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Silence.
Heavy, suffocating silence.
The clearing, which had only monts ago been ringing with the explosive thunder of colliding energy, now held nothing but the soft rustle of branches swaying in the wind.
Kael, suddenly exposed by pure bad luck, looked montarily at a loss.
Facing Talonfla and Castform, both radiating overwhelming power and staring at him with cold, unfriendly eyes, he blinked innocently.
Maybe it was because the atmosphere had grown too oppressive.
Maybe because his nerves were stretched too tight.
For whatever reason, Kael forced a stiff, awkward smile onto his face, raised one slender right arm, and gave them a tiny wave.
A greeting.
What else was he supposed to do?
Kael laughed bitterly to himself.
He had no way out now.
With both of them already aware of his presence, there was no chance his still-crude stealth would fool their eyes.
And even with the speed boost granted by Deoxys's DNA, the gap in levels escaped little more than fantasy.
Fight them head-on?
Yeah, right.
He had already pushed himself to the brink just resisting the aftershocks of their battle. Unless he burned his own life force to forcibly unleash Origin Pulse far beyond what he should be capable of, there was no way he could defeat either of them.
That ant there was only one possible path left if he wanted to survive.
He had to make himself look as harmless as possible.
Only by showing that he posed absolutely no threat could he hope to carve out even the slimst chance of living through this.
But unfortunately, even though Kael felt he had shown more than enough goodwill, the increasingly hostile look in Talonfla's eyes gave him a sinking feeling.
He was not getting out of this one.
"Hah..."
Letting out a quiet breath, Kael lowered his arm. His body tightened, leaning slightly forward, and a trace of resolve appeared in his blue eyes.
Battle stance.
Ready.
He knew perfectly well that he was no match for the two powerful enemies in front of him.
But that did not an he would just wait to die.
The experiences of several lifetis had forged his spirit into sothing proud and unyielding.
Even if defeat was inevitable, he would still burn every last drop of blood in his body with the flas of battle and let that final blaze sing of a will that refused to break.
anwhile, on the other side of the clearing.
Although Talonfla and Castform had halted their fight the mont Kael appeared, neither of them had truly lowered their guard against the other.
After all, they had been fighting with lethal intent only a second ago. For wild Pokémon with instincts as fierce as theirs, turning from enemies into allies in the blink of an eye was not exactly realistic.
But one thing was clear.
Neither of them intended to let the weak-looking intruder, this Sobble, walk away.
Only by eliminating the extra variable could they resu their battle without worry.
At the sa ti, for Talonfla, which had been on the losing end of the fight just now, the smartest choice should have been obvious.
Use this distraction.
Slip away while Castform was not paying attention.
Get out of here.
After all, Talonfla's strength was clearly below Castform's. Once Sobble was dealt with, its own death might well be next.
But Talonfla would not do that.
Because in its heart, there existed sothing more precious than life itself.
A conviction.
A pride.
A dignity.
As one of the Pokémon who ruled the skies of Molten Season Forest, it had inherited a spirit of defiance passed down through generations. To retreat was sha.
Whoooosh.
The blazing wind that had briefly settled now roared through the clearing again.
Violently aggressive Fire-type energy spread outward from the two Fire-type Pokémon at the center of the field.
"Hoo..."
Feeling the atmosphere grow so tense it was almost suffocating, Kael slowly exhaled.
His blue eyes remained locked on the two before him, tracking every movent.
His mind raced, searching for a way forward.
I can't drag this out.
I have to strike first.
From Kael's perspective, if Talonfla and Castform seized the initiative, then judging from the speed and power of the moves he had witnessed while hiding nearby, he might not even have the chance to counterattack before being swallowed and roasted alive by fire.
So no matter what the outco was, he had to attack first.
Only by doing that could he cause as much trouble for the enemy as possible.
Sizzle... sizzle... sizzle...
Guided and amplified by the Water Stone coiled in his tail, streams of pure, translucent water rushed from all over Kael's body and gathered rapidly in his throat.
Wrapped in drifting white steam as moisture evaporated from his body, Kael compressed every bit of energy he could muster.
Then he aid at the weaker of the two.
Talonfla.
And fired.
"Water Gun!"
FWOOOOSH.
From the start of charging to the mont of release, less than two seconds passed.
A half-transparent stream wrapped in blue Water-type energy shot forward in a straight line.
Talonfla's golden pupils contracted sharply.
It had considered the possibility that Sobble might beg pitifully for rcy.
It had considered the possibility that the little thing might panic, lash out, and attack wildly in desperation.
But it had not expected Kael's strike to co this suddenly.
This decisively.
The very instant hostility appeared, Kael had attacked almost on instinct.
The surprise lasted only a mont.
Talonfla had survived in the danger-filled heart of Molten Season Forest for years. It was not the kind of Pokémon to lose its composure over one unexpected move.
Its crimson wings, patterned with black markings, snapped together in front of its body.
Invisible Flying-type energy shimred out from its body like a thin mbrane, racing toward the tips of its wings.
Talonfla was far stronger than Kael overall, but it was still a Fire-type Pokémon. Against Water, it was at a severe disadvantage.
It understood perfectly well that if it carelessly took Sobble's Water Gun head-on, it would not be knocked out on the spot, but the loss of vitality would be very real.
And that would leave it in a terrible position against Castform afterward.
So it had no choice.
It had to counter.
"WHOOOOSH..."
Violent Flying-type energy condensed around Talonfla's wings, letting out a savage howl as terrifying power surged within it, enough to seem capable of slicing open the earth itself.
"Air Slash!"
In the next instant.
Talonfla's crossed wings snapped wide.
A crescent-shaped, half-transparent blade of energy burst forth.
SHHK! SHHK!
The air itself was torn apart, crying out in pain.
Its graceful curved arc looked almost beautiful.
But hidden inside it was cold, unmistakable killing intent.
Grass fragnts spiraled through the air.
And rely from the energy leaking downward as it flew, the slash carved a deep scar across the forest floor.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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