Camerupt was absolutely furious.
Its Take Down was certainly imposing, yet Houndoom hid behind the rocks like a coward, making it difficult to even catch a glimpse of it.
Camerupt smashed through one rock after another without even touching Houndoom once. By now, Camerupt was already exhausted and panting heavily, yet Houndoom still had not shown itself.
Its Trainer seemed even more lost than it was…
Finally, only the last rock remained. Right before Camerupt's eyes, Houndoom hid behind it.
Camerupt was already completely exhausted, to the point that even taking a single step was difficult. But seeing that only one last rock remained, it finally saw hope. It let out a violent roar and charged forward, staking all of its remaining energy on this attack.
Baaang!
The sound of the rock shattering rang out!
…But Houndoom still did not appear.
Camerupt was dumbfounded. Now it did not have even the slightest bit of strength left.
Suddenly, Houndoom darted out, opened its enormous jaws, and bit down on Camerupt's throat.
Camerupt struggled desperately, but there was no way for it to shake Houndoom off. If this continued, Camerupt had only death awaiting it!
The opponent's face darkened as he clenched his teeth, extremely unwilling to accept the outcome.
"You know, sometimes you need to learn when to give up. Don't be too stubborn." Blaine spoke. At this moment, Blaine was quite impressed by Houndoom's actions. It had not needed a direct command from Tetsuya. After being suppressed by Camerupt for so long, now that it finally had an opportunity to counterattack, naturally it would go for the kill in a single strike.
After Blaine's reminder, the opponent reluctantly took out his Poké Ball and recalled Camerupt.
"I'll definitely settle this score someday…" The opponent left behind what sounded like a threat before departing.
'Ugh…'
With this, the final four had been decided, and the battles on the beach field also came to an end.
Blaine announced that tomorrow's matches would take place at Cinnabar Gym, where third and fourth place would be decided. As for the battle for first and second place, no clear plans had been given yet.
---◓---
After the competition ended, Tetsuya was the first to leave. He had truly had enough of battling on a field like this.
Instead of returning to the Pokémon Center, he went to the shaded side of a Cinnabar Island's mountain and had Houndoom use Flamethrower to its heart's content, allowing it to vent its frustration. It was a Fire-type Pokémon, yet it had been unable to use the moves it was best at. The anger already filling its chest had only been fueled even further.
Only after Houndoom had exhausted itself using Flamethrower and collapsed onto the ground did it finally finish venting, panting as though a great weight had been lifted from its shoulders.
"All right, Houndoom, let's go back. Get some good rest. Tomorrow's opponent will definitely be stronger." After saying this, Tetsuya recalled Houndoom.
When Tetsuya returned to the Pokémon Center, although it was not as packed as it had been over the previous two days, it was already much livelier compared with how deserted it had been when he first arrived.
Many Trainers had remembered that this city still had a Gym, and that its Gym Leader was a veteran of the League, so more and more people had come because of his reputation.
On top of that, this was a tourist destination. As long as Trainers thought about it from another angle, the matter was simple. Even if they could not defeat Blaine and obtain a Badge, they could simply treat the trip as a vacation.
"Yo, buddy! I originally thought that, as Pryce's student, your specialty would be using Ice-types. But after watching your battles today, I never expected you to be so strong with others Pokémon too. Don't lose tomorrow, or we won't even get the chance to face each other!"
Flint happened to walk up to the counter at the Pokémon Center and said this to Tetsuya.
"Then let's see." After handing Houndoom over to Nurse Joy, Tetsuya returned to his room.
---◓---
The next day, Blaine led the four of them toward the battlefield at Cinnabar Gym. The field was indeed somewhat astonishing, but more than anything, it was terrifying!
Below it was churning magma, while the battlefield itself was suspended by iron chains above the magma pool.
It could be said to be extremely dangerous. If a Pokémon accidentally fell in and you did not manage to use its Poké Ball in time, then that Pokémon would undoubtedly be on the "losing" side. This was precisely a way to train a Pokémon's courage and battle awareness.
In truth, the magma here was "fake".
It had merely been transported over from the active volcano for the sake of completing this battlefield and creating this kind of atmosphere.
Houndoom naturally did not take such a minor difficulty to heart. The moment he stepped onto the field, it let out an excited howl.
"Come out, Magmar!"
This time, the opponent was Magmar, a Pokémon exceptionally capable of enduring high temperatures. Even if it fell into the magma pool, nothing would happen to it. It was also the type that approached this without the slightest fear.
"Keep spamming Fire Blast."
Before the opponent could even react, Tetsuya launched a fierce offensive because he had already analyzed the situation. His opponent was Magmar, whose Abilities were Flame Body or Vital Spirit.
It did not have the Ability Flash Fire, so Fire-type moves were still effective against Magmar, although not particularly effective.
Fire Blast's power primarily came from its explosion. Houndoom unleashed one Fire Blast after another. Before Magmar could react, three consecutive Fire Blasts exploded against it, forcing it backward again and again until it was nearly at the edge of the field.
"Quick, fight back! We'll use Fire Blast too!"
The opponent finally panicked. No one had expected Tetsuya to launch the first attack, much less that Houndoom could use Fire Blast so frequently. Once Magmar began doing the same, the result became obvious.
There was abundant Fire type energy here, so using Fire-type moves was relatively easier as well.
Precisely because of this, the Fire-type Pokémon became excited. They no longer paid any attention to their Trainers' commands and actually began exchanging STAB moves head-on.
For a time, all kinds of Fire-type moves were unleashed and collided with one another, creating a dazzling spectacle!
This Magmar's power could not be underestimated. Even after exchanging moves for so long, it showed absolutely no sign of panting.
Flamethrower!
Magmar unleashed a stream of scorching flames straight at Houndoom.
Tetsuya was momentarily taken aback, and the opponent had not realized it either. During the earlier exchange of Fire-type moves, they had already completely overlooked whether Houndoom had the Ability Flash Fire. Now, this Flamethrower could be put to use perfectly…
"Houndoom, charge straight through!" Tetsuya gave the command.
"W-What? You're not going to keep exchanging moves?" The opponent asked in confusion, clearly still unprepared.
Houndoom charged straight into Flamethrower. The flames surrounded its body but did not harm Houndoom in the slightest!
"What!? It actually has the Ability Flash Fire? This…" The opponent was now in a helpless state and even let out a long sigh. "Haah…" 'I can only blame myself for being too naive just now. What am I supposed to do now!?'
"[Blightfire Assault]."
Seeing the opponent's discouraged expression, Tetsuya could take advantage of the momentum and prepare to bring the battle to an end.