Chapter 182: The Reborn Team Magma

Chapter 182: The Reborn Team Magma

Thirty minutes before the orb rose.

"And now, I will be broadcasting the battle situation for everyone."

The host, standing at the open cabin door of the helicopter, held a microphone in one hand and the railing in the other, speaking excitedly.

"First is the most anticipated matchup: a small team of three trainers challenged a young girl trainer. With the sudden addition of a strong supporter and the help of a magical Eevee, the girl trainer perfectly defeated the three opponents. And the girl trainer and the boy trainer seem to have made some decision and have started to continue climbing Fiery Volcano in two different directions."

"Oh my, this scene, so full of youthful spirit, makes me unable to help but recall my younger days, the figure running under the setting sun, that was my lost youth... Ouch!"

The host, just about to reminisce about his youth, quickly pressed down on the hat on his head that was about to be blown away by the wind.

"Ahem, next, we can see that Gym Leader Miss Flannery, at an extremely fast speed, is about to reach the summit riding her Ponyta. On the way, she also handily defeated two trainers, one of whom was a Gym assistant. Truly worthy of being a woman like fire, able to be so ruthless even against her own people."

Flannery rolled her eyes at the helicopter in the sky.

The host's megaphone continued to broadcast.

"Camera, quick! Look over there!"

In the shot captured by the camera, a fat trainer was wrapping a climbing rope around his waist, circle after circle. He then tied the other end of the rope to his Flying-type Pokémon.

Hearing that the camera was currently filming him, the fat trainer smiled confidently.

"Hmph, hmph, how could I be as foolish as the others and just climb the mountain?" He patted his Tropius, signaling for the latter to fly to the summit first to secure the climbing rope, and then pull him up.

"Although the rules state that one cannot ride a Flying-type Pokémon directly to the summit, having my Flying-type Pokémon go to the summit first and then pull me up does not count as violating the rules."

The fat trainer proudly put his hands on his hips.

And the docile Tropius slowly took flight, flying towards the summit.

"Ooh, ooh, this trainer is truly taking an unconventional path! Although he fell from the mountain at the beginning, he still hasn't given up his sneaky methods. This time, using the power of Tropius, can he realize his plan?"

The host and many spectators were also quite interested in this fat trainer, so the camera's lens was also firmly locked on him.

Under the attention of countless gazes, Tropius was finally about to approach the volcano's summit.

Even the fat trainer, who was pretending not to care but was secretly extremely nervous, breathed a sigh of relief. A confident expression also appeared on his face, a look that said everything was under his control.

"Trop? Trop??"

Tropius, slowly flapping its wings, suddenly felt something was not quite right.

The temperature on the volcano seemed to be continuously rising.

And then, a scorching heat came from its body.

Tropius dazedly looked back and found that its wings, which were made of leaves, had actually caught fire!

It was stunned for a few seconds.

"TROOOOP, TROOOOP, TROOOOP!!!!"

Tropius became flustered and quickly flapped its wings, trying to extinguish the fire.

But unexpectedly, the more it flapped, the more vigorously the flames burned.

Tropius couldn't take it anymore. It didn't care what its trainer was shouting and yelling, and with all its might, it flew in the opposite direction of Fiery Volcano.

"Tropius, stop, stop, stop, stop..."

The fat trainer let out a series of desperate shouts.

The spectators and the host watched with wide eyes as the two figures, one large and one fat, gradually moved away from Fiery Volcano.

"Alright, it seems this trainer is preparing to leave the competition."

The host shrugged and signaled for the cameraman to shift the lens to other contestants.

And in the gap of that farce just now, the contestants who had not been eliminated had basically all crossed the halfway point of the volcano. Míng Rìzhào and Red, because they had defeated the three trainers who had stayed in their area, had not encountered other trainers on their way up the mountain. Therefore, they were far ahead in their climbing progress and were about to meet Miss Flannery, who was already waiting at the volcano's summit.

All the spectators were holding their breath, waiting for the splendid battle of titans that was about to happen on the summit.

…

Inside the volcano.

Charizard suddenly shot out fierce flames from its mouth, forcing back the sharp claws that had attacked from the mist.

"Hmph!"

The owner of the claws snorted with dissatisfaction, then slowly walked out.

A muscular Incineroar revealed its true form.

Following closely behind was the Team Magma executive, Fire Wing.

At this moment, an irrepressible light shone from Fire Wing's eyes.

"The Charizard of the strongest Charizard trainer? Truly a good opponent." He tilted his head and said to his Incineroar, "Wouldn't you say so, Incineroar?"

Incineroar twisted its wrists, making cracking sounds. Its tiger-like eyes were locked firmly on Charizard.

"Be careful. I'm afraid that's the Incineroar Rio was talking about."

