Blue pushed off the pillar, sauntering closer, hands in his pockets.
"You? Brooding on a throne? Come on, Red. Back in the day, you'd settle your frustrations with a battle, not sitting here like some king of the ruins pretending family news doesn't rattle you."
Pikachu on Red's shoulder let out a small "Pika…" of agreement, cheeks sparking faintly. Eevee yipped in response, tail wagging like it sensed the storm coming.
Red rose slowly. His coat billowed as though stirred by an unseen wind. The air around him thickened years of aura mastery making the atmosphere feel heavier, charged.
"You're right," he admitted quietly. "I could use a fight. One-on-one. No holding back. Mock rules no killing blows, no permanent damage. Just enough to remind you who you're talking to."
Blue's grin turned feral, eyes lighting up with the same fire that had once burned in Pallet Town's old fields.
"You're on. But if I win, you have to promise to visit Pallet Town next week. Meet your future grandkid's mom. No excuses."
Red's lips twitched the closest he came to a smile these days.
"And if I win… you shut up about the 'grandpa' thing for at least a month."
"Deal."
Both men moved at once.
"Charizard."
"Blastoise."
Twin flashes of red light filled the hall.
Charizard erupted into existence with a roar that shook dust from the ceiling. Its massive wings unfurled like crimson sails, tail flame roaring so fiercely it cast long, dancing shadows across the piled grunts. Scales gleamed with the patina of countless battles scars that told stories of victories across dimensions.
Blastoise landed with a seismic thud, shell reflecting the dim light like polished obsidian. Its cannons hummed, already primed, as it cracked its knuckles in a gesture of pure confidence. The Water-type's eyes locked onto Charizard with the unyielding focus of a veteran who had never forgotten their old rivalry.
The fortress hall vast, cavernous, littered with debris became their arena. Pikachu and Eevee scrambled to a high ledge for safety, settling in like spectators at the greatest show in the multiverse.
Blue cracked his neck. "Age before beauty, old man. Your move."
Red's response was calm, almost serene.
"Charizard Dragon Dance."
The Fire/Flying-type twisted in place, body coiling like a spring. Ancient draconic energy surged through its veins, visible as red-gold flames licking across its scales. Speed and attack skyrocketed in a blazing aura. Wings beat once, sending a gust that scattered loose rubble and made the unconscious grunts stir faintly.
Blue didn't hesitate.
"Blastoise Shell Smash!"
Blastoise withdrew into its shell for a heartbeat, then exploded outward with a thunderous crack. Controlled energy shards dissipated harmlessly (mock rules in effect), but the stat boosts were immediate and devastating. Speed and attack surged; defenses dropped but Blastoise had never relied on defense alone. It was built for offense.
"Hydro Pump full barrage!"
Twin cannons locked on. Pressurized water erupted in spiraling drills, each one thick as a tree trunk, carving molten grooves into the stone floor as they hurtled toward Charizard.
"Evade and counter Air Slash!" Red commanded, voice steady.
Charizard blurred Dragon Dance turning it into a streak of fire. Wings sliced the air, unleashing crescent blades of compressed wind that intercepted the Hydro Pumps mid-flight. The collisions birthed massive clouds of steam, filling the hall with a volcanic fog that obscured vision and made the air taste of iron and salt.
Blue anticipated the dodge.
"Rapid Spin close the distance!"
Blastoise retracted again, spinning like a living torpedo. It rocketed through the mist, slamming into Charizard's side with bone-jarring force. The impact rang like a gong; Charizard staggered, roaring in pain and fury.
"Point-blank Flamethrower!" Red ordered instantly.
Charizard twisted mid-stagger, maw opening wide. A torrent of blue-white fire erupted at zero range, engulfing Blastoise in a roaring inferno. The Water-type tanked it shell blackening, steam hissing from every seam but held firm.
"Ice Beam freeze those wings!" Blue shouted.
Freezing blue energy lanced from the cannons, grazing Charizard's left wing and encasing it in thick frost. The dragon snarled, shaking violently to shatter the ice, but the chill had slowed its aerial mobility just enough.
