Maki barely had time to examine the Mega Stone that Whimsicott handed over. He only managed a fleeting glance at its color before dashing out with his Pokémon.
It was pink—similar to the previous Mega Stone—but still not the blue or red stone needed for Charizard's Mega Evolution.
There was no time for contemplation. As soon as Magmar realized its stone had been stolen, it sprang up and charged toward Maki's group, its face contorted with fury, ready to explode into action.
Magmar had a naturally fiery temperament. Perhaps it was due to living in a volcano surrounded by molten lava, but its aggression was undeniable. Seeing someone daring to steal from it? Unforgivable.
"Tailwind!"
At Maki's command, Whimsicott swiftly conjured a Tailwind, enveloping Maki and his Pokémon in a powerful gust, urging them forward at breakneck speed.
With the wind at his back, Maki felt incredibly light. In this state, he was convinced he could even outrun Bolt himself.
But the problem was… the one chasing him wasn't human!
Among Maki's Pokémon, Whimsicott was the fastest. Even though Magmar was powerful, its raw speed couldn't match Whimsicott's, especially with Tailwind in play. In fact, with the speed boost, Whimsicott could even outrun Magmar.
However, the others weren't as lucky—especially Mawile, the slowest of them. Even with Tailwind's assistance, she still lagged behind, unable to match Magmar's pace. The level difference was simply too great.
As for Maki himself… there was no need to even mention it. He was undoubtedly the slowest in the group. After all, if a human could outrun Pokémon, that would be truly ridiculous.
Since Maki's Pokémon had to look out for him, the gap between them and Magmar was closing rapidly. Noticing this, Magmar suddenly unleashed a stream of fire—not at them directly, but at the tunnel ahead.
The flames erupted into a swirling vortex—Fire Spin!
Maki's pupils contracted. The raging fire had blocked their escape route.
"Damn it!"
Maki gritted his teeth. He knew escaping peacefully was nearly impossible, so his plan had been to reach the tunnel exit and find a suitable battlefield. Fighting Magmar inside a volcano was the last thing he wanted.
Unfortunately, Magmar was smart enough to anticipate this. Rather than directly attacking Maki and his Pokémon, it had chosen to cut off their escape.
Now, avoiding a battle was no longer an option.
Clearing away the Fire Spin wasn't impossible, but by the time they managed to do so, Magmar would have already caught up.
The moment their exit was blocked, Maki instinctively reached for Mawile's Poké Ball. Given her disadvantages in speed, strength, and typing, this battlefield was completely unsuitable for her.
But just as he pressed the button—nothing happened.
"Are you kidding me?! It was working fine before, and now it malfunctions?!"
Maki cursed and repeatedly pressed the button on the Poké Ball, almost as if smacking a broken TV. Yet, it refused to respond. Frustrated, he had no choice but to put it away.
"Mawile!"
Mawile turned back and reassured Maki with a determined look. She had no intention of retreating into her Poké Ball. She wanted to fight.
"Nature Power—Dragon Dance, Swords Dance!"
Direct combat was out of the question. They needed time to power up first. That meant someone had to stall Magmar, and Whimsicott was the best choice for the job.
In the volcanic environment, Nature Power transformed into Lava Plume. Though it wasn't very effective against Magmar, it did create a smokescreen, limiting visibility.
As expected, the eruption of smoke and embers immediately shrouded the narrow tunnel between them and Magmar.
Escaping through this tunnel was impossible. There was only one way forward, which meant Maki's team couldn't get lost—but the same applied to Magmar. There was no chance of losing it.
Even though it couldn't see, Magmar didn't panic. It knew the thieves couldn't escape so easily.
A fiery glow intensified in Magmar's mouth as it gathered flames before unleashing them in a devastating blast—Fire Blast!
A direct hit would be catastrophic for Whimsicott.
Reacting swiftly, Whimsicott fired two consecutive Lava Plumes to intercept the attack. At the same time, Charmeleon, having just completed Dragon Dance, stepped in front and unleashed Flamethrower to help block the incoming Fire Blast.
"Fake Tears!"
Whimsicott's eyes welled up with tears, giving her an utterly pitiful expression.
Her Fake Tears move took immediate effect. Even Magmar hesitated upon seeing her sorrowful face. But it quickly snapped out of it, realizing the trick.
Infuriated, Magmar lunged forward, its fist engulfed in flames—ready to strike Whimsicott.
But before it could land the attack, Absol, taking advantage of Tailwind, dashed forward. Its horn glowed as it intercepted Magmar's fiery punch.
Magmar's eyes widened in surprise. Absol was stronger than it had expected. Even so, in a raw power struggle, Magmar still held the advantage. With a surge of strength, it sent Absol flying.
Clearly, Magmar dominated in brute force.
"Mawile!"
Seeing her teammate knocked back, Mawile grew anxious, eager to help.
"No, you can't. You won't be able to make a difference."
Maki shook his head. Mawile's strategy relied on Power-Up Punch to gradually build strength. But against Magmar, that wasn't going to work. It wouldn't give Mawile the chance to power up.
Absol crashed into the rocky wall but quickly got back on its feet after taking deep breaths. However, visible injuries marked its body.
If even Absol had taken this much damage, then a direct hit from Magmar could be life-threatening for Mawile.
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