Snorlax had already relaxed, its expression returning to calm.
But when it saw Gengar stagger back to its feet, a violent rage immediately flared in its eyes.
"Snor—lax!" Snorlax's brows furrowed deeply as it roared furiously at Gengar.
Normally, Snorlax, no matter its level, was a gentle and docile Pokémon.
Yet now, Snorlax's fury and hatred toward Gengar were undeniable… one could only imagine how much of its energy had been drained away during that earlier Dream Eater.
"Come back, Gengar." At this crucial moment, Yozora recalled Gengar in time.
Lock-On may only guarantee one strike.
But Snorlax could always use Lock-On again…
And given this Snorlax's level, for Gengar, it was still an insurmountable wall.
Up to this point, Yozora had already used three Pokémon—two defeated.
As for Graveler, though not officially knocked out, the gap in level was simply too great. Even if it returned to the field, it would hardly make a difference.
That left Beedrill, Charmeleon, and Pidgeot.
But against a peak Commander-tier Snorlax? Forget Graveler—even Pidgeot stood no chance.
"In that case, it's decided. Charmeleon, you're up!" Yozora called out firmly, not hesitating for even a moment.
"Rooaaar!"
Charmeleon appeared with a ferocious bellow. The fiery gust it released swept across the arena, oppressive and fierce, forcing the surrounding disciples to retreat half a step.
Its presence was overwhelming.
To the watching disciples, this Charmeleon already rivaled the main battlers of Elder Chang'an himself!
"Incredible… that's a Lord-tier Charmeleon." Even Elder Chang'an, usually expressionless, let out a sigh of awe. His squinted eyes almost seemed ready to open.
A Charizard reaching Lord-tier was nothing remarkable; many Charizard had managed such strength.
But a mere Charmeleon achieving this? That spoke of terrifying, limitless potential.
Once it evolved into Charizard, its power and level would soar to even greater heights!
"Snorlax, Lock-On!" Elder Chang'an's command rang out first.
Snorlax heaved itself upright and focused, locking its senses firmly onto Charmeleon.
For such an enormous, sluggish Pokémon, movement was slow and cumbersome.
Without Lock-On as insurance, honestly, it was nearly impossible to hit a swift opponent.
After all…
Not every Snorlax was like Ash's, that agile anomaly of the species.
Truthfully, Ash's Snorlax was the exception, a flexible fatty. The rest were just… fat.
Eat, sleep, eat again, then sleep some more—where would they find time or energy to train their agility?
Ash's Snorlax had lived in the Orange Islands.
To eat its fill of oranges, it had to swim back and forth across islands constantly. Likely, years of swimming had forged its unusual agility.
And swimming, of course—
Countless scientists the world over hailed it as the golden exercise. Years of consistent swimming built incredible fitness.
In game terms, Ash's Snorlax had dumped nearly all its effort values into Speed.
Meanwhile—
As Snorlax locked onto Charmeleon, Yozora simultaneously gave his command.
"Charmeleon, Flamethrower!"
Scorching flames blasted from Charmeleon's maw at high speed, slamming into Snorlax's belly in an instant.
"Snooor—!" Snorlax groaned in pain, its face contorting. Elder Chang'an and the disciples around him were visibly shocked.
That was Snorlax—a super tank with monstrous defense and stamina.
Yet one Flamethrower made it cry out? That firepower was far too great!
"Now—Fire Spin!" Yozora followed swiftly.
Charmeleon poured more energy into its flames. The blazing torrent spiraled high upon Snorlax's body before twisting into a vortex of fire, engulfing Snorlax completely.
The swirling inferno trapped Snorlax within, mercilessly searing its massive frame.
"Snorlax, Hyper Beam!" Elder Chang'an's face hardened. He could not allow Snorlax to burn within Fire Spin for long, so he immediately ordered the beam.
Snorlax had already locked onto Charmeleon's aura.
And Hyper Beam's destructive might was more than enough to shatter the flames—and still strike Charmeleon after.
Boom!
As expected, golden energy erupted from within, tearing straight through the flaming prison. The blazing beam shot directly at Charmeleon.
But at that exact moment, just as the flames were blasted aside, Charmeleon cut off its fire breath and hurled a blazing Fire Blast in return.
Rumble—! Fire Blast and Hyper Beam collided midair. The explosion shook the entire arena, a massive column of smoke and dust surging skyward.
The dense gray haze swallowed the battlefield completely, cutting visibility to nothing.
Yet from within the smoke came the muffled rhythm of battle—bam, bam, bam!
Soon, the smoke cleared.
Every gaze shot to the arena—
And there was Charmeleon, fists ablaze, pounding Snorlax's belly with rapid Fire Punches.
Thud! Thud! Thud! The heavy strikes landed one after another. Snorlax, battered and scorched, finally toppled backward with a resounding crash.
"Snorlax is unable to battle! Charmeleon wins!" The referee's declaration rang out.
At that instant, Elder Chang'an opened his eyes wide, staring at Yozora and Charmeleon with utter disbelief.
Unthinkable.
Amidst the suffocating smoke, how had Charmeleon managed to lock onto Snorlax's position and strike repeatedly?
Could it be that this Charmeleon had learned Lock-On too?
Impossible…
Even Lock-On requires time, and can only lock once. In zero-visibility conditions, continuous repeated strikes should be impossible!
Elder Chang'an pondered deeply and finally arrived at two possible explanations.
The first: that Charmeleon had activated the Mind's Eye…
But the moment he considered this, he immediately rejected it. If Charmeleon truly had Mind's Eye, it could indeed do what it did.
Mind's Eye bypassed the need for sight, achieving unity with body and mind, perceiving the world with pure focus.
Once activated, one was no longer limited by vision.
Yet the problem: Mind's Eye was an ultimate technique, far beyond what a Lord-tier Pokémon could master…
The second possibility: it was the trainer. Elder Chang'an guessed that Yozora possessed a Mind's Eye–like special ability, able to sense energy even without using his eyes, and lock onto it.
Then, through a deep bond of empathy, he transmitted all perceived energy directly into Charmeleon's heart.
"A special Mind's Eye–like ability… that must be the Power of Aura. Legend says that the Aura Hero can sense the Aura of all things. It's essentially the same as the Mind's Eye!" Elder Chang'an's thoughts stirred.
…
…
(End of Chapter)