Miltank's body slammed solidly into Infernape, producing a deafening roar. Infernape's body was pushed backward by this terrifying force, sliding and gouging two deep trenches into the ground as debris splashed everywhere and dust filled the air.
In the end, Infernape still blocked this blow. Even though there were shocking scars on his arms, a super-effective move with a power as high as 160 failed to knock Infernape down. This result far exceeded Whitney's expectations.
"Is this Infernape's defense really this high? But it's useless. Next, Miltank's Rollout will be twice as powerful as this time. It's over, Ash!" Whitney wore a smug expression, as if the victory had already been decided.
"Oh? That's not necessarily true." Ash wore the same smile on his face, and the next second...
Flames soaring into the sky exploded across the entire battlefield, heading straight for the Gym's ceiling.
Super Blaze, activate.
Whitney's pupils shrank abruptly, and she subconsciously took a step back. The temperature of the flames was shockingly high. Even across half the field, she could feel the scorching wave of heat rushing toward her, as if it would burn her skin.
"What is this? Blaze?" Disbelief colored Whitney's voice.
Of course she knew about the Blaze Ability. When a Fire-type Pokémon was at critical stamina, the power of its Fire-type moves increased by fifty percent. But the momentum of the flames before her eyes, was that a simple fifty percent boost? This was clearly doubled, or even more.
The flames atop Infernape's head were almost burning the entire space to ashes. A hint of deep blue was faintly visible within the crimson flames, a color that only appeared when the temperature reached its absolute limit.
Super Blaze was the exclusive Ability of Ash's Infernape. Ordinary Blaze could only boost Fire-type power by fifty percent, but Ash's Infernape's Super Blaze could boost it by over one hundred percent. The upper limit of this boost depended on Infernape's will. The stronger the will, the stronger the boost. Theoretically, this Super Blaze was an enhancement without an upper limit.
Back at the Indigo Conference, Infernape had even relied on its unyielding will to treat Super Blaze as an infinitely usable Endure. As long as its will did not extinguish, its stamina would always retain a sliver. As long as it retained a sliver of stamina, its will would not extinguish until it defeated the enemy. This was the legendary perpetual motion theorem.
"What an exaggerated Blaze. Although I've seen it in recordings of the Indigo Conference, this is the first time I've actually seen it in person. The sense of shock this Blaze brings is truly terrifying." After her sigh of admiration, Whitney's expression turned serious.
No matter how powerful Infernape's Blaze was, since it had triggered, it meant one thing. Infernape's stamina was already below thirty percent. Rollout was a Rock-type move that was super effective against Infernape.
After a Rollout that had stacked continuously four times, even though Infernape hadn't fallen, he was definitely heavily battered. The opponent withstanding the fourth Rollout certainly surprised Whitney, but that was all.
An Infernape that had activated Super Blaze still couldn't be Miltank's match.
"Miltank, continue Rollout! Don't give it a chance to breathe!" Whitney commanded coldly.
Miltank's Rollout had now stacked up to the fourth time, and its power was eight times the initial amount. As long as it rolled one more time to reach the fifth, the power would skyrocket to sixteen times. By then, what could Infernape do even with Super Blaze? Could it block a sixteen-fold Rollout?
Miltank's body spun again, moving so fast it almost tore the air apart. The ground was gouged into a deep trench by her Rollout, with rubble splashing everywhere and dust filling the air.
Yet this time, Infernape did not dodge, nor did he defend.
"Infernape, Fire Punch!" Ash's voice exploded like a thunderclap.
Infernape shifted his feet, his body turning into a red lightning bolt. Instead of retreating, he advanced, charging straight toward the spinning Miltank. His right fist was wrapped in blazing flames whose color had changed from crimson to azure, a color that only appeared when the temperature reached an extremely terrifying degree.
This color of flames generally only appeared when Infernape used Flare Blitz, but under the Super Blaze state, Infernape could already make these flames permanent.
"What?" Whitney widened her eyes. Just a moment ago, Ash would at least have Infernape dodge before attacking, but this time Ash was having Infernape go head-to-head?
