At the edges of the burning arena, even fiercer flames raged. This was the epicenter of the collision between Charizard and Cloyster, now a roaring inferno that obscured everything within.
A second later, a pitch-black figure shot out from the flames, hurtling backward through the air—it was MEGA Charizard X!
Though Charizard was covered in wounds, he still appeared high-spirited, without the slightest hint of dejection.
Looking at him, no one would doubt it if someone said Charizard could fight for another three hundred rounds.
On the other side, Cloyster's figure gradually became visible. Its blue shell was now plated with a layer of black, and the Cloyster within the shell even emitted an enticing aroma, looking as if it had been cooked through.
"Cloyster is unable to battle, Charizard wins!" After freezing for several seconds, the referee confirmed that Cloyster no longer had the strength to fight and waved the flag, declaring Cloyster's defeat.
Whoosh!!
Following the referee's declaration, the surrounding spectators erupted in an uproar. In this duel, Ash had actually taken the first victory!
And this wasn't just an ordinary victory, but a win that was almost a total crush!
Don't be fooled by how Ash's Charizard was covered in wounds and panting heavily; in reality, ninety percent of those injuries were self-inflicted. With a fighting style centered on head-on clashes, no matter how perfect the energy coverage was, one would inevitably be hurt by the opponent.
Melee and ranged combat both have their advantages, but generally, ranged is more favorable. The biggest trouble for a melee fighter against a ranged one is being kited; just getting close consumes an unknown amount of stamina.
Charizard in this match was the best example. To get close to Cloyster, he had taken an unknown amount of damage. Yet even so, the damage Cloyster dealt wasn't as painful as the recoil from Charizard's Flare Blitz just now.
Furthermore, to put it bluntly, if Charizard had chosen to fight Cloyster using a ranged style, he might have won even faster.
Don't look at how MEGA Charizard X is a melee type and greatly enhances Charizard's close combat; in reality, Cloyster's specialty is its defense. Compared to its defense, its special defense is simply not something that can be brought to the table.
Additionally, Cloyster had used Withdraw to increase its defense by one stage, reaching the absolute limit of defensive power. The duel between Charizard and Cloyster was the sharpest spear against the sturdiest shield, and in the end, the spear claimed victory.
Elite Four Lorelei took out a Poké Ball and recalled Cloyster. Her face didn't show much gloom; instead, she smiled and said, "Not bad, Ash. Your Charizard has improved a lot, and this MEGA Evolution has brought many surprises. If Lance knew that one of Charizard's MEGA Evolution forms had the Dragon-type, he would probably do whatever it takes to find a Charizard ite."
"We still have a long way to go, Miss Lorelei. One day, Charizard will definitely defeat you with his own strength—has Mr. Lance found a Dragoniteite yet?" Charizard's ability to win now still relied ninety percent on Ash.
Even if a Trainer's power is part of a Pokémon's strength, lending power to a Pokémon like this was still somewhat ridiculous.
Both Charizard and Ash hoped that one day, without using Aura, they could defeat Elites and Champions relying on pure Pokémon strength.
They had defeated countless powerful enemies along the way, but most of those enemies were defeated by forcibly raising their own strength using Aura. After all, the level gap between the two sides was simply too large.
They also hoped that one day they could compete fairly against the opponent at the same level!
The only time they didn't really need to use Aura was probably during the Indigo Plateau Conference. Except for Chimchar, the other Pokémon didn't really need Aura to boost them, and Chimchar had only joined the team temporarily.
Then, in the short span of half a month, it squeezed its potential to the limit time and again, finally evolving into Infernape. This was definitely the fastest-evolving Pokémon in Ash's hands.
Willpower, encounters, battle opportunities—none of these could be missing to create such a myth as Infernape. It would be basically impossible to replicate a second time with any other Pokémon.
"Where would a Dragoniteite be so easy to find? Not to mention that guy has a pile of matters on his hands right now and has no time to look. However, as the Kanto Elite and Johto Champion, there are plenty of people to help him search. The fact that he hasn't found one yet only shows that Dragoniteite is indeed rare enough." Lorelei couldn't help but sigh as she said this.
