Ash found himself staring up at the notification sign, waiting for it to show he was allowed to enter the arena of the Cinnabar Gym. To his surprise, the Gym had been relocated to a nearby island, necessitating a boat ride to arrive. It was fortunate that the owner of their hotel happened to have some business here and thus opted to give them a free shuttle to it. Unlike the other Gyms, which had been buildings, this one was built within a large cavern that took up most of the island itself.
He was looking forward to obtaining his seventh badge, bringing himself one step closer to entering the Indigo Conference. But at the same time, there was a slight undercurrent of anxiety. It wasn't just a badge that he was fighting for now, but also to validate his point.
Since the promise that he made with Gina several nights ago, the two of them had at least gotten back on speaking terms with one another. The others were relieved at that, to the extent that Ash was starting to think both Misty and Brock had known Gina was in the Hot Springs back then and planned on leaving them alone to finally work things out. After all, despite both having said they intended to jump in that night, neither had by the time the two of them returned to their room.
Their training styles had two opposing principles and they couldn't agree on which was proper. Even if he understood why she approached things the way that she did, he couldn't shake the feeling that eventually it would drive her in a direction she didn't want to ultimately go. He didn't want to see Gina fall down that path since she could very well lose the reason for doing so and simply become desperate to win for the sake of winning. So, to prove his own point he needed to succeed in obtaining his remaining badge without fail and meet her at the Indigo Conference.
However, Gina had been adamant that she wouldn't give him any advice or help with preparing for his remaining Gym matches. In her eyes, it would go against his point of beating the Gyms his way if he had any further help from her. It showed how, even if they were back to being on speaking terms, she was taking their rivalry seriously now.
I have to do the same, Ash resolved. Every other question of what they were to each other aside, he had to do his absolute best in response to her own determination. That meant meeting and surpassing her expectations while keeping to his beliefs.
The sign above flickered brightly and signified that it was time. Ash took a deep breath and pushed all doubts out of his mind. He and his team were ready for the match, so all that was left was to get to it.
He strode forth through the metal doors as they parted to reveal the interior of the arena for the match. It was a battlefield made of blackened dirt, sand, and ash that formed the floor, ringed by a white outline to mark the boundaries on the ground. Artificial lights, vents, and sprinklers lined the walls, metal pipes ringing the worked natural stone. Sunlight came in from above through the opening at the top of the cavern that exposed the blue sky with scant clouds to be found.
And on the opposite side of the field stood the Gym Leader. He was an older man probably around Professor Oak's age, dressed in what looked like professional pants while wearing a red shirt with a white vest over it. He had a white hat with a red band around the crown of it and a crooked cane.
"Welcome to the Cinnabar Gym," he said. "It's been some time since I've had a challenger, much less one with as many badges as yourself. Your spirit must burn quite bright, but my duty as a Gym Leader is to see whether or not it'll be snuffed out in the face of a challenge. So, you'll need to give it your all if you wish to earn my Volcano Badge."
"Don't worry, my team and I plan to," Ash declared. "We've come this far after all."
"Well said," Blaine complimented him. "Then, let us get started."
That was when the speakers crackled to life as the referee for the match began dictating the rules. "The following match between the Challenger, Ash Ketchum, and the Gym Leader, Blaine, will be a three-on-three match. The Challenger may substitute their pokémon between the rounds. The Gym Leader may not. The trainer with the last conscious pokémon will be declared the winner. Now, please send out your pokémon for the first round."
"You're up first, Kingler!" Ash took the initiative pulling free one of the balls on his belt, enlarging it, and tossing it over to the field. The ball burst open, and the Pincer Pokémon materialized, scattering a small plume of dirt and ash as his four legs jabbed into the ground for purchase.
"If that's your choice, then I'll meet it with Ninetales," Blaine said in response, causally tossing his own ball into the air. It opened and, in the air, materialized an elegant figure that was shrouded in golden-white fur whose sheen beneath the artificial and natural light seemed radiant. Slender legs and delicate paws landed on the bed of soft ground with not so much as a ruffle as nine tails spread wide and a pair of red eyes the hue of rubies faced the pair.
"The first round will be between Kingler and Ninetales. You may begin."
"Use Bubblebeam!" Ash ordered, leaving the Pincer Pokémon's legs to wedge themselves deeper into the soft ground to anchor himself. Then he opened his maw and released a stream of white froth and foam. The bubbles woven so tightly that they made for a solid mass surged straight towards the Fox Pokémon.
"Such a slow attack won't be able to hit her," Blaine said calmly as, with an elegant motion, the Ninetales managed to deftly avoid it by hopping to the side while twisting her body. That left the shot to pass her by harmlessly with a gust of wind that flared her golden tails. "Now, use Flamethrower in retaliation."
The attack came out in an instant. The Fox Pokémon simply parted her snout slightly and, with the same exhalation as if she was blowing out a candle, a stream of fire barreled forward. It rolled over the ground towards the crustacean, who used his large pincer as a makeshift shield to protect himself.
