"Dragonite, use Hurricane to disperse the smoke!"
Dragonite flapped its small wings behind its back, instantly whipping up a fierce gale that swept forward, blowing away the smoke created by the clash of flames and electricity.
After the smoke completely cleared, a terrifying killing intent surged forth, attempting to intimidate Dragonite's mind. However, Dragonite remained unaffected, maintaining a calm composure.
What then appeared in Dragonite's line of sight was Charizard, which had already unleashed Dragon Rush.
Covered entirely in a violet-gold dragonic killing aura, Charizard instantly transformed into a massive energy dragon, attempting to devour Dragonite whole.
Under Dragonite's astonished gaze, the energy dragon formed by Charizard opened its bloodthirsty maw, about to bite down on Dragonite's entire body.
"Dragonite, dodge it now!" Yulon Nan shouted instinctively, but his extensive battle experience from years of fighting various trainers immediately prompted him to change tactics.
"Dragonite, don't evade—use Dragon Rush decisively!"
After a brief moment of thought, Yulon Nan analyzed the best way to handle the situation. If Dragonite rashly chose to dodge, it might end up taking damage from Charizard's follow-up attacks. After all, choosing to evade meant giving up the initiative to attack, which was far from a wise decision.
On the other hand, if Dragonite responded with Dragon Rush as well, it might offset a considerable portion of the damage and even injure Charizard—a tactic that achieved two goals at once.
"Not entirely brainless, I see. Unfortunately, your temperament is a bit too arrogant," Red said calmly, ignoring Yulon Nan's gradually darkening expression.
(Too bad you don't understand Charizard's Ability…)
"Boom—"
A violent explosion echoed from the sky as Dragonite unleashed its own azure Dragon Rush, clashing head-on with Charizard's.
Neither Charizard nor Dragonite was inferior to the other. They continued battling midair, each releasing their pure dragonic killing aura, intent on defeating the other with their own hands.
"How is this possible?! Even if this Charizard underwent a transformation due to awakening its dragon bloodline, it shouldn't be able to rival my Dragonite!" Yulon Nan exclaimed in shock, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Although Yulon Nan was a direct descendant of the Yulon family, he did not possess Lance's innate sharp perception. He could only vaguely sense that Charizard carried the bloodline power of the Dragonite clan, but he couldn't judge the purity of that bloodline.
Charizard's bloodline wasn't just inherited from its parents. Part of it also came from absorbing the Dragon Fang and the dragonic aura of an ancient Dragonite.
With the support of these three forces, Charizard was able to evolve into its current form—none of them could be missing.
"I don't intend to have a full battle with you right now. If you want a truly meaningful match, then wait a few months for the Indigo Plateau Conference. When that time comes, I won't refuse your challenge," Red said calmly.
Although Red intended to calm Yulon Nan with these words, the latter's pride couldn't tolerate such 'humiliation.'
In Yulon Nan's eyes, Red was merely a somewhat talented boy. How could he possibly be compared to himself—a dragon trainer from the Yulon family?
Yulon Nan had spent most of his time in the Johto region and didn't habitually keep up with recent events over the past six months. Additionally, Red had deliberately concealed his abilities, preventing the League from widely publicizing him.
Thus, Yulon Nan knew nothing about Red's true background, subconsciously viewing him as just a talented youth from Pallet Town.
"Is that so? Unfortunately, I want to compete with you right now. I can't wait for that dull and boring Indigo Plateau Conference a few months later!" Yulon Nan said arrogantly, determined to defeat Red here and now to prove his strength.
Yulon Nan wanted to see for himself just how powerful this so-called genius boy—whom his brother Lance constantly praised—really was.
(I want to see what makes you worthy of being compared to me!)
Thousand-Year Gengar mocked. It was truly a rare sight—this was the first time it had seen someone act so arrogantly in front of Red.
"I really feel like just zapping this smug human unconscious!" Zapdos complained, releasing a burst of electricity. The mild high-voltage current shattered a nearby rock.
Zapdos's action made Yulon Nan instinctively take a step back, but his unwilling pride quickly filled his mind. He glanced at Red, who was still watching the battle, and let out a relieved sigh—he didn't want to embarrass himself too much in front of him.
"Clang, clang, clang…"
The collision of the two Dragon Rushes caused the multilayered scales on Charizard's body to shrink slightly. Unwilling to continue the stalemate, both Charizard and Dragonite pulled back at the same time.
Compared to the faint injuries appearing on Dragonite, Charizard showed no signs of damage at all. The earlier damage had already been reduced by half thanks to its multilayered scales.
The signs of Dragonite's injuries also indirectly revealed its Ability—it was merely a standard Inner Focus-type Ability.
"I might as well tell you some information about Charizard. My Charizard is Fire-type + Dragon-type, which means that ordinary attribute moves that would normally counter it are completely ineffective," Red explained calmly.
After replacing its Flying-type attribute, Charizard no longer feared damage from water or electricity. It could even reduce electrical damage by half, and rock-type moves—which once dealt quadruple damage—were now reduced to double damage.
Now, only Ground-type, Rock-type, and Dragon-type moves could counter Charizard.
However, Charizard had not lost its ability to fly. When facing Ground-type attacks, it could simply take to the air and avoid the damage.
(Once again, this is reality, not a game—so game mechanics cannot be fully applied here.)
"Dragonite, charge in and use Dragon Claw!"
"Charizard, use Dragon Claw!"
Both Charizard and Dragonite's claws were enveloped in emerald light as their massive claws collided repeatedly, producing loud, explosive sounds.
"Use Dragon Tail!" ×2
Red and Yulon Nan gave the command simultaneously.
"Bang—"
Charizard and Dragonite turned at the same time, their tails smashing into each other.
But before the clash could last long, Yulon Nan noticed the pained expression on Dragonite's face. Soon after, Dragonite let out a painful cry—because five sharp spikes had grown from the tip of Charizard's tail, nearly piercing Dragonite's.
"You despicable brat, resorting to such tricks!" Yulon Nan said angrily, casting a worried glance at Dragonite's thick injured tail. Red bumps had already formed on it, making Dragonite look oddly comical.
Since a Pokémon's personality is subtly influenced by its trainer, Dragonite also leaned toward arrogance. Being humiliated like this by Charizard filled it with rage, making it wish it could immediately crush Charizard underfoot.
"As expected—the closer a Pokémon is to its trainer, the more its personality is influenced by them~"
Seeing Dragonite's fury, Thousand-Year Gengar couldn't help but comment, a remark that also earned agreement from Zapdos nearby.
"Sigh…"
Both Thousand-Year Gengar and Zapdos sighed at the same time. Zapdos was still fine—it had at least fought a few rounds with Moltres. But Thousand-Year Gengar was bored to death, having no sense of participation at all.