"Arcanine, extreme speed to keep them back!"
The fire type disappeared in the blink of an eye, confusing his two opponents for a moment. An invisible force struck Heatran over the head before crashing into Volcanion, sending him flying into the cave wall. The volcano pokemon was quick to retaliate, launching a powerful stone edge attack.
Arcanine evaded at the last second, but was taken by surprise when Volcanion returned to the field. The steam pokemon charged into the pure fire type, sending him to the floor. Arcanine recovered quickly but it was clear to see he was at a disadvantage because he was outnumbered. Due to the extreme environment, my options were limited.
Both Sceptile and Aegislash were particularly susceptible to the intense heat and the deep underground cave was a terrible battlefield for the two dragon pokemon. Even with her ability to change type, Ninetails was still primarily an ice type and it would be risky to hedge my bets on an ability I didn't fully understand.
"Arcanine, we have to retreat, this isn't good for us."
As I turned to the fire type, his intentions were clear. He kept his gaze fixed on the two legendary pokemon, letting out a proud bark. Ever since we had met in Kalos, I could see the bravery written all over Arcanine's heart. He was never one to turn tail and this was no exception, even with the battle looking this unfavourable.
He must have sensed my uncertainty, barking again, this time with more conviction. I knew there was no convincing him otherwise but Arcanine gave me the confidence I needed to focus on the battle. If we were to pull through here, we would need to be at our absolute battling peaks. Anything less wouldn't be enough.
I focused my attention on the two legendary pokemon. They had been eerily quiet, watching Arcanine and I. Their explosive tempers were misleading because on the battlefield, they were apex predators studying their prey.
"Extreme speed again Arcanine."
Once more, the fire type disappeared into the air. This time, Volcanion was hit first, Heatran receiving the most attention of the pair. Both pokemon shook off the attacks making it clear that we needed to hit them with something much stronger.
Volcanion returned to his feet, stood at the edge of the cave. He readied his cannons, firing two torrential water streams at Arcanine who was quick to dodge. As the fire type evaded the move, Volcanion's attack crashed into the roof of the cave. I had to jump to the side to avoid the falling debris, the cave becoming increasingly unstable as the battle raged on.
Arcanine turned to me for a second, checking if I was alright. That tiny opening was enough for Heatran to land a powerful crunch attack. The fire type clamped by the volcano pokemon's gaping mouth.
"Close combat to escape then wild charge!"
The fire type spun his body rapidly, landing successive direct hits onto his opponent. He manged to escape the vice grip, cloaking himself in an electrifying light. Heatran had no time to recover from the first attack before Arcanine crashed into it, sending the volcano pokemon flying into the cave wall.
Arcanine let out a proud roar, showing that he was more than capable of battling head to head with these legendary pokemon. The recoil from the previous attack took its toll but I could see that the fire type wouldn't go down so easily.
Volcanion turned to fire his cannons once again, piping hot steam covering the room quickly. Arcanine followed my lead, countering the attack with an equally powerful fire blast. The two attacks cancelled each other out, the entire room now filled with residual steam.
Heatran returned to his feet and before I could call out to Arcanine, he was struck directly by the volcano pokemon's magma storm attack. The fire type was wrapped in bright orange flames but after a moment, they had dissipated. Arcanine had absorbed the fire attack, his strength bolstered from Heatran's scorching flames.
But as I looked closer, I could see that Arcanine didn't escape unscathed. Even if his ability allowed him to absorb fire type attacks, his body wouldn't be able to keep up with the strain of battle if Heatran and Volcanion kept landing attacks. Arcanine's fur was ever so slightly marred but that was enough to tell me that he wasn't completely immune from fire.
"Extreme speed again!"
With his increased strength, Arcanine was able to knock Heatran to the ground despite the moving not being very effective. The fire type barreled into Volcanion, but the steam pokemon remained on his feet.
At such close range, Arcanine was unable to avoid the super effective steam eruption. The water move forced the fire type across the cave, crashing into the mountain wall. A chunk of the roof fell off above the lava pool, sinking into the thick orange liquid with a sputter.
