Pokémon Detective: Cynthia Forces Me to Adopt a Pokémon

Chapter 219 Cloud God's Illusion, Insects Chirping at Sunset

As if trying to banish all doubts, Joggs shook his white-haired head and shouted loudly at the cloud god he had summoned—

"Unleash your full power, Land Cloud! Free Attack!"

Whether it's Rock-type moves like "Stone Slide" or "Rock Slide" that counter the opponent, or Landorus' own STAB moves like "Hurricane," "Earth Power," or "Earthquake"—Yorge believed that under the radiance of Victory Star, as long as any one of these moves hit the Volcarona, the duel would end in an instant.

At the same time, Adek finally issued his instructions, which were concise and to the point.

He slowly gave the command, pointing to the approximate location of the Volcano Moth—

"Flame Vortex."

In a normal battle, this move would likely be surprisingly effective. The spinning "fire vortex" can not only deflect the opponent's attacks, but can also be thrown out in the final stage, leaving the opponent feeling the burning sensation of being engulfed in flames.

At this moment, both Pokémon were also in the dark sandstorm. They were already familiar with the desert environment, and Landorus, being the source of the "sandstorm," could barely make out its location in the dark dust. As for Volcarona on the other side, its vision was naturally even more limited.

The opponent only released a small vortex, which, without precise control, is less effective defensively than the shield formed by the "Protect" move and cannot possibly defend against all incoming attacks...

Has that champion finally shown a weakness?

Jogos' confidence came to an abrupt halt at that moment, because he saw with his own eyes a bright red flame dancing conspicuously in the sandstorm—like a ribbon on a dancer's body, or a paintbrush in a painter's hand, gracefully and swiftly swirling and flying.

No matter how unfamiliar someone is with combat, at this moment they can see that it is by no means a aimless passive defense, but rather the "Flame Vortex" that maximizes the defensive effect of the move.

The fire moth, as if it could see everything in the dark, guided the flow of the vortex with perfect ease.

As the flames danced, the range of the attack grew larger and larger, interspersed with a large amount of red-hot rocks and dust.

"put!"

Champion Adek, full of confidence, waved his equally wide robe sleeves. He opened his mouth wide and uttered a command that could shake the entire Tower of Heaven.

For no apparent reason, Jogos was suddenly filled with fear.

Even with his two trump cards, Landorus and Victini, even though he believed that the power of legendary Pokémon was beyond the reach of ordinary Pokémon, even though it was just a relatively weak "Flame Vortex"...

No, no, it's absolutely impossible to withstand!

Faced with the champion's all-out attack, the sage in blue instinctively chose to avoid its edge—as if something in his mind was desperately reminding him.

Even "Guard" is unavailable; you have to avoid that move...

Joggs gritted his teeth and ordered, "Land Cloud, leave the 'Substitute' behind and retreat!"

Before he knew it, the Poké Ball that imprisoned Victini was now tightly clutched in his hand.

Upon hearing the trainer's command, the Landorus within the sandstorm snorted coldly, but still quickly separated into a shadowy form, retreating to the edge of the arena as if cutting off its tail to survive.

Joggs made the right choice. This retreat at that moment changed the final outcome of the battle.

When the move that looked like a "vortex of fire" was released, its size suddenly increased dramatically, and its power increased by dozens or even hundreds of times in an instant.

Boom! Boom boom boom boom!

The blue headdress was blown off by the strong wind, and the sleeves of the long robe fluttered in the wind.

The sage's vision was first occupied by a flash of white light, and by the time he regained his sight with the help of Victini, the roaring flames were already raging across the field like a red sandstorm.

The "doppelganger" left behind by Landorus vanished instantly like dew in a fire. Even though it had taken cover at the edge of the arena, Landorus was still caught in the aftershocks of the attack. It had already opened its palms to block the flying stone chips, but the red-hot stones were no longer solid. Instead, they were molten lava that stuck directly to Landorus's orange-red hands, emitting gray smoke.

There was no trace of the sandstorm; the yellow sand looked as if it had been burned away. Although the explosion's epicenter was in the air where Landorus had originally been, the ground was equally devastated—the rocks and boulders that had been scattered everywhere by Landorus's attack had vanished, leaving only a charred expanse of ground, the rock formations subtly sunken...

