Fiore Kingdom.
In the West, deep within Sandra Forest.
Roar—!!!
The enraged roar of the lion echoed throughout the forest, startling countless animals into fleeing.
Even the hunters who had planned to venture into the mountains hesitated upon hearing the furious roar and ultimately decided to retreat.
At that moment, deep within the forest, the Gale Lion—its mane whipping around atop its head like golden snakes—bared its bloodstained maw and roared as it fixed its gaze on Elfman, who had transformed into Machamp.
A flicker of confusion crossed the beast's savage eyes as it struggled to understand why this little creature had not been intimidated, since no one in the forest had ever defied its presence before.
Noticing that its roar had failed to intimidate Elfman, the Gale Lion began to slowly pace while fixating on him, searching for an opening.
Meanwhile, Elfman's Machamp form maintained its steady gaze on the advancing lion while Lisanna hid behind a large tree, her hands clasped over her mouth as she softly cheered, "Elfman, big brother! Keep it up!"
Cana looked at the scene, completely untroubled, and remarked, "The size difference is pretty huge."
"Can Elfman pull this off?" she asked.
The patient Gale Lion, just standing there and already over two meters tall, was much taller than Elfman.
Gaal spoke, "Just watch and you'll see."
In the clearing ahead, the Gale Lion's eyes remained locked on Elfman. Without a moment's hesitation, it flung open its bloodstained maw aimed directly at Elfman and roared, "Roar—!!!"
As the roar echoed, a furious gust of wind swept through the area, stirring up clouds of dust. Countless wind blades shot from the lion's mouth, charging toward Elfman.
Seeing the dust cloud approaching, Elfman was forced to raise his arms to block it.
The next second: boom!!!
The ground trembled, and Lisanna and Cana at the periphery gasped, "Oh no, it's Wind Magic! We can't see anything inside it!"
Gaal raised his hand and swept it upward.
The swirling dust in the clearing suddenly halted as the surrounding air ceased moving; then the dust soared skyward, revealing the scene below.
Taking advantage of the dust raised by the Wind Magic assault, the Gale Lion was now firmly pinning Elfman, trying to clamp its huge jaws down, while Elfman's Machamp form pressed its hands against the lion's upper and lower jaws.
The seemingly unstoppable bite force was gradually overwhelmed by Elfman's arms.
At that moment, Elfman was a bit stunned by the sudden attack, his reactions slightly delayed as he used his arms to begin prying apart the lion's snapping jaws.
Seeing the scene, Lisanna and Cana grew worried.
Meanwhile, Gaal's eyes lit up as he observed the Machamp techniques Elfman was executing. He said, "Elfman, use Kick Down."
Upon hearing this, Elfman finally reacted, nodding slightly as he glanced at the Gale Lion's hind leg clamped against him. Following the Kick Down technique he recalled, he swept his leg directly across.
The Gale Lion, which had been lunging toward Elfman, was suddenly caught off guard; its hind leg lost its leverage as it rotated sideways and was lifted into the air.
Simultaneously, Elfman exerted force with his hands, pushing upward.
He then quickly rolled to his feet and looked at the still-descending Gale Lion. At that moment, Gaal's voice rang out, "Earth Throw."
Elfman's hands glowed as an inexplicable force surged into them.
"Gravity?" the word flashed in his mind, but without time to think further he reached out and grabbed the falling lion.
Spinning twice, he hurled the beast upward. The Gale Lion merely sensed an inexplicable force that lifted it off the ground and sent it soaring hundreds of meters into the sky, its body rigid.
A look of delight appeared on Elfman's face as he said, "Big brother Gaal."
Having vaguely grasped the proper method of receiving and fusing with Pokémon—and using those moves—a moment later Gaal's voice echoed, "It's not over yet."
Elfman looked up at the Gale Lion plummeting from the sky. One after another, Machamp techniques flashed through his mind, and just before the lion touched the ground, he suddenly widened his eyes, leaped high, and reached out with both hands to grab its head, shouting, "Leveraged Throw!"
The Gale Lion, free-falling from hundreds of meters, was caught by Elfman's grasp on its head and flung aside with the aid of its descent.
It streaked toward the ground like a bolt of yellow light—boom——!!!!!!
A large crater instantly appeared on the ground, accompanied by the sound of bones cracking.
The Gale Lion's once impenetrable skull was reduced to a gruesome mess, its body trembling instinctively. Seeing this, Elfman quickly jumped into the crater and declared, "Receive: Lion King's Soul!"
The beast soul of the Gale Lion surged into Elfman's body, and he began to transform into a lion-man. Golden mane sprouted around his head, and his body assumed a golden lion-like form.
His eyes turned a faint white as reason and madness intertwined: "Roar——"
Moments later, rationality reasserted control in his eyes, and the turbulent magic power within him gradually returned to normal.
Seeing this, Lisanna beamed with joy, "Elfman big brother has done it!"
Cana stepped closer and nodded, "Nicely done."
Inside the crater, the lion-man form of Elfman bent down to grab the Gale Lion's tail and dragged its corpse upward. Looking at Lisanna, Cana, and Gaal approaching, he smiled and said, "Lisanna, Cana, big brother Gaal. I did it."
Gaal praised, "Nicely done."
Cana couldn't help but comment, "This reception is much better than that of the lizard-man from a few days ago. That one with densely packed scales was just creepy to look at."
Elfman chuckled, scratching his head as he looked at Gaal, "Big brother Gaal, what should we do with this Gale Lion?"
Gaal replied, "The village isn't far; we'll drag it over and deal with it directly."
Elfman nodded in a daze, "Alright."
He then did not undo the reception, but maintained his lion-man appearance while dragging the Gale Lion's tail and heading toward the village outside the forest.
Before long, a small town outside the forest welcomed the quartet's arrival.
The lion-man Elfman, dragging the corpse of the Gale Lion—the dominant force of the nearby forest—entered the town and created quite a stir. The surrounding praises made Elfman blush in embarrassment, though his golden lion-man form revealed nothing unusual.
Inside the mage shop specialized in handling beast corpses, Elfman dragged the Gale Lion over. The shop owner promptly arranged to process the creature, and the others remained silent, knowing that their own magical beasts were far smaller and that a mage capable of hunting such a Gale Lion must be very powerful—someone not to be trifled with.
Although the Gale Lion's carcass was enormous, the mage shop, as the town's professional establishment for handling beast remains, along with its ample manpower, began visibly dismantling it.
Observing this, Elfman nodded and, without lingering, headed to the rest area to join Gaal, Lisanna, and Cana.
At that moment in the shop's rest area, Cana picked up a newspaper and flipped through it until her eyes suddenly widened, "Wow! This bounty…?! Five hundred million Jewel? A cure for Magic Deficiency Syndrome?! Gaal, what is Magic Deficiency Syndrome? Let's take on this quest! That's 500 million Jewel!!!"