Lance also didn't recall for a moment, after all, he and Ash don't keep in touch often, and that incident was a long time ago.
No wonder he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity when he saw Little Lugia.
He thought he was familiar with Lugia itself, having seen too many images of Lugia in books, so he felt that way.
But in reality...
He was originally familiar with Ash's Lugia!
Cynthia shook her head helplessly, initially puzzled why Lance was also surprised there.
It's understandable that Clair was out of the loop, but Lance, being a core member of the League, should have known about the Lugia incident.
Turns out he actually forgot.
He really is busy!
Once he remembered past events, Lance also understood why Little Lugia could use the skill Death Wing.
Since it was Yveltal's exclusive skill, it's not surprising Little Lugia, having been experimented on, could use it.
Ash initially said that Lugia's body contained the power of another Legendary Beast, which must be Yveltal.
On the field, sweat began to bead on Raihan's forehead.
He originally thought that the opponent was just a small Legendary Beast at the Elite Peak, and he wouldn't lose too much regardless of how he fought.
But now he realized he had completely underestimated this Son of the Sea God.
That Little Lugia was not only physically powerful, with exaggerated physical strength, but also could use another Legendary Beast's exclusive skill.
What the heck is this, an Elite Peak covered in small Legendary Beast's skin, a monster!
Without relying on any external force, just its own Elite Peak level, it could wrestle with a Champion Junior Level; it's absurd to the extreme!
"Grit your teeth and take him down!"
Raihan gritted his teeth, determination reignited on his face.
"Flygon, go for it, Draco Meteor!"
"Whoa!"
Flygon let out a mournful cry, raising its neck to the sky and roaring furiously.
In the next second, the sky above the Gym suddenly lit up, countless crimson meteors converging from the void, descending mightily towards Little Lugia's position.
Each of those meteors carried the terrifying power of Champion Junior Level, and their falling speed was so fast it was hard to react.
The power of Outrage even influenced Draco Meteor, turning its color crimson, with power surpassing the original Draco Meteor!
But Raihan wasn't done yet.
"Flygon, once more! Dragon Rush!"
As Draco Meteor descended, Flygon was enveloped again by crimson Dragon Type flames.
The entire field formed a perfect web—Draco Meteor pouring down from the sky, Dragon Rush charging from the front.
No matter which direction Little Lugia tried to dodge, it would be caught between these two forces.
"Raihan is really going for it, using two Dragon Type ultimate moves in succession. No matter if Lugia loses combat ability or not, Flygon will surely be immobilized for a while, becoming a sitting duck."
Lance said with a heavy expression.
"Raihan's idea isn't to defeat Lugia, just to injure it heavily. After it's injured, the other Pokemon can handle it, thus maximizing the reduction of difficulty for the subsequent battle."
Cynthia precisely revealed Raihan's plan.
Raihan's thoughts were simple, using the remaining strength of Flygon to consume Little Lugia's physical strength as much as possible, so that the Pokemon he sends out after could finish off Little Lugia easily.
Otherwise, having such a healthy opponent on the field would make it troublesome for his subsequent Pokemon.
The Gym Leader can't swap Pokemon, so Raihan likely uses them from weakest to strongest, saving the strongest for last.
But if he sends out a weaker Sword Spirit, it will be drained by Little Lugia's physical strength, so it's best to have Flygon unleash all remaining strength to exhaust Little Lugia's power in one go.
Faced with this offensive, Ash wasn't a bit flustered. His goal was very clear: "Lugia, ignore those meteors, use Aeroblast and Death Wing on Flygon again!!"
Little Lugia received the command, and her dark membranes unfurled once again.
Following Ash's words, she didn't care about the Draco Meteor pouring down from the sky, her dark body remained steadily suspended in mid-air, letting a few meteors brush past her and explode.
On her wings, the dual forces emerged once more, evoking fear.
On the left wing, a wild silver vortex churned, roaring as the highly compressed air spun, almost drawing the surrounding airflow into it.
