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he knowes pokemon more than i know _Chapter_422_en
Chapter 422
Chapter 417: All-out Battle! A Terrifying Opponent
Author: Samsung Charmander (Author Name)
"So even Flamethrower had no effect?"
Ash's face was constantly tense. The opponent's terrifying offense made it hard for him to breathe. Fortunately, his Charizard was finally airborne, allowing him a moment to catch his breath.
"Charizard, stay in the sky and use Air Slash!!"
Close combat was out of the question. His opponent was the runner-up of the P1 Grand Prix; getting close was just asking for defeat. Ash might be reckless, but he wasn't stupid. He had no choice but to opt for long-range attacks.
"Roar!"
Charizard nodded. The opponent's immense strength had tempered its usual ferocity, making it more cautious. After creating distance in the sky, it flapped its wings, instantly condensing several blades of white energy that shot toward the target.
Charizard was a Flying-type, so its Air Slash was quite powerful. The piercing sound it made seemed to rip through the air itself.
However, the Masked Man completely ignored the attack and commanded in a low voice:
"Incineroar, use Bulk Up on the spot!"
"Grrrowl!!"
Incineroar let out a tiger's roar. It threw its arms out to the sides, and the muscles on its chest and arms instantly bulged, seemingly swelling to three times their size. A ripple of fiery red energy, like a flame, burst from its body. Its red-and-black form immediately took on an incredibly aggressive and fierce aura.
*Thwack, thwack, thwack.*
A moment later, the Air Slash blades all struck Incineroar's firm chest, leaving behind a few white marks and kicking up a faint wisp of smoke.
"Pokédex: `Bulk Up increases Physical Attack and Physical Defense, while Air Slash is a Special Move. The damage was decent.`"
The Pokédex's timely report settled Ash's nerves. He raised his finger and continued to give orders:
"Don't stop! Maintain this distance and use Air Slash continuously from the sky!"
The level difference was immense. Under these circumstances, neither Ash nor Charizard would choose a frontal assault. As long as they were battling this terrifying opponent, any strategy was worth a try.
"Roar!"
Hearing the command, Charizard flapped its wings to create more distance. Flying-type energy gathered in front of it, once again forming several sharp blades of air, ready to be launched.
Unexpectedly, the Masked Man issued a new command, one that was completely baffling.
"Incineroar, start running! Treat this place like the ring!"
Incineroar understood immediately. It closed and opened its gleaming tiger-like eyes, and in its vision, the spacious Indigo Plateau arena had completely transformed into the familiar fighting ring of its past battles.
"Grrrowl!"
Incineroar began to run, but it dashed sideways, narrowly dodging the menacing Air Slash from above. Its movement didn't stop there; it charged right past the white out-of-bounds line of the standard competition field.
"Pokédex: `Crossed the white line. Out of bounds. Five-second countdown initiated.`"
It wasn't just the Pokédex; the arena's speakers also made the announcement.
Generally, a competition field half the size of a soccer field was more than enough, making it very difficult to go out of bounds.
However, crossing the white out-of-bounds line didn't mean an automatic loss. A Pokémon couldn't stay outside the boundary for long, though. Official rules stipulated that exceeding five seconds outside the white line was considered a voluntary forfeit.
Of course, this only applied to Pokémon whose feet touched the ground; there was no such restriction for flying Pokémon.
"So, what is it doing?"
This wasn't just Ash's question; the entire audience was baffled. Why was this Incineroar running in the opposite direction of its opponent, instead of charging at it? It was even...
...even about to run into the audience stands?
In the next second, Incineroar gave everyone the answer. It wasn't *about* to.
"GRRROWL!!"
With a furious roar, Incineroar dashed to the edge of the arena and leaped, landing directly on the handrail of the audience stands above. It raised its arms and roared at the crowd in a victor's pose, frightening the nearby spectators so much that they scrambled backward, their faces pale.
But the pose didn't last even a second. Incineroar's hind legs tensed with power, and using the railing as a springboard, it launched itself high into the air once more. This time, however, it was rocketing toward the sky above the arena.
"Damn..."
"Is it treating this battlefield like a wrestling ring?"
Many spectators were stunned by Incineroar's antics.
In a wrestling match, it's a common move for a fighter to jump onto the corner turnbuckle and then use it to launch an attack on their opponent. But to do that in a spacious arena like this, treating the edge of the audience stand as the turnbuckle, was just absurd.
"Pokédex: `4.9 seconds. Within legal limits.`"
The Pokédex's voice snapped Ash out of his stupor. He looked up to see Incineroar had already soared five or six meters into the air in a predatory pounce, now less than a meter away from Charizard.
