Looking at Charizard, a trace of an excited smile appeared on Ash's face: "It's been a while, partner. The last battle was with Brandon. Let me see what you've achieved from your training in Charicific Valley!"
"Roar!"
Charizard raised its head and let out a loud response to the sky, making its intentions clear.
In this battle, just like before, it will go forward with Ash towards victory!
Pikachu, sitting on Ash's shoulder, also excitedly waved its little paw at Charizard.
"Pika Pika!"
Charizard turned its head to look at Pikachu, giving a soft snort through its nose as a form of greeting.
It was the complete expression of "long time no see, old buddy."
On the other side of the field, Raihan was completely astonished, opening his mouth multiple times before managing to blurt out a sentence.
"Is this an entrance? I have to learn this next time!"
Nothing else to say, this entrance is just undeniably cool!
Next time he battles Leon, he'll strike a cool pose and when Leon urges him, his Pokemon will descend from the sky, kicking up a cloud of dust!
Darn, that's going to be amazingly cool!
Seeing Raihan almost dancing with excitement, Charizard turned to look at Ash again, pointing its Dragon Claw at its own head.
'Ash, is there something wrong with the Trainer we're against this time?' That was the message Charizard conveyed.
Ash's mouth twitched: "Ahem, of course not, Gym Leader Raihan is just a bit excited about your entrance."
Raihan quickly regained his composure: "Alright Ash, though your Charizard's entrance was cool, I won't just hand over the victory in this Fire Type Pokemon battle!"
"Neither will we!"
Suppressing his excitement from imagining things, Raihan carefully focused on Charizard.
As curious as he was about why Ash's Charizard wasn't following him around, this was not the time for such questions.
The battle was the only thing he cared about right now.
Raihan's gaze locked onto Charizard.
The terrifying aura being emitted from Charizard made him involuntarily excited.
Champion Level.
Undoubtedly Champion Level, and not just Champion Junior Level, but the next level up, Champion Intermediate Level!
"Alright, alright!"
Raihan clapped his hands heavily, his face regaining that signature smile.
"This battle seems destined to be a fierce showdown!"
In the audience, Clair finally came back to her senses.
She stared intently at the giant Charizard on the field, her expression becoming a bit complex.
'This Charizard... Just from its aura, it seems to be a Champion Level Pokemon as well.'
She turned her head carefully, asking Lance beside her.
"Brother Lance, this Charizard..."
Lance nodded solemnly, giving her the answer she wanted.
"That's right, it's Champion Level, and it's Champion Intermediate Level just like Gardevoir."
Upon hearing this, Clair instantly froze.
The expression on her pretty face was remarkable, a mixture of shock and incredulous humor.
'So Ash wasn't even using his full strength when battling with me?'
'He has more than one Champion Intermediate Level Pokemon?'
'That Gardevoir was already outrageous enough, and now there's another Champion Intermediate Level Charizard?'
'Is this his real strength...'
Her mind was a complete mess, the more she thought about it, the more she felt her loss wasn't unjustified.
Losing to such a monster, what is there to be unwilling about?
On the field, Raihan's expression had turned immensely serious.
He took the floating Rotom Phone from his waist, snapping more photos of the king-level opponent, documenting it in his collection.
"Ash, your Charizard does look quite formidable, but to be honest, compared to Leon's Charizard, they aren't in the same league. Even Leon's Charizard I've severely damaged; defeating your Charizard is not going to be an issue!!"
"Come, show me what you're really capable of!"
Ash looked up at Charizard on the battlefield, flames of determination blazing in his eyes.
"Charizard, take the initiative, use Flamethrower!"
Charizard raised its neck, and from its mouth filled with sharp teeth erupted a thick stream of orange-red fire.
The blazing fire licked out, forming into a scorching torrent that swept directly toward Turtonator.
Where the fire passed, even the sand on the ground was heated up.
Raihan remained calm: "Turtonator, use Flamethrower too!"
The shell on Turtonator's back glowed with bright red patterns.
It bowed its head and opened its mouth, producing a similarly thick tongue of fire, meeting Charizard's flames head-on.
