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Electivire swung its Thunder Punch and launched itself high into the air. After Charizard finished destroying the surrounding rocks, it also noticed Electivire rushing upward to meet it in aerial combat.
"Char-i-zard!" BOOM! The collision was tremendous as both Pokémon met in mid-air.
Charizard had never been one to back down from a head-to-head confrontation, and it responded by throwing its own electrified punch at Electivire. The fists of both powerful Pokémon collided directly in the air, and a thunderous roar erupted from the impact.
Strong air currents were released around both combatants' bodies. Each Pokémon felt the intense shockwaves blasting against them from the force of their collision. Charizard's eyes remained stern and determined.
Gritting its teeth slightly with effort, Charizard clenched its other hand into a fist and swung it toward Electivire. Electivire's expression changed when it saw the incoming attack, and it started to raise its hand to defend itself, but Charizard was one step faster.
WHAM! The powerful punch connected solidly.
CRASH! Electivire was struck directly in the face by the follow-up attack, and its body fell from the air at high speed like a cannonball. With a tremendous bang, it hit the ground heavily, and a cloud of smoke and dust filled the air instantly.
Charizard slowly descended from the air and landed gracefully on the ground. Looking at the smoke billowing in front of them, Misty and Brock watched with serious expressions.
"Is it over? Did we win?" Misty asked, looking at the battlefield with curiosity.
Although Electivire was an Electric-type Pokémon, it had been hit while at such a high altitude, and Electric-types weren't known just for their special attacks—they could take physical damage like any other Pokémon.
"No, it's not finished yet!" Ash said, seeming to have heard Misty's question.
He could see the smoke gradually clearing in front of them, revealing a deep crater in the ground where Electivire had landed.
But there was Electivire, still standing in the crater with that same determined, tooth-baring grin. It was swinging its arms slightly as if conducting electricity like a power generator, surrounded by crackling bursts of thunder and lightning. Then the electrical energy was directly absorbed into its body.
"That's the Motor Drive ability!" Brock said with slight surprise when he witnessed this scene.
Because he was unfamiliar with Electivire's specific capabilities, he hadn't known what ability it possessed until now.
But after seeing this demonstration, he immediately realized that Electivire's ability was Motor Drive. Motor Drive was a special ability that some Electric-type Pokémon possessed. When attacked by Electric-type moves, the Pokémon wouldn't be harmed. Instead, it could absorb the opponent's electricity to increase its own speed.
However, in Ash's experienced opinion, the Thunder Punch that had just connected wasn't completely without effect.
After absorbing the electrical energy, Electivire also wiped its cheek with the back of its hand—specifically the spot where Charizard had just punched it. Ash understood very well that this wasn't a video game with simple rules.
If this were a video game, the Thunder Punch attack would have had absolutely no effect at all due to Electivire's ability.
But reality was different from a game. Although the electrical power of the Thunder Punch would be absorbed harmlessly, the physical force of that punch was very real and had definitely caused some damage.
For example, Charizard was exceptionally powerful physically, and Electivire was also quite robust. If that same punch had been delivered to some weaker Pokémon, even without using any special moves—just as an ordinary physical attack—the force of Charizard's punch alone would be enough to make Pokémon with weaker defenses lose their ability to battle.
This was the biggest difference between games and reality that Ash had learned through experience. If a Thunderbolt attack had directly hit Electivire, then all of that electrical power would have been absorbed completely by Motor Drive.
But physical attacks worked differently. Although the electricity from Thunder Punch was absorbed, the punch itself still caused real damage, and Electivire had been knocked backward from the impact.
When it crashed into the ground, it would also sustain additional injury from the fall. This kind of realistic consequence was impossible to replicate in a video game, so Ash had learned never to treat real battles as if they followed game mechanics.
"Elec-ti-vire!" But obviously, Electivire was not a weak Pokémon that would be defeated by such a relatively small amount of damage.
After absorbing the electrical energy from the Thunder Punch, it let out a powerful roar and charged forward with renewed vigor. When Electivire kicked off from the ground beneath its feet, the earth cracked and shattered, sending stones flying in all directions.
The moment it burst forward, golden electrical energy emerged around Electivire's fist once again. It seemed to understand that Electric-type attacks would have excellent effectiveness against Charizard.
"So fast!" Misty couldn't help but comment when she saw Electivire's sudden burst of speed.
Electivire's velocity was indeed much faster than it had been before absorbing the electricity. To be honest, with a large, bulky size like Electivire's, it was difficult to imagine that it could be a Pokémon with good speed capabilities.
But in reality, while Electivire's base speed wasn't particularly impressive, its large frame was packed with powerful muscles, and its explosive power was quite amazing to witness.
After being enhanced by the Motor Drive ability, its speed became significantly faster and more threatening.
"Dodge it!" However, even though Electivire's speed had increased considerably, it was still easy for Ash to react to such a direct, straightforward attack.
At his command, Charizard stepped back slightly and managed to avoid Electivire's incoming Thunder Punch.
However, at that crucial moment, there was a sudden whooshing sound cutting through the air. The pair of cable-like tails extending from Electivire's back suddenly stretched out to their full length. Just as Charizard successfully avoided the Thunder Punch attack, the tails wrapped around Charizard's neck and body like electrical cables.
Charizard's movements stopped instantly as it found itself trapped. Seeing this perfect opportunity, Electivire suddenly displayed a cunning, confident smirk.
BZZT! The electricity stored in Electivire's body suddenly exploded outward, and the lightning traveled through its tails and was conducted directly into Charizard's trapped body.
Charizard's brow furrowed deeply, and a pained expression appeared on its face. The Electric-type attack was indeed having an excellent effect against the Fire and Flying-type Charizard.
"This is bad!" Brock couldn't help but exclaim when he witnessed this turn of events.
Even a powerful Pokémon like Charizard would have difficulty withstanding such intense electrical current for an extended period. Under the constant influence of the lightning coursing through its body, Charizard wouldn't be able to use its full power effectively.
"Don't underestimate Charizard!" Ash called out, looking at the battlefield without showing any signs of panic.
Even though Electric-type moves were super effective against Flying-types, his Charizard might not have reached the championship-level strength of Elite Four members or Champions yet, but after such a long period of intensive training and countless battles against strong opponents, it would not be defeated so easily.
As if sensing Ash's unwavering confidence and emotional support, Charizard slowly opened its eyes and looked with sharp determination at the Electivire holding it captive.
"Perfect! Charizard, use Seismic Toss!" Since Charizard was caught by its opponent and had no immediate way to escape the electrical grip, Ash decided they shouldn't try to hide or run away.
After hearing Ash's strategic command, Charizard's eyes flashed with renewed determination. It endured the powerful lightning that was constantly coursing through its body, reached out and grabbed the Electivire that was right in front of it, then immediately flew directly up into the air with its opponent in tow.
Rising rapidly into the sky, Electivire found itself unable to escape on its own at this critical moment. Now it could only continue to increase the electrical power flowing through its tails, betting that Charizard's physical strength and endurance would be exhausted before its own.
But Electivire had clearly underestimated both Charizard's incredible physical strength and its iron willpower to continue fighting despite the pain.