Chapter 158: Taming Magmortar
"Yes, a little harder," Ryan said, humming a little tune as he enjoyed Darkrai's massage.
Darkrai glared at Ryan with gritted teeth, but couldn't help but massage his shoulders. Ruby couldn't bear it any longer and said, "Ryan, I'm a Mythical Pokémon after all. Making me give massages and rub legs like this isn't right."
"It's fine, let it do more work so it can develop a better bond with its trainer," Lillie said with a smile. Ruby quickly shrank back and stopped talking when she saw Lillie's expression.
Ryan and his group were currently riding the Mt. Chimney cable car to the summit, planning to take another cable car directly down to Lavaridge Town.
Ryan had already told everyone what happened last night. Hearing that Darkrai had tried to kill them, everyone initially had a negative impression of the Mythical Pokémon.
Everyone also discovered a Lunar Wing in their tents. According to Lillie, wearing it would prevent Darkrai's nightmares and ensure more restful sleep.
Ryan silently remembered the favor from Cresselia, the Lunar Pokémon. After all, the system needed a certain amount of time to react to Darkrai. Without Cresselia's help, Ryan might have taken his own life in his sleep.
Lillie, knowing about Ryan's nightmares where Darkrai had even used her image to torment him, declared that she wouldn't be called Lillie anymore if Darkrai could live comfortably after what it did.
Ryan also had issues with Darkrai; their bond was definitely at zero. Taking this into consideration, Ryan had the system modify things: Darkrai's hatred for him would remain, but it would obey his orders unconditionally.
This led to the current situation, but Ryan remained unfazed. He actually enjoyed seeing Darkrai's expression—desperate to attack him but helpless to do so. Mm, what a great expression!
As the cable car reached the summit, Ryan retrieved Darkrai into its Poké Ball and disembarked.
However, it was still early, so no one was rushing to Lavaridge Town. Instead, they planned to explore the volcano's summit to see if there were any rare Pokémon.
After all, they had come up from the Fiery Path, and all they encountered along the way were Slugma and more Slugma—not even a single Torkoal. Ruby wanted to capture a Fire-type Pokémon, but Slugma weren't particularly appealing, so they could only wait and see if there were any better Fire-type Pokémon at the summit.
The group arrived at the crater. Although it was a dormant volcano, the bubbling lava below had raised the surrounding temperature by several degrees.
Sapphire peered closely into the lava before asking Lillie, "Lillie, do you think there are Pokémon living in lava?"
"Yes, I remember meeting Blaine on Cinnabar Island when I was traveling in Kanto with Ryan. He had a Magmar that lived in lava. Although it was old, it was still quite powerful," Lillie nodded.
"Oh, then that Pokémon must be a Magmar," Sapphire said.
Following Sapphire's indication, Ryan and his companions spotted a Magmar floating above the lava. As if relaxing in a swimming pool, the Magmar stretched itself atop the lava, then flipped over and dove back in. It soon emerged at the shore, soaking in the lava like a hot spring.
"Hmm, this Magmar looks quite powerful," Ruby said.
"Interested?" Ryan smiled.
"Yeah, absolutely. I'd like to try battling it," Ruby said.
"Be careful, it's very powerful," Ryan warned.
"No problem," Ruby said, then sent out Marshtomp. The two of them—trainer and Pokémon—leaped down, landing at the lava lake below.
The intense heat made Ruby fan himself. Marshtomp wasn't used to this kind of environment, being a Water-type Pokémon. Marshtomp had a mucous membrane to keep itself moist, but now it was drying out, causing discomfort.
"Hey, Magmar, come battle me! I want to catch you," Ruby called out.
Magmar nodded, but then made a silencing gesture at Ruby and called out a few times. Ryan, hearing this, said, "Wait a minute, Ruby! It's about to evolve. Battle it later."
"Evolve?!" the group exclaimed in disbelief.
"Ryan, are you sure?" Lillie exclaimed in shock. "For Magmar to evolve, doesn't it need to be holding a Magmarizer during a trade evolution?"
"Yes, but the Magmarizer itself is just a container storing enormous amounts of volcanic energy. Compared to the power of natural lava, it's still not enough. Trade evolution only provides a magnetic field to promote evolution. Nature also has places with such special magnetic fields," Ryan explained.
Confirming Ryan's words, the Magmar immersed in the lava began to glow. Then, with a flip, it leaped onto the shore. The white light dissipated, and a Magmortar appeared before Ruby.
Comparing the two, Magmortar was more robust, its arms shaped like cannon barrels from which it could fire flames.
Ruby looked at the Magmortar and said, "I've learned something new, but I won't lose this battle. Marshtomp, Yawn!"
Ruby took the initiative. Marshtomp yawned loudly, its mouth wide open, and a wave of drowsy energy swept across the field. Without hesitation, Magmortar extended its right arm, revealing the dark barrel. It launched a Flamethrower at Marshtomp.
Marshtomp immediately unleashed Mud Bomb from its mouth. The moist mud projectiles hit the flames, blocking them while also drying out in the process. Dust flew everywhere, obscuring both Pokémon's vision.
"Marshtomp, Muddy Water!" Ruby pressed the offensive.
Marshtomp immediately whipped up a torrent of muddy water and charged toward Magmortar. The waves absorbed the dust, revealing the situation. The already drowsy Magmortar was completely defenseless and was directly hit by Muddy Water, washing over its body with mud, but the mud instantly dried and cracked off.
Seeing this, Ruby nodded and switched his attack strategy, having Marshtomp use Rock Slide. Countless rocks appeared from thin air and crashed down on Magmortar.
Ryan nodded at this, recognizing that Ruby had grown considerably recently.
This Magmortar clearly possessed the Flame Body ability. In the games, this ability gives Pokémon making contact a chance of being burned. However, in reality, the Flame Body ability offered some resistance to Water-type attacks. After all, the high temperature on its surface evaporated some of the water, reducing the damage.
Furthermore, the terrain was restrictive, and the lava lake was right beside them, creating an effect similar to Sunny Day. Water-type attacks were at a real disadvantage here. As for Ground-type attacks? This was a volcano—using those would be asking for trouble.
Switching to Rock-type attacks proved much more effective against Magmortar. Taking advantage of Magmortar's drowsiness, Ruby struck hard. Countless rocks piled up on the fallen Magmortar.
By the time Magmortar awoke, it was already panting and nearing its limit. Ruby had Marshtomp endure a single Flamethrower, then finished it off with another Rock Slide, effectively defeating Magmortar and capturing it!
After catching Magmortar, Ruby was about to celebrate with Marshtomp when Marshtomp erupted in white light. Ruby immediately searched for his camera, fumbling around. By the time he found it, Marshtomp had already evolved into Swampert.
"Double the celebration, huh?" Sapphire teased, watching Ruby approach with a somewhat dejected look.
"Ah, I missed documenting the evolution!" Ruby exclaimed helplessly.
Swampert rolled its eyes at Ruby, thinking unhappily: Is that my fault? Am I supposed to wait to evolve just because you want footage?
"Okay, don't complain when you've caught such a strong Pokémon," Ryan said. "Next is Lavaridge Town. Our next Gym Badge is waiting for us."
"I can't wait!" Sapphire said excitedly.
(End of Chapter)
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