Chapter 176: The Last Day

Chapter 176: The Last Day

"Bang," "Bang." Two "flattened" things instantly appeared on the training ground.

As if bearing a thousand-ton weight, Rio's four limbs were spread out, lying prone on the ground in the shape of a star, pressed down and unable to move.

Is this the peerless pressure of Charizard?

Terrifying. Hiss.

"Eldest... Senior... Brother... can... you... still... move?"

Even speaking was extremely difficult. Rio barely managed to turn his head to look at the Infernape beside him.

"Mon... mon."

Unsurprisingly, Eldest Senior Brother was being pressed down in the exact same posture.

The only difference was the fighting spirit and battle intent gushing out from its eyes.

After the intense battle just now, Rio felt as if his entire body had been run over by several tanks back and forth. His muscles were sore, his legs were weak, and his arms were even trembling unnaturally from excessive punching.

"Get up!"

The old man Akagi's emotionless voice sounded from not far away.

Get up? I feel awful even just lying here!

Rio complained silently in his heart.

"Mon..."

But the fighting spirit of the Infernape beside him grew even more vigorous. Following that, the flame on top of its head burned even more brilliantly.

Its legs struggled to plant firmly on the ground. Its arms couldn't exert any force, so it used its elbows to prop itself up. Even though its body was bent and stooped from the pressure, that spirit of standing up supported Infernape's rise.

Though there be ten thousand weights of pressure, I will hold my head high and stand.

"D-damn it!"

Perhaps infected by that firm will to fight against heaven and earth, Rio also gritted his teeth and emulated Infernape.

His legs were already trembling so much they couldn't support him. No matter, then he would use his knees to prop himself up.

His arms couldn't exert force, so he used his elbows to support his body.

Just like that, bit by bit, the two Pokémon, under Charizard's mighty pressure, gradually stood up.

"…"

He could no longer distinguish whether what flowed down his cheeks and forehead was sweat or tears unconsciously shed under the pressure. Rio's consciousness began to blur, yet he stubbornly refused to give up.

Suddenly, a familiar yet strange power seemed to well up from the depths of his body.

It was as if... the power of evolution was calling out...

But just then.

"Very good! But, still not enough!"

As the old man Akagi's voice fell, the already heavy pressure suddenly and fiercely intensified.

"You haven't reached your limit yet!"

The sharp-eyed old man Akagi naturally also noticed the white light emanating from Riolu's body.

Under this kind of ordinary limit, a Pokémon's body is tempered, and then, due to its internal protective mechanism, it is forced to evolve.

For an ordinary Pokémon, evolving is just evolving, which is not a bad thing. After all, many Pokémon can become stronger through evolution.

But for Rio, no, he could not evolve at this juncture. Because this was the path to pursuing the strongest. Once he evolved in an ordinary state, he would not be able to use the sublimation of that instant of evolution to leap up a life tier and reach the realm of the Peerless.

Therefore, the old man Akagi decisively increased Charizard's pressure.

"!"

The suddenly increased pressure directly pushed the two Pokémon, who were about to stand up, back down again.

Rio's eyes rolled back, and unable to withstand the pressure, he fainted directly.

"Using the energy sublimation of that instant of evolution allows one to leap to an even higher level. So, you cannot evolve yet."

As if explaining something, the old man Akagi said to the fainted Rio.

Then he glanced at the still-struggling Infernape.

"And you, my friend, because you cannot evolve again, what you need is to force yourself to approach a higher limit."

…

Perhaps because he was too tired, very rarely, Rio's deep sleep this time was not accompanied by any dreams. It was just a deep, good sleep.

His consciousness gradually returned. The subconscious feeling was.

Hot. So hot. A heat that seemed to shoot out from within his body.

But this heat, it seemed to stimulate every cell, and at the same time, nourish every corner of his body. Those hidden aches and pains left from battles or training seemed to be repaired, to be healed, under this heat source.

As he became more and more clear-headed, an idea instantly appeared in his mind.

"Damn it! Who threw me in the water!!!"

In the steaming hot spring pool, a Riolu jumped up, yelling.

