"Weezing, Protect!"
Asher barked the command the moment he saw the purple-gold inferno bearing down on Weezing.
"Wee... zing!"
The sight of those flames had nearly made Weezing piss itself. Asher's voice snapped it back to reality, and a transparent barrier flared around its body just in time.
BOOM!
Charizard's Flamethrower crashed into Protect.
The barrier heated almost instantly. Under the relentless purple-gold flames, its surface warped and thinned like plastic film held over an open flame.
Then it gave way.
Weezing's two faces twisted in horror as the fire punched straight through and engulfed it.
"WEEZING!"
BOOM!
The explosion shook the arena. Weezing was blasted out of the air and driven into the battlefield hard enough to leave a deep crater, flames still burning across the shattered ground like some kind of divine fire.
At the bottom of the crater, its body had been scorched black. Spirals filled both pairs of eyes.
It was completely unconscious.
Charizard had taken down Asher's third Pokémon.
"Weezing is unable to battle! Asher, send out your next Pokémon!"
The referee wiped the sweat from his forehead before raising his flag again.
Damn, it was hot.
Across the field, Asher had gone pale.
Blaze's Charizard was simply too strong.
Worse, Weezing had been the only Pokémon on his team with Clear Smog. Now that it was gone, Charizard could carry its +3 Speed and +2 Attack straight into the rest of the match.
His remaining Pokémon would have to fight that monster while it was already fully set up.
He really might get swept six to zero.
The thought sent a chill through him despite the heat.
If Blaze ran through all six of his Pokémon in front of this many people, Asher would become the biggest joke at Imperial University. The main branch of the Cassian Family might even take back the resources and privileges it had given him and cut him loose completely.
"No... I can't let that happen."
"At the very least, I have to bring down that Charizard. I need to save some face here."
Cold sweat ran down his forehead as his thoughts spiraled.
Blaze watched him stand there frozen and gave him a crooked smile.
"What's wrong?"
"Already lost the nerve to fight me?"
"Bullshit!" Asher snapped. "Don't get cocky, Blaze!"
He yanked out his fourth Poké Ball and hurled it onto the field.
"Come out, Swampert!"
A flash of light revealed a broad, powerful Mud Fish Pokémon.
Swampert, one of the fully evolved starter Pokémon.
As a Water/Ground type, it had only one weakness: Grass, which hit it for quadruple damage. Against almost everything else, its defensive typing was excellent.
"Swampert!"
It planted its feet and roared, full of fighting spirit.
That confidence lasted about two seconds.
"Charizard, Blazing Dragon Claw!"
Blaze gave the command the instant Swampert hit the field.
"ROOOAR!"
Flames and Dragon-type energy wrapped around Charizard's right claw as it folded its wings and dove.
It was so fast that Swampert could barely track it.
"Dodge! Then Waterfall!"
Asher had been expecting the rush.
Swampert threw itself aside, but Charizard's speed was still a step beyond what it had anticipated.
BOOM!
The Blazing Dragon Claw missed a direct hit, but the edge of the attack still raked across Swampert's body before tearing a deep gouge through the ground.
"Swampert!"
It gritted through the pain. Deep blue energy surged around its body as Waterfall took hold, and it charged straight back at Charizard.
At that range, there was almost no room to evade.
"Charizard, Steel Wing! Block it!"
Blaze answered immediately.
"ROOOAR!"
A metallic sheen flashed over Charizard's wings. It folded them across its body like a shield.
CLANG!
Swampert slammed into the hardened wings with a heavy metallic crash.
Charizard did not move an inch.
The faint smile that had started to form on Asher's face froze.
Blaze was pissing him off.
"Charizard, finish it."
"One more Blazing Dragon Claw."
He gave a faint smile.
"ROOOAR!"
Fire and draconic energy flared around Charizard's claw again.
Swampert had no time to recover.
SLASH!
The attack struck it head-on.
Its body was hurled backward and smashed into the battlefield, spraying broken stone and dust in every direction.