Charizard hovered in mid-air, its chest heaving violently. The wound on its abdomen, inflicted by the Hammer Arm, still throbbed with pain. Each breath felt like flames burning inside its body.
Flare Blitz hadn't directly connected with the opponent, so the recoil was negligible, but even so, Charizard was now severely hurt.
He didn't retreat at all, staring directly at Registeel. In this battle, he would win.
"Truly amazing, Ash. Whether it's you or your Charizard, you've both changed my perspective. To have pushed Registeel to this point, I've never seen anything like it before." Brandon sincerely praised Ash and his Charizard. But then, his expression instantly transformed into full battle-ready. "But that's all. Registeel, Lock-On!"
The steel golem's chest gems glowed, and an invisible locking wave locked onto Charizard in mid-air. With the next attack, Charizard couldn't dodge. Brandon was determined to decide the match with this next move.
"Hyper Beam!"
Brandon's calm voice resounded once again. This time, he chose to have Registeel use its ultimate move. Although Hyper Beam was powerful, it was somewhat difficult to land on a fast target. But now that Charizard was locked on, Hyper Beam had become a guaranteed hit.
Registeel spread its arms, and golden energy frantically condensed in front of its chest. The sheer magnitude of that energy caused the air around the pyramid to tremble.
"This is bad. In Charizard's current state, if it takes Hyper Beam directly, it'll definitely lose its fighting ability." Brock's face showed a worried expression.
Charizard had a huge advantage over Registeel in speed, as the two Fire Punches that landed had clearly shown. If it weren't for Brandon's rich experience, taking advantage of Charizard's momentary pause to pin it with Hammer Arm, Charizard could have used its speed to keep landing hits, wearing Registeel down at range.
Brandon also knew Registeel was at a disadvantage in a prolonged exchange, so he'd chosen to end it with overwhelming force.
Charizard couldn't dodge. Besides clashing head-on with this devastating attack, there was no other choice. Either take it directly, or meet it with a move of its own. Facing it head-on, Charizard was absolutely no match for Registeel's raw output. This time, Charizard was in real trouble.
"Charizard, Flare Blitz!" Ash's voice echoed through the empty pyramid.
"Roar!"
Charizard let out a long roar, its wings suddenly spreading wide. Crimson flames spewed from its body. Since it couldn't dodge, it had to face the enemy head-on.
A strange light flashed in Brandon's eyes. He noticed that the red flames on Charizard's body were somewhat different from ordinary flames. This was also why Charizard had been able to melt through the Ancient Power barrage earlier. However, this time it wouldn't be so simple.
Hyper Beam's destructive power was immeasurably stronger than Ancient Power, and Registeel could also modulate its output. If they truly clashed, Charizard wouldn't be as lucky as before.
But a second later, the calm expression on Brandon's face broke.
Within the crimson flames burning across Charizard's body, a profound, unmistakable black light suddenly appeared. Compared to the red flames surrounding Charizard, the black light was nearly invisible at first, yet the moment it manifested, everyone's eyes were drawn to it. Brandon was especially captivated by that black flame. He could feel an unparalleled power.
"What is that? Black flames?"
The black flames surrounding Charizard began to expand. This was the power unique to Charizard, his most powerful trump card: the Amaterasu Flame.
"No regrets. Go, Charizard! From this battle on, we reach the top of the world!" Ash waved his arm, his voice ringing throughout the entire pyramid.
Charizard's body was completely enveloped in black flames, so intensely dark that they seemed capable of burning through space itself. Even the rubble on the ground had completely melted into molten lava. If it weren't for Mewtwo's psychic barrier, the entire pyramid would have been incinerated before the clash even began.
The next moment, Charizard's body transformed into a black shooting star, descending from above. The black flames trailed a long tail behind him, scorching and distorting the space in their path.
Registeel's Hyper Beam also completed its charge at that exact moment. A golden beam of light shot out from between Registeel's hands, carrying an all-destroying momentum, soaring straight upward.
Golden and black collided violently in mid-air.
The entire pyramid shook violently. The arena floor was blown away by the shockwave, turning into a shower of debris that scattered in all directions. But everything was blocked by a transparent shield, and only then did Brandon finally snap out of his battle focus.
He'd been a little suspicious at first, wondering why the immense power of a Champion-level clash had no effect on the surroundings. It turned out that Ash had already taken precautionary measures. Undoubtedly, this transparent shield was Ash's work.
Although Brandon didn't know how Ash had done it, it was a great help. If it weren't for Ash, this Battle Pyramid that he'd built with such an enormous sum of money would have been destroyed in an instant.
While he was processing that, the earth-shattering collision on the field continued. The golden Hyper Beam and the ink-black Amaterasu Flame collided, but the expected scene of Charizard being crushed didn't appear. Instead, they were locked in a stalemate in mid-air.
The shockwaves could be seen radiating outward in concentric rings, the impact spreading around the inside of the shield above. The two sides were locked in a deadlock for roughly a few seconds, and then the flames on Charizard's body began to weaken.
To be able to directly confront a Champion High Legendary Pokémon's Hyper Beam in a head-on clash was already an extraordinary feat.
If it had been just a normal Flare Blitz, even in Mega-Evolved state, Charizard would have been directly engulfed by the Hyper Beam, unable to resist at all. The fact that he could still hold out for a moment was already considered extremely good.
Unfortunately, that's all it should have been. Next, the Hyper Beam would mercilessly crush Charizard. This battle, Brandon had won.
A piercing sound echoed through the arena as the weakened black flame actually started to burn away the golden beam.
