"What was the final result?"
"Could it have been burned to death?!"
The spectators watched the fire that was still burning and commented among themselves.
At that moment, Charizard suddenly descended from the air.
Then it opened its mouth and inhaled forcefully. Immediately, the sea of fire began to swirl, and then it was completely absorbed into its mouth.
When all the flames had been absorbed, Charizard patted its belly in satisfaction. On the ground, Walrein lay completely scorched and had lost the ability to battle.
"It's fine, it's only been knocked out," Ethan said with a faint smile, knowing that Charizard had the situation under control.
"Th... thank you."
Damian nodded and returned Walrein to its Poké Ball.
When the referee officially announced that Walrein had lost the ability to battle, the entire stadium erupted in cheers.
"First he used Sunny Day and the tilled terrain so that Cacturne could cover the entire field with roots."
"Then he withdrew it and sent out Charizard to use the move Heat Wave enhanced by its temperature control, igniting all those roots and turning the field into a sea of fire."
"This is... a completely unexpected tactical combination!"
The guests at the commentary table exchanged glances and shook their heads.
Ethan's tactics were truly novel; it was the first time they had seen such coordination.
"What Pokémon will Damian send out now?"
The spectators turned their attention to him.
With the combination of Charizard and Cacturne, Damian's Water- and Ice-type Pokémon had an extremely difficult time.
On the field, Damian had also realized this and was frowning deeply.
After closing his eyes and thinking for a moment, he decided to send out Kingdra.
"Huh? Kingdra?"
Some spectators exclaimed in surprise.
If they remembered correctly, the method for Kingdra's evolution had been discovered by Ethan himself.
That made the situation even more interesting.
"Kingdra... in terms of typing, it's not at a disadvantage."
Ethan smiled. His own Kingdra had not yet been fully developed; it would be interesting to see how Damian had trained his.
"Charizard, Fiery Dragon Roar!"
At the command, Charizard suddenly released all the fire it had accumulated.
Boom!
In the air, the flames transformed into a roaring dragon.
It was as if it had expelled in one go all the flames it had absorbed earlier. With the support of the sunny weather and its Solar Power ability, the move Overheat — already a powerful Fire-type move — reached a terrifying level of power.
"Kingdra, compressed Hydro Pump!"
Damian's face changed drastically. Kingdra launched an extremely concentrated jet of water toward the fire dragon.
Boom!
The fiery dragon instantly destroyed the Hydro Pump.
Then it descended and swallowed Kingdra.
"What a terrifying attack!"
"That can't be considered a simple Flamethrower anymore. It must be Overheat, but clearly an improved version."
The audience sighed in amazement at Charizard's firepower.
"It's already very close to the Quasi-Elite level..."
Even the commentators were surprised.
When the flames dissipated, everyone was shocked: Kingdra had endured.
After all, its quadruple resistance to Fire was no joke. Even so, it was severely injured.
Ethan frowned slightly and withdrew Charizard. Every attack under the Solar Power ability consumed a large amount of energy, and it also had to maintain the Sunny Day move.
After recalling it, he thought for a moment and sent out Magmortar.
"Another Pokémon with a recently discovered evolution!"
"Ethan's talent as a Pokémon researcher is truly terrifying."
If these evolution methods became widespread, the overall strength of trainers would increase enormously.
"Magmmoorrtt!"
"Kingdra, compressed Hydro Pump!"
"Magmortar, Thunderbolt!"
Both gave the order almost at the same time.
Kingdra continuously fired compressed water projectiles.
Magmortar raised both cannons and fired electric spheres.
Boom, boom, boom!
Water and electricity constantly clashed in the air.
"What speed! What power!"
"I see... the Sniper ability combined with compressed Hydro Pump. His training method is the same as mine, but this Kingdra has clearly been selected with greater potential."
Ethan sighed slightly.
"Thunderflame Cannon!"
Magmortar concentrated fire and electricity in both arms. With a thunderous roar, the two energies intertwined and shot toward Kingdra.
Boom!
The Thunderflame Cannon shattered the Hydro Pump and struck Kingdra head-on, sending it flying.
After enduring the Fiery Dragon Roar and two Thunderflame Cannon attacks, Kingdra finally fell.
Magmortar exhaled heavily; blue smoke rose from its cannons. That attack had also consumed a great deal of its energy.
"Is that the Thunderflame Dragon Mode of Champion Leo?"
"That Thunderflame Cannon is incredibly powerful!"
The spectators were astonished. It seemed that Ethan had fully inherited the teachings of Champion Leo.
"Another Pokémon has fallen. Ethan's strength is truly impressive."
"And he still hasn't used his main core!"
The commentators began to grow excited.
Besides Adrian, this World Championship also had Ethan. The result surely would not be bad.
The situation had once again become unfavorable for Damian.
Under the sunny weather, Water-type moves were greatly weakened.
His Water-type Pokémon were countered by Cacturne, and his Ice-types by Charizard and Magmortar. Damian hesitated about what to send out.
"Damian has been completely countered. He prepared his strategy thinking about Ethan's sandstorm team. But Ethan appeared with a sunny weather team. And the sea-of-fire tactic completely disrupted his rhythm. This battle is practically decided."
Even Adrian shook his head. Damian's individual strength was not low, but in tactical command he was far behind Ethan.
In planning, coverage, and countermeasures, Ethan had been impeccable. In that sense, he already showed Quasi-Elite level.
Finally, Damian sent out Swampert again to face Magmortar.
Although the Fire type was unfavorable, Magmortar's Thunderflame Dragon Mode dealt multiplied damage to Water-type Pokémon.
Swampert, with its dual Water/Ground typing, was a good defensive option.
"Swampert... In that case, you come out and show your brilliance too."
Ethan smiled and threw another Poké Ball.
Before the astonished gaze of the entire stadium, Shuckle appeared.
"That is... Shuckle?"
One spectator was almost speechless.
Was this a joke?
A Shuckle in a semifinal of this level?
And its opponent was Swampert...
"How is that supposed to fight?"
"No matter how good Ethan is at training... with a Shuckle... I can't imagine how it could win."
Even his own fans doubted.
Damian thought the same. His face darkened.
"Swampert, Hydro Pump!"
Swampert roared and launched a powerful jet of water.
"Let's go too... Energy Cannon!"
At the command, Shuckle's small eyes shone with determination.
In an instant, it burned all the Pokéblocks stored in its shell.
Activating the move Hidden Power, it concentrated all that energy into a beam in front of its mouth.
The next second, it fired a beam of energy toward Swampert.
Boom!
In the air, the Energy Cannon collided with the Hydro Pump.
And before everyone's incredulous eyes, Shuckle's attack crushed the water jet, advanced unstoppable, and struck Swampert head-on, sending it flying.
Boom!
With Swampert's fall, everyone's hearts skipped a beat.
After a few seconds of absolute silence, the entire stadium collectively inhaled a deep breath of cold air.
What had they just seen?
An attack of that level coming from a Shuckle?
Destroying Swampert's Hydro Pump and defeating it in a single blow?
At that moment, everyone felt that the scene was completely unreal.
(End of chapter)