Chapter Thirty-Nine: Tragic! Flames Engulf the Land!

Roar! Misfortune rarely comes alone. The Terror Tyrannosaurus stepped back, bent its legs to gather strength, then stomped forward with a thunderous leap, crashing down toward the Explosive Scale Dragon. If this landed, Su Yi would be crushed to a pulp.

In that critical moment, Su Yi acted swiftly, clutching Dewgrass in his arms and raising his grappling device to launch the hook toward a distant boulder.

Thud! The ground trembled, and dust and rubble showered down from the rock wall above.

At the very last second, Su Yi pulled himself away with the hook, escaping the Terror Tyrannosaurus’s deadly stomp.

“Whew!” Su Yi shook his trembling, numb legs, his heart almost leaping out of his throat.

“Su Yi meow! It’s the Tragic Claw Dragon meow!” The cat pointed to the side, and not far away, the Tragic Claw Dragon lay motionless in a corner, its fate uncertain.

Su Yi glanced at the Terror Tyrannosaurus, locked in fierce battle with the Explosive Scale Dragon nearby, grit his teeth, and ran over.

The ground was carpeted with years-old bones, their shapes varied and jagged, making the terrain rough and treacherous.

That forty or fifty meters felt impossibly far, the monsters’ thunderous movements shaking the earth.

“Careful, Su Yi meow!” Dewgrass shouted behind him.

Without thinking, Su Yi dove forward just as the Terror Tyrannosaurus’s muscular tail swept overhead.

Scrambling to his feet, he stole a glance at the battlefield: the Terror Tyrannosaurus and Explosive Scale Dragon were locked together again, their fight shifting closer.

“This distance…” Su Yi eyed the Tragic Claw Dragon; his aim was barely accurate enough to hit it with a capture sphere.

As he rushed forward, a massive foot slammed nearby, sending bones flying. Su Yi was struck, pain flaring where he was hit.

He just gritted his teeth and pressed onward into the bone-strewn ground.

One step, two steps…

On the treacherous path of bones, Su Yi rapidly closed the gap with the Tragic Claw Dragon.

Suddenly, a furious roar exploded. The Explosive Scale Dragon, head lowered, slammed the Terror Tyrannosaurus into the rock wall beside Su Yi, both monsters blocking his path.

Roar!

The Terror Tyrannosaurus lashed out in mad retaliation, its enormous body whirling dangerously close to Su Yi, gusts howling in its wake.

Narrowly dodging the deadly collision, Su Yi seized an opening, sprinting and sliding beneath the Terror Tyrannosaurus’s jaws and beside the Explosive Scale Dragon’s scales.

“Almost there!” Su Yi drew a capture sphere, aiming at the nearby Tragic Claw Dragon.

Thud!

His heart stopped.

A massive claw crossed over Su Yi’s head, stomping down beside him. Su Yi shielded his head and looked up.

The Terror Tyrannosaurus lowered its head, finally noticing the tiny figure darting about. Not far away, the Explosive Scale Dragon had lost its balance, struggling on the ground; the Terror Tyrannosaurus had seized the advantage.

Roar!

The Terror Tyrannosaurus bellowed furiously at Su Yi, its rancid breath assaulting him, the roar rattling his eardrums.

“Su Yi meow!” Dewgrass shrieked.

Hit head-on by the roar, Su Yi stood frozen before the abyssal maw, jagged fangs looming. For a moment, he felt lost, his limbs cold and powerless.

Roar!

A fierce cry erupted. At the brink of disaster, a dark red shadow suddenly leapt up—the Tragic Claw Dragon, previously motionless, sprang forth, its claws digging deep into the Terror Tyrannosaurus’s head.

With savage fury, the Tragic Claw Dragon tore at the Terror Tyrannosaurus’s face, while the latter shook its head violently, trying to throw off its attacker.

“We’re saved!” Su Yi snapped back to himself and bolted away from the Terror Tyrannosaurus.

At that moment, the Explosive Scale Dragon rose, spreading its wings and soaring high, then scattered explosive scales across the sky.

