Charizard's speed was incredibly fast. The instant Belly Drum finished, he charged straight at Snorlax.
The brown energy of Brick Break glowed on his claws. Combined with the red eyes from using Belly Drum, he looked anything but like a friendly dragon.
"Mega Charizard's speed is incredible—he's right in Snorlax's face!"
Snorlax's eyes filled with terror as she watched the diving Mega Charizard.
But there was nothing she could do. She hadn't expected Charizard's combo to be this fast. She was in the middle of using Swallow to recover HP—she had no way to counterattack.
It had to be said—this was one aspect of Pokémon battling on their own. They were too focused on themselves.
This included Serena's Milotic and Auron's Charizard as well.
Serena's Milotic prioritized its own recovery and status above all else.
Just like in that autonomous battle against Jace's Arcanine—Milotic could have finished it directly with Dragon Tail.
But because of Arcanine's feint, it immediately activated Safeguard, afraid of being burned and looking bad.
Though it won in the end, it wasn't as clean as when a trainer commanded.
Charizard was the same. Every time he battled autonomously, he'd either open with Belly Drum or squeeze in Dragon Dance at every opportunity. He'd often get caught because of this, giving opponents the chance to defeat him.
Maybe Pokémon took after their trainers. Auron's Charizard loved greedy stat-boosting. Jace's Charizard was similar to Jace—either going all-out aggressive or hanging back observing, frequently missing opportunities.
People in the arena still didn't see as clearly as those watching from outside. It wasn't that the Pokémon were bad—it just showed how much a good trainer really helped their Pokémon.
"BOOM!"
Even Snorlax's massive body couldn't withstand the claws of Charizard with maxed Attack.
A single strike knocked the much-larger Snorlax to the ground.
"Snorlax has lost the ability to battle! Mega Charizard wins! The victor of this match is Auron Vale!"
After recalling Charizard, Auron smiled and nodded at Wang Siyuan before heading off the stage.
Up in the commentary booth, the commentator was still lamenting: "What a shame Snorlax made a judgment error. Otherwise, given Snorlax's condition, the two could have gone toe-to-toe."
"But a loss is a loss. Hopefully Snorlax and his trainer can keep working hard. After all, life has more battles than just this one."
Hearing the commentator's chicken soup wisdom, Auron smiled and shook his head.
That Snorlax really was well-trained. Even by Auron's standards, she was excellent.
Though she couldn't match his own Snorlax, looking at her coat, mental state, and muscle tone—she was definitely in the upper-mid tier among her species.
The problem was the trainer wasn't pulling his weight. Forget normal commanding—this trainer seemed to actually drag things down. Auron genuinely couldn't understand it.
Looking at Wang Siyuan's two Pokémon's training status versus his own commanding ability—he should have clearly chosen the breeding track.
But to each their own. Auron didn't think too much about it and headed straight to the medical room.
"Teacher, a bet's a bet." Dax grinned and extended his hand toward the old chancellor, making a beckoning gesture. "Don't tell me this one doesn't count."
The old chancellor's face darkened. He pulled a sapphire-colored star-shaped object from his pocket and slapped it into Dax's hand.
"Here. It's just a little trinket. Take it, take it. There's another one—when this is over, come to my room and get it. I don't have it on me."
After a quick glance, Dax beamed and stuffed it into his chest. Then he gave the old chancellor a thumbs up. "Truly worthy of being my teacher! This 'keeping your word' thing is exactly what I learned from you so well."
"Get lost!" The old chancellor laughed despite his anger. Taking advantage and still teasing this old man.
Dax ingratiatingly gave the old chancellor a shoulder massage. "Hehe, I'm complimenting you~"
"Beat it." The old chancellor laughed and cursed. "You're like a damn dog. When you were asking me to bet, you weren't acting like this."
After treating his Pokémon, Auron returned and headed straight to the side of the audience area. After finding a hidden corner, he watched the matches on the field.
It was already the third match—Simon versus Zoroark's trainer.
The situation was already clear. In a one-versus-two scenario, even though Haunter was strong, facing the Zoroark that countered him and Lampent with all sorts of restrictive moves, he'd ultimately fallen into a disadvantage. Defeat was only a matter of time.
In the end, Haunter couldn't defy fate and fell helplessly to Zoroark's Dark Pulse.
Fourth match—Zhong Likong versus another contestant. In the end, Zhong Likong narrowly won.
Now only Jace and Serena remained.
Lucario's trainer had also defeated his opponent in round two and advanced to the next round.
"Let's go—it's our turn."
After taking a deep breath, Jace stood and headed toward the stage first. Serena followed right behind.
"Both contestants, release your Pokémon!"
"Go, Arcanine!"
"Go, Milotic!"
When both Pokémon appeared, Serena visibly froze for a moment.
No matter how you looked at it, Mega Charizard Y with Drought ability should have led—securing the weather advantage right from the start.
Serena froze briefly, but the corner of Jace's mouth curved upward slightly. He wasn't some hothead.
Serena shook her head in displeasure. She suddenly felt like she didn't understand Jace anymore.
"Swish!"
The flag dropped. The battle began.
"Whatever! Milotic, Rain Dance!"
Milotic called out long and sent a glowing orb into the sky.
"Just as I thought! Wild Charge!"
Both Jace and Arcanine grinned simultaneously, then decisively followed the pre-battle plan.
Arcanine's entire body wrapped in lightning, eyes resolute as he charged toward Milotic, who was using Rain Dance.
After slamming into the defenseless Milotic, she quickly reacted.
Rain Dance had succeeded. Instinctively, her Iron Tail swung toward Arcanine.
Following the plan, the instant Wild Charge hit Milotic, Arcanine used Extreme Speed to retreat and create distance from Milotic.
"Arcanine, Sunny Day!"
"Milotic, Aqua Ring."
The moment Arcanine pulled back, Jace immediately commanded him to change the weather.
Because of his understanding of Serena—at this moment, she would definitely use a recovery move to restore Milotic's HP.
"Serena... success through calculation, defeat through calculation." After simulating the battle flow once more, Jace looked at Serena and shook his head slightly.
Serena was skilled at calculations. She would definitely calculate that her Milotic couldn't withstand a second Wild Charge.
So this turn, she'd definitely use a recovery move.
Of course, Milotic knew several recovery moves—Aqua Ring's continuous recovery, Life Dew's quick recovery, and Recover's massive recovery.