"Hello to all our viewers, I'm Misty, the leader of the Cerulean Gym, and the commentator and referee for this exhibition match. As we can see, Lorelei has brought out a very rare Glaceon in the Kanto region, and Ash is not to be outdone, sending out Charizard to counter the Ice-type Pokemon. This battle promises to be a fierce showdown!"
"Everyone knows Ash's Charizard, who, a month ago, defeated the main Pokemon of the Johto League Elite candidate, Koga. There were rumors online claiming that Charizard had used drugs and was already ruined. But now, the Charizard on the field tells us that online rumors are just rumors!"
Misty's loud shout into the microphone also ignited the atmosphere, with the cheers of the crowd growing louder and louder. Daisy and the others, just returning from the entrance, were taken aback.
When they held their water ballet performances, the crowd never cheered like this. It was their first time experiencing this kind of deafening sound that shook the entire gym.
This is the difference between Pokemon battles and water ballet!
Even though this particular Pokemon battle involves some extraordinary people, one must admit that in this world, Pokemon battles are mainstream. Their water ballet, unless it includes elements of Pokemon battles, may never hear such cheers in this lifetime.
Misty was chosen as the referee for this match, partly because she volunteered. Her deep admiration for Lorelei made the opportunity to watch her idol's battle up close an absolute delight for her!
On the other hand, Misty's knowledge of Pokemon far surpasses that of the her sisters. If her sisters were to referee, during the battle, they might only come out with inexplicable comments like 'Wow!' 'It looks like Charizard has the upper hand!' 'It looks like Glaceon has the upper hand!' 'Is Ash going to lose?'
Given the skill levels, it was absolutely impossible to let them commentate. Brock wasn't from Cerulean Gym either, making Misty the most suitable candidate for this commentary.
With Misty's cheers and the audience's shouts, the two Pokemon on the field began their clash.
"Go, Charizard, aura aligns with my heart!" Ash didn't hold back from the start, activating Charizard's most powerful form. Facing an Elite's Pokemon, even Aura Fusion wouldn't make Charizard a match.
The gap between them was vast. Unless using top-tier booster abilities, Ash's current means, even when amplified to the fullest, wouldn't allow him to compete with an Peak Level Glaceon.
But this match is an exhibition; winning or losing doesn't matter, and Ash had no intention of backing down before the battle even started!
During these few days at Cerulean Gym, both Charizard and Gardevoir had achieved breakthroughs, reaching Low peak.
Even without considering various enhancement methods, Ash is undoubtedly the strongest rookie trainer in Kanto, possibly the strongest rookie trainer of all time!
But no matter how strong he is, he still carries the label of a rookie. Standing before him is Kanto's top trainer, the Ice Elite, Lorelei!
"This level... It's much stronger than when it battled Koga, though it's still hard to believe. Even at this level, Charizard shouldn't have been able to defeat Koga," Lorelei mused with some doubt on her pretty face. The victory from that battle baffled even her.
What level was Charizard at when battling Koga? Watching on TV, it's uncertain, but it surely didn't exceed the current level.
Yet, that level of Charizard defeated an Elite-level Pokemon... Beyond the enhancements Ash gave Charizard, another reason was the colorful flame Charizard used at the final moment.
In Lorelei's memory, such a colorful flame should only belong to the legendary Ho-Oh and Entei. Why would Charizard's flame be so colorful? How powerful is it? This battle will reveal it.
"My Pokemon can't be judged by common sense! Go, Charizard, Sunny Day!" Facing the opponent's level suppression, Ash could only apply every buff available!
Unfortunately, Charizard's Ability is Blaze, not Solar Power. Otherwise, with Sunny Day and Solar Power, combined with Aura Fusion leading to Sacred Fire, even a Peak Glaceon would be swept away!
"Roar!" Charizard roared, a dazzling tiny sun rising from its body. As the sun rose to the sky, Lorelei calmly commanded, "Use Ice Shard."
Ice Shard, a priority skill just like Quick Attack, Glaceon opened its small mouth and let out a soft cry, surrounded by countless tiny blocks of ice.
Although the ice blocks were small, they carried a bone-chilling cold. In the next second, the Ice Shards shot out like bullets around Glaceon!
The dense small ice blocks sealed off all of Charizard's escape routes. Even though the power of Ice Shard isn't high, the level gap between both sides is so huge that if Charizard were hit, it wouldn't feel good either.
"Use Flamethrower!" Under the detection of Aura Power, Ash and Charizard couldn't find any space to dodge.
It seems Lorelei already knew from watching the battle with Koga that he possessed special abilities to predict attack routes.
So Lorelei directly let her Pokemon use a wide-range attack move. This way, it wouldn't matter if you could predict the attack, because there's simply no room to dodge, and the speed of Ice Shard is incredibly fast. With Charizard's current speed, it's impossible to escape the range of Ice Shard's attack.
Now Charizard only had one choice to make, and that was to face it head-on!
"Roar!!"
Charizard opened its massive mouth, and an extremely hot flame shot out. With the boost from Sunny Day, the flames became even more intense, seemingly causing the air to warp slightly.
The boiling ice blocks in the air didn't immediately melt upon touching the flame; instead, they withstood for a brief moment before melting into streams of water. The remaining flame directly bombarded Glaceon, but Glaceon leapt away, dodging the Flamethrower.