On the right wing, the purple-black death aura flowed gently, emitting a faint sound of deathly silence.
The airflow and death aura intertwined, transforming into a storm torrent more ferocious than before, firing directly at the charging Flygon.
"Boom——!!!!"
"Bang——!!!!!!!"
The two forces collided fiercely in the center of the field, the violent explosion mixed with countless flying fragments of air currents erupting in the middle.
Smoky mist instantly shrouded the entire field.
Smoky mist instantly shrouded the entire field, even those in the stands couldn't see the situation on the field clearly.
It took over ten seconds for the thick mist to slowly dissipate.
When the view became clear again, everyone saw the scene on the field—
The body of the Flygon crashed heavily onto the ground in the center of the arena, its pair of transparent red wings even shattered, covered all over with horrific scars, its eyes tightly closed, motionless.
Meanwhile, in midair, Little Lugia continued to fly leisurely.
Although that Dragon Meteor Shower just now completely hit her, the injuries on Little Lugia were far lighter than everyone imagined.
In fact, her injuries were slowly healing, which left Raihan completely bewildered.
"Something's not right." He muttered, full of confusion in his eyes, "Ash, what's going on with your Lugia's physical strength...?"
"Even if it is a Legendary Beast, with such abundant physical strength, how could it possibly suffer so little damage after taking that Dragon Meteor Shower head-on?"
"And the damage is even healing, isn't that too absurd? Does your Lugia have a passive that restores physical strength and heal injuries every moment?"
Ash grinned, not hiding anything: "Because Death Wing has a hidden effect aside from dealing attack damage."
"It can absorb part of the opponent's physical strength and life force onto the user itself."
"So even though Little Lugia took a few hits just now, the two hits with Death Wing on Flygon absorbed back quite a bit of lost physical strength."
"It's only natural that he is brimming with energy now."
Raihan's face completely froze.
A life-draining skill? Can you be any more absurd?
Death Wing deals damage, intimidates, and can absorb its own life force back...
In this clash, the damage Lugia received can be said to be negligible, but his Flygon fell, and the situation is worse than the last time!
Raihan let out a long sigh, his whole demeanor deflating like a punctured balloon.
"There's no help for it, I know too little about your Lugia, Ash," he said.
"I overestimated myself."
He took out a Pokeball and recalled the severely injured Flygon.
"Thank you for your hard work, Flygon; it was my fault to misjudge the opponent and let you get hurt."
After gently putting away the Pokeball, Raihan raised his head again.
The fierce fighting spirit rekindled in those eyes, and the earlier slump was forcibly suppressed at this moment.
"However, the next one isn't so simple."
"Your little Legendary Beast is definitely strong, but I haven't used my real trump card yet."
He took down the third Pokeball from his belt.
"Come out, Turtonator!"
The Turtonator, with Dragon and Fire Type attributes, is known for its heavy defensive power.
Ash's Eye of Insight quietly operated.
Champion Intermediate Level, defensive power S, Special Defense A, Attack A, Special Attack A, Speed A, Physical Strength A.
Merely looking at this string of data, Ash couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
With defense directly elevated to S-Class, and all other ability values above A-Level, this truly is a well-rounded contender.
Moreover, Turtonator's dual attributes provide a quadruple resistance to Fire Type, adding that turtle shell, a head-on clash is simply thankless.
Compared to the earlier Flygon, this Pokemon is more troublesome by more than a notch.
Ash looked down at the leisurely flying Little Lugia in the sky.
Although Little Lugia's physical strength is still ample, the level difference with Turtonator is too great. Simply relying on Aeroblast and Death Wing for a direct confrontation may not yield any advantage.
More importantly, Little Lugia has already achieved his task in this match, taking down a Champion Junior Level Pokemon; the KPI is completed.
Continuing to fight only wastes his physical strength, so it's better to switch him out.
Ash lifted the Pokeball, and with a flash of red light, he recalled Little Lugia.