The old man Akagi naturally also felt that aura full of extreme malice. Just as Rio had said, within the range covered by this aura, a feeling of fear would unconsciously rise in one's heart.

However, the old man Akagi had experienced the great storms of life. This bit of fear was not enough to frighten him.

"Mon!" Infernape, having beaten back those few Houndour and Magmar, quickly returned to the old man Akagi's side.

"Charizard, Infernape, let's go together! Let's end this quickly!"

In the past, upon encountering a powerful opponent like Incineroar, the old man Akagi would definitely have had a good battle. But now, feeling that irrepressible wave from the depths of the volcano that seemed about to explode in the next moment, he couldn't be bothered with the standard of 1-on-1 battles. He only sought to defeat the opponent quickly and then stop the fellow in the depths of the volcano.

Charizard and Infernape, having a tacit understanding with the old man Akagi, decisively charged forward.

Infernape took the lead, its two fists blasting through the air, striking at sonic speed.

"Roar!"

Charizard's attack was much more domineering. After a loud roar, deep red flames erupted violently from its mouth. At the same time, it flapped its wings and pounced.

"Nice one!"

Facing the old man Akagi's action of sending out two Pokémon, not only was Fire Wing not annoyed, but on the contrary, a sharp glint shot out from his eyes, and his face even wore a rare look of excitement.

"Incineroar, I'll leave Charizard to you."

He threw out a Poké Ball.

"Centiskorch, come out!"

The entirely bright red centipede Pokémon, upon its appearance, was immediately faced with the attack of Infernape's [Mach Punch].

"[Flame Wheel]!"

The flames on Centiskorch's head and tail blazed up. In a very short time, they had wrapped around Centiskorch's entire body. And Centiskorch, taking advantage of the momentum, coiled its body, like a flaming wheel, and collided with the extremely fast-striking fists!

"Bang!" The two Pokémon clashed and separated, neither able to get the upper hand on the other.

And on the other side, Incineroar crossed its arms, splitting apart Charizard's [Flamethrower]. It then nimbly leaped up, jumped above Charizard, and then, with its right arm held horizontally, brought it down on Charizard in a lariat posture from above.

The battle-hardened Charizard turned, and its thick tail slammed hard against Incineroar's sturdy arm.

"Roar!"

Incineroar did a backflip, dodging Charizard's second [Flamethrower].

Peerless Charizard versus Peerless Incineroar, Elite Infernape versus Elite Centiskorch—the two battle pairs, in their first probe, were evenly matched.

Just as a fierce battle was about to erupt.

Suddenly, the old man Akagi and Fire Wing simultaneously looked towards the depths of the volcano.

Listening carefully, the rumbling sound, like muffled thunder, was getting louder and louder.

The expressions on the two men's faces were also completely different.

On Fire Wing's face, a joy that came from the bottom of his heart was revealed.

And the old man Akagi's expression became very grim. At the same time, as if having thought of something, his face changed drastically.

"Partner, quick!"

He leaped onto Charizard, recalled Infernape, and then flew at high speed towards the volcano's crater!

Incineroar, having lost its opponent, roared fiercely where it stood. And Fire Wing and the several other members of Team Magma were all waiting with joyful faces for something.

"Quick, leave this place!"

The several executives who had been in the depths of the volcano, as well as their respective subordinates, also all ran out. The executive Demetri, dressed in a white lab coat that had been completely blackened by volcanic ash, upon seeing Fire Wing and the others, shouted at them to leave quickly.

Without hesitation, everyone summoned their Talonflame and then flew away from the volcano.

A team member, at the moment of leaving the volcano, looked back and saw that the lava, which had been flowing steadily, was now surging and swelling restlessly, and at the same time, radiating an astonishing heat.

"What about the leader?"

Fire Wing asked Liya.

"Don't worry. With the protection of that holy relic, the leader will be very safe."

Liya, holding onto a Talonflame's leg with one hand, even had the leisure to push up her glasses with the other.

"Moreover, as long as we obtain that holy relic, it means the Holy Beast will soon be able to descend upon this world in its strongest form. Now that things have come to this, we no longer need to keep a low profile."

A light called ambition shone from Liya's eyes.

"Fire Wing, Demetri, I, as the Vice Leader of Team Magma, hereby announce that today will be the day we issue our declaration to the world."

The executives and team members, in this tense moment of escaping the volcano, still listened excitedly to what Liya said.

"Declare to the whole world—we, Team Magma, have been revived!"

"No, we are not the disgraced organization from ten years ago. This is the moment we are reborn. So we should be called..."

She paused.

"Neo Team Magma!"

Everyone burst into a huge cheer.

Liya looked around at all the members of Team Magma, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned.

"So I permit you all to wreak havoc to your heart's content! To celebrate the revival of Neo Team Magma! To celebrate that our leader is about to obtain the most powerful force in the world!"

"Gentlemen, let us celebrate!"