Chapter 222: Lava Purgatory vs. Giant-Character Fire Blast!!
*2024-05-15 Author: Samsung Charmander*
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*Crack*
Charmeleon clasped its claws together, directly confronting the Fire Blast. The terrifying force and the wave of elemental energy forced it to resist with all its might.
Even so, Charmeleon was constantly being pushed back.
Within moments, the Fire Blast had driven Charmeleon back more than three meters. Now, it had nowhere left to retreat; behind it was the magma purgatory outside the arena.
It had been pushed to the edge of the rocky field. Half a step more, and it would be in a sea of fire.
"Roar!"
Charmeleon's muscles trembled all over. The terrifying impact of the flames brought it to the brink of fainting. It could only hold on through sheer conviction, not daring to relent for even a moment.
If even the slightest thought of giving up entered its mind now, it would be instantly and utterly defeated.
But even so, Charmeleon was only putting up a desperate struggle. The power of the Fire Blast before it hadn't diminished in the slightest, crushing it to the point where it could barely breathe. It almost collapsed to its knees, the focus in its pupils gradually fading.
"Charmeleon!! Block it!!"
Just as Charmeleon was about to be pushed completely out of the arena, a loud roar echoed from one end of the field, making everyone jolt.
Ash's loud voice had always been something else.
And within the Fire Blast, Charmeleon's fading eyes instantly regained their clarity!
Suddenly, both Ash and Charmeleon couldn't help but shudder. An unshakeable conviction and battle intent seemed to forge a strange connection between them, linking their minds as one.
"Has it finally come?"
Inside his soul, Red looked at the fiery red phantom of a small head that had suddenly appeared beside him, a smile touching the corners of his mouth.
With Ash's and Charmeleon's current strength, defeating this Magmar would be extremely difficult, unless they could enter that state again...
Bond Power!
This was the name Red had given this ability.
He curiously sized up the draconic head.
In reality.
Ash opened his eyes. What he saw now wasn't Charmeleon fighting, but an incredibly scorching Fire Blast right before him, burning his own body with its immense heat.
A terrifying, immense force pressed down on his shoulders, nearly making Ash kneel.
He and Charmeleon weren't just mentally synchronized; their senses of sight and touch were synchronized as well!
Five Senses Synchronization! Their shared belief and willpower to defeat a strong enemy layered upon one another, amplifying their combined strength several times over in an instant!
"I won't let this Fire Blast blind my eyes any longer!!"
"RAWRRR!!!"
The human and the dragon roared out in unison. Charmeleon's eyes had become more resolute than ever before, and the strength it had already exhausted began to well up endlessly from within its body.
*CLANG!*
Its hind claws dug fiercely into the ground, the terrifying strength instantly carving two craters into the edge of the rocky field. It sank its center of gravity, and the muscles in its arms bulged!
Then, with a deep breath, it put all its strength into its thighs, lower back, and arms simultaneously, and actually pushed the unstoppable Fire Blast back!!
The terrifying Fire Blast flew backward toward the sky, as if stunned by Charmeleon's aura, and even began to change its shape.
It changed from the character for 'large' to the character for 'medium.'
Then it changed into the character for 'slender.'
Finally, it became a wisp of flame and dissipated into the air.
"RAWRRR!!"
Having accomplished this feat, Charmeleon leaped from the edge of the rocky field back to the center of the arena, roaring triumphantly at the Magmar before it, venting its exhilaration.
It had blocked it!
Although its arms were now covered in charred wounds from the high-temperature flames, and its bones trembled from the excessive exertion.
"What?!"
"Gar?!"
This time, it was Blaine and Magmar's turn to be shocked. The sight of this Charmeleon's frenzied roaring frightened them so much that they couldn't help but take half a step back.
"Is it this feeling again?"
As a Trainer, Blaine obviously thought more deeply about it than Magmar. This feeling of a trainer and their Pokémon seeming to merge into one... Wartortle and Ash had exhibited this phenomenon earlier, but he hadn't paid it much mind, dismissing it as his own illusion.
But now that Charmeleon was displaying it again, he had to take it seriously.
"Does this youth possess some kind of mysterious power?"