He then pulled the claw away as the fire petered out and used Bubblebeam once more. The shot was fired with such force that his entire mass jerked, aimed straight toward the Fire-Type. But the evasive Ninetales avoided the shot again, leaving it to slam into the ground and throw up a plume of soaked sand and drenched dirt that followed in her wake as she launched another Flamethrower that pierced the dirt veil and washed over his exoskeleton before he could raise his claw again.
"She's too fast for a straight shot, so use Bubble instead and spread it wide," Ash commanded after another exchange of fire and water that was solely to the advantage of their opponent.
Kingler snipped both of his pincers in acknowledgment before rearing back and then belching out a wave of white bubbles that cascaded out. The mass fanned wide rather than remaining tightly woven as they rolled over each other, swallowing the space between them. There was no way for the Fox Pokémon to escape without the suds catching her and hindering her movement…
So, she made an escape route instead by plowing her golden forepaws that took on an earthen hue into the ground. The motion caused the loose dirt and sand that had yet to be soaked to plume into a dusty veil that obscured her from their vision. Even when the watery bubbles soaked through the airborne particles and dragged them to the ground as they blanketed the area, she was nowhere to be found.
She's gone…? Ash's expression stiffened for a moment in the wake of the Ninetales' disappearance. But only a moment as he recalled seeing that same thing once before. In Koga's match, by Gina. "Kingler, use Harden now!"
The Pincer Pokémon's exoskeleton gained a sheen beneath the artificial and natural light as a coating of energy washed over it, right before the ground beneath him erupted. Ninetales had used Dig, no doubt a countermeasure meant to deal with Rock, Poison, Electric, and other Fire-Types. The rupturing ash and dirt came blasting from below with such force that it nearly toppled the crustacean, forcing him to screw his eyes shut as he remained firmly in place.
But Kingler didn't need his eyes to see. The red crown protruding proudly atop his head was a branched antenna that allowed him to pick up sensory information even in the dark or buried in the sand of his native terrain on beaches. So, the moment he detected the Fox Pokémon within the dust, he let loose a point-blank Bubblebeam.
The surging, suds-sewn blast swept up the Fox Pokémon and sent her body rocketing away with such speed that it blew away the dust cloud. She then skidded across the ground, a slurry of sand, ash, and dirt clinging to her golden fur as she finally came to a stop at the other side of the field. She then slowly rose to her feet, her majestic coat now soiled from the slurry clinging to her sopping hair.
"Nice job, Kingler!" Ash said, delighted at the turnaround. He had faith that the crustacean would be able to turn things around. "Now she won't be able to dodge as easily! You've got this!"
"It won't be that easy, I'm afraid," Blaine said, twisting his mustache. Befitting a Gym Leader, he remained composed and calculating. "Ninetales, let your spirit burn incandescently. Sunny Day!"
Despite her majesty being defiled by the slurry, the Fox Pokémon stood tall on all fours and her nine glorious tails flared outwards. Brillant, golden light threaded each of them before she flicked them all upright, releasing into the air above a shining flare. There it lingered, an artificial sun whose incandescence produced such strong and harsh rays that a heat haze began to rise from the ground.
The strong sunlight made it hard to look ahead, leaving Ash to pull the visor of his hat down to protect his eyes. He suspected that was why Blaine wore shades indoors. "Kingler, use Bubblebeam!"
"Overpower it with Flamethrower!" Blaine ordered as Kingler, whose large claw was raised over its head to shield its eyes from the bright light, once more fired the constrained blast of bubbles forth. However, it shrank to half its normal thickness beneath the artificial sun while the blazing fire that came out of Ninetales' mouth was even larger than before. It plowed through the Bubblebeam, evaporating it and even drying out the ground as it continued straight towards the crustacean.
A harsh, painful noise came from Kingler. The tongues of fire lapped over his shell, leaving nothing untouched as he was baked in the flames that burned even hotter beneath the Sunny Day. By the time they died, scorch marks could be made over the surface of his shell while steam rolled off his shuddering body from nearly being cooked alive.
Ash found himself clenching his fist as Kingler barely remained standing. That Sunny Day had weakened Water-type moves and strengthened Fire-type moves. He couldn't take another one of those Flamethrowers, so they had to end it now. "Kingler, Hyper Beam!"
"Your last card, is it?" Blaine tapped his cane against the ground. "Meet it with Solar Beam, Ninetales!"
Kingler extended his shaking larger claw forward. An orange bead of energy swelled in size between the pincers as he leveled the limb toward the Fox Pokémon. At the same time, Ninetales fanned out her tails that once more shone luminously with the luster of the midday sun. The light gathered before her in the form of a lustrous sphere in front of her maw.
The two stood anchored in the ground as they prepared to unleash their strongest attacks, neither intending to dodge. Then stockpiled radiance turned into an unbridled ray of searing energy that lanced forward with blinding brilliance to meet with condensed energy released in a beam of raw kinetic force meant for destruction. Both had fired at the same time.
Light and force met in the center of the battlefield. They clashed with such intensity that the air itself howled as the two beams fought to see which one would prevail. The struggle lasted for no more than two seconds, even though it felt longer.
