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The Luojiang Gym challenge uses six Pokémon. After Gyarados lost its ability to battle, Wan Xiuyan quickly recalled it and sent out another Pokémon.
Blastoise, a starter Pokémon just like Charizard, was a bit smaller than Jiang Chen's Blastoise.
"Blastoise, use Hydro Cannon."
This move could be considered an enhanced version of Water Pulse, with even greater power. Blastoise fired two Hydro Cannons from its cannons, combining them into one blast towards the Charizard in the air.
This Blastoise's strength was in no way inferior to Gyarados, both being Quasi-Elite Four, Rank Nine Pokémon, just one step away from Elite Four strength.
However, most Pokémon get stuck at this final step.
"Charizard, use Blast Burn."
Jiang Chen didn't plan to let Charizard passively dodge, mainly because Hydro Cannon's attack speed was quite fast, and Charizard had no space to dodge even if it wanted to.
Since it couldn't be avoided, it might as well go head-to-head, especially since his Charizard wasn't weaker than Blastoise.
The two moves collided, still resulting in a large amount of steam. Instantly, the flames released by Charizard exploded, turning into a rain of fire falling from the sky.
Countless fire drops fell, impossible to avoid even if one wanted to; they were too dense.
"Blastoise, endure and use Flash Cannon."
Enduring the falling fire rain attack, Blastoise continued to attack Jiang Chen's Charizard.
Flying Pokémon were very troublesome because Charizard flew in the air, making many close-combat moves unusable.
For example, Fighting-type Pokémon facing Flying-type Pokémon not only lacked a type advantage but also found battles very frustrating.
Flash Cannon was very fast; a beam of light struck Charizard in the blink of an eye.
"It hit."
Wan Xiuyan's face lit up with a smile.
"It did hit, but the damage caused to Charizard isn't as severe as you might think," Jiang Chen reminded Wan Xiuyan.
At this, Wan Xiuyan noticed that the hit Charizard merely had some scorch marks on its body, a minor injury.
"Roar!"
Charizard roared angrily, perhaps because it had been hit. At this moment, Charizard was enraged, and the flame on its tail blazed fiercely, like a small sun.
Flames began to envelop Charizard's entire body. Completely shrouded in flames, Charizard descended like a fire god towards Blastoise.
"Is that Flare Blitz?"
Seeing Charizard's posture, Wan Xiuyan could analyze the move Charizard was using and immediately responded.
"Blastoise, use Skull Bash."
Skull Bash was quite powerful; Wan Xiuyan felt she wasn't afraid of a head-on clash.
"Boom!!!"
The Aqua Field shook violently and was now battered. Wan Xiuyan had overestimated her Blastoise, or perhaps she had underestimated Jiang Chen's Charizard.
Charizard's Flare Blitz was stronger than Wan Xiuyan had anticipated.
"I should have used Hydro Pump."
Wan Xiuyan regretted it at that moment, but there was no medicine for regret in this world.
Charizard carried Blastoise's body and slammed it heavily into the bottom of the Aqua Field, and some of the water in the Aqua Field evaporated again.
After slamming Blastoise to the bottom of the Aqua Field, Charizard immediately flew up again, shaking its head.
In fact, Blastoise's Skull Bash counterattack wasn't without effect on Charizard; Charizard had just been hit on the head and was now a bit dizzy.
"It hasn't lost its ability to battle yet, Blastoise, counterattack!"
Wan Xiuyan shouted at the struggling Blastoise.
At this time, Blastoise's condition was actually worse than Charizard's. Speaking of attack, Charizard was, of course, the first to strike.
Before Blastoise was ready, Charizard's Fire Spin had already enveloped Blastoise's body.
"Now, use Flamethrower."
Flames attacked again. Before Blastoise could extinguish the surrounding flames, a Hyper Beam descended, hitting Blastoise again.
With a series of attacks, even a Quasi-legendary Pokémon of the same strength might not be able to withstand it, let alone Blastoise.
Without surprise, Blastoise lost its ability to battle.
"To defeat two of my formidable Pokémon consecutively, and with a type disadvantage, your Charizard is very strong."
Wan Xiuyan gave her evaluation of Jiang Chen's Charizard.
This was a type-disadvantaged battle, Water-type fighting Fire-type, yet it ended up like this—honestly, quite embarrassing.
If Charizard possessed Elite Four-level strength, it would be understandable, but Wan Xiuyan was sure that Charizard definitely did not have Elite Four-level strength.
If it had Elite Four-level strength, Charizard would have won much more easily.
