"Heat Wave!" "Sandstorm!"
As the referee's whistle blew, Lance and Sato issued commands almost simultaneously.
Charizard flapped its wings. It didn't seem to do anything special, yet a wave of searing heat swept across the battlefield in an instant.
On the other side, Cacturne swung its arms and began to spin its entire body. A golden sandstorm rapidly spread outward with itself as the center.
Sand and flame clashed violently on the field, each side standing its ground!
Suddenly, Charizard dove straight into the Heat Wave, burst through the Sandstorm, and flew directly toward Cacturne's position.
Whoooosh~
A flash of bright blue light suddenly lit up at the center of the Sandstorm, blasting straight upward and ripping through the entire storm!
It was Flare Blitz!
Wait…
Where was Cacturne?
Where was that massive, towering Cacturne of Sato's?
"CAAAAACT!"
Suddenly, a sharp cry came from directly below Charizard. As it instinctively looked down, it felt its tail being yanked downward… hard.
From the audience's perspective, it looked like a shrunken Cacturne had burst out from the "desert," then sprang up with a powerful kick and leapt onto Charizard, grabbing its tail and slamming it to the ground!
Terrifying explosive strength and sharp observational awareness of blind spots. Cacturne was showing a completely different battle style than before.
It was… surprisingly impressive!
Charizard plummeted toward the ground, trying to regain balance midair.
Meanwhile, Cacturne launched itself downward, kicking off the air and accelerating as it charged at Charizard.
"Fire Blast!"
Seeing that Cacturne was still charging in recklessly, Lance gave up on restraint and ordered Charizard to launch an all-out attack.
Fwoosh…
…BOOM!
A massive Fire Blast erupted, driving Charizard faster toward the ground, but also hitting Cacturne midair where it had no leverage to dodge.
In the next moment, Charizard crashed hard into the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust, while Cacturne, engulfed in flames like a meteor, slammed down nearby.
"Drain Punch." "Dragon Claw!"
Sato and Lance called out again. Both knew their Pokémon's condition, this level of damage was far from enough to make them unable to fight.
Sure enough, Charizard and Cacturne both got back up immediately. Cacturne even used its falling momentum to crash into the remnants of the "desert," successfully extinguishing the flames.
Then, Charizard didn't take off again. It charged forward, swinging its relatively slender front claws to meet Cacturne's Drain Punch head-on.
Fist and claw clashed!
One might expect an even match, but to Sato's surprise, Charizard actually forced Cacturne's punch back.
'Since when did Lance's Charizard start going down the physical Attack route…?'
Charizard's seemingly frail claws held unimaginable power. Coupled with its thick tail and the occasional interference from its wings, it began to push back Cacturne, whose fighting abilities were normally quite solid.
'This isn't over yet!'
Sato calculated quickly in his mind. Cacturne's Drain Punch had great absorption, and combined with its thorns' recoil damage…
"Whoaaaaaaa~"
A wave of surprise suddenly rippled through the crowd.
In the middle of this close-quarters exchange, Charizard suddenly launched a Flamethrower without warning, blasting Cacturne head-on.
Cacturne was caught off guard, and murmurs rose in the audience stands.
But in battle, trickery was fair game. For Charizard to pull off such an untelegraphed Flamethrower… it wasn't something just any Pokémon could do.
As expected, a high-temperature, explosive Flamethrower directly inflicted severe damage on Cacturne.
Charizard pressed the advantage, following up with Dragon Claw, Iron Tail, and Wing Attack. Every part of its body became a weapon, piling on damage against Cacturne without pause.
Sato remained silent. Charizard's attack rhythm was far too fast, while Cacturne was already at a disadvantage in speed and couldn't make effective use of its explosive power in close combat.
It didn't even get a chance to retreat and regroup!
Eventually, Cacturne's injuries worsened visibly, and it could only watch as Charizard's Dragon Claw came swinging down.
Its expression was calm, prepared to go down with its opponent. Just as the Dragon Claw was about to strike…
Destiny Bond activated!
For a moment, the two Pokémon were linked by a mysterious power, their fates tied together.
Cacturne closed its eyes, waiting for the moment it would collapse.
'…Huh? Why hasn't it hit yet?
Or… am I already lying in a bed at the Pokémon Center?'
Cacturne opened its eyes in confusion. Through the gap between Charizard's claws, it saw the mocking smirk on Charizard's face.
Destiny Bond failed.
Dragon Claw struck down!
BOOOOM!
Cacturne was slammed directly into the ground and lost consciousness.
Sato lowered his head slightly and silently recalled Cacturne.
Charizard was simply too strong. It had completely suppressed Cacturne in every aspect.
Even after using tactics to bring it to the ground, Charizard still defeated Cacturne in what should have been its strongest domain: close combat.
Cacturne had lost. Decisively and thoroughly.
In the audience stands, Serperior had already retreated into its Poké Ball the moment Cacturne was overpowered by Charizard.
'As long as I didn't see my student lose, then it's not my shame!'
Back on the field, Sato looked at Charizard hovering midair, not flushed or winded, and after a moment's hesitation, he sent out his third Pokémon.
Sharpedo!
The moment it appeared, Sharpedo locked onto Charizard in the air and instinctively rose to match its altitude.
The battle was ready to erupt!
And the first to strike was the already-impatient Sharpedo.
Aqua Jet activated. Sharpedo darted toward Charizard along an unpredictable trajectory.
Charizard was not to be outdone. Its wings flapped hard, shifting its position quickly to deny Sharpedo any chance to sneak in.
Relying on exceptional flight skills, Charizard even managed to reverse course and pressure Sharpedo in return.
The aerial battle was so fast-paced that both Lance and Sato chose not to speak unnecessarily, avoiding interference.
But through synchronized resonance, Sato kept relaying one thought to Sharpedo.
{Hold steady, no rush. Get your speed up first.}
"Sha!"
With Speed Boost active, Sharpedo's speed steadily increased and visibly surpassed Charizard.
Afterimages appeared. Sharpedo began targeting Charizard's wings, tail, and other protruding parts.
Then, without hesitation, Sato reached for the Key Stone around his neck, unused for a long, looong time.
"Sharpedo, Mega Evolve."
"Heh…~" On the other side, Lance chuckled lightly. The Key Stone on his wrist lit up with multicolored light.
"Charizard, Mega Evolve!"
Both sides tacitly paused their fight. Rainbow light filled the entire arena as Sharpedo and Charizard triggered Mega Evolution simultaneously.
When the light faded, the battlefield revealed two terrifying forms.
Mega Sharpedo, covered in blades and brimming with ferocity, and Mega Charizard X, with black wings, blue flames billowing from its jaws, and a bulked-up body.
The battle was about to reach a whole new level of intensity!