Chapter 42: Clash of Ice and Fire
Cameran Palace, Kanto Region.
A sword of rust cried out jovially. The letters on its blade pulsed with excitement, causing the Queen and the man clad in blue to look upon it with astonishment.
"Again…" Queen Ilene muttered in awe as the letters shone with dim but hypnotizing radiance.
"Sir Riley, what is happening to the sword?"
The man wore an expression of disbelief as his eyes flared steel blue.
"The sword… It should be impossible…"
"But the sword…"
Riley turned towards the screen and watched as Ash summoned Charizard into the fray.
"The sword is… rejoicing."
Postwick Town, Galar Region.
"Hey, Leon. Come to think of it, that Mind's Eye only works for the Trainers, right?" Hop asked.
"Then how did Snorlax manage to follow through? Shouldn't there be a delay between the command and action?"
The Galar Champion's brother had stars for eyes as he waited for his older brother to explain.
"Well..." the man hummed before beginning.
"If what I remembered from Sonia was right, the delay caused by the time taken for the impulse to travel across the synapses of adjacent neurons in Pokémon is even shorter than that of humans," the man parroted his best friend's explanation.
"Think of it with animals. Their reflexes are already faster than humans so who's to say a Pokémon's reflex isn't superior to even that of the fastest animals?"
"Wow…" Hop nodded, still unclear about the explanation but he got the gist of it.
"You can remember all that, but you're still pants with directions," the younger sibling giggled.
His brother's arrow-like jab at his woes for directions pierced the Champion's heart.
"But that's Sonia sis' explanation, right? What about yours, Leon?" Hop asked again.
Recovering from his brother's jabs, Leon turned to the boy and smiled.
"Trust. The two trust each other so much that it's like they can read each other's minds. Kinda like me and Charizard," Leon answered sincerely.
"Trust, huh? That's awesome!"
Pokémon Academy, Kalos Region
Snorlax's amazing performance elicited a huge round of applause from both students and teachers alike. They may not had expected the round giant to take out one of the Elite Four's Pokémon, but they were nonetheless flabbergasted when that same Pokémon took on two Elite Four-tiered Pokémon singlehandedly and exiting the match with a literal bang.
"…I'm definitely catching a Snorlax once I'm starting my journey," Calem off handily commented.
"I can't believe that it managed to corner an Elite Four to this extent," Trevor said. The petite boy was now seeing the round giant in a different light.
"I wanna hug him!" Shauna squealed upon imagining Snorlax's fluffy fur.
Grace and Sycamore shared a look of concern as they gazed upon Ash's back. The red vest now sported a few lacerations and trembling cold ice between them. It did not help that the adults could not tell whether he was bleeding or not.
"Mom… Red's hurt… What do I do…?" Serena began hyperventilating, her mind spinning from the myriad of macabre thoughts plaguing it.
'Nonono, please be okay...'
Seeing her baby girl trembling uncontrollably, Grace wrapped her into a hug, trying to calm her down.
Just then, the HoloProjector's screen turned brighter as familiar orange wings spread with all their splendour.
{ LET'S HEAT THE PLACE UP, SHALL WE? }
Charizard had entered the battle.
But what happened next had everyone's jaws agape.
"Can we get a timeout? Charizard, the usual but behind please," Ash requested.
The orange dragon nodded and shot a stream of flames onto Ash's back. Much to the audience's disbelief, the flames were lukewarm to the boy who had to deal with Charizard's excitement multiple times in the past. The flames melted the throbbing cold pain and cauterized the wounds while leaving the red vest unharmed.
'Man, it's a good thing my clothes are red, or Yellow might start bawling her eyes out if she sees the blood,' he chuckled to himself, completely oblivious to said honey blonde's current distress.
"You've gotten better at controlling your fire, Charizard. I don't have to go naked this time around," Ash quipped, prompting a nuzzle from the Flame Pokémon.
The raven-haired boy now turned towards a worried Lorelei who watched the flames behind the boy fade after doing their job.
"It's alright, Miss Lorelei! I know you didn't mean it!" he assured the woman.
"Plus, it'll be a shame to end such a fun battle this earlier, right?"
The vermilion-haired woman gave a light laugh and shook her head.
"You're correct. I'm having a great time now," she smiled.
"It's been so long since I've been driven to a corner like this."
The Witch of Frost returned into full force and showed a dangerous glint in her eyes.
"Show me more, Ash Ketchum!"
