Houndoom:This truly is the Salazzle's conspiracy.
Houndoom lowered its head, baring its sharp fangs and letting out a thunderous roar that echoed through the valley. Its Intimidate ability caused the surrounding Salandit to waver in momentary panic.
However, a fragrance so thick it was almost cloying suddenly filled the air. The Salandit's eyes glazed over, and they became mindless puppets.
From the bubbling magma, a Salazzle emerged. She was three times the size of a normal Salandit, her silhouette tall, slender, and adapted for bipedal movement. The black patterns on her head resembled a thief's mask, and the crimson markings on her underside glowed like slow-moving lava.
Salazzle are the tyrannical queens of their kind. They secrete a potent pheromone gas that forces male Salandit into absolute submission. If a subordinate displeases her, she punishes them with a literal Fire Lash.
The queen fixed her gaze on Feng Che, letting out a sharp, piercing shriek. As if on cue, the tide of Salandit surged toward him.
"They've targeted me after all," Feng Che muttered. "Go, Froakie! Use Water Gun! Ditto, turn into Yanmega and harvest these bugs!"
But as the words left his mouth, Ditto shimmered and transformed—not into a Yanmega, but into another Salazzle.
Ditto-Salazzle immediately released its own cloying cloud of pheromones. The charging Salandit halted, their tiny minds caught between two competing queens. One Salandit, unable to take the mental strain, snapped and lunged at its own kin, tearing into them with fire-tipped claws.
"Ditto, what kind of trouble are you stirring up this time?" Feng Che facepalmed. "Can't you just fight a normal battle for once?"
He sighed, knowing the pink blob enjoyed its psychological warfare too much to stop. "Fine, play your games. Froakie, clear the path!"
Froakie unleashed a focused jet of water that branched out like a shotgun blast, striking multiple Salandit with surgical precision. The bugs shrieked, some retreating into the lava while others were caught in the crossfire between the two "queens."
The true Salazzle realized her army was being split. Her tail lashed out, coiling around the Fire Lotus and ripping it from its roots. The ruby-red seeds scattered into the magma, lost to the depths.
The Salazzle hissed a mocking laugh, her eyes full of malice. She was intentionally destroying the treasure to goad the four Fire-types into a frenzy.
It worked. Ninetales and the others roared in fury, unleashing pillars of flame. Salazzle didn't flinch; she used her Fire Lash to whip the remaining Salandit forward as living shields. As her subordinates turned to ash, she spat a three-meter-long whip of fire that carved a bloody gash across Arcanine's back.
[Salazzle: It's all that human's fault. My plan was perfect.][Salazzle: If I consume the flesh of these four powerful Fire-types, I will finally break through and become the true master of this volcano.]
Feng Che narrowed his eyes and used his inspection skill.
Pokémon: Salazzle Potential: Outstanding (Green) Ability: Corrosion (Can poison Steel and Poison types) Level: 50 Status: Furious. Evaluation: A powerhouse on the verge of breaking into the Gym Leader tier. She intends to use the Fire-types as biological fuel for her evolution. Approach with extreme caution.
Houndoom lunged, firing a Shadow Ball laced with crackling dark electricity. Salazzle simply flicked her fire whip, slicing the dark orb in half mid-air and dispersing the energy with a crack of wind.
"Litten, watch her movements," Feng Che whispered to the kitten at his side. "See if you can learn that Fire Lash. This is a masterclass in fire manipulation."
Litten focused, its whiskers twitching. It tried to manifest a whip of its own, but the flames flickered and died instantly.
"Not enough compression," Feng Che noted. "Watch how she strikes. She isn't just swinging fire; she's focused her will into the tip."
Froakie, too, was watching. [Froakie: That fire whip is incredible. If I can adapt that to a Water Pulse or a Water Whip... I need better control.]
The battle turned brutal. Salazzle used her whip to snag Houndoom's leg, hoisting the large dog and hurling it against the cavern wall with bone-shattering force. Arcanine charged with Extreme Speed, but Salazzle spat a web of fire—a Fire Spin woven like an Electroweb—trapping the dog mid-lunge.
Flareon ignited, turning into a "Fire Wheel" of 2,000-degree heat—a Flare Blitz. It roared toward the queen, but Salazzle simply used her whip to grab the dazed Houndoom and swing him into Flareon's path. The two allies collided in a chaotic explosion of soot and fire.
With two of the four combatants incapacitated, only Ninetales and Arcanine remained.
[Ninetales: Human, stop watching! If she finishes us, you're next!][Ninetales: She's already marked your scent. She's a vengeful soul; she'll hunt you to the ends of the earth.]
"Fine, I'll step in. Ivysaur, you're up!"
Feng Che threw the ball. "Ivysaur, use Grassy Terrain covertly to heal the others. Froakie, hit her with a hyper-compressed Water Pulse! Litten, use Growl to weaken their defenses!"
Froakie's water orb was the size of a basketball but hummed with the sound of a hundred spinning whirlpools. It struck Salazzle's fire whip, and instead of being sliced, the water swallowed the flame, expanding into a massive vortex that dragged the queen into its center.
Salazzle shrieked as she was tossed into the air. She slammed back into the magma, emerging drenched and steaming, her regal poise shattered. Enraged, she ignited her own body, her scales glowing with the heat of the lava. She looked like a demon crawling out of hell.
She spat a series of purple flames—Venoshock fused with Flamethrower. The purple fire-bolts hissed through the air. Ninetales countered with Iron Tail, batting the bolts away, while Arcanine used Fire Blast to neutralize the rest.
"That combination of poison and fire is lethal," Feng Che marveled. "What a performance."
Suddenly, a voice echoed from above. "I was wondering why the fire energy felt so turbulent today. Turns out we have a big visitor."
Blaine descended from the ceiling on his Charizard, his lab coat fluttering in the heat.
.................BONUS CHAPTER IS COMING................
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