The Solar Beam won out in the end. The searing ray of condensed sunlight overtook the condensed beam of power, unraveling it on its way back to Kingler. The crustacean was then swept up in a blinding light as the billowing wind drowned out his pained scream.
[-oOo-]
"Poor Kingler," Misty said softly as the light of the Solar Beam died and revealed Kingler's steaming and unconscious body. She and the others were sitting in a viewing room for guests with a large panel of heat-resistant, tinted glass between them and the exterior. On her lap was Pikachu, whom Ash had entrusted to her. "He was doing so well."
"Ash made a mistake," Gina said. "He figured out that Ninetales used Dig to get close, but he trusted Kingler's judgment after using Harden to withstand the blow. But it was his first real battle outside of training and they'd been so focused on learning Bubblebeam that Kingler defaulted to it rather than leveraging his strength, letting their only chance slip away by putting distance between them again."
Kingler's real strength lay within his larger pincer and thus physical attacks, whereas a Ninetales relied on its special attacks. Bubble should have been used first to cover a wider area to slow her down so that he could grab hold of her and then end it. It was the same thing that happened in his practice match with Vulpix, only this time Blaine paired it Sunny Day and Solar Beam to counter his Hyper Beam.
"That's a pretty harsh thing to say," Misty pointed out. "What would you have done in his situation?"
Gina shifted her gaze from beyond the glass to the Water Specialist. "…I would have given Kingler instructions before the match that if any of the Fire Types came that close, he was to use Vice Grip instead of Bubblebeam unless I specified otherwise. Then I would have had him plunge her head down into the hole she made so she couldn't use Flamethrower and proceeded to have him squeeze harder and harder until she was unable to fight back… or fire the Hyper Beam point-blank if I wasn't trying to keep that ace up my sleeve."
"That would be one way to handle it," Brock stated plainly and without judgment despite how dirty the tactic sounded. "But I don't think that Kingler's personality type would go along with such a suggestion so easily."
"Probably not," Gina agreed. "But it's ultimately up to the trainer to leverage what makes their pokémon unique, cover their weaknesses, and target that of their opponent. Ash is at a major disadvantage with Ninetales in a position where it can fire off Solar Beam in quick succession and has stronger Fire-Type attacks thanks to Sunny Day. Now Pidgeotto or Charmeleon have to work even harder to make up where Kingler failed, which is unfair to them."
The Electric Mouse Pokémon let out a low whine at that, ears hung low to express his somberness at the loss of his trainer's first round. "Pi-Pika?"
"I'm sure that Ash and the others will make a comeback," Misty said, brushing the top of his head in a comforting manner to alleviate his sorrow. "Look, he's getting ready to send out his second pokémon now."
Gina was less optimistic. She turned her attention to her Pokédex and looked through the database of information for those specific to Ninetales. Her suspicions proved to be true as she saw Ninetales' Ability and what it entailed.
Then she saw his second choice and pursed her lips thin. You made another mistake, Ash…
[-oOo-]
Charmeleon took to the field on Ash's behalf as his second choice upon recalling Kingler. The Flame Pokémon stood there beneath the artificial sun that seemed to intensify the flame on his tail to the point that the heat coming off it left the air around it to waver in a slight haze. He flexed his claws while staring down at the crimson orbs of the golden Fox Pokémon still basking under the sun.
Ash's reasoning for choosing him over Pidgeotto was largely because, if Sunny Day empowered Fire-Type moves, then Charmeleon would also get the benefits of it while resisting both Flamethrower and Solar Beam. If it was a match between pure firepower, Charmeleon wouldn't lose. All he had to do was watch out for Dig and he could win.
The speakers crackled to life once more as the referee announced the continuation of their battle. "The second round will be between Charmeleon and Ninetales. You may begin!"
"Charmeleon, use Flamethrower!" Ash ordered, taking the initiative again. The Flame Pokémon reared back, his cream-colored chest expanding as he filled his lungs with air while banked flames slipped out of his clenched maw. Then he released them all at once with a mighty roar that sent blazing hot flames surging forward with such heat that Ash felt his skin drying out from proximity as the stream of fire rushed towards the Ninetales.
Yet the Fox Pokémon made no effort to avoid it. She just stood there on all fours, proudly sticking out her chest in anticipation of the rushing fire slamming into her with the force of a moving train. And the moment that they made contact the flames began to soak into her golden fur like water spiraling a drain until every last wisp was gone.
Trainer and Pokémon alike stood there in stunned silence. That had probably been the strongest Fire-Type attack unleashed until now thanks to the power of the Sunny Day. And it had done absolutely nothing.
"Unfortunately for you, Ninetales as a species typically have the capability to absorb intense heat without being harmed…" Blaine pushed up his sunglasses before extending his hand forward. "Moreover, they can add that stockpiled heat to their next Fire-Type attack! Observe!"
The Fox Pokémon took that as a cue to unleash her own Flamethrower. Only what came out couldn't be described as a mere stream of flames. It was more akin to a rolling wave that would bowl over and incinerate everything in its wake as it barreled toward the Flame Pokémon.
