As soon as a comment popped up on the livestream, within just two seconds, the screen was flooded with replies:
"+1"
"Same here"
"Finally!"
Everyone had been waiting too long for Nathan to take action.
They had been waiting since around 11 PM, and it was already 3 or 4 in the morning.
All they wanted was to see Nathan battle!
Meanwhile, Samuel's opponent was fuming.
Seeing Samuel outright ignore him had made him furious.
Sure, Samuel was strong, but his own Pokémon was also at the peak of the Commander-level! Was he really so weak that he could be ignored?
Today, he swore he'd teach Samuel a lesson.
Unfortunately, he overestimated himself.
Just a few rounds into the battle, his Pokémon was defeated by Machoke and lost its fighting strength completely.
"I've won now. Can I challenge someone else?"
Samuel asked.
The host nodded. "Yes, you can. But will your intended opponent accept?"
He was excited to see another challenge, but it was up to the person being challenged to agree.
"I accept."
Just then, Nathan stepped forward.
As soon as Samuel said he wanted to challenge "someone," Nathan already knew who he meant.
Sure enough, Samuel smiled at him.
He knew Nathan wouldn't back down.
"Then let's do it. I've been curious about the strength of Pacifica's regional champion, Nathan."
Samuel said, squinting slightly as he stared at Nathan.
Nathan stepped into the arena and immediately sent out his Hotfoot.
As soon as he appeared, the sleepless livestream viewers exploded with excitement.
Finally, Nathan was making his move!
They had stayed up all night for this moment.
If he'd taken any longer, they would've fallen asleep.
But when they saw the Pokémon he sent out, both the livestream viewers and the audience were stunned.
Nathan's Pokémon was just too unusual.
Even Samuel was taken aback.
But he quickly recalled Nathan's previous class—
Bond Evolution?
This was his first time encountering a Pokémon that had undergone Bond Evolution.
As expected of Nathan—the pioneer of Bond Evolution.
"Your Pokémon has undergone Bond Evolution?" Samuel asked.
"That's right," Nathan nodded.
Too bad Entei couldn't hear him, or it would have burst in and thrown a fireball at Nathan.
"I worked my butt off to awaken that Hotfoot's bloodline, and you're saying it's Bond Evolution instead?"
"Machoke, use Karate Chop and Low Kick!"
Samuel couldn't hold back any longer and immediately gave the order.
Nathan was a little taken aback.
They were just talking—why attack so suddenly?
Luckily, Hotfoot reacted quickly and dodged the attack.
Seeing that, Samuel followed up with another command.
"Hotfoot, use Flamethrower to push him back!"
Nathan knew exactly what Machoke specialized in: close combat.
Its physical strength was overwhelming—those bulging muscles weren't just for show.
Even though Hotfoot had a special bloodline, Nathan didn't dare underestimate Samuel's Machoke.
Hotfoot opened its mouth and unleashed a stream of flame with a hint of white.
Machoke, who hadn't even gotten close yet, was forced to dodge.
Hearing Nathan's command, everyone watching the livestream froze.
"That's… still a Charmeleon?"
It looked like a completely different Pokémon!
It was practically a brand-new species—and way too cool!
"Hotfoot, use Scary Face!"
Seeing that Machoke had been pushed back, Nathan quickly gave the next command.
As Scary Face took effect, Machoke's reaction speed instantly dropped by half.
For most Pokémon, Scary Face wasn't particularly deadly.
But for a Machoke that relied on hand-to-hand combat, it was devastating.
Its primary strength was close-range power fighting, and cutting its speed was equivalent to crippling it.
"Hotfoot, use Flame Charge!"
With Scary Face successfully landing, Nathan didn't hesitate.
Hotfoot's limbs suddenly pushed off the ground, and its whole body shot forward like a rocket, crashing into Machoke's chest.
Machoke tried to dodge, but slowed by Scary Face, it was far too late.
The attack hit squarely, and Machoke was sent flying, crashing heavily onto the ground.
As the Flame Charge attack ended, Scary Face's effect also wore off.
"Machoke, use Bulk Up, then Cross Chop!"
Samuel's expression turned grim.
Just moments ago, he had been so confident in challenging Nathan—
Now, he had taken a serious blow right at the start.
Seeing Machoke preparing to attack, Nathan immediately ordered, "Hotfoot, use Protect!"
But with Bulk Up enhancing its strength, Machoke's Cross Chop was too powerful—
Hotfoot's Protect shattered, and it still took the hit.
Fortunately, Protect had still reduced the attack's power.
Hotfoot only staggered back a few steps and managed to neutralize most of the force.
"I must admit, you've got courage," Nathan said coolly, "But courage alone isn't enough."
This is it? This is the guy who challenged me?
Nathan had expected Samuel to be much stronger.
But clearly, he had overestimated him.
"Hotfoot, finish it! Fiery Fire Blast!"
With Nathan's command, Hotfoot unleashed a different kind of Fire Blast.
While the shape of the "大" character remained the same, the flames were completely different.
Normal Fire Blast has a chance to burn the opponent—
But Hotfoot's mutated version guarantees a burn status.
This was one of the traits that came from Hotfoot's mutation.
At first, Nathan had thought the flames were just a different color—
But after experimenting, he discovered the terrifying truth.
100% burn chance—a ridiculously overpowered trait.
And that wasn't all.
The second effect was even more broken:
Burned Pokémon would continuously lose HP and energy (like PP).
In other words, it drains health and power.
Samuel had Machoke use a defensive move.
But Fire Blast broke through it and still inflicted a burn.
Listening to Nathan hype it up, Samuel had been skeptical—
Wasn't this just a fancy-looking Fire Blast?
He was about to retort,
"I don't see how this—"
But Nathan cut him off with another Fire Blast.
Then a third.
After the third one, Samuel suddenly noticed something horrifying—
His Machoke couldn't use moves anymore!
"Still want to keep going?"
Nathan smiled calmly.
Sure, Fire Blast used up a lot of energy—
But his opponent was burning through far more.
In battles between Commander-level Pokémon, this ability was nearly unstoppable.
Though against Legendary-level Pokémon like Entei, it wouldn't be as effective.
They could just stand there and burn all day without running out of energy.
Samuel looked like he had swallowed a bug.
Somehow, his Machoke had lost the ability to use moves.
How was he supposed to fight now?
Punch with its bare fists?
Only an idiot—or a really specialized Pokémon—would try that.
"Hmph."
Samuel grunted coldly, returned his Machoke, and turned to leave.
"Yo, yo, yo~! Isn't this Samuel? What's wrong—got beaten so bad you can't even talk?"
A sudden voice rang out from the crowd.
People parted as a man stepped forward.
He had a Libertanian face like Samuel, and judging by his tone, they were old acquaintances—
Or more likely, old rivals.
Seeing his rival defeated, he couldn't help but gloat.
"Gurney, if you think you can do better, then go for it."
Samuel glanced back and replied coolly.
He believed that even Gurney wouldn't fare any better against a freakish Pokémon like Nathan's.
(End of Chapter)
(TN: I'm so confused the raw still calls it Charmander.)