Like falling fireflies from a meteor, massive fireballs descended from the crimson sun that was Ho-Oh's transformed form, raining down upon the surrounding forest...
The flames that had just been extinguished by Suicune's Rain Dance were reignited in an instant.
The air was filled with the acrid smell of burning wood, and fiery serpents of flame spread in all directions along the tree trunks.
The sounds of trees snapping and the mournful cries of wild Pokémon mixed together as they fled in all directions across the muddy ground.
Caleb once again heard that eerie, almost illusory weeping sound. He looked around and saw faces filled with fear and anxiety.
"Roar!"
Entei stood not far away, its majestic mane billowing in the heat waves.
Its golden eyes, filled with authority, gazed at Caleb with solemnity and gravity. Then, along with Suicune and Raikou from the other sides, it charged toward Ho-Oh and Lugia, launching an attack.
"Dragonite, Mimikyu!" Caleb called out.
Dragonite and Mimikyu immediately flew back from the distance, hovering in front of him.
"Can you still fight?" Caleb asked.
"Wuu!"
Dragonite and Mimikyu nodded in unison.
"Then let's go help Entei and the others!" He looked up just in time to see the corrupted Ho-Oh and Lugia enraged by the attacks of the Legendary Beasts, counterattacking with ferocity.
Scorching flames and violent gusts of wind instantly engulfed the Legendary Beasts.
Entei's body was sent flying backward, tumbling twice on the ground before it managed to steady itself with its claws. Despite its injuries, it continued to attack Lugia...
Suicune and Raikou were in a similar state...
However, they couldn't fly and could only use long-range attacks from the ground.
"Screech!" "Roar!"
Ho-Oh and Lugia let out two sharp cries, their bodies glowing even brighter as destructive and oppressive flames and water pillars condensed before them.
A blinding flash of light passed, and the injuries on the Legendary Beasts worsened.
"Ugh!"
At that moment, two figures; one large and one small, streaked across the sky. Dragonite and Mimikyu resolutely positioned themselves in front of Ho-Oh and Lugia, who were attempting to pursue the Legendary Beasts.
Seeing this, the players finally snapped out of their daze. They quickly pulled out their Poké Balls from their inventories, releasing their Pokémon partners and commanding them to attack Ho-Oh and Lugia.
"Metagross! Keep fighting!" Ye Fan took a deep breath and ordered.
"We're joining in too!" Gyeol licked her sexy red lips and said, "Primarina, Altaria, let's put on a dazzling show!"
In an instant, dozens of Pokémon charged toward Ho-Oh and Lugia in the sky.
Although the two Legendary Pokémon had lost their sanity, they weren't fools. Facing these attacks, they each let out a cry, flapped their wings, and dove down toward the Pokémon with ferocity.
Some attacks landed successfully, while others missed their mark.
For Ho-Oh and Lugia in their current state, the damage from those attacks wasn't significant.
Lugia, like a silver-white fighter jet, streaked past the heads of the Pokémon on one side with a sonic boom.
A blue light flashed in its eyes, and an invisible wave of energy erupted from its body, blasting the surrounding Pokémon away.
Ho-Oh also abandoned using Sacred Fire and Fire Blast in the air. Its body, glowing with a crimson light, radiated a sharp white light as it charged into the players' formation with unstoppable force.
Lugia's Psychic and Ho-Oh's Brave Bird instantly left most of the Pokémon severely injured.
As for the remaining few, they lost their ability to fight on the spot.
They were too strong.
"Wuu…"
Dragonite crashed to the ground in a sorry state, looking pitifully at Caleb.
It had been hit by Lugia's Psychic, and when it fell, it accidentally scraped its wing.
"Hang in there," Caleb comforted it, then placed his hand over the wound. Viridian energy flowed out, and the vitality-filled energy rapidly healed Dragonite's injuries.
Seeing this, Caleb was momentarily stunned, then stared at his hand in disbelief...
Previously, when he healed Pokémon, even the lightest injuries took nearly a minute to treat. This time, however, it had only taken about fifteen seconds.
'What's going on? Did the Viridian Power level up from me using it so frequently? If so, good!'
He didn't dwell on it and quickly checked Mimikyu's injuries. Compared to Dragonite, Mimikyu's injuries were much lighter, thanks to its Disguise ability, which had absorbed a significant amount of damage.
This time, healing Mimikyu only took about five seconds...
While Caleb was healing his Pokémon in the corner, the battle on the frontlines continued. In just half a minute, many more Pokémon had fallen under Ho-Oh and Lugia's relentless attacks.
The players whose Pokémon had all lost the ability to fight looked grim. Without their Pokémon's protection, their human bodies were no match for Ho-Oh's flames or Lugia's gales.
Since the main quest wasn't over, they couldn't leave the Instance. This meant that if they died here, they would truly be dead.
The remaining players continued to fight on...
It was clear that their Pokémon's attacks were effective against Ho-Oh and Lugia.
But effective or not, the moment their attacks landed, Ho-Oh and Lugia would counterattack, dealing heavy damage to their Pokémon.
In just a few rounds, the players had lost more than half of their Pokémon. The players' losses were devastating.
Although Ho-Oh and Lugia's condition had also deteriorated compared to the start of the battle, there were now only a handful of players left who could continue fighting.
The only remaining combatants were Caleb, Ye Fan, Gyeol, and a male trainer with a Blastoise.
Caleb was still holding up, thanks to his Viridian ability. He had instructed Dragonite and Mimikyu to retreat for healing the moment they couldn't hold on.
However, the repeated healing sessions had nearly drained his stamina and energy...
The male trainer with Blastoise was in the worst shape, as only one of his six Pokémon remained.
Ye Fan frowned, his eyes subtly scanning the faces of those still standing on the battlefield. He still had some trump cards up his sleeve. But he had been saving them for the upcoming Mythical Pokémon Contest/Competition.
Gyeol was in a similar position. She had prepared extensively for this Celebi and had spent a large amount of points to purchase an SSS-grade item from another player.
The Celebi in this Instance had to be hers!
'Should I use it now?' She hesitated, glancing warily at Ye Fan.
She knew that he must also be holding back his trump cards as well. If she used hers to deal with Ho-Oh and Lugia now, her chances of winning the Mythical Pokémon Contest would drop from 50% to 30%...
The players who had already lost the ability to fight grew anxious at the sight.
Everyone in the Infinite World knew that Ye Fan, the top-ranked player, was known for his Mega Metagross! Yet, from the start of this battle until now, he hadn't used it once.
None of the players who had made it this far were fools. They immediately saw through his plan, which was to save Mega Metagross for the Mythical Pokémon Contest and use it to claim Celebi.
The battle raged on.
Ho-Oh unleashed another Sacred Fire, engulfing Dragonite's body and slamming it into the ground...