Boom!
Under everyone's anxious gaze, Fire Blast slammed into the center of the Fire Spin.
The flames detonated on impact. Fire sprayed across the battlefield as the temperature surged, turning the entire area in front of Ninetales into a blazing inferno.
For a moment, no one could see Pikachu at all.
"Hm?"
Blaine's eyes narrowed.
He hadn't heard Pikachu cry out.
Years of battle experience immediately told him something was wrong.
"Ninetales, look out!"
Too late.
Crack!
The ground beneath Ninetales suddenly burst apart.
Pikachu shot out of the hole like One-Punch Man and drove another palm strike straight into Ninetales's stomach.
"Ugh!"
Ninetales cried out as it was launched high into the air.
It crashed back down a moment later and didn't move.
"That's Dig!"
Brock recognized the move immediately.
As a Rock-type specialist, he was naturally familiar with Ground-type moves like Dig.
That was also why he was so surprised.
Teaching an Electric-type Pokémon like Pikachu to use Dig was difficult enough on its own.
But that wasn't the most impressive part.
Brock could tell from a glance that Caster's Pikachu hadn't merely learned the move. It had mastered it to an exceptional degree.
Its burrowing speed was faster than that of many actual Ground-type Pokémon.
That was almost unbelievable.
Yet Pikachu had done it.
Misty wasn't analyzing the battle nearly as deeply. She simply let out the breath she'd been holding.
"Caster really knows what he's doing."
Ash, however, looked much more serious.
Caster really was incredible.
His Pikachu knew so many moves that Ash's didn't.
Fake Out.
Electroweb.
Dig.
Ash's Pikachu couldn't use any of them.
He couldn't help imagining what would have happened if he had been the one facing Ninetales.
Could he and Pikachu have won?
Ash didn't think so.
They probably wouldn't have even found a way out of Fire Spin.
Once again, he was reminded of just how far ahead of him Caster was.
Across the battlefield, Blaine was also looking at Caster differently now.
"A Pikachu that knows Dig doesn't have much to fear from Fire Spin," he said thoughtfully. "But you deliberately waited until Ninetales used Fire Blast. Once the flames blocked everyone's view, you had Pikachu slip underground and counterattack."
Blaine studied the young Trainer across from him.
"To think you're already this good at your age..."
For a moment, another young Trainer surfaced in Blaine's memory.
He, too, had come to the Gym with a Pikachu.
He had won decisively and walked away with the Volcano Badge.
It wasn't Ash.
It was Red.
"Young man, you're good."
Blaine's expression turned serious.
"In that case, I suppose I'd better stop holding back. I can't have you youngsters thinking I've gone soft."
Then, despite the serious mood, Blaine couldn't resist another riddle.
"Tell me, what burns hotter than anything else, lives among magma, and can move freely through molten rock?"
Ash and the others immediately tensed.
"It's coming! Magmar!"
They had already seen how terrifying Magmar could be.
As far as they knew, it was Blaine's strongest Pokémon.
But Blaine shook his head and chuckled.
"No. Not Magmar."
His grin widened.
"Its evolved form."
Blaine threw both arms toward the sky.
"Come out, Magmortar!"
Boom!
The magma beneath the battlefield suddenly churned.
A massive bubble swelled from the surface and burst apart.
A Pokémon emerged from the molten rock.
It was larger and much bulkier than Magmar. Its body looked as if it were constantly burning, and even the breath leaving its mouth shimmered with heat.
Its arms ended in huge cannon-like barrels, while flame-shaped markings covered its body.
"Huh? Magmortar?"
Ash stared.
"What kind of Pokémon is that?"
He quickly pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it toward the unfamiliar Pokémon.
"Magmortar, the Blast Pokémon. It is the evolved form of Magmar. Because it lives in volcanic craters, its body has developed features similar to a volcano, including an organ resembling a magma chamber. It fires balls of flame from its cannon-like arms at temperatures of up to 2,000 degrees Celsius, hot enough to melt an iron pot almost instantly."
Ash lowered the Pokédex slowly.
"That sounds insanely strong..."
He was impressed.
But at the same time, the realization stung.
Ash had always assumed Magmar was Blaine's ace.
Apparently, Blaine had something even stronger.
And when Blaine had battled Ash, he hadn't used Magmortar.
The meaning was obvious.
Ash hadn't been enough of a threat to bring it out.
Caster was.
That comparison hurt more than Ash wanted to admit.
"Grrr..."
Magmortar sprang out of the magma and landed heavily on the suspended battlefield.
It lowered its head and looked across at Pikachu.
The tiny Electric-type looked almost ridiculously small in comparison.
Magmortar casually raised one cannon-like arm, amusement flickering in its eyes.
Sizzle.
Sizzle.
Waves of heat rolled off its body.
The ground beneath its feet began to melt, leaving two shallow pits where it stood.
Even the air around Magmortar distorted from the heat. Its outline shimmered and blurred, making it difficult to focus on.
"That's an incredible amount of heat."
Brock narrowed his eyes.
"Magmortar's Ability is probably Flame Body. If Pikachu makes direct contact, it could get burned."
His expression grew more serious.
"That also makes Dig a lot more dangerous."
Brock glanced toward Caster.
He expected him to recall Pikachu and send out Gyarados instead.
The pressure coming from Magmortar was completely different from Ninetales.
It was just standing there, yet no one dared underestimate it.
Sending a small Pikachu against something that looked like a walking furnace hardly seemed fair.
To Brock's surprise, however, Caster made no move to switch Pokémon.
"Magmortar, Smokescreen!"
Blaine attacked first.
"Grrr!"
Magmortar raised one of its cannon arms and blasted out a torrent of thick black smoke.
A harsh, acrid smell spread through the arena.
Within seconds, the entire battlefield had disappeared inside the smoke.
No one could see what was happening.
Then came the sharp crackle of electricity.
But Magmortar didn't make a sound.
The attack had apparently missed.
"Firing blindly already?"
A faint smile appeared on Blaine's face.
His voice carried a hint of disappointment.
"You're still young. Too impatient."
For an ordinary Pokémon, Smokescreen was little more than a way to obscure an opponent's vision.
But Blaine wasn't an ordinary Trainer.
He was a Fire-type specialist.
And while this Magmortar wasn't his true ace, merely one of the stronger Pokémon he used for Gym battles, its Smokescreen contained an unusually high concentration of combustible particles.
All it would take was a single spark.
The entire battlefield would explode.
Pikachu wouldn't have anywhere to dodge.
Nowhere to escape.
Blaine's eyes sharpened.
"Let's blow it up!"
He thrust out a hand.
"Magmortar, Flamethrower!"
"Grrr!"
A cry came from inside the smoke.
But it wasn't an eager battle cry.
It was a howl of pain.
Blaine's expression changed.
Magmortar never used Flamethrower.
The Smokescreen didn't ignite either.
"What happened?"
Everyone stared at the battlefield.
Unfortunately, the smoke was so thick that they still couldn't see anything inside.
Seconds passed.
Then the cloud slowly began to thin.
Everyone leaned forward.
When the battlefield finally came back into view, Magmortar was sitting on the ground in a daze, stars practically spinning around its head.
Arcs of electricity crawled across its body every few seconds.
Crackle!
Magmortar twitched.
Everyone froze.
It was both confused and paralyzed.
۞۞۞۞
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