"Sure, I'm fine with it. What about you two?"
Jace made his position clear and looked at the two Charmeleon with a smile.
Seeing this, the two Charmeleon exchanged glances, then looked at each other with fighting spirit burning in their eyes.
"Right here then. Battle begin!"
Auron took on the role of referee, using his hand as a flag. He chopped it downward—the match was on.
The instant the battle started, the two Charmeleon crashed into each other, grabbing each other's arms and beginning a test of strength.
"Graow!"
"Roar!"
Neither Charmeleon would yield to the other. Finally, Auron's Charmeleon gained a slight advantage, pushing Jace's Charmeleon back two steps.
"Graow!"
Auron's Charmeleon roared and added more force, flinging Jace's Charmeleon away.
After being thrown, Jace's Charmeleon executed a graceful flip in midair and landed steadily, looking at Auron's Charmeleon with surprise.
Jace mirrored his Charmeleon's expression, staring at Auron's Charmeleon with equal astonishment.
"Graow!"
Seeing his brother's expression, Charmeleon looked very satisfied. Imitating Snorlax, he struck a bodybuilding pose and patted the muscles on his right arm with his other hand.
(Hmph, you really thought my daily strength contests with Corphish were just for fun? Power—understand? This is what makes a man!)
"Roar!"
Jace's Charmeleon refused to accept this and shot a Dragon Breath toward his opponent.
Auron's Charmeleon wasn't about to back down either and used Dragon Breath in return.
Two emerald-green Dragon Breaths collided in midair, scattering into tiny sparks.
"Graow!"
"Roar!"
Both Charmeleon roared simultaneously and lunged at each other, their hands glowing with the same silver-gray light.
After their Metal Claws clashed, they each retreated two steps, then continued attacking with Metal Claw in a fierce exchange of clanging strikes.
Watching this scene, Auron's expression turned strange as he recalled a line from a movie in his past life.
"They learned from the same master—can't break through each other's moves!"
No one knew what Auron was thinking, but the two Charmeleon on the field changed tactics at the same time.
After creating distance, they simultaneously spat out Ember. As expected, the two Embers collided in midair and dissipated silently.
After battling to this point, both Charmeleon were breathing somewhat heavily—mainly because the Metal Claw exchange had been too exhausting.
Neither Charmeleon would admit defeat. Their bodies became wreathed in emerald energy as they charged at each other.
"Dragon Rush?!"
Jace cried out in surprise. My Charmeleon knows this move? How did I not know that?
Peter also looked at the two Charmeleon on the field with an odd expression.
These two's Charmeleon—why did it feel like they weren't on the same level as ordinary Charmeleon?
Indeed, from Peter's perspective, either one of these Charmeleon would dominate other members of their species that he'd encountered. Both of them could easily overpower their peers.
And now they were using a major Dragon-type move? Were they sure they weren't cheating?
While everyone below had different thoughts, the two Charmeleon on the field collided violently.
The two Charmeleon fell back into the same wrestling match they'd started with, neither willing to yield to the other.
The three humans watched tensely, each cheering on their respective Charmeleon.
But in the end, neither Charmeleon could overpower the other. Although Auron's Charmeleon had slightly more strength, it wasn't enough to completely overwhelm his opponent.
Finally, after the emerald energy dissipated, the two Charmeleon's contest came down to pure strength and willpower.
After struggling for a while, both Charmeleon began panting heavily. Both were nearly exhausted—victory would be decided in the final moment.
The two Charmeleon simultaneously raised their claws, delivering one last Metal Claw to each other.
"THUD!"
"THUD!"
Their final Metal Claws struck each other's faces at the same time—soft and powerless, without any force behind them—but this was the final straw that broke the camel's back.
Both Charmeleon collapsed simultaneously, their eyes spinning. Both had lost the ability to battle at the same time.
"Phew, let's go. We should get them treated first."
Auron exhaled, stepped forward, and picked up his Charmeleon.
The scene had been so tense that Auron had unconsciously held his breath, only releasing it once the battle ended.
"Let's go. Peter, you keep training, alright?"
"Senior, my name is Regis..."
Jace also picked up his Charmeleon and headed out with Auron, not forgetting to remind Peter as he left.
"Don't call me 'senior'!"
"Then don't call me Peter!"
The two who had already left heard Peter's exasperated voice from inside and couldn't help but feel amused.
After placing their Charmeleon on the cart that Chansey wheeled out, the two sat on the benches by the door. Auron spoke up first.
"You haven't really been training Charmeleon, have you?"
Jace rubbed his face. "Yeah, it's been vacation, so I've just been playing around."
"Same here. After coming to the capital, I've been too busy with everything."
Auron nodded in agreement.
Indeed, after vacation started, not just Jace but Auron had also been focused on having fun. It was only after things settled down in the capital that Charmeleon had spent the last two days practicing moves with his grandfather's Pokémon.
"Well, from now on we need to train seriously! For the big moment we're going to pull off!"
Auron said with a smile.
"Right, for the big moment we're planning! But wait—how exactly are we pulling it off? You still haven't told me!"
"Haha, first evolve into Charizard. Only after evolving into Charizard will we have the qualifications to pull off something big!"
No matter how much Jace asked, Auron wouldn't say. Finally, even after the two Pokémon came out full of energy, Jace still hadn't gotten the answer he wanted.
When the two of them returned to the training room with their Pokémon, they found Peter had already begun training.
Drilbur was practicing his move proficiency, while Pupitar floated quietly beside him, watching Drilbur train.
That was just how Pupitar was. Like Shelgon, they both belonged to the category of Pokémon that had difficulty evolving into their final forms.
This was different from the games. Once Pupitar evolved to its second stage, it basically had no combat ability. It needed to absorb nutrients from the rocks it had eaten during its Larvitar period, then undergo a major transformation before finally evolving into Tyranitar.
Although Shelgon didn't need to do this, it also belonged to that type of late-blooming Pokémon—but its transformation was of the willpower variety.
It needed an extremely strong desire to fly before it could evolve into Salamence with its Dragon and Flying typing.
"Charmeleon, you need to train hard. When school starts, it'll be your time to shine!"
Auron patted Charmeleon's rear and began formulating a training plan for him.