PS026

Holy Moltres (Japanese: VS ファイヤー VS ) is the 26th chapter of the Pokémon Adventures manga.
==Plot==
At the , members of Team Rocket pore through the building and its collection of research materials. Al furiously declares the team's determination to hunt down the traitor, Blaine.
As approaches Cinnabar Island on Gyara's back, he spots a large blaze along the coastline and proceeds to investigate, climbing up the closest cliff face. Just peeking his head above the grass, he catches sight of s engaged in battle. A and , which Team Rocket identifies as belonging to Blaine, charge in. As Al's clashes with Rapidash, Red wonders where their Trainer could be. Several of the Team Rocket Grunts notice Red hanging to the cliff side, and they openly wonder about who he is. Al, saying that having watched their activities is already too much, orders his Gengar to dispose of him. Just as Gengar reaches up to strike, a voice rings out.
Suddenly Blaine appears, flanked by his two Pokémon, and demands that they leave Red alone, and reminds them that they're looking for him. Al presses his foot down on Red's hand, jeopardizing his grip on the cliff and tells Blaine that if he doesn't do what he says, Red will be at risk. Blaine sweats, and stares on in silence. Al laughs at his sudden compliance, and orders Gengar to attack with . Blaine suddenly grips his head with his hands, unable to bear the strength of the attack. A Grunt notices Red slowly preparing to deploy one of his Poké Balls, but it's too late, as Gyara is able to blast the Grunts away from the cliff edge, allowing Red to climb up. He tells Blaine to hurry, who quickly mounts his Rapidash and picks up Red as they both gallop down the cliff face. 
Blaine and Red formally introduce themselves to each other, Red quickly following up with questions about why he's being pursued and why he was being called a traitor. Blaine begins to explain, saying he used to be a scientist for Team Rocket, but before he can continue elaborating, a giant fireball begins approaching them from behind. Red says they need to fight back instead of just focusing on fleeing, and calls on Poli to use . The attack is ineffective, and the fire ball suddenly picks up speed and hangs directly in front of them. Through the thick flames, talons are visible, and the fire ball is revealed to actually be the Legendary Pokémon .
Al overlooks the confrontation back from the cliff edge, and laughs, promising to make Blaine regret becoming a traitor. He elaborates that the Moltres they captured at the Indigo Plateau is relentless, refusing to stop its attacks until its enemy is dispatched. Back in the fight, Blaine tries to command a , which Moltres gracefully kicks apart into thin wisps. Red tries a with Gyara, which is also effortlessly avoided, Moltres not even opening its eyes. Finally retaliating, Moltres sends out volleys of fire, striking the earth and knocking them both to the ground. Red sits in awe of Moltres's power, and Blaine asks if he has any Pokémon available, saying it's hard to fight a flying Pokémon without equal footing against it. 
Another powerful attack from Moltres sends Red's Old Amber flying loose, Blaine immediately picking up on its value as a Fossil. He tells Red that there's no hope if the battle goes on much longer with how strong Moltres is, so, as he lifts Red back up on Rapidash, he's going to have Rapidash take him to his secret laboratory, pleading for Red's trust. Red shows his frustration when Blaine says he needs to borrow Gyara, but again pleads with Red to trust him, knowing that they can win if he does. Red is left confused, with no idea what Blaine is talking about or what he even needs to do at his destination, but he receives no answer as Rapidash continues galloping further into the foliage.
At Blaine's laboratory in Cinnabar's volcano, Red is frustrated and confused, again asking more of the same questions about what he should be doing. As Red concludes that Blaine, as a former member of Team Rocket, must be trying to trap him, Rapidash bucks Red, sending him crashing into a nearby bookcase. Red admits his mistake as Rapidash brings him a book and prompts him to read it. The book, titled "Pokémon Fossil Revivification", teaches Red about the process of bringing extinct fossils back to life, and how to use the machine that can do it. Placing the Old Amber in Blaine's machine and pulling its lever, the Old Amber begins to glow.
Blaine's fight against Moltres rages on, hoping that Red is able to revive the fossil in time. Back in the lab, the Old Amber crumbles away, replaced by a small fetus, which rapidly develops into a fully grown Pokémon. Red is now confident that nothing will be able to defeat them, as the Pokémon picks up Red by his shoulders, blasting a hole in the wall of the lab, and leaving to the outside through the mouth of the volcano.
Blaine and Gyara are on their last legs, admitting defeat as he concludes Red won't make it in time. He thinks back to , the Pokémon he created, pleading with himself to stay strong, knowing the world is doomed if the escaped Mewtwo isn't stopped. Collapsing over onto Gyara's back, Moltres prepares its final attack, when suddenly Red and his revived Pokémon come between them, startling Moltres long enough for them to pick up Blaine on the Pokémon's back, which he reveals is called . Wasting no time, Red orders Aerodactyl to attack, crippling Moltres's right wing. Team Rocket quickly recalls back Moltres and makes a hasty retreat, Red telling them off as cowards. 
Following Blaine for a while, Red asks him about his condition, and Blaine says that he'll be okay, thanks to Red and his help, but he must leave to continue his mission of stopping the threat he created, unconcerned if that makes him a traitor. He tells Red that beyond the waters here is Pallet Town, and walks off into the scorched woods as Red and Aerodactyl look on. 
At Silph Co., in Saffron City, Sabrina silently receives the Grunts' report of failure in Cinnabar; Koga alongside mocks her for the loss in spite of having Moltres. At the same time, receives a report from Lt. Surge that was successfully captured in the Power Plant. With the Mewtwo project ruined, Giovanni declares the three legendary birds as their new trump cards.
==Major events==
* Team Rocket is revealed to have captured and , which have been given to Sabrina and Koga respectively.
* Team Rocket captures , which is given to Lt. Surge.
* gets his Old Amber revived into an Aerodactyl.
===Debuts===
* Al
====Pokémon debuts====
* 
* 
* 
* 
* ()
* 
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* 
* Lt. Surge
* Koga
* Sabrina
* Blaine
* Al
* s
===Pokémon===
* (Poli; 's)
* (Gyara; 's)
* (Aero; 's; new)
* (Blaine's)
* (Blaine's)
* (Al's)
* ()
* (; new)
* ()
* ('s)
* (; incomplete)
==Trivia==
* The English title for this chapter comes from the saying "Holy moly", a phrase used to express surprise or disbelief.
===Errors===
* In the VIZ Media and Chuang Yi versions, the Pokémon Mansion is called the Pokémon House.
* In the VIZ Media and Chuang Yi version, the Old Amber is called the Ancient Amber.
==In other languages==
de:VS. Lavados
es:PMS026
fr:Chapitre 26 (Pocket Monsters Special)
it:LGA026
ja:ポケットモンスターSPECIAL 第26話
zh:宝可梦特别篇 第26话