Both Ash and Charmeleon knew immediately that he couldn't withstand that sort of firepower. Not even his flame-resistant skin could handle a direct hit when it was fueled by both his own attack and Sunny Day. He had to avoid it, but the attack was spread so wide there was nowhere he could go to escape it as the glare of flames closed in—
BOOOMMMM!
—only for sand and ash to rupture with explosive force as the roaring flames struck where Charmeleon had been. The shockwave of the blast forced Ash to shield his eyes and hold onto his hat as the residual heat gnawed at his exposed skin.
"Cha… Char… meleon…" Ash struggled to call out for his pokémon between acrid coughs. Loose ash and smoke filled the air from attack, with only the crackling of superheated sand and the whirring of the ventilation system kicking into overdrive to clear the obscuring veil audible. When it eventually thinned to the point where he could finally make out the battlefield, the Flame Pokémon was nowhere to be seen.
"He disappeared?" Blaine's grasp on his cane tightened as he inspected the battlefield beneath the artificial sun. Then he stood just a touch more rigid. "Ninetales, bel—"
The warning came too late as a red spear shot from the hole in the ground near the Fox Pokémon. It was the hard and sharpened points of Charmeleon's claws, backed by the powerful muscles within his arms and shrouded with the concentrated power of Slash. They plunged straight into the golden underside of the Ninetales and knocked it off its feet as he emerged from the belowground with rivulets of ash and sand pouring down his body.
Spying the Flame Pokémon sporting slight scorch marks, it was clear he hadn't escaped that last attack unharmed. But it hadn't been enough to take him out. And the reason for that was the tunnel left behind by Ninetales after using Dig, connecting the two sides of the field from where Kingler had been. That had given him an escape route to avoid the worst of it by pure chance.
"Nice going, Charmeleon!" Ash said, reinvigorated. "Stay up close so she can't use Flamethrower again!"
With the distance between them reduced to striking range, the Flame Pokémon flexed his sharpened claws and lashed out once more with Slash. The white streak of the sharpened points severed strands of golden fur from the crest of the Fox Pokémon's head as she narrowly avoided it by ducking down.
Then flames bloomed from her maw. Ninetales attempted to let loose a flaming breath to repel Charmeleon, only for the Flame Pokémon to leap above its head. He then slammed his stout legs on top of its head to drive it into the ground, leaving the searing flames to scorch the ground in front of them before petering out.
"Now, Seismic Toss!" Ash commanded. "Drive her into the ground!"
With a roar, Charmeleon wedged Ninetales' neck into the crook of his arm before he leaped up into the air while twisting his body backward. The pair reverse somersaulted twice before gravity dragged them back down. He used the momentum to piledrive her headfirst into the ground hard enough that the force of the impact kicked up a plume of loose sand and ash that billowed out into a cloud.
The Ninetales didn't move again by the time the fans dispersed the ash cloud and Blaine recalled her into her ball.
"The score stands with both the Challenger and Gym Leader down a pokémon," the referee chimed in through the speakers. "Please send out your next pokémon for the third round."
"Go, Rapidash!" Blaine tossed his second choice out and light spilled forth, taking the shape of a noble steed. Regal flames billowed around a rigid horn, flowing along its cream-colored fur to form a burning mane and tail that softly crackled within the light. Slender but powerful legs reared back, and an equine snort followed as it fixed its crimson gaze upon those standing before it.
"Charmeleon, come back for now!" Ash ordered, sending the Flame Pokémon back into its ball. Rather than having Rapidash run circles around another ground-bound pokémon, he would bring out one who could match it from the skies. "Pidgeotto, you're up!"
He tossed the ball into the air where the Bird Pokémon emerged, wings flapping to keep him aloft. Shaking his head before fixing his gaze down on the equine, the avian let out a clipped caw. "Otto!"
"The third round will be between Pidgeotto and Rapidash," declared the referee overseeing the match. "Begin!"
"Pidgeotto, Razor Wind!" Ash ordered. The Bird Pokémon let out an affirmative as his brown flight feathers grew luminous, capturing the wind beneath his wings as a powerful beat to the steady rhythm sent him spiraling backward into a loop. Then he came to a stall and sent the attack flying forward in the form of several white crescent blades.
Flames ran. Letting out a whinny, the Fire Horse Pokémon galloped with tremendous speed across the battlefield. The black hooves moved with such grace that they seemed to run between the blades of wind that came down like a hurricane, slicing apart the ground and scattering black sand and ash in their wake.
"You'll have to do better than to hit her," Blaine claimed while adjusting his shades. "Now, use Swift and shoot that bird down!"
Rapidash halted her charge, rearing back on her hind legs to turn around. Then the tip of her horn grew luminous before she whipped her body around and slung her powerful neck. The motion sent a flurry of stars sailing straight towards the airborne avian.
Pidgeotto stalled his wings to let gravity take hold, leaving him to plummet down so the barrage would sail overhead. But the moment that he saw them turning in the air to chase him down, he realized they would keep coming and twisted his body to pivot from a fall on the Y-axis to a roll along the Z-axis as he spread his wings wide. The displacement roll allowed him to angle himself while his wings grew luminous once more, firing another salvo of Razor Wind from the side.
