Scorching flames roared toward him.
Metagross's arms slammed into the ground in an instant. Stone pillars burst upward, blocking the fire before it could reach any further. The flames split apart against the rock and surged outward on either side.
Aggron's eyes turned cold. He let out a low roar and dug his claws into the earth. His thick tail swung back and struck the ground behind him.
In the blink of an eye, a wide stretch of earth split apart, cracks spreading and interlocking across the stone. Even the pillars standing in front of Steven were now laced with fractures.
Bang!
A yellow-brown light poured out from the cracks.
"Kao!"
Aggron roared, and a tremendous force tore up through the broken rock, surging forward in every direction at once. The wave of energy swallowed Heatran completely.
Steven lowered his eyes to the fractures spreading toward him, stopping less than a meter from where he stood, then lifted his gaze to Aggron, wreathed in glowing light.
This was the first time Steven had seen Aggron use power like this — the same crushing force he had once seen from a Regigigas. Aggron was still nowhere near as strong, of course, but within this narrow stretch of ground, the force he'd unleashed was nothing short of terrifying.
Boom—
The stone platform where Heatran had been resting gave way as its supporting pillars crumbled. The surge of energy swallowed Heatran whole, and a mountain of rock crashed down on top of him. Stones hurled away by the blast rained back across the cavern, while below, the magma churned and hissed under the endless barrage.
Clang.
A single stone rolled free, striking the ground with a sharp, clear sound.
Steven's gaze drifted to a pile of rubble in the distance, where a cylindrical stone glowed faintly blue — impossible to miss among the gray rock around it.
By now, Aggron's Mega Evolution had already worn off.
If Heatran had aimed that attack at Steven instead of Aggron, the battle would already be over. Of course, Steven could always have sent out another Pokémon to keep fighting in Aggron's place.
He walked over to Aggron and rested a hand against the Pokémon's scorching steel armor.
"You did well," Steven said, a faint smile crossing his face. "Congratulations on breaking through your limits, Aggron."
"Kao." Aggron's mouth curled upward at the corners.
A soft green light glimmered in Steven's palm, and warmth spread through Aggron's body as he healed him.
"Aobo!" Empoleon called out, cradling a sphere of pale blue light and waving it steadily around Aggron to cool his overheated frame. Someone had to look after his hot-headed friend.
"Kao~" Aggron chuckled, clapping a hand on Empoleon's shoulder — as if asking for a nice chunk of ore in return.
Empoleon sighed. "Aobo~" It wasn't that he didn't want to find one. There simply wasn't any ore left around here.
"Here you go~"
Diancie conjured a handful of small pink diamonds out of thin air and held them out to Aggron.
"Kao!" Aggron said happily — a word of thanks — before scooping up the diamonds and popping them straight into his mouth. They made for a fine little snack, though he doubted he could stomach a steady diet of them.
Steven led Metagross over to the pile of rubble.
"Metagross!"
With one broad sweep of an arm, Metagross shoved the top layer of stone aside, uncovering Heatran underneath.
"Yiao..."
Heatran cracked open his eyes and looked up at the silver-blue-haired young man standing over him. The wild, burning intensity that had filled his gaze earlier was gone now; his eyes had returned to normal. He let them fall shut again.
He had lost. There was nothing left to say.
He had ruled this volcanic region for a long time, and only one Pokémon had ever been strong enough to challenge him — Arcanine, the previous Island King. Now that Arcanine was gone, Heatran had nothing left to hold onto, save one worry: the Growlithe Arcanine had left behind.
Steven drew out a Poké Ball and tapped it gently against Heatran's forehead. A beam of red light pulled him inside. The ball shuddered once in Steven's palm — then twice — before a spark crackled across its surface and it fell still.
Heatran had been caught.
Steven picked up the cylindrical stone, frowning as he turned it over in his hand. Heatran hadn't shown his true strength in this fight — that much was clear. Kleavor had fallen into a wild frenzy under a similar stone's influence, its power growing sharply, its whole body shining gold. But Heatran, despite the immense aura radiating off him, had never unleashed his full power. All that had shown were a pair of glowing red eyes.
It seemed Heatran had been holding the stone's power in check the entire time. Otherwise, there was no way Aggron alone could have brought him down.
Steven tucked the stone away in his bag. He now had two of these strange tokens in hand, yet Dialga still hadn't called him back from Hisui — meaning there were more tokens still out there.
After feeding Aggron a few energy cubes made from crushed Sitrus Berries, he recalled him to his Poké Ball and started back the way he had come.
Since Heatran had been keeping a token here, the Pokémon he was searching for had to be nearby. This cave, at least, held nothing more. If it wasn't here, he'd search elsewhere — surely no one had thrown it into the magma to be reborn from the flames.
Steven made his way out through the passage and began exploring the surrounding area. There was no way this was the only cave around.
"Woof!"
A sharp bark rang out. Steven stopped and turned toward the sound.
A small, dog-like Pokémon stood baring its teeth at him. Its fur was a deep, fiery red streaked with black stripes — much like the Growlithe he already knew, though this one's coat was far thicker and shaggier, so full it nearly hid its eyes.
Was this a Hisuian form of Growlithe? Steven guessed it must be.
"Woof!" The Growlithe barked again, having caught a scent on Steven that felt oddly familiar.
"Growlithe!"
A woman's voice rang out, and Steven looked up. A woman with curly, apricot-yellow hair was jogging toward them, dressed in a fitted white top and white shorts, with a diving mask hanging loosely around her neck. Steven noticed a pale purple pattern woven into her clothing and realized at once that she belonged to the Pearl Clan.
She hurried to Growlithe's side, knelt down, and ran a hand through its fur, trying to settle it down. Then she looked up at Steven, surprise written across her face.
"You caught Heatran?"
"I did. Is that a problem?" Steven asked, giving a light nod.
Growlithe still hadn't calmed down, and the woman rose to her feet, studying the young man in front of her more closely — the Galaxy Team uniform, the short silver-blue hair.
"You're Steven?"
"That's right," Steven said, nodding again.
"I'm Palina, of the Pearl Clan. It's good to meet you," she said.
"This little one is the offspring of the last Island King," she explained. "He's usually well-behaved and keeps out of sight whenever there's trouble stirring. But ever since the old Island King passed away so suddenly, he's taken to coming here every so often, looking for Heatran."
Steven understood at once. "Heatran has agreed to travel with me," he told her. "Don't worry — I'll take good care of him."