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Following Caesar's roar from the depths of his Soul, the dense, spiraling celestial body, composed of sand and rock, carrying an Aura that threatened to swallow everything, crashed down violently toward the orange figure.
"Earth Release: Super Great Ball Spiraling Absorption Pellet!!!"
It hit!
It was a full-coverage hit!
The moment the celestial body collided with the figure, there was no earth-shattering boom as expected; instead, it was like punching into cotton, and all the force was instantly absorbed and dissolved.
Caesar's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Something is wrong!
Extremely wrong!
The feedback from his attack shouldn't be like this.
And... why is it orange?
Mega Charizard X clearly has a black Dragon body, so why is it orange?
Almost the moment this thought flashed through his mind, the "figure" he had hit wobbled like water, then, with a "sizzle," it vanished into thin air like static on an old television screen—
It was an illusion?!
GOGOGOGOGOGO... An indescribably eerie Aura spread out directly from above his head.
Caesar abruptly looked up.
He saw that high in the sky, the Sandstorm had long been dispelled, and a fierce, artificially created sun hung high above.
And beneath that fierce sun, an orange Dragon body floated silently in the air, forming a holy cross shape—
Mega Charizard Y!
When exactly... when did this start?!
In a flash of lightning, Caesar's mind worked at its limit—at this moment, relying on the experience gained from being ambushed by "Old Six" players in ranked matches in his previous life, he instantly understood the opponent's strategy.
From the very beginning, the opponent had been setting up the plan.
First, there was Scorching Sands.
The purpose of this Move was both to restrain him and to continuously heat the sand across the entire field, causing the crystallized grit to release large amounts of hot air.
Then there were the several "Fire Whirlpools" scattered within the Sandstorm. Those were not just disguises; they were meant to create multiple unstable "high-temperature fire rings" and "heat current layers" within the range of the Sandstorm.
The crystalline sand particles in the Sandstorm are themselves excellent mediums for light scattering.
The huge temperature difference created by the Fire Whirlpools and Scorching Sands caused uneven air density, resulting in severe light refraction when light passed through these areas.
A mirage!
This was the perfect deception the opponent had forcefully created within the Sandstorm, utilizing the weather, the terrain, and their own abilities!
And the most crucial element to accomplish all this was Mega Charizard Y's Ability—Drought!
Therefore, the moment he conjured the "Super Great Ball Spiraling Pellet," the opponent canceled the X Form and instantly switched back to the Y Form!
It anticipated his ultimate Move!
And by using the time he took to gather energy, it completed the form switch and the final setup of the optical trap!
This level of control over timing, and this understanding and application of skills, was absolutely insane!
For the first time, Caesar felt he was facing something difficult.
This creature's battle intelligence didn't seem like a data projection in a Trial Grounds; it was like a living, battle-hardened, top-tier hunter!
What was even worse was that he had just thrown out a killer Move of the caliber of the "Super Great Ball Spiraling Absorption Pellet," his entire body's magic power was nearly drained, and his body was in a state of immobility and stiffness—
This was a fatal flaw!
#
Mega Charizard Y in the sky moved.
It didn't roar; it simply opened its mouth.
The next second, a surging torrent of flames descended from the sky, like a massive net of fire, completely enveloping Caesar from all directions!
The terrifying high temperature instantly wrapped around Garchomp's entire body.
And at this very moment, feeling the heat intense enough to melt steel, Caesar finally realized another fatal truth.
This was absolutely not Fire Whirlpool!
Fire Whirlpool only deals continuous fire damage, but this current searing sensation, capable of instantly igniting the surrounding air, was definitely an ultimate killer Move with 100 power!
—Inferno!
It completely envelops and incinerates the opponent with flames; once it hits, it guarantees a Burn!
It is the superior evolution of the Fire Whirlpool skill!
Caesar's mind went completely cold.
So that's how it is.
Those scattered Fire Whirlpools before were not true Fire Whirlpools at all, but Inferno released after the opponent used incredible elemental control to weaken its power countless times!
It had been hiding information since the first battle and hadn't used its full strength at all!
He had been tricked.
From start to finish, his every Move was within the opponent's calculations.
#
Was defeat already certain...?
#
Facing the overwhelming and unavoidable Inferno, Caesar instead raised his head, and his tightly strained Dragons Kiss curved into an arc.
You were calculating against me.
But how could I not also be calculating against you—?
"Buzz—"
The fiery red crystal located in the System's carrying slot suddenly emitted a brilliant light!
Terastalization!
Activate!
In an instant, countless crystal-like patterns appeared on Caesar's deep blue shark skin, and immediately afterward, a magnificent crystal crown formed from pure flame energy materialized above his head!
His entire body was covered by a layer of translucent, fiery red crystal, resembling a piece of art carved from blazing glaze.
Fire Tera Crystal Form!
