"Charmeleon's attack lands directly!!!"
The announcer's voice echoed through the entire arena, overflowing with excitement.
Without a doubt—
The battle between Graveler and Charmeleon had become the most thrilling match of the group stage so far.
Early confusion against a powerful opponent.
The shining brilliance of friendship and bonds.
A dramatic reversal with a cringey declaration.
Evolution that surpassed limits.
A comeback victory against type disadvantage—
It had everything.
Sitting near the front of the audience stands, William had long since felt his own heart ignited, burning together with Charmeleon's flames.
Still—
He hadn't forgotten one of the reasons he had come to Anping City.
Throughout the Graveler-versus-Charmander fight, William had been passionately narrating the match in English for his livestream audience overseas.
And after several days of streaming the preliminaries—
Thanks to an eye-catching title—
William's channel had finally started attracting a few platform viewers.
At present—
His stream had reached double-digit regular viewers.
Well.
Only just over thirty.
But for William—
That already counted as tremendous progress.
Because regardless of whether people came to criticize or simply watch the spectacle—
After seeing the current state of Anping City—
They inevitably stayed.
Thus—
Viewer retention on William's streams had remained surprisingly high.
Only the time-zone difference between domestic and foreign audiences slowed his growth.
As for the viewers currently watching—
Though most couldn't understand terms like "the bond between Gao Tianming and Charmander," "Charmander evolved," or "Flamethrower"—
The footage alone was enough to overwhelm them.
[So this is the power of monsters… terrifyingly strong. That impact looked apocalyptic.]
[That was insane. But I've got a question—aren't those Chinese people called "trainers" scared of getting caught in the crossfire during battle?]
[F-FIRE… THIS IS FIRE!!!]
[Maybe everyone in China knows kung fu. That's why they aren't afraid of getting hit. I bet they tame monsters by physically beating them into submission.]
[Really? That sounds completely different from what the streamer explained.]
[Honestly, I've been here since William first started streaming. After watching for days, the biggest thing I've realized is just how terrifying China's development is. While we're still struggling against Pokémon, they've already built bonds with them and are growing together. Watching those trainers and Pokémon on the battlefield… I can't help but wonder—can we even catch up anymore?]
[The sleeping Eastern lion is awakening… no, scratch that—it's already awake.]
William no longer had the attention to spare for the chaotic chat.
His eyes were fixed tensely on the battlefield.
Who won!?
That was the question occupying nearly everyone watching—
Including the two trainers on the field.
The experienced referee had already begun stepping forward.
He could tell—
Charmeleon was in terrible shape.
If that overwhelming final strike hadn't defeated Graveler—
Then Charmeleon likely couldn't continue fighting anyway.
Which meant—
That final clash had been both Pokémon's last stand.
The smoke kicked up by the enormous impact still hadn't settled.
Many were already wondering—
Could this become the first draw of the main tournament?
"Charmeleon…"
"Graveler…"
Gao Tianming looked openly nervous.
Xiao Fan's expression remained calmer—
But his tightly clenched fists betrayed his true state of mind.
Finally—
The dust began to clear.
Only one figure remained standing inside the crater—
Orange-red—
Its tail still burning brightly.
Seeing this—
The announcer immediately roared with unrestrained passion:
"It's Charmeleon! The winner of this match is Gao Tianming and Charmeleon!!!"
The announcer had blatantly stolen the referee's job and declared the victor outright.
But at this point—
It didn't matter anymore.
The arena exploded into thunderous cheers.
"We won!!!"
Gao Tianming jumped up excitedly.
Unable to contain himself any longer—
He immediately rushed toward the battlefield.
Fortunately—
The referee intercepted him halfway, wearing an expression of profound helplessness as he forced the overly excited teenager to wait while completing the proper procedure.
"So… we lost."
Xiao Fan slowly loosened his clenched fists.
Though he had already anticipated the outcome after witnessing that final attack—
Actually seeing it happen still stung.
Once the referee officially declared the result—
Xiao Fan wasted no time and walked quickly toward the center of the field.
"Wuh…"
Sensing its trainer approach—
Graveler slowly opened its eyes from within the crater.
Without waiting for anything—
Xiao Fan crouched beside it and pulled out spray medicine, beginning to treat the injuries immediately.
"A loss is a loss."
"We still have another chance."
As he applied medicine—
He quietly asked:
"Does it hurt here?"
Graveler froze.
Looking at Xiao Fan—
It suddenly remembered the day it fell off that cliff.
When Xiao Fan had found it—
He hadn't been afraid.
Instead—
He'd approached nervously and asked almost the same thing.
The pain left by Charmeleon's attack—
Seemed to vanish in that moment.
Did it hurt?
No.
Poké Balls of this era lacked all the fancy functionality—
They were simply containers.
Which meant carrying medicine was basic trainer practice.
Gao Tianming naturally had supplies too.
After both trainers finished tending to their Pokémon—
Xiao Fan finally recalled Graveler and extended a hand.
"One thing's for sure."
"I've seen the battle between you and Charmeleon."
"This victory belongs to the stronger side."
