After defeating the Mankey, Yozora also acquired its Ability—Anger Point.
[Anger Point]: When struck by a critical hit, the Pokémon flies into a rage, maxing out its Attack stat.
Which, in effect, is equivalent to tripling its Attack.
For example:
If the original Attack power was 100, triggering Anger Point would push it all the way to 300!
Without question, this is a terrifying Ability.
But on Mankey, it was almost wasted.
Mankey was simply too fragile. If it took a critical hit, there was a high chance it would faint immediately.
In other words, Anger Point was powerful on paper, but Mankey rarely had the chance to take advantage of it.
"If this Ability were on a Snorlax or Slaking, it'd be a different story," Yozora thought to himself.
With the bulk of a Snorlax or Slaking, they wouldn't go down easily. That gave a much higher chance for Anger Point to activate.
And once the Attack power tripled… it would be devastating, earth-shattering even.
Especially Slaking—Once Anger Point triggered, the Pokémon would enter a frenzy. Who knew? It might even offset the crippling effects of Slaking's Truant Ability!
"Besides, Slaking is so much easier to raise than Snorlax. Unfortunately, Slaking's native to the Hoenn region… we'll leave that for fate to decide."
Yozora quickly pushed such thoughts aside, focusing on the battle in front of him.
"Go, Poliwag—use Water Gun!"
The Shorts Kid finally gave a command. Poliwag immediately blasted a stream of water toward Charmander.
"Huh? What the—?"
To the boy's shock, Charmander didn't dodge at all. The Water Gun struck head-on—yet Charmander showed no pain, only a refreshed, invigorated expression.
The sight left the Shorts Kid dumbfounded, frozen in disbelief.
"Now's our chance—Charmander, use Tackle!" Yozora barked.
"Chaaar!"
Charmander lunged forward, slamming Poliwag away with a shoulder charge.
"Finish it off—use Scratch!"
Chasing swiftly, Charmander raked its claws, taking Poliwag out of the fight.
"No way… a Charmander that isn't afraid of water?"
Still dazed, the Shorts Kid returned his Poliwag to its Poké Ball. Then, with a determined look, he threw out his final Pokémon.
"Go—my last trump card, Raticate!"
Wild battles often had no formal rules. Trainers would fight until one side admitted defeat or lost all their Pokémon.
Right now, the Shorts Kid clearly had only this Raticate left.
[Pokémon]: Raticate
[Type]: Normal
[Level]: High-level
[Potential]: Senior tier
Raticate was the evolved form of Rattata. Its body had grown much larger, its fur changing from purple to a dull yellow-brown. Like a common rat—but uglier, meaner, and far more vicious.
Generally speaking, except for trainers with unusual tastes, few actually liked raising them.
"This one's stronger… Charmander, be careful," Yozora warned as he felt the oppressive aura radiating from Raticate.
"Hmph, useless warning. My Raticate's power isn't something a puny Charmander can withstand!"
The Shorts Kid was full of confidence. With a mocking glance at Charmander, he ordered sharply:
"Raticate—use your signature move, Hyper Fang!"
Whoosh—
Before the words had fully left his lips, Raticate became a blur, maw wide open as it lunged straight at Charmander.
"So fast!" Both Yozora and Charmander were startled.
Charmander barely had time to raise an arm in defense.
Bang!
Raticate slammed into it. Its enormous, razor-sharp fangs sank deep into Charmander's arm, puncturing through flesh as blood flowed.
Charmander cried out in pain, trembling as its eyes widened. Facing Raticate's feral snarl at such close range, fear gripped its heart, its body shaking uncontrollably.
"Ha! That's Hyper Fang's special side effect—Intimidation!"
The Shorts Kid laughed triumphantly. "Your Charmander's done for!"
Yozora narrowed his eyes.
The opponent's Raticate was higher-level, undeniably stronger.
It was natural for Charmander to waver in fear.
But… was this really the end?
No.
As my partner, surpassing limits is our very foundation!
If it falls here, what future could we possibly hope for?
"Stand your ground, Charmander! Show your fighting spirit!"
"Our journey's only just begun—you can't fall here!" Yozora shouted from the depths of his soul.
The words struck something deep inside Charmander.
Its wavering gaze snapped back into focus, firm determination blazing forth. And within that fire… literal flames ignited.
"Shhhhhh—!"
The flame on its tail suddenly flared, surging to two, three times its size!
Blaze.
At this desperate moment, Charmander had triggered its Ability, awakening its hidden potential. Its firepower spiked dramatically.
"What—?!" The Shorts Kid's eyes widened, panic rising in his chest.
The next instant, roaring flames erupted.
From Charmander's jaws burst a torrent of searing crimson fire—far hotter, far more intense than before.
The flames engulfed Raticate whole.
"Raticate!" the Shorts Kid screamed.
But when the blaze faded, Raticate lay charred and defeated on the ground, blackened like coal.
"We won."
"Well done, Charmander."
Yozora hurried forward, ruffling Charmander's head with one hand, while tending to its wounds with the other.
The Blaze aura gradually subsided.
Yet the newfound strength within Charmander did not fade.
"It's done it—Charmander has reached the level of a high-tier Pokémon!" Joy filled Yozora's heart.
Blaze, in truth, was only a temporary surge of potential. Once the battle ended, the effect should vanish.
But Charmander's breakthrough endured—because its growth had already reached that threshold.
The sudden activation of Blaze had merely shattered the final barrier, pushing it to a higher realm.
Of course, Yozora did not let himself grow complacent.
Even as a high-level Pokémon, Charmander was still only ordinary in the grand scheme of things.
There was still a long, long road ahead.