Ch. 76. Encounter with the Wings of Fire

(Unedited)

Arriving at Mew's side, the sight before him left Ares speechless, even more than ever before. 

They were standing on a overlook, far above the ground. Below them, magma spewed forth from the ground below like a living beast, coiling around red rocks potruding from the red sea of liquid flames incarnate. Pokemon called Magmar and Magby were moving about, swimming through the crimson magma, avoiding the shore to the left.

Having evaded that particular spot was naturally something that drew Ares's attention.

There, pinned to the ground with more than a few chains, was a giant yellow bird pokemon. Its feathers were glowing red, as fire spewed from them. Its sharp claws dug into the ground as it struggled in its confinement. Its fiery enraged eyes were fixated on its captors, people dressed in black uniforms, all wearing protective gear from the heat. 

Moltress, the bird of legend, was chained to the ground.

It had been dragged far from the magma, to prevent it from regenerating its strength, letting it rage on and exhaust itself at the same time.

A wall behind it had been blasted apart, as traces of a battle were strewn about. Not that of Moltress, by the looks of it. There weren't any scorch marks, as the ground had been torn apart, with the walls having been cracked on strange and odd places.

The traces of Moltress' battle were scorching the walls high up, far away from the other battlefield.

It appeared like one of the pokemon had escaped, while the other had been capture in the aftermath.

"Mewtwo got away, while Moltress was captured."

Having surmissed the happenstance, Ares crouched down, grabbing a binocular from his backpack as he observed the area below. 

His eyes picked up the strong traces of Mewtwo's psychic energy, as well as those having chased after it. There weren't a lot of pursuers it seems, as the traces of energy going in were faint. maybe half a dozen had chased after Mewtwo, maybe less.

Calling out two other pokemon, Umbreon and Metagross, he began to plan.

He needed to get down to chase after Mewtwo, but the people below would definitely get in the way. 

He needed to take them out as fast as he could, which was where Umbreon and Lucario would come in. While he would overlook the battle from above on Metagross, he would provide orders to Umbreon and Lucario through telepathy, allowing them to take their adversaries by surprise.

As for why he chose Metagross, it was silent in its approach, leaving him undetected, unlike when he would travel on Charizards.

Jumping on Metagross' back, they got to work.

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With the few edges on the side, Lucario and Umbreon decreased the distance between them and the group. As far as the eye could see, there were a dozen people spread out below.

It would be difficult to spot the rest of them, if there even were more.

[Sixteen]

Ares's voice cut in, pointing out a few more in their blind spots.

Both of them grunted in affirmation, having spotted the few as well as soon as they closed in even more.

Splitting up, Lucario ran towards those guarding the entrance further inside the mountain, while Umbreon began to prowl towards Moltress. It was something he had thought of as Ares provided them with instructions.

What if Moltress could help them?

A thought Umbreon couldn't help but execute.

Should Moltress turn on them, Ares would surely be able to shield them with his Aura, even with the fiery temper of the burning bird.

With their adversaries focussed on Moltress itself, Umbreon had sneaked up on the stakes connected to the chains. They were burried deep into the ground, the barbed edged on top only showcasing of what was surely burried beneath.

Digging below ground, Umbreon loosened it enough to weaken its hold. With a little force, it would be easy to wedge it free. Now he only needed to do that with the rest as well.

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While Umbreon was intent of releasing Moltress, Lucario had his work cut out for him. The people they were about to ambush had now been identified by Lucario. He had seen them before, when he and Ares had first set out on their journey.

It were the people involved in a missing pokemon case, one where pokemon stolen from trainers were almost shipped away by a nefarious group well-known in Kanto.

A red emblazoned R stood out on the heat suits the grunts wore, a pair of custom team rocket pokeballs tied to their waists.

Though this did beg the question: These grunts weren't strong enough to battle both Moltress and Mewtwo. Then who was strong enough to make Mewtwo run away?

With the question lingering in his mind, Lucario rushed forward, as the grunts muffled voices of surprise were the only thing they could utter, as Lucario slammed its paw into their suits, a mighty force pushing them backwards against the wall and knocked them out. 

Hurrying on, Lucario did the same with a few others, his speed fast enough to take out a quarter of them before he was noticed or even attacked.

This raised the alarm, as those present realised they were under attack.

As voices of alarm were spread around quickly, a loud roar drew their attention, as a black silhouette burst out from the ground, Shadow balls flying in all directions as they wedged out the stakes penetrating the ground.

Umbreon pounced on a team Rocket grunt, slamming him into the ground and finishing his attack with a deafening crunch, breaking the protective suit completely.

The grunt inside screamed, as the heat of the magma scorched his face.

While the other grunt stood shocked, their nightmare was not yet over, as Moltress, who had been pinned to the ground only recently, rose to its full height. It dove down into the magma as soon as it was freed, emerging soon after as a golden, scorching glow emanated from its now healthy form. The flames on its body spewed forth with renewed vigor, as Moltress unleashed its flames unto its captors.

To say it was cruel was an understatement.

All the grunts were burned to ashes, as little of their suits remained as proof. That and their pokeballs, as they were more durable than they seemed.

Moltress cried out in fury, releasing its pent-up frustration as it took to the air, disappearing in one of the holes in the ceiling, no doubt escaping from its previous resting area now turned cage.

With Moltress gone, the temperature lowered again, as the magma below seemed to seep further into the mountain, the orange glow but faintly visible as it retreated below ground.

Still remaining on top of Metagross as he covered himself in Aura as heat protection, Ares returned Umbreon to his pokemon, though not before he gave him a treat for his work.

Hopping on Metagross behind him, Lucario took a seat, leaning against Ares's back. With a powerful adversary awaiting them deeper inside the mountain, there was no doubt their battles would become even more difficult going forward. Yet as if unconcerned with that, Mew perched on Ares's head as she urged them forth, deeper into the mountain towards their goal.

Mewtwo.