{ RED'S NEXT POKÉMON IS CHARIZARD! }
{ LOOKS LIKE ITS FINALLY A BATTLE OF TYPE EFFECTIVENESS! }
The orange dragon roared as if thunder incarnate at his opponent. The black mollusc still panting from the damage it sustained from Snorlax.
"[Fire Spin]!" Ash started with a howl.
Charizard's tail flame grew larger and the starter flung it towards Cloyster. The orb of orange ignited around the mollusc and expanded into a vortex of fire.
"[Surf]!" Lorelei commanded.
In response, Cloyster summoned a large wave of water and extinguished the vortex before the flames could touch it. The two moves clashed, and the battlefield was invaded by clouds of smoke.
'This is?!' Lorelei widened her eyes at the wall of smoke.
"[Smokescreen (Fake)]! Plus…" Ash cried out.
The confused Cloyster heard a jet-like sound zooming to its direction. The next thing it knew, a pair of claws grabbed onto the front spikes of its shell. The wing beats of its opponent blew off [Smokescreen (Fake)] as if to show who it was about to be defeated by.
"Point blank [Flamethrower]!"
With that, Charizard spewed a torrent of flames onto the exposed mollusc. The flames ran rampant inside the shell and only the sizzling smoke in its wake signalled the end.
{ CLOYSTER IS UNABLE TO BATTLE! CHARIZARD WINS! }
Charizard fell back towards his Trainer while grunting in pain. The Flame Pokémon's claws had bleeding cuts sealed shut with jagged ice.
A fainted but smirking Cloyster had frozen the spikes where Charizard had gripped. The icy polearms had returned, and their blades were covered in Charizard's blood.
A war scythe on the left. And a pike on the right.
"Damnit, can't you let me win a battle perfectly?" Ash irked with a wry smile, not letting his guard down after a single victory.
"As if I'll do that. Win or lose, I like inflicting pain no matter the result," Lorelei shot back.
"That's my battle style. The Witch of Frost."
{ THE COMPETITORS ARE NOW 1 FOR 1! }
{ CAN RED KEEP THIS UP? OR WILL LORELEI PREVAIL? }
"Cloyster, out. Dewgong, in."
Lorelei simultaneously recalled her fallen Pokémon while summoning her next choice.
{ DEWGONG HAS RETURNED! }
{ ALTHOUGH INJURED BY SNORLAX FROM THE PREVIOUS BATTLE, IT LOOKS RARING TO GO! }
"[Ice Shard]," the woman ordered.
The pinniped crystallized the air around it into three bullets of ice and shot it towards Charizard at top speed.
Then, in an instant, the orange dragon closed his fists and struck the three bullets in quick succession.
Pow! Pow! Pow!
The shattering of [Ice Shards] gave Charizard a rush of dopamine and he roared victorious as he successfully deflected the Elite Four's attack.
Lorelei was wondering how Charizard had managed to accomplish that. Although resembling a dragon, Charizard was a Fire/Flying type which meant that Ice type moves dealt neutral damage against it due to his second typing. But one look at his fists gave the woman her answer.
On his left was crackling yellow lightning surrounding his claws.
On his right was blazing hot fire that manifested on his fist resembling a punching glove.
The orange dragon gave the Elite Four a smirk and raised his fists into a fighting stancewith his guard up. The blazing fist beckoned her to come closer.
"What a surprise. A combination of [Fire Punch] and [Thunder Punch]," Lorelei surmised.
The raven-haired boy was taking full advantage of the ban lift on the move limits and taught the TM moves to his second starter without hesitation.
"You got that right! I taught them to Charizard last night just in case," Ash nodded at her speculation.
"Hahaha! Never in my battling career would I ever witness a Charizard battling as a brawler," the vermilion-haired woman let out a hearty laugh.
"I'll play your game, Ash. Dewgong, use every last [Ice Shard] you've got!"
An enormous storm of ice bullets manifested around the pinniped. The sharp edges pointed towards the eager orange dragon.
"Let's go, Charizard!" Ash called out with a maniacal grin, prompting an elated Flame Pokémon to punch his fists together to hype himself up.
Blazing fire and flashing lightning awaited frigid ice. And the shards zipped towards a roaring Charizard.
"[Close Combat (Fake)]!"
No one dared to utter a single word for fear of disrupting the spectacular before them.
Lightning met ice. Fire welcomed ice. And ice greeted both.
Charizard's punches decimated the frozen projectiles coming his way. Each contact was a booming echo that travelled around the stadium. The competitor's room was filled with muted silence. Only the smallest of glass rattling was the only indication that the world had noise.
