Colorful flames rose from Charizard's body, and the moment Lorelei saw the flames, an incredibly serious expression appeared on her pretty face.
This flame's color is very similar to Ho-Oh's legendary Sacred Fire, and Lorelei guessed that this flame might be the mythical Divine Power.
After all, what other power besides the legendary Sacred Fire could allow an low level Charizard to defeat Elite like Koga?
The power of the gods is the most mysterious and terrifying force, something the trainers spend their lives seeking, the lofty God Realm.
So the appearance of divine power is of great interest to trainers who are Elite or above.
Ash's Charizard has long been the focus of most high-level trainers, with many wanting to know where the power of Charizard originates.
Those spreading rumors online might include not just some interested parties but perhaps even some people from the League stirring things up.
They all want to confirm what kind of power Ash's Charizard possesses. This match is being broadcast live, with cameras all around the gym.
Imagine that countless trainers might be watching this match from their televisions or computers at this very moment.
They aren't concerned about Ash's actual strength. No matter what special tactics he uses, Ash is still far from a true Elite; they're only interested in the unique power within Charizard.
Since its brief appearance last time, Ash and Charizard have been absent from public rumors.
This time, they finally get to see Charizard's power a second time, and it's up against the even more formidable Lorelei!
They can get a clearer understanding of this power's limits and its true nature.
In the sky, Charizard enveloped in colorful flames descends like a meteor, the intense heat nearly setting the entire space ablaze.
"Glaceon, Blizzard!" With a wave of her little hand, Lorelei commands her Glaceon.
Glaceon lowers its body, steady on its small limbs at the edge of the pool, emitting a force as cold as ice from its body.
Soon, a howling cold wind rises on the field, splitting Cerulean Gym in half into realms of cold and heat, allowing everyone present to experience what it means to be caught between ice and fire.
Although Ash used Aura to set up a barrier, it can't completely block all force; at least in terms of temperature, as long as it doesn't cause actual damage to the surroundings, the barrier won't activate.
Thus, the audience can clearly feel the extreme cold and heat emitted from both Pokemon.
The piercing cold wind blows from behind Glaceon, scattering fine snow onto Charizard, burning with colorful flames.
However, the snow is quickly burned away without leaving even a droplet of water, as Charizard's temperature has surpassed the level ice and snow can handle.
Lorelei knows that relying solely on Ice Type Moves won't stop Charizard in its current state; the best choice is to either use Defense Moves or dodge Charizard's attack.
However, facing that colorful flame, if Glaceon uses Protect, Lorelei's intuition tells her that she might lose the match!
As for dodging Charizard's attack... under the current Blizzard, Charizard's speed is only slightly reduced. Even so, Glaceon has no space to dodge any attack, making evasion unrealistic.
Now, there's only one word, attack!
"Glaceon, Hydro Pump!" Lorelei's voice reaches Glaceon's ears, Glaceon takes a deep breath of cold air, then fiercely shoots out a torrent.
During its release, the Hydro Pump is affected by the Blizzard's temperature, and in a blink, transforms into an icy blue ice pillar!
The next second, the ice pillar collides with the searing flame-bathed Charizard!
"Boom!"
Deafening explosions erupt, the surface ice of the pillar instantly melts from the flames, while the flames on Charizard are slightly stifled by the pillar's coldness, hot and cold air currents fiercely intertwining, forming visible energy ripples in the air.
As the ice pillar melts, it reveals a flowing torrent inside; the earlier Blizzard only froze the surface, coating the Hydro Pump in a layer of frost.
The frost is intended to deliver a substantial blow to Charizard. Flare Blitz is a move that causes harm to the opponent and self; encountering solid force would cause some damage to Charizard itself.
And as the Hydro Pump wasn't completely frozen, the move wasn't completely countered by Charizard's Flare Blitz.
This was the combined move Lorelei came up with on the spot, and its effect was quite remarkable.
Flare Blitz burned away and shattered the frost exterior, depleting its power and subjecting Charizard to some backlash.
Now, without frost, only the Water Type power remains in the Hydro Pump. Even though weakened by Sunny Day, due to its elemental advantage, it still remains formidable!
The clash of water and fire stalemated in the air, the Charizard within the colorful flames wore a fierce expression, continually squeezing out the last remnants of strength from its body.
He was no longer the same as when he first fought High Level Pokemon, back then he had to exert every ounce of effort to draw out this flame from within him, but now he could use it effortlessly!
This god-like power had thoroughly become his own, and was key to his ability to fight beyond his level!
But, considering his current level, even using god-like power, there was a limit to what he could achieve.
"Roar!!"
The strong desire for victory made the colorful flames around Charizard burn even hotter, the extreme heat causing visible, distorted ripples in the air around it!
The tiny floating ice crystals in the vicinity were instantly vaporized, and even the distant mist retreated as if fearing the overwhelming force of the flames.
The Hydro Pump that had been stalemated with Charizard's Flare Blitz was also completely suppressed at this moment!
The searing heat swiftly turned the water into a white mist.
Huge waves of steam surged like a tide across the field, but when it neared Charizard, it was evaporated again, creating a brief clear area around it.
The Blizzard had completely disappeared in the terrifying heat, and even the Hydro Pump continually outputted by Glaceon was rapidly crushed by Charizard, its flames tearing through the remaining water and slamming heavily into Glaceon!
