The scorching sun hung high in the sky, the fire dragon rampaged without restraint, and the flames scorched the earth.
In the air, Charizard continued spewing fire without pause.
After having completely swallowed the Flamethrower attack launched with all of Magcargo's strength, Charizard was now returning it many times over.
Moreover, with the boost from the Sunny Day weather and the Solar Power ability, the power of the Flamethrower move increased massively once again; at that moment, the attack looked like a true pillar of fire that relentlessly pressed down on Magcargo.
"What a terrifying Fire-type attack!"
"But if it's fire, shouldn't it have little effect on Magcargo?"
The spectators watched Magcargo nervously, completely engulfed by the flames.
However, before they could finish speaking, a sudden screeching sound was heard from the ground.
Chiii—chiii—chiii.
Under Charizard's continuous fire assault, the rocky ground began to melt!
"Hey, hey, this has got to be a joke, right?!"
"This rock floor was specially built for Fire-type Pokémon battles!"
"And now it's being melted by Charizard's flames! Just what temperature is that fire?!"
One of the stadium staff couldn't help but exclaim, staring at Charizard on the field with an expression of disbelief.
"This is... temperature control!"
"Has this Charizard already reached the level where it can raise the temperature this much?"
"And on top of that Sunny Day... it seems this Ethan really knows an incredible amount about Pokémon training."
Among the crowd, Naira Cross was also watching the battle closely and had already recognized Ethan and Charizard for quite some time.
Now, seeing the terrifying power of the Flamethrower move, her pupils contracted slightly, revealing her surprise.
Chiii—chiii.
On the field, the flames gradually began to subside. But when everyone saw Magcargo's condition, they were completely stunned.
Despite its quadruple resistance, after enduring the Flamethrower move, Magcargo lay limp on the ground, having completely lost its ability to battle!
"Hey, hey, this really has to be a joke!"
"That Magcargo isn't fake, is it?"
The two spectators who had been betting earlier were completely petrified by the sight.
Especially the one who had been convinced that Magcargo would win; at that moment, he even doubted his own eyes.
It couldn't even withstand a single Flamethrower attack!
Was that still a Magcargo!?
Even Magcargo's own trainer was utterly stunned. His Magcargo wasn't even afraid of magma, so why couldn't it withstand even a single Flamethrower attack?
"Roasted snail, huh~"
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Ethan's lips.
Defeating Magcargo hadn't been something as simple as a single Flamethrower attack, but rather the result of Charizard's ability to raise the temperature.
By further increasing the temperature of a Magcargo that was already extremely hot, pushing it beyond what its body could endure, that was the true key to defeating it.
Magcargo would never have imagined that one day it too would end up becoming a roasted snail.
"Magcargo has lost the ability to battle. The winner is Charizard."
After falling silent for a moment, the referee finally announced the result of the match.
In an instant, the entire stadium was plunged into absolute silence; everyone stared fixedly at Charizard in the air, completely dumbfounded.
"Wait... why do I feel like this Charizard seems so familiar?"
"Familiar? Wait a second, it seems familiar to me too!"
Suddenly, a few spectators reacted, and as they looked at Charizard, their faces filled with disbelief.
"Good work, Charizard."
Ethan patted Charizard as it flew back to his side.
Then, looking around and noticing the expressions of the crowd, he curved his lips into a slight smile.
In truth, there were many ways to defeat that Magcargo, but he chose the most shocking one precisely so that Charizard could demonstrate its strength in a comprehensive manner.
At the same time, this was also his promise to Charizard: to allow Champion Leo Cross to see their joint progress and thus give him a satisfactory answer.
...
After the battle ended, Ethan immediately took Charizard to recover its energy.
After this match, his battles for the day had concluded. During the remaining time, he devoted himself to carefully observing the battles of other trainers, gaining numerous insights.
In the next round, the opponent Ethan faced was not particularly strong; thanks to Charizard's outstanding performance, he successfully defeated his rival and advanced to the next stage.
However, in the round of sixteen, he encountered a very interesting opponent: the trainer Laura Thorne, the same one who used Chandelure.
"Ethan, we finally meet."
Laura smiled faintly as she looked at Ethan. The Poké Ball in her hand opened, and Chandelure appeared.
"Chandelure, huh? Although I'd also like to send it out to learn in battle, there's no way I'm staying out of the quarterfinals!"
Ethan took a deep breath; his Poké Ball opened, and Charizard's figure appeared.
"So it's not Litwick, as I expected?"
Laura pursed her lips. As the side with the initiative, she immediately gave the order: "Chandelure, invisibility."
At Laura's command, Chandelure's figure vanished in an instant, taking advantage of the characteristics of Ghost-type Pokémon to fade directly into the air.
"Trying to rely on invisibility for a surprise attack?"
"Charizard, use Dragon Claw!"
Ethan smiled faintly, his expression filled with absolute confidence. His words slightly surprised everyone present.
In theory, Charizard shouldn't have any means of detecting a Ghost-type Pokémon. So how was it supposed to find Chandelure's position?
As the audience wondered about this, they saw Charizard flap its wings and suddenly lunge forward. Dragon-type energy gathered on its claws, forming the silhouette of a dragon's claw that violently slashed toward a point in the air.
Fuuushhh!
Just as the Dragon Claw move was about to strike, flames burst forth from the void and rushed straight toward Charizard.
Charizard showed not the slightest fear, and the Dragon Claw move fell without stopping.
Fuuushhh!
In the next instant, the flames exploded, and Chandelure's figure appeared in the distance, looking at Charizard with a grave expression.
Then, Chandelure's figure disappeared once more, but even so, it failed to escape Charizard's perception; the Dragon Claw move fell mercilessly again.
Seeing this, Ethan smiled faintly.
The reason Charizard could so precisely find Chandelure's position was simple: the heat emitted by the flames burning on its body.
This made Chandelure like a bright lamp in the middle of the darkness. Even while invisible, it couldn't hide the temperature generated by its flames; for Charizard, locating it was incredibly easy.
(End of chapter)