The two tongues of fire crashed into each other in mid-air, igniting the entire field in a red glow.
But this stalemate lasted less than a second, as Charizard's fire suddenly expanded, doubling its power, forcing Turtonator's flames back.
"Roar!"
Charizard let out a roar, its flame carrying an unstoppable momentum, engulfing Turtonator's tongue of fire and surged toward Turtonator itself.
With no time to dodge, the massive body of Turtonator was completely consumed by the flame.
Raihan's brow slightly furrowed.
"It seems your Charizard is indeed stronger in attack power than my Turtonator."
In the blaze of fire, Turtonator's massive silhouette gradually came into view.
Its shell had been smoked a bit black by the flames, but aside from that there were almost no visible injuries anywhere else.
Quad resistance to fire thanks to its attribute advantage, plus that ridiculous Defense, let Turtonator almost perfectly shrug off the damage from Charizard's strike.
Raihan's smile returned to his face.
"But as you can see, my Turtonator may be a bit weaker on the offensive side, its defensive power is absolutely no joke. Quad resistance to fire plus this full set of heavy armor—if you want to crush it with Fire Type Moves, that's completely impossible."
Ash grinned.
"Yeah, Turtonator's dual attributes counter Fire Type way too hard. In that case, let's change our battle stance!"
He raised the glove that held the Key Stone, the Power of Viridian surging into the Key Stone from within his body.
"Charizard, MEGA Evolution!"
The Key Stone burst out with dazzling seven-colored light, and the Evolution Stone inside Charizard's body surfaced, shining with the same blinding radiance.
The two beams of light intertwined in midair, completely shrouding Charizard's massive body in Evolutionary Light.
When the light faded, a brand-new Charizard appeared before everyone's eyes.
Its originally orange-red scales had turned into a deep, dark gray-black, while the underbelly that stretched from the jaw all the way to the tip of the tail now gleamed with a cool sky-blue.
The blazing flame at the tip of its tail, originally orange-red, had now become a ghostly blue fire. Every so often, a few multicolored sparks burst from within the firelight, radiating a terrifying heat several times greater than that of ordinary flames.
Its overall aura had more than doubled compared to before it evolved.
Mega Charizard X, a dual-attribute Dragon and Fire form!
Raihan stared at that completely renewed figure, his whole expression collapsing.
"Ash! How are you still using MEGA Evolution?! Aren't you only allowed to use MEGA Evolution once per match?"
Once a Key Stone is used, it needs time to recharge—this is common knowledge to all Trainers.
Exactly because of this limitation, MEGA Evolution is called "the ultimate trump card of a single battle."
But this guy Ash actually MEGA evolved Charizard even after Lucario.
This isn't scientific at all!
Ash rubbed his nose, smiling a bit sheepishly.
"Gym Leader Raihan, things on my end might be a bit different from other Trainers."
"Since I can charge the Key Stone myself, using MEGA Evolution multiple times in one match isn't really a problem for me."
Raihan opened his mouth but couldn't get any words out for a long time. So not only are his Pokemon hacked, even the Trainer himself is hacked, huh?
"Forget it, forget it, you've never done anything normal anyway."
Raihan waved his hand, simply deciding not to dwell on the issue.
But as he looked at that Charizard that had completed MEGA Evolution, his expression grew even more serious.
Dragon and Fire Attribute, same as his Turtonator. But Charizard X's Ability is Tough Claws, its Attack with physical moves had jumped up more than just one tier.
Turtonator's defensive power was definitely outstanding, but… when the strongest spear clashes with the strongest shield head-on, which one will come out on top?
"Charizard, Dragon Claw!" Ash's command rang out first.
Mega Charizard's twin claws suddenly erupted with emerald Dragon Type light, its entire body turning into a jet-black streak as it rushed at Turtonator.
"Turtonator, Dragon Pulse!"
Raihan immediately responded. A ghostly purple Energy Ball rapidly condensed in Turtonator's maw, then transformed into a solid giant dragon that blasted toward the onrushing Charizard.
However, faced with that seemingly powerful Dragon Pulse, Charizard's Dragon Claw sliced it apart with ease!
