The Magma Lizard King's territory was expanding even faster than Caesar had expected.
Scorching magma, as though alive, snaked through the newly opened fissures and had already begun gnawing into Caesar's usual hunting grounds. Occasional globs of molten rock splattered onto the ground with a hiss, leaving blackened scars and a choking stench of sulfur.
Even the temperature inside the den had risen, turning the place into a makeshift sauna.
Crouched behind a high rock, Caesar narrowed his eyes and studied the colossal creature wallowing in the river of lava.
[Target: Magma Lizard King (Brainless Dragon Beast)]
[Level: LV.25]
[Type: Fire/Dragon]
[Nature: Hasty]
Level 25, Silver tier, Fire plus Dragon.
Caesar clicked his tongue.
In his eyes that typing combo was solid Tier 1.
The Fire-plus-Dragon typing is a top-tier combination, second only to Fire plus Fairy.
Defensively, Fire erases Dragon's Ice and Fairy weaknesses, while Dragon cancels the common Water weakness.
Offensively, Fire smashes Steel and gains high-damage Moves like Fire Blast, which is further boosted by sun—peak ceiling. Even neutral Fairy hits can't stomach it. (Since Ground and Fairy rarely coexist, Fairy-types usually can't handle a Fire-Dragon.)
Truly a typing that balances attack and defense.
Among multi-type Dragons, Fire-Dragon Ranks below Water-Dragon and ties with Steel-Dragon (Steel-Dragon's poor coverage drags it down). But because Fire-Dragon is weak to Rock and Ground—two major offensive types—and because existing Fire-Dragons lack speed, trainers often misread them as fragile.
Their niche parallels Ice-Dragon yet offers better defensive synergy (yes, I'm looking at you, Baxcalibur!).
Anyone who used Koraidon in Generation IX knows Tera-Fire is the default.
In the end, Fire plus Dragon is just speed-line hungry.
Caesar watched closely: each time the giant lizard finished a wide-ranged scorching Dragon Breath, the red glow in its throat dimmed and needed several seconds to reignite.
That pause was its only window of vulnerability.
Huge body, sluggish movement, attacks on cooldown.
And he—Ground-type beats Fire, Dragon resists Fire—had speed as his ace.
Advantage: mine!
You've got to admit Sand Tomb is a Ground-type Move, right?
Inside Caesar's head a daring plan took shape. A head-on fight was suicide; ten levels difference nullified any type edge. But if he could exploit terrain and tactics… He thought of the still-inactive trait on his System panel—Rough Skin.
The description was simple: deal damage to attackers on contact.
It was Garchomp's signature trait, formerly nicknamed "Shark Skin."
Caesar guessed the trigger was exactly what the name implied—high-intensity physical contact and taking damage.
Ever since forming that theory he had been honing his Physical Body, scraping scales against rock… and now he could feel the Bottleneck before a Breakthrough.
He needed a thick-skinned, oversized, preferably aggressive punching bag to "sharpen" himself.
The Magma Lizard King before him was the perfect whetstone—
Thus a battle plan of wit over brawn—and of unlocking a new trait—crystallized inside the little Gible's skull.
He turned and slipped silently back to the den.
Time to put his "teammate" to work… "No way!"
"I, the great Silver Dragon Cecilia, will never stoop to being bait!"
Cecilia held her head high; though her body still trembled from the after-effects of poison milk, her tone was unshakable.
Caesar pushed a cauldron of steaming, violet-bubbling ultra-plus mushroom stew under her snout.
Gulp…
The rich aroma invaded her nostrils. Cecilia's stomach growled; she jerked her head aside, pretending not to notice.
Caesar said nothing, just watched her.
"W-what are you staring at!" Flustered, she blustered, "Don't think you can bribe me with food! I have dignity!"
"Oh."
Caesar slowly reached out, as if to take the pot away.
"Wait!"
Cecilia yelped instinctively.
His claw froze mid-air, his round eyes full of "knew it."
"Decided?" Caesar asked in his odd, translated draconic. "This target's a 'brainless dragon beast,' a disgrace to Dragon Clan. We're 'cleaning house.'"
"Cleaning house?" She blinked, surprised the Little Earth Dragon knew the phrase.
"Exactly. Once it's gone you'll be the only True Dragon in this region—what glory!"
"I… well…"
The idea tempted her; a pure-blooded True Dragon, she despised such mindless, muscular aberrations.
"And after the job, you can drink your fill." He nudged the cauldron. "All-you-can-slurp."
Cecilia eyed the irresistible soup, then Caesar's "trust-me-you-idiot" face, her pride warring with her stomach.
Humiliation!
Outrageous humiliation!
To be bossed around by a mere Ground-type—for food!
But… it smells divine… "You-you said I only need to get its attention?" she muttered.
"Exactly. One long-range Paralysis Breath, then you bolt. Leave the rest to me. Maximum safety."
"J-just one puff?"
"One."
Gritting her teeth, she glanced at the pot and finally lowered her noble head.
"Fine… I accept. But afterwards I want three full cauldrons!"
"Deal!" Caesar agreed cheerfully.
He thought: three? I'll drown you in it if I want.
"You despicable earth-wyrm… mmph…"
Still grumbling, Cecilia dipped her snout and began sipping the stew, replenishing her strength.
Watching her tsundere surrender, Caesar felt oddly satisfied.
Selling out a teammate—simple, honest joy.
Over the next two days Caesar began his grueling preparations.
He chose a patch of dry, open ground not far from the magma river as the battlefield.
Then he unleashed Sand Tomb without rest.
When MP ran dry he sprawled on the sand to recover, then resumed.
In two days he carved a sinkhole over thirty metres wide and bottomless at the center, then disguised the surface so carefully it looked like ordinary ground.
