Chapter 120: Gary's Defeat
The five-minute break quickly passed. Ash once again released Zapdos, and Gary sent out Blaziken.
"Blaziken, Flamethrower!" Gary shouted.
Blaziken immediately launched a stream of blazing flames at Zapdos, which Zapdos easily dodged. Then, at Ash's command, it launched a Drill Peck into Blaziken.
Ryan, standing in the stands, shook his head and said, "Ash was careless."
As Ryan had predicted, Blaziken took a stance and caught Zapdos' Drill Peck with both hands. The force of Zapdos' impact sent Blaziken slamming into several large rocks behind it. When the impact dissipated, Blaziken gave a defiant smirk, gathering a torrent of poison in its hands and spraying it all over Zapdos' face. Blaziken then collapsed, having successfully poisoned Zapdos, and its Blaze ability-enhanced body managed to burn Zapdos as well.
Zapdos won the round, but its condition had actually dropped to its lowest point. If the two sides fought in rapid succession, Zapdos wouldn't be able to hold out.
Ash, understanding this, recalled Zapdos and sent in his Charizard.
"Go, Arcanine!" Gary shouted. "Arcanine, Extreme Speed!"
Arcanine suddenly accelerated, leaping toward Charizard. Charizard extended its claws, withstanding Arcanine's Extreme Speed. Ash then shouted, "Charizard, that's it, use Seismic Toss!"
Charizard grabbed Arcanine and flew straight into the air. It spun several times in the sky, disorienting Arcanine, then plummeted to the ground, slamming Arcanine onto the rocky field, effectively knocking it out.
Ryan watched in silence. Charizard knew Seismic Toss, and Ash's Charizard was the only one who could use it so effectively. Ryan also had a move called Seismic Toss, but when he tried teaching it to his Charizard, it said it couldn't learn it properly.
While the move was simple enough, and Ryan's Charizard could replicate the motion, it certainly wasn't as powerful as a proper Seismic Toss, something that puzzled Ryan.
Gary had only one Pokémon remaining, so he brought out his Blastoise. Ash thought for a moment and decided not to switch out Charizard. Just like in the anime, the final match would be Charizard versus Blastoise.
But unlike in the anime, this was Gary's last Pokémon, and Ash still had some power left in reserve.
"Blastoise! Hydro Cannon!" Gary shouted.
"Charizard! Flamethrower!" Ash exclaimed.
There was nothing fancy, just a simple clash of moves. The two attacks collided, with Hydro Cannon overpowering Flamethrower and directly hitting Charizard. However, due to Flamethrower weakening it, Hydro Cannon's power was greatly reduced.
"Charizard, fly over and use Seismic Toss!" Ash said.
"Withdraw into your shell and use Rapid Spin!" Gary shouted.
As Charizard approached Blastoise, it retreated into its shell, then spun rapidly and slammed into Charizard, knocking it back. Another Hydro Cannon followed, sending Charizard flying.
"Damn it! I can't get close," Ash cried. Then, a flash of inspiration struck him, remembering how Ryan had Charizard use Heat Wave to alter the battlefield at the Indigo League.
"Charizard, cover the entire rocky field with flames!" Ash shouted.
Charizard nodded, and streams of flames shot down upon the rocky arena, gradually heating it up. Gary frowned and said, "Blastoise, use Hydro Cannon!"
Blastoise fired its Hydro Cannon at Charizard. Charizard remained agile in the air, dodging the water attacks. The flames continued to blaze across the arena until the entire rocky field glowed red-hot, and Blastoise looked distressed.
"Blastoise, use Hydro Cannon to cool it down," Gary said. He had also understood what Ash was planning—slowly roasting Blastoise and draining its stamina.
"It's over," Ryan said, slapping his forehead.
"What's wrong, Ryan?" Ruby asked curiously.
"Pouring water directly on scalding rocks will generate extremely hot steam! Gary rashly used Hydro Cannon. Blastoise, if not burned outright, will at least be in far more pain than before. They should have cooled it down from the start, not after it's already red-hot," Ryan said helplessly.
Anyone who's ever been in a sauna knows this principle: evaporating water releases tremendous heat, so Blastoise was doomed.
The Hydro Cannon fired at the rocks to cool them down, and indeed, massive amounts of steam rose up, enveloping the entire area. Blastoise cried out in pain. After all, it was a Water-type, more adapted to cool temperatures, and such extreme heat made it suffer.
Ash's eyes lit up, and he sent Charizard charging into the steam. Charizard was a Fire-type, so plunging into lava wouldn't have been a big deal, let alone the heat of steam.
With a dull thud, the air currents from Charizard dispersed the steam. Charizard and Blastoise clasped hands, wrestling for dominance.
Ash shouted, "Perfect, Charizard! Now use Seismic Toss!"
Charizard roared, scooping up Blastoise with both hands and launching it into the air. Gary sighed, knowing the outcome was decided.
The Seismic Toss successfully landed, sending Blastoise crashing heavily onto a boulder, shattering it into pieces. Blastoise also fell among the rocks, unable to battle.
"Blastoise is unable to battle, Charizard wins! Gary has lost all six of his Pokémon, so Ash wins!" the referee declared.
"We won!" Ash jumped up excitedly, rushed over and hugged Charizard, both trainer and Pokémon shouting with joy.
Gary recalled Blastoise, sighed, walked over and shook hands with Ash, then said something to him. Ash was suddenly stunned and then nodded solemnly.
Ryan watched this scene and knew that Gary was leaving his trainer career behind to focus on his studies in preparation for taking over Professor Oak's position.
After the morning competition, Ryan, Brock, and Misty found Ash. Ash smiled upon seeing the others and then shared that Gary was ending his trainer career.
"It's okay, that's what he wants, isn't it?" Lillie said. "Just like me, if I couldn't become a trainer, wouldn't it be wonderful to become a Pokémon Breeder?"
Brock, upon hearing that Lillie also planned to become a Breeder, became immediately interested and began explaining the Breeder's path. Lillie, a true academic, possessed vast knowledge about various Pokémon. Under the guidance of Brock, an experienced teacher, she was making rapid progress.
"Ash, your next opponent, as expected, should be Erika. You should learn about Pokémon from the Hoenn region, or you'll be at a disadvantage," Ryan kindly reminded him.
"I know, Ryan," Ash said seriously. "This time, I've caught three Legendary Birds, which are enough to handle your Legendary Pokémon. This time at the Silver Conference, I will definitely defeat you!"
Ryan wanted to tell him that there were also power levels among Legendary Pokémon. But after thinking about it, he decided not to say anything, not wanting to disturb Ash's optimistic confidence.
What would happen if Aerodactyl defeated that Articuno? It would definitely be exciting! Ryan thought mischievously, feeling somewhat eager to see it!
(End of Chapter)
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