Thud!

By sheer accident, the Terror Tyrannosaurus smashed its head against the rock wall, knocking the Tragic Claw Dragon off.

The Terror Tyrannosaurus immediately struck back, jaws clamping onto the Tragic Claw Dragon and lifting it up.

Above, the Explosive Scale Dragon finished scattering its scales and dove toward the Terror Tyrannosaurus.

Swinging the captured Tragic Claw Dragon, the Terror Tyrannosaurus hurled it at the Explosive Scale Dragon. Amid the Tragic Claw Dragon’s anguished cries, the Explosive Scale Dragon was intercepted mid-air and tumbled down.

“Tragic Claw Dragon, tragic indeed!” Su Yi couldn’t help but wince in sympathy.

“Perfect chance meow!” Dewgrass reminded him—the Tragic Claw Dragon had landed right in front of Su Yi.

“We must capture it!” Su Yi focused and threw the capture sphere.

Clang!

The sphere struck the Tragic Claw Dragon, absorbing it within.

Across the battlefield, the Explosive Scale Dragon regained its footing and unleashed a blast of burning flames.

Whoosh! Boom!

Instantly, the explosive scales and surrounding miasma ignited; the scales detonated, and the burning miasma triggered more explosions farther away.

The miasma and corpse oil fueled the roaring flames.

Heat waves surged, fire swept the land, and in moments, the whole valley became a hellish inferno.

“Cough, cough! Where’s the sphere?!” Su Yi waved his hand to clear smoke and flames, but the capture sphere holding the Tragic Claw Dragon had been blown away by the explosion.

Even more worrying, Dewgrass was nowhere to be seen.

“Aibo! Aibo! Where are you?!” Su Yi called out in panic.

The Terror Tyrannosaurus roared amid the flames, the Explosive Scale Dragon soared again, bellowing from above as its glands produced more explosive scales.

Their battle raged on, undisturbed.

“Cough, cough! Over here meow!” From within the blaze, a soot-blackened figure emerged, holding the capture sphere aloft.

“Beautiful! Aibo!” Su Yi was overjoyed, breathing a huge sigh of relief as he scooped up Dewgrass and sprinted for the exit.

With the cover of the flames, Su Yi and Dewgrass escaped the burning valley, leaving only echoing roars and tremors behind.

...

“Huff, huff, huff! Aibo, are you alright?” Su Yi asked, breathless.

“No problem meow!” The cat shook itself, its once cow-patterned fur now blackened like charcoal.

“That scared me to death, Aibo. Don’t ever take such risks again; no monster is more important than you!” Su Yi gently brushed the dust from Dewgrass.

Dewgrass stretched, enjoying Su Yi’s grooming. “Alright meow! But I’m glad I could help you, Su Yi meow!”

Su Yi sniffed, then laughed, rubbing Dewgrass’s fluffy head.

...

At the cave camp, Su Yi took out clean water and washed briefly, then immediately released the Tragic Claw Dragon.

The creature was in a dire state. Torn wounds on its waist and belly, worsened by the Terror Tyrannosaurus’s second attack, exposed its internal organs through the gaping injury, its abdomen held together only by what flesh remained unbitten.

If not for the faint rise and fall of its chest and belly, Su Yi would have thought it dead.

He hurriedly gave the Tragic Claw Dragon a vitality shard, but the dying beast couldn’t swallow.

“This is trouble.”

Su Yi quickly summoned Lucky Egg.

“Lucky!” Lucky Egg jumped in shock at the Tragic Claw Dragon’s injuries; it had never seen a Pokémon so grievously wounded.

As Lucky Egg unleashed healing waves, Su Yi took out medicine, needle, and bandages.

“Breathe! In, out!” Su Yi took a deep breath and picked up the suture thread.

“I’ve never stitched a wound before, let alone one this severe. I’ll have to rely on the hunter’s basic medical skills from my golden finger—improvised knowledge at the last moment. Hang in there, Brother of the Miasma Valley!”