A torrential downpour and swirling flames
When Yuga and Gary flew up to the top of the stone pillar, they finally saw the mysterious creature clearly—it was a beautiful Ninetales.
This Ninetales was slightly larger than the usual ones, sitting quietly atop the stone pillar. Its silky, pale-yellow fur shimmered under the sunlight like satin, and its nine long tails trailed behind, gently swaying, exuding a powerful presence.
Instinctively, Yuga activated his Insight to observe the Ninetales.
...
[ Ninetales ]
Type: Fire
Ability: Flash Fire
Gender: Female
Potential: Indigo
Level: 99
Moves: Ember, Tail Whip, Baby-Doll Eyes, Will-O-Wisp, Sunny Day, Quick Attack, Fire Spin, Confuse Ray, Hex, Flame Burst, Extrasensory, Flamethrower, Inferno, Fire Blast, Overheat, Energy Ball, Dark Pulse, Tail Slap, Return, Hypnosis, Heat Wave, Iron Tail, Pain Split.
...
After seeing the data on Ninetales, Yuga's eyes widened in surprise. This was a Ninetales just one step away from reaching Level 100.
One condition for reaching Level 100 is having purple potential. Yuga suspected that, if not for this limitation, the Ninetales before him would have already achieved that milestone.
Though it was only one level away, the difference in power was vast. A Level 100 Pokémon's strength could rival that of a legendary Pokémon, while this Ninetales, at Level 99, could only be considered at the Master level. That single level gap was insurmountable.
As Yuga and Gary reached the top, the sitting Ninetales slowly rose to its feet, then leaped gracefully onto a platform behind it.
Just as Yuga and Gary had their Dragonite and Pidgeot land on the stone pillar, a voice resonated in their minds.
"Are you here in search of the treasure?"
The voice was both aged and elegant, giving the impression of someone who had seen much of life.
Yuga instinctively looked at Ninetales, only to find it gazing down at him and Gary, its eyes calm and unreadable.
"Is this telepathy?" Gary asked, looking at Ninetales with excitement and fascination in his eyes.
"Are you here in search of the treasure?"
Seeing that neither Yuga nor Gary had answered, Ninetales asked again.
Cautiously, Yuga looked at Ninetales and replied, "Yes, but does that mean the treasure is a lie?" With such a formidable Ninetales guarding it, Yuga had good reason to question the legitimacy of the treasure.
With a voice both weathered and tranquil, Ninetales responded, "The treasure does indeed exist, but whether you can obtain it depends on your abilities!"
As soon as Ninetales finished speaking, its nine tails spread open in a display as magnificent as a peacock's fan. At the tip of each tail, an orange fireball materialized, and under Ninetales' control, the fireballs shot toward Yuga and Gary.
This was merely the most basic Fire-type move, Ember, but when unleashed by Ninetales, it was more terrifying than most Pokémon's Fire Blast.
Having already been wary of Ninetales, Yuga quickly pushed Gary out of harm's way the moment the fireballs shot toward them, then rolled aside to dodge the attack himself.
Gary's Pidgeot, quick-witted as ever, spread its wings to lift him into the air by gripping his collar. As Ninetales launched another barrage of fireballs, Pidgeot skillfully maneuvered to help Gary evade them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ninetales' fireballs exploded upon impact with the ground, leaving craters in their wake. While dodging, Yuga released his Lapras from its Poké Ball.
"Here we go…"
Lapras opened its mouth and unleashed a water jet, intercepting all of Ninetales' fireballs. The collision of the fiery projectiles and Lapras' water cannon created a thick cloud of steam that shrouded everyone's vision.
"Gary, you and Pidgeot hide and stay out of this fight!" Yuga shouted through the mist.
"But…" Gary hesitated.
"Trust me!"
"Alright!"
With that, Pidgeot carried Gary out of Ninetales' range.
Watching the stone pillar enveloped in steam from afar, Gary felt a surge of worry. He hadn't expected Ninetales to be this powerful.
At this level, Ninetales could fully suppress its own aura, which was why Gary, at first, hadn't sensed anything exceptional about it apart from its elegant form.
Yuga wanted Gary to stay out of the fight, not only because Gary lacked the strength needed but also because Yuga desired a one-on-one confrontation with this formidable opponent just a step away from Level 100.
