"So strong!"
"Even with Sunny Day and the boost from the Solar Power ability, Charizard's Flathrower is still weaker than the opponent's!"
Seeing this scene, Ethan's expression changed drastically. From that exchange, it was clear that the power of their flas was not on the sa level at all.
Fortunately, Charizard had mastered the ability to control temperature, so the damage from the fire was not too great for him, and he was able to withstand it directly with his body.
At the sa ti, the fla at the tip of Charizard's tail suddenly intensified, beginning to frantically absorb the fire striking his body. The surface of his skin started to radiate astonishing heat; his entire body turned a deep red and faintly began to emit a dim red glow.
"The fire was absorbed?"
Brandon Jones's eyes narrowed slightly.
Huff, huff, huff.
At that mont, the power within Charizard was pushed to its limit.
However, such trendous power also ca with a burden; at that instant, clear signs of fatigue appeared on Charizard's face.
"Prepare to attack—use Flare Blitz!"
Ethan also noticed the situation and issued the order swiftly.
"Charrrzz!"
Charizard growled low, stomped the ground with both feet, and a powerful energy wrapped around his entire body. Flas surged violently, completely transforming his figure into a massive ball of fire.
Boom!
With another stomp, the ground beneath Charizard let out a thunderous roar, as if it could no longer bear the strain.
Propelled by a single powerful kick, the ground under Charizard shattered with a crash. At the sa ti, his figure shot forward; with a beat of his wings, he skimd across the ground at high speed and slamd directly into Carupt.
"Carupt, use Heavy Slam!"
Seeing Charizard charging at full speed, the slow-moving Carupt had no choice but to confront him head-on.
Boom!
Carupt's weight was terrifying in itself; when using Heavy Slam, its montum was equally astonishing. As it stepped down, the entire battlefield trembled once again.
Boom!
In the next instant, Flare Blitz and Heavy Slam collided violently at the center of the field. A trendous burst of energy erupted imdiately, even raising a mushroom-shaped cloud as smoke rolled in all directions.
Under everyone's tense gazes, the smoke gradually dispersed, revealing that Charizard had been literally crushed against the ground by Carupt, which pinned him down with its terrifying weight.
"Charizard!"
Ethan cried out in alarm at the sight.
A Flare Blitz of that level was still suppressed by this Carupt!
"Caaam... rr..."
However, the Carupt on top also seed to have expended an enormous amount of energy. While pressing down on Charizard with both feet, it began to pant heavily.
"Charizard has lost the ability to battle. Carupt is the winner."
Seeing the situation, the referee imdiately raised the flag and announced the result.
Upon hearing this, Carupt slowly moved its body and stepped aside.
"Charizard, you really did great."
Ethan took out a Poké Ball and recalled Charizard, gently comforting him.
Then his gaze shifted to the Carupt on the opposite side, and he frowned slightly. Had this Emberfall City Gym Leader directly sent out one of his main Pokémon?
Then what exactly did the Emberfall City Gym evaluate?
Was it only combat strength?
Ethan frowned and looked at the staff mber from the Pokémon Researchers' Guild standing to the side. Seeing that he maintained a calm expression without the slightest hint of surprise further confird Ethan's assumption.
"Running into a gym whose evaluation focuses mainly on combat strength... this really is troubleso."
Because he had obtained several badges in succession earlier, Ethan had not paid much attention to gym challenges. Now, however, he had no choice but to put aside any underestimation.
"There's no other way—I'll have to rely on you. Go, ltan!"
The Poké Ball was thrown, and Ethan's strongest Pokémon, ltan, appeared on the field.
"A Steel-type Pokémon?"
Seeing the Pokémon Ethan sent out, Brandon showed slight surprise.
"ltan, this opponent is no ordinary one. Use all your strength right from the start."
After hearing Ethan's words, ltan's eyes hardened, and his body began to crackle with electric sparks, showing that he had beco serious.
"Alright, use Toxic!"
Ethan began issuing orders, planning to advance steadily. After all, there was still another Pokémon to face after Carupt.
Hiss, hiss, hiss.
A purple aura began flickering around ltan's body. Then his figure twisted and transford into a needle-like shape; a violet liquid filled his interior and shot out like a poisoned dart, attacking the slow-moving Carupt directly.
"Fla Charge!"
A calm voice rang out, and Carupt's body was instantly enveloped in flas.
However, although Fla Charge is a close-combat move, Carupt did not move at all. It simply relied on the flas surrounding its body to completely evaporate the Toxic attack.
Ethan frowned. He had originally planned to use Toxic to slowly wear Carupt down, but now, with Carupt's entire body wrapped in flas that showed no sign of dissipating, Fla Charge had effectively been turned into a defensive move, causing his plan to fail completely.
Moreover, under these circumstances, ltan's close-range attacks were also extrely difficult to make effective.
Brandon's command had been truly masterful, completely blocking all of ltan's offensive options. Such commanding ability demonstrated that he himself was an exceptionally strong trainer.
"ltan, Thunderbolt!"
With no other choice, Ethan could only order ltan to use his most powerful Electric-type attack, intending to first break through Carupt's fiery defense.
However, Brandon clearly wasn't going to allow Ethan to succeed. Flathrower was launched imdiately, completely suppressing the Thunderbolt.
"Sunny Day... it really was like lifting a rock only to drop it on my own foot."
Ethan looked at the small sun in the sky and sighed helplessly.
"Heat Wave!"
After using Flathrower to suppress Thunderbolt, Brandon gave another order.
With the boost from Sunny Day, the Heat Wave ca mixed with scorching sparks, surging toward ltan and leaving him with no chance to evade at all.
In the ti that followed, as if slowly boiling a frog, ltan's endurance was gradually worn down, until he finally lost the ability to battle.
0 to 2. In this gym battle, Ethan didn't even manage to defeat a single one of his opponent's Pokémon!
...
"The strength of this Leader Brandon is truly impressive. That Carupt... if I don't recover Sandslash and Slowking, there's no way to deal with it right now."
After the gym battle ended, Ethan returned to the hotel where he was staying, still replaying the day's battle in his mind.
"Zzzt..."
"Chaar..."
In the lobby, Charizard lay sprawled on the ground, completely dejected.
ltan sat on top of Charizard's head, looking like a fellow sufferer.
"You two don't have to be so down."
"Charizard, you're still in your growth stage; your strength still has a lot of room to improve. As for ltan, you were completely countered, and my command also had flaws—you were totally suppressed by the opponent."
"If we had used Electromagnetic Cannon earlier, it wouldn't have co to the point of not being able to defeat even a Carupt."
Seeing this, Ethan hurried over to comfort both Pokémon, while at the sa ti discarding the idea of recovering Sandslash and Slowking.
This ti, his main goal in challenging the gym was to train his own Pokémon. If he recovered Sandslash and Slowking now, wouldn't that completely defeat the purpose of the trip?
Moreover, if Charizard and ltan failed to overco the challenge of the Emberfall City Gym, it would undoubtedly have a negative impact on their future developnt.
On the other hand, he could also use the Emberfall City Gym as motivation for the two Pokémon. In order to take revenge and achieve victory, both of them would undoubtedly work even harder in their training.
User Comments
0 comments from readers