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As soon as Charmeleon appeared on the battlefield, enthusiastic cheers erupted from the crowd of spectators.
"Go, Charmeleon!"
"Charmeleon, you look amazing!"
"Jacob's Shiny Charmeleon is incredibly powerful!"
The golden-scaled Charmeleon basked in the audience's praise, clearly enjoying the attention. It held its head high with pride, its brilliant golden skin gleaming brilliantly under the bright sunlight. Despite the obvious pleasure it took from the cheers, Charmeleon maintained a stoic, expressionless face.
I must keep up the appearance of a master, Charmeleon thought to itself.
Today was Charmeleon's moment to shine. Thanks to the naturally sunny weather conditions that boosted its Solar Power ability, Charmeleon had dominated every single battle without suffering a single defeat. Its outstanding performance throughout the tournament had earned it countless new fans who cheered loudly from the stands.
Standing proudly on the battlefield while soaking in the audience's adoration, Charmeleon squinted its eyes and secretly studied its opponent across the field - a Hawlucha preparing for battle. Another small opponent? it thought dismissively.
Heh, I do enjoy beating up the smaller ones, Charmeleon mused internally, but I need to be more careful this time. If another powerful Bidoof shows up unexpectedly, that would be truly embarrassing for me.
The referee raised his flag high in the air and shouted, "Battle begin!"
"Charmeleon, use—" Jacob started to command his Pokemon to launch a Flamethrower attack, but before he could finish giving the instruction, Charmeleon had already opened its mouth wide and unleashed a powerful stream of flames.
It was a surprise attack!
This unexpected turn of events left Jacob feeling completely bewildered. My goodness, could it be that my Charmeleon has developed some kind of telepathic ability and can actually read my thoughts? Jacob wondered in amazement. However, as he thought about it more carefully, something seemed off about this situation. It was obvious that Charmeleon had been secretly charging up this Flamethrower attack in its mouth for quite some time, holding the energy ready and simply waiting for the referee's signal to begin the match before releasing it immediately.
This Charmeleon doesn't have any special connection with me at all, Jacob realized with growing concern. It had been planning this sneak attack from the very beginning! When did it become so devious and underhanded?
What Jacob didn't understand was that ever since Charmeleon had suffered a humiliating defeat from a Weavile's surprise First Impression attack in a previous battle, it had learned a valuable lesson. Determined to avoid finding itself in such a disadvantageous position again, the clever Pokemon had devised a cunning strategy to deal with similar situations in the future.
If I always attack first and catch my opponents off guard, Charmeleon had reasoned, then they won't have the opportunity to surprise me with their own sneak attacks.
Therefore, from the moment Charmeleon had entered the battlefield, it had been secretly building up energy for a Flamethrower attack, keeping itself ready to launch a devastating surprise assault at any moment.
Following the referee's command to begin the battle, Charmeleon executed its surprise fire-type attack with ruthless efficiency. The intense flames burst forth in a torrential stream, catching the completely unprepared Hawlucha completely off guard. The Wrestling Pokemon had no time to react or dodge before being completely engulfed by the searing hot flames.
The combination of Charmeleon's Solar Power ability, the sunny weather conditions, and the natural type advantage made this single Flamethrower attack devastatingly powerful. The surprise assault dealt massive damage and left Hawlucha severely injured.
Seeing its sneak attack succeed so brilliantly, Charmeleon felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction and vindication wash over it. It turns out I've been completely wrong about fighting all this time, it thought with newfound wisdom. Relying on brute force and direct confrontation is the behavior of a mindless brute.
A reckless person shows courage only in brief moments, while a hothead displays anger without thinking, Charmeleon philosophized to itself. But I am different - I am both brave and intelligent, capable of advancing when opportunity presents itself and retreating when wisdom demands it. I survive in this world through wit and cunning, not just raw power!
The more Charmeleon reflected on this revelation, the more excited and pleased it became. So this is what executing a perfect sneak attack feels like? How exhilarating! How satisfying! it thought with growing enthusiasm. I absolutely love launching surprise attacks - the feeling is incredible!
At that exact moment, while Charmeleon was in this state of extreme excitement and satisfaction, its entire body suddenly became enveloped in brilliant white evolutionary light. Wrapped completely within the intense white glow, its body began to transform and grow larger. After fighting vigorously throughout the entire day without showing any signs of evolution, Charmeleon was actually achieving its evolution solely because of the thrill and satisfaction of executing a successful sneak attack!
"Jacob's Charmeleon has no sense of honor or fair play - it launched a direct sneak attack!" one spectator complained loudly from the stands.
"You don't understand anything about Pokemon battles," another fan argued back passionately. "The fire-type energy inside Charmeleon had built up to such intense levels that it was forced to release a Flamethrower to discharge the excess energy from its body. Look - it's evolving immediately after releasing all that stored power!"