Enveloped in the Amaterasu Flame, Charizard's face contorted with ferocity. His body even began to crack from the side effects of the Amaterasu Flame combined with the external pressure, but he still unleashed his full power without hesitation.
He wouldn't lose. It was just a Champion High, after all. He hadn't been afraid even when he was at Elite Four level, let alone now that he'd reached Champion.
Before, his Trainer had always protected him. Even at Elite Four level, he still couldn't stand in front of Ash and shield him from anything.
But now, he was Champion. This wasn't like before. Now, he would rely on his own body, his own flames, to carve out a path for Ash.
"Roar!"
Charizard let out a final roar, his entire power erupting at once. The black flames suddenly surged, like a black dragon tearing apart the light of destruction.
"What?" The calm expression on Brandon's face finally shattered. He hadn't expected that this Charizard could still turn the tables. The golden Hyper Beam wavered in front of the black flames, then collapsed, transforming into countless scattered points of light that vanished.
Charizard pierced straight through the beam, carrying an unstoppable force, and slammed into Registeel's body.
The steel golem, weighing hundreds of kilograms, was impaled and sent flying. Its metal chest began to melt and deform under the black flames, turning into crimson molten steel that flew outward.
The black flames, clinging like they had a will of their own, wrapped around Registeel's body, relentlessly burning through its steel frame. That layer of metal, supposedly capable of withstanding any physical attack, was no match for the black flames. As fragile as paper.
Registeel crashed to the ground, tumbling several times before slamming into the boundary of the arena. It finally stopped.
The six red gemstones on its chest were lifeless now. The silver-gray metal shell had been burned to a black, cracked state, revealing the scorching core beneath. The legendary Registeel was in a pathetic state. Everyone, including Brandon and the referee, had never witnessed such a sight from one of the Regis.
They only regained their composure when the flames on Charizard subsided and his body emitted a flash of light, reverting from Mega back to his original form. Charizard panted heavily, his entire body battered.
He looked even more wrecked than Registeel, yet he still stood on the field. Registeel, on the other hand, lay motionless on the ground. If it weren't for the faint glow still emanating from its core, anyone seeing this scene would have thought it was dead.
The referee paused for a moment before waving the flag. "Registeel is unable to battle. Charizard wins!"
The entire arena fell silent.
Paul sat in the stands, his hands involuntarily gripping the armrests. He remembered vividly that his Magmortar's Flamethrower hadn't even broken through Regice's defenses. But Ash's Charizard had directly shattered Registeel's defenses, which were even stronger than Regice's.
This wasn't just breaking through defenses. He had almost completely melted the opponent's entire body. A Legendary Regi, struggling this badly? Who could have predicted that?
That Charizard. Was it really just a Champion Low? A Champion Low against a Champion High, with only one Mega Evolution as a power boost, without even using those bizarre level-boosting methods Ash had used earlier, and it still won? Was it that Charizard's willpower was too stubborn, or that the black flames were too absurd, or was it neither?
Looking down at the field, Ash had rushed to Charizard's side, helped him back to the edge of the arena, and was simultaneously using Aura to heal him. This kind of emotion, this kind of bond, was perhaps the reason Charizard could unleash such terrifying power.
Brandon fell silent for a moment, then recalled Registeel. Legendary Pokémon had incredibly tenacious life force. Don't be fooled by how badly Registeel was beaten. In reality, its life wasn't in danger. It just needed to recover at a Pokémon Center after the battle was over.
Brandon's gaze fell on Ash, his admiration undisguised.
"Well done, Ash. You and your Charizard have both amazed and moved me. I've never seen such a unique Charizard in my life." The black flames, the awe-inspiring willpower, and such terrifying talent. "Even Leon's Charizard might not possess the same uniqueness as this one.
In terms of talent alone, your Charizard absolutely surpasses Leon's. In terms of strength, although your Charizard is still far behind Leon's, he will definitely catch up in time. Even now, this Charizard's strength has already reached the peak of what any non-Legendary Pokémon can achieve.
How many Champion-level Trainers can confidently say they could take down your Charizard? My loss is not unfair."
But Charizard's current state had reached its limit. Even the Mega Evolution had regressed. Although he technically hadn't lost his fighting ability, it was no different from having lost it completely. Theoretically, both sides were now in the same situation, each with only two remaining Pokémon.
Ash was treating Charizard, stabilizing his injuries, and then recalled him into his Poké Ball. The Amaterasu Flame Flare Blitz was simply a fatal-level technique. Without Ash's Aura healing and the lingering effect of the Rainbow Wing's power within Charizard, that single attack would have left a lifelong wound.
This mutated flame, born from Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire, possessed a more terrifying destructive power than Sacred Fire itself, but lacked Sacred Fire's life-giving properties. In terms of pure destruction, this force could allow even a Champion Beginner Charizard to blast a Champion High Registeel to pieces.
But Charizard himself also suffered enormous damage. Roughly a thousand to the opponent, eight hundred to himself. Although Charizard had recovered somewhat after Ash's treatment, Ash had no intention of using him in the next battle. He'd leave the remaining two Regis for his other Pokémon to deal with.
"My second Pokémon is, go, Regirock!" Brandon threw out a Poké Ball, releasing his second Pokémon.
A Pokémon made entirely of rock appeared on the field. Regirock. The moment Regirock appeared, its stats were revealed to Ash.
This was a powerful Pokémon with stronger physical defense than Registeel, though its special defense was noticeably weaker. In terms of attack power, Regirock was also stronger than Registeel, and in terms of level, they were the same. Both were Champion High. Overall, Regirock was stronger than Registeel.
"On my side, it's decided. You, Gardevoir!"