Encounters with such Pokémon were rare.
If Yuga had initially come for the treasure, meeting Ninetales had now made it worthwhile—even if there was no treasure.
Whoosh…
Amid the dense mist, Ninetales sent out waves of Heat Wave, dispersing the water vapor in an instant.
As the intense heat surged toward Yuga, Dragonite leapt in front of him, flapping its tiny wings to send a tornado swirling back toward Ninetales, carrying the heat with it.
Ninetales remained still on the platform, spreading its nine tails again. Red columns of flame shot from each tail, striking precisely at Dragonite's whirlwind and dispersing it.
The top of the stone pillar was quite spacious, with a small shrine-like structure in the center that Yuga suspected might be Ninetales' residence.
Besides the central structure, there were four platforms positioned at the cardinal points atop the stone pillar, resembling altars. Along with the engraved patterns on the pillar's surface, it genuinely gave the place a treasure-like aura.
Ninetales sat perched on the eastern platform.
With such an open area, the broken pieces of rock scattered from the dispersed whirlwind began rolling off the edge, occasionally striking the heads of the Elite-level Pokémon waiting below.
The Pokémon below looked up at the pillar longingly but had no idea what was happening up there, merely standing by, helpless.
Seeing its attack effortlessly countered by Ninetales, Dragonite exchanged a glance with Lapras before both took to the sky, vanishing out of sight.
Once Dragonite disappeared, Lapras unleashed a beam of blue light into the sky, its eyes beginning to glow a matching blue.
Rumble, rumble!
As the blue light faded, dark rain clouds swiftly gathered directly above the stone pillar, and a torrential downpour began.
This time, Lapras' Rain Dance was no mere drizzle—it summoned a full-blown storm!
As the heavy rain poured down, Yuga's Gengar and Mismagius appeared on either side of him, each supporting him as they quickly moved him out of the rain zone covering the stone pillar.
Staying within the rain zone would not only leave Yuga soaked, but he also risked getting caught up in Lapras and Dragonite's attacks. Keeping a safe distance was the best choice.
The rain was pouring down heavily, soon blurring Yuga's vision, so much so that Lapras became a faint silhouette in the rain zone.
The sticky rainwater drenched Ninetales' beautiful fur, making it visibly irritable. Raising its head, it released a golden orb into the sky, attempting to wrest control of the weather from Lapras by using Sunny Day.
The golden orb shot up like a missile, piercing the thick clouds and clearing a vast section of them.
Just like when a drop of water falls into hot oil, the clouds seemed to bubble and boil, causing the downpour to gradually lessen from a torrential rain to a light drizzle, and it continued to dwindle.
"Lapras…"
Lapras was not one to yield so easily. Its eyes glowed a stronger blue, and it activated both Rain Dance and its Drizzle ability simultaneously!
Lapras inherited its Drizzle ability from Kyogre, so although its level was far below that of Ninetales, it managed to hold its ground in this contest for weather control.
Yet, holding its ground didn't mean Lapras had gained the upper hand, and the two sides reached a standstill.
Crack!
At that moment, a thunderous roar echoed from the clouds, followed by a flash of golden lightning, breaking the equilibrium between Ninetales and Lapras.
Rumble… rumble…
The torrential downpour returned with full force, and within moments, Ninetales was soaked to the bone, losing its usual poise and composure, with a hint of irritation flashing across its face.
"Grr…"
Ninetales let out a long howl, and fiery red energy rose from its body, instantly evaporating the rainwater near it.
"Grr…"
With another cry, a ring of fire expanded from Ninetales, spreading outward in an instant and striking Lapras, which let out a pained wail.
This ring of fire was Ninetales' Inferno. Under its intense burning effect, patches of Lapras' skin turned charred black, indicating it had been burned.
However, the burn only lasted for a moment. Lapras' Hydration ability enabled it to cure any status condition in rainy weather.
But while the burn was healed, the damage from Inferno still lingered.
A strange glint flashed in Ninetales' eyes as it trapped Lapras in a circle of flames. Despite the downpour, the flames continued to blaze relentlessly.
Legend has it that Ninetales is a long-lived Pokémon, with each of its nine tails possessing a unique secret power, allowing it to manipulate fire freely with mystical abilities.
And now, this legend seemed undeniable!
Boom!
The flames on the ring intensified, forcing Lapras to retreat further and further.