"Impossible…" a whisper broke the silence.
The rest of the contestants turned to a stunned Bruno. The burly man watched as Charizard shredded the large bullets of ice with his explosive punches, his blood rushing in excitement.
"What do you mean, Bruno dear?" Agatha asked.
"That Charizard… it's using four moves simultaneously," the man revealed, dropping a bombshell among the competitors.
"WHAT?!" everyone yelled out.
"But, Master Bruno," Bea addressed. The Karate Prodigy had come to respect the Elite Four after her defeat at his hands and so, decided to call him Master.
"Isn't Red only using [Thunder Punch] and [Fire Punch]?"
"Look closer, Bea. Specifically, the tail and arms," Bruno replied.
What the gray-haired girl observed had her in shock.
Charizard's tail was shining a deep purple periodically while rooted deeply into a small hole behind so that the recoil does not stagger the orange dragon backwards.
"[Dragon Tail]…" the Dragon type specialist realized first.
Then, everyone looked closer at Charizard's arms. Before each punch towards the icy bullets, a small orb of flames exploded on his elbows which rocketed the fist with immense force and shattered the large [Ice Shard] with ease.
"That's [Flame Burst]… My word, is dear Ash out of his mind?" Agatha smiled nervously.
"Three moves would be pushing it already, but four? How is that Charizard using all of them simultaneously?!" Lisia exclaimed, flabbergasted at the sight of Charizard throwing hands towards the speeding shards.
"That's because it's not," Bruno interjected, causing everyone to turn to the Fighting type specialist.
"The only active moves it's using is only [Fire Punch] and [Thunder Punch]. When it's time to hit an [Ice Shard], it activated [Flame Burst] for only a moment. If it felt like it was getting overwhelmed, it used [Dragon Tail] instead of [Flame Burst] to root itself."
"So, technically he's using three moves instead of four," Lance understood.
But the boy's not giving any commands to Charizard. So how is it…"
Misty looked in disbelief as the redhead noticed Ash darting his blood red eyes on every incoming [Ice Shard].
While the Elite Four pondered on the mystery behind Charizard's onslaught of attacks, Karen and Blue watched the boy closely. Or more specifically, his eyes.
'It's those eyes again…' the younger girl thought, recalling the many instances she saw the blood red eyes glowing.
The battle for the eighth badge against Oak. His first match against Misty. And the confrontation between the Pallet Town trio.
The chestnut-haired girl shelved the thought behind her mind, thinking her mind was playing tricks on her. But what she was witnessing now pointed to the opposite.
Blue was not seeing things. In fact, she had never been more lucid than ever due to the amazing battle below them.
"Red… what's happening to you?" she muttered with a tinge of worry.
"What in the world…"
Gary raised a brow, wondering if his eyes were working properly. He too had come to the same conclusion as the Elite Four's conjectures.
What he could not comprehend was how his rival and his Pokémon were pulling such a feat off.
'This is impossible… How is Red—'
His thoughts reluctantly trailed back to his previous match against Karen.
"If you keep shutting out your Pokémon's voices like this…"
"One day, you won't be able to hear them at all anymore."
'Shut up! Shut up! Just shut up!'
The orange-haired boy vehemently denied the Dark type specialist's words, but he knew them to be true. He was forced to begrudgingly accept that Ash was listening to his Pokémon, growing alongside them, and battling as one.
And it was a power he would never have.
With a growl, he glared at the small figure at the battlefield. His cold green eyes threatened to bore holes in his rival's body.
"Red…!"
Pokémon Academy, Kalos Region.
The hall was silent save for the bursting and shattering of each shattered [Ice Shard] that Charizard destroyed.
The dance of fire, lightning and ice captivated the students. The teachers had their mouths opened agape, big enough for flies to nest inside them.
'This is incredible…' Sycamore watched with saucers for eyes.
Grace was still hugging the honey blonde tenderly; but now, she had a helper to calm the girl. Froakie plucked some Frubbles from his mane and made makeshift gloves, rubbing his hands with hers to cheer her up.
The small gesture made Serena smile gratefully towards the blue frog. And so, pulled herself together to stay strong for the boy she admired.
"Go get her, Red…" she whispered as she gripped her blue handkerchief tighter.
The honey blonde was still worried about Ash's wounds, but it soon dissipated when she saw the raven-haired boy's expression through the HoloProjector.
He was relishing the battle with a gleeful grin with Charizard mirroring his Trainer's expression. The two were in sync as Charizard pounded [Ice Shard] after [Ice Shard], their shattering pleasing to the ears.