Blades of wind met with the woven stars that had been following his descent. They shattered the projectiles, turning them into motes of light that were caught in the wake of the rushing wind. And the sole remaining blade cut through the air and made its way toward the Rapidash on the ground.
Pidgeotto might not have had the raw speed of Fearow thanks to a reduced wing size. But that afforded him a higher level of maneuverability, making angling his body much easier, and so his movements were harder to read. That allowed for a counterattack that could hit both the stars and the one who launched them both in the first place.
The two-pronged assault caught the Flame Horse by surprise. No time to dodge. Not enough to react. The blade of wind met with the cream-colored mare uncontested, and with such force that the flames rolling off her body thrashed wildly under the threat of being snuffed out. However, though she buckled under the blow, she remained steadfast and ready to counterattack.
"Seal away its mobility with Fire Spin!" Blaine commanded, causing Rapidash's mane to flare up. Her flames swelled and writhed as if they had gained a life of their own before she whipped her head around again. And the fire lengthened and branched out, devouring the distance between them like lashing serpents all seeking to bite into the Bird Pokémon.
Pidgeotto beat his wings and took off, evasively attempting to outmaneuver them with sharp turns and weaving around the serpentine flames. But dodging them all wasn't possible, as one caught him from below. The lone flame looped around his body and then expanded as the Rapidash sent a surge from its burning mane to turn it into a blazing twister.
"You can't afford to stay still, Pidgeotto!" Ash called out. "Snuff out those flames with Whirlwind!"
The order was met with the howling of flames as the swirling funnel continued to spin. Then the constrained inferno swelled and scattered, snuffed out by a gale strong enough that it nearly blew Ash off his feet even from the ground. He braced his hat to keep it on the top of his head and half-shielded his eyes until the wind petered out and turned his gaze back upwards.
That was when he spotted the burning missile spearing right toward the Bird Pokémon. The Rapidash had challenged the wall of wind that had blown away its flames with its powerful legs, charging with all its might until it was right beneath the aerial pokémon whose flight had stalled. Then it had taken flight itself…
Or rather it had leaped with all its might to Bounce with such force that it closed in Pidgeotto in the space of a heartbeat.
"Pidgeotto!" Ash's voice came out hurriedly as the impact knocked the wind from beneath the Bird Pokémon's wings, sending him into a tailspin toward the ground while the burning missile slowed its ascension. Even with the ground being softer from the blend of sand and ash, falling from that height would no doubt leave him unable to get back up. "Get your wings beneath you before you hit the ground!"
Pidgeotto spread his flight feathers wide and took adjustment flaps, reorienting himself. That allowed him to come out of the tailspin and halt his fall mere moments from the ground. So close that each beat of his wings scattered bits of sand and ash from the surface.
But there was no time to rest as Ash kept his gaze above. "Move before it comes back down on top of you!"
The Fire Horse Pokémon that had ascended before was now coming back down with the weight of gravity backing her. The hooves that could trample diamonds into dust were primed to crush the Bird Pokémon. And they would have if he hadn't used a mighty beat of his wings to shove himself backward and out of the path of the blow, leaving her to impact the loosened ash and soil that scattered into a plume.
Ash watched as the Bird Pokémon flew from the obscuring cloud with tendrils of dust rolling off his sleek body while stars chased him down once more. The Swift barrage was followed by Rapidash's hooves pounding the ground as she trailed after him, keeping an eye on her target. He assumed that it was to avoid being swept up in another Razor Wind that would shoot them down while lining herself up for another Bounce to put him down. They had to end this now.
"Pidgeotto, dive down and get closer to the ground!" A sharp affirmative chirp was followed by Pidgeotto angling his wings and beating them once to send him shooting towards the ground, diving with them spread to catch the air and leave him darting just over the ground. "Now, spin around and clip its legs with Quick Attack!"
Twisting his body once more with a whipping motion that ruffled his brown feathers and bright plumage, the Bird Pokémon became wreathed in a pale glow as he faced Rapidash who had been charging ahead. The Fire Horse Pokémon was already in the process of halting its charge upon hearing the command, but it was too late. The energy wreathing Pidgeotto turned into propulsive force as he shot forward like a brown missile with a luminous tail left in his wake.
A pained whinny followed as he clipped her rear leg in the process of darting past her. The leg buckled, sending her balance askew while the stars chasing him shattered upon contact with her and sent her falling onto her side. She skirted along the ground, carried by the momentum she had been hurriedly trying to halt and leaving her cream-colored fur covered in blackened ash and sand.
Down, but not out, the Bird Pokémon unleashed a battery of wind blades with Razor Wind once more. Silver streaks tore through the air and bombarded the area, leaving the sand and ash to scatter into a cloud that obscured their vision. By the time it thinned out, the Fire Horse Pokémon was down for the count and the round was declared in Ash's favor.
"Way to go!" Ash's cheer carried the pride he had in his pokémon for the victory as the avian landed in front of him. That made them two-to-one against the Gym Leader, who recalled his downed pokémon. "Just one more and that badge is ours!"
