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he knowes pokemon more than i know _Chapter_423_en
Chapter 423
Chapter 418: All-out Battle! Lycanroc - Midday Form!
"ROAR!!"
Charizard's enraged roar snapped Ash out of his thoughts. The fire dragon before him had already gotten back to its feet. Although it looked exhausted, it forcefully spread its wings, its gaze burning as it stared down its target.
*Fwoosh!!*
Even the flame at the tip of its tail surged to more than three times its normal size, a symbol of its soaring battle intent.
"Charizard..."
Ash couldn't help but murmur, the glow of the fire illuminating his face.
Fire-type Pokémon are inherently proud, especially when facing another of their kind. This flame of battle reignited Ash's own fighting spirit.
"Alright, Charizard, let's fight with everything we've got!!"
Ash took a wide step, his will connecting with Charizard's.
"GRAAWRR!!"
Charizard tilted its head back and unleashed a torrent of scorching flames. Its crimson skin began to darken, shifting toward the reddish-brown of volcanic lava, and even took on a bright red sheen that pulsed like a heartbeat, brimming with immense energy.
The air within several meters of it on the arena seemed to boil upon contact with its skin, instantly filling with rising plumes of white steam.
*Hiss...*
Even from between Charizard's teeth, wisps of white steam escaped, as if it could barely contain the rampaging energy within its body.
"Oh? Is this the final blow?"
Seeing this, a brilliant smile spread across the Masked Man's face. Incineroar understood, leaping forward a meter and assuming an offensive stance, the flames on its belt burning intensely.
The next second, Ash raised his hand, pointed, and roared out the command:
"Charizard, use a final Inferno!!"
As he spoke, countless crimson flames erupted from around Charizard's body, spreading and rising to engulf its half of the arena in the terrifying fires of Inferno, like a sea of fire.
Seeing this, the Masked Man roared back with equal volume.
"Incineroar, we'll use Blast Burn!!"
"ROAR!!"
Incineroar's energy was already charged to the brim. Without moving from its spot, it thrust its hips forward, and from the center of its flame belt, it spat out a massive ball of crimson flame that formed a gigantic fireball.
The flame instantly burned at its absolute peak, transforming into pure, bright-red flame energy that had lost all physical form.
It was a spectacular, yet terrifying sight. The energy contained within was pushed to its absolute limit.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!"
The two masses of flame collided unimpeded in the center of the arena. A pillar of fire shot into the sky, forming a fire tornado at the epicenter and kicking up a terrifying explosion of smoke and dust!
The impact of the flame energy even created a heat wave that spread outwards, raising the temperature of the entire arena and forcing the spectators to shield their faces.
The blast was so intense that the fire tornado at the center could no longer sustain itself. It disintegrated into scattered flame fragments and an explosion of smoke and dust, completely enveloping both Incineroar and Charizard on the arena.
"BOOM!!"
Another explosion rang out. Although it was impossible to see what was happening on the field, one thing was certain: a terrifyingly powerful collision was taking place...
The firelight and smoke dissipated.
On the arena, the two Pokémon stood five meters apart, staring each other down.
"ROAR!"
A tiger's roar resounded.
On one side, Incineroar seemed completely unscathed, having suffered no serious damage. It was still full of life.
Charizard, on the other hand, had its eyes half-closed. Its breathing was shallow, its strength nearly exhausted. Its body swayed precariously, and even the flame on the tip of its tail had dwindled.
"Finish it, Incineroar!"
As the Masked Man's voice fell, Incineroar charged its target again. Its movements weren't fast, but the current Charizard had no strength left to dodge or defend.
"!!"
A bizarre, purple-black glint of energy flashed before Charizard's eyes. Incineroar brought its fingertips together into a piercing point, raised its claw, and shot past its opponent, stopping behind Charizard in a forward-lunge pose.
*Thud.*
The next second, Charizard's body crashed to the ground.
"Charizard is unable to battle! Incineroar is the winner!!"
This time, the Referee was less shocked. After all, throughout the entire League, this Incineroar's battles had all been the same—overwhelmingly dominant. He had grown used to it.
Everyone said this Masked Man wasn't a specialty player but a versatile, all-around competitor. However, from the Referee's experienced perspective, he was simply an Incineroar specialty player.
"This guy's Incineroar is a whole tier stronger than his other Pokémon... Or maybe he's still hiding something?"
After all, the Masked Man had only sent out three Pokémon so far. No one knew what his other three were.
"You did a great job, Charizard."
