"Rooaaar!"
Beside Ash, the now-recovered Charizard joined in by blasting a stream of fire into the sky, as if proudly declaring its strength.
Brock and Misty exchanged a glance, both delighted by what they were seeing.
Ash and Charizard, who had always been at each other's throats, had finally made up.
"They even recreated Dragon Rage exactly like the anime?"
Caster raised an eyebrow.
In the anime, after Charizard reconciled with Ash, it used Dragon Rage when Team Rocket caused trouble.
Dragon Rage wasn't especially powerful in the games. It could only deal a fixed 40 points of damage.
But in the real world, Dragon Rage seemed to grow stronger along with the Pokémon using it. Calling it a powerful move wasn't an exaggeration.
"Caster, it's all thanks to you. Charizard and I finally understand each other now."
Ash glanced back at Charizard, which was practically burning with fighting spirit, then turned to Caster with an intense look in his eyes.
"Caster, I want to battle you again. I want to test the bond between me and Charizard!"
If this were the anime, Caster would obviously accept. Then Ash and Charizard would get some sudden friendship-powered boost and somehow defeat him.
The problem was that this was the real world, and Pokémon battles still had to follow some basic logic.
Charizard had learned Dragon Rage, but its overall strength hadn't improved by much.
If Caster didn't hold back, Charizard had very little chance of winning.
The truth was, Charizard was still way too weak right now, and not just in one area. It was weak across the board.
It would need to train at Charicific Valley before gradually becoming stronger and eventually growing into one of Ash's ace Pokémon.
After thinking it over, Caster shook his head and politely declined.
"Not now, Ash. Charizard hasn't fully recovered from its injuries yet, so it's not at its best. Let's save our next battle for the Indigo League!"
Ash looked like he was about to argue, so Caster quickly added, "Besides, I'm challenging the Cinnabar Gym today. I need to keep my Pokémon in top condition!"
That finally stopped Ash from pressing the issue, though his eyes immediately lit up with excitement.
"Caster, you're challenging the Cinnabar Gym today? Blaine is really strong. You'd better be ready!"
Although Ash had given up on challenging Caster, he was still extremely interested in seeing Caster battle Blaine.
So he eagerly volunteered to take Caster to Blaine's inn and explain the situation.
When Blaine heard that Caster was a powerful Trainer, he became interested as well. At the moment, he was still wearing his fake mustache, wig, and sunglasses.
Before the battle could begin, however, Caster first had to pass Blaine's riddle test.
Blaine cleared his throat, raised one finger, and slowly asked, "Your head is cool, but your body is warm. What are you doing?"
Caster smiled.
"Soaking in an outdoor hot spring!"
"Huh? You got it that quickly?"
Blaine froze for a moment, clearly not expecting Caster to answer so fast.
"All right! Your talent for riddles has earned my approval. But whether you can earn the Volcano Badge will depend on your strength."
Blaine's expression turned serious as he led Caster through a hidden passage toward the battlefield.
When Caster asked if he could livestream the battle, however, Blaine shook his head and refused. He didn't want his quiet retirement disturbed.
"All right, I understand."
Caster nodded.
It was a shame to lose such a perfect opportunity to cash in on a livestream, but he respected Blaine's decision.
Before long, the group arrived deep inside the volcano.
A regulation battlefield hung suspended above the lava, secured on all sides by massive chains.
Directly beneath it was a terrifying pool of bubbling, steaming magma.
"It's so hot!"
Caster wiped his forehead, which was already covered in sweat.
The temperature in here was insane.
"I need to finish this quickly!"
Caster's eyes narrowed as he made up his mind.
It was way too hot in here. At this rate, his handsome pale face might get roasted dark, and then he'd lose the option of making a living off his looks.
Sure, he wasn't actually living off his looks now, but choosing not to use an option and not having that option at all were two completely different things.
But Caster soon noticed another problem.
The battlefield was inside a volcano, surrounded on all sides by lava. The concentration of Fire-type energy was incredibly high, almost like a natural Sunny Day boost.
And this was the kind of Sunny Day that Rain Dance couldn't override.
