Chapter Seventy-One: The Sacred Flame

The power of ice and snow is unusually abundant; the proud bloodline lies dormant beneath the rock, requiring a sacred flame to awaken its strength and restore the grandeur of the Blizzard Tyrant. Zhao Fang stared blankly at the words before him, beginning to suspect that his golden finger might be a bit too theatrical—why else would it say such things? Still, he couldn't help but feel a surge of joy in his heart.

Putting together the clues from his golden finger, Zhao Fang surmised that his Amaura harbored some special potential, but it would require the ignition of a sacred flame. The proud bloodline sealed beneath the rock—did this mean that, if he found the sacred fire, his Amaura could shed its rock attribute and transform into something new?

As a fossil Pokémon native to the Kalos region, Amaura had appeared in the anime, but because of its ice and rock typing, it suffered from numerous weaknesses, making it a rare sight in battles. Most trainers simply evolved Amaura, registered it in the Pokédex, and stored it away in the PC. But if Amaura really could shed its rock and ice typing to become a dragon and ice type, just like Kyurem, that would be extraordinary. First and foremost, it would be free from any quadruple weaknesses, making it less easily countered. Then, Amaura could use its own moves to strike other Pokémon more effectively, making it truly formidable.

And with Zhao Fang’s golden finger, which could increase a Pokémon’s base stats, what was the point of calling this creature Amaura? He might as well rename it Little Kyurem.

“Sacred flame... why does that sound so familiar?” Zhao Fang stroked his chin. The most pressing matter now was to find this sacred flame.

“Sacred flame... sacred fire... sacred fire?” Zhao Fang’s expression suddenly froze as the memory surfaced.

His earliest experience with Pokémon was with Pokémon Yellow, and later, he had played Gold and Silver with his older brother; his brother picked Gold, he chose Silver. In Silver, the legendary beast was Lugia, while in Gold, it was Ho-Oh, the legendary rainbow phoenix. Zhao Fang remembered that Sacred Fire was Ho-Oh’s signature move. At this realization, his mood turned bitter. This was Ho-Oh, after all! Not just anyone could encounter such a legendary Pokémon; even Ash had to endure all sorts of bizarre adventures to become Ho-Oh’s chosen one and finally witness its appearance.

Unlike Articuno, Ho-Oh was a true legendary beast, boasting a base stat total exceeding six hundred. Although, due to its rare appearances, it was often joked about in the anime as “Ho-Oh must be the cameraman” and even earned the nickname “the cameraman,” Zhao Fang knew from meeting Articuno that Ho-Oh was no simple creature.

Or rather, none of the legendary beasts in the Pokémon world were simple. To humans, they were simply too powerful. Of course, some exceptional trainers could wield the power of these legends. Zhao Fang was quite fascinated by that green caterpillar soaring through the ozone layer—if only he could capture it, that would be a dream come true.

But Rayquaza was the master capable of subduing Groudon and Kyogre; if Zhao Fang wished to challenge it, he still had a long way to go.

“Your Amaura looks impressive. That must have been the Snow Warning ability just now, right?” A nearby researcher, smiling kindly, interrupted Zhao Fang’s daydream of capturing legendary Pokémon.

“Thank you so much. If it weren’t for scholars like you, I might never have been able to revive my Amaura,” Zhao Fang replied politely.

The researcher didn’t mind, simply handed Zhao Fang the documents, and sent him on his way. He still needed to analyze the information he’d gathered and ponder why an Amaura would appear in Hoenn—after all, Amaura was usually found only in Kalos.

With his Poké Balls in hand, Zhao Fang left the Devon Corporation. He wasn’t in a hurry to go elsewhere, but instead, carrying his newly bought backpack, he made his way to the outskirts of Canalave City. He needed to deal with the issue of Amaura’s coloration first.

After all, as a white, shiny Amaura, it would be troublesome if others saw it. Until he had the strength of a League Top Four, Zhao Fang would need to hide his Pokémon with utmost caution.

Fortunately, Professor Birch had given him plenty of Color Balls. Apart from changing the color of shiny Pokémon, these had no other use. Zhao Fang often wondered whether they could alter the color of ordinary Pokémon—if so, some evil organizations would surely covet them.

Soon enough, Zhao Fang set up camp at the site of the previous avalanche, then took out his third Poké Ball. Taking a deep breath, he tossed it onto the ground.

“Come out, Amaura!” Zhao Fang called out in a rather dramatic fashion. With his words, the pure, beautiful Amaura appeared in the snow.

“Roar~” Amaura let out a cry of comfort upon emerging, and the snowfall around them intensified, hailstones growing more frequent and even increasing in size.

Seeing this, Zhao Fang couldn’t help but smile with delight. As expected of a Pokémon whose power of ice and snow was deemed “exceptionally abundant” by his golden finger. He wondered about its moveset, but with snow falling, ice-type Pokémon would naturally gain a boost in such conditions. Zhao Fang decided to take Amaura to a specialized laboratory, perhaps Professor Birch’s, for further analysis. Surely, the professor would be interested in a shiny Amaura.

“Amaura, what moves do you know?” Zhao Fang patted the creature’s side. It was cold but pleasant to the touch, smooth as silk.

Amaura tilted her head at him, then took a step forward. She opened her jaws and exhaled a gust of wind, which left a trail of tiny ice crystals in the air. Zhao Fang understood—this was Icy Wind.

Just as Zhao Fang was about to continue testing Amaura’s moves, he spotted a Snorunt emerging from the snow nearby, eyeing them with curiosity.

Zhao Fang grinned—how fortuitous, a perfect target for move testing.

“Amaura, attack the Snorunt in front of you!” Zhao Fang commanded.

Amaura looked down at the Snorunt with pride, then sent a barrage of rocks tumbling towards it. The Snorunt rolled aside just in time, letting out an indignant cry.

“Keep attacking!” Zhao Fang noted down the use of Rock Slide. He was eager to see what other moves his Amaura could use.