9 a.m.
Silas stepped onto the platform right on time.
He'd drawn the fire field, and his opponent today was none other than one of the six top Trainers highlighted by Lorelei… Sasaki Ono. As soon as Silas got to the stage, he spotted Sasaki Ono—who looked a lot like James—eyeing him with a burning, predatory stare, high and mighty, like a hunter sizing up his prey.
Greedy as hell…
That look made Silas sigh inwardly, then he replied coolly, "Had enough staring?"
"Heh…" Sasaki Ono's intense gaze didn't let up; he just pulled a stiff smile and switched topics. "Name's Sasaki Ono. Here's hoping we put on one hell of a match!"
"Same," Silas answered flatly.
As Silas and Sasaki Ono exchanged words, the familiar voice of the commentator rang out: "Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Indigo Plateau's third Top 64 to Top 32 breakthrough showdown—here in the fire field!"
"After three days of tournament action, I bet a whole lot of you know both Silas and Sasaki Ono by now—and you know this is a battle of kings! A showdown between the new king and the old!"
"The new king is, of course, Silas! When he advanced from Top 256 to Top 128, he broke the ten-year record for fastest battle held by the current Johto Champion and Kanto Elite Four, Lance—by a full five seconds! In his second match, he even sent out the mythical Legendary Pokémon, Mewtwo. Calling him this tournament's king is no exaggeration!"
"And the old king? That's Sasaki Ono. Some of you long-time Indigo League fans might remember: six years ago, he crushed the competition and became Champion! Six years later, the king returns to reclaim his glory!"
As the commentator's passionate narration kept going, the crowd heated up.
"Whoa, this really is king vs king! I wonder who's stronger—Silas or Sasaki Ono?"
"Who can say? Six years ago, Sasaki Ono totally dominated, but Silas is clearly super strong too—no way to call it."
"Hmph! I still think Silas will win! So what if that Sasaki Ono guy's strong? If he was really that good, he'd already be Kanto's Champion. Why's he back at Indigo if he could have taken the title before?"
Spectators disagreed left and right. Fans who'd followed Silas these past two days cheered for him, while older and more level-headed viewers remained neutral. By now, the referees had stepped between the two contestants, waving their flags.
"Competition rules: this is a three-on-three! Both Trainers can swap Pokémon in and out of the field at will. Once one side's entire lineup is out of commission, the other side wins. Understood?"
"Understood!" *2
Silas and Sasaki Ono nodded together.
"Then… let the match begin!"
As soon as both gave the nod, the referee swung his flag sharply and left the arena.
Once the officials had exited, Sasaki Ono produced a Poké Ball and smiled slyly at Silas. "Silas, let me see what you've got. I wanna find out if those rumors about your power are true! Arcanine, let's go!"
'Arcanine!'
A majestic, well-built Arcanine, fur gleaming with stripes, launched out of the ball with a booming howl!
"Is… is that an Arcanine?" The commentator sounded outright floored. "A regular Arcanine is only between 1.9 and 2 meters tall, maybe 2.5 if it's huge. But this one… Sasaki Ono's Arcanine has to be at least 3.5 meters, maybe bigger!"
"It's exactly 4.1 meters!" Sasaki Ono's proud voice echoed from the stands. "This Arcanine's been with me six years, battling through six Leagues! I've raised her carefully this whole time—so it's really not that strange!"
"Impressive!" the commentator shouted. "So Sasaki Ono is leading off with his fierce Arcanine! Let's see—what will Silas choose? Will it be the Legendary Mewtwo? Pikachu? Or is there a new contender?"
Just as his words faded, the crowd started chanting in perfect unison, the voices rising—
"Mewtwo!"
"Mewtwo!"
"Mewtwo!"
"Oh ho~" the commentator exclaimed. "Looks like everyone's dying for another glimpse of Mewtwo! But it's Silas's choice. Will he listen to the crowd and grant their wish?"
Silas ignored the crowd and the commentator, eyeing Arcanine in shock—he hadn't expected Sasaki Ono to open with a full-on Champion right out the gate. He was about to recall Pikachu's Master Ball—after all, Pikachu was just low elite at best right now, and no match for a Champion-level.
But before he could act, the Master Ball popped open on its own—Pikachu shot out, bristling with fighting spirit, squeaking at Silas, "Pika~Pi! Pikachu! Pikachu! Pikachu!"
"You wanna battle?" Silas knelt down, grinning at Pikachu. "You realize you could lose, right?"
Crackle!
Pikachu didn't say anything, but electricity flickered across his cheeks. Determination blazed in his eyes.
"Alright then!" Silas patted Pikachu's head and lowered his voice. "Win or lose, remember you've got teammates. Don't bet everything at once, okay?"
"Pikachu!"
