In the footage—
"Get out of the way, Dragonair!"
The golden electric light cut through the sky… but failed to hit. Dragonair's movements were still quite agile.
In Pikachu's currently exhausted state, his Thunderbolt would have no way of hitting Dragonair unless it was predicted well in advance!
"Continuous use of Thunderbolt!"
"Pika! Pika-Chuuu!!"
Pikachu hesitated for a fraction of a second, but through his deep connection with Ash's heart, he instantly understood the plan.
Then, his body was filled with a massive surge of electricity again! The golden electric bolts continued to cut through the sky, but they were all dodged by Dragonair one by one.
However, the Dragonair flying in the sky was intentionally fenced in by the barrage of Thunderbolts, forcing it to slowly descend from the air.
"It's now, use Quick Attack!"
Ash's plan succeeded, and he quickly commanded Pikachu to use Quick Attack! If the opponent took flight again, they wouldn't be able to touch it! Right now, Pikachu didn't have the stamina to use continuous Thunderbolts a second time…
"Pika!"
The swift figure quickly rushed toward the Dragonair that had landed, but a knowing smile appeared at the corner of Clair's mouth.
"Dragonair, Twister!"
"Woooooo—"
The blue orb on Dragonair's neck emitted a radiant light, and immediately after, a fierce wind raged across the field! Pikachu, who was originally sprinting, was severely slowed down and even took damage from the razor-sharp winds of the tornado!
"It's over, Hyper Beam!"
"Woooooo—"
The horn on the head of Dragonair flickered, and in the next second, a Hyper Beam burst out! The glorious ray of destruction squarely hit Pikachu, who was trapped inside the Twister. Pikachu was instantly knocked out, falling to the ground weakly. Ash quickly ran over and picked him up.
[Lance: Clair, your Dragonair is well-trained. One day, it will definitely reach the same level as mine.]
[Clair: Thank you for the compliment, cousin! I'm still far from it!]
[Drake: The level of this Dragonair has far exceeded the normal limitations of its form. The young lady can really endure, not letting it evolve into a Dragonite yet.]
[Clair: Because I know that being strong for just a moment isn't true power! Just like Ash's Charizard, it evolved very quickly, which consumed its potential and future strength!]
[Red: But the Charizard in the video is stronger than your Dragonair. Even if your Dragonair evolves into a Dragonite, it is still stronger than you.]
[Clair: …How will you know if you don't try it!]
Having said that, this was still a very heavy psychological blow. Red's analytical eyes are basically impossible to be wrong; if he said it was stronger, then it was stronger.
But... a battle between Pokémon is not just about raw stats! Otherwise, if you see that the opponent's Pokémon is stronger, you would just admit defeat directly! What else would be the point of fighting?
[Green: Strange, Red, did you always have such a sharp tongue before? Who did you learn that from?]
[Ash: …That, Green, Red said he learned his phrasing from you.]
[Green: ...]
Blast it!! Come out and face me properly!! Someone tries to speak up for you, and you just sell them out? Weren't you unable to speak properly just a moment ago?
[Ash: Red said not to learn his bad habits.]
[Green: ????]
No way, he must rush to the Kanto region overnight tonight! He hadn't given this kid a lesson in so long, and he forgot why the flowers are so red!!
Behind the Scenes at the Oak Research Institute
"Red, isn't this a bit bad? I feel like Green is going to blow a fuse." Ash scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed.
Right now, Green was probably thundering with rage. And... he always felt that such a direct Red didn't quite match his usual calm and silent personality!
"I'm not wrong. I originally learned these phrases from him. He used to talk like this in front of me every day, and I subconsciously picked it up. It doesn't matter; his psychological resilience is very high."
"And my relationship with him is just like yours with Gary. Think about how you and Gary interact now?"
Ash thought for a moment and nodded, indicating that he understood. If it were him and Gary changing places, they would probably be able to bicker even more.
In fact, Red really missed bantering with Green. Ever since he went up Mt. Silver to train, there had been very few interactions between them.
After all, one was naturally quiet, and the other had matured; bickering was basically a thing of the past.
However, when Green entered this world and spoke to him with that familiar arrogant tone, Red's core memories were triggered! He subconsciously fell right back into their old way of getting along.
Red looked at the image on the screen and secretly thought to himself. This feeling… It's really back to how it used to be! Coming to this world… isn't bad at all.
In the Footage—
Ash handed the unconscious Pikachu to Misty, then turned and returned to the battlefield. Next came the final showdown! The opponent's Dragonair had barely lost any physical strength, but... for his final ace, there was no need to wear down the opponent to secure a victory.
"It's up to you, Charizard!!"
"Roar!!"
An orange-red figure materialized on the field, and a heaven-shaking roar echoed out. Appearing now was Ash's strongest trump card—Charizard!
"Did you really choose Charizard? Butler, open the ceiling."
Under Clair's order, the butler opened the ceiling of the Gym, converting the venue into a three-dimensional battlefield: sea, land, and air! One reason was to give Dragonair and Charizard more space to maneuver, and the other was the fear that without an open ceiling, these two Pokémon would tear the roof down…
"Ready! Charizard, Flamethrower!"
"Dragonair, dive into the water!"
"Roar!"
The blazing flames bombarded the pool, and a massive cloud of water vapor erupted. With the cover of the pool, Dragonair was naturally completely safe.
"Dragonair, use Hyper Beam!"
"Woooooo—"
Golden pillars of destructive light blasted out from its horn. Charizard snapped its wings back and flew into the air to dodge, followed immediately by another Flamethrower.
However, even in the brief recharge phase, Dragonair could simply relax its body and sink back into the water, effortlessly avoiding the flames!
The searing flames blasted into the pool, evaporating another massive wave of water vapor.
"Wow… Fortunately, unlike Snorlax, Dragonair can move completely freely in the water."
"So basically, it wants to dive in, and when it comes out, there is no vulnerability to exploit. Thus… Charizard's flames can't lay a scratch on it!" Misty complained from the sidelines. Dragonair was far trickier in the water than on land.
Liza, on the side, also nodded in agreement. "It depends on what method Ash uses to solve this problem! Otherwise, even if Charizard's raw power is greater than Dragonair's, it will be quite difficult to handle…"
After Dragonair dived into the water, it used Dragon Rage under Clair's command. The sudden, rising vortex hit the Charizard that was caught off guard in the air.
Charizard flapped its wings wildly and barely stabilized its footing.
"Almost there… Charizard, whip up a vortex with your most powerful flames!!"
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