Paul's fourth Pokémon was Aggron, the same one that had appeared briefly earlier. Five of Paul's six Pokémon were now known. Only the last remained a mystery, though Ash had a solid read on the rest.
Aggron was Steel and Rock-type. Rock hit Charizard at a fourfold advantage, and in return, Fire-type moves lost their super effective edge against Rock. On paper it was a clean type reversal, a poor matchup for Charizard by any conventional measure.
Ash did not particularly care.
"Charizard, keep going."
"Flamethrower!"
Charizard climbed into the air, drew a deep breath, and unleashed. A scorching column of fire crossed the sky toward Aggron, fed by the Sunny Day energy still burning overhead. Even through the protective barrier the crowd felt the heat wash over them.
"Rock Blast."
Five rocks launched upward to intercept the flames. Each one melted. The Flamethrower barely slowed. By the time the last rock was gone the fire had only slightly dimmed, and Aggron, too heavy and too slow to move after firing, took the full column head-on. Crimson flames swallowed it entirely and a pained cry rang out from somewhere inside.
When the fire finally cleared, Aggron was still standing, but only just. Its steel plating had turned a scorched black, some of it visibly warped, and its breathing was labored.
"Fire Blast."
No reason to give it time to recover. Fire Blast was slower to launch than Flamethrower, but Aggron in its current state was not going anywhere regardless. Even at full health its speed made dodging Fire Blast a near impossibility.
Paul's expression did not change. "Head Smash."
The choice said everything. Head Smash was one of the most powerful Rock-type moves available, comparable in raw output to Blast Burn or Frenzy Plant.
It came with heavy recoil equal to half the damage dealt, though Aggron's Rock Head ability made that irrelevant. What it did mean was that Aggron had to commit completely, charging directly into the incoming Fire Blast with its body as the weapon.
Paul was spending Aggron on one final exchange. All or nothing.
Rock-type energy flooded across Aggron's frame, turning it a dense grey-brown. The ground around its feet splintered under the overflow, cracks spreading outward in every direction across the field.
Both moves launched at the same moment.
The Fire Blast carved a blazing shape across the sky, distorting the air around it with sheer heat. Aggron left the ground and drove itself forward into the flames head-on.
The collision was enormous. Rock energy punched a narrow corridor through the fire and Aggron's massive frame, wreathed in rubble and burning at the edges, continued grinding forward through it. The barrier held the expanding shockwave inside the field. Without it, the stands would not have been safe.
But the fire clung to Aggron and would not let go. Its plating, already damaged, developed fresh cracks under the sustained heat. Some sections began to soften. The Rock typing was the only thing keeping it functional.
Aggron roared. Its limbs shook. Its eyes stayed open, burning with something that had nothing to do with the flames around it.
It could not go any further.
With a heavy crash it hit the ground, sending up a cloud of dust and debris. The flames faded slowly. Its plating was fractured in multiple places, some sections still smoking faintly. It tried to push itself up. Its front limbs lifted, then gave out. A low sound came from its throat, and its eyes closed.
Silence settled over the field for a moment. Then the referee's flag went up.
"Aggron is unable to battle. Charizard wins!"
The stadium erupted.
Paul had now lost four Pokémon. Two remained. His ace, Torterra, was still unused, but Torterra was completely countered by Venusaur. The outcome of the match had effectively been decided. Most people watching understood that.
Paul recalled Aggron without a word and reached for his next ball.
"Torterra, let's go."
The crowd stirred. After Charizard's performance, sending out Torterra looked like a deliberate sacrifice. Everyone watching assumed the same thing: Paul was throwing Torterra into a losing fight.
The moment Torterra set foot on the field, the blazing sun overhead began to fade. Sunny Day had run its course.
Without the boost, Charizard's flames would lose their edge. Even so, the matchup still favored Charizard heavily over Torterra. Ash did not give it the chance to matter.
He pointed a Poké Ball at Charizard. "Come back."
"You did great. Thank you." He spoke quietly to the ball before pocketing it and reaching for another.
