"Sunny Day!!"
The moment Joji finished speaking, Magmar threw its head back and let out a long roar.
Invisible soundwaves spread outward.
The thick cloud layer piled overhead was blown apart.
The blazing sun hanging high in the sky seemed to burn even fiercer.
Scorching sunlight poured down.
Everyone present could clearly feel the temperature skyrocketing.
It was like the haze of late autumn suddenly slipping into midsummer.
So they really were preparing for a pure Fire-type energy showdown!
Himeko thought to herself.
With Sunny Day's weather boost, Fire-type moves would have their power increased to one and a half times.
That one-and-a-half-times boost was enough to make two Pokémon with similar overall strength show an obvious gap.
Looks like Joji really believed Shiko was definitely weaker than Magmar!
"Magmar! Use Smog!"
"Gu-ga!"
Magmar shouted.
Puffing its mouth into an "O," it spat out a huge mass of thick purple fog.
The fog spread, rolling toward Shiko to engulf him.
"Hah!!"
Shiko opened his mouth and breathed out a stream of flame, evaporating the poisonous fog completely.
"Close in—Fire Punch!"
The instant the fog was burned away, Joji issued a rapid command.
Blazing heat ignited over Magmar's fist.
Swinging its arm, it slammed a punch straight at Shiko.
Magmar's right fist swung.
Shiko answered with Fire Punch as well.
Bang!!
Two fists collided.
The burning flames scattered into sparks that drifted down like embers.
"Now!"
"Fake Tears! Scary Face!"
A flash of delight crossed Joji's voice.
Power wasn't Magmar's strong point.
The reason Joji still chose to have Magmar close the distance was to narrow the gap—
so Shiko couldn't dodge this full set of control.
Scary Face lowered Speed!
Fake Tears lowered Special Defense!
A terrifying ghostly face streaked with tears abruptly surfaced in Shiko's mind.
So vivid it was almost tangible.
Shiko's whole body began to feel heavy and strangely uncoordinated.
It worked!
He got hit!
Joji's face lit up with wild joy!
Like this, Shiko absolutely wouldn't be able to avoid the long-range fire bombardment that came next!
As long as it landed once—
once!
Even if Fire-type moves only did half damage against the same type,
with Sunny Day's boost
and Shiko's Special Defense sharply reduced,
Joji was certain—
one hit would heavily injure Shiko!
This is bad!
Seeing the faintly dazed look on Shiko's face, Himeko immediately understood:
Magmar's Scary Face and Fake Tears had connected!
Her brows knitted.
Her heart jumped straight into her throat.
What now?
Should she take over command to help Shiko fight?
The thought had only just appeared—
when, in the very next second,
the situation on the battle arena flipped again.
In front of Shiko's body, a barrier with a glossy, mirror-like texture appeared.
A beam of light reflected off that mirror surface,
landing on Magmar.
"Gu-ga!!"
Magmar's face twisted as it cried out.
Its momentum suddenly weakened.
Even its steps became inexplicably heavy.
This is…!?
Magic Bounce!?
Watching the mirror fade away in front of Shiko, Himeko's expression turned to shock.
She was sure of it.
That was exactly what it looked like when the Magic Bounce Ability triggered.
But the problem was—
why did Shiko have an Ability like that?
Wasn't that something only some Psychic-type Pokémon had?
A Charmeleon
having that kind of Ability was just absurd!
And—
Himeko also remembered clearly that Shiko already had Tough Claws.
So why was there another one now?
Two Abilities!?
Himeko stared at Shiko.
The more she looked, the more unfathomable he seemed—mysterious beyond grasp.
"Magic Bounce!?"
In the VIP section,
a crowd of big shots were stunned as well.
No way—
this Charmeleon actually had Magic Bounce!?
That was outrageous!
Not only did it negate the opponent's stat changes inflicted on it,
it even reflected the effect right back!?
Magmar had basically lifted a rock and smashed its own foot!
"Roar!"
Shiko, breaking free from the ghostly face in his mind, bellowed.
With a single Dragon Claw, he slashed Magmar away, sending it flying more than ten meters.
Magmar struggled back to its feet,
glaring at Shiko with fury.
Their eyes collided.
Flames erupted in both their gazes.
Then—
both Magmar's tail flame and Shiko's tail flame
began to blaze violently, flaring brighter and hotter!
After reading the intense fighting spirit in each other's eyes,
Shiko and Magmar made the same decision without hesitation—
they would use fire to decide the winner.
"Gu-ga!!"
"Roar!!"
Roars rang out.
At this moment, Magmar had even begun to ignore Joji's commands,
stubbornly insisting on this final showdown.
Standing in place,
Magmar focused its mind and began to build power, ensuring its next strike would hit Shiko without fail.
And on Shiko's side—
he opened his mouth.
Fire-type energy, dense to the extreme, gathered in his throat, forming three dazzling, scorching spheres of light.
All the spectators fell silent.
This was the blow that would decide victory and defeat!
The temperature across the entire venue surged upward at a terrifying rate.
Sweat poured out in sheets—everyone felt like they were sitting in a sauna.
But even with sweat nearly blurring their vision,
no one dared blink,
afraid of missing the most exciting moment to come.
Magmar finished charging.
Its focus reached its peak.
In its eyes, there was nothing but Shiko.
It was certain its next attack
would land!
Boom!!
An unbelievably scorching torrent of molten heat blasted from its mouth.
It condensed together,
forming a gigantic, character-shaped blaze—the signature pattern of…
Fire Blast!!
At the instant that character-shaped flame formed,
Shiko had also completed his charge.
The dense Fire-type energy piled inside his body,
after a long, long time,
finally welcomed a chance to be released completely!
He continuously compressed that immense energy within his mouth.
The burning radiance
made it feel as if he was nurturing a sun between his jaws!
Boom!!!
Fire Blast and Flamethrower crashed into each other.
Two different Pokémon's Fire-type energies collided and tore at each other relentlessly!
Hiss!!!
However—
that stalemate lasted only for a single instant.
Fire Blast was shattered and destroyed in an instant by Flamethrower!
It broke into countless sparks and scattered away!
And Shiko's Flamethrower
did not lose momentum—
it struck Magmar precisely.
In the blink of an eye, it swallowed Magmar whole!
With Sunny Day's boost,
plus the Special Defense drop from Fake Tears,
Shiko was certain—
Magmar absolutely could not withstand this!!
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for defeating the opponent! Gained Experience Points +1]
[Congratulations to the host for reaching Level 36. A second evolution is available!]
[Please choose your evolution form!]
(End of Chapter)
[200 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
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