Arcanine recovered, his eyes still focused on his opponents. As he stood to his feet, I could see that his body was tiring out. Just as I opened my mouth to convince him to leave the battle, he barked. Quickly, I looked across to the two legendary pokemon who were equally worse for wear, but they still had Arcanine outnumbered. Even still, the fire type remained steadfast, unfazed by his opponents.
Heatran fired another devastating magma storm attack, Arcanine unable to avoid the attack. Like before, his body became wrapped in a scorching blaze but the flames soon died out, the fire type absorbing the move. Arcanine's fur was now slightly charred in patches but that didn't seem to affect him.
"Extreme speed Arcanine!"
The fire type took to the cave walls, traversing the opening along the side at blistering speed. Neither of the legendary pokemon saw the attack coming, both crashing into the floor under Arcanine's powerful attack.
"Now close combat!"
At their close proximity, the two legendary pokemon became the Arcanine's punching bags. Both crashed into the cave wall and as the dust settled, I could see Arcanine willing his fatigued body to push on.
Heatran and Volcanion returned to their feet, both launching powerful fire attacks toward Arcanine. The fire type countered with a fire blast which matched the power of both legendary pokemon. But Arcanine's fatigue was evident, his attack becoming overpowered.
Unable to evade both attacks, the powerful fire moves converged onto Arcanine. A huge cloud of smoke kicked up and I could only watch on in hope.
Then as the smoke slowly faded, Arcanine was stood against the cave wall. He was panting heavily, his fur terribly burned. As he slowly stepped forward, I could see that he had somehow absorbed both fire attacks with his ability.
I could see that his strength had increased dramatically, his aura glowing brighter than ever. Seeing such raw power reminded me of the few times I had encountered a pokemon that was truly strong.
During our fight with Lysandre years ago, Dragonite showed brief flashes of true power. This was different to the power of a legendary pokemon, this was the power of a pokemon when they were completely immersed in the flow of battle. Arcanine's strength had ascended to that level, his body working triple overtime to keep up.
The two legendary pokemon were clearly surprised to see their opponent still standing. Arcanine stared them down from the other side of the cave, letting out a loud, intimidating roar.
Volcanion fired another powerful hydro pump attack, Arcanine able to evade the move. Heatran attacked second with stone edge but yet again, the fire type avoided the attack easily. The two legendary pokemon continued attacking, Arcanine slowly closing the distance.
"Overheat Arcanine!"
The fire type leaped into the air, launching a blazing spiral of flames at his opponents, his increased firepower allowing him to use stronger fire moves. Both pokemon fired their own fire attacks, the flames coming together at the center of the cave. With Arcanine's increased strength, he was able to match the two legendary pokemon's power.
But it still wasn't enough.
Arcanine kept his gaze fixed on his opponents and as I turned to him, I could see there was only thing on his mind. His determination was unshakable, nothing I could say to him would persuade the fire type otherwise.
He barked again, this time his tone low but assertive. I could feel tears starting to well up in my eyes as Arcanine turned to me. His face was pulled into a smile but I saw through it. The thought of running from the fight had long been discarded, but this was different.
Arcanine barked another time, turning to face his opponents. I quickly wiped away the tears, forcing myself to reciprocate the fire type's smile.
"Alright, this is it Arcanine! Use burn up!"
Engulfed in bright orange flames, the fire type channeled his energy into this attack. The flames died down as Arcanine launched a colossal blast of fire. The two legendary pokemon tried to counter with their fire moves but they were no match for Arcanine now.
As the attack landed on the two pokemon, the cave began to shake, becoming more and more unstable. Chunks of the roof had started to fall out of place and the whole mountain had started to rumble. The two legendary pokemon became hidden by the falling rubble and as I frantically searched for Arcanine, I found him lying in a heap.
I rushed to rushed his side, seeing that he was unconscious. He hadn't fainted from battle but was completely unresponsive even as I tried to wake him.
I focused my eyes, able to faintly detect the final traces of Arcanine's aura. Without wasting another second, I returned him to his pokeball, hurrying out of the collapsing cave.