The solid Energy Ball was literally torn in half, flying past Charizard's sides.
"How is that possible…"
Before Raihan could react, Charizard's figure had already appeared right in front of Turtonator.
"Bang!"
The Dragon Claw shimmering with emerald light slammed viciously onto Turtonator's shell.
The force behind that single claw strike was monstrously strong, knocking Turtonator's huge body flying back. It skidded more than ten meters along the ground before it could steady itself.
A clear claw mark had appeared on Turtonator's shell, and several of the spikes on its back had shattered.
Raihan sucked in a sharp breath.
"How can it have this kind of ATK!"
Mega Charizard X's Attack was more than just a single tier higher than before!
It wasn't just thanks to Tough Claws; MEGA Evolution had also raised Charizard's Level to a whole new stage.
At this rate… it was at least Champion Advanced Level!
Thinking that far, Raihan's brain was practically crashing.
Every Pokemon has ways to raise their Level, but this guy's just outright cheating, isn't he?
But Raihan quickly forced himself to calm down and shouted, "Turtonator, Iron Defense!"
A layer of silvery metallic sheen suddenly flared around Turtonator's body, and that shell which was already near-indestructible was wrapped in an invisible steel barrier. Its overall defensive power shot up to a brand-new height.
Ash wasn't idle either.
"Charizard, Dragon Dance!"
Mega Charizard's body was suddenly wreathed in a ring of crimson Dragon Type flames, those wild flames dancing around its figure.
With every rotation, Charizard's ATK and Speed were boosted another notch.
Both sides silently strengthened their own states.
"Turtonator, Shell Trap!"
The rows of spikes on Turtonator's back suddenly lit up with scarlet light, and scorching Energy started surging through the shell.
Those spikes that already looked like miniaturized bombs now seemed as if their fuses had truly been lit. High-density sulfur flames gathered at the tip of each spike.
But this Energy didn't erupt outward immediately—instead it was firmly locked inside the shell, forming a trap that would go off at the slightest touch.
Lance's expression changed slightly when he saw this.
"Shell Trap! Raihan is really playing dirty here!"
"As long as the opponent hits Turtonator with a physical attack, the shell on its back will automatically counterattack. The force of that counter is on par with a Fire Type Ultimate Move!"
"In other words, as soon as Ash attacks with physical moves, it's like touching an exploding Electrode—he'll take a ton of damage himself, and Turtonator can seize that chance to counter."
Cynthia narrowed her eyes as well. "How will Ash respond?"
But Ash's reaction surprised everyone.
Not only did he not call Charizard back, he casually gave a command without a care.
"Charizard, Dragon Rush!" Mega Charizard received the order, its black-and-blue wings snapping wide open.
Its body was wrapped in a ring of brilliant Dragon Type flames, turning into a blue-black meteor that slammed straight into Turtonator without hesitation.
"Bang!!"
Dragon Rush landed squarely on Turtonator's shell.
Turtonator was knocked back several steps by the blow, and those Energy-filled spikes on its back suddenly detonated.
"Boom!!!"
The scorching Energy sealed within the shell erupted in an instant, sulfur sparks on every spike igniting at the same time, merging into a thick torrent of flames that surged back at Charizard.
Charizard's massive body was completely swallowed by fire in that instant.
In the stands, Dawn instinctively clapped a hand over her mouth.
Misty and the others frowned slightly as well. Is Ash really that reckless?
Yet the next second, a flash of emerald claw light tore out of the flames.
Mega Charizard's figure burst through the blaze, its scales charred in places but its spirit completely undiminished.
Those sharp Dragon Claws, blazing with fierce light, ripped viciously across Turtonator's belly, inflicting terrifying damage!
Raihan's expression darkened. What the hell is with this Charizard? Not only is its ATK insane, its Defense is this high too?
Sure, Dragon and Fire, quad resist Fire Type, but that explosion's heat wave was the real deal.
Hit directly by Shell Trap, Charizard didn't take a single step back, and even pushed forward to land a Dragon Claw afterward… You're telling me this thing is a Charizard and not some kind of shell-armored tank Pokemon?!
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