She had never seen anyone dare to meet a Rollout head-on. So what if Blaze was activated? Even if this Blaze could boost firepower by one hundred percent, Miltank's Thick Fat could still offset most of the damage.
On the other hand, Miltank in the Rollout state had an impact force comparable to a speeding heavy truck, and any head-on collision was asking for death.
The opponent was simply handing victory over on a silver platter.
Fire Punch and Miltank's spinning body violently collided, producing a deafening roar. The shockwave spread outward centered on the point of collision, blowing away all the rubble on the ground, and people in the stands instinctively raised their arms to shield their faces.
At this moment, a transparent barrier rose around the field. Mewtwo had taken action. The previous battles had been child's play by comparison, but now both Pokémon had pushed their powers to the absolute limit.
If Mewtwo didn't act, the surrounding stands would be blasted apart by the shockwave.
"This is just too ridiculous!" A bespectacled boy in the stands had his mouth open wide enough to fit an egg.
A girl with a ponytail beside him was also dumbfounded. "Taking Rollout head-on? Is this still a Pokémon?"
Another man in the stands excitedly slapped his thigh. "I've watched Gym Leader Whitney in so many battles, and this is the first time I've ever seen a Pokémon actually catch a Miltank that rolled five times! What's the background on this monkey?"
On the field, the blue flames on Infernape's fist became increasingly blazing, actually pushing Miltank's body backward bit by bit. Miltank's Rollout speed gradually slowed down, the inertia of the spin began to dissipate, and the layer of white energy covering the surface of her body started to flicker uncertainly, as if it would collapse at any moment.
"How is that possible?" Disbelief leaked from Whitney's voice.
Her Miltank was actually being suppressed in a head-on clash? That Infernape clearly had almost no stamina left. Even though Fire-type moves indeed increased greatly in power after activating Super Blaze, the power of Fire Punch was ultimately limited. How could it contend with the power of the fifth Rollout?
"Miltank, more force!" Whitney shouted, refusing to believe it. She didn't believe that at identical levels, her Miltank, which had used Rollout five times, would lose.
Miltank let out a low roar, struggling to accelerate her body's spin, but Infernape's body remained motionless like a burning volcano. The azure flames continued to scorch her, inflicting intense damage.
"This show should end. Infernape, Close Combat!" Ash waved his hand, pronouncing judgment.
Infernape's right fist abruptly pulled back, and Miltank's body lurched forward from inertia, but what greeted her was Infernape's continuous attacks like a violent storm.
Fists, elbows, knees, and feet. Every single part of Infernape's body turned into a weapon. Fighting-type energy circulated through his limbs, and every strike carried tremendous force.
Miltank's spinning body retreated continuously under Infernape's barrage. The layer of white energy covering her surface finally could no longer support itself, shattering like glass and dissipating into countless points of light across the sky.
Battered by Infernape, Miltank was forced directly out of the Rollout state. Before Whitney could react, Infernape gathered all his power onto his fist and struck Miltank right on the chin, blasting her flying into the air.
"Final hit, Flare Blitz!" Ash shouted.
Infernape pushed off hard with his legs, his entire body rushing toward Miltank mid-air like an arrow released from a bow. Azure flames surged on his body, but the next second, a touch of golden light actually grew from within those blue flames.
Golden flames exploded across Infernape's body. At this moment, Infernape was like a sun, illuminating the entire battlefield. The surrounding spectators couldn't help but shield their eyes, yet even so, they tried hard to watch through the gaps in their fingers.
Golden flames.
Infernape turned into a golden meteor, dragging a long tail of flames as he soared straight upward. Back when battling the Strongest Charizard at Charicific Valley, Ash's Charizard had fused Sacred Fire into the Amaterasu Flame. And now, Ash's Infernape had also pushed Super Blaze to a brand new realm.
This was a flame exclusive to Infernape. Using Flare Blitz under the Super Blaze condition pushed the temperature of the flames to yet another extreme. Everyone, including Ash, was seeing this kind of flame for the first time, but this did not diminish its formidable power.