Meanwhile, Froakie felt something within him.
Something inside him was resonating with the boy with red eyes. It was inexplicable what he was feeling…
But he did not hate it. Rather, he was almost welcoming it.
The honey blonde and blue frog continued watching Ash's performance with their shared interest in the raven-haired boy.
'There's no end to them…' Ash internally marvelled while still wearing a grin on his face.
'How many is this now? 20? 30? I've lost count.'
'I can feel that weird thing again.'
'Normally, there's a delay between my Mind's Eye and my Pokémon's actions. But for an instant, I felt a 'link' between me and Snorlax. He reacted just as I did before I could even call out the move.'
'Now… Charizard is relying on me to time his moves. [Dragon Tail] for rooting and [Flame Burst] for punches.'
'It's like we're battling as one.'
'…I like it.'
The blood red eyes glowed brighter.
With Ash's internal commands transferred to the orange dragon, the latter was able to circumvent the communication problems and execute his directions with virtually no time lag.
Charizard was feeling overwhelmed, but he continued pushing forward against the storm of [Ice Shards]. Some managed to hit him but it was negligible as those did not hit any vital spots.
The connection between him and Ash was stronger than it was during the battle against Reiji, and it made the orange dragon extremely jubilant. The thought of battling alongside his Trainer was something he liked, although he irked at his borderline suicidal tendencies such as the time when the boy would do something stupid such as throwing his body against Rocket grunts if it meant little Cubone would not get a single small scratch.
But Charizard internally shrugged because that was how Ash's character was. He knew what he was signing up for, even if he did not like it. But the boy he travelled together with was no coward and his quest to dismantle Team Rocket for little Cubone was something that the orange dragon could respect.
And so, he would vow to become stronger. Stronger than the present him.
Even stronger than the Elite Four before him.
And one day, he'd stand alongside his team as the very best.
Like no one ever was.
The volley of [Ice Shard] ceased with a final shatter.
Dewgong was visibly tired from conjuring so many [Ice Shard]. 30 was its limit but it had gone up to 48 once it realized its opponent was not going down at all.
Now exhausted, the pinniped looked to the cloud of sizzling smoke on the other side of the battlefield.
With a powerful beat of blue-green wings, the smoke gave way to the appearance of a tired but grinning Charizard. His body riddled with cuts from the attacks he could not block but none were lethal.
Seeing the surprised faces of the Elite Four and her Pokémon caused the orange dragon to roar proudly after overcoming the barrage of [Ice Shards].
"RRRRROOOOOAAAAARRRRR!"
'Yep. Me too, buddy,' Ash nodded with approval while sweating bullets from exhaustion.
"Pikapi! Pikachu!" the electric mouse squeaked with concern for his partner and fellow starter.
Hearing his panicked tone, the two gave Pikachu a thumbs up and smiled tenderly, assuring the yellow mouse that they were fine.
Pikachu frowned at them, not convinced at their answer. The mouse knew Ash was incapable of lying from day 1 and he knew Charizard well enough to see through his faux smile that he was exhausted and in pain.
"Pikachu…" he squeaked sadly without anyone's attention.
Then, the Elite Four spoke, finally ending the silence.
"How did you do that, Ash?" she asked, amazed at Charizard's powerful parry against her Dewgong's attacks.
'I'm as confused as you, woman,' Ash sweat dropped.
"Haha… A magician never reveals his secret, or something like that?" Ash answered with a strained smile while his eyes swam away from Lorelei's scrutinizing gaze.
…
…
…
'This boy's the worst liar I've ever seen! He doesn't know either!' the audience collectively thought in unison.
"…Then I won't pry any further," Lorelei gave a pitiful smile.
'She bought that?!' the boy exclaimed mentally.
'Hmph! And those two say I suck at lying.'
"In any case, you and your Pokémon surprised me. Not even veterans could pull off what you just did," the vermilion-haired woman stated.
"Hell, me and Charizard are just as surpri— ah," Ash replied before realizing he got caught in his lie, making Lorelei and Charizard chortle at his inability to lie.
"Please stop…" Ash groaned while scratching his head in embarrassment.
"And what's more, those Fake moves you have at your disposal. How did you come up with that?" the Elite Four continued, curious at the seemingly on-the-fly [Close Combat (Fake)].
It was a simple question, but the whole world watching the battle was equally curious of how the raven-haired boy came to develop those imitations. Furthermore, the look on Ash's face cemented the fact that he had an answer to her question.