"That actually makes perfect sense!" a third observer agreed enthusiastically. "Jacob's Charmeleon was already incredibly strong before, and now that it's evolved into Charizard, who knows how much more powerful it will become. Caleb is probably going to lose this match."
The brilliant white evolutionary light gradually faded away, revealing Charizard's magnificent black-scaled body. After the golden Charmeleon completed its evolution into Charizard, its skin had transformed into a rare and striking black coloration, while the inner membrane of its wings displayed a deep blood-red hue. This dramatic combination of black and crimson made Charizard appear particularly imposing and handsome. However, despite its intimidating appearance, Jacob's newly-evolved Charizard displayed a gentle, warm smile on its dragon-like face, radiating an aura of comfort and security.
A typical Charizard usually stands about 1.7 meters tall, but Jacob's Charizard measured approximately 2.1 to 2.2 meters in height - significantly larger than average.
While not quite as impressively oversized as his 3.3-meter-tall Sceptile, this was still considered excellent size for a Charizard. This made sense considering that Jacob's Charizard specialized in special attacks, whereas his Sceptile was built as a dual-blade physical attacker, naturally requiring a more massive frame.
Charizard experimentally flapped its powerful wings, testing and feeling the dramatic changes throughout its evolved body. Compared to its previous aggressive demeanor as Charmeleon, the newly-evolved Charizard had completely abandoned its former vicious attitude. A gentle, pleasant smile graced its draconic features, giving it a bright and beautiful appearance that would be the dream companion of rookie trainers everywhere.
However, Jacob didn't share this optimistic assessment. While other people might not fully understand Charizard's true nature, Jacob knew his Pokemon's personality extremely well as its trainer. Charizard's personality was definitely not as friendly and sweet as its outward appearance suggested. Jacob seriously suspected that Charizard had actually become even more cunning and devious, simply learning to hide its true thoughts and intentions beneath a deceptively pleasant exterior.
Its evolution process reminds me of a villain's character development, Jacob thought uneasily. During the Charmander stage, it was like a violent, aggressive street thug. As Charmeleon, it became a vicious and cunning gang leader. Now it's transformed into a seemingly reformed businessman and philanthropist who appears innocent but is actually cruel and ruthless underneath!
The more Jacob considered this troubling theory, the more convinced he became that he was absolutely correct. Charizard hadn't reformed its aggressive nature at all - it had simply learned to disguise itself expertly, hiding its inherent cruelty deep within its bones! The progression from ferocious Charmander to vicious Charmeleon to the current Smiling Tiger Charizard was unmistakable!
This theory has to be accurate, Jacob concluded grimly. Otherwise, why didn't Charmeleon evolve after so many exciting and intense battles throughout the day? It took the satisfaction and thrill of executing a successful sneak attack to trigger its evolution!
Meanwhile, Caleb on the opposite side of the battlefield hadn't anticipated that Charmeleon would launch such an underhanded surprise attack. Caught completely off guard by the unexpected strategy, he hadn't had sufficient time to command his Hawlucha to dodge the incoming flames, resulting in serious injury to his Pokemon.
Unfortunately for Caleb, the situation became even worse when Charmeleon evolved into the much more powerful Charizard immediately after its sneak attack, putting him at a tremendous disadvantage right from the battle's opening moments.
"Hawlucha, use Roost!" Caleb commanded desperately, having no choice but to order his injured Pokemon to use the recovery move to restore its strength and heal its wounds.
"Charizard, use Heat Wave!" Jacob called out decisively, collecting his scattered thoughts and setting aside his concerns about Charizard's personality for the moment. They were in the middle of an active battle, and he wasn't about to waste the significant advantage that Charizard had established through its surprise attack. Jacob waved his hand confidently and directed Charizard to continue its aggressive assault.
Both trainers issued their commands almost simultaneously. Hawlucha immediately landed on the ground and began to rest, with flying-type energy flowing throughout its green body. The healing energy worked to mend the burns and wounds covering its form while continuously restoring its depleted stamina.
Charizard powerfully flapped its broad wings and lifted its body high into the air, soaring gracefully through the sky while obviously enjoying the incredible sensation of flight. After reaching an optimal altitude, it flapped its wings with tremendous force while simultaneously breathing forth scorching flames from its mouth in a devastating area-of-effect attack.
After evolving from Charmeleon into Charizard, the Pokemon's overall power had increased dramatically. The Heat Wave technique it employed was significantly more potent than any attack it could have managed in its previous evolutionary stage.
The surging, intense heat spread across the battlefield like an advancing sea of fire, covering nearly the entire arena and completely enveloping the recovering Hawlucha. The scorching air shimmered with overwhelming heat as flames danced and roared throughout the space!
When the devastating Heat Wave finally subsided and the flames died down, Hawlucha's body had been burned black from the intense fire-type attack. The Wrestling Pokemon lay motionless on the ground, completely unconscious and unable to continue fighting.
"Hawlucha is unable to battle! Jacob wins the first round!" the referee announced officially, raising his flag to signal the conclusion of the opening match.