"Miltank, Protect!" Whitney's anxious voice reached Miltank's ears.
Miltank half-opened her eyes, squeezing out the very last bit of strength in her body, and an emerald-green barrier appeared before her.
Facing Miltank's dying struggle, Infernape said nothing. He just charged upward.
The golden meteor and the emerald-green barrier violently collided mid-air. A deafening explosion went off near the ceiling, and the golden light was like a second sun, illuminating the entire Gym in stark white.
Mewtwo's barrier rippled violently. This shockwave was more fierce than any previous one, but this level of power still lacked the ability to shake it.
In the center of the collision, the emerald-green Protect barrier, the moment it contacted the golden flames, was easily torn apart like a piece of paper. Wherever the golden flames passed, the Protect barrier directly melted and collapsed like ice and snow meeting a blazing sun, turning into countless green points of light across the sky.
Protect, the move known as absolute defense at the same level, was actually pierced through so easily? How could this be? Even though Infernape's power was very strong, that was Protect. At least there should have been some showing of resistance, so how could it shatter so easily?
Seeing this scene, a guess rose in Ash's heart.
Charizard's Amaterasu Flame possessed extreme temperature, capable of burning everything to nothingness. Meanwhile, Infernape's golden flames possessed the ability to penetrate any defense. Even the Protect barrier, famed as absolute defense at the same level, was like paper in front of Infernape's golden flames.
This brand-new power could definitely become a sharp weapon for Infernape to challenge higher-level opponents in the future.
The golden meteor penetrated the Protect barrier without obstruction, slamming solidly into Miltank. Miltank's massive body was completely swallowed by the golden flames, which exploded upon her and enveloped her entire body.
"Miltank!" Whitney shouted Miltank's name, trembling, but received no response whatsoever.
A moment later, the golden light slowly dissipated. Miltank's body fell from mid-air like a kite with its string cut, her limbs hanging limply, eyes tightly closed, having completely lost consciousness.
Her body was covered in burn marks from the flames, and her originally pinkish-white fur was now pitch-black, still emitting wisps of blue smoke.
Miltank crashed heavily onto the ground, smashing out a crater and kicking up a cloud of dust and smoke.
Infernape did a somersault in mid-air and landed steadily on the ground. The golden flames on his body slowly dissipated, the flames atop his head still burning fiercely, but his body was trembling slightly. The side effects of Super Blaze were also beginning to manifest.
Under this state, the stamina consumed by each strike was a massive amount, but compared to the effects it produced, this degree of consumption was completely worth it.
Amidst the silence of the entire venue, the referee was the first to react. After glancing at Miltank twice and confirming that she truly couldn't stand up, he waved his flag and announced.
"Miltank is unable to battle! Infernape wins! Since Gym Leader Whitney's three Pokémon are all unable to battle, the winner of this match is Contestant Ash!"
"We won!" Serena was the first to jump up from her seat, raising her hands high with a brilliant smile blooming on her face.
Misty also revealed a relieved smile, hugging the Togepi in her arms tightly and letting out a gentle breath. "I knew Ash would win."
Brock crossed his arms in front of his chest, a gratified smile on his face. "This isn't just as simple as winning. Infernape even awakened a brand-new power. This power will definitely be indispensable to Infernape's future and Ash's future, but..."
Brock's tone abruptly shifted. His body suddenly shot up from his seat with a sorrowful expression on his face, and putting his hands over his mouth, he shouted loudly. "Miss Whitney! Do not lose heart because of failure! Though this humble one is happy for Ash, I am even more heartbroken over your defeat! Please let this humble one use this warm chest to comfort your injured soul!"
"Cut it out! Others don't need your comfort!" Misty grabbed Brock by the ear, twisting it so hard that Brock's face became distorted.
Serena's excitement was also interrupted by Brock's sudden episode, and a helpless expression appeared on her pretty face. Brock was still the same. No matter how many times his ears were pulled, his nature would never change.