Red's mind flashed through decades of battles. He knew Blue's patterns knew how the man loved to press advantages.
"Charizard Seismic Toss. Break his rhythm."
Charizard surged forward despite the frost. Talons clamped around Blastoise's shell mid-spin. Muscles bulging under Dragon Dance enhancement, it rocketed upward, slamming Blastoise into the vaulted ceiling with earth-shattering force. Stone cracked; debris rained like deadly hail. Blastoise plummeted back down, cratering the floor in a cloud of dust.
But it emerged immediately unfazed, shell scarred but intact. Endurance was its hallmark.
"Not bad, Red," Blue laughed, genuine excitement in his voice. "But let's turn up the heat. Mega Evolve!"
Blue's wristband Key Stone ignited in brilliant blue light. Energy enveloped Blastoise, form shifting dramatically: shell expanding into a colossal cannon fortress, one massive central launcher on its back flanked by twin arm-mounted ones. Mega Blastoise rose taller, bulkier, eyes burning with focused fury. Power radiated like a tidal wave about to crash.
Red's expression didn't change but a faint smirk tugged at his lips.
"Thought you'd never ask. Charizard Mega Evolve."
His pendant Key Stone flared. Charizard's body ignited in blue-black flames. Scales darkened to ebony, wings grew jagged and draconic, fire shifting to azure. Mega Charizard X stood reborn its Tough Claws ability humming, every physical strike now devastatingly amplified.
The hall trembled. Auras clashed invisibly fire and water, dragon and steel, legend against legend.
Blue struck first.
"Dragon Pulse overwhelm!"
Mega Blastoise's mega launcher charged with draconic energy. A colossal beam erupted twisting like a living serpent of water and dragon power, flooding the arena with misty pressure that warped the very air.
"Blast Burn meet it head-on!" Red countered.
Mega Charizard X inhaled deeply, chest glowing like a newborn star. It unleashed a cataclysmic explosion of azure flames erupting outward like a solar flare. The two attacks collided dead-center.
The impact was apocalyptic.
Steam detonated in a blinding white flash. Shockwaves shattered remaining pillars, sent unconscious grunts sliding across the floor, cracked the ceiling in spiderweb fractures. Pikachu and Eevee clung to their perch, fur standing on end from the sheer force.
When the light cleared, both Pokémon stood singed, breathing hard, but unbroken.
Blue wiped sweat from his brow, laughing wildly.
"Time for the finisher. Blastoise Z-Move! Hydro Vortex!"
His Z-Ring activated. Waterium Z crystal blazed. Mega Blastoise channeled the power, summoning a swirling maelstrom of water that engulfed the entire hall an indoor hurricane of crushing waves, pulling debris into a roaring vortex aimed straight at Charizard.
Red's eyes sharpened to razors.
"Charizard match it! Inferno Overdrive!"
His Z-Ring flared with Firium Z. Mega Charizard X roared, flames coalescing into a gigantic, apocalyptic fireball burning with hellish intensity. It launched the inferno straight into the vortex's heart.
The Z-Moves met in cataclysmic glory.
Water boiled instantly into superheated steam. Fire exploded outward in radiant shockwaves. The fortress shook violently ceiling groaning, walls cracking, the mountain itself seeming to protest the power unleashed within it.
For a breathless instant, the arena was pure light and fury two masters' ultimate techniques locked in deadlock.
Then the maelstrom collapsed inward.
Steam cleared slowly.
Both Pokémon stood panting in the center Mega Blastoise's shell cracked but slowly regenerating, Mega Charizard X's wings scorched but still spread defiantly.
The Mega Evolutions faded in twin flashes of light. Charizard and Blastoise returned to their normal forms, exhausted but proud.
Red and Blue recalled their partners simultaneously.
Blue exhaled, grinning ear-to-ear.
"Damn, Red… you're still a monster."
Red allowed the rarest of smiles.
"You too, Blue. Still keeps the blood pumping."
Pikachu and Eevee cheered from their perch, the mock battle ending as it always had between these two no true winner, only mutual sharpening for the battles yet to come.