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"Thank you for those kind words!" Ash listened to Blaine's praise and responded with genuine appreciation.
"This isn't merely a compliment. Battling against you has made my dormant heart burn with excitement once again."
"So, in order to properly challenge you, I'm bringing out my ultimate trump card!"
Blaine spoke as he retrieved a Poké Ball that appeared completely ordinary at first glance.
However, Blaine regarded the Poké Ball with obvious affection, and observers could sense an unprecedented level of anticipation radiating from him.
Ash also became completely serious at this moment. He knew about Blaine's team from various sources. He had memories of Magmortar and Rhydon, but he realized this battle was triggering something beyond his expectations.
He genuinely didn't know much about Blaine's other Pokémon, and he hadn't anticipated that their match would unlock such a hidden challenge.
"What kind of Pokémon could it be?" Green, who had already fought against Blaine and earned her badge, began feeling nervous about this development.
After witnessing the intense competition between both trainers, Green now realized that if Blaine had brought her to this volcanic arena and deployed such a powerful lineup, she might not have been able to achieve victory.
"You'll understand once you see it!" Elite Agatha spoke with obvious interest. The Pokémon that Blaine was preparing to send out seemed to concern even her.
"It's been far too long since we've battled together! Let's show them our partnership! Come forth!"
Blaine threw the Poké Ball, and brilliant light flashed before everyone's eyes. A majestic figure materialized on top of a stone pillar as the light gradually faded, revealing an imposing form standing nearly two meters tall.
Fluffy cream-colored fur covered its face like a flowing mane. Its eyes burned with intense brown fire, while its body displayed distinctive black and orange stripes reminiscent of a tiger's pattern. Its legs were surrounded by thick fur, and its long tail swayed with natural majesty.
"That's an Arcanine!" Green exclaimed with obvious surprise.
Arcanine moved without leaving traces and possessed speed rivaling the wind itself. It represented the evolved form of Growlithe.
Although Growlithe were commonly encountered, wild Arcanine were extraordinarily rare. Growlithe required exposure to Fire Stones to evolve into their magnificent final form.
The rarity wasn't due to the evolution stone's scarcity, but because once a wild Growlithe evolved into Arcanine, its incredible wind-like speed made tracking its movements virtually impossible, rendering encounters extremely uncommon.
"AROOOOO!"
The moment it appeared on the battlefield, Arcanine immediately released a powerful howl. The sound didn't resemble a dog's bark but rather combined the fierce qualities of both wolf and tiger, creating an intimidating effect that commanded respect.
"This is my strongest partner! Give me everything you've got, Ash!" Blaine looked at his Arcanine with obvious pride and spoke with complete seriousness.
"Then I'll respond with my absolute strongest as well!"
Witnessing this development, Ash also retrieved his Poké Ball and spoke with unwavering determination. Although this had triggered an unexpected challenge, it only made Ash feel more excited about the battle ahead.
"The decision is yours, Charizard!"
"ROAAAAR!"
The moment Ash's voice concluded and his Poké Ball was thrown, Charizard released an earth-shaking roar that exploded like thunder. Air currents spread outward in all directions, and the molten magma below seemed to respond by bubbling more intensely.
Arcanine's eyes sharpened with focus, and its fluffy mane swayed with the air currents as if it had transformed into a living gust of wind.
The light dispersed along with Charizard's roar, revealing another tall, imposing figure on the battlefield. The two Pokémon faced each other with mutual recognition.
Simply by looking at each other, both seemed to sense their opponent's incredible strength. Arcanine, which had been resting on its stone pillar, slowly stood to its full height and regarded its rival with obvious respect.
"My prediction was absolutely correct. I knew you would send out Charizard!" Blaine seemed to have anticipated that Ash's final Pokémon would indeed be his newly evolved partner.
He had clearly witnessed Charizard's strength during yesterday's encounter. It was precisely because of both Charizard's power and Ash's tactical brilliance that he had decided to respond with his absolute strongest combination.
"Charizard just evolved recently. Will Ash be alright?" Green felt some concern about this matchup. Although Charizard was undoubtedly powerful, it had only recently completed its evolution.
On the opposing side, Arcanine was a Pokémon that had worked alongside Blaine for many years. She couldn't help worrying whether the newly evolved Charizard could handle such an experienced opponent.
Elite Agatha remained silent, quietly observing how the battle would unfold on the volcanic battlefield.
"Charizard, use Flamethrower!"
"Arcanine, counter with Flamethrower!" Both trainers initiated combat simultaneously, with Ash taking the offensive lead and Blaine responding immediately.
Fire-type Pokémon naturally began with fire-type techniques. Both partners launched their attacks at the same moment, releasing high-temperature flames from their mouths.
BOOM!
Two brilliant orange-red flames collided dramatically in the center of the battlefield. The opposing fires surged together instantly, forming a massive fireball that continued expanding in the middle of the arena. The tremendous heat caused the air around them to shimmer and distort.
Nearby stone pillars turned red-hot and began smoking as the intense flames heated the volcanic rock.
"It's incredibly hot! The flame power seems almost identical!" Green used her hands to shield herself from the overwhelming temperature while observing the battlefield. The fire-type attacks from both sides appeared perfectly matched in strength.
BOOM!
After both flames exhausted their energy, a tremendous explosion erupted in the air. Simultaneously, Blaine called out his next command.
"Arcanine, use Extreme Speed!"
Blaine issued his order, and Arcanine's expression became laser-focused upon hearing the command. Blue light suddenly emanated from its entire body, and the azure energy around its feet seemed to form miniature hurricanes.
With explosive force, Arcanine launched forward as the blue aura around its body transformed into streaming air currents that wrapped around its form, charging directly through the flames that hadn't yet dissipated.
As a Fire-type Pokémon, Arcanine possessed natural resistance to high temperatures, and combined with Extreme Speed's power, the air currents surrounding its body naturally deflected the remaining flames.
Extreme Speed was Arcanine's signature technique. Known for legendary velocity, Extreme Speed was a move that pushed Arcanine's speed to its absolute limits.
Like Quick Attack, Extreme Speed possessed priority striking ability, but its power far exceeded that of the more common technique.