Pikachu gave a determined nod, then jumped right off the platform onto the fire field, staring down Arcanine with unbreakable will.
"He's up!" the commentator yelled, excitement tinged with concern. "Silas picked Pikachu—but this Pikachu isn't even a meter tall! He looks like a toddler next to Arcanine. Can he even really win? Or does Silas have a plan? Let's watch and see!"
Sasaki Ono's gaze flashed with scorn. All his experience told him Pikachu was nowhere close to Arcanine's tier. He didn't hold back: "Since you're handing this round to me, I won't go easy! Arcanine, use Flame Wheel!"
'Arcanine! Arcanine!'
Arcanine leaped high, rolling through the air as a giant, pale violet ring of fire formed with his movement.
When Arcanine spun loose from the purple wheel, it almost seemed sentient—rolling toward Pikachu like a massive fiery juggernaut.
"Lightning Dash! Fist of Thunder!" Silas snapped his command.
The instant Silas spoke, Pikachu leaped airborne, dodging the Flame Wheel's roll. Tiny fists clenched, he pounded them together at his chest—sparks erupting over his hands—then unleashed a punch at Arcanine!
WHAM—two bolts of lightning shot out, morphing into two savage thunder-dragons roaring toward Arcanine!
Fist of Thunder—Silas's original move, modeled after Portgas D. Ace's Fire Fist from ONE PIECE, adapted for Charizard and Pikachu. Since Dragonite and Gengar started one-shotting enemies with moves from other worlds, Silas's team had doubled down on inventing their own wild techniques—right or wrong, there was no going back.
"Arcanine!" Sasaki Ono didn't blink at the two charging thunder-dragon bolts, just shouted, "Teach this kid some respect—abilities are all that matter. Everything else is just trash! Flamethrower!"
'Arcanine!'
With a howl, Arcanine unleashed a thick, pale purple Flamethrower!
The stream was massive—wider than Pikachu himself. The temperature shot up so much the audience could feel the heat. The fire devoured the roaring thunder-dragons, bearing down on Pikachu!
"Thunderbolt!"
Silas's face darkened—this was trouble! If Pikachu were Champion level, he'd easily dodge. But now, stuck as entry-level elite and mid-leap, Pikachu couldn't move. The only way out—fight fire with fire!
BOOM
A blast of thunder dropped straight onto Arcanine's Flamethrower!
But the heartbreak was immediate. The firestorm devoured the thunderbolt with barely a pause, not even a full second of resistance, before it washed over Pikachu in midair.
Seeing it, Silas went stone-cold. He wanted nothing more than to yank Pikachu back, but held himself in check—he knew Pikachu would never forgive him otherwise. To intervene would mean not believing in Pikachu; it would stifle its spirit forever.
When the flames faded, Pikachu's tiny body was revealed—once golden fur now scorched black, that playful, energetic frame shaking, nearly collapsing with every breath. It was obvious Pikachu was badly hurt!
"Pi…ka… Pikachu!"
Even so, he refused to fall, Pouring everything he had into one last Thunderbolt—as if declaring war against Arcanine and telling Silas, "I can still fight!"
"So childish." A sneer crossed Sasaki Ono's lips. "Dodge it. If Pikachu's still eager, humor the kid—just don't use your full strength."
'Arcanine!'
With a blur, Arcanine dodged, leaving Pikachu's Thunderbolt to crash harmlessly into empty field.
A split second later, Arcanine reappeared in front of Pikachu, claws flashing, slashing down!
"Pikachu!"
The attack landed—five bloody gouges across Pikachu's tiny frame. He howled in pain, tried to counter, and found Arcanine had already vanished.
As Pikachu tried to find his foe, Arcanine materialized at his back—another set of claws!
"Pikachu~"
Another scream, another set of bloody wounds. Against a Champion-tier Fire-type like Arcanine, there was simply no way Pikachu—at his current stage—could keep up.
After that… the beatdown began.
Arcanine's speed left Pikachu completely helpless—like a fish on a chopping block. He could only suffer while Arcanine attacked again and again.
Pikachu's blood stained the fire field over and over—even the commentator could barely watch: "This… this is just too much. Why isn't Silas recalling Pikachu? Does he really mean to stand by and let this go on?"
And it wasn't just him—the audience was getting restless.
"This is just cruel! Pikachu isn't even in the same league! What's Silas thinking, why isn't he recalling Pikachu?"
"For real. Sasaki Ono has always been strong, but after six years, he's gotten even better! There's just no way Silas can win at this rate."
"Damn, I can't take this anymore! What kind of match is this? It's basically abuse! Doesn't that bastard Silas have any sense of responsibility, letting Pikachu get beat like this?!"
Finally, under the audience's worried and pitying stares… Pikachu went down.
Fire field.
