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He saw the truth of the matter; although this Gyarados was strong, it was uncontrollable!
"Haha! So you're just a piece of trash who only knows how to borrow other people's Pokémon! Charizard, seize the chance, use Air Slash!"
Charizard struggled to climb up from the ground; although it was battered from the collision, its fighting spirit had not completely dissipated.
It flapped its wings violently, and sharp blades of air whistled toward Gyarados.
Gyarados still ignored Ariel's commands; it seemed to hold those air blades in contempt.
Facing the incoming attacks, it merely flicked its massive tail, and its huge body traced an arc in the air, easily dodging most of the attacks.
The few remaining air blades that grazed it only left shallow white marks on its hard scales, unable to cause any substantial damage at all.
"Gyarados! Use Dragon Rage!"
Ariel tried to issue a command again.
However, Gyarados's actions remained as self-willed as ever.
It didn't use any skills, relying only on its brute strength and massive size to pounce toward Charizard again.
This time, it opened its bloodthirsty maw, revealing bone-white fangs, and the foul-smelling gust of wind made Charizard instinctively feel fear.
"Charizard, fly up quickly, create some distance! Use Flamethrower!"
The young Trainer shouted anxiously; he knew that if Charizard got too close to this Gyarados, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Charizard tried its best to flap its wings, attempting to take to the air, but Gyarados's speed was not slow either.
It leaped up suddenly, its massive body almost blocking all of Charizard's escape routes.
Flamethrower poured out from Charizard's mouth, and the scorching tongue of fire instantly engulfed Gyarados's head.
"Roar!"
However, Gyarados only let out an angry Roar; the fire burned on its hard scales but failed to cause any fatal damage.
Its massive head tilted slightly, and it pushed through the fire, slamming hard into Charizard's abdomen.
"Bang!"
With another loud bang, accompanied by Charizard's painful screech, it was sent flying again. This time, its body spun several times in the air before crashing heavily to the ground.
The flames danced on its body, but they appeared somewhat weak.
"Too barbaric! This Gyarados is just attacking randomly!"
"But... but it seems to be really effective!"
"This isn't a battle, it's clearly a one-sided crushing!"
The audience discussed it heatedly; they were amazed by Gyarados's brutality but also expressed doubt about Ariel's command ability.
Ariel looked at the scene before him, his heart feeling somewhat complicated.
He knew Gyarados's strength, but it not listening to commands was indeed a big problem.
This would not only waste stamina but also expose weaknesses when facing truly strong enemies.
He sighed softly, his gaze falling on Gyarados's eyes, which remained as unruly as ever.
This guy needed more tempering.
"Gyarados, use Hyper Beam!"
He tried to issue a powerful command again, hoping to guide Gyarados to unleash greater power instead of relying solely on brute force.
However, Gyarados's reaction caused Ariel's command to fail once more.
It did not gather energy, nor did it charge up.
It just glared at Ariel, then dragged its heavy body, walking step by step toward the struggling Charizard on the ground.
Charizard's Trainer was desperate; watching his Pokémon completely suppressed by this Gyarados, a sense of powerlessness rose in his heart.
"Charizard! Stand up! Use Fire Blast one more time!"
He roared, trying to awaken Charizard's last bit of fighting spirit.
Charizard lifted its head with difficulty, and a ball of flame condensed in its mouth again.
However, it had very little strength left.
That ball of flame appeared exceptionally weak; before it could fully form, it was swatted away by a fierce tail swipe from Gyarados!
"Slap!"
Gyarados's massive tail, like a steel whip, lashed fiercely onto Charizard's body.
This blow was heavier than any before it.
Charizard let out a short, shrill cry of misery, its body thrown high into the air before falling heavily.
Its eyes lost their luster, the flames around its body were completely extinguished, and it had completely lost the ability to battle.
"Charizard is unable to battle! Gyarados wins!"
The referee's voice carried a hint of incredulous trembling.
The entire arena was silent, followed by an eruption of thunderous applause and exclamations.
Although the process of this battle was barbaric, it was incredibly shocking.
That astonishingly sized Gyarados was coiled in the center of the field, its deep blue scales glistening with a cold luster under the lights.
Under its feet lay the Charizard that had been arrogant just a moment ago, but now looked like a pile of discarded, broken dolls, having completely lost consciousness.
This victory could not be called any kind of tactical coordination.
From beginning to end, this behemoth completely ignored every one of Ariel's commands.
Ariel ordered it to use Hydro Pump, but it insisted on using its tail to lash the opponent into the ground;
Ariel told it to create distance, but it charged straight in with red eyes.
This fighting style, which relied purely on brute force and ruthlessness, turned what should have been a rigorous Pokémon battle that tested the psychological game between Trainers into a one-sided jungle slaughter.
Gyarados won.
Relying entirely on its primitive ferocity and brute force, it beat a Superior-level Charizard to a pulp.
Gyarados slowly turned its massive head, its eyes filled with violent aura not looking at the loser, but staring fixedly at Ariel on the stage.
It puffed two streams of white water vapor from its nostrils, carrying a certain disdain and a show of force.
The meaning in those eyes couldn't be clearer:
"Look, even without your nonsense, I can still tear the opponent to shreds."
Ariel understood the meaning in its eyes; he wasn't angry, but rather, a barely perceptible arc curled at the corner of his mouth.
This Gyarados had a strong personality and extremely high talent, but precisely because of that, it possessed infinite potential.
However, the audience under the stage erupted into mocking discussions again.
"Look! I told you this Gyarados doesn't listen to him at all!"
"A Trainer who can't command his own Pokémon—what kind of Trainer is that?"
"This Gyarados must be borrowed! Maybe it's a Pokémon belonging to some elder; otherwise, how could someone so young capture such a fierce guy and let it be so disobedient?"
"That's right! A Pokémon that doesn't listen to commands, no matter how strong, will sooner or later have its weaknesses found and be defeated!"
In their view, Ariel's victory did not stem from his strength, but purely from good luck in borrowing a powerful Pokémon.
The strength of this Pokémon only served to highlight Ariel's incompetence.
This flaw of not listening to commands was, in their eyes, fatal.
They once again looked down on Ariel, thinking he was nothing more than a flowery pillow—looking flashy but actually vulnerable.
Ariel was not anxious or annoyed by this.
He watched Gyarados calmly, a light of contemplation flickering in his eyes.
Letting Gyarados suffer a setback was not a bad thing.
Its unruliness needed a stronger opponent to smooth it out.
Today's victory might just be the beginning.
He no longer paid attention to the clamor below the stage, his gaze slowly sweeping across the audience, finally settling on the eager challengers.
His voice was low and powerful, carrying an unquestionable confidence:
"Who is next?"
His words, like a thunderclap on flat ground, drew everyone's attention back again.
This young man actually dared to continue?
Where on earth did his confidence come from?
Gyarados on the stage seemed to sense the fighting spirit in Ariel's words; it let out a low Roar, its crimson eyes appearing even more eerie in the sunlight, as if responding to Ariel's challenge, and as if declaring to all the challengers below: no matter how many come, it would accompany them to the end.
In the air, fighting spirit filled the space once again.