"Mon, mon~ (Pokémon Language) Little brother, enjoy it. The hot springs here are very comfortable, phew~"

Eldest Senior Brother, who usually seemed uncomfortable if he wasn't fighting at all times, was now leaning lazily against the edge of the hot spring pool, his eyes squinted, humming contentedly.

Rio smoothed down his soaked fur.

"No wonder it's so hot. I'm actually soaking in a hot spring."

Having calmed down, Rio walked back into the hot spring. The heat that went straight through his body made him unable to help but let out a long sigh.

"This is the life!"

…

From then on, Rio and Infernape began a special training cycle of battle—pressure—fainting—soaking in the hot spring.

Perhaps only here in Fuquan Town could such an extreme training method be used.

Whenever Rio fainted after a large amount of battling and pressure, he would be thrown by Charizard into the hot spring behind the old man Akagi's house. A nice long soak to recover his energy and eliminate fatigue, and then he would return to the training ground and go through it all again, repeating the cycle.

Rio was enjoying this rare special training, though it was painful and happy at the same time.

So after finishing training each day, the rest in the hot spring became his happiest time.

Míng Rìzhào would also occasionally come to see her partner. But she came and went in a hurry, as if she was also busy with something.

But seeing the spirited expressions on both their faces, one knew that both sides had gained a lot during this period.

Time gradually passed. Fuquan Town also slowly entered autumn. It was still as hot as ever, but this heat, carrying a trace of autumn, made even more tourists love to come to Fuquan Town to soak in the hot springs. For a time, the number of tourists in Fuquan Town increased dramatically.

And what made the tourists even happier was that tomorrow, another grand event in Fuquan Town was about to kick off.

The Volcanic Hot Spring Celebration, Pokémon Gym Badge Challenge Competition.

It will open tomorrow!

Therefore, today was already Rio's last day to stay here and train with Infernape, Charizard, and the old man Akagi.

Infernape's figure flashed. It was no longer just throwing straightforward punches but flashed to Rio's side, its horizontal palm chopping over.

Rio's fighting style, which blended multiple martial arts schools and was not confined to a single type of punch, had provided a lot of nourishment for the studious Infernape.

"Nice one!"

Many days of battling had already made Rio familiar with Eldest Senior Brother's aura. The moment Infernape was about to get close, Rio's fur had already stood on end, having perceived the direction of the opponent's attack in advance.

Just as Infernape had learned various palm techniques from Rio, Rio had also practiced various ways of punching with Infernape. After all, Infernape was a pure Pokémon and had a unique understanding of fighting, which also benefited Rio greatly.

Facing the side palm chop, he brought his fists down like hammers from above, fiercely smashing onto Infernape's palm-blade, staggering the latter.

"Mon, mon! (Pokémon Language) Beautiful!"

Infernape roared, its front foot pushing forward forcefully. Flames ignited in its eyes, and in an instant, explosive flames covered its entire body. The whole Pokémon crashed towards Rio like a fireball.

"[Flame Wheel]!"

Treading on wind and fire, a body like a wheel!

Infernape's whole body emitted extremely high-temperature flames. In addition, the huge kinetic energy generated by the rampage of [Flame Wheel] made Rio not dare to take it head-on.

So, his entire Pokémon self ducked, extended his right leg, and swept horizontally like a whirlwind sweeping fallen leaves.

The newly learned Fighting-type move, [Low Kick]!

No matter how fierce Infernape's momentum was, no matter how strong the power of [Flame Wheel] was, it was all based on one premise: it had to be able to step on the ground to maintain its charging posture.

This one [Low Kick] directly destroyed Infernape's balance, causing the latter to lose control and fall forward.

"Mon!"

Thinking quickly, Infernape, the moment it was about to fall, grabbed Rio's tail.

"Bang—"

Both Pokémon fell to the ground.

"Huff, huff. Eldest Senior Brother, you're not supposed to pull tails like that."

Rio lay on the ground, panting, looking at his own tail on the verge of tears.

Just now, when Infernape grabbed Rio's tail, the flames on its body and hands were still burning. This one grab directly singed Rio's tail from root to tip, burning all the fur on the tail black. The originally dashing blue tail had now become a scorched, bald tail.

"Mon, mon, mon. (Pokémon Language) Sorry, little brother."

Infernape also scratched its head in embarrassment. Its already somewhat red monkey face became even redder.