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A flash of understanding struck Ash's mind as he watched the incredible heat radiating from Charizard's transformed body. He could feel the profound change occurring before his eyes.
This was a power that far exceeded anything Fire Pledge could offer. The red light that had originally surrounded Charizard's body had completely transformed into actual flames. At this moment, Charizard resembled a living volcano erupting at the mouth of the crater itself.
"BOOM!"
The instant Ash shouted the name of that legendary technique, Charizard clenched its powerful fist and drove it downward into the stone pillar just beneath its feet.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
The entire volcanic crater began shaking violently, and then several massive red pillars of fire suddenly erupted from the magma in all directions around the battlefield.
In an instant, the temperature within the already scorching volcano's mouth climbed even higher. This was the ultimate Fire-type technique: Blast Burn, a move of devastating power and incredible scope.
Unlike Fire Pledge, which created a straightforward linear attack, Blast Burn was a tremendously powerful technique that released flames in a wide area from all directions around Charizard's position. Not only did it cover a much larger area than Fire Pledge, but its raw destructive power was completely incomparable to any other Fire-type move.
Seeing the towering pillars of fire emerging from every direction around the battlefield, Arcanine locked its determined eyes on Charizard. The Pokemon let out a fierce howl as blazing flames began condensing within its mouth.
Suddenly, Arcanine released a massive fireball that gradually formed into a huge flaming symbol in the air as it rushed toward its opponent.
"CRASH!"
Just as the Blast Burn technique was surging toward Charizard's position, a pillar of fire suddenly erupted directly in front of Arcanine and collided with the incoming attack.
The confrontation between Blast Burn and the opposing fire attack created an explosion that reached toward the sky at the moment of impact. The collision produced an astonishing burst of air pressure and intense heat waves that caused the magma below to surge and churn violently.
"CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!"
However, at that critical moment, the stone pillar supporting Arcanine's weight suddenly began developing deep fissures. Arcanine seemed to sense the danger immediately. Looking down, the Pokemon could see sudden bursts of fire beginning to spill out through the cracks in the deteriorating stone structure.
"BOOM!"
The stone pillar collapsed completely. As Arcanine began to fall, a pillar of fire much thicker and more powerful than those created by Fire Pledge surged upward from below, carried along with the flowing magma. Arcanine had no time to dodge or escape, and was struck directly by this tremendous force.
The Legendary Pokemon was instantly engulfed by a pillar of fire that resembled a volcanic eruption. The fire column continued producing explosive effects throughout the impact. The entire mouth of the volcano was immediately filled with thick, choking smoke that took considerable time to settle and clear.
After everything finally calmed down, Green, who had been watching the intense battle, realized that her entire body was drenched with perspiration. The suffocating, uncomfortable high temperature had been almost unbearable, but the battle had been so captivating that she had completely forgotten about the harsh conditions.
Even though the conflict on the battlefield had been incredibly fierce, both Ash and Blaine now appeared completely calm. They waited patiently for the smoke before them to dissipate without saying a single word.
As the thick smoke gradually cleared away, a bright flame appeared first, and it quickly became apparent that it was the fire burning at the tip of Charizard's tail.
Looking at Charizard's current position, the Pokemon was no longer standing where it had been before, but had moved to another stone pillar. At that moment, on the rocky surface in front of and beneath Charizard, Arcanine lay motionless on the ground.
The two large Pokemon standing together on a single stone pillar looked somewhat crowded in the limited space. The moment the smoke cleared completely, Charizard immediately spread its wings and took flight into the open air above.
Arcanine remained on the ground, unconscious, with its originally lustrous coat now singed and blackened from the intense flames it had endured.
Blaine observed this scene with a gentle smile spreading across his weathered face. The reason Charizard was positioned in the same location as Arcanine became immediately clear to the experienced Gym Leader.
Obviously, when Arcanine had been struck by that final, devastating blow, the Pokemon had lost consciousness. As it began falling through the air, Charizard had caught its opponent and prevented it from plunging into the dangerous magma below.
After all, while Fire-type Pokemon could resist some fire damage, if an unconscious Pokemon fell into actual lava, it would become impossible to retrieve them safely with a Poke Ball, creating a truly dangerous situation.
Charizard had made the compassionate choice to carry Arcanine to safety. This approach reflected not only the character of the Pokemon itself, but also the values and training of its Trainer. Only at this moment did Blaine show his complete admiration for both Pokemon and Trainer.
Sometimes, for a true Pokemon Trainer, there were certain things that mattered far more than simple strength or victory.
"Come back, old friend," Blaine said softly, lowering his head with a smile as he took out Arcanine's Poke Ball and recalled his loyal partner.
"Thank you for your hard work," Blaine spoke to the Poke Ball in his hand, his voice filled with genuine warmth and appreciation.
"Excellent work, Ash! That was incredible!" Green ran over enthusiastically and raised her hand high. When Ash saw her gesture, he raised his own hand in response, and the two friends clapped together in celebration.
"Thank you, Charizard! You fought brilliantly!" Ash said as Charizard landed beside him. The trainer extended his fist toward his Pokemon with obvious pride and gratitude.
"ROAAAAAR!"
Charizard responded by extending its own clenched claw to bump fists with Ash. The victorious Pokemon then roared triumphantly toward the sky while releasing a burst of celebratory fire from its mouth, clearly reveling in their hard-earned victory.
"Perhaps this young trainer really can accomplish great things..." Agatha thought to herself as she watched Ash, who remained focused on his Pokemon rather than paying attention to the Elite Four member's presence.
Meanwhile, Blaine approached the group and came to stand beside Ash and Green, observing Charizard as it continued expressing its excitement and satisfaction.
"After such an intense and demanding battle, your Charizard still possesses this much energy and spirit. That speaks to excellent training and care," Blaine commented, stepping forward with obvious admiration in his voice.
He had already used all of his considerable strength in this battle, even bringing out Arcanine, which he normally would not use in his role as a Gym Leader. For Blaine, his Arcanine was simply too powerful and experienced for most rookie Trainers to handle fairly.
But this time, even after bringing out his strongest partner, he had still been defeated. This was more than sufficient proof of Ash's exceptional abilities, particularly for Agatha's evaluation.
"No, this victory belongs to Charizard's own efforts and determination," Ash replied, looking at his Pokemon with complete sincerity.
Although he had invested considerable time and energy in training and caring for Charizard, that was only possible because Charizard itself was willing to work so incredibly hard.
Ever since evolving from Charmander into Charmeleon, this Pokemon had trained more diligently than any other member of Ash's team, especially following a particular incident that had motivated its dedication.
Just like with this battle, even though Ash had begun teaching the fundamentals of Blast Burn during Charizard's time as a Charmeleon, the Pokemon had not mastered the technique at all during that earlier stage. It had only succeeded in learning this ultimate Fire-type move just yesterday, immediately after completing its evolution into Charizard.
This demonstrated that during its time as a Charmeleon, Charizard had already trained itself to incredible levels of power and skill, enabling it to master Blast Burn in a single breakthrough moment following its evolution.
Charizard stopped its celebratory display upon hearing Ash's humble words. The Pokemon looked directly at its trainer, clearly moved by the sincere praise and recognition.
"Ha ha! I can definitely feel the strong bond between you two. Pokemon grow stronger for their Trainers, and that strength comes from the dedication you show in return," Blaine observed with genuine warmth.
"So, Ash, let me ask you this important question: what is the Volcano Badge?"