Grant was still trying to wrap his head around how quickly Aaron had grown.
Back at the training camp, Charizard had been nowhere near this level. Now he had just taken down a Gym (Peak Stage) Abomasnow with a single Flamethrower.
Some Trainers simply progressed faster than everyone around them.
Aaron seemed determined to make everyone else look slow.
Ryan, meanwhile, had known him for less than an hour. Watching someone barely out of school command a Charizard capable of one-shotting a Pokémon at that level had completely changed his first impression.
The Sealine City expedition members were already familiar with Aaron's reputation. Those from Rivergate City were now beginning to understand why he had it.
...
"ABOMASNOW!"
The remaining seven Abomasnow erupted in fury when their leader fell.
Ice-blue energy flared around all of them at once.
Grant immediately recognized what was happening.
"Blizzard!"
Seven attacks merged together.
The already heavy snowfall intensified as freezing winds twisted around one another, drawing loose snow and ice into a rapidly growing vortex. Within seconds, a massive Blizzard tornado had formed on the mountainside.
Trees bent beneath the force of the wind. Snow and chunks of ice were ripped from the ground and dragged into the spinning mass as it advanced toward the expedition.
Ryan took one look at it and raised his voice.
"Aaron, we should fall back! Let it burn itself out!"
Several people nearby were already backing away. The tornado covered too much ground for either Metagross or Venusaur to shield everyone safely if it reached them.
Aaron did not move.
He watched the vortex approach for another second.
"It's fine."
Ryan looked at him.
Aaron reached for Charizard's attention.
"I'll handle it."
The people around them clearly did not share his confidence.
Grant did.
"Hold position," he said. "Trust him."
That was enough to stop the retreat.
Everyone's attention shifted toward Aaron and the dragon hovering above him.
...
The wind tore at Aaron's white insulated coat as the Blizzard tornado closed in.
"Charizard!"
The dragon turned toward him.
"Lightning-Flame Dragon Mode!"
"GRAAAZARD!"
Fire erupted across Charizard's body.
Then lightning joined it.
Electric arcs raced through the flames, wrapping around his wings, chest, and limbs as the transformation took hold. The pressure radiating from him rose sharply, and even from the ground, the surrounding Trainers could feel the change.
Aaron pointed toward the approaching tornado.
"Lightning-Flame Dragon's Roar!"
Charizard drew in a deep breath.
Flames and electricity converged between his jaws, condensing into a massive sphere of blazing energy nearly five meters across. Lightning crawled over its surface as the surrounding snow began melting from the heat alone.
Then Charizard fired.
The attack tore across the mountainside and slammed directly into the center of the Blizzard tornado.
BOOM!
For an instant, fire, lightning, wind, and ice collided in a violent knot of energy.
Then the sphere detonated.
The center of the tornado burst apart.
A shockwave rolled across the mountain as tremendous quantities of snow were vaporized at once, filling the air with steam. The remaining winds lost their structure almost immediately, and what had been an enormous spinning wall of ice collapsed into scattered gusts and falling snow.
The blast sent loose powder sweeping across the slope for hundreds of meters.
Then everything settled.
The cold wind gradually cleared the steam.
Where the seven Abomasnow had been standing, the snow had been scorched and melted away in broad patches.
All seven Pokémon were down.
None of them managed to get back up.
Their Grass/Ice typing had made Charizard's attack especially devastating. Against Fire, they had nowhere near enough resistance to withstand a direct hit of that magnitude.
For several seconds, no one said anything.
The expedition members simply stared at Charizard, still surrounded by fire and crackling electricity above the battlefield.
One of the Rivergate Trainers finally broke the silence.
"He just wiped out all seven of them..."
Another looked at the remains of the tornado.
"With one attack."
Grant exhaled slowly.
He had already seen enough from Aaron to know he should stop being surprised.
Apparently, he had not learned that lesson yet.
Ryan was even less prepared.
He had thought Charizard's Flamethrower against the first Abomasnow was impressive.
This was something else entirely.
A coordinated Blizzard from seven Pokémon had created a tornado strong enough to force the entire expedition to retreat, and Charizard had simply blown it apart head-on before defeating every Abomasnow behind it.
Ryan stared at Aaron.
A few minutes earlier, the honorary rank had seemed almost impossible to reconcile with his age.
Now it was starting to make considerably more sense.
"That Charizard..." he murmured.
Grant glanced at him.
Ryan did not take his eyes off the dragon.
"Yeah. I get it now."
...