"Thank you for your hard work, Lugia; you've done well. It's time to pass the baton."
After hanging the Pokeball back on his belt, Ash lifted his head to look at the center of the arena but did not reach for another Pokeball.
Raihan stood on the other end of the arena, originally poised in a combat-ready stance, yet after waiting for quite a while, the opposing boy made no move.
He followed Ash's gaze, only to see a completely empty arena.
Raihan scratched his head: "Ash, why are you just standing there? Quickly release another Pokemon; the match isn't over yet."
Ash grinned, winking at Raihan.
"Gym Leader Raihan, hold on a moment longer."
Raihan: ???
"Hold on? Hold on for what?"
"For my Pokémon," Ash replied.
Raihan was even more puzzled: "Isn't your Pokémon on your belt? What are you waiting for?"
The few people in the audience were also confused at this moment.
Serena turned her head towards Misty: "What's Ash waiting for?"
Misty was equally puzzled: "I don't know, could there be something wrong with his Pokeball?"
Brock rubbed his chin, thoughtful.
Lance and Cynthia exchanged glances, also unclear about what Ash was planning.
Amidst this confusion, suddenly, a magnificent dragon's roar erupted from the sky!
"Roar!!"
The dragon's roar exploded over the gym like a thunderclap, slightly shaking the entire arena.
Immediately, a blazing stream of fire rapidly approached from the direction of the sun.
That stream of fire, near and far, moved with a speed almost indescribable as lightning.
In the next moment...
"Boom——!!!"
Outside the open glass dome above the gym, an enormous figure, swept by swirling hot air, descended directly into the center of the arena.
Clouds of dust were stirred up by that air current, and fine sand left by the sandstorm swirled anew in the field.
As the dust gradually dispersed, a colossal orange-red flying dragon landed steadily in the center of the arena.
Over two meters tall, with strong and powerful limbs, the creamy yellow of its belly stretched from the throat to the base of its tail, creating a stark contrast with the fiery orange-red of its body.
The wide wings on its back unfolded, the sharp tips of the horns on its head pointing backward, and the pupils within burned with intense fighting spirit.
Most striking was the flame burning at the end of its long, thick tail.
Upon first glance, the flame seemed similar to any ordinary Charizard's orange-red color, but upon closer inspection, the edges of the flames were subtly coursing with a rainbow sheen.
Charizard, one of Ash's signature Pokémon, and one of the three titans in Ash's team!!
Currently, he is also the reigning King of Charicific Valley!
"Charizard!!"
Misty was nearly so excited she almost jumped directly out of her seat, her eyes filled with irrepressible excitement.
"It's Charizard! How did he come here?"
Serena also staring blankly at the massive figure in the arena, took a long moment to react.
"Wasn't Charizard always training at Charicific Valley? How did he suddenly fly over here?"
Brock, with arms crossed, had an epiphany.
"It's likely that Ash called Ms. Kikyo before the battle started."
"Ms. Kikyo then passed the message to Charizard, and that's how Charizard flew all the way from the Valley."
"Although Charicific Valley is quite far from here, for a Champion Level Charizard, that distance is negligible."
Misty then realized: "No wonder Ash was waiting there!"
"He was waiting for Charizard to arrive!"
It's undeniable that this entrance style is quite exhilarating!
Charizard's place in Ash's team needs no further mention; by just standing there, Charizard instills a great sense of security.
Today, he is not what he used to be.
Even without relying on external power, he can stand at the pinnacle level!
Cynthia's lip corner slightly raised, her eyes carrying a gentle smile.
"Ash is always like this, his bond with Pokémon never severed by distance."
In the center of the arena, after Charizard landed, his piercing eyes slowly turned toward Ash.
His pupils carried both nostalgic reunion and an abundant battle intent surging forth.
Two streams of white heat puffed from his nostrils, his entire demeanor declaring to Ash...
Ready to fight anytime!
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