"…Well, to be honest, Green used to call me weird in a battling sorta way," he began sheepishly.
"I used to spar with him back when we were kids. It was normal enough…"
"Until I noticed something."
Ash's brows furrowed as he recalled his thoughts back then.
"Why do moves like [Bite] or [Crunch] exist when any Pokémon with a mouth could do the same thing?"
"I asked Professor Oak that same thing, thinking it should be an easy question… But no. He didn't know how to answer it."
"All he could give me was 'it's just how it's always been'."
"That's when I realized. If the Professor didn't know, then I'm the weird one for thinking differently."
Ash had looked up to his surrogate grandfather similarly to Gary. So much so that if there is a thing the old man did not know, the boy would have dismissed it as impossible to understand.
But Pokémon moves did not make sense to him. The criteria for being an official move was alien to him.
"A simple and mundane action like [Growl] for example, Snorlax can't learn that move according to his species' moveset. But after training his vocal cords for a while, Snorlax could imitate the aggression, therefore, [Growl (Fake)]."
Lorelei looked as if she had been slapped in the face upon hearing his answer. Although she had been a Trainer for such a long time and a Elite Four at that, she never thought about it. Nobody in the world ever questioned it because…
'It's just how it's always been…' she widened her eyes as she came to the exact conclusion as Oak.
"Pikachu's [Thunderbolt] on the ground creates [Smokescreen (Fake)] while using [Iron Tail] as a blade creates [Slash (Fake)] or more recently, [Swords Dance (Fake)] if used as if he was continuously slashing."
"So… why am I utilizing the Fake moves so much, you might be wondering."
"It's cuz I'm still weak. In a straight-forward battle, forget you, I would've been destroyed the moment I entered the Prelims if I'd fought 'normally'. That Sandslash and Nidoking were scary."
Ash then patted his Charizard's head and smiled.
"Ever since I've entered the Grand League, I've had the opportunity to face so many strong opponents like you and Misty as well as the guys back at the Prelims!" Ash grinned, rubbing his nose in the process.
"Even the tough Gym Leaders I've faced this past year!"
"Even now, we're still growing stronger. Pikachu's [Swords Dance (Fake)], Lapras' [Volt Tackle (Fake)], and now, Charizard's [Close Combat (Fake)]. I would've never created those moves if I didn't battle so many strong people here!"
With that, the raven-haired boy bowed to the Elite Four and gave a thumbs up to the contestants' room above.
"So thanks a bunch!" he beamed at them with his signature toothy grin.
The 11-year-old boy finally got out what he wanted to say for so long to the opponents he had faced. With that, Ash hardened his resolve and awaited the battle to start again. Charizard grunted with a grin, ready to resume battling.
Lorelei paused to appreciate the boy's heartfelt words. It was incredibly genuine; not like he could lie to save his life. But that was what made it even more special. It was not lip service but real gratefulness towards her.
Her previous battles from the past as the Witch of Frost resurfaced.
A confident Trainer reduced to tears out while cradling her fainted and bruised Pokémon. A veteran Trainer glaring at her and leaving the match with an exasperated expression. And the hardest hitting one for the woman, a rookie Trainer who lost the will to battle after facing her and quitted being a Trainer shortly after.
Sorrowful sadness. Seething anger. Painful depression.
She embraced that persona due to the amount of hurt she had inflicted upon her opponents. But here and now, a young boy not even 15 years of age was thanking her with a smile, and it touched her.
It reminded her of the time she was a beginner Trainer like him. She wondered if someone like Ash had battled her sooner, how nice it would be. That thought pulled the ends of her mouth upwards.
'What a scary kid…' she mused with a faint blush adorned on her cheeks.
"You're a few years too early to be hitting on an old woman like me," the 25-year-old woman giggled to herself.
Misty was covering her reddened face upon hearing the words of gratitude towards her and seeing the smile on the boy's face.
"Wha-wha-what is that idiot thanking for…" the redhead mumbled into her palms, touched by Ash's words.
The rest of the Elite Four, on the other hand, were still digesting Ash's creation of the Fake moves.
"That's true… What is the difference between the real move and the fake?" Lance asked himself, making sense of what the boy said.
"The key difference is most likely its strength," Bruno theorized.
"Ignoring [Dragon Tail], it took three moves to create an inferior version of [Close Combat]. So, while versatile, those Fake moves are weaker than the originals."
"Despite that, dear Ash takes advantage of that versatility so well that strength isn't even a problem anymore. What a bright child," Agatha praised the boy akin to how a grandmother would.