After a few seconds of stunned silence, Ash slowly returned Charizard to its Poké Ball. Although the overwhelming defeat was hard for him to accept, it was the reality, and he was mentally prepared for it.
"So this is how Gary and Blue felt when they faced the Masked Man..."
Ash's mentality was much stronger than Gary's. He quickly regained his morale and began to consider the next battle, but his hand hovered over the Poké Ball on his waist, hesitating.
"Right now, the only one that stands a chance against that Incineroar is my Metapod... But should I send it out now?"
Although Metapod's Realm had reached the peak of perfection, its own Level was low. Perfect Ultra Instinct was a divine power that Fighting-type Pokémon could only use after tempering their bodies through countless trials. If Metapod were to use this power, it could only be maintained for less than a minute before it would need to be bedridden for half a month.
But if it only used regular Ultra Instinct, while its Realm would still be a tier higher than Incineroar's, victory would likely exhaust a massive amount of its stamina. It wouldn't be easy.
After all, the Level difference was undeniable, not to mention the Type disadvantage.
"Come back, Incineroar."
Unexpectedly, his opponent suddenly recalled Incineroar, causing Ash's expression to change.
"I know you have a special Metapod. Since you want to save it for last, I'll save my Incineroar for the end as well." The Masked Man was very perceptive; he had noticed Ash's hesitation and decided to make the choice for him.
After all, he wanted to battle an opponent who was giving their all, not a timid and hesitant Ash.
"Come on out, my fourth Pokémon!"
This time, the Masked Man was the first to throw his Poké Ball. A red light flashed, and a grayish-brown, beast-like Pokémon appeared before him.
Its body was covered in light brown fur, while its slender, well-proportioned limbs and large tail were white. Around its neck grew a mane of sharp rocks.
On its wolf-like head, two ears stood erect. Its eyes were light blue, its snout protruded forward, and its face exuded an air of unwavering resolve and passion.
"Pokédex, beep. Lycanroc, Midday Form. A Pokémon from the Alola Region. Rock-type. Its teeth and claws are sharp, and its movement speed and reflexes are extremely fast. It possesses an unyielding will and will unleash its innate bestial nature at critical moments."
The Pokédex reported.
The intensity of the battle had caused its reports to gradually lose any fluff, leaving only the essential information.
(end of chapter)
"ROAR!!"
Charizard's enraged roar snapped Ash out of his thoughts. The fire dragon before him had already gotten back to its feet. Although it looked exhausted, it forcefully spread its wings, its gaze burning as it stared down its target.
*Fwoosh!!*
Even the flame at the tip of its tail surged to more than three times its normal size, a symbol of its soaring battle intent.
"Charizard..."
Ash couldn't help but murmur, the glow of the fire illuminating his face.
Fire-type Pokémon are inherently proud, especially when facing another of their kind. This flame of battle reignited Ash's own fighting spirit.
"Alright, Charizard, let's fight with everything we've got!!"
Ash took a wide step, his will connecting with Charizard's.
"GRAAWRR!!"
Charizard tilted its head back and unleashed a torrent of scorching flames. Its crimson skin began to darken, shifting toward the reddish-brown of volcanic lava, and even took on a bright red sheen that pulsed like a heartbeat, brimming with immense energy.
The air within several meters of it on the arena seemed to boil upon contact with its skin, instantly filling with rising plumes of white steam.
*Hiss...*
Even from between Charizard's teeth, wisps of white steam escaped, as if it could barely contain the rampaging energy within its body.
"Oh? Is this the final blow?"
Seeing this, a brilliant smile spread across the Masked Man's face. Incineroar understood, leaping forward a meter and assuming an offensive stance, the flames on its belt burning intensely.
The next second, Ash raised his hand, pointed, and roared out the command:
"Charizard, use a final Inferno!!"
As he spoke, countless crimson flames erupted from around Charizard's body, spreading and rising to engulf its half of the arena in the terrifying fires of Inferno, like a sea of fire.
Seeing this, the Masked Man roared back with equal volume.
"Incineroar, we'll use Blast Burn!!"
"ROAR!!"
Incineroar's energy was already charged to the brim. Without moving from its spot, it thrust its hips forward, and from the center of its flame belt, it spat out a massive ball of crimson flame that formed a gigantic fireball.
The flame instantly burned at its absolute peak, transforming into pure, bright-red flame energy that had lost all physical form.
It was a spectacular, yet terrifying sight. The energy contained within was pushed to its absolute limit.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!"