"Boom!!"
Deafening sounds echoed across the entire venue, and the Cerulean Gym felt like it experienced an earthquake, causing the whole place to shake violently, shockwaves visibly erupting from the field and hitting the azure barrier.
The enormous force that erupted did not affect the surrounding audience, who all remained focused on the battle scene on the field.
Yet a thick smoke filled the field, obscuring all visibility.
Just now, Charizard's Flare Blitz directly hit Glaceon, and with such a terrifying power, coupled with the current Sunny Day boost, and its advantage over Glaceon, it seemed Glaceon should have already fallen, right?
"Charizard, finish it with Seismic Toss!!" Ash's voice suddenly rang out, startling the surrounding audience.
Glaceon hadn't fallen yet?
The next moment, a silhouette in orange-red flew out of the smoke, Charizard holding Glaceon tightly as it quickly ascended above the gym, starting to spin rapidly in the air.
Gradually, a sphere formed in the sky, virtual energy condensing into a planet hanging mid-air, with Charizard rotating along this virtual planet, its speed becoming increasingly swift!
Glaceon, tightly grasped by Charizard, was now somewhat dizzy and disoriented, given that Seismic Toss is a very difficult move to escape for the attacked.
On one hand, if the attacked can be used in Seismic Toss, it means it has already been pinned by the attacker, on the other, the continual spinning of Seismic Toss will render the attacked utterly dizzy, leaving no strength to resist.
Now Glaceon was a typical example of this, if it had even a little energy left, it should have erupted with Ice or Water Type moves in the air.
But the previous Flare Blitz had greatly reduced Glaceon's physical strength, and combined with the dizzying spin, it could be said Glaceon had no means of counteract!
In the air, Charizard's spinning reached its end point, still applying force to restrain Glaceon's weak struggles in the cradle, its form descending like a meteor!
At that moment, Ash paused, his right arm trembling slightly, but he still gritted his teeth and called out, "Go for it, Charizard!!"
"Boom!!"
In the dried-out pool, Charizard slammed Glaceon into it fiercely, the very reason Ash and Charizard cleared all the water from the pool was for this move!
If there was water to cushion, even with the Fighting Type force, the damage from Seismic Toss would be negligible, but if it directly crashed onto the ground, then this was a conceptual-level move!
If the opponent's remaining physical strength was less than a quarter, this could pretty much take down the opponent in one go!
This iteration of Seismic Toss should have finished off Glaceon completely.
However, before Ash could wear a smile, his Aura Power instantaneously sensed a warning:
'Get out, quickly!!' Without even the time to shout, Ash used the power of Aura to issue a command to Charizard in his mind.
Charizard also felt a threat approaching, wanting to flap its wings and leave its spot, but both Flare Blitz and Seismic Toss had exhausted all its strength, leaving it hard even to stand, let alone fly away.
"Ice Shard." Lorelei uttered in a cold voice, and the next second, from the smoke-filled field, numerous tiny ice shards shot forth like a hailstorm!
Charizard could only shield itself with its wings, its massive wings blocking the ice shards completely, yet the minor damage caused by the ice shards sapped Charizard's remaining strength completely.
Charizard fell powerlessly to the ground, Ash also sat down abruptly, a blank look in his eyes.
Lost... he lost this battle.
Since setting out from Pallet Town, though his Pokemon had experienced losing their fighting capabilities, those were mostly one-for-one exchanges, he never truly faced defeat before.
And he had never lost in a major match; this time, he lost at the hands of the Ice Elite of Kanto, facing even just the opponent's second-line Pokemon.
Though before the battle Ash had mentally prepared, since after all, it was against an Peak Level Pokemon, winning could only be seen as a huge gain, losing was quite normal. But upon actually losing the match, he felt a heavy blow to his heart, his brain unable to process it.
Is this what defeat feels like?
"Clap, clap, clap!!" Intense applause erupted around him, pulling Ash back into reality, and he looked around.
Every face in the audience brimmed with excitement, many even cupping hands around their mouths to shout his name.
The applause wasn't for Lorelei, it was all for him.
"Well done, Superstar!"
"To put up such a fight against Elite Lorelei, your strength is undeniable! No need to be discouraged, you might win next time!!"
"A loss is just a loss, think of a way to win next time, you're facing Elite Lorelei after all!"
"Exactly, losing isn't disgraceful, but it would be if Elite Lorelei lost. You're the challenger, stand up proud, though defeated, still glorious!"
"..."
A dense wave of voices offered encouragement, slowly bringing Ash back to his senses through each word of support.
Though he lost this match, he received no scolding or disappointment, but rather, an outpouring of encouragement.
Victory isn't everything, at this moment Ash had a tangible comprehension of the phrase, even in defeat, he received cheers.
Of course, if winning was possible, who would want to lose?
Though the surrounding audience believed he sat down from the impact of losing, hence their encouragement, the truth was due to Charizard's loss of battle ability, which in his state of being one with Charizard, left him feeling weak, causing him to sit.
Feeling the weakness within, Ash revealed a bitter smile, standing up proud was rather difficult now, even raising his hand was challenging.
This Aura Fusion… it inflicted the greatest side-effect on him!