"Charizard, your senses for fire are the sharpest. Help me find where Moltres has gone!" Enche commanded his partner. Charizard closed its eyes, focusing on the lingering heat signature in the air, then beat its wings and soared toward the horizon.
High above the dried-out valley, Moltres had transformed into a living orb of fire, streaking through the sky like a comet.
[Moltres: Hmph. As long as I maintain my Flare Form, no physical attack can touch me!]
The sheer heat radiating from its body caused the air in the valley to shimmer and warp.
"Now, Froakie! Break through to the underground river!" Feng Che's telepathic command rang out.
Froakie slammed its palms into the parched earth. The ground fractured with a thunderous crack, and a high-pressure geyser of freezing water erupted upward, striking Moltres dead center. Froakie used the momentum of the rising water to leap skillfully into the air.
[Moltres: AGH! Where did all this water come from?!]
Steam billowed out in massive white clouds as the cold water hit the 5,000-degree bird. Moltres's protective flames were instantly doused by nearly eighty percent. Before it could recover its bearings, it felt its wings stiffen. A massive shroud of blue psychic energy wrapped around it, pinning it mid-air.
Sabrina had exerted her full power. "Feng Che, now! Throw the Master Ball!"
Feng Che nodded and hurled the purple sphere. It struck Moltres's weakened body, and the legendary bird was converted into a beam of red light, sucked into the ball with a definitive click.
"We got it. Moltres is captured."
"We need to leave, now," Sabrina panted, her face pale from the exertion. "The Fire Elite has broken through my barrier. He's coming."
"Old Alakazam, do you have enough energy left for one more jump?" Sabrina asked.
"I have enough for one long-distance teleport," the elder Pokémon replied.
"Good. Feng Che, let's go." Sabrina beckoned, and the Master Ball flew into her hand. In a flash of blue light, they vanished. Seconds later, Enche arrived on his Charizard.
"Curse it! I'm too late!" Enche stared at the devastated valley, his fists clenching until the veins bulged on his arms.
The Magma Nest.
In the heart of the volcano, Litten was pacing calmly across the surface of the lava. It found the exact spot where the heat was most concentrated and sat down.
A brilliant white light of evolution began to envelop it. As the massive fire energy poured into its body, Litten looked back on its life. Before meeting Feng Che, it had loathed its own talent—the uncontrollable, explosive heat that made everyone view it as a "disaster star." Giovanni had abandoned it because it couldn't harness its own power.
It remembered that day clearly: "Don't choose that Litten, Feng Che. It's defective," the Viper Instructor had warned. But the boy's eyes had been steady. "No. I've decided. I want this one."
That single moment of being chosen, of being seen with hope rather than disgust, had lit a spark in Litten's heart that no storm could extinguish.
[Litten: You gave me warmth when I was lost. Now, it's time for me to repay you.]
Litten gorged itself on the volcanic essence, finally mastering the wild fire within. Its form shifted, growing larger and more muscular.
Kanto League Headquarters.
"What did you say?! Moltres has been captured?!" President Goodshow's roar echoed through the halls. "I sent an army of guards and a Fire Elite! How could they not notice a legendary bird being stolen from under their noses?"
"Report says Enche was blocked by a sophisticated psychic barrier," an Inspector replied, bowing his head. "By the time he broke it, the culprits had escaped. We found psychic signatures; we suspect Sabrina of Team Rocket was involved."
"Counter-attack! Order every Gym to sweep for Rocket influence immediately!" Goodshow barked, his eyes blazing with fury. "This is a slap in the face to the League. We cannot tolerate this."
"Should we pull Lorelei and Bruno from Seafoam Island?" the Inspector asked.
"No. Articuno is too strong to be taken easily with two Elites guarding it. Keep them there."
Once the office was empty, Goodshow leaned back. "What do you think of this?" he asked the shadows.
"Team Rocket is becoming fearless," a raspy voice replied from the corner. "The birds are a key part of the plan. We need a God for Kanto to balance against Johto's Lugia and Ho-Oh. If we control the birds, we secure the continent."
"Moltres was never fully ours," a second, shrill voice added. "It refused our Poké Balls. If it had been cooperative, this wouldn't have happened."
"If Articuno and Zapdos fall too, my seat as President will be in jeopardy," Goodshow muttered, a cold smile crossing his face. "But I hear the Dragon Clan is having trouble with their 'Dragon Blood Fruit' trees. Perhaps we should look into expanding our influence there while they are distracted..."