A fully-equipped fire brigade of three hundred personnel was stationed at the port. As the explosion occurred, the massive shockwave swept through the entire brigade, causing significant damage.
Over a hundred people were injured, and much of the firefighting equipment was also damaged.
Under the command of the captain, the remaining uninjured members immediately drove fire trucks and headed to the scene of the fire with various Water-type Pokémon.
Meanwhile, fire and rescue teams from various parts of Lake City were also rushing to the scene.
The oil storage warehouse was now engulfed in raging flames, so intense that they painted half the sky red, while thick black smoke billowed into the air.
If that were all, it might have been manageable, but the area around the oil storage also contained many chemical substances. If the flames were to spread to that location and ignite the chemicals, the resulting toxic smoke would drift with the wind into Lake City, potentially poisoning millions of its tens of millions of residents.
Blastoise, Feraligatr, Slowbro, Staryu, Samurott, and many other Water-type Pokémon continuously sprayed Water Gun at the flames.
Around them, numerous human-operated fire trucks provided additional support.
However, the fire was so intense that the heatwaves it generated raised the surrounding temperature to nearly 100 degrees Celsius. Without specialized heat-resistant suits, humans would be unable to withstand the conditions.
Pelipper, affected by the heatwave, could only fly high above, using Water Gun from that altitude—but the water evaporated before it even reached the ground.
"This won't work—the fire is too intense!"
The firefighting team watched in despair as the flames not only failed to subside but grew larger and more ferocious.
"Our Pokémon are too weak to extinguish this fire."
In truth, the Pokémon were not weak—several were even at the pseudo-Elite level. The problem lay in the highly flammable and explosive nature of the burning materials.
BOOM!!
As they spoke, another violent explosion erupted.
Sparks flew in all directions, and debris from shattered structures was sent hurling through the air.
"Watch out!"
Amidst cries of pain, over a dozen Water-type Pokémon were sent flying by the blast. While their sturdy bodies prevented fatal injuries, they were no longer fit to continue participating in the rescue efforts.
By now, the flames were dangerously close to reaching the area where the chemical substances were stored.
The captain turned to Blastoise and shouted, "Blastoise, Mega Evolve!"
The peak pseudo-Elite level Blastoise, after Mega Evolution, reached the early-stage Elite-level.
As an Elite-level Pokémon, Blastoise's strength received an enormous boost. The power of its Water Gun also changed drastically; under its continuous torrent, the flames actually began showing signs of being suppressed.
Just as the captain began to feel hopeful, another explosion echoed in his ears, causing his expression to change drastically.
BOOM!!!
An even more violent explosion than before erupted, sending fragments of buildings and numerous steel rebars flying through the air.
Spotting a rebar hurtling straight toward him, the captain found himself unable to react in time.
"Blas!"
Mega Blastoise, despite its seemingly bulky form, erupted with astonishing speed, placing itself in front of the captain. Its sturdy shell blocked the incoming rebars.
"Blastoise, thank you," the captain said, his heart still pounding with fear.
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
No sooner had he spoken than three consecutive explosions erupted.
Flames soared into the sky, shockwaves rolled outward, and a wave of fire surged toward them like a tidal wave.
"We're done for."
All the firefighters watched with wide, despairing eyes as the flames rushed to engulf them.
"Meta~"
Just as they closed their eyes, resigned to their fate, a Light Screen stretched across a kilometer, standing like a fortress wall before the advancing inferno. Blocked by the Light Screen, the once-raging flames became as feeble as an infant.
"Metagross… Champion Walker!"
Seeing the silver Metagross, the captain instantly realized what was happening. Sure enough, he found that someone had appeared beside him without notice.
"Anyone hurt?" Julian asked.
The captain and the others quickly shook their heads, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief now that the crisis had passed.
With Champion Walker here, this fire was sure to be extinguished.
"Moltres."
Julian was somewhat surprised by the sheer scale of the blaze—no wonder he had been able to see the glow even from his home.
Fortunately, he had decided to come check on things out of concern. Otherwise, not only would people and Pokémon have perished, but the damage from the spreading fire would have been even greater.
After all, this was money—his money.
Since the port was owned by his family, anything burning here was essentially their assets going up in smoke.
As Moltres appeared, it made a sucking motion, and the uncontrolled flames, like tadpoles finding their mother, all surged toward Moltres.
Moltres: 'I suck, I suck, I suck some more.'
A massive amount of flame was drawn into Moltres's belly. This continued for nearly ten minutes before all the fire finally vanished.
Burp!
Moltres let out a burp, followed by a puff of black smoke.
"Disgusting."
Its face carried an expression of disgust.
Flames generated from burning fuels were, to Moltres, akin to consuming low-quality junk food. While not harmful, they certainly didn't sit well.
"So amazing…"
A firefighter stared dumbfounded at Moltres.
Such a massive fire, fueled by substances difficult to extinguish with water, had been swallowed up so effortlessly by Moltres.
'You've got good eyes.'
Moltres shot the firefighter an approving look.
"Tres~"
Moltres: "I'm heading back first."
Watching Moltres fly off immediately, Julian was a bit puzzled. Why was the bird in such a hurry?
Moltres: 'Knew it wasn't clean. Now it's giving me a stomachache.'
To everyone else, Moltres's departure seemed aloof and majestic—it had solved the crisis, flapped its wings, and left without a trace.
"The rest is up to you all. I'll go back first."
The captain nodded quickly.
Metagross then carried Julian away.
When he returned to the backyard, he didn't see Moltres anywhere.
"Where did that guy fly off to? It couldn't have gotten lost, could it?" Julian muttered to himself.
"Arf~"
Arcanine trotted over, something black clenched in its mouth. It dropped the charred object in front of Julian.
"Sandslash? And at the Pseudo-Champion level? Did you do this to it?"
After taking a close look, Julian recognized the blackened lump as a Sandslash.
Arcanine shook its head, indicating that this thing had fallen from the sky on its own.
The unconscious Sandslash could have explained: it had been happily digging underground when, for some reason, a gas seeped into its tunnel. Then, the tunnel exploded, and it was blasted sky-high.
The shock had knocked it out cold.
"Perfect for mining."
Julian tossed a Poké Ball. A ready-made mining tool delivered right to his doorstep, and with decent strength at that—it'd be a shame not to catch it.
And so, the unconscious Sandslash became a key member of the Walker Group's mining workforce, perfectly suited to repay the damages it had caused to the port.
*****
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