"A weakling taking advantage of his weakness, huh? Ironically, that's what makes him so strong," Lance grinned.
Meanwhile, Blue was having the time of her life.
"Oh my, oh my! I didn't expect little Red to be such a player~" Blue smirked, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye.
"He's all grown up. Big sister Blue approves!"
"Hahaha…ah," the chestnut-haired girl cut her laugh short as she remembered a certain someone was watching as well.
"Oh boy, he's in real trouble now."
Pokémon Academy, Kalos Region.
"Red's got a way with words, doesn't he?" Shauna nudged Calem with a mischievous smile.
"Hey! I do say nice things about you," the black-haired boy defended himself against his girlfriend.
The tanned girl snickered and turned to her next target of teasing…
Only to find her friend was gone.
"Eh…? Serena?"
No one had noticed Grace and her daughter's departure. Professor Sycamore was also not present in the hall.
"Not to worry," a silky voice assured.
The group of friends turned to see a smiling Sophie.
"The professor is with Miss Yvonne* and her mother right now," the assistant explained.
(Serena prefers Yvonne as her surname even though her actual surname is Yvonne-Gabena.)
"What is Serena doing?" Trevor asked quizzically.
But the assistant merely gave a knowing smile, placing her finger on said smile.
"Secret."
"I should be the one thanking you, Ash," Lorelei called out to the boy.
"Eh?"
"It's been a long time since I've had the opportunity to let loose this much!" the witch smiled dangerously.
The raven-haired boy got back into position.
'Let's go!' Ash's red eyes pulsed once more.
"To the skies, Charizard! Full force punches!" Ash called out.
"I won't let you. [Aqua Rings] and cover the insides with [Water Pulse]," Lorelei retaliated.
Instead of the normal circle of healing, Dewgong created seven whole rings filled with water. The healing was still in effect.
"Freeze them with [Ice Beam]."
With that, the frozen [Aqua Rings] had turned into seven behemoth-like shields of cold ice. The plates were held in place in the air by Dewgong's constant supply of [Ice Beam].
'More shields?! And the rate she created them… Miss Lorelei's amazing!' Ash's grin got wider.
'It's not enough. Even with both [Fire Punch] and [Thunder Punch], Charizard doesn't have enough power to break through.'
"If that's the case…!" the raven-haired boy declared resolutely.
"Are you planning to penetrate my shields, boy?" Lorelei chuckled.
"Go ahead and try! No one has ever broken through in one go, not even the other Elite Fours!"
This was true. During their sparring matches, almost all her colleagues opted to go around it instead. Bruno was the exception, but even his Machamp could only break four with a single punch. The burly man never attempted multiple punches due to his 'warrior's pride' and swore to pierce through her defenses with one strike.
"Charizard! [Flare Blitz (Fake)], full power!" Ash shouted to his airborne Pokémon.
The orange dragon heard his Trainer's command and began descending while spinning. [Flamethrower] from his snout spewed and spiraled around his body due to the rotational force.
"Haha… seriously? This was how much she was holding back against me?" Flint chuckled nervously at the absolute defense Lorelei had conjured.
"Is he insane?! There's no way he could break through all those shields!" Skyla cried out in astonishment.
"The concentration needed to multitask three moves continuously must be taxing. Is he trying to go for a double knockout?!" Bea exclaimed.
"No," Blue shook her head.
The contestants looked towards the chestnut-haired girl who seemed engrossed at her childhood friend's figure.
"Those eyes of his. He's about to perform a miracle again…" she elaborated while staring at now shining red eyes.
From the skies, an enormous vortex of flames with crackling lightning made its way. The audience watched with bated breath at the amazing display of strength Charizard was showing off.
The atmosphere dried up.
The onlookers' throats screamed for water.
The scorching flames morphed into a head of a dragon with chaotic lightning as its teeth.
And the fiery heavens roared.
Never in her wildest dreams did Lorelei ever thought she would ever feel this pressured as much as this moment.
The dragon of destruction was approaching her impenetrable shields. The ice was constantly evaporating from the incoming heat and would have melted away completely if not for the steady supply of [Ice Beam] by Dewgong.
Truly a fitting image of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.
{ MY WORD! IS THE BARRIER WORKING PROPERLY?! }
{ SOMEONE GET DOWN TH— }
The audience around the stadium braced themselves at the descend of the burning dragon. The people watching the broadcast could only look in horror and awe. Oak wore a look of concern.