The two masses of flame collided unimpeded in the center of the arena. A pillar of fire shot into the sky, forming a fire tornado at the epicenter and kicking up a terrifying explosion of smoke and dust!
The impact of the flame energy even created a heat wave that spread outwards, raising the temperature of the entire arena and forcing the spectators to shield their faces.
The blast was so intense that the fire tornado at the center could no longer sustain itself. It disintegrated into scattered flame fragments and an explosion of smoke and dust, completely enveloping both Incineroar and Charizard on the arena.
"BOOM!!"
Another explosion rang out. Although it was impossible to see what was happening on the field, one thing was certain: a terrifyingly powerful collision was taking place...
The firelight and smoke dissipated.
On the arena, the two Pokémon stood five meters apart, staring each other down.
"ROAR!"
A tiger's roar resounded.
On one side, Incineroar seemed completely unscathed, having suffered no serious damage. It was still full of life.
Charizard, on the other hand, had its eyes half-closed. Its breathing was shallow, its strength nearly exhausted. Its body swayed precariously, and even the flame on the tip of its tail had dwindled.
"Finish it, Incineroar!"
As the Masked Man's voice fell, Incineroar charged its target again. Its movements weren't fast, but the current Charizard had no strength left to dodge or defend.
"!!"
A bizarre, purple-black glint of energy flashed before Charizard's eyes. Incineroar brought its fingertips together into a piercing point, raised its claw, and shot past its opponent, stopping behind Charizard in a forward-lunge pose.
*Thud.*
The next second, Charizard's body crashed to the ground.
"Charizard is unable to battle! Incineroar is the winner!!"
This time, the Referee was less shocked. After all, throughout the entire League, this Incineroar's battles had all been the same—overwhelmingly dominant. He had grown used to it.
Everyone said this Masked Man wasn't a specialty player but a versatile, all-around competitor. However, from the Referee's experienced perspective, he was simply an Incineroar specialty player.
"This guy's Incineroar is a whole tier stronger than his other Pokémon... Or maybe he's still hiding something?"
After all, the Masked Man had only sent out three Pokémon so far. No one knew what his other three were.
"You did a great job, Charizard."
After a few seconds of stunned silence, Ash slowly returned Charizard to its Poké Ball. Although the overwhelming defeat was hard for him to accept, it was the reality, and he was mentally prepared for it.
"So this is how Gary and Blue felt when they faced the Masked Man..."
Ash's mentality was much stronger than Gary's. He quickly regained his morale and began to consider the next battle, but his hand hovered over the Poké Ball on his waist, hesitating.
"Right now, the only one that stands a chance against that Incineroar is my Metapod... But should I send it out now?"
Although Metapod's Realm had reached the peak of perfection, its own Level was low. Perfect Ultra Instinct was a divine power that Fighting-type Pokémon could only use after tempering their bodies through countless trials. If Metapod were to use this power, it could only be maintained for less than a minute before it would need to be bedridden for half a month.
But if it only used regular Ultra Instinct, while its Realm would still be a tier higher than Incineroar's, victory would likely exhaust a massive amount of its stamina. It wouldn't be easy.
After all, the Level difference was undeniable, not to mention the Type disadvantage.
"Come back, Incineroar."
Unexpectedly, his opponent suddenly recalled Incineroar, causing Ash's expression to change.
"I know you have a special Metapod. Since you want to save it for last, I'll save my Incineroar for the end as well." The Masked Man was very perceptive; he had noticed Ash's hesitation and decided to make the choice for him.
After all, he wanted to battle an opponent who was giving their all, not a timid and hesitant Ash.
"Come on out, my fourth Pokémon!"
This time, the Masked Man was the first to throw his Poké Ball. A red light flashed, and a grayish-brown, beast-like Pokémon appeared before him.
Its body was covered in light brown fur, while its slender, well-proportioned limbs and large tail were white. Around its neck grew a mane of sharp rocks.
On its wolf-like head, two ears stood erect. Its eyes were light blue, its snout protruded forward, and its face exuded an air of unwavering resolve and passion.
"Pokédex, beep. Lycanroc, Midday Form. A Pokémon from the Alola Region. Rock-type. Its teeth and claws are sharp, and its movement speed and reflexes are extremely fast. It possesses an unyielding will and will unleash its innate bestial nature at critical moments."
The Pokédex reported.
The intensity of the battle had caused its reports to gradually lose any fluff, leaving only the essential information.
(end of chapter)