The flame hit the floating board where Glaceon was just now, and in an instant, the board was completely burned away, with much of the water in the pool below evaporated.
This move, Flamethrower, demonstrated its power thoroughly, matching the fire-type attacks usually seen at an Elite level.
The rumors online were instantly dispelled at this moment!
"Who said Ash was cheating? Is this what you'd call cheating?"
"It really is kind of insane. Even though Ice Shard is a very weak Ice Type move, it depends who's using it. Lorelei's Glaceon using Ice Shard is stronger than other Pokemon using Blizzard."
"But it also shows that there's a significant gap between Charizard and Glaceon. Even with Sunny Day's support, Flamethrower could only counter Ice Shard with such effect. If Glaceon were to use a powerful Ice Type Move, or even a Water Type Move, Charizard would probably be overwhelmed."
"..."
The spectators present were many powerful Trainers who understood the situation.
Not only did they see the level difference between Charizard and Glaceon, but they also analyzed the battle situation with clarity.
Even though Charizard appeared to strike back at Peak level against Glaceon, in the previous clash, Charizard was actually in a position of absolute disadvantage.
Under Sunny Day, they could barely use Flamethrower to burn off Glaceon's Ice Shard move. If Glaceon used more powerful moves, how would Charizard respond?
...
On the field, Lorelei looked appreciatively at Ash and Charizard, praising with her mouth: "Not bad."
"Charizard, Fire Blast!" Seeing that Lorelei had time to comment on Charizard's state, Ash's expression slightly tightened, and he then had Charizard launch another attack.
Facing an Elite isn't unprecedented; just find an opportunity to create Glaceon's flaw, then use Sacred Fire, and it could be a one-hit knockout!
This is also why Ash chose to use Charizard. Among his team's three giants, only Charizard had the absolute confidence to take down the opponent immediately upon hitting!
In other words, his goal for this battle was crystal clear: make Glaceon expose a flaw, then use Sacred Fire to finish it off!
At the moment the order was given, Charizard's wings suddenly flapped vigorously, the hot wind it stirred making the surroundings ripple.
It raised its head and opened its enormous, fanged maw, orange flames gathering in its throat as the temperature climbed, and in the next second, a flaming column carrying scalding heat blasted out, quickly forming a mighty "大" (big) character in the air, like a burning meteor, with earth-shattering momentum rushing towards Glaceon!
Lorelei watched the flaming "大" character roaring towards her, her eyes slightly narrowing with cold light. Her originally calm expression gained a bit of sharpness, and she issued a command with a steady voice: "Glaceon, Hydro Pump."
Glaceon spat out a stream of water as thick as a barrel. The little sun hanging in the sky made the water elements much sparser, so the power of this Hydro Pump was about only two-thirds of the usual.
Scorching flames and water streams entwined fiercely, the searing heat instantly vaporizing the water into a vast white mist, enveloping the entire battlefield swiftly, shrouding both figures in the misty fog.
"Roar!!"
In the white mist, Charizard let out a wretched cry, then its figure was thrown back from the fog, barely halting above Ash. Its left arm hung limply, marked with signs of having been struck. It looked like the Hydro Pump broke through the Fire Blast and struck Charizard's arm.
Ash also clutched his arm, displaying a touch of pain on his face. The mist couldn't block their use of Aura Power, but when the move was directly blocked by the opponent just now, it became difficult to dodge again.
In the end, Charizard could only barely manage to twist its body position to minimize its damage.
Even so, Charizard paid the price to escape from the previous attack.
"It's a bit tricky, Charizard…" Ash said in a low voice.
"Roar…" I won't give up.
"I have the same thoughts. Let's execute our plan!" Ash said, clutching his arm with one hand, his eyes becoming sharper.
"Charizard, Fire Blast!!" At the moment the order was given, Charizard already held a smoldering flame in its mouth, then fiercely spat it downward!
The flame collided brutally with the water's surface!
"Sizzle"
An ear-piercing explosion instantly erupted, and water vapor more turbulent than before surged from the pool like a white tidal wave, hot steam carrying countless water droplets splashing around. Glaceon, just landing from the white mist, quickly jumped to the side of the pool from the floating board. Even so, she could sense the entire area steadily increasing in temperature.
Terrifying heat waves rose layer upon layer from the pool, causing even the distant spectators to sweat slightly from the heat.
In the blink of an eye, the entire water source in the pool was evaporated completely dry, leaving only an expanse of reinforced concrete ground.
Lorelei showed a slightly puzzled expression on her face. Why did Ash target the field with his attack?
Charizard can fly, so this pool doesn't affect him much. Instead, it's quite limiting for Glaceon. Even though Glaceon is an Ice Type Pokemon, she isn't Water Type, so she can only rely on the floating boards to move swiftly across the pool.
If she were in the water, her movement speed wouldn't even be one-tenth of normal.
So the evaporation of the field actually benefits Glaceon!
"Charizard, Flare Blitz!!" Having evaporated the field, Ash once again prompted Charizard to attack. This time it was a physical fire-type ultimate move, Flare Blitz!
Colorful flames rose from Charizard's body…