"Lapras…"
Lapras' fins flapped swiftly, drawing rain droplets from the air, which formed a massive wave that surged toward the ring of fire.
Surf!
However, instead of extinguishing the flames, the water only fueled the fire, transforming the ring of fire into a towering wall that encircled both Lapras and the giant wave. The wave beneath Lapras sizzled as it evaporated, its vapor quickly merging with the downpour, disappearing without a trace.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Just as the fire's tongues were about to lick Lapras, a dragon-shaped bolt of lightning descended from the sky, scattering the fiery wall surrounding it.
The fire ring surged back up into a wall of flames, but another dragon-shaped lightning bolt struck, dispersing it again.
The moment Lapras escaped the fiery ring, it gathered energy in its fins and shot an Origin Pulse at Ninetales.
Caught off guard, Ninetales was hit directly. The powerful impact sent it flying off the platform, rolling across the ground several times before coming to a stop, its once-glorious fur now coated in grime, leaving it looking rather disheveled.
Ninetales flipped itself upright, only to be struck by another dragon-shaped bolt of lightning that descended from the sky, hitting its head and turning the golden fox into a blackened fox.
Phew…
Ninetales exhaled a smoke ring, and its nine long tails flared outward, each tail igniting in a fiery column. The nine columns converged to form a blazing tornado that engulfed Ninetales.
Enveloped by the flames, Ninetales seemed to transform into a fiery spirit, manipulating each flicker of fire as if they were extensions of itself.
Boom!
A spiral of flames burst from Ninetales and struck Lapras head-on, causing it to let out a pained cry as it crashed to the ground, losing consciousness.
Ninetales had unleashed its powerful Fire-type move, Overheat!
The instant Lapras fell, Dragonite's Thunder arrived as well, a dragon-shaped lightning bolt striking Ninetales directly. With the rain pouring down, there was no way for Ninetales to dodge it.
However, as Ninetales was struck by Thunder, it used Pain Split. A pained cry echoed from the clouds as Dragonite wobbled, falling from the sky.
Though Dragonite had been unscathed, Pain Split transferred half of Ninetales' damage to it, allowing Ninetales to endure Dragonite's Thunder.
"Grr…"
Ninetales pulled itself up, shaking its body to shed the rainwater and regaining a hint of its former elegance.
With Lapras down and Dragonite on the ground, the clouds above began to dissipate bit by bit, and the raindrops slowly dwindled.
As Ninetales glanced at it, Dragonite assumed a defensive stance, but Ninetales did not attack.
Once Yuga guided Gengar and Mismagius closer, Ninetales' familiar voice resonated in his mind once again.
"Let's end the battle here. You all are very strong!"
Yuga didn't object, knowing that continuing would result in Dragonite's defeat, especially since it was essentially a two-on-one fight.
Despite the outcome, Yuga felt he gained a lot from this battle. The teamwork between Lapras and Dragonite had been excellent. Though they didn't win, they hadn't lost too badly either, especially with their joint weather control efforts, which Yuga thought had great potential for further development.
Standing back on the stone pillar, Yuga quickly released Chimecho to heal Lapras and Dragonite. Their injuries weren't severe, and Chimecho swiftly healed them, a testament to the fact that Ninetales hadn't fought with lethal intent.
By now, Ninetales had resumed its place on the platform, though it looked slightly disheveled compared to its elegant entrance.
To maintain its dignity, Ninetales gently swished its tails, using Tail Whip to clean the grime from its fur, restoring its coat to its previous luster.
After a brief hesitation, Yuga gestured toward Chimecho and asked Ninetales, "Need a little help?"
Ninetales hesitated, then nodded in agreement. Although it felt a bit embarrassing, the pain was indeed a bother!
As a dedicated healer, Chimecho quickly tended to Ninetales' injuries, and Ninetales' gaze softened as it looked at Yuga.
At that moment, Gary returned, riding on Pidgeot, looking thrilled. He had captured every moment of the battle on his high-quality camera.
Such a spectacular battle scene would be invaluable footage for the future!
Although Gary had been far from the battlefield, his advanced camera had clearly recorded everything from a distance.
"Now that the fight is over, do we qualify to learn about the treasure?" Yuga asked Ninetales.
"Of course!" Ninetales' voice echoed in both their minds.