The Elite Four were getting worried and had their PokéBalls out in case they need to intervene. The only reason they were not scrambling to the arena was the look of their colleague's face.
Lorelei was grinning. The vermilion-haired woman was having the time of her life. She had finally met someone who could take her on at full strength. Her using the [Aqua Ring] shields were indication of the Witch of Frost getting serious.
Blood red irises swirled into radiance, giving the owner access to his 'link' with Charizard.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"RRRRRRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR!"
And so began the clash of ice and fire.
A resounding bang echoed tremendously. Within moments, the first shield broke into pieces of melted ice.
Crack!
"Rooooaaaarrrrrr!"
A thunderous roar made its frustrations known and its fury brutally shattered the second.
Crack!
The flames began to diminish as the dragon struggled to break the third. He had no idea he was now one step away from the Fighting type Elite Four's limit of a single punch. But now was not the time to find that out, for Charizard used all his might to push forward.
The three moves combined into a force to be reckoned with. Finally, with arduous difficulty, the third shield gave way to the burning dragon.
Crack!
Charizard was beginning to feel the backlash of continuous use of three moves. All he could see were his cloak of flames and fist of lightning as he pushed himself harder than he had ever before.
Break. Break. Break! Break! BREAK!
There existed only one goal in the Flame Pokémon's mind.
And that was to obliterate the shields before him.
Familiar power surged into Charizard's body. He glanced back at the small figure of his Trainer.
Ash was gritting his teeth in pain as he gave his all to supply Charizard with victory via their bond.
With that, the orange dragon roared once more as he put his Trainer's strength into good use.
Crack!
"RRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-"
Crack!
"-OOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"
Crack!
"-AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!"
'Three in a row?!' Lorelei watched in bewilderment as a bead of sweat rolled down her cheek.
And then there was one.
Blood red streaks caught the Elite Four's attention and demanded her to turn towards them.
"Goooooo! [Flame Burst] plus [Inferno]!" Ash cried out.
The fists of flames and lightning dissipated as the orange dragon exhausted the moves. The flames around Charizard's body reignited brighter and more threatened to burn everything in its path.
The blue-green wings manifested orbs of flames behind Charizard, resembling that of rocket boosters. And with its final strike called, they exploded, giving the orange dragon the last spurt of strength that he needed.
"[Heat Crash (Fake)]!"
A burning spear of raging fire pierced the last defense and reached a bewildered Dewgong.
The residue of [Thunder Punch] and [Fire Punch] combined with the force created by [Flame Burst] and the additional power from [Inferno] was too much for a [Aqua Ring]-healed Dewgong to handle.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A nuclear-like explosion birthed from the earth and left behind a mushroom cloud in its wake.
The audience held their breath as they awaited the conclusion of the match. Meanwhile, the announcer was stunned speechless with Oak beside him on the edge of his seat. The professor could not believe that the Charizard on the field was the same Charmander from a year ago.
Seeing as the cloud of smoke was not going away anytime soon, Sabrina once again used [Psychic] to blow off the annoying obscurity.
Once the dust settled, an unmoving pinniped laid still within a deep crater that was scorched black with heat.
Dewgong had fainted.
And appearing from the other side was an exhausted Charizard panting from his body's strenuous ordeal.
The orange dragon had been blown to Ash's side of the battlefield by the impact he caused. He was brought to a knee but still standing, nonetheless.
{ IT'S CHARIZARD! CHARIZARD WINS! }
{ CHARIZARD HAS TRIUMPHED AGAINST DEWGONG! }
The crowd cheered enthusiastically for the Flame Pokémon's second victory against another Elite-Four level Pokémon. Being the proud Pokémon that he was, Charizard roared to the sky with flames spewing out of his mouth.
"G…good job… Cha…rizard," a weakened Ash praised.
The orange dragon's celebration was cut short as he immediately hobbled to the boy with haste.
'Again… How many times does this make it?' the boy pondered.
'Haha… Well, whatever this thing is, it gave my energy to Charizard... I think.'
"Pikapi!" his partner broke his train of thought.
"Oh, Pikachu. Sorry for worrying you," Ash smiled as he patted Pikachu's head gently.
A grunt of panic turned his head towards a haggard Charizard.
"Hey, buddy. I'm fine. You did a wonderful job, man!" the Trainer grinned the best he could while scratching the dragon's neck.
The Flame Pokémon was still hot to the touch, but Ash's adrenaline kicked in to numb the heat.
The raven-haired boy then stood back up and faced his opponent with a grin. Lorelei could only let out a giggle at the boy's goofy expression.