"It's been a long time since I've gotten this heated up," Blaine declared while brandishing his final ball. "Let's show them our burning spirit, Magmar!"
The pokémon that emerged onto the battlefield had been one unlike any that Ash had seen before. As if flames themselves were brought to life and given shape, a pokémon whose orange body burned so hot that yellow flames decorated the bottom of his body and the top of his head where its heat was the most concentrated. Mineralized claws rested at the end of branched wrists linked to scaled limbs, and a long and tapering tail waved back and forth with flames burning from the tip.
Ash considered switching out for Charmeleon before turning to the Bird Pokémon and asking, "Do you think you can handle it, Pidgeotto?"
Pidgeotto craned his head back and gave a nod. "Otto."
Since he was confident Ash decided to leave it up to him and announced as such to the referee. "We'll keep going just like this!"
"Then the fourth round will be between Magmar and Pidgeotto," announced the referee behind the polarized pane observing the match. "You may begin!"
"Okay, let's start strong with a Razor Wind!" Ash commanded, giving the Bird Pokémon the cue to take flight once more. Rising into the air, Pidgeotto's wings once more shrouded themselves luminously before he gave a powerful sweep forward. The act sent two massive blades of wind cutting through the air toward the Spitfire Pokémon.
Yet, the only act that Magmar took as the wind scythes neared was to extend his arm out and let flames burst from beneath the scales. Tongues of fire soon wreathed the limb, spiking the temperature to the point where a heat haze formed around his body that he nearly seemed to blend into. Then he casually waved the limb and that alone caused the blades created by Razor Wind to divert themselves away from him and slam into the ground far off.
Ash could only stand there, mouth agape in surprise as their opponent remained standing and unharmed while the flames coating Magmar's arm petered out. The sight of the powerful attack being so casually brushed aside left him devoid of words until his mind caught up. "…It made the attack miss with a wave of its arm. How…?"
"Heat," Blaine said casually while brushing his mustache. "Magmar's body naturally generates a large amount of heat and as a byproduct of that the air around him is constantly on the rise. Concentrating those flames outside of his body intensifies the effect to the point that it creates a powerful upward draft. That means a long-distance attack weaponizing the air will naturally follow that rising current since it lacks true mass."
Hot air rises. Generating strong enough heat caused the nearby air to ascend rapidly, and thus any attack that went through the air would naturally be redirected to follow that current upward. In other words, Pidegotto's long-ranged attacks would never reach Magmar from afar.
"The real fight starts now," Blaine added before gesturing towards Pidgeotto. "Magmar, Flamethrower!"
The Spitfire Pokémon drew in a deep breath that caused its torso to chest to swell. Then he puckered his beak before unleashing a spout of flames spearing towards Pidgeotto. The Bird Pokémon spun out of the way as they passed him by, but it was close enough that his tail feathers had been singed black.
It had been enough to make it clear that they wouldn't be able to draw out a fight. "No choice then. Close in and strike him with Quick Attack!"
The avian clicked his tongue inside of his beak in acknowledgment before swerving in the air. That allowed him to avoid a second tongue of fire that had come close enough that they illuminated the details of his brown plumage. Then he accelerated as a shroud of power draped him, becoming a running light that cut through the air straight toward the Spitfire Pokémon.
A silver streak clipped Magmar as the sheer speed behind the attack eclipsed his reaction time. The blow to his right shoulder caused his body to half-turn, didactyl toes dragging a crescent through the sand before he braced the rear leg to avoid being knocked over. It had been a clean hit, but not one without a price as he rolled the joint before facing the direction where Pidgeotto had gone.
The Bird Pokémon sat at the end of a trench carved into the soft ground, marking the trail of his crash. It had been like a shooting star crashing down to earth, leaving the avian's brown plumage covered in patches of coarse grit. Even now Pidgeotto frantically swept the sand and ash over his right-wing feathers that were burning red.
"Pidgeotto, what's wrong!?" Ash called out, watching as the red wing grew a deeper shade. "Don't tell me you were burned?"
"I did say that Magmar's body was hot, did I not?" Blaine wore a smirk as he gestured over to Magmar. "More than enough that striking him carelessly without having a flame-resistance body naturally runs the risk of incurring a Burn on contact. And since it won't be able to retreat to the air with one of its wings being burned, it's a sitting duck!"
Ash tensed as he noticed the Spitfire Pokémon lunging for his downed Bird Pokémon. One of its arms was reared back, mineralized claws curled into a fist. And sharp, electric streamers danced over the surface of the appendage—Thunder Punch. "LOOK OUT!"
His warning call came too late. And even if it hadn't, there was nothing Pidgeotto could do. The lightning-clad fist slammed the Bird Pokémon into the ground and the streamers wormed their way into his body, leaving electricity dancing all over his aerodynamic frame. An ear-rending screech rang throughout the arena as the electricity did its ruinous work, the voltage attacking his muscles and leaving his body to uncontrollably convulse.
