Zapdos ignored Moltres' pleading gaze. Instead, it unleashed the electricity throughout its entire body, summoning a thundercloud out of thin air above the crater. Immediately after, the thundercloud poured lightning down into Zapdos below.
Under Moltres' horrified gaze, Zapdos, struck by the lightning, suffered no damage at all. On the contrary, its body greedily absorbed the current with delight, further boosting its Special Attack.
Zapdos gathered its electricity and fired a cannon-like blast of lightning toward Moltres—it had already used Zap Cannon.
"Stop! You are not allowed to hurt Moltres!"
A beam of ice shot over from afar. Just as it was about to hit Zapdos, Charizard below used Flamethrower, effortlessly evaporating the chilling Ice Beam with a pillar of fire.
The sudden turn of events made Red turn his head toward the source of the attack, wanting to see who exactly dared to intervene.
Under the gaze of Red and the many Pokémon, a cloaked young man appeared. He had bright red short hair, dressed in a style very similar to Lance, his face faintly resembling Lance's as well, and he too was riding a Dragonite.
"Who are you?" Red asked instinctively, momentarily assuming the newcomer was a fanatic admirer of Lance.
But upon second thought, Dragonite wasn't a Pokémon that ordinary trainers could command, so Red quickly guessed the man's identity.
"A member of the Yulon family, a Dragon Tamer—Yulon Nan!" Yulon Nan declared arrogantly, his tone filled with disdain that made others uncomfortable.
"I thought you were just one of Lance's obsessed fans. Didn't expect you to be from his family," Red said calmly, clearly displeased with Yulon Nan's attitude.
"Kid, watch your 'arrogant' tone when speaking Lance's name. The Dragon-type Elite Four is not someone like you can address so casually!" Yulon Nan sneered.
"Hey! You've got some nerve! How dare you call our boss like that—are you tired of living?!"
Thousand-Year Gengar immediately jumped in, even pounding Red's shoulder as if trying to calm him down.
"You're actually making this more awkward for me..." Red complained helplessly.
"I don't care what that talking Gengar beside you is up to. Immediately make your Zapdos stop attacking Moltres. Don't think that just because you were lucky enough to capture a Zapdos, you can trample over the League's rules!" Yulon Nan said arrogantly.
"Oh? My Charizard would like to see what your Dragonite is capable of," Red replied flatly, signaling Charizard beside him with his eyes.
"Roar—!"
Charizard let out a threatening roar. Just as Yulon Nan expected Dragonite beneath him to roar back, he suddenly realized that Dragonite had begun trembling instinctively, as if the one before it wasn't Charizard, but a dragon with a far purer bloodline.
"How is that possible?! Just a mere mutated Charizard?!" Yulon Nan exclaimed in shock, staring at Charizard's appearance. When he noticed Charizard's crimson pupils, he froze for a moment.
"Could it be… you're the Charmander that was supposed to be mine back then?!" Yulon Nan suddenly realized.
If not for that accident where Charizard had crippled the Charmander originally meant for Red, perhaps Charizard's trainer today would have been Yulon Nan instead.
Of course, this was nothing more than Yulon Nan's imagination.
Charizard snorted dismissively, releasing a wisp of flame, finding Yulon Nan utterly ridiculous for trying to act familiar at a time like this.
Charizard knew one thing clearly: if its trainer hadn't been Red, its strength would never have reached its current level. After all, the Ability-Stacking System was a unique gift only Red possessed.
With that, Charizard shot Red a grateful glance before flapping its wings and charging toward Dragonite, ready to engage in battle.
"Dragonite, use Dragon Claw!"
"Charizard, we'll use Dragon Claw too!"
Both Charizard and Dragonite covered their claws with emerald energy, clashing against each other with raw power.
"This Charizard's forelimbs are way too developed!" Yulon Nan exclaimed in astonishment. Only in close combat did he notice the 'abnormal' development of Charizard's limbs.
Normally, after evolving, a Charizard's bulky forelimbs would gradually shrink. Yet Red's Charizard had retained the same muscular build as it had during its Charmeleon stage.
What shocked Yulon Nan even more was that Dragonite was actually losing in terms of strength—it was being completely suppressed by Charizard.
"Dragonite, quickly use Extreme Speed to knock Charizard away!"
Seeing this, Yulon Nan decisively gave the order, unwilling to let Dragonite remain entangled any longer.
Dragonite slammed into Charizard at high speed, then quickly distanced itself.
To avoid affecting Dragonite's battle, Yulon Nan had Dragonite set him down before it flapped its small wings and returned to the sky.
(To be honest, I'm really curious how Dragonite manages to fly with those tiny wings...)
"Dragonite, use Thunderbolt!"
Taking advantage of type effectiveness, Yulon Nan commanded Dragonite to use a super-effective Thunderbolt. Unfortunately, the move failed to deal any substantial damage to Charizard.
Still, to prevent its Multiscale from being struck by the electricity, Charizard decisively used Flamethrower. The blazing pillar of fire collided with the incoming high-voltage current, producing a violent explosion.
"Stop watching and hurry up with your part!"
Seeing that Zapdos was still turning its head to watch the battle between Charizard and Dragonite, Thousand-Year Gengar hurriedly urged it.
'Oh, right!'
Zapdos snapped back to attention, turning its head and once again using Zap Cannon, intending to defeat Moltres in one strike.
Moltres had originally thought Yulon Nan riding Dragonite would save it, but unexpectedly, he was blocked by Charizard.
In despair, Moltres closed its eyes, awaiting its fate.
A sharp electric hum passed by its ears. When Moltres opened its eyes in confusion, it saw that Zapdos had fired the Zap Cannon into the sky instead, causing no real harm to it.
'What are you thinking? You still need to faint!'
With that, ignoring Moltres' attempt to stop it, Zapdos used Thunderbolt and struck Moltres directly.
The high-voltage current engulfed Moltres' body. Immediately after, its charred body fell back into the depths of the volcano, disappearing from sight.
Red did not use the Power of Viridian to heal Moltres, because he knew that Moltres possessed a special ability. One of the reasons it preferred to dwell in active volcanoes was that it could use lava to burn itself and heal its wounds.
Moreover, Zapdos had already done its best to avoid seriously injuring Moltres. Otherwise, it could have defeated it with a single Zap Cannon earlier. The previous use of Zap Cannon had merely been to wear down Moltres' fighting spirit.
After all, as fellow members of the Three Sacred Birds, Zapdos had no intention of killing it. It simply wanted to prove through battle that it was the strongest among them.
Realizing he had misunderstood Red, Yulon Nan's expression darkened as he let out a cold snort. However, someone as arrogant as him could never bring himself to apologize properly, nor even lower his head slightly.
Unless… the other party was someone stronger than him.
Red also understood Yulon Nan's personality well—if he wanted this man to submit, he would have to display overwhelming strength.