"Strange."
Throughout these matches,
Sceptile and Arcanine had been growing in power at an absurd rate.
There was no hiding this from the Elite Four above.
As the tournament's overseers, they'd long grown suspicious.
Once a Pokémon reached Lord tier, levels didn't jump day by day.
Was it a treasure? Hidden strength? Or some kind of drug?
All possibilities were on the table.
Granny spoke up: "Let's run tests on his Pokémon after the match."
"Agreed."
The other Elite Four members nodded in unison.
On the battlefield.
"Who would've thought? The two Trainers who've reached the national semi-finals both come from the same place — Shuimu City, in Hunan Province!"
A single line ignited the crowd's curiosity.
"Shuimu City? Where even is that?"
"Let me check… wait, Articuno appeared there?! No way, that's insane!"
"They're from the same hometown? That's legendary. I gotta visit after the tournament."
On national broadcast, the commentator's offhand remark would soon bring an economic boom to little-known Shuimu City.
"Now for the field draw… Grass Field!"
A Master-tier Venusaur stepped forth as usual, shaping the terrain.
The Grass Field boosted Grass-type moves
and increased their damage output.
"Let's go, Lin Yu!"
Qing Fei fought to contain his rage as he stared at the calm, unshakable Lin Yu.
Lin Yu finally felt a flicker of interest —
not in Qing Fei, but in that so-called stone slab.
These one-sided battles had left him feeling the national tournament was less impressive than he'd expected.
But he never underestimated Qing Fei.
"The match will be 6-on-6. Both Trainers, release your Pokémon at the same time!"
As the commentator finished:
"Go, Sceptile!"
"Go, Charizard!"
"ROAR!"
Qing Fei's Sceptile stood nearly two and a half meters tall,
yet it still paled in comparison to Charizard's imposing frame.
"Charizard! Lin Yu is fielding Charizard — a Pokémon he has not used once this tournament! What will this flame Pokémon bring to the battle?!"
On the Grass Field,
choosing Charizard was an obvious call for Lin Yu.
And as expected, Qing Fei led with Sceptile.
"ROAR!"
Charizard glanced at the opposing Trainer, then immediately shifted into battle stance.
To Charizard, Qing Fei was little more than a stranger.
"Sceptile, Leaf Storm!"
Qing Fei struck first.
He had no idea how much Charizard had grown since their last meeting.
"Sceptile!"
Sceptile swung its Leaf Blade. It still burned with resentment toward the Pokémon that had crushed it before.
Boosted by the Grass Field, swirling leaves erupted into a storm over ten meters tall,
each blade glinting with sharp light.
The power was unmistakable.
Lin Yu only shook his head slightly.
"Rapidly forced power, I see. Its energy control is still unstable."
"Charizard, fly upward and use Flamethrower."
This attack was child's play to Charizard.
Golden and white flames rained from the sky, brilliant as a rainbow,
slamming into the leaf storm.
The imposing tempest disintegrated instantly,
reduced to nothing but scattered embers and fading leaves.
Where the fire touched, the grassy field turned to ash.
One move. That was all it took.
This was a Charizard that had clashed evenly with a Lord-tier Samurott back at Gym tier.
Now it was Lord-tier itself.
How could it fear a Sceptile that had only just reached Lord tier?
Besides…
Lin Yu glanced up at the sky.
The July sun blazed fiercely.
[Solar Power] activated, boosting Charizard's Special Attack even higher.
The commentator roared with excitement:
"There it is! The white flame that burns even underwater — a flame unique to Lin Yu's Charizard!"
Sceptile stared in disbelief. "Scept…?!"
"If Sceptile is your strongest Pokémon, then I might just sweep through all six of yours."
Lin Yu looked at Qing Fei with clear disdain.
This guy had been acting like a annoying clown for far too long,
and even Lin Yu's calm patience had worn thin.
"How dare you look down on me! Sceptile, Quick Attack into Leaf Blade!"
"Fire Punch!"
When it came to head-on clashes, Charizard feared no one.
Blade and fist collided at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow.
But when the impact faded…
Sceptile's arm hung limp and useless.
The commentator quickly played the slow-motion replay.
The moment Charizard and Sceptile made contact,
the white Leaf Blade on Sceptile's arm shattered like glass.
Then Charizard's Fire Punch slammed directly into Sceptile's body.
The stands erupted.
"Holy crap! Lin Yu's Charizard is that strong?!"
"Incredible! I thought Goddess Ye had the championship locked down, but this changes everything!"
On the Elite Four platform,
even the veteran Trainers stared in shock.
This Pokémon was absurdly powerful.
Type advantage or not,
this was far too one-sided.
"That flame is draining Sceptile's stamina… and healing Charizard!"
Granny's usually narrowed eyes shot wide open.
As the Ghost-type Elite Four,
she was hyper-sensitive to life-draining abilities.
Many Ghost-types fed on emotions and energy, after all.
"That's not all. Look at the grass — half burned, half frozen! That fire has both burning and freezing properties!"
Ye Rong spoke gravely.
Back at the provincial tournament, Charmeleon's flames were odd, but nothing like this.
Continuous burn damage.
Speed-reducing frost.
Stamina absorption.
They could barely imagine
how powerful this Charizard would become once fully grown.
The Elite Four exchanged stunned glances.
Down on the field,
Qing Fei screamed in disbelief:
"Impossible! This can't be happening!"
The outcome was identical to their battle in Shuimu City.
He'd trekked through volcanoes to train Sceptile's fire resistance.
He'd let Arcanine endure raging waterfalls to grow stronger.
All of it… just to defeat Lin Yu.