Lance hadn't found a Dragoniteite, but had she found her own ite? She only had one Pokémon capable of MEGA Evolution, and that was that Slowbro; none of her other Pokémon could MEGA Evolve.
But even for Slowbro, she hadn't been able to find its MEGA Evolution stone. As for a key stone, she did have one in her hand, but without a MEGA Evolution stone, what use was a key stone?
Nowadays, the number of MEGA Evolution stones appearing has been increasing, and many duplicate MEGA Evolution stones have appeared, yet many MEGA
Evolution stones still haven't appeared. Although Ash discovered MEGA Evolution, to this day, no one has discovered exactly where key stones and MEGA Evolution stones come from.
Are they formed from the natural power of heaven and earth? If so, why can they produce an atavistic effect on the bloodline within a Pokémon? And why do they require the bond between Pokémon and human to perform MEGA Evolution?
Countless questions remained, but those were matters for professors and other researchers to fret over. What these Trainers needed to think about was just finding the corresponding MEGA Evolution stones for their own teams.
"Let's end the pleasantries here. Next is the second one—go, Slowbro!" Lorelei interrupted the small talk between the two, took out her second Poké Ball, and threw it forward.
With a flash of light, a pink, dazed-looking Pokémon appeared on the field. This was Slowbro, the evolved form of Slowpoke. Slowbro's evolution method is different from ordinary Pokémon; it requires two Pokémon to merge to achieve evolution. This evolution method is quite peculiar among all Pokémon.
After merging, Slowbro possesses both the Psychic and Water-types. Although it lacks the Ice-type, ice and water share the same source, so it's practically the same for Lorelei. Furthermore, having the Water-type allows for better handling of the Fire-type that targets the Ice-type. If a team only consists of a single type, it's far too easy to be countered; Lance is the most classic example.
"Slowbro, huh—this happens to be the perfect match for that Pokémon. Is Miss Lorelei afraid I'll lose, so she specifically sent out Slowbro?" Seeing Slowbro, a smile appeared on Ash's face. If he were facing Lorelei's other Pokémon, he estimated he would need Charizard to battle and set the stage; otherwise, his next Pokémon might not be able to take the opponent down.
The weakest members of Lorelei's main team were Champion Intermediate Level, which was that Cloyster. Besides that Cloyster, there was one other Champion Intermediate Level Pokémon, and that was the Slowbro before him.
After all, she was facing a young man who had been active for less than a year. If she brought out her ace main force, it would be a bit too much like a bully. Even when she had an exhibition match with Ash back then, Lorelei only brought out the main force of her second team, an Elite Four Peak Glaceon.
The main goal was to have a well-matched duel, which is why Lorelei chose to use these two Pokémon this time. Ash was no longer the same as before; using second-team Pokémon against Ash would be somewhat inadequate, so she could only choose the two weakest among her main Pokémon.
This also happened to play right into Ash's hands. If he were facing Lorelei's other Pokémon, he would need Charizard to help assist and lower the opponent's stamina, but Slowbro alone didn't require that.
"Come back, Charizard!" Ash took out a Poké Ball and recalled Charizard.
"Player Ash has actually chosen to recall Charizard when facing Elite Lorelei's Slowbro! Does he feel there's a type disadvantage? But the Dragon-type against Slowbro's Water-type shouldn't actually have much of a disadvantage. With Charizard's combat power, he could clearly continue fighting. Could it be that Player Ash's second Pokémon is better suited to deal with Slowbro?"
The announcer's voice sounded confused. Ash's Charizard clearly still had fighting strength, yet Ash chose to recall him at this moment. Saying it was to let Charizard rest—at this time, Charizard had just defeated one of the opponent's Pokémon and was at the peak of his momentum. Rather than being sent back to rest, staying on the field could actually better unleash Charizard's combat power.
Thus, Ash's choice to recall Charizard was likely because his second Pokémon was more suitable for dealing with Lorelei's Slowbro.