Just as Charizard was about to flap its wings to dodge, the Masked Man shouted again:
"Incineroar, use Malicious Moonsault!"
"GRRROWL!!"
The black-and-red figure, like a demon god, descended with unstoppable momentum, instantly engulfing Charizard. The moment it made contact, Incineroar's nimble limbs exerted their full strength, swarming its target. With a single "locking" technique, it tightly bound all of Charizard's joints and limbs.
Then, it flexed its body, sending both itself and Charizard into a frantic spin in the sky, like a hellish wheel.
*WHIRRRRRR!*
Seismic Toss involved a rotation with a diameter of about five or six meters.
But with Malicious Moonsault, the rotation diameter was zero. This meant the speed of the spin was incredibly fast, leaving Charizard completely disoriented.
"Charizard, break free!!"
At this moment, even Ash's voice couldn't reach its ears. Its world was nothing but darkness and the sound of the wind rushing past.
The Z-Move ended. Incineroar instantly released its hold, nimbly disengaging from its opponent. Charizard, however, was flung away like a cannonball. Its inertia had reached its peak, and it plummeted violently to the ground.
*Rumble, rumble, rumble...*
Even after hitting the ground, Charizard's body kept rolling backward like a ball, on the verge of tumbling out of bounds.
"Charizard, use Steel Wing, quickly!!"
Finally, Ash's voice reached Charizard's ears, snapping it back to its senses. Fighting back the nausea in its head, it forced its wings open. They were already covered in a metallic sheen. It then slammed them hard into the ground below.
*KREEE!!!*
With that Steel Wing, Charizard finally halted its backward movement. But forcefully stopping that much momentum made it let out a pained, muffled grunt.
"Grr..."
The smoke and dust settled, revealing Charizard half-kneeling on the ground, panting heavily. It looked exhausted, its mental energy mostly spent.
"ROOOAARR!!"
On the other side, Incineroar was still striking a pose with its arms raised high, basking in the cheers of the audience as if it hadn't taken any damage at all.
This immense level difference had Ash's back soaked with sweat, his brow deeply furrowed.
The terrifying and ferocious offense left him unable to catch his breath. Now, even the sky was within the opponent's attack range...
"So strong..."
This Incineroar was completely different from the Masked Man's other Pokémon. Just facing it was enough to instill a strange sense of fear in him.
It was only now that he could finally understand what Blue, who had her team of three swept by this one Incineroar, and Gary must have felt.
(end of chapter)
Author: Samsung Charmander (Author Name)
"So even Flamethrower had no effect?"
Ash's face was constantly tense. The opponent's terrifying offense made it hard for him to breathe. Fortunately, his Charizard was finally airborne, allowing him a moment to catch his breath.
"Charizard, stay in the sky and use Air Slash!!"
Close combat was out of the question. His opponent was the runner-up of the P1 Grand Prix; getting close was just asking for defeat. Ash might be reckless, but he wasn't stupid. He had no choice but to opt for long-range attacks.
"Roar!"
Charizard nodded. The opponent's immense strength had tempered its usual ferocity, making it more cautious. After creating distance in the sky, it flapped its wings, instantly condensing several blades of white energy that shot toward the target.
Charizard was a Flying-type, so its Air Slash was quite powerful. The piercing sound it made seemed to rip through the air itself.
However, the Masked Man completely ignored the attack and commanded in a low voice:
"Incineroar, use Bulk Up on the spot!"
"Grrrowl!!"
Incineroar let out a tiger's roar. It threw its arms out to the sides, and the muscles on its chest and arms instantly bulged, seemingly swelling to three times their size. A ripple of fiery red energy, like a flame, burst from its body. Its red-and-black form immediately took on an incredibly aggressive and fierce aura.
*Thwack, thwack, thwack.*
A moment later, the Air Slash blades all struck Incineroar's firm chest, leaving behind a few white marks and kicking up a faint wisp of smoke.
"Pokédex: `Bulk Up increases Physical Attack and Physical Defense, while Air Slash is a Special Move. The damage was decent.`"
The Pokédex's timely report settled Ash's nerves. He raised his finger and continued to give orders:
"Don't stop! Maintain this distance and use Air Slash continuously from the sky!"
The level difference was immense. Under these circumstances, neither Ash nor Charizard would choose a frontal assault. As long as they were battling this terrifying opponent, any strategy was worth a try.
"Roar!"
Hearing the command, Charizard flapped its wings to create more distance. Flying-type energy gathered in front of it, once again forming several sharp blades of air, ready to be launched.
Unexpectedly, the Masked Man issued a new command, one that was completely baffling.
"Incineroar, start running! Treat this place like the ring!"
