"BOOM!"
Jace's Charmeleon was sent flying solidly, landing on the ground and rolling twice.
"What?! Charmeleon learned from last time—this was a double hit!"
The commentator instantly got excited. While his opponent was still airborne, Charmeleon twisted his rear and swung Dragon Tail back around, striking the airborne Charmeleon squarely and sending him flying.
"Tch, annoying. Close in with Dragon Claw!"
Watching his Charmeleon fall from the air, Jace gritted his teeth in frustration.
His pre-match calculations had fallen apart. He'd been planning to turn things around with Sunny Day, but that wasn't going to work now.
With more stamina than the opponent, he could activate Sunny Day directly. But with less stamina? What could he do?
The fallen Charmeleon rose again and charged at Auron's Charmeleon. This time, he wanted redemption.
In previous battles, they'd either ended in a draw or he'd collapsed a few seconds earlier due to stamina.
This time, he'd learned Sunny Day. His trainer had said he'd help him win.
He couldn't fail again because of his own shortcomings!
"Dragon Claw to meet him!"
Seeing Jace's Charmeleon charging over, Auron also got excited and had his Charmeleon use Dragon Claw to counter.
"CLASH!"
The two Charmeleon collided, their four claws crossing as they began a test of strength.
"Both Charmeleon have chosen the same move to fight! They've clashed—Dragon Claw against Dragon Claw!"
"They're locked in a contest of strength! Currently evenly matched—let's see what happens next!"
"The result is in! The two Charmeleon are evenly matched and have pushed each other back!"
"They've collided again! This time no grappling—this time it's Dragon Claw clashing directly!"
The two Charmeleon's claws were still wrapped in Dragon Claw energy as they struck against each other.
The two Charmeleon understood each other extremely well. You land a claw on me, I'll return one to you.
Either neither could hit the other, or they'd trade blow for blow!
After each taking two Dragon Claw hits, the two Charmeleon, neither willing to yield, crashed together again.
Both Charmeleon were panting somewhat, but this didn't affect the fervent battle spirit burning in their eyes.
Their four claws collided once more as they continued their contest of strength.
This seemed to be their way of determining who was stronger.
Having battled to this point with barely any stamina remaining, they maintained this posture, each trying to overpower the other.
"The two Charmeleon continue their contest of strength! Looking at their condition, this struggle might directly determine the victor!"
The commentator continued shouting from the booth as the spectators below fell silent, seriously watching the two Charmeleon on the field.
"Honestly, although this match is between two Charmeleon, in my opinion it's even more exciting than the previous battle between Emboar and Exeggutor."
"Even though they're not in their final evolved forms... wait, there's a turning point!"
Before the commentator could finish, new changes occurred on the field.
Auron's Charmeleon began gradually applying more force, slowly pushing back Jace's Charmeleon.
"It looks like the victor is about to be decided! One Charmeleon clearly has no resistance left—he's gradually being pushed back!"
Jace's Charmeleon felt unwilling, but truly his stamina wasn't as abundant as Auron's Charmeleon.
Normally it wasn't very noticeable, but when their stamina was nearly depleted like this, even this small difference showed through.
"Charmeleon, you can do it!"
Just as Charmeleon was about to give up—like the previous times, abandoning his stubbornness and quietly lying down—Jace's voice reached his ears.
"You can do it! We have a secret weapon this time. We can definitely defeat them, right?"
"ROAR!"
"Keep going!"
"ROAR!"
Remembering what Jace had told him last night, he felt unwilling. This time he really wanted to resist, not for anything else but for Jace's trust, for the fact that his claws were already resting on Jace's claws, for the trust he'd given him.
"ROAR!"
Jace's Charmeleon used the last of his strength, barely resisting the pressure from Auron's Charmeleon.
"He's still resisting! He hasn't given up! The situation has evened out again! It's still anyone's game!"
(Almost there, almost! Just a bit more effort and I can push past him, and I'll win. Give me just a little more strength!)
At this moment, a white light suddenly surged from within Jace's Charmeleon's body, enveloping him.
"Evo... Evolution?!!"
Everyone in the audience stood up, watching the Charmeleon wrapped in evolutionary light.
But before they could even straighten up, the evolutionary light spread to Auron's Charmeleon.
It merged with the evolutionary light simultaneously emerging from within Auron's Charmeleon's body.
A single sphere of white light enveloped both Charmeleon. The two were evolving simultaneously within the evolutionary light, growing larger.
"GRAOW!"
"ROAR!"
Moments later, two black Charizard appeared on the field. After evolution, neither held back—rather, their battle spirit became even more intense, flames seeming to ignite in their eyes.
"They evolved!! Two black shiny Charizard!!!"
The commentator's hoarse voice seemed to awaken the spectators, who finally began cheering.
"Holy shit, this is going in the history books! I'm about to go viral!"
A student holding a camera also went wild. This scene—wasn't it absolutely epic?
Before Auron and Jace could even recover from their shock, the two Charizard instantly clashed again.
Dragon Claw collided—neither could gain an advantage over the other. Still clashing fiercely, they each retreated two steps.
Then the two Pokémon seemed to realize they now had wings. They finally beat their wings, flew into the air, and continued their Dragon Claw battle.
With wings, their mobility increased dramatically. Two black streaks of light collided, instantly separated, then collided again.
Moments later, both Charizard hovered in the air, slowly beating their wings while panting, ensuring they didn't fall.
After the intense clash, they'd consumed most of the stamina that evolution had restored.
Now both Charizard had essentially no stamina left, flying purely on willpower and their refusal to lose.
"The two Charizard have temporarily halted their offensive! Looking at them, they don't seem to have much stamina left. Now it's just a matter of who can hold out longest!"
"Charizard!"
Seeing their Charizard's condition, both Auron and Jace called out with concern.
Both Charizard simultaneously looked at their trainers on the ground, seeing the worry in their eyes.
And both Auron and Jace saw eyes that, despite insufficient stamina, still brimmed with fighting spirit.
After the two Charizard nodded to their respective trainers, Auron and Jace made up their minds and commanded simultaneously:
"Charizard! Dragon Rush!"