Even in defeat—
Xiao Fan praised his opponent without reservation.
"Thank you, Brother Xiao Fan."
Gao Tianming shook his hand.
He knew perfectly well—
If Xiao Fan hadn't held back earlier—
The battle would've ended before Charmander ever evolved.
"No need to think too hard about it."
Xiao Fan smiled faintly.
"Oh right."
"What was that move Charmeleon used at the end?"
"The final move?"
Gao Tianming scratched his head.
"I originally planned for Charmeleon to use Flame Charge."
"I wanted it to cover itself in fire so it could reduce damage from Graveler's Rock Blast."
"But it looked… different."
"So I asked Charmeleon several times."
"If nothing unexpected happened…"
"It should be a newly learned move."
"Flare Blitz."
"Flare Blitz?"
Xiao Fan blinked.
After arriving in Anping City—
He had visited the local Bureau several times.
On one occasion—
He happened to see a Growlithe line undergoing weekly testing.
One Arcanine had demonstrated Flare Blitz—
A high-tier Fire-type move.
But…
Its display didn't seem remotely comparable to what Charmeleon had just shown.
Then—
Xiao Fan remembered Gao Tianming's previous matches.
That mysterious explosive power—
The force that repeatedly turned defeat into victory.
"It's Blaze."
Reading Xiao Fan's confusion, Gao Tianming answered directly.
"It's an Ability unique to Charmander's evolutionary line."
"Charmander and I went through a lot before figuring out how to trigger and use it."
"It's basically our trump card."
"This time, the only reason we beat your Graveler…"
"…was because Blaze exploded at the perfect moment."
"Ability…"
Xiao Fan murmured.
Suddenly—
He understood.
His loss really had originated from the exact thing Gao Tianming described.
Abilities.
Something he had barely paid attention to before.
Not an unjust loss.
Meanwhile—
On the official livestream—
Chen Mo continued explaining:
"…In short, Blaze is an Ability where the more seriously injured a Pokémon becomes, the stronger its offensive power grows."
"But honestly…"
"Gao Tianming's Charmeleon takes Blaze to an absurd level."
"That's talent."
"Ordinary Blaze doesn't reach that kind of effect."
The reason Gao Tianming won—
At its core—
Was the use of Abilities.
He had leveraged Charmeleon's Blaze perfectly.
Meanwhile—
Xiao Fan probably still didn't even know what Graveler's Ability actually was.
Of course—
Based on observation—
Graveler probably didn't have Sturdy.
But this wasn't really Xiao Fan's fault.
Not everyone had Chen Mo's Eye of Appraisal.
Current technology still couldn't identify Pokémon Abilities reliably.
And because reality differed from games—
Even the Pokédex descriptions were vague.
Thus—
Despite Chen Mo emphasizing the importance of Abilities repeatedly—
Most rookie trainers still lacked understanding.
So far—
Among every participant in the Pikachu Cup—
Only Gao Tianming had displayed nearly perfect Ability utilization.
And Blaze itself carried special significance.
It was—
The exclusive Ability of all Fire-type starter Pokémon.
Likewise—
Overgrow and Torrent belonged to Grass and Water starters.
Chen Mo himself hadn't encountered many true starters before—
Only "budget starter" equivalents.
Like the Pansage and Panpour tribes he once met in Cangqing Mountain.
Still—
Because the Simisear line had been absent—
Blaze's Pokédex explanation remained brief.
For Charmeleon to discover and master it so effectively—
Spoke volumes about Gao Tianming's talent as a trainer.
As for why Chen Mo called Charmeleon extraordinarily gifted—
Simple.
The Bureau had recently discovered the Simisear line near Mount Taibai.
After research—
They'd already studied starter Abilities extensively.
Soon—
Their findings would be uploaded into the Pokédex.
Returning to the point—
Chen Mo had seen Simisear demonstrate Blaze.
But compared to Charmeleon?
Not even close.
That final Flare Blitz—
That image of a falling sun—
Made Chen Mo think of another Pokémon famous for maximizing Blaze.
Ash's Infernape.
Combined with Gao Tianming dramatically spinning his cap backward mid-battle—
Chen Mo suddenly found everything far more interesting.
Since announcing the Pikachu Cup—
Many trainers had declared their intention to win the championship and challenge him.
But—
Someone openly proclaiming they would defeat him and become the world's greatest trainer?
There weren't many.
Especially not someone like Gao Tianming—
Who had boldly shouted it in a Pokémon Center under countless stares.
Still—
With only a Charmander line Pokémon—
Even one as gifted as this—
And even with Blaze—
Gao Tianming probably couldn't survive against all the stronger opponents.
But now?
Charmander had evolved.
Into Charmeleon.
And adapted instantly—
Defeating a type-disadvantaged Graveler.
That strength—
Made Chen Mo genuinely wonder—
Could Gao Tianming really win the Pikachu Cup?
"So many geniuses…"
Thinking back on all the brilliant trainers who had already shined—
Chen Mo couldn't help but ask himself:
Among them…
And Gao Tianming…
Who would ultimately become the final challenger?
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