"If this were a regular Arbok, I wouldn't dare use this move. But my partner is a Ditto!"
[Ditto, use Substitute and set up an ambush around Machamp.] Feng Che commanded via telepathy.
Current-stage Ditto could split into three distinct entities. It divided itself, each part maintaining the form of Arbok, silently awaiting orders beneath the churned earth.
"Machamp, keep a sharp eye on its movents! This Arbok has a way to avoid Earthquake damage," Blue warned. Machamp stood on its tiptoes, scanning the cracked surface of the arena.
Machamp can sense tremors to pinpoint where the body will erge. I'll have to sacrifice one copy to lure out its storm of attacks, Feng Che calculated.
Suddenly, a nacing Arbok burst from the ground directly beneath Machamp, fangs bared, lunging for its muscular arm.
"Machamp, Bullet Punch!"
Machamp didn't hesitate. Its four fists beca a blur—a "Thousand-Hand Buddha" style strike. If every punch connected with a true body, Arbok would be pulverized. But just as the fists were about to land, the ground surged again, and a second Arbok lunged from the side, venom dripping from its teeth.
"A trap! The first one was a decoy!" Blue realized.
The first Arbok vanished into thin air. Machamp reacted instantly, its two upper hands grabbing the second Arbok by its "seven-inch" mark (the neck), pinning the snarling head back. But in that mont of contact, the second Arbok coiled its tail tightly around Machamp, binding its arms.
Just as Machamp prepared to break the bind with raw strength, the real Ditto-Arbok erged directly behind it. While Machamp was pinned and bound by the remaining substitutes, Ditto slamd a massive Iron Tail into the back of Machamp's head.
Machamp's world spun. With stars in its eyes, the fighting giant collapsed face-first into the dirt.
"Feng Che's Arbok is insane... how can it maintain so many realistic substitutes?" "I couldn't tell the difference until the very end." "Using three Substitutes must have drained its stamina, but it worked. If Machamp had landed just one hit on the real one, it would have been over."
Blue looked at Feng Che with a complicated expression. "Return, Machamp."
He reached for his final Poké Ball—his ace, his partner, and his strongest Pokémon: Charizard.
"Go, Charizard! We aren't out of this yet!"
Charizard let out a thunderous roar, a pillar of fla erupting from its mouth in response to Blue's fighting spirit.
"My final partner as well. Co out, Ninetales!"
Feng Che released his Kantonian Ninetales. Unlike Blue's earlier fire-type, this Ninetales radiated a blinding golden light, appearing like a solar deity descending to the field.
"Ninetales, show them the true nature of your flas!"
"This Ninetales is... it's even stronger than mine," Blue noted, his palms sweating. "Charizard, use Fire Blast!"
Charizard unleashed a massive kanji-shaped fla that burned like a miniature sun.
"Ninetales, just take it head-on."
As the Fire Blast approached, it didn't explode. Instead, it seed to unravel, its energy being sucked into Ninetales' nine tails. In less than a second, the inferno vanished, swallowed whole.
"It can't be... it absorbed it? Charizard, Flathrower!"
Charizard unleashed a sea of fire that blanketed the entire arena. Ninetales stood tall, an Empress of Cinders, calmly absorbing every lick of fla until the air was clear once more.
In the stands, Blaze, the Fire Elite, felt his heart skip a beat. His pupils contracted in sheer shock. A Pokémon that can completely neutralize and consu high-level fire moves? If this Ninetales is truly immune, I might never be able to defeat this boy.
"Our turn. Ninetales, Fire Spin!"
Ninetales breathed out a vortex of golden fire that reached the clouds, spiraling toward Charizard with terrifying destructive force.
"Charizard, dive into the center and use Fire Blast from the inside out!" Blue countered.
Charizard plunged into the vortex. A massive explosion rocked the arena, shattering the spin. But as the stray embers drifted, Ninetales' tails acted like magnets, pulling the fire back into its own aura.
"This is too passive," Blue gritted his teeth. "Charizard, Dragon Pulse!"
Charizard fired a beam of draconic energy that split into hundreds of golden darts.
"Ninetales, Flathrower."
A high-intensity stream of fire t the darts, incinerating them mid-air. Suddenly, Charizard tore through the smoke, its claws glowing—Dragon Claw. Ninetales parried with an Iron Tail, the two Pokémon locking in a test of strength.
While locked, Ninetales opened its mouth and blasted a Flathrower point-blank. Charizard roared in pain but refused to back down. Its tail fla surged three ters high, turning a blinding white—Blaze ability activated!
Lava began to seep from the ground beneath Charizard, and the dragon began to draw energy from the earth to heal its exhaustion.
"Careful, Ninetales! It's different now!"
Charizard fired a beam of white-hot fire.
"Ninetales, Protect!"
A translucent shield blocked the blast.
"I see it!" Blue's eyes lit up. "Ninetales has a limit! It didn't absorb that white fla—it had to block it. Its capacity for fire absorption isn't infinite. If we exceed that threshold, it will burn just like anything else!"
Blaze, watching from the booth, let out a long sigh of relief. So it's not total immunity. He's just raised its 'Flash Fire' capacity to an extre level. Thank goodness... I thought I was looking at an unbeatable god for a second.
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