Eventually, the screeching stopped and Magmar took that as the cue to pull away. The final traces of the electricity finished burrowing into the sand from Pidgeotto's body, leaving it to only occasionally twitch before he finally went still with a soft huff. "…ot…to…"
"Pidgeotto is unable to battle," declared the referee as Ash returned his downed Bird Pokémon to its ball. "Challenger, please send out your final pokémon."
Gnashing his teeth within the confines of his mouth, Ash took a deep breath to center himself before he tossed Charmeleon onto the field once more. The Flame Pokémon took stock of the new opponent in front of him and then glanced back toward Ash. "It's up to you now. You should be able to make contact with it without being burned, so watch out for its Thunder Punch."
"Then the final round will be between Charmeleon and Magmar," announced the referee as, with the slightest nod of his head, Charmeleon turned his attention back to the Magmar that stood opposite him, flexed his claws, and swayed his tail hard enough that embers scattered. "You may begin!"
Blaine chose to take the initiative this time. "Magmar, Flamethrower!"
"Match it, Charmeleon!" Ash commanded in turn.
The Flame Pokémon and Spitfire Pokémon let loose massive tongues of fire from their maws, sending streams of blazing flames rushing toward one another. The point where they met became an inferno, too intense to look at directly as the two competing flames warred with one another to see which could overtake the other. Neither did by the time both ran out of breath to keep fueling the blaze.
"Now, use Smokescreen to get in close and follow with Slash!" Ash said, pointing towards the battlefield. Charmeleon reared back and then unleashed a plume of thick, cloying smoke that billowed out and expanded to create a black curtain. The thick Smokescreen obscured the field and made it impossible to see through for them.
"Clever, but not clever enough!" Blaine claimed, snapping his fingers. "Magmar, turn up the heat with a Fire Punch into the ground!"
The dark smoke kept the Spitfire Pokémon from view. But it was clear that the order was carried out when there was a sudden wave of heat and rushing air blowing past Ash's ankles. The blazing fist had been driven into the ash and sand, spreading the heat out as it met with the surface and causing the heated air beneath the smoke to be pushed upwards. Yet Charmeleon was nowhere to be found as the Spitfire Pokémon looked around for him in anticipation of the follow-up attack…
That was when white claws flashed as red descended from above. Pain raked across the Spitfire's Pokémon's back as Charmeleon came crashing down, having jumped into the air to follow the smoke. The critical strike was followed by an attempt to turn and deliver a lightning-infused haymaker, only for it to pass by the peak of Charmeleon's crown as he ducked low and delivered another Slash straight into its abdomen.
Magmar stumbled back from the impact, didactyl toes digging trenches in the soft ground. The force of the blow drove him almost an entire meter back. The Spitfire Pokémon clearly felt sharp pain from it but didn't take his eyes off Charmeleon as he rushed in to keep up the assault.
That afforded him time to twist on the soles of his feet and avoid the third Slash as it pierced through where he'd stood prior. He then launched a counterattack as his fist clad itself in lightning and slammed into the Flame Pokémon's abdomen. Charmeleon was sent scattered off to the side on his arms and toes, forcing him to dig his claws in to avoid sliding further away as the lingering tendrils of lightning grounded themselves into the sand.
The Spitfire Pokémon lunged to deliver another Thunder Punch before he could get back up. But Charmeleon escaped by the narrowest of margins, unleashing a plume of smoke right into his eyes before darting through the gap between his arm and leg off to the side. Now behind his opponent, he got up, grappled him in a bear hug, and then leaped into the air with all his might before somersaulting into another Seismic Toss that drove Magmar's flaming skull straight into the ground.
"Nice one!" Ash cheered as Charmeleon leaped away after delivering a gravity-empowered piledriver upon his foe. "I think that did it!"
"Guess again," Blaine said, curbing his premature enthusiasm. No sooner than the words escaped did Magmar get back onto his feet. The Spitfire Pokémon looked worse for wear but there was still some fight left in it. "Unleash the full power of your flames, Magmar! Fire Blast!"
The fire being vented from Magmar's tail and head intensified in potency and size, swelling to the point they made up half his body size itself. The heat itself that rolled off its body easily matched that of the Ninetales' flames infused with the power of Sunny Day, if not greater. Yet those flames themselves seemed to come to life as they spiraled between his outstretched mineralized claws held across from one another, compressing themselves into a singular mass of flames before they launched with explosive force right at Charmeleon—
BOOOOOOOOOMMM!
—the hot air itself screamed as it rushed past Ash from his side of the field. The intense flare of the attack as it came unbound upon striking its target robbed him of his vision. Even his hat went flying from the force of it, leaving his dark hair rustling wildly in the wake of the blast.
"Charmeleon!" Ash called out over the high pitch of the vents kicking in once again to cool the room and clear the resulting veil of soot, ash, and smoke. "Are you okay?"
His view became unobstructed in time to see the Flame Pokémon barely standing. He held his left claw over his right arm, which was blackened from where the flame-retardant skin had still managed to be scorched by the intense heat. His soot-stained cream-colored underbelly was rising and falling as he grasped for air and the flame on his tail was feeble in comparison to before.