"Are the newcomers these days all so powerful?"
Wan Xiuyan muttered softly.
According to her understanding, Jiang Chen had only recently graduated from school. To possess such strength so soon after graduating, who could imagine his future achievements?
"Gym Leader, please send out your next Pokémon."
The referee interrupted Wan Xiuyan's musings and reminded her.
Wan Xiuyan nodded, "Sorry, handsome, your Charizard's strength startled me, so I was a bit distracted."
After recalling Blastoise, Wan Xiuyan sent out her next Pokémon.
Seeing this Pokémon, Jiang Chen's eyes narrowed.
"An Elite Four-level Vaporeon."
Vaporeon, evolved from Eevee, had a blue body with white frills around its neck and two fish-like fins that resembled ears. It had dark blue stripes on its body and a rather pleasing appearance.
Eevee's various evolutions were generally not ugly; some were just relatively prettier.
Jiang Chen didn't care about appearance; what he cared about was this Vaporeon's strength. This Vaporeon was Elite Four-level strength.
"Vaporeon has very high Special Defense and a lot of HP, and its strength has reached Elite Four, Rank One. It's definitely a formidable opponent."
Jiang Chen didn't like fighting beyond his rank, especially across a major tier. Even a Quasi-Elite Four, Rank Nine, would be easily crushed by an Elite Four, Rank One.
Fortunately, Jiang Chen's Charizard indeed had the strength to contend with an Elite Four-level Pokémon.
"Charizard, use Air Slash."
Flying in the air, Charizard flapped its wings, sending a slash flying towards Vaporeon.
Vaporeon's small size now showed its advantage, as it flexibly dodged Charizard's Air Slash, then retaliated with a Hydro Pump attack.
"Too fast, can't dodge, use Flamethrower with full power!"
Jiang Chen immediately ordered.
Charizard reacted calmly, unleashing Flamethrower, which collided with Hydro Pump.
"I refuse to believe your Charizard's flames can overpower Vaporeon's Hydro Pump."
Wan Xiuyan admitted that the golden flames released by Charizard were very powerful and intensely hot, but she didn't believe Vaporeon couldn't overpower Charizard.
The golden flames Charizard obtained with the Ho-Oh's Feather were indeed powerful, but suppressing an Elite Four, Rank One Vaporeon's Hydro Pump was still difficult.
"Charizard, dodge."
After briefly parrying Hydro Pump, Jiang Chen didn't stubbornly persist and ordered Charizard to dodge.
His purpose was precisely this: to briefly block Hydro Pump and seize that moment to evade.
After dodging Hydro Pump, Charizard swooped down towards Vaporeon. Seeing this, Vaporeon stopped using Hydro Pump.
As Charizard approached Vaporeon, it used Dragon Claw, and Vaporeon, having already prepared, retaliated with Iron Tail.
"Bang?!"
The moment the two moves collided, Charizard was sent flying. In a head-on clash, it was still no match for Vaporeon.
"Vaporeon, use Quick Attack to hit Charizard's wings."
On the Aqua Field, Vaporeon, which had been standing on special wooden boards, suddenly rushed towards Charizard, appearing to walk on water as if it were Suicune.
With a splash, Charizard was knocked into the water, its wings immediately injured.
Struggling, Charizard flew out of the water, its form disheveled. The wing injury affected its flight, though it could still barely fly.
Soaked wet, Charizard was uncomfortable, and the flame on its tail was somewhat dim due to the water.
The flame on Charizard's tail was equivalent to its life; if the flame extinguished, it meant the end of that Charizard's life.
Fortunately, the flame on its tail wasn't so easy to extinguish; even falling into water wouldn't put it out quickly.
"Vaporeon, use Hydro Pump again."
It couldn't dodge before, and now with injured wings, it was even less able to dodge, being sent flying by Hydro Pump.
"Keep attacking, Vaporeon."
Wan Xiuyan wouldn't give up this good opportunity; she certainly had to seize the chance to defeat Charizard.
Vaporeon continuously used Water-type moves, hitting Charizard repeatedly. As Charizard's condition worsened and its injuries became more severe, the flame on its tail burned even more fiercely.
Charizard's ability, Blaze, made its Fire-type moves stronger the more injured it was.
"He's quite calm."
Wan Xiuyan hadn't paid attention to Charizard's condition; instead, she had been observing Jiang Chen, who seemed even calmer than she expected.
He didn't panic even when Charizard was at a disadvantage.
"Now! Charizard, use Flare Blitz with full power!"