"Venusaur, let's go!"
Paul's expression did not shift. This was exactly what he had expected. He had watched enough of Ash's battles and spent enough of this match reading him to know how Ash thought.
Predicting the exact strength of Ash's Pokémon was impossible, but predicting which Pokémon Ash would call on in a given situation was another matter entirely. Against Torterra, Venusaur was the obvious answer, and Ash never deviated from the obvious answer when his Pokémon wanted the fight.
That was why Paul had sent Torterra out while Charizard was still on the field. Facing Venusaur was still a losing proposition, but it was a better losing proposition than facing Charizard.
In the stands, Brock watched the exchange with a thoughtful look. "Paul already read that Ash would bring Venusaur out against Torterra. That was the whole reason he sent Torterra out when Charizard was still active."
It was an impressive piece of reading, especially given how little time Paul had spent around Ash. Part of it was simply that Ash was straightforward by nature. But it also said something real about Paul's ability as a trainer. Against anyone other than Ash, Paul might already have the championship.
Brock caught himself and shook the thought off. They were rooting for Ash. That was the whole point.
On the field, Venusaur's eyes were already burning.
Last time Torterra had retreated halfway through. That was not happening again.
"Torterra, Light Screen."
Paul did not rush to attack. Venusaur was not something that could be handled carelessly, and winning here meant surviving long enough to find an opening. A damage-reducing screen was the right foundation.
"Frenzy Plant."
Ash skipped the buildup entirely. No probing. Just the heaviest move available, straight away.
Venusaur stamped both feet into the already battered ground and thorned vines erupted across the field, converging on Torterra from every direction like green blades.
Torterra scrambled to finish the screen just in time. The Light Screen snapped into place a heartbeat before the vines arrived. It was visibly rough, the movement unfamiliar, but it held.
Bang! The Frenzy Plant slammed into the transparent wall and stalled for just a moment before punching through. The force that reached Torterra was roughly half of what it had started as.
Bang! Bang! Bang! The vines hammered into Torterra in rapid succession. Pain showed clearly on Torterra's face. Halved or not, Venusaur's attack power behind a Grass-type ultimate move still hurt considerably.
"Zen Headbutt."
The moment Frenzy Plant retracted and Venusaur locked into its recharge state, Paul moved. Psychic-type moves hit Venusaur for super effective damage, and Torterra had at least learned it, even if its command of non-STAB moves was rough as the Light Screen had already suggested. With Venusaur unable to move, even the slower startup of Zen Headbutt did not matter.
Deep blue energy gathered across Torterra's head, dense and heavy, reshaping it into something closer to a battering ram. Torterra charged forward on all four legs.
"Dodge it. Body Slam."
The crowd blinked. Paul's eyes narrowed slightly. Dodge it? Venusaur had just used Frenzy Plant. The post-move immobilization was a hard constraint, something even Champion-level Pokémon could only minimize, never eliminate entirely. Ash had apparently forgotten.
Then Venusaur leapt.
Not a stumble or a lean. A full, explosive jump that carried its enormous body clear off the ground, high enough that calling it a leap felt like an understatement. The crowd's mouths fell open.
Torterra's charge passed beneath it and connected with nothing.
At the peak of the jump Venusaur pulled all of its momentum downward and dropped, the full weight and force of its body driving straight onto Torterra from above.
Boom!
The impact hit like a falling boulder. Dust exploded outward in every direction and the shockwave rippled across the entire field. Torterra was pinned flat beneath Venusaur, pressed down not just by weight but by the concentrated force of Body Slam. It thrashed and pushed with everything it had and could not move an inch.
"Frenzy Plant."
Point-blank, with Torterra already pinned beneath it. Light Screen was still up, but a move with no post-use side effects was worth throwing without hesitation.
Thorned vines erupted directly from the ground beneath Torterra, wrapping tight around its body. The Light Screen flickered into place and held for just a moment before the vines tore straight through it like paper.
The thorns drove deep. Grass-type energy poured steadily through every point of contact and Torterra let out a long, pained wail.