Blaine was still dressed the same as ever—brown trousers, a red-and-white top and hat, plus a pair of sunglasses that made the old man look full of energy.
Of course, it would be even better if he would get rid of the cane in his hand. His legs were clearly in good shape, yet he insisted on carrying a cane, which would strike anyone as odd.
“Gym Leader Blaine, sorry to bother you.”
Upon seeing Blaine, Ash, Brock, and Misty—the three uninvited guests—immediately greeted him.
“Hello, hello. I didn’t expect so much time to pass in the blink of an eye. By the way, that Charizard of yours listens to you now, right?” Blaine laughed heartily as he looked at Ash with interest.
“It does, it does…” Ash replied awkwardly.
Back when he challenged the Cinnabar Gym, although Charizard had turned the situation around for him, that victory had absolutely nothing to do with him as a Trainer. It had been entirely Charizard’s own battle of pride.
Ash had grown a lot since then and understood just how immature he had been at the time. Hearing Blaine bring up that embarrassing incident now naturally made him feel awkward.
“Elite Four Terrance, this way please.”
Smiling cheerfully, Blaine invited Terrance inside, adding the title “Elite Four” after his name as a sign of respect for Terrance’s current status.
“You’re too kind, Senior Blaine. From here on, let’s just discuss matters related to Fire Types.”
Terrance was briefly taken aback before responding quickly.
Following Blaine into a room inside the Gym, the host treated Terrance and his group to good food and drink.
At this moment, neither Blaine nor Terrance immediately brought up the battle. Instead, they began discussing the changes to the Flame of Life.
“After absorbing the power of the Flame Orb, Altaria’s Flame of Life stabilized at a respectable level. Later, due to certain opportunities, the Flame of Life underwent another upgrade. Now it can be considered completely perfected.”
Terrance was telling the truth. After absorbing the Flame Orb, the Flame of Life had not been particularly powerful. However, once Altaria mastered the use of natural energy in Alola and gained a deeper understanding of life energy, the Flame of Life gradually approached perfection.
Now, the effects of the Flame of Life had long surpassed that of Altaria’s own type, the Dragon-type foundation.
First Fairy, then Fire…
It had to be said that Altaria was truly an oddball among dragons.
“So it really has been completed. Hahahaha!” Upon hearing Terrance’s evaluation of the Flame of Life, Blaine instantly burst into laughter. If possible, he naturally preferred to see a perfected Flame of Life rather than an unfinished product. Terrance had given him a tremendous surprise.
“Flame of Life? What’s that?” At this point, Ash and the other two were completely confused.
“The Flame of Life is an extremely powerful flame pursued by Fire-type Pokémon. Many Legendary Fire-type Pokémon possess this flame. To some extent, you can also think of the Flame of Life as possessing part of the abilities of Ho-Oh’s signature move, Sacred Fire.”
Terrance explained.
The Entei that had mastered the Flame of Life had developed a connection with Ho-Oh, causing the Flame of Life to undergo an even deeper transformation and gain Sacred Fire. This was something Terrance had only learned after becoming an Elite Four.
The Flame of Life was already perfect. If he could obtain some Sacred Fire from Ho-Oh next, that would be ideal…
But Ho-Oh… was far more mysterious than most other Legendary Pokémon, so Terrance could only think about it.
“Ho-Oh? Sacred Fire?” Ash exclaimed in shock. He knew about Ho-Oh, and as for Sacred Fire, just hearing the name made it sound incredibly powerful. Anything connected to something like that and the word “legendary” had to be extraordinary. It had to be said that Ash’s way of reasoning was rather unique.
“Brother Terrance, has your Altaria mastered the Flame of Life?” Ash asked.
“That’s right. But there’s no need to be jealous. The potential of your Light Ball Pikachu may not be inferior to the Flame of Life. You’ll just have to uncover it yourself,” Terrance said with a smile as he glanced at the Pikachu on Ash’s shoulder.
“Pika~?” Pikachu blinked and pointed at itself in surprise.
“Then, Mr. Terrance, the battle you mentioned… could it be that Altaria’s Flame of Life will be used to battle Gym Leader Blaine?” Misty asked curiously.
As a Trainer who specialized in Water Types, she had never paid much attention to Fire Types. However, after hearing the string of high-end terms Terrance had mentioned, she could not help becoming interested.
“That’s right. Next, Altaria will battle my old partner,” Blaine said as he stroked his beard, already eager to begin.
“Unfortunately, Moltres still hasn’t managed to master the Flame of Life. The last time it returned to the Orange Archipelago, it sparred once again with the legendary bird of fire there and suffered a crushing defeat. It spent a long time recovering from its injuries afterward,” Blaine said with a sigh.
“Gym Leader Blaine… what you just said…” Brock suddenly exclaimed after hearing Blaine’s muttering.
“Could your partner be Moltres?”
“Hm? Didn’t Terrance tell you?” Blaine was slightly surprised. He had assumed Terrance had already told Ash and the others.
“Moltres… the legendary bird of fire… Gym Leader Blaine, does your Moltres know the legendary bird of fire of the Orange Archipelago?” Ash asked in astonishment.
Seeing Ash and Brock’s reactions, Blaine was puzzled. However, after Terrance explained the situation, Blaine immediately began viewing the three of them in a different light.
“Ash and the others contributed greatly during that major crisis in the Orange Archipelago. If not for them, that disaster could have become truly catastrophic.”
“So that’s how it is.” Blaine immediately understood and looked at Ash and the others with admiration.
“Most Moltres share the same origin, with the legendary bird of fire of the Orange Archipelago standing above them. My partner is extremely proud and has always wanted to challenge the legendary bird of fire’s position, hahaha. But just thinking about it, you know how difficult that would be. Perhaps only after it masters the Flame of Life will it have some chance,” Blaine said.
This Moltres’s combat strength was already comparable to the ace Pokémon of an ordinary Top Trainer. It was tremendously powerful.
But that was also its limit.
Without a qualitative leap in its abilities, it would be difficult for this Moltres to grow any stronger.
“A Moltres that challenged the legendary bird of fire…” Only now did Ash and the others realize that there was more than one Moltres. Recalling the power of the legendary bird of fire from the Orange Archipelago, they became even more excited for the upcoming battle.
The ace of the Fairy Elite Four versus the legendary Moltres?
Afterward, Terrance and Blaine exchanged a few more insights regarding Fire Types. Ash listened with great interest. Finally, the two decided to begin the battle. After all, Terrance had only just arrived, and Blaine had felt it would be impolite to demand a battle immediately.
When Blaine led Terrance and the others to the Gym battlefield, they could already clearly feel the intense heat in the air!
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