Blaine, at an age where he was halfway to the grave, naturally knew that among humans, many individuals possessed special abilities.
The most common were in Saffron City. If you randomly threw a stone into the sky above Saffron City, there was a high chance it would knock out a psychic.
"A miraculous ability that can help boost a Pokémon's strength and fighting spirit..."
Watching the human and the dragon before him, whose eyes had grown equally fiery, Blaine slowly came to a conclusion.
Although he stated it simply, for Blaine, with his decades of experience as a trainer, he knew what this ability meant.
Even though he was bald, just thinking about the future development of this ability made his scalp tingle...
*Hah...*
*Hah...*
Two heavy breaths sounded, interrupting Blaine's thoughts.
Whether it was Magmar, who had taken a full Inferno head-on, or Charmeleon, who had repelled the Fire Blast, both of their stamina had dropped into the yellow.
"It's time to decide the outcome! Magmar, jump into the magma!"
Blaine no longer hesitated, suddenly raising his arm to the side and giving the command.
Hearing this, Magmar didn't hesitate in the slightest. It turned, ran to the edge of the arena, and leaped like a dolphin into the sea of fire and lava below, without making a single splash.
Although the movement looked like a dive, this was magma!
This action startled Ash and the other two, making them momentarily forget that Magmar had come from there in the first place.
Feeling the magma below begin to churn, as if brewing some terrifying power, Ash gulped.
"Charmeleon..."
He knew Blaine was using the scorching magma below to build up a finishing move, so what about Charmeleon...?
"RAWR!!"
Charmeleon's roar gave the answer directly. The next second, the eyes of both the human and the dragon lit up simultaneously.
"Let's go! We'll jump into the magma too!"
"RAWR!!"
Charmeleon ran a few steps to the edge of the rocky field. Facing the crimson, menacing, all-consuming magma, it took a deep breath and leaped in as well.
Of course, its diving form was less than graceful—more like a frog plopping into water. It instantly sent up a huge splash of magma, searing and burning the surroundings.
"That's too reckless!"
The two behind them hurried forward in a panic. Magmar lived in magma year-round, so it was fine, but whether Charmeleon's body could withstand the high temperature of the magma was another matter entirely. Not to mention trying to copy the tactic on the spot and borrow the power of the magma.
"It's fine! Right now, we can do anything!"
However, Ash's gaze didn't waver in the slightest, becoming incredibly resolute!
After a moment, the heads of the two dragons emerged from the magma. Molten liquid streamed from their bodies, dripping continuously. The sight alone was incredibly terrifying and unsettling.
Magmar and Charmeleon stared at each other from within the magma, gathering their strength!
A surging red light emanated from the skin of both dragons, as if they were absorbing some kind of power, and a terrifying imposing might filled the air...
The entire Cinnabar Volcano even began to tremble. The magma below churned and bubbled like the move Scald, looking as if it was about to erupt.
The atmosphere became incredibly oppressive, making it difficult for the two people in the back to even breathe.
"Now, Magmar, use Fire Blast!!"
"Now, Charmeleon, use Inferno!!"
Suddenly, Blaine and Ash roared in unison.
"GAR-ROAR!!"
In the magma, a ball of flame energy had once again gathered in Magmar's mouth. Only this time, the flames were a completely reddish-brown magma-flame, radiating an unprecedented momentum as it was violently thrust forward.
The ball of magma-flame changed shape in mid-air. This time, it didn't transform into the character for 'large.'
Instead, it became an unsettling character for 'giant'!!
Giant-Character Fire Blast!!
"RAWRRR!!"
On the other side, the dark red color of Charmeleon's skin deepened, completely transforming into a magma-like reddish-brown. There were even crack-like marks resembling fracturing lava, as if it was about to explode and shatter at any moment.
An intensely strong red light, more powerful than ever before, flickered across its skin, instantly causing countless plumes of white smoke and steam to rise.
Red waves of energy billowed and danced. Instantly, all the magma around Charmeleon's body erupted outwards. Flame and magma seared and intertwined, turning everything around it into an endless inferno, with terrifying black smoke burning above.
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
Lava Purgatory erupted forth!
The Giant-Character Fire Blast met the Lava Purgatory head-on!!
(end of chapter)