Chapter 225: Arbok vs. Volcarona
"Fire Blast!! —"
Although surprised, Hua Mingyan's command came out without delay.
She immediately ordered Volcarona to unleash its 110-base-power Fire-type nuke at Arbok.
Volcarona's three pairs of wings beat fiercely. Raging flames coalesced in front of it, forming the massive kanji for "Fire" (大). The attack then descended upon Arbok, crushing down with immense pressure.
The Fire Blast moved incredibly fast. Before Arbok could complete its Dragon Dance, the flames were already upon it.
If Arbok had been using the Speed Pattern and wasn't locked into the dance, it might have had a chance to dodge.
But unfortunately, right now, Arbok was mid-dance.
BOOM!!! —
A towering explosion engulfed Arbok completely. The "Fire" character detonated, and terrifying heat swept across the entire arena.
The Fire Blast hit dead-on, but Hua Mingyan showed no joy on her face.
Sure enough, as the flames cleared, Arbok reappeared on the battlefield.
However, pieces of black scales were shedding from its body and falling to the ground.
A fierce light shone in Arbok's eyes. The pattern on its chest had shifted from the Dragon Might Pattern to the Fire-Immunity Pattern.
Disguise (or Multiscale layer) had been broken!
"Dragon Dance!! —"
One stack of Dragon Dance wasn't enough to match a Champion-level Volcarona's speed. So, Kenji ordered Arbok to continue boosting.
Arbok hissed, twisting its body again to perform a second dance.
"Fiery Dance!!"
You dare ignore my attacks and keep buffing right in my face?
Do you think my flames are a joke?
In the air, Volcarona was clearly enraged by Arbok's audacity. It let out a shrill cry, flapped its six wings, and unleashed its signature move.
Fiery Dance.
Waves of fire crashed down on Arbok.
BANG BANG BANG!!! —
Fireballs slammed into Arbok's body. Arbok let out low growls of pain, but its movements didn't falter. The dance continued.
As the fire hit, Arbok's black scales fell like rain, littering the ground with a crisp clatter.
Multiscale! Triggered!!
Simultaneously, the Fire-Immunity Pattern began to work, further reducing the damage.
Although the massive level gap meant the pattern could only negate part of the damage, combined with Multiscale and Arbok's natural Dragon-type resistance...
The triple layer of damage reduction made Volcarona's signature move bearable. The stamina loss was minimal.
At least, it was within Arbok's tolerance range.
Lady Luck didn't smile too broadly on Volcarona this time; the Fiery Dance failed to trigger its secondary effect of raising Special Attack.
Seeing Arbok take two high-power Fire moves without suffering heavy damage made Hua Mingyan frown deeply.
How is this possible?
Even a Pokémon of the same level as Volcarona would be heavily injured taking two consecutive hits like that while defenseless mid-buff.
And Arbok's level, while not low, couldn't possibly be higher than Volcarona's.
After all, Arbok was slower and clearly inferior in stats. If it were higher level, it wouldn't need to desperately stack Dragon Dance.
Could it be... Hua Mingyan's gaze fell once again on the strange pattern on Arbok's chest.
Despite her confusion, Volcarona didn't stop.
Before Arbok could fully complete the second dance, Volcarona fired another volley of Fiery Dance. The first wave of fire hadn't even finished landing before the second wave poured down.
Volcarona was wrapped in flames, sending relentless waves of destruction at Arbok.
Multiscale was already broken. Without that primary defense, even with the pattern and resistance, Arbok couldn't keep tanking this forever.
Fortunately, just in the nick of time, before the second wave hit, Arbok completed its second Dragon Dance.
Immediately, a pale green barrier sprang up in front of it.
Protect!
At the same time, the pattern on its chest shifted again.
Self-Healing Pattern!!
Arbok curled into a ball behind the Protect barrier.
The fire rain drummed against the shield, causing it to tremble violently.
Clearly, against a Champion-level opponent, Arbok's barrier wouldn't hold for long.
But seizing this brief window, something miraculous happened behind the shield.
Arbok's shed black scales began to regrow. The burns and injuries inflicted by Volcarona started healing at a visible rate.
This was the power of the Self-Healing Pattern.
In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Koga's Arbok possessed astonishing regenerative abilities, capable of regenerating even after being cut in half.
Arbok naturally had strong regeneration. With the pattern boosting it, this ability was pushed to the extreme.
While Arbok focused on healing, the Protect barrier began to crack, teetering on the edge of collapse.
SHATTER!! —
Finally, the barrier gave way under the Champion-level assault.
But the moment it shattered, Arbok twisted its body and dove straight down.
Dig!!
It burrowed into the ground instantly.
BOOM!!! —
The fire rain slammed into the earth, kicking up clouds of dust.
Arbok had vanished from the surface.
Meanwhile, in the sky, the flames around Volcarona flared up intensely. It let out a triumphant cry.
Fiery Dance's secondary effect had triggered! Special Attack rose by one stage!
This sudden boost made Kenji frown slightly.
Volcarona stopped using Fiery Dance. instead, it fired a Flamethrower directly into the hole Arbok had dug.
The fire column turned into a blazing serpent, chasing Arbok into the tunnel.
RUMBLE!!! —
As the fire poured in, the ground shook.
BANG!!! —
Underground, the tunnel was flooded with fire. Arbok had no choice but to resurface.
It burst out of the ground, wrapped in a black, dragon-shaped aura.
Dragon Rush!!!
A dragon's roar echoed across the arena as Arbok reappeared. Simultaneously, scales shot off its body, turning into sharp projectiles that flew alongside it toward Volcarona.
Scale Shot!!
Arbok's Speed rose again, but its Defense fell in exchange.
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