist collided with Marowak's bone club, red flames clashed with dark green flames, and two-colored flames erupted. It was a fireworks show of pain.
In terms of strength, Monferno was at a disadvantage with just one touch. But with his skill, Monferno didn't lose too badly. Monferno's advantage lay in his flexible mastery of fighting skills; he learned a bit of the essence of battle from Bewear. That big bear taught him well.
The flames on his fist were crushed by the bone club, and after staggering back two steps, he didn't retreat but advanced, moving towards Marowak again. He was relentless.
The bone club rubbed against the flames again and threw them towards the approaching Monferno. But when the bone club was about to meet Monferno directly, he deftly avoided the attack and charged towards Marowak again.
Marowak without its bone club was like a tiger without teeth.
But Marowak didn't panic; its whole body also burst into dark green flames, and these flames spun around its body, forming the appearance of a wheel. A fiery death wheel.
But once again, Monferno's actions made Marowak's preparations useless. Monferno jumped in front of Marowak, stepped out with his left foot, kicking up a lot of flying sand, and at the same time his body turned 180 degrees with the help of the impact, appearing behind Marowak. That's some fancy footwork.
Burnnn–
The red flames touched the dark green flames, like flames touching cold water, and a "sizzle" sound was emitted as they extinguished.
Monferno's flame-wrapped arm stretched into the green flames, and his arm tightly grabbed Marowak's arm, not only forcibly breaking its "Flame Wheel," but also in this brief moment, Marowak would be hit by the impact of its returned bone club. He literally turned Marowak's own weapon against it. That's some cold-blooded shit right there.
"Maroo?!"
Marowak couldn't resist the exploding power from Monferno at this moment. Even if the flames had burned Monferno's arm to tear his skin. He was going for broke.
Bang!
The bone club collided with Marowak's skull, and Marowak's eyes sparkled, looking unaffected. Then Marowak stomped on the ground, causing the ground to collapse.
Monferno broke free when his feet were unstable, and Marowak caught its falling bone club, and many shadows of bone clubs appeared.
Shadow Bone!
Bang!
The bone club spun with the attack, Monferno was hit and slammed into the bushes.
"Os!"
"Evv!"
"Vull!"
Natsu held his hat; the strong wind from the impact nearly made his hat fly off. Psychic light flickered in his eyes. He, who was connected to Monferno through telepathy, was probably more aware of his state than Monferno himself at the moment. He could practically feel the pain, and the growing fire.
Wait until the wind passed.
Natsu slowly opened his backpack.
"Melo?!"
A Pokéblock slipped from Meloetta's hand. Staring blankly at the large dark red stone Natsu took out from his backpack, and then watched him pull out a scale. Using the scale as a knife, Natsu cut about a third of the stone's size very easily.
Using a Rayquaza scale as a knife to cut fragments of Groudon's carapace – perhaps in the entire Pokémon world, Natsu was the only one, right? That's some hardcore, god-level crafting right there.
"Almost there, Monferno," Natsu whispered.
As Meloetta watched suspiciously, Natsu threw the piece of stone he cut into the bushes.
"Monff!"
Monferno leaped out of the bushes with a nimble front flip, catching what Natsu threw at the same time. Two feet on the ground, leaving deep char marks on it. The "Blaze" ability was fully triggered! He was a damn force of nature.
Kaka--
"Melo?!"
Meloetta covered her mouth in disbelief. She watched Monferno move towards Marowak, the piece of stone in his hand looking like a snack in this short time, biting and chewing at once, with his throat wriggling, swallowing it.
What exactly was this and can Pokémon snack on rocks? Meloetta could only wonder. The hell was Natsu feeding him?
After the stone was eaten, Monferno's already surging flames became even stronger, and even the color of the flames subtly changed. They got darker and darker, becoming a very deep dark red. He was glowing with an ominous power.
"Maroo!"
Marowak could feel Monferno's aura was completely different.
If before Monferno was a peak figure at the (elite) level, now he had reached the Gym Leader level. He just ate his way to a power up!
Natsu narrowed his eyes.
No evolution, but instead breaking through his own limits and shackles first, and entering the Gym Leader level? This was even better. A true warrior's path.
With the swallowing of the last piece, Monferno's steps quickened, and the flames surrounding him became more and more surging.
Natsu's eyes lit up.
Flare Blitz!
Monferno, wrapped in flames, rushed towards Marowak at high speed, while Marowak gripped its dark green flame-burning bone club, ready to fight back.
Banggg –
The contact of flames still made an inevitable sound. The result this time was completely different from before. Monferno's flames immediately won, and under Marowak's stunned expression, its own flames were instantly extinguished ferociously. Monferno just blew past him like he was a goddamn candle.
Monferno stood still and didn't pursue. A roaring sound came from him, accompanied by a milky white light emanating from the inside out, mixed with wisps of dark red airflow.
Evolution! Finally, the moment has come!
Monferno's evolution this time seemed to confirm the saying, "where water flows, a canal forms." He just needed that extra push.
As fists seemingly wrapped in dark red, armor-like flames stretched out, the white light suddenly disappeared.
Infernape!
"Eev."
Eevee blinked, and she suddenly thought of a "Journey to the West" story Natsu often told them before.
Isn't that the older brother?!
...
(End of this chapter)