"Siiir!"
Sirfetch'd's beak suddenly burst with dazzling white light, stretching into a three-meter-long energy spear.
This Peck was fast as lightning—its pure-white tip became a chain of afterimages, each strike stabbing with pinpoint accuracy at Charizard's most fragile spot: its throat!
Thud-thud-thud!
The muffled impacts of repeated thrusts hammered into Charizard's neck without pause.
Charizard's arms trembled violently as it held Sirfetch'd, its pupils tightening from the agony—yet it still refused to loosen its grip, stamina hemorrhaging as it endured the relentless assault.
Ash couldn't stand watching it anymore and shouted, "Charizard—just throw Sirfetch'd straight down like this!"
Hearing him, Charizard could only grit through the pain, lifting Sirfetch'd over its head. With a sudden burst of strength in both arms, it tried to hurl Sirfetch'd down toward the ground.
"Defog!"
Sirfetch'd erupted with blinding white light. Countless pure-white feathers burst from its body, becoming a gale that howled outward in every direction.
The storm had no direct damage—but it flooded Charizard's vision with searing white brilliance. Tears spilled out uncontrollably.
"ROAR!"
Momentarily blinded, Charizard instinctively loosened its claws.
Sirfetch'd seized the opening, flipping in midair and using its leek shield like a surfboard—riding the wind upward.
"Nice, Sirfetch'd—keep that posture and use Brave Bird!"
Grey snapped his fingers, his command slicing through the sky.
Brave Bird was a move that required charging before it could be unleashed.
And it was also a move Sirfetch'd had inherited as an Egg Move.
Farfetch'd had never had the chance to use it before, but in this situation, it was perfect as a finishing blow.
Charizard's eyes were still in a brief blinded state—so even if it used Flamethrower, it might not hit.
At worst, Sirfetch'd would just eat one hit. No big deal.
"Siiir!"
Sirfetch'd stood with both feet planted on the leek shield, gripping the leek sword like a knight poised to strike.
Brilliant golden energy poured out from within, condensing around its body into flowing flame-like armor.
As the energy climbed toward its peak, its entire form transformed into the phantom silhouette of a golden divine bird ready to take flight—its pressure so intense that even the loose stones on the field began to tremble.
Charizard unconsciously took half a step back, fine sweat beading across its forehead.
Ash's command arrived, breaking that suffocating pressure just in time: "Flamethrower!"
"ROAAH!"
A crimson pillar of fire tore through the air.
In the critical moment of charging, Sirfetch'd couldn't dodge—so it took the full-force blast head-on.
Its golden outer "cloak" rippled violently in the flames, but its sword-bearing stance didn't move an inch!
Like a lighthouse that never goes out in the heart of a storm—no matter how the fire battered it, it stood proud and unyielding!
Then—
Sirfetch'd's golden aura surged explosively, and that energy "cloak" fully solidified into a colossal golden bird spreading its wings in a long, ringing cry.
"Siiir!"
With a piercing shriek that tore through clouds and stone alike, the golden phantom smashed through the cage of flames, dragging a dazzling trail of light through a sky full of sparks!
The leek sword in Sirfetch'd's hands had become a three-meter-long golden bird beak, the tip wrapped in a spiraling storm of energy!
Charizard barely managed to raise its arms to block before the thrust drove it straight down into the ground.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The roar was deafening. The entire battle field caved inward from the impact point, cracking into a ten-meter-wide spiderweb crater.
Charizard's wings twitched weakly in the dust. It coughed up several mouthfuls of black smoke, and the flame on its tail flickered like a candle guttering in the wind.
Clearly, that hit nearly sent it away for good.
[Gotta say, this kid's Pokémon really struggle to tank hits.]
[Yeah, that Brave Bird definitely hit a vital spot.]
[Can't wait to see what he does in the Indigo League.]
[This year's champion will probably be between this kid and that other Pallet Town Trainer, huh?]
[Hard to say—heard there's a Trainer with an Incineroar coming.]
[Out-of-towners coming to Kanto to kick down doors?]
Some people in chat clearly knew about The Masked Royal.
Ash and Gary were strong, sure—
But if they ran into The Masked Royal, it was hard to say how it'd go.
Maybe three moves, maybe six—then the match would be over.
For now, though, eyes returned to the field.
Charizard hadn't even managed to trigger Blaze. The whole dragon was gulping air, sprawled on the ground unconscious.
Thinking back, that move really was terrifying…
"Gym Leader Grey… that move just now…" Ash swallowed hard.
Brave Bird—just hearing it, you could tell it was a huge finisher.
"That's right. Sirfetch'd's big finishing move. Compared to the Rage Fist Primeape used after getting hit, it's only a little weaker," Grey nodded.
Brave Bird's base power was 140. With the vital-spot effect on top, it became frighteningly lethal.
Its only drawback was that it needed to charge for one turn.
"So scary…" Ash muttered, deeply shaken by Grey's confirmation.
Even his Charizard had gone down.
Back when he battled Grey's Machoke, the two Pokémon had almost traded one-for-one.
But this time, he'd arrived full of confidence—and couldn't even clear the first hurdle.
And looking at Sirfetch'd, it still seemed to have plenty of stamina left.
"Alright. Time for the final battle."
Grey sent out Lucario and motioned for it to use Heal Pulse on Charizard.
Charizard's condition improved a little.
After thanking Grey, Ash recalled it.
And Grey also recalled Sirfetch'd.
"Huh?"
Seeing Grey's move, Ash looked stunned.
Why did Grey recall Sirfetch'd too?
"If I'm not wrong, your last one is Aerodactyl, right?"
From the moment Ash came in, he'd yelled "Aerodactyl" again and again.
He hadn't even said "Gengar" that many times.
It was obvious—this time, Ash planned to fight with Aerodactyl.
So recalling Sirfetch'd to concede was normal.
Giving one up—fair enough.
"Yeah. It's Aerodactyl."
Ash nodded lightly.
Aerodactyl was easily one of the top two Pokémon on his current team.
If he hadn't pulled a sneaky trick earlier, he wasn't even sure he could've caught it.
"Then I've got a question. Does Aerodactyl actually listen to you?"
Grey was genuinely curious.
Ash's Trainer level was too low.
Aerodactyl's level was too high for him.
In that situation, would a vicious Pokémon like Aerodactyl really obey?
Or would it be like before with Gengar—halfway through the battle, Grey would have to talk it into cooperating?
"Gym Leader Grey, don't worry about that!"
At that, Ash rubbed his nose and gave a confident thumbs-up. "It has to listen."
"Oh?"
Grey raised a brow, watching to see how Ash would handle it.
"Aerodactyl—let's go!"
Ash threw a completely ordinary-looking Poké Ball forward!
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