"That your Charmeleon still stands is commendable," Blaine told them, fiddling with his mustache. "But it cannot take another blast and remain as such. It's over."
Ash knew his words were true. Another direct hit like that would put Charmeleon down, to the point that he'd probably need a longer rest period than a mere trip to the Pokémon Center. If he yielded, then Gina would keep going down the path that he didn't want her to walk. Yet, if he pushed Charmeleon to the point of self-destruction for the sake of his own goal, he would be doing the very thing he hated that she was.
What should I do? Do I give up and try again? Do I push on and risk hurting Charmeleon? Or should I—
"MELEON!"
He was dragged from his spiraling thoughts by a roar from the battlefield. It was the Flame Pokémon, who had turned away from his foe to face his trainer whose commands he was awaiting. And, upon seeing his resolve wavering, made his own thoughts clear as he brandished his claws and fixed his gaze upon him.
The eyes that had once belonged to a gentle Charmander who found comfort in the one who took him in were now those of a Charmeleon questioning if he had the same doubts as the one who abandoned him before. That Ash thought he was too weak to surpass the hurdle that was in front of him now. That his trainer didn't think he could win even before he'd given it his all.
Charmeleon was still standing. Still resolved. So why had he lost faith in him at the very end?
"…Sorry, Charmeleon," Ash said, swallowing his insecurities. He was thinking too much and trying to shoulder the battle on his own. This wasn't about him alone or what he wanted, but what they wanted as well. "If you think you've got this then let's go!"
That was the answer he wanted to hear as, in response, red-tinged energy burst free from his battered frame as Blaze activated and the flame at the end of his tail swelled to new heights as well. "CHARRRRRRR!"
"Then we'll bring it all to bear as well," Blaine responded to their clear intent to fight even in the wake of the odds being against them. "Magmar, Fire Blast!"
"Charmeleon, Flamethrower!" Ash ordered in response. "Give it everything you've got!"
The fire bursting from the pair of pokémon roared to life as they prepared themselves to unleash their strongest flames yet. The Spitfire Pokémon wrangled the inferno coming from the three vents and wove it between his claws once more as if crafting a cannonball that would give rise to a brilliant daystar. The Flame Pokémon's chest expanded to its limit, scorched flesh threatening to crack and nostrils flaring as the blaze sealed behind his closed maw grew even hotter as flaming tongues escaped from narrow slips.
Then they let their attacks fly. The Fire Blast soared forth like a searing wall of destruction, only to be met with the roiling torrent of the empowered Flamethrower that barreled forth like a train and crashed into it head-on in the center of the battlefield. The attacks then unfurled, giving rise to such intense heat that it turned the sand and ash within the blast radius into molten slag that resembled the bubbling cauldron that was the mouth of a volcano.
And in the middle of that blinding brilliance, Charmeleon lunged. Putting all his strength into his legs as he reinforced his strong claws one last time, he dove straight through the smoke and over the pit of molten slag to deliver a final Slash. Magmar saw it coming at the last moment and readied an instinctive Fire Punch that he thrust toward the incoming red blur.
The result was that Charmeleon landed in a clumsy tumble that sent him spiraling across the heated, coarse ground until he came to a stop at the edge of Blaine's side of the field. The flame on his tail had dwindled and Blaze had petered out, showing there was no more fight left in him. However, as the streak of lingering light marked the path of the strike into Magmar's glowing body just beneath the upraised fist, Charmeleon had barely managed to avoid the final counterblow.
Thus, the Flame Pokémon stood back on his feet with his body battered and flames spent.
And the Spitfire Pokémon collapsed into the ash and sand, defeated at the very end.
"Magmar is no longer able to battle," the referee chimed in from the speakers. "With all three of the Gym Leader's pokémon unable to battle and the Challenger having one remaining, I rule that the winner of the battle is the Challenger, Ash from Pallet Town."
Hearing the announcement knocked the breath that Ash had been holding at the very end out of his lungs. He let out a cheer as he thrust his fist into the air. "YES! WE DID IT!"
"Indeed," Blaine conceded as he recalled the Spitfire Pokémon into its ball. "It seems as though we burned out at the very end. Still, I don't regret such a passionate battle. You've both earned my badge and more."
As Ash caught up to the man on his side of the field, Blaine brandished the Volcano Badge that served as his seventh badge. Now he only had one more before he would be eligible to be entered into the Indigo Conference. But he also received a new TM as well. "And this is…"
"Fire Blast," Blaine explained. "The strongest Fire-Type move available in Kanto, though not something to be used trivially. I'm certain that your Charmeleon will be able to make great use of it by the time you make it to the Conference."
"Right…" Ash nodded before he felt a tug on his leg and saw that Pikachu had come out from the spectator's room, having picked up his hat along the way. He took it and placed it back onto his head while turning his attention back towards Gina with Pikachu climbing on his shoulder and Charmeleon by his side. "We're going to make it all the way to the end, Gina."
"…Big words considering how narrowly you avoided losing right after you promised not to," Gina said, though her tone lacked any bite to it. "But fine. Let's see if you can keep it up to the end."