"You did very well, Ash. I really didn't expect you to pierce through all seven shields. Even the Elite Four would have a tough time, y'know?" the woman said.
"What can I say? We're all types of stubborn," Ash snorted.
The vermilion-haired woman took out her final Pokémon.
"I hope you have not forgotten that the battle isn't over yet."
Summoned from the Ball was a Pokémon Ash was familiar with.
A plesiosaur with a shell on its back. The final boss.
"Lapras…" Ash gulped.
'Miss Lorelei's ace!'
Charizard got up again to face his next opponent. But just before the orange dragon could move, raindrops fell from the clouds and before long, rain began pouring onto the stadium.
{ THIS IS [RAIN DANCE]?! }
The now drenched Lorelei raised her arm upwards and pointed to the orange dragon.
At that moment, the raven-haired boy felt a chill down his spine.
"You've overstayed your welcome, great Flame Pokémon."
"Wait, crap! Get away from there, Chari—"
A tower of golden lightning bathed itself onto the tired orange dragon, damaging him with super effectiveness.
"[Thunder]."
But instead of falling to the ground, Charizard fainted standing up. Unbending and stalwart even in his defeat. Stubborn till the end.
{ CHARIZARD HAS FAINTED STANDING UP! LAPRAS WINS! }
Ash could only watch the fainted figure of his starter in shock, not expecting him to get taken out that quickly. Granted the orange dragon had been weakened thoroughly, but still shocked all the same.
{ FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE GRAND LEAGUE, WE HAVE A CLOSE MATCH WITH AN ELITE FOUR! }
{ TRAINER RED, PLEASE SEND OUT YOUR NEXT POKÉMON! }
The rainclouds rumbled and Lapras began charging up the next [Thunder].
Recalling and thanking Charizard, Ash held his last Pokémon.
"I acknowledge you, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town," her words caught the raven-haired boy's attention.
"Your latent potential as a Trainer. Your Pokémon's raw power. And most importantly, that unnatural brand of Fakes you specialize in."
"You've given me a true challenge for the first time in the Grand League. You who won't wallow in despair nor fall into anger unlike my previous challengers."
"Even now, you still won't succumb to defeat. Those fire in your eyes won't allow it… And I could not be any happier."
"That's why…"
The Witch of Frost made her declaration.
"Send out your final Pokémon, Ash. I'll end this with the strongest [Thunder] Lapras can dish out. Take it as my greatest respect to you."
Ash was surprised at Lorelei's words. He was flattered and stunned by them. An Elite Four had acknowledge him so greatly that she considered the boy so much of a threat that she would use such a strong and unmissable attack in the rain on someone like him.
"Wow… I'm honoured that you'll use something that powerful against me," Ash said softly, his expression unreadable from the drenched raven black hair.
Then, he tossed his last Ball and a flash of light materialized onto the battlefield.
Without wasting time, Lorelei gave a swift command.
"[Thunder]!" she called out, wanting to end this battle as quickly as possible.
The tower of gold descended once more onto the still materializing Pokémon.
BOOM!
A dust explosion burst as [Thunder] did its task dutifully. The rain was getting heavier and complimented the dispersing dust, creating a sombre atmosphere.
{ IT… IT'S DONE! WITH AN IMPRESSIVE DISPLAY OF [THUNDER], LORELEI… }
Lorelei did not bother to listen to the end and closed her eyes in finality.
'As much as I wanted this battle to go on forever… I don't want the boy to try his hardest only to lose in the end,' she tried to rationalize her actions.
'If I see him with despair written on his face… I probably wouldn't handle it. I don't want anyone to feel that anymore.'
Her memories of the rookie Trainer who quit shortly after resurfaced.
'This is for the best. With a quick and impactful defeat, this should be satisfying en—'
"But…"
The Elite Four snapped her head towards her opponent with one swift movement. Her red eyes widened in disbelief.
{ WAIT A SECOND! }
From the sizzling smoke created by [Thunder], two spinning objects dispelled the smoke and revealed the source of Electric immunity.
A skull-wearing warrior brandished his two bone weapons, pointing his mother's at Lapras.
{ I DON'T BELIEVE IT! RED HAS SENT OUT MAROWAK AS HIS LAST POKÉMON! }
Gleaming blood red shined brightly in the pouring rain.
Not done yet.
The flames within them were not dead yet.
Begin the counterattack.
The dual-wielding skull warrior awaited his Trainer's commands.
Chapter 42: Clash of Ice and Fire
"I don't give up until it's over!"