After all that, the Gible was as exhausted as a seal, sprawled on the ground and gasping for air.
Everything was ready—only the "east wind" was missing.
Or rather, only that proud dragon who'd been sold yet still helped count the money was missing.
Night fell, but the subterranean world of the Dragons Nest Mountain Range carried on as usual. The fire element in the air grew even more active.
Caesar crept with Cecilia behind a rock face near the trap.
"I-it's really here?" Cecilia stared at the bare ground and, not far off, the magma river glowing red, and felt a pang of fear.
The tyrannical dragon might belonging to the Magma Lizard King had every scale on her body standing on end.
"Scared my foot," Caesar said, patting her neck. "Remember the plan? Hit that cave mouth with your strongest Paralysis Breath, then dash behind me—now."
"I—I know! No need to remind me!"
Cecilia put on a brave front, but her big body honestly shrank half a step behind Caesar.
She drew a deep breath; silver magic gathered in her draconic eyes.
A blast of breath laced with silver flecks and crackling arcs shot like a signal flare straight into the entrance of the Magma Lizard King's lair.
The breath itself dealt little damage, but the aura of pure True Dragon blood within it, along with its undisguised provocation, instantly detonated the powder keg of the entire area.
"ROOOAAR—!!!"
An earth-shaking roar rolled from the depths of the cave, so filled with rage and savagery that the very air seemed to tremble.
The ground began to quake violently!
An enormous crimson figure, wrapped in billowing heat, burst from the cave mouth!
The Magma Lizard King!
Its lava-like eyes locked onto the direction the breath had come from and spotted the two tiny figures cowering behind the rock face.
In its Chaos-addled brain, any creature carrying the scent of the Dragon Clan was an intruder that had to be torn apart!
"Run!" Caesar shouted, yanking the stunned Cecilia around and bolting.
The Magma Lizard King lumbered forward on heavy limbs like an out-of-control truck, charging in fury amid waves of magma heat.
With every step the ground shook, leaving scorched footprints behind.
The titanic form drew closer; the scorching breath felt ready to roast their backs.
"Eeeek! It's catching up!" the Little Silver Dragon shrieked in terror.
"Don't look back! Stick with me!"
Caesar roared without turning, guiding her along the pre-set route.
Just as the Magma Lizard King reached the center of the battlefield and raised a massive claw to flatten the two insects into paste—
"BOOM!"
Its millstone-sized claw stamped squarely onto the trap Caesar had laid.
The camouflaged ground collapsed instantly!
The colossal body lurched downward with a roar of shock and rage; its entire foreleg sank into endless quicksand!
Next came its hind legs, its belly… the Sand Tomb that could drive any creature to despair began devouring its body frantically.
Its huge size now became its own shackle.
The Lizard King thrashed and bellowed in the quicksand, twisting violently and spearing searing Dragon Breath that turned the surrounding sand scarlet—dust filled the air and heat surged.
Little Earth Dragon led Cecilia to a safe distance, then looked back at the trapped king, heart pounding.
Excitement, tension, and a hint of madness.
They'd bet right!
This once-in-a-lifetime chance to kill had arrived!
"Stay put and don't Move!" Caesar ordered Cecilia beside him.
Without waiting for an answer, the blue figure shot forward; amid the swirling sand its outline flickered in and out.
Its Sand Veil activated!
Like a blue wraith it slipped silently to the monster's flank.
While the king still wrestled the quicksand, Caesar sprang from the sand, used a steep rock face as a springboard, and slammed an Tackle into the knee of the half-buried hind leg!
"THUD!"
A dull impact.
The sudden blow made the king roar in pain and thrash even harder.
Caesar, having scored, disengaged at once and melted back into the dust.
Next it repeated the trick, flashing to the other side—its claws glowed purple.
Poison Jab!
It raked at the relatively tender eyelid of the giant lizard.
"SSS—"
The venom hissed as it met the searing skin, then evaporated—no effect at all.
"Damn it! It resists Poison too?!"
Caesar cursed; the scorching hide made the toxin almost useless.
Looks like only raw physical strikes would grind it down.
The king, infuriated by this gnat-like pest, gave up trying to climb and instead rolled madly in the quicksand, hoping to crush Caesar.
Opportunity!
A flash of resolve lit Caesar's eyes.
As the titanic body hurled itself over with crushing force, Caesar did not dodge as before.
It drew a deep breath, advanced instead of retreating, and slammed head-on into the "wall" of jagged, burning scales!
"CRASH!"
Caesar felt as if it had struck a flying volcano.
Unimaginable force surged through it; every bone groaned. The scorching rock hide rasped like coarse sandpaper, stripping off scales in sheets—blood ran and flesh sizzled.
[HP: 46/46] → [HP: 21/46]
Pain!
Excruciating pain!
Yet amid the agony Caesar let out a wild, unstoppable laugh!
Because beneath that wound it felt a strange, mighty power stirring deep within its skin—as though every scale were turning harder, sharper!
[Ding! Host's cumulative contact damage threshold reached. Ability Rough Skin activated!]
[Rough Skin: when struck by contact Moves, deal physical damage equal to 1/8 of the target's max HP.]
Success!
Caesar's eyes blazed with elation—
At that instant the Magma Lizard King, still grinding over it, bellowed in pain!
The once-soft insect now felt like a spiked iron ball; every scrape, every contact left deep scratches across the king's proud lava shell and sent stabs of sharp pain!
The recoil of Rough Skin was now pushed to its limit!
The more the king struggled and tried to crush Caesar, the more damage it suffered!
"Come on! Keep at it!"
Gible bared its fangs, and in its simple eyes burned frantic Battle Intent.
"So you're the one they call Overlord?"
"Then let your Garchomp lord… give you a nice scrape!"