"I'm sorry, Lord Red. I don't want to lose too embarrassingly," Naoto said apologetically before issuing his final command.
"Lapras, I'm counting on you. Use Perish Song as our final move!"
"Too hasty," Red murmured quietly.
The wounded Lapras sang a haunting, sorrowful melody. After enduring the full devastating impact of Omastar's Rollout assault, it collapsed on the ice surface with its eyes rolled back.
"Lapras is unable to battle!"
The referee raised the red flag high to announce the result.
Due to Perish Song's lingering curse, Omastar had also been affected. It was as if some malevolent brand had been seared into its consciousness. Currently, Omastar showed no symptoms, but only because the countdown hadn't concluded yet.
"Looks like I'll have to withdraw this battle-eager one regretfully. I'll need to comfort this warlike little guy properly later," Red murmured.
With his extensive theoretical and practical expertise, Red naturally understood Perish Song's exact mechanics. After three turns, any Pokémon affected would faint automatically unless recalled.
"At least I'm not foolish enough to bring only one Poké Ball to battle," Red said, slowly placing his hand on the Poké Ball at his waist, contemplating which partner to deploy next.
"Perish Song? What kind of move is that?" Ash asked from the audience, genuinely confused. Although the name sounded ominous, he didn't understand its specific effect.
Everyone glanced helplessly at Ash, whose theoretical knowledge remained virtually nonexistent, sighing deeply. They'd grown accustomed to his ignorance.
"Perish Song is a Normal-type move that causes all Pokémon on the field to enter a cursed state. After three turns, including the activation turn, any Pokémon still affected will faint—meaning they lose their ability to battle. The effect disappears only if you switch out," Gary explained with exasperation.
"And Perish Song always hits its target!" Leaf added.
"I see! That Naoto guy looks all serious, but I didn't expect him to use such an underhanded tactic!" Ash said indignantly, feeling wronged on behalf of his brother.
It's mainly because Red's strength is too overwhelming, Gary, Leaf, Misty, and Brock all thought simultaneously.
If they were in Naoto's position, they'd probably want their battle to be somewhat respectable too—at least force Red to deploy a second Pokémon.
"Come back, Omastar."
Reluctantly, Red comforted Omastar's heart, which burned with desire to continue fighting. Under its pitiful, pleading gaze, he slowly withdrew the Poké Ball and recalled the ancient predator.
"This is the first time Lord Red has switched Pokémon! What powerful partner will he deploy next?" the announcer shouted with unbridled excitement.
Not just the announcer—every spectator in the venue and even the referee locked their burning gazes on the Poké Ball in Red's hand, eagerly anticipating what formidable Pokémon would take the stage.
After all, this marked the first time Red had switched Pokémon during any battle.
"Lord Red, I believe you already know which Pokémon I'll send out last," Naoto declared confidently before immediately throwing his prepared Poké Ball, releasing the partner inside.
"I'm counting on you for the finale, my first partner!"
White light burst forth, revealing the blue-skinned Poliwrath making its grand entrance.
Poliwrath was a bipedal Pokémon with powerfully developed arms. Its white belly bore a distinctive black spiral pattern—according to research, these spirals were Poliwrath's transparent internal organs visible through its skin.
Poliwrath's body fat percentage was virtually zero. Because its entire physique consisted of dense muscle mass, Poliwrath weighed more than double what it had during its Poliwhirl stage.
"Poliwrath... how nostalgic. I didn't expect that brave little one who dared challenge Gyarados back then has grown so remarkably," Red observed with genuine admiration.
Seeing the pronounced muscle definition on Poliwrath's arms, Red couldn't help but feel impressed.
Recalling when he'd served as substitute Cerulean Gym trainer, that had been Red and Naoto's first encounter. Back then, neither Naoto nor his partner had fully matured—Poliwrath had been merely a developing Poliwhirl, yet it still relied on sheer conviction to withstand two devastating attacks from the blood-red Gyarados.
Originally, Red had wanted to award Naoto the badge for that display of courage, but Naoto refused, insisting on earning the Cascade Badge through his own merit rather than accepting Red's perceived charity.
Unfortunately, Red had departed Cerulean City the next day—one of Naoto's lasting regrets. From that day on, Naoto trained relentlessly with Poliwrath, using Red as his benchmark, hoping desperately to stand before him again as an equal.
Now that dream had finally come true, and both Naoto and Poliwrath's faces lit up with excitement.
Red recalled that this Poliwrath possessed a hidden ability—Swift Swim—which dramatically boosted its speed during rainy weather. That speed boost would significantly enhance Poliwrath's close-combat capabilities. An excellent ability indeed.
"I choose you, Blastoise!"
Red threw his Poké Ball, deploying the Shellfish Pokémon.
"KAMEE!"
The instant Blastoise materialized, it released a thunderous roar, forcefully stomping the ice surface beneath to assert dominance and intimidate Poliwrath. This was the overwhelming presence of Blastoise—a king among Pokémon.
But Blastoise suddenly frowned, noticing the ice surface displayed faint stress fractures.
After detecting this structural weakness, Blastoise—under Poliwrath's vigilant observation—decisively opened its maw to release Ice Beam, using the frigid energy to reinforce the ice surface's thickness so it could properly support both combatants' considerable weight.
Blastoise had no intention of battling Poliwrath properly, only to suddenly plunge through compromised ice into the pool below.
Like Poliwrath, Blastoise also possessed extraordinarily developed musculature. After intensive power training alongside Snorlax, its muscle definition had become remarkably pronounced—rivaling even Fighting-type specialists.
"Blastoise, one of the Kanto starter trio! Could this be Lord Red's original starter Pokémon?! I didn't expect my and Poliwrath's efforts to receive such tremendous recognition!" Naoto exclaimed with exceptional excitement, nearly moved to tears. Fortunately, preparing for the imminent battle allowed Naoto to suppress his overwhelming emotions.
Clearly, Naoto mistakenly believed his capabilities had earned Red's complete acknowledgment, which explained why Red deployed his presumed starter partner.
"What's that guy getting so worked up about? Acting like a complete fool," Gary muttered from the stands. "It's just a Blastoise. Plenty of trainers have one. Why the theatrics?"
"But speaking of which, when did Red capture a Blastoise?" Gary wondered aloud, genuinely curious.
Ash immediately seized the opportunity to boast. "My big brother didn't just capture Blastoise—he also has the final Kanto starter, Venusaur!"
"Moreover, Red's Venusaur and Blastoise are fundamentally different from ordinary starters. They're Pokémon naturally born with a regal aura—completely distinct from typical specimens!" Brock explained earnestly.
The memory of Venusaur and Blastoise's autonomous Mega Evolution had profoundly shocked Brock's understanding of Pokémon biology. It had shattered his conceptual framework entirely—a truly paradigm-shifting revelation.