Incineroar understood immediately. It closed and opened its gleaming tiger-like eyes, and in its vision, the spacious Indigo Plateau arena had completely transformed into the familiar fighting ring of its past battles.
"Grrrowl!"
Incineroar began to run, but it dashed sideways, narrowly dodging the menacing Air Slash from above. Its movement didn't stop there; it charged right past the white out-of-bounds line of the standard competition field.
"Pokédex: `Crossed the white line. Out of bounds. Five-second countdown initiated.`"
It wasn't just the Pokédex; the arena's speakers also made the announcement.
Generally, a competition field half the size of a soccer field was more than enough, making it very difficult to go out of bounds.
However, crossing the white out-of-bounds line didn't mean an automatic loss. A Pokémon couldn't stay outside the boundary for long, though. Official rules stipulated that exceeding five seconds outside the white line was considered a voluntary forfeit.
Of course, this only applied to Pokémon whose feet touched the ground; there was no such restriction for flying Pokémon.
"So, what is it doing?"
This wasn't just Ash's question; the entire audience was baffled. Why was this Incineroar running in the opposite direction of its opponent, instead of charging at it? It was even...
...even about to run into the audience stands?
In the next second, Incineroar gave everyone the answer. It wasn't *about* to.
"GRRROWL!!"
With a furious roar, Incineroar dashed to the edge of the arena and leaped, landing directly on the handrail of the audience stands above. It raised its arms and roared at the crowd in a victor's pose, frightening the nearby spectators so much that they scrambled backward, their faces pale.
But the pose didn't last even a second. Incineroar's hind legs tensed with power, and using the railing as a springboard, it launched itself high into the air once more. This time, however, it was rocketing toward the sky above the arena.
"Damn..."
"Is it treating this battlefield like a wrestling ring?"
Many spectators were stunned by Incineroar's antics.
In a wrestling match, it's a common move for a fighter to jump onto the corner turnbuckle and then use it to launch an attack on their opponent. But to do that in a spacious arena like this, treating the edge of the audience stand as the turnbuckle, was just absurd.
"Pokédex: `4.9 seconds. Within legal limits.`"
The Pokédex's voice snapped Ash out of his stupor. He looked up to see Incineroar had already soared five or six meters into the air in a predatory pounce, now less than a meter away from Charizard.
Just as Charizard was about to flap its wings to dodge, the Masked Man shouted again:
"Incineroar, use Malicious Moonsault!"
"GRRROWL!!"
The black-and-red figure, like a demon god, descended with unstoppable momentum, instantly engulfing Charizard. The moment it made contact, Incineroar's nimble limbs exerted their full strength, swarming its target. With a single "locking" technique, it tightly bound all of Charizard's joints and limbs.
Then, it flexed its body, sending both itself and Charizard into a frantic spin in the sky, like a hellish wheel.
*WHIRRRRRR!*
Seismic Toss involved a rotation with a diameter of about five or six meters.
But with Malicious Moonsault, the rotation diameter was zero. This meant the speed of the spin was incredibly fast, leaving Charizard completely disoriented.
"Charizard, break free!!"
At this moment, even Ash's voice couldn't reach its ears. Its world was nothing but darkness and the sound of the wind rushing past.
The Z-Move ended. Incineroar instantly released its hold, nimbly disengaging from its opponent. Charizard, however, was flung away like a cannonball. Its inertia had reached its peak, and it plummeted violently to the ground.
*Rumble, rumble, rumble...*
Even after hitting the ground, Charizard's body kept rolling backward like a ball, on the verge of tumbling out of bounds.
"Charizard, use Steel Wing, quickly!!"
Finally, Ash's voice reached Charizard's ears, snapping it back to its senses. Fighting back the nausea in its head, it forced its wings open. They were already covered in a metallic sheen. It then slammed them hard into the ground below.
*KREEE!!!*
With that Steel Wing, Charizard finally halted its backward movement. But forcefully stopping that much momentum made it let out a pained, muffled grunt.
"Grr..."
The smoke and dust settled, revealing Charizard half-kneeling on the ground, panting heavily. It looked exhausted, its mental energy mostly spent.
"ROOOAARR!!"
On the other side, Incineroar was still striking a pose with its arms raised high, basking in the cheers of the audience as if it hadn't taken any damage at all.
This immense level difference had Ash's back soaked with sweat, his brow deeply furrowed.
The terrifying and ferocious offense left him unable to catch his breath. Now, even the sky was within the opponent's attack range...
"So strong..."
This Incineroar was completely different from the Masked Man's other Pokémon. Just facing it was enough to instill a strange sense of fear in him.
It was only now that he could finally understand what Blue, who had her team of three swept by this one Incineroar, and Gary must have felt.
(end of chapter)