"Could it be that Ash has a second Pokémon that can rival a Champion? That's got to be fake!"
"My god, who still remembers that this is just a fifteen-year-old boy! It's been less than a year since his debut, and he has two Champion-level Pokémon in his hands? This is a bit much!"
"Didn't you hear what Elite Lorelei said just now? Ash relies on his special ability to forcibly elevate his Pokémon's strength. He shouldn't really be considered to have Champion-level Pokémon!"
"Hilarious. So strength elevated by one's own special ability isn't one's own power? Trainers and Pokémon are one!"
"This is the power shared by Ash and his Pokémon, okay!"
"Exactly, one's own special ability is also a kind of skill! I just wonder what Ash's second Pokémon is. Could he be sending out Pikachu?"
"Don't even mention it, Ash's Pikachu is his signature and ace, and it has a type advantage against Water. Maybe he really is sending out Pikachu!"
Regarding what Ash's second Pokémon would be, opinions were divided. Many people believed Ash would let Pikachu take the stage, as Pikachu's strength in Ash's team was widely known as the strongest, a recognized ace.
Moreover, Pikachu's Electric-type also countered Slowbro's Water-type. Speaking of which, it really was more suitable for dealing with Slowbro than Charizard.
But in reality—Pikachu was still in a weakened period. Although he had recovered to the Mid-Gym level, approaching High-Gym level, he was still just a snack when facing a Champion-level Pokémon. Even wearing the hat and using Aura, he still wouldn't be qualified.
So Ash's second Pokémon was not Pikachu, but— "I choose you, Lugia!!" Ash threw the black-gold Poké Ball in his hand. Light flashed, and a pitch-black great bird appeared on the field.
Lugia, God of the Sea! This was Ash's second Pokémon!
The noisy voices of the entire crowd instantly fell into silence the moment Ash brought out Lugia. Throughout the entire arena, one could hear a pin drop, and the breathing of many people could even be heard becoming heavy.
After a brief silence, the arena erupted in a discussion ten times more intense than before!
"Holy crap! What is that?! Lugia!! Is that the Lugia, God of the Sea?!"
"It looks a lot like it in shape, but—when did Lugia become black?"
"Have you ever seen the real Lugia? You're just assuming. Maybe Lugia was originally this color. The appearance of that snow-white great bird in the legends"
"is just a legend."
"Bullshit! According to you, not just the snow-white appearance, but even the shape of the great bird is fictional? The reason legends are passed down is because there are real considerations. And although we haven't truly seen Lugia's appearance, we've seen plenty of pictures!!"
"Exactly! As the totem symbol of our Orange Islands, if we couldn't even recognize this, we'd have lived for nothing! Lugia is definitely white!"
"Then who can explain what's going on with this black Lugia?"
"Who cares if it's black or white, who can explain why Lugia is in Ash's hands!"
Little Lugia's appearance undoubtedly caused a massive stir on the scene. After all, the legendary Lugia, God of the Sea, had suddenly appeared right there. Who wouldn't be shocked?
For regions outside, they might have heard the title of the god of the sea, but few had ever truly seen Lugia. They knew very little even of Lugia's pictures or legends.
But this was the Orange Islands, the legendary habitat of the god of the sea. Very few people in this place wouldn't recognize Lugia. Although they hadn't truly seen Lugia, they had more or less seen pictures of Lugia; some had seen blurry shadows, some had seen its likeness carved on stone tablets, and some had seen old black-and-white photos—
In short, Lugia's existence was well-known in the Orange Islands. Even if they hadn't seen a picture, they had definitely heard Lugia's name. And since Ash had shouted so loudly when he released Lugia just now, it would be a miracle if someone didn't know that was Lugia!
The question was, why did Ash have Lugia in his hands? And a black one at that! Wasn't the legendary Lugia a white great bird?
"...."
No one would have thought that in a small exhibition match, they would actually see the legendary god of the sea appear. And not just appear, but battle against one of the Elite Four, Lorelei!
This was simply too dramatic!