Chapter 143: Further Enhancement

As Lian watched the boy fleeing, he concluded that the opponent likely didn't have any Pokemon with them or simply chose not to engage, otherwise they wouldn't have given up so easily.

Having no Pokemon was even better, as it avoided further battles. Honestly, his luck today had been exceptional; under normal circumstances, Lian would not stand a chance against a Braviary.

If not for the environmental advantage and finding a Fire Gem, allowing him to temporarily unleash Fire Blast, the victory wouldn't have been so straightforward.

Despite winning, he sustained significant injuries. During the clash between his Fire Punch and the opponent's Wing Attack, although Lian managed to block, he was still knocked back and suffered harm.

With the defeat of the Braviary, his combat rating task for the day was accomplished. The awarded Combat Points should be well over a thousand, potentially leaving some surplus after upgrading his Special Attack ability value. Tonight, he could finally max out his Special Attack ability to +60, reaching a total of 140 points in the Special Attack base stat.

It's time to head back.

Lian began walking towards the volcano's exit.

***

"Why hasn't it come out yet?" Kalia asked with concern, regretting her decision to let Charmeleon enter. The volcanic crater was treacherous for most trainers; what if her Charmeleon became incapacitated?

Most importantly, she couldn't venture inside herself, unsure of the situation within. Her current heat-resistant suit provided inadequate protection, and obtaining a better one in such short notice seemed impractical.

"Don't worry, it's not that quick," Julian reassured her. "Perhaps your Charmeleon is also receiving Heatran's assistance and becoming even stronger."

"I hope so." Kalia tried to stay optimistic, considering Julian's Charmeleon had accompanied hers, and his Charmeleon had entered multiple times without any issues. Therefore, her Charmeleon should be equally safe.

Shuffling footsteps approached.

"Someone's coming out?" Kalia looked towards the summit, noticing someone descending from the peak. Upon closer inspection, it was the same short-haired boy who had previously controlled the Braviary.

Dressed in tight white heat-resistant clothing, the short-haired boy hurried down, appearing somewhat dispirited—far removed from his earlier arrogant demeanor while soaring through the air.

Kalia found it peculiar that he emerged so quickly. Did he attempt to challenge Heatran and get defeated?

It seemed highly unlikely that anyone would challenge Heatran, a legendary Pokémon. Moreover, being at Steel Fire Mountain gave Heatran an absolute environmental advantage. Defeating it likely required at least the strength of a high-level Trainer.

Julian chuckled inwardly as he observed the boy's demeanor; just moments ago, the short-haired youth had been soaring confidently through the air, but now he emerged hastily, appearing shaken and far from his earlier arrogant stance.

The young boy noticed Kalia and Julian but barely acknowledged them with a dismissive snort before swiftly heading down Steel Fire Mountain.

Once the boy was out of earshot, Julian huffed, "All he has is a Braviary. Just wait until my Charmeleon evolves; then I'll soar too."

"Other than Heatran, there probably aren't many Pokémon on Steel Fire Mountain that could match up against a Braviary," Kalia pondered, puzzled. "Could he have actually challenged Heatran?"

As they were close by earlier, she noticed that the boy's Pokémon appeared severely injured and unable to continue battling. His hand remained constantly hovering over his Poké Ball, indicating something must have gone wrong. Such instinctive concern for his Poké Ball suggested that his Pokémon had indeed faced defeat.

"He must have definitely challenged Heatran—how arrogant," Julian remarked gleefully, relishing the other's misfortune.

While discussing this,

"Charmeleon is returning." Kalia kept her eyes on the summit and immediately spotted Charmeleon's silhouette approaching - its size matched that of her own Charmeleon.

Finally, it could return to the Poké Ball for some rest.

Seeing Kalia, Lian sighed in relief and quickly ran towards her. With a click, his Poké Ball automatically opened, and he dove inside.

Once within the Poké Ball, Lian lay down and promptly fell asleep.

"Is Charmeleon injured?" Kalia noticed clear signs of wounds on Charmeleon before it entered the Poké Ball.

Fortunately, the injuries didn't seem severe. The mere fact that Charmeleon returned safely reassured Kalia; even if there were no significant gains, she felt content.

Kalia deeply understood Charmeleon's immense strength, far surpassing ordinary Pokemon, beyond what mere talent could describe.

Charmeleon's growth rate was already remarkably swift, making Heatran's assistance unnecessary for further acceleration.

Possessing such a powerful Charmeleon was sheer luck for her. At times, she even felt unworthy of having Charmeleon, as its rapid development outpaced other Pokemon without much deliberate nurturing.

After waiting briefly, Julian's Charmeleon also returned, appearing energetic with its tail flame burning vigorously.

***

At night, stars twinkled amidst a full moon hanging high in the sky. The bright moonlight illuminated the ground, casting its glow through the library's windows.

Lian rested inside his Poké Ball, awaiting midnight to arrive.

His consciousness suddenly became clear as he opened his eyes, finding himself within the system space.

Feeling slightly excited, Lian checked his Combat Points balance: a total of 27,433 points. Today's battle earned him an additional 1,720 Combat Points as rewards.

It should have been higher, considering Braviary's exceptional abilities granted over two hundred extra Combat Points for the power gap bonus. However, due to Lian's injuries, much of that advantage was offset.

The Braviary's attack ability reached a terrifying 1,594 points, nearly hitting sixteen hundred, and its speed also surpassed one thousand.

With such formidable offensive capabilities, if not for the young trainer's concern about accidentally killing Lian with stronger moves, insisting on using Braviary's stable Wing Attacks, Lian likely would have been defeated much earlier.

For instance, if Braviary used its Normal-type Crush Claw move, which has a high base power of 75 and is within its same type category, Lian's Fire Punch likely wouldn't withstand it, resulting in an instant knockout.

However, Crush Claw is extremely dangerous due to its significant potential for critical hits, easily causing fatal injuries to Pokemon.

Currently, Lian's Special Attack ability stands at 1041. To reach the maximum limit of +60, he needs to increase his Special Attack ability to 1097, requiring a total of 56 points. Each point costs 480 Combat Points, amounting to 26,880 Combat Points needed overall.

After this upgrade, Lian won't enhance his Special Attack further until after evolution. Instead, he plans to focus on increasing other abilities, aiming to bring them close to their limits of thirty or forty points.

Without hesitation, Lian starts clicking the plus sign, boosting his Special Attack ability steadily as Combat Points rapidly deplete.

In less than a minute, Lian reduced his Combat Points from 27,433 to just 553, spending them all.

However, the rewards were significant. His Special Attack base stat officially reached 140 points, surpassing even many legendary Pokémon's Special Attack stats. Additionally, Lian's total base stats had already exceeded those of a typical Charizard.

With the enhanced Special Attack ability value, Lian felt momentarily unsatisfied as his Combat Points vanished once again.

For the foreseeable future, he wouldn't need to focus on Special Attack and could instead concentrate on improving other abilities and his Energy Control Rating.

Having only 553 Combat Points left, there wasn't much else he could upgrade. Now, increasing his Fire-type Energy Control Rating by just 1% required 2,000 Combat Points, which was prohibitively expensive.

It's time to practice.

Lian moved to the center of the system space and began his routine training, focusing on precision control, move forms, and practicing Heat Wave.