“Awoooo~！”
Arcanine let out a long howl, flames shooting out from its flax-colored fur. The flames swirled around it, completely engulfing Arcanine and transforming it into a fiery beast.
The next second, Arcanine charged towards Scyther.
“Air Slash!” Wu Xiong wasn't about to let Scyther face Arcanine head-on. That was fire; Scyther would be asking for trouble by charging into it.
“Cha!”
Scyther swung its scythes, launching a barrage of Air Slashes. Arcanine dodged the attacks with agility and then sped up, closing the distance.
“Cross Chop!” Wu Xiong was left with no choice but to retaliate. The opponent was already close enough.
“Cha!”
Scyther, like a moth to a flame, slammed into Arcanine, who was ablaze.
Bang!!!
The two collided, and the flames from Arcanine immediately spread onto Scyther.
“Cha!”
Scyther wailed in pain, quickly retreating and using its scythes to beat out the flames.
But Arcanine wouldn't give it a chance. It unleashed a blast of fire, instantly engulfing Scyther. The flames roared through the air, and Scyther, completely charred, crashed to the ground.
Although Scyther knew Shadow Sneak, it was useless against Arcanine, which possessed Scent Abilities. Shadow Sneak had no scent.
For Pokemon with keen senses of smell, Shadow Sneak had no deceptive effect. Of course, this required specific training to achieve.
Arcanine had defeated two of Wu Xiong's Pokemon. Wu Xiong had only one left.
“Has Xiao Mao become this strong?!” Wushi was shocked to see Scyther defeated.
Wushi knew Xiao Mao was stronger than before, but not this strong. Scyther was no slouch amongst Wu Xiong's Pokemon.
“How many badges do you have?” Wu Xiong suddenly asked.
Although taken aback, Xiao Mao responded honestly, “Seven.”
Wu Xiong was speechless. His Gym challenged required participants to have at least two badges. Xiao Mao already had seven. No wonder he was so strong.
To participate in the Indigo League, a Trainer needed eight badges. His Gym was going to be Xiao Mao's final destination.
Logically, with so many badges, he should be challenging stronger Gyms. However, there were many Trainers who knew they weren't strong enough and chose weaker Gyms to challenge, so they could easily collect eight badges and enter the Indigo League.
“No wonder you're so strong. For my final Pokemon… go, Kairou!”
Wu Xiong sent out his final Pokemon.
Bam!
“Kairou!”
【LV35 Kairou♂/Gym】
It couldn't be denied that Wu Xiong had some strength. He was stronger than the Gym Leaders Xiao Mao had faced before, and the three Pokemon he had sent out were all quite powerful.
Unfortunately… they were helpless against Fire-type Pokemon.
“Flamethrower!” Xiao Mao continued to command.
Arcanine launched a jet of flame towards Kairou. Kairou didn't dodge; it burrowed into the ground.
It can dig!
Xiao Mao was surprised. Digging was an innate ability for Ground-type Pokemon, and Kairou naturally knew it. Plus, Arcanine lacked ways to deal with diggers, which made Kairou quite difficult to handle.
“Arcanine, engulf yourself in flames.”
Arcanine, upon hearing the command, burst into flames, covering its entire body.
Boom!!
The ground beneath Arcanine shattered, and Kairou broke through, its massive horns aiming to clamp down on Arcanine. However, facing the flames, its mighty claws only managed to knock Arcanine flying.
Arcanine, flung into the air, quickly got back on its feet and shot flames at Kairou. However, Kairou once again burrowed underground, dodging the flames.
Xiao Mao's furrowed brows suddenly relaxed. He immediately commanded, “Arcanine, use Extreme Speed to run around the arena.”
Arcanine, following Xiao Mao’s instructions, sprinted around the arena at top speed. The subterranean Kairou was stunned. Although it could sense the tremors on the surface, Arcanine’s speed was too fast; Kairou couldn’t keep up.
“Kairou, stay underground and don’t chase Arcanine. Let it run.” Wu Xiong commanded.
Hearing Wu Xiong’s order, Xiao Mao was overjoyed. When Arcanine was close enough to the entrance of the hole, he immediately shouted, “Now! Use a full-powered Flamethrower at the entrance!”
Arcanine, running at top speed, sharply turned towards the entrance of the hole. Its internal flame energy surged, and it unleashed all its energy in one powerful blast.
“No, Kairou, get out of the ground quickly!” Wu Xiong exclaimed in panic.
Boom!!
A section of the ground in the arena shattered, and Kairou’s large horns emerged first. However, the moment Kairou’s head broke through, a massive column of flame shot into the air, engulfing Kairou.
“What?! Why is the flame so powerful?!” Wu Xiong was bewildered.
Kairou had dug tunnels underground, so the speed of the flames shouldn't have been that fast.
Normally, the speed of the flames wouldn't be so fast, but Arcanine was different. As it ran, its internal flame energy circulated, generating more flame energy. Using Flamethrower at this point, because of the excess energy, the flames would be more powerful.
Xiao Mao simply had Arcanine run around the arena, but he was accumulating energy. Those who didn't know Arcanine wouldn't know this.
Arcanine continued to spew forth all its internal flame energy until it was exhausted. The column of flames at the entrance of the hole dissipated.
Bang!!
The charred Kairou crashed onto the ground, its eyes rolling around. All three of its Pokemon were defeated.
“Master…!” Wushi couldn’t accept this. He had hoped to see Xiao Mao embarrassed, but his master had been swept by Xiao Mao, three to zero.
“Arcanine, you did a great job.” Xiao Mao praised.
“Woof!”
Arcanine looked smug. It was just a bunch of bugs; it didn’t even need its buddy to help. A single dog could handle them all.
The battle was over.
Wu Xiong walked over to Xiao Mao and took out the Gym badge.
“This is the Celadon Badge. It’s yours now.”
“Thank you.”
Xiao Mao politely accepted the badge.
【Ding! Mission complete. Reward has been sent to your space backpack.】
With the Celadon Badge in hand, Xiao Mao had collected all eight badges and was eligible to participate in the Indigo League.
【Ding! Mission issued: Participate in the Indigo League and win the championship / Reward: Low-level Rare Candy X10, Mid-level Rare Candy X10, High-level Rare Candy X10, Bronze Crown X1, Silver Crown X1, Gold Crown X1】
The system suddenly issued a mission, leaving Xiao Mao stunned.
Winning the Indigo League Championship would grant such bountiful rewards. He had to win the championship.
Xiao Mao and Nazz left the Celadon Gym and returned to the Pokemon Center to rest. The two were leaving Celadon City tomorrow.