"Such a perfect build!"
"That Charmeleon looks really solid!"
"That aura—he's obviously strong!"
"A blue tail flame? That's my first time seeing it!"
"..."
The moment Shiko stepped onto the field, the row of deputy principals from the Pokémon universities in the VIP section all leaned forward in unison, staring at him with open curiosity and serious focus.
After just one glance, they realized Shiko was anything but ordinary.
The balanced, perfectly defined muscle lines.
And that deep-blue tail flame—so different from a typical Charmander line Pokémon.
Everything about him spoke of strength.
Aisa's beautiful eyes glittered as well.
She'd been thinking about this Charmeleon for a long time.
Now that she'd finally seen him in person, she understood at last why Moo Inoshishe-sensei and President Sun had given him that kind of evaluation.
He really was a frighteningly strong Charmander-line Pokémon.
As an Elite Four–class Trainer, Aisa could clearly sense the powerful pressure radiating from Shiko.
That heart-clenching, scalp-numbing feeling—
It wasn't something a Charmeleon should possess.
Even a Charizard might not necessarily have it!
Only a Pokémon at the "king of its species" level would carry that kind of presence.
In the VIP section, the big shots whispered to one another nonstop, their expressions and words filled with approval for this Charmeleon.
Among them, only Akio looked awful.
His hand gripped the armrest so tightly his knuckles turned pale.
His expression flickered between light and dark.
A businessman's sharp intuition told him—
Even though it was a perfect 3-on-1 situation on paper,
his heart had started pounding uncontrollably the moment Shiko appeared,
and a powerful sense of dread began to grow.
...
In the stands, the spectators also erupted into waves of thunderous cheers the instant Shiko took the stage.
They'd waited days to finally see this mysterious Charmander-line Pokémon battle.
Of course they were excited.
"Finally!"
"I've wanted to face your Charmeleon for ages!"
"This round, I'll crush your last little fantasy of winning the championship!"
"Go, Dragonair!"
Joji hurled a Poké Ball and sent out Dragonair to take this fight.
Starter Pokémon versus starter Pokémon!
The venue fell silent in an instant.
Every pair of eyes locked onto the battlefield.
Joji's Dragonair had maintained a perfect win record throughout the tournament so far.
And in every round, it had pulled off the feat of sweeping three opponents by itself!
That image of overwhelming power was already carved deep into every spectator's mind.
As for Shiko—
His true strength still existed only in people's guesses and heated debates.
They said he was strong.
But how strong, exactly?
They were about to find out.
On the battlefield, Himeko subconsciously checked Dragonair's information.
It got stronger again.
Her brow twitched slightly.
Dragonair's power had increased—already at Level 39, at the peak of the Elite tier!
Looks like in these past two days, Joji had fed Dragonair more drugs and forced its growth again.
For the sake of this final—
He really did go all in.
"Dragonair! Let him see how strong you are!"
"Aqua Jet!!"
"RAAAAH!!"
The instant Joji's order fell, Dragonair let out a long howl.
Its back half lifted, and a ball of water rapidly gathered into shape at its tail—
"Hime—"
Himeko had just started to issue Shiko a command,
when she realized Shiko had already moved on his own.
That orange figure streaked across the ground like a bolt of lightning.
Nearly a hundred meters—
crossed in the blink of an eye.
Dragonair's vision blurred.
All it could see was a flash of orange rushing straight at it.
And when it finally managed to focus—
what rapidly expanded in its pupils
was a glowing, razor-sharp claw wrapped in blue energy!
BOOM!!
Under the boost of Extreme Speed, Shiko's Dragon Claw
landed cleanly on Dragonair's body!
A Dragon-type move slammed into a Dragon-type Pokémon, dealing massive damage!
With Tough Claws triggering,
that single strike instantly carved away two-thirds of Dragonair's stamina.
"RAAAAGH!!"
A painful wail rang out.
The water ball Dragonair had formed at its tail
was blasted apart on the spot!
But Shiko's assault didn't stop.
Riding the momentum from that Dragon Claw, Shiko spun with the motion—
and his powerful tail whipped down hard onto Dragonair's body!
A Dragon Tail!
It completed the remaining damage!
BOOM!!
Dragonair's long, slender body was sent flying.
A clear lash mark was left across its body.
THUD!!
It crashed down at Joji's feet.
It opened its eyes, looked at its Trainer once—
then let out a weak cry
and passed out.
"D-Dragonair…?"
Joji's voice trembled.
Staring at Dragonair's unconscious body,
he wondered if he was hallucinating.
Too fast.
Way too fast!
From the moment Shiko attacked to the moment Dragonair fell—
it was barely a single second!
A true one-shot knockout!
Why?!
His Dragonair was already at the peak of the Elite tier!
So why couldn't it beat the opponent's Charmeleon?!
It couldn't even force a close fight!
Joji stood there, stunned and lost.
And it wasn't just him.
The two hundred thousand spectators, and the VIP section's big shots—
all of them were struck dumb by the same shock.
The battle started fast and ended even faster,
so fast that before they could even process what happened,
Dragonair had already been beaten unconscious.
"HOLY—!!!"
"Too strong!!"
"That Charmeleon is a monster!"
"Insane! INSANE!"
"My scalp is tingling—don't tell me Himeko-san is really going to win the tournament?!"
"It's possible! With that Charmeleon, it really is possible!"
"..."
After a brief silence,
the stands suddenly exploded.
A storm of cheering and screaming poured out, venting their excitement.
They'd expected a spectacular clash.
Instead—
it was a one-sided crushing stomp.
But honestly?
This kind of absolute beatdown was even more entertaining than an evenly matched slugfest.
At that moment, everyone's attention
was fixed on the orange figure standing on the battlefield.
Under countless gazes,
Shiko slowly raised his hand
and held up a single finger.
(End of Chapter)
[200 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
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