Seeing Pikachu finally collapse, the crowd seemed to let out a collective sigh. Pikachu's defeat was simply too brutal—nobody could bear to watch anymore.
Silas jumped straight from the four-meter-high platform onto the field, barely caring about the impact. He dashed to Pikachu's side, cradling the battered, bleeding Pokémon. "You okay?" he murmured, voice tight.
"Pikachu~" Pikachu cracked his eyes open, looked at Silas's anxious face, and forced a tiny, pained smile.
"Don't push yourself anymore." Relieved, Silas took out the Master Ball, told Pikachu gently, "Head back and get some rest. Leave the rest to your teammates, okay?"
"Pikachu~" Pikachu nodded and dissolved into red light, returning to the Master Ball.
Instead of sprinting back to the platform, Silas crossed straight over to Suzie, holding out the Master Ball. "Suzie, please take Pikachu to the Pokémon Center, right away—can you?"
"Okay." Suzie nodded, then looked at Silas with worried eyes. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." Silas shook his head, eyes glinting with a dangerous light. "I'm better now than ever before."
"Don't—"
Suzie was just about to say don't be angry, but Silas had already turned away, leaving her with a wry, helpless smile. She shot Sasaki Ono a sympathetic look, then hurried out.
...
Back on the stage.
As soon as Silas returned to the platform, Sasaki Ono called out, "All set?"
Silas nodded, calm as ice. "Thanks to you, everything's in order. Let's finish this match."
He sounded like ending the fight would be as easy as breathing, but Sasaki Ono didn't get mad. Instead, he acknowledged him: "Yeah, it should end here. If you're not giving your all, I'll take the win right now."
"Heh…" Silas smirked, then hurled a Master Ball and shouted, "Charizard! If he wants to play with fire, let's show him what real fire's all about!"
"Charizard!!!"
Charizard tore out of the Master Ball in a howl of rage, floating in midair, glaring down at Arcanine with burning fury in his eyes!
He and the other four Pokémon had watched Pikachu getting beaten the entire time from inside the Master Ball. Though they'd desperately wanted to help, Silas had given them no order—and they knew Pikachu wouldn't want outside help. All they could do was stew in silence.
Pikachu might be Silas's weakest Pokémon, but his courage and dedication had earned their total respect. Watching their teammate get thrashed like that… there was no way Charizard wasn't pissed!
With Charizard's arrival, the crowd was shocked to feel the temperature keep on rising—as if the heat had no upper limit, making the fire field hot as hell itself!
The commentator jumped back in, "There it is! Silas's second Pokémon is Charizard! And this Charizard is huge—bigger than Sasaki Ono's Arcanine! Easily three times bigger than a normal one! I can't wait to see what it can do!"
"Your move." Silas ignored the commentator, locked eyes with Sasaki Ono. "Hesitate now and you might never get another chance."
"Arrogant!" Sasaki Ono instantly snapped. "Arcanine, Fire Fang!"
'Arcanine!'
Arcanine roared and lunged for Charizard, jaws blazing, his fangs burning with chilling vapor and light, as if ready to tear Charizard apart right there.
As Arcanine closed in, both Trainer and Charizard flashed matching looks of disdain. Silas spoke quietly, "Fire Dragon God."
'Charizard!'
Charizard answered with a furious roar, dodged aside, clenched his right fist—Sacred Fire burst forth, swirling in holy, burning glory around his hand, forming a dragon's head! Charizard slammed his fiery dragon fist right at the charging Arcanine!
A dragon's roar split the air!
A massive dragon's head exploded from Charizard's fist, surging straight at Arcanine with a savage bellow!
It looked similar to Pikachu's Fist of Thunder—but technically, the two moves were totally different.
Fist of Thunder was inspired by Portgas D. Ace's Fire Fist from ONE PIECE; Fire Dragon God was based on Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayer, Natsu Dragneel's Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon. The only real difference was the name—the move hadn't been changed at all.
With Sacred Fire's power, Fire Dragon God was more awe-inspiring than ever, and its arrival drove the arena's temperature even higher. Sasaki Ono's face turned ashen.
He'd always known Silas's Charizard was apex Champion-tier—way beyond Arcanine. He'd come prepared, but the power Charizard unleashed now was so terrifying that even his confidence shook. He called out frantically, "Arcanine, dodge! Now!"
'Arcanine!'
Arcanine had wanted to dodge all along, but hadn't dared without Sasaki Ono's command. Now, finally freed, he tried to escape—
But… too late!
He had barely begun to turn when the massive Fire Dragon God swallowed him whole!
"Arcanine!!!"
Sasaki Ono shouted, desperate, but there was no answer…
When Fire Dragon God finally faded, the entire fire field was ablaze with pale, white flames. Arcanine lay on the ground, completely out of commission—his once-fluffy fur charred black, looking more like a black stone than a living Pokémon.
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