Ash's resolve—and Charizard's unshakable determination—won them countless new fans.
Some supported them out of pure loyalty.
Some… were simply gamblers wanting a massive payout.
"Even if the gap is huge—compare it to Pikachu vs. Regice.
This? This is NOTHING!"
"If Pikachu can beat Regice, then a slightly defective Charizard beating Articuno is EASY!"
"KILL IT, CHARIZARD!!"
"Who cares about Articuno?! MY BOY CHARIZARD IS UNSTOPPABLE!"
"Show them your willpower! Defects mean NOTHING—OVERCOME EVERYTHING!"
…
"Should we still bet on the twerp, nya?" Meowth asked.
"Of course!" Jessie slammed her 10,000 points down instantly.
"That Charizard made us sacrifice so much to get him into Charicific Valley!
I BELIEVE he'll show us results!"
Why only 10,000 points?
Because the other 90,000 had already been spent—
80,000 to build a new robot…
10,000 on food.
Being a Rocket grunt meant endless travel, no chef, wind, and rain every day.
And with so many delicious items in Heaven's Shop, resisting temptation?
Impossible.
They had exchanged a full 10,000 points worth of premium meals—
enough for ten feasts.
…
At the Indigo Plateau, Gary Oaks leaned back under his parasol.
He glanced at Charizard on the screen and—without hesitation—
Bet 5,000 on Ash.
If there was anyone who truly believed in Ash,
Gary was at the top of the list.
Sipping his tea, he murmured:
"Don't let me down, Ash. And you too, Charizard…"
Behind him, his six cheerleader girlfriends chanted:
"Gary! Gary! He won't lose! Gary's always right!!"
…
"Ash, are you betting on Charizard?" Misty asked.
Ash replied without a shred of doubt:
"Of course! My Charizard won't lose!"
"So confident! How much are you putting in?"
"Thirty thousand!!"
Champions present: !!!
"Where did you even get that many points?" Bruno asked, baffled.
"Well, I bet on myself in every previous battle! And I bought a storage backpack for 300,000 points!"
"Misty and Brock each have about 100,000 too…
Well, they had. After buying supplies, they're down to around seventy or eighty thousand."
Everyone: So you brats have been betting ONLY on yourselves… the whole time?!?!
Trust in your partners… taken to the extreme.
And that was why they earned so many points—
because Ash never doubted his Pokémon.
"Who are you all betting on?" Brock asked shyly.
Lance answered calmly:
"I bet on Articuno.
Sorry, Ash—your Charizard simply lacks the power to win."
Coming from a veteran Charizard trainer like Lance, this was pure objectivity.
"It's okay, Lance. You don't have to worry about my feelings.
I'm betting on Charizard—not because of strength…
But because I believe in him.
That's all that matters."
"Roaaar…"
Charizard trembled.
Once again, Ash's trust almost brought him to tears.
Ash might not have refined tactics.
He might not have strategic genius.
But his heart for Pokémon…
was max-level from the very beginning.
After everyone finished betting, the results were clear:
Among Champions and Elites—
Only Leon, Alder, and Cynthia bet on Ash.
Misty and Brock followed Ash, and each bet 20,000.
Leon and Alder put in 5,000.
Cynthia put in… 300.
Because she only had 300.
"Cynthia, you really think Charizard can defeat Articuno?"
"Mmm… In pure power? No chance.
But if it's Ash together with Charizard—
Then who knows?"
"Heh. Let's see if your intuition is right."
Once betting closed, the match began.
Both trainers first demolished the roof of the Battle Factory.
Since both Pokémon could fly, limiting the battle to an indoor arena
would kill half the strategy.
Then—another interruption.
Team Rocket showed up again, claiming they wanted to catch Articuno.
But under the combination of Ice Beam, Flamethrower, and Thunderbolt—
They instantly blasted off.
The Champions looked on helplessly.
"Ever since I became a special inspector, my goal has been to dismantle Team Rocket," Lance sighed.
"But… if every Rocket member was like these three…
I think I could retire early."
With the comedic interlude over, the real battle began.
"Articuno! Ice Beam!"
"Charizard! Flamethrower!"
Fire and ice collided.
For a few seconds, they pushed against each other—
Then Charizard's flames overpowered the beam
and struck Articuno cleanly!
Charizard had taken the opening exchange!
"Great job, Charizard! Again—Flamethrower!"
"Fly along the flame's edge and use Steel Wing!"
"What?!"
Articuno dove along the stream of fire, skimming past the heat—
Then slammed its metallic wings into Charizard's jaw!
Charizard was knocked backward, flames disrupted.
"Hail!"
Darach immediately changed the weather.
Brandon, Darach—
The two Frontier Brains shared one philosophy:
Control the field first.
Win the fight second.
Ash shouted:
"Charizard! Flamethrower again!"
"Roooar!"
But as flames roared—
ice hail poured from the sky,
turning the battlefield into a storm.
Articuno vanished into the blizzard.
Charizard fired blindly—
but hit nothing.
Then—
From Charizard's blind spot—
A beam of freezing light struck him point-blank.
But Ash's Charizard was no longer the fragile one from before.
Even Articuno's Ice Beam barely slowed him down.
Still—
He was completely suppressed.
That was the undeniable truth.
Update Notice:Hey everyone! I just realized there were two missing chapters between 31 and 36 due to an upload mistake. Everything has now been fixed and properly arranged.
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