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After Liam and Delia left the vast grasslands, towering mountains appeared before them.
These mountains were all extinct volcanoes. Several of them were connected together, forming an entire mountain range.
Starting from the base, Liam and Delia began their ascent, planning to cross over the mountains. However, as they climbed higher, the surrounding temperature continued to rise.
"Phew… come out, Arcanine~"
By the time they reached the mid-slope, Liam noticed that Delia was starting to struggle. Large beads of sweat dripped from her forehead. Without hesitation, he released Arcanine, lifted Delia onto its back, and had Arcanine speed up, hoping to leave the area as quickly as possible.
"Rooaaar~"
As a Fire-type Pokémon, Arcanine was quite comfortable with the heat. Even while carrying two people, it moved with powerful strides, racing swiftly along the winding mountain path.
"Rooaar?"
However, this burst of speed didn't last long. Just as Arcanine was about to crest the first mountain, several Pokémon suddenly blocked the narrow road ahead.
Lying directly in the middle of the path were several dark-red Magcargo.
Normally, Magcargo aren't very large—around 0.8 meters tall. But the ones blocking the road were abnormally huge.
Liam vaguely remembered Ash and his companions encountering a gigantic Magcargo on TV before, but what shocked him was that there wasn't just one. There were five Magcargo in front of him, and even the smallest among them was five or six times larger than a normal one.
"Gah-no!"
"Gah-no!"
Clearly disturbed from their midday nap, the Magcargo lifted their heads angrily. Flames burned in their eyes as the magma sacs on both sides of their mouths rapidly swelled—
—and five powerful Flamethrowers blasted out at once!
"Hmph, blocking the road and still acting so arrogant! Arcanine! Use Extreme Speed to dodge!"
Seeing the flames about to engulf them, Liam smirked and gave the command instantly.
"Rooaaar!!"
The moment Arcanine heard the order, its entire body was wrapped in red light. Its hind legs kicked off violently, and it leapt like a phantom onto the cliffs beside the road! With agile movements, it bounded across the rocky edges—
—in the blink of an eye, it had cleared the Magcargo blockade and landed safely on the other side.
"Gah-no! Gah-no!"
But this only enraged the Magcargo further. The massive Pokémon slammed their shells violently against the cliff walls. With booming cracks, countless rocks broke loose and came crashing down like a landslide toward Arcanine!
"Tch… what a pain. Come out, Larvitar! Smash those rocks for me!"
Liam's expression darkened. He threw a PokeBall and released Larvitar, ordering it to use its hardened body to shatter the falling stones.
"Larr!"
A flash of white light appeared, and Larvitar leapt into action. Its silver-gray body shot through the air like a cannonball, smashing every falling rock near Liam and Delia into fragments that scattered into the air as stone dust.
"Laar! Larvitar!"
Only after all the rocks had been destroyed did Larvitar land lightly on the ground. It bounced around happily, turning toward Liam with shining eyes, clearly waiting for praise.
Then—
It froze.
A huge bead of sweat instantly formed on its forehead.
Liam was now completely covered in rock dust, looking like a walking mud statue. Arcanine was in no better shape. The only exception was Delia—when Liam sensed danger earlier, he had wrapped her tightly in his jacket. In the end, only her pants were slightly dirty.
"Heh… hehe… cough—Larvitar! Teach those guys a lesson! Use Rock Slide!"
Carefully removing the jacket from Delia, Liam wiped the dirt from his face, fury blazing in his eyes as he roared the command.
"Laar! Larvitar!"
Realizing Liam wasn't angry at it, Larvitar looked relieved. It let out a roar, turned, and slammed violently into the cliff wall—
BOOM!
Massive rocks crashed down under Larvitar's impact, raining upon the Magcargo below. The huge Pokémon were knocked over one after another, cries of panic echoing through the mountains.
But Liam still wasn't satisfied. He pointed at the fleeing Magcargo and shouted again:
"Don't stop, Larvitar! Use Stone Edge!"
"Laar! Larvitar!"
Larvitar leapt high into the air and smashed into the ground with tremendous force. Sharp stone pillars erupted from the earth like bamboo shoots, forming a straight line that surged into the Magcargo group!
One Magcargo that failed to dodge in time was launched into the air and slammed back down heavily.
"Gah-no…"
That Magcargo tilted its head and collapsed unconscious. The remaining four seized the chance to flee, scattering into crevices and disappearing.
"Hmph. Lucky they ran fast. Go—PokeBall!"
Liam snorted and hurled a PokeBall with precision. It struck the unconscious Magcargo, red light flashing as the massive body was absorbed inside. The PokeBall shook briefly, then fell still.
"Hehe, don't stay angry anymore. You already caught one. Look at how dirty you and Arcanine are—let's hurry down the mountain and clean up."
Delia giggled, hopped off Arcanine, and retrieved the PokeBall. Turning back to the dust-covered Liam and Arcanine, she smiled brightly.
Hearing her words, Liam suddenly thought of something. He patted Arcanine, had it step forward, scooped Delia back onto its back, returned Larvitar to its PokeBall, and said with a grin:
"In volcanic regions like this, there's usually hot springs. No need to go down the mountain. Arcanine—find the nearest one. Let's go enjoy a hot spring~"
"Rooaaar~"
Arcanine perked up immediately. It shook its body vigorously, flinging off most of the dust, then lifted its head and sniffed the sulfur-scented air. Locking onto a direction, it growled softly and took off at full speed.
A hot spring journey awaited them.