Dragonair might be extremely skilled at controlling the weather, and the Ancient Dragon Orb further amplified that ability, but even Dragonair probably couldn't contend with the enormous amount of energy produced by an entire volcano.
"This battlefield seems really bad for Caster."
Misty had noticed the same problem, and worry filled her face.
"If it's Caster, he should be fine, right? He cleared the Trainer Tower, after all. And that Gyarados of his is terrifyingly strong!"
Brock narrowed his eyes. He had complete confidence in Caster's strength.
"Charizard, we need to watch Caster's battle carefully so we can learn his strengths and weaknesses. Next time, we're definitely going to beat him and get even for our loss."
Ash and Charizard, meanwhile, watched with equally serious expressions.
"Rooaaar!"
Charizard spat out a burst of flame and nodded solemnly.
"This will be a two-on-two battle. Any objections?"
Blaine removed his wig and fake mustache, revealing his true appearance.
He looked like an ordinary little old man, but the presence he gave off made it impossible to underestimate him.
"No problem!"
Caster nodded, then looked toward the Pikachu perched on his shoulder.
"Then my first Pokémon will be this one!"
Blaine sent out his Pokémon first.
It was a four-legged Pokémon with a foxlike appearance, gleaming golden fur, and nine long tails.
Its entire body was covered in pale cream-colored fur, and its crimson eyes stood out against its elegant, perfectly proportioned form.
It was the Fire-type Pokémon, Ninetales!
"Pika!"
At the same time, Caster's Pikachu hopped down and bounded onto the battlefield.
"Pika-pi!"
On Ash's shoulder, the Pika God stared in surprise.
It had fought during Ash's first challenge, so it knew exactly how strong the old man across the battlefield was.
Could this fellow Pikachu really win?
The battle soon began.
"Pikachu, Fake Out!"
Caster launched the first attack.
Pikachu suddenly blurred forward and appeared directly in front of Ninetales.
Then, right in front of its face, Pikachu swung a paw with lightning speed and smacked Ninetales squarely on the head.
"Ugh!"
Fake Out was simply too fast.
Ninetales didn't even have time to react before taking the hit head-on.
Worst of all, Fake Out came with a guaranteed flinch effect.
Ninetales was furious, but its body refused to cooperate. Its head jerked back involuntarily, and a trace of fear appeared in its eyes.
"Pika!"
Using the rebound from Fake Out, Pikachu sprang into the air.
Energy gathered inside its body. With a hard swing of its tail, Electric-type energy immediately spread into a massive net that dropped over Ninetales.
The Electric-type move, Electroweb!
Not only could the move deal considerable damage, it also lowered the opponent's Speed.
Boom!
Electroweb struck.
Ninetales was trapped beneath the electrified net as crackling electricity erupted all across its body.
Arcs of electricity ran through its fur, and the once sleek and elegant Ninetales instantly turned into a frazzled, puffed-up fox.
Its appearance had taken a serious hit, and so had its stamina.
"Ninetales, pull yourself together!"
Just then, Blaine's voice rang out, snapping Ninetales back to its senses.
"Use Fire Spin!"
Ninetales let out a howl and immediately fired a spiraling stream of flames from its mouth, trapping Pikachu inside a blazing vortex.
With the volcano amplifying its power, even an otherwise unremarkable move like Fire Spin became terrifying in Ninetales's hands.
The flames burned at an incredible temperature, and the vortex continued to expand, steadily shrinking the space Pikachu had to move until it could no longer take a single step.
Seeing that his plan had worked, Blaine gave a cold snort.
"Now, Fire Blast!"
"Ugh!"
Ninetales paused briefly to gather power.
Dense Fire-type energy accumulated inside its mouth until it finally formed into a blazing fireball shaped like the character 大.
Even from far away, everyone could feel the terrifying heat radiating from it, as though the flames could melt solid rock.
"Oh no! Caster's Pikachu is going to get hurt!"
Misty covered her mouth, staring anxiously at the battlefield.
Fire Blast was one of the strongest Fire-type moves.
With the volcano further boosting its power, the attack had reached a truly frightening level.
If Pikachu took a direct hit, the consequences could be disastrous.