Just as he completed Terastalization, the Inferno, which could melt gold and iron, finally sealed shut!
Boom—!
The terrifying high temperature completely engulfed Caesar.
However, the anticipated searing pain of skin tearing did not arrive.
Having switched to the Fire Tera Crystal Form, the fire-type damage he received was drastically reduced, and more importantly—
Burn status, immunity!
Caesar slowly raised his crystal-covered Dragon Claw, feeling the flames surging around him.
The reason he saved the Terastalization trump card until now was precisely to guard against the opponent's troublesome Scorching Sands!
But now, almost all the sand on the field had been swept away by his own "Super Great Ball Spiraling Absorption Pellet" from moments ago!
The ground became bare, and the effect of Scorching Sands subsequently dropped to its minimum.
Now, the time for counterattack had arrived!
"My turn!"
Caesar let out a low growl, raising his Dragon Claw covered in fire-colored crystals. Within the Shadow Claw floating beside him, a new Weather Ball began to Rapid Spin.
This time, the spiraling celestial body was no longer the earthy yellow of rock, but the pure red of blazing flames!
Under the Sunny Day weather, the Weather Ball's type automatically transformed into fire-type!
Not only that, the Rapid Spin Weather Ball frantically sucked in the residual flames of the surrounding Inferno, consuming all that energy, causing its size and power to increase instead of decrease!
Caesar felt the surging power within his body—
A fire-type Weather Ball under Sunny Day!
Enjoying the Same-Type Attack Bonus from his Fire Tera Crystal Form!
Enjoying the power boost brought by the Drought weather!
Enjoying the STAB bonus brought by the Weather Ball - Modified entry!
Quadruple reinforcement!!!!
—Caesar looked up at Mega Charizard Y in the sky, which clearly showed a trace of shock due to his transformation.
Come and taste this, Old Charizard!
Can you withstand this Heaven-Defying strike...?!
"Crystal Art: Fire Release: Super Great Ball Spiraling Pellet!!!"
Caesar fiercely swung that platinum-colored supernova upwards!
Rumble!
The self-rotating, spiraling celestial body of fire, like a sun rising from the ground, instantly tore through the Inferno that encased him, ascending in a Heaven-Defying, unstoppable manner, slamming harshly into Mega Charizard Y's body!
"Roar?!"
Mega Charizard Y let out a roar of disbelief.
It couldn't understand why a ground-type Dragon would use such a pure and powerful fire-type Move!
It crossed its Dragon Claws, radiating azure energy, across its chest, attempting to block the spiraling sun, but the moment the two forces stalemated, it was pushed back step by step by the terrifying propulsive force!
It wasn't over yet!
Caesar suddenly exerted force with all four limbs, and the entire Dragon shot up from the ground!
The two Shadow Claws at his side condensed several small fire-type Weather Balls again during the ascent!
Then, he violently pressed them into the giant spiraling celestial body!
"Super! Double! Up!"
Boom—!!!
The power of the flames instantly multiplied several times!
The platinum-colored spiraling celestial body completely transformed into an all-consuming supernova at this moment!
"ROAR!!!"
Mega Charizard Y let out a painful shriek; it could no longer resist!
It wanted to switch back to the close-combat X Form, using its Fire/dragon-type to endure the hit.
But how could Caesar possibly give it that chance!
"Trying to switch forms? Too late!"
Caesar used every ounce of strength, pushing the "Super Great Ball Spiraling Pellet" forward, driving the orange Dragon body onward like a comet striking Earth, charging madly ahead!
He burned through the surface the whole way, carving out a bottomless lava ravine in the pure white space!
Finally, he violently slammed it against the spatial boundary of the Trial Grounds!
There was no retreat!
Caesar raised his head, looking at Mega Charizard Y, which was pinned immovably against the wall by his Spiraling Pellet, and revealed a winning smile—
"Burn, for me!!"
The supernova erupted immediately.
The platinum light, too fierce to look at directly, engulfed the entire space... After an unknown amount of time, the dazzling light slowly dispersed.
Within the pure white space, all that remained was the lava-covered ground and bottomless cracks.
Caesar canceled Terastalization, breathing heavily, covered in injuries, his stamina completely depleted.
Opposite him, the Mega Charizard reverted to its original form, charred black and embedded in the spatial barrier, having completely lost consciousness.
In the silence, the cold System prompt finally sounded in his mind.
[Ding! Challenge successful!]
[Experience gained: 1200 points.]
[✣Passive effect triggered: Slight body size increase (+0.2).]
[✲Loot acquired: HP limit +40, Move Tutor Blueprint (Aerial Ace), Move Tutor Blueprint (Scorching Sands)...✲]
[Congratulations! You have passed the sixth layer of the trial with excellent performance, acquiring an additional spoils of war—Ability (Solar Power)!!!]