Facing the Hydro Pump, Charizard used Flare Blitz, and indeed, it broke through.
It tackled Vaporeon, crashing it into the bottom of the Aqua Field, and then Charizard held Vaporeon tightly, not letting go.
At this point, Charizard unleashed Overheat, and in its severely weakened state, its Blaze ability boosted the power of its Fire-type moves to the extreme.
All the water in the Aqua Field was instantly evaporated. Charizard, exhausted, collapsed to the ground, and Vaporeon was covered in burn marks.
Although Charizard lost, Vaporeon wasn't unscathed.
The desperate counterattack when it was close to losing its ability to battle, coupled with a type disadvantage and fighting above its rank, made Charizard's defeat glorious.
Jiang Chen was already very satisfied with the strength it displayed.
When Vaporeon appeared, Jiang Chen knew that this battle might be lost.
Although Charizard certainly had the ability to contend with an Elite Four-level Pokémon, it could only contend; it couldn't necessarily win.
Moreover, the type matchup was unfavorable. To hold out until now and even injure Vaporeon was already very impressive.
"Come back and rest, Charizard."
Jiang Chen smiled as he recalled Charizard.
"Your Charizard performed very well."
Wan Xiuyan greatly praised Jiang Chen's Charizard.
"By the way, why are your Charizard's flames golden?" Wan Xiuyan asked curiously.
"I'm not sure, maybe it's a mutation,"
Jiang Chen brushed her off. He couldn't reveal the Ho-Oh's Feather, though he wouldn't mind telling people close to him.
Wan Xiuyan didn't press further; she was just curious and had no intention of prying into Jiang Chen's secrets.
"Come out, Milotic."
After some thought, Jiang Chen sent out Milotic.
He didn't use Dragonite, Gardevoir, or Metagross because challenging a gym wasn't just about winning badges, but also about training his Pokémon's battle abilities.
So, sending out Pokémon that could easily overpower the opponent would defeat the purpose.
Besides, Milotic wasn't without a chance against Vaporeon. A challenge with difficulty was more interesting.
"It's Milotic!"
At this moment, Wan Xiuyan was very excited. She specialized in Water-type Pokémon, and her favorite was also a Water-type Pokémon. If asked which Water-type Pokémon she liked the most, it would definitely be Milotic.
Few women could resist Milotic's beauty, especially if they already loved Water-type Pokémon.
"Little handsome, after the battle, can I take a photo with Milotic?"
Wan Xiuyan looked at Jiang Chen with anticipation.
"Of course."
It wasn't an excessive request, so Jiang Chen naturally had no objections.
"Although Milotic is my favorite Pokémon, I won't hold back during the battle, so be prepared."
Liking it was one thing, but she wouldn't go easy during a battle.
"I don't want the Gym Leader to hold back either. Milotic, use Hydro Pump."
"Vaporeon, you use Hydro Pump too."
Both sides used Hydro Pump, but Milotic really wasn't a match for Vaporeon. It immediately dodged when it was about to be overwhelmed.
At this moment, the water in the Aqua Field, which had been completely evaporated by Charizard's Overheat, refilled, as the two Pokémon using Hydro Pump instantly filled the entire Aqua Field.
"Milotic, use Aqua Ring."
An Aqua Ring enveloped Milotic. Each Aqua Ring would heal Milotic. Jiang Chen sent Milotic out aiming for a prolonged battle.
"Vaporeon, use Water Pulse."
The water surface trembled. The trembling spread, causing a flicker of pain on Milotic's face, but it quickly recovered.
With Milotic's excellent Special Defense, it could withstand Vaporeon's Water Pulse, and most importantly, it had Aqua Ring for recovery.
"Milotic, use Attract."
This alluring move was usually difficult to succeed, but this time Milotic succeeded.
Vaporeon was captivated by Milotic's charm and started walking towards it.
"Vaporeon, wake up!"
Being attracted wasn't something that could be shaken off with just a couple of shouts.
"Now, Milotic, use Hyper Beam."
Jiang Chen had checked this Vaporeon; it didn't have the Water Absorb ability. But even so, Water-type moves wouldn't be very effective against Vaporeon.
So Jiang Chen simply had Milotic use Hyper Beam.
As Hyper Beam hit Vaporeon, the captivated Vaporeon also snapped out of its trance.
However, it woke up a bit too late; Hyper Beam had already struck Vaporeon.
Milotic's Hyper Beam wasn't weak; its strength had already reached Quasi-Elite Four, Rank Nine, making it even stronger than Charizard.
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