"Arcanine, use Extreme Speed to dodge!" Blaine ordered.
Arcanine instantly turned into an afterimage, evading the Dragon Pulse attack, and took the opportunity to rush in front of Charizard, slamming fiercely into its body.
"Arcanine, use Close Combat!"
Arcanine chose to abandon all defense, launching a relentless barrage of attacks with its body, not giving Charizard even the slightest chance to counterattack.
"Bang—"
"Bang—"
Under such aggression from Arcanine, Charizard grew furious. Do you really think you can push me around like this?
Charizard spread its massive wings, whipping up a powerful gale that swept forward, slowing down Arcanine's assault.
Then Charizard's sharp claws were coated in emerald energy. With just its thick right claw, it blocked Arcanine's continuous attacks, and with its freed left claw, it struck Arcanine's body heavily.
"Use Flare Blitz!"
Arcanine's body was immediately engulfed in scorching flames, enduring the damage from Dragon Claw as it struck Charizard at close range.
Charizard wiped its mouth slightly, nodding with a hint of approval as it looked at Arcanine ahead. Although the aged Arcanine before it was no longer its match, Charizard still respected this old veteran's persistence.
"Come to think of it, this is the first time we've used this move. Normally, Charizard and I felt that our opponents weren't strong enough to warrant it. But now that our opponent is Mr. Blaine and Arcanine, we won't hold back any longer."
As soon as the words fell, Charizard, hovering in the air, suddenly began to spin, performing a mysterious dance that radiated a powerful aura.
After completing the mysterious dragon dance, Charizard's presence surged once again. The faintly emanating powerful aura even made the Thousand-Year Gengar beside Red tremble.
"Damn, how many tricks is this guy still hiding?!" Thousand-Year Gengar complained.
"So it's Dragon Dance!" Blaine exclaimed in surprise, not expecting Charizard to have such a method to boost its strength.
(Dragon Dance: Raises the user's Attack and Speed by one stage.)
"My old friend, it seems our era has truly come to an end," Blaine sighed.
Arcanine let out a few low growls, reminiscing about the glory of its youth. But it also knew clearly that those were merely memories. The current era belonged to Red and Charizard before it—not to itself and Blaine.
"Arcanine, let's go crazy one more time! After all, Red will heal our injuries!" Blaine shouted.
"Of course, I'll heal Arcanine's injuries one by one!" Red replied excitedly.
"Arcanine, use Fire Blast followed by Flare Blitz!" Blaine commanded.
Arcanine decisively unleashed two powerful Fire-type moves. A large, character-shaped Fire Blast erupted from its mouth and shot toward Charizard, and immediately after, its body became cloaked in blazing flames, turning into a fiery chariot that charged toward Charizard at incredible speed.
"Bring it on!" Red said excitedly, lowering his cap slightly. The exposed left eye gradually turned crimson, clearly activating Aura Resonance.
"Aura Resonance… no wonder…" Blaine murmured.
With the enhancement from Aura Resonance and the boost from its Tough Claws ability, Charizard decisively used Dragon Rush, intending to clash head-on with Arcanine.
Under the watchful eyes of Red and Blaine, Charizard and Arcanine collided fiercely at the center of the battlefield. The force of their impact shattered the surrounding rock walls, and even the chains suspending the battlefield began to tremble, showing signs of breaking.
Yet neither side was distracted by these details. Instead, they continued to press forward, trying to overwhelm each other with sheer momentum.
'You're impressive—so impressive that I truly admire you!' Arcanine praised.
'You're not bad either. Though you're a bit old, you're still stronger than many opponents I've faced. It would've been even better if I could fight you in your prime,' Charizard replied.
Under Arcanine's slightly helpless gaze, the force of Dragon Rush swallowed the flames on its body, and it was knocked to the ground by Charizard's attack.
(I suppose it really is time for me to retire. This new era no longer has a place for me… But… I'm still proud of the glorious life I once lived!)
With that thought, Arcanine closed its heavy eyes, having lost the ability to battle.
After defeating Arcanine, Charizard raised its arms and spread its massive wings, letting out a roar that echoed through the volcanic crater, declaring itself the victor of this match.
"I accept my defeat wholeheartedly, Red! I almost feel like taking off my hat to salute you—unfortunately, I'm not wearing my wig right now~"
Blaine looked upward as he sighed, closing his eyes as if savoring the moment.
"Time spares no one, Mr. Blaine. I just happened to have the advantage of youth," Red said modestly, not letting this victory inflate his ego.
In Red's view, to become truly strong, one must always maintain a humble and eager-to-learn heart, rather than letting fleeting arrogance affect one's mind.
"What is something deep red in color? Deep red, crimson red—yes, this is the Volcano Badge!"
With that, under Red's speechless gaze, Blaine pulled out the Volcano Badge from his sleeve and tossed it toward Red.
Red reached out and caught the Volcano Badge, nodding his thanks to Blaine.
After the battle ended, Red immediately went to Arcanine and used the Power of Viridian to heal it, preventing any lasting damage from the intense fight.
After a short while
Red and Blaine each recalled their Pokémon and left the battlefield together.
At Blaine's suggestion, Red accompanied him to soak once more in the comfortable hot springs.
After a while, Blaine took the initiative to tell Red about the past.
"Red, you must have met an old man named Mr. Fuji somewhere, right?" Blaine asked.
Red paused for a moment, not answering directly, but silently nodded.
"Fuji and I were once close colleagues at the Cinnabar Lab. It's shameful to admit, but despite my attempts to stop him, Fuji once worked for Team Rocket for a period of time, conducting the terrifying experiment of cloning Mew for them."
Blaine's expression was filled with pain, regretting that he hadn't been able to rescue Mr. Fuji from Team Rocket in time, allowing him to make mistake after mistake.
But in order to learn Fuji's whereabouts from Red, Blaine resolutely revealed everything.
"Team Rocket used Fuji, but Fuji also intended to use Team Rocket's technological resources. He wanted to use the cloned Mew genetic experiment to bring back his deceased child, but that foolish idea ultimately fell apart."
"After coming to his senses, Fuji chose to leave Team Rocket and went into hiding. Even I don't know where he went. But after seeing the Mega Evolution you mentioned, I roughly understood what happened."
"To atone for his sins, Mr. Fuji has been taking in abandoned Pokémon. He even turned his residence into a Pokémon House," Red explained.
"Is that so? Then that's for the best."
From Red, Blaine learned that Mr. Fuji was living in Lavender Town, but at this moment, Blaine found himself unwilling to disturb Fuji's life anymore.
(Let you continue your 'atonement'…)