"Holy shit!! Two shiny Charmeleon?!"
"HOLY SHIT!!!!"
The third-year commentary student on the platform couldn't hold back anymore. Completely disregarding the commentator's code of conduct, he let loose with profanity.
And with the commentator's outburst, the spectators below erupted.
"Shiny Charmeleon! Two of them?!"
"And he's got a shiny Dratini wrapped around his waist?! This has gotta be someone from a major family."
"Damn, shiny Dratini, Charmeleon—could this be someone from the Wuling Wang family? Holy crap, the Wang family's young master?"
"The Wang family's heir? Hehe, I'm latching onto this coattail~"
"Oh heavens, why don't you give me this kind of luck? I'd be happy with just ONE!"
"Yo, are those really two shiny Charmeleon? Quick, slap me."
Seeing the three shiny Pokémon on the field, the afro-haired guy couldn't sit still. He quickly had the Machoke beside him slap him to see if he was dreaming.
"SMACK!"
With one slap from Machoke, the surrounding air went silent.
"Holy crap, it's not a dream!"
"Damn, what a madman!"
The spectators below were in an uproar, but the two on the field weren't affected at all and continued preparing.
"Swish!"
The flag dropped. The battle began.
"Charmeleon, Metal Claw!"
"Charmeleon, Dragon Tail!"
The instant the battle started, both commanded their Charmeleon to launch aggressive attacks.
Auron had his Charmeleon use Dragon Tail, while Jace's Charmeleon led with his signature Metal Claw.
"Graow!"
"Roar!"
For some reason, every time the two Charmeleon fought each other, they'd roar like this. Neither trainer understood if this was some special signal.
However, when either Charmeleon battled other Pokémon, they didn't do this.
"The battle has begun! We can see both shiny Charmeleon charging at each other simultaneously! One Charmeleon is using Metal Claw! The other is using Dragon Tail!"
"The two Charmeleon make contact—Dragon Tail sweeps!"
"But no! He jumped to dodge it! Charmeleon's jumping ability is quite good. Metal Claw!"
The leaping Charmeleon borrowed the momentum of his descent, bringing Metal Claw crashing down viciously.
"He dodged! Charmeleon nimbly sidestepped to avoid Metal Claw, but his offensive isn't over—he's still attacking!"
Metal Claw continued slashing at Charmeleon, forcing him to retreat backward while dodging.
"Charmeleon, Flamethrower!"
Auron's Charmeleon's eyes focused. He unleashed Flamethrower at Jace's Charmeleon, the flame column directly covering his opponent's body.
"Charmeleon is too close, no time to dodge—he's taking the Flamethrower head-on with his body!"
As the flames dispersed, Charmeleon's claws glowing with silver light were held up before his face. Through the gaps between his claws, his resolute eyes showed through.
"Charmeleon, Ancient Power!"
Seeing his Charmeleon was fine, Jace quickly commanded a counterattack.
Charmeleon condensed a massive rock and hurled it at Auron's Charmeleon.
Seeing there was no time to dodge, Auron quickly said, "Charmeleon, Dragon Tail—smash it!"
"Facing the incoming Ancient Power, Charmeleon shows no panic! Since he can't dodge it anyway, might as well meet it head-on! He spins around—Dragon Tail strikes the massive rock and shatters it!"
"But Charmeleon has already used the broken rock to block his opponent's vision and closed in! What's this? Dragon Rush!"
"BOOM!"
With rubble filling the air, there was no way to see Jace's Charmeleon charging through. Auron's Charmeleon was struck by Dragon Rush as expected and sent flying.
After being knocked back, Auron's Charmeleon slid across the ground briefly, then stood up without hesitation, eyes cautiously locked on his opponent as if searching for an opening.
The two Charmeleon had been battling each other for over half a month. Fighting daily, they knew each other's moves and habits inside and out.
But this battle was different from before. This time their trainers were commanding them, so those old habits weren't as useful anymore. This was an unprecedented match.
"The Charmeleon who was knocked back quickly stood up! The two Charmeleon are in a standoff—neither is making the first move!"
"Charmeleon, Dragon Breath!"
In the end, Jace couldn't hold back first and chose to probe with Dragon Breath.
"Dodge it, Dragon Breath!"
With the opponent using Dragon Breath to probe, Auron had no choice but to fight fire with fire, also using Dragon Breath to counter.
The two Charmeleon played it like a game—you fire a Dragon Breath, I dodge it, then return one to you. You dodge and send one back to me, I dodge and send one back to you.
Neither Charmeleon had very high proficiency with Dragon Breath, and they knew each other well, so they could very easily dodge each other's attacks.
Auron didn't have many options in this situation. Both Pokémon were still Charmeleon—not only did they lack many moves, they had no status-changing moves either. They were forced into direct confrontation.
Moreover, Auron needed to ensure his Charmeleon's stamina didn't fall below his opponent's, or he'd be put on the defensive.
Pokémon: Charmeleon ★
Gender: Male
Type: Fire
Ability: Solar Power (In harsh sunlight or strong sunlight weather, Special Attack increases to 1.5x, but loses some HP each turn)
Aptitude: Gold
Basic Moves: Growl, Scratch, Ember, Smokescreen, Dragon Breath, Fire Fang, Slash, Flamethrower, Fire Punch, Sunny Day, Dragon Claw
Inherited Moves: Metal Claw, Bite, Dragon Rush, Dragon Tail, Ancient Power
This was the information Auron had seen about Jace's Charmeleon before the battle started. Jace had somehow secretly taught his Charmeleon the move Sunny Day.
When Auron saw this move, he immediately understood what Jace was planning.
Both Charmeleon had the Solar Power ability, which meant that under Sunny Day weather, they'd lose HP after using moves or after a certain amount of time passed.
If Auron's Charmeleon's HP fell below Jace's Charmeleon's, Jace would directly use Sunny Day, then drain Auron's Charmeleon through stalling and dodging attacks.
At that point, the initiative would be in Jace's hands, and if Auron didn't want to lose, he'd be forced to attack actively.
Unfortunately, Jace didn't know that Auron could see other Pokémon's move pools, so his long-planned strategy was destined to fail.
"Charmeleon, Fire Fang!"
Jace was impatient by nature and couldn't stand the two Charmeleon trading meaningless shots. He directly commanded his Charmeleon to engage in close combat.
"Dragon Tail—knock him away!"
Again a sweep, again jumping to dodge—similar scenes seemed to have just happened moments ago.