"Rooaaar!"
Charmeleon leapt back to widen the distance from Blastoise. Its jaws snapped open, spewing a spiraling inferno skyward before it cascaded downward, wrapping Blastoise in blazing flames.
Elder Chang'an did not panic. He calmly called out:"Blastoise, Rapid Spin to blow out the flames!"
"Boom!"
A powerful gust burst forth as Blastoise spun like a top. As expected of Blastoise—it effortlessly shattered the vortex of fire.
If not for that, under the continuous searing of the swirling flames, even with Blastoise's incredible defenses, it would have suffered heavy damage.
"Blastoise, Hydro Pump!" Elder Chang'an ordered again. With a loud blast, Blastoise unleashed twin jets of water, striking Charmeleon squarely in the chest.
And yet—
To everyone's surprise, Charmeleon only staggered back a few steps. Its body showed no sign of injury at all.
"What a terrifying Charmeleon. Even with the double disadvantage of level and typing, it can endure Blastoise's assault head-on…" Elder Chang'an's heart trembled as he gazed at Charmeleon's unyielding eyes and the fighting spirit that only grew fiercer with every clash.
He knew: if this Charmeleon of Yozora's were properly trained, it would one day become an extraordinary Pokémon.
"And… its tail flame is blue. Could it be… a Variant Pokémon?" In this world, Shiny Pokémon and Variant Pokémon were both existences of immense rarity and power.
On the other side—
Yozora and Charmeleon both felt the mounting pressure.
Though Charmeleon possessed strength surpassing its level, the opposing Blastoise was no pushover. With its immense defenses, Charmeleon's attacks struggled to break through.
"In that case… Burn brighter, Charmeleon!" Yozora shouted.
His heart resonated with his partner's.
That moment, Yozora's words became a key that unlocked the hidden switch deep inside Charmeleon's soul—Blaze.
"Rooaaaar!" Charmeleon's bellow split the air. The fire at the tip of its tail erupted, blazing five times larger in an instant.
At the same time—
Charmeleon's life force, its vitality, its physical abilities, and even the aura radiating from its body all skyrocketed.
Though it was only at the Lord-tier's initial stage, its presence had already surged to the Lord-tier's very peak.
"A Flame Rampage talent… and such a massive increase?!" Elder Chang'an was shaken.
In this world, the vast majority—almost 99%—of all Charmeleon possessed Blaze, the so-called Flame Rampage trait.
Blaze could indeed unleash a Pokémon's hidden potential for a short time, making it stronger.
But how much potential could one draw out?
For an ordinary Charmeleon, activating Blaze would only yield a slight boost…
But only those with extraordinary potential could, upon triggering Blaze, erupt with a terrifying surge of power!
And Yozora's Charmeleon possessed the potential of a Tier 3 Legendary. Within its species, it might not be the very strongest, but it still ranked among the absolute peak—the top of the pyramid!
"Charmeleon, Flamethrower!" Yozora commanded.
Charmeleon roared, unleashing a torrent of fire at Blastoise. This time, the flames burned a deeper, blood-red hue—evidence of even higher temperatures.
With the rise in heat, both power and destructive force climbed dramatically.
"Blastoise, Hydro Pump!"
Elder Chang'an countered instantly. Blastoise launched two jets of water, colliding head-on with Charmeleon's flames.
But—
Even the combined Hydro Pumps could not overcome Charmeleon's Flamethrower. The fire tore through the water assault.
"BOOM!" The fiery torrent smashed squarely into Blastoise's shell.
"Gwaaah!" With a scream, Blastoise was blown back, crashing heavily to the ground.
"Blastoise!" Elder Chang'an's face paled.
Before Charmeleon had triggered Blaze, Blastoise had barely sustained any damage.
Now, with Blaze ignited, Charmeleon had virtually felled Blastoise in a single strike!
How terrifying was that?
"Blastoise is unable to battle!"
"Elder Chang'an has no remaining Pokémon able to fight. Therefore, the winner is Challenger Yozora!" The referee raised his voice to declare the result.
The arena fell silent in shock.
Around the field, Elder Chang'an's disciples all gawked, eyes wide in disbelief.
It wasn't that their master had never lost before. On the contrary, Elder Chang'an often conceded matches…
After all, he rarely fought with full strength.
Yet, in most Gym battles, Elder Chang'an could still force challengers to reveal their sixth Pokémon…
But in this match, Yozora had only used four. Charmeleon was his fourth Pokémon, and it was still brimming with stamina, hardly scratched at all.
This…
"This guy's insane! Is he really just a rookie trainer?"
"Yeah… with that strength, he could probably break into the quarterfinals of the Indigo Plateau Conference!"
"Not necessarily. The Indigo Conference varies in difficulty every year. It all comes down to luck… But with his power, he could definitely make a strong showing."
"My goodness… he's still just a rookie. Is genius really this lawless…?"
"Tch. What's the big deal? Back in the day, when Lance and Lorelei first debuted, didn't they both take Conference championships right off the bat?"
"Don't kid yourself. The fact you're even comparing Yozora to Lance and Lorelei proves he's an absolute prodigy."
The disciples whispered furiously, their eyes turning toward Yozora with newfound reverence.
Many of them were older than him, yet still stuck at the level of ordinary trainers.
Only a rare few had reached the rank of Senior Trainer—but even then, compared to Yozora, the gap was enormous.
For Yozora to defeat Elder Chang'an's fifth-level ace Pokémon, his trainer rank had without a doubt reached that of a Gold Trainer.
Above Gold Trainers stood the First-Class Trainers, whose strength rivaled Gym Leaders. Many Elite-tier trainers were among them.
And beyond that—came the Elite Four, and Champions.
From Gold rank onward, the waters grew deep. Every step forward would only become harder.
"Young man, you've performed splendidly. This is the badge of Chang'an Gym, please accept it."
"Thank you." Yozora expressed his gratitude.
At this moment, he finally got the sixth badge.
(End of Chapter)