The firelight that the detective and the green-haired youth saw outside the tower was the power of this move.

That couldn't possibly be the power of a normal "Flame Vortex".

Whether it's a legend or a fantasy, if one were to encounter this attack head-on, there would be absolutely no chance of escaping unscathed.

"Tsk."

Joggs looked up and saw the Ardek champion with an extremely distressed expression. The sweat on his forehead had long since been dried by the heat of the arena. The man opposite him was violently scratching his hair, which had been ruffled by the aftershocks of the skill, scratching it again and again, and even complaining to his opponent in a completely uncouth manner—

"I thought you'd be too cocky and take this hit since you seemed to have a trump card up your sleeve, but I didn't expect you to run away so decisively."

If Landorus had remained in the center of the arena and taken all the damage from that attack, the outcome of this battle would have been far from dire. Only now was Joggs truly beginning to feel the chill of fear.

Just now it was... like I was being protected by something.

He then remembered the Poké Ball containing Victini that he was clutching tightly in his hand and quickly put it back into his sleeve. At the same time, Joggs also came to his senses.

After unleashing that move, Volcarona had already wiped out the "Substitute" on the field, but did not pursue Landorus. This shows that even the champion's ace player could not be without damage after using such a move.

That's undoubtedly a fire-type move. Since it explodes in the air instead of directly piercing through the floors of the Tower of Heaven, it means it's not a physical attack... It's either a "burnout" or "overheating" move!

Regardless of the type, the opponent's prized internal fire will fall into an awkward state of flux, which is precisely the time to counterattack!

Joggs looked at the land cloud and found that the other was also looking at him.

It's time to launch a counterattack.

The sage twitched his beard—

"A gift of peaches should be repaid with a gift of plums. Great divine incarnation, please 'smash' the enemy before you!"

"Use the 'Fly' technique to speed up and dodge!" Aldek sensed danger and quickly gave the order.

too slow!

Having experienced the previous battle, Joggs was already used to Volcano's teleportation-like speed. Because of this experience, he immediately saw through his opponent's disheveled appearance when he tried to dodge.

It's all about timing and luck—even Volcarona has been reduced to relying on Flying-type moves to increase its speed. In that case, it should be prepared for the curse that those who spread their wings must bear!

""Supernatural power"! "

As Joggs shouted at the top of his lungs, the land cloud responded with a roar.

The move that hadn't had a chance to be used before suddenly erupted. A purplish-red wave of psychic energy emanated from between the Cloud God's brows, quickly transforming into a giant net of psychic energy that bound the insects that lacked initial acceleration.

The decisive blow is just one strike away!

"Victory Star, please forgive me..." Joggs said to himself with remorse, while cruelly activating the control mechanism of the special Poké Ball.

"Land Cloud, use 'Stone Strike' at close range!"

"Go for it!" As if he could already foresee the outcome, the Ardek champion showed anxiety, but instead adopted an even more aggressive tactic—

"Unleash the last flame! 'Flash Charge'!"

The Earth Cloud, wielding a massive rock, roared as it collided heavily with the Volcano, whose body was once again engulfed in flames. Although the latter's flames were not as spectacular as the previous explosion, they swayed from side to side like insidious venomous snakes, and resembled lightning capable of burning through the air, still sending chills down one's spine.

However, the fourfold type advantage ultimately proved effective. After a brief stalemate, "Stone Strike" pierced through the red flames unleashed by Volcarona, striking its opponent squarely in the vulnerable center.

The outcome is decided! Joggs was overjoyed. The Fire Moth had suffered a fatal blow, and given its near-death lifespan, such an injury would surely be irreparable.

It will only face death.

Now, no matter what happens next, he has already achieved his goal of climbing the tower!

He didn't notice that after the sandstorm was dispersed by the previous explosion, the bright sunlight outside the Tower of Heaven was already shining obliquely into the area.

The Vulcan moth, its abdomen injured, lowered its head, its blue eyes gazing silently at the earth cloud so close at hand.

Without its trainer needing to speak, it unleashed its final move.

This Grass-type move, which gathers the sun's rays and transforms them into power, deals 100% maximum damage to Landorus, which is a Flying/Ground type.

"Sunbeam".

The intense flames formed by the convergence of sunlight enveloped the two Pokémon that had collided.