Anger. Confusion.
At that moment, those emotions spilled uncontrollably from Asher into Flare.
Feeling the anger and confusion pouring out of Asher's heart, Flare was deeply affected!
So it began trying to understand what Asher was thinking!!
After a brief shudder, Flare gradually understood everything...
That was right. The answer had to be the enemy in front of them!!!
That dying, struggling rock was making him angry, making him wonder how to crush it!
And so Flare became angry too—angry that it still hadn't been able to finish off this enemy itself!
That burning anger pushed Flare's state of mind to a higher level!
It poured that fury into the Fire element itself, causing a qualitative change!
In that instant, the flames flew into a rage!
Flare was going to use its fire to unravel Asher's confusion and tell him—
I'm the right answer!!!
The fire that had been burning steadily suddenly boiled over, its power surging in an instant!
Secret Art: Frenzied Fire Rope!
By adding its own feverish fighting spirit into the rope-like flame created through binding, it made the power of the fire erupt even more violently!
Who could possibly withstand a double forbidden Secret Art this savage?!!
Heather Two... dead!!!
"Yaaah—"
With a roar like an evil dragon, Flare planted its foot on the Geodude beneath it, turning it into a stepping stone in every possible sense!
And how did the audience in the Gym react to the sight of that Pokémon getting completely blown away?
Panic? Fear? Terror? Screaming? Angry condemnation?
Hell no... people were screaming themselves hoarse in celebration!
"That's insane!! That Charmander is insane!!"
"Woooow—it got roasted all the way through! This is nuts! I haven't seen a battle this satisfying in ages!"
"Gwaaah!!! That red-hat punk just humiliated Principal Roxanne! Red-hat kid is unbeatable!!"
At that very moment, Flare grew dizzy under the crowd's frenzied cheers.
This chaotic, disorderly celebration filled it with an unfamiliar thrill and excitement.
What were these creatures doing? Were they going crazy because of it?
Flare couldn't understand their behavior, but it liked the surging wave of frenzy, because there was something scorching in it.
All the heat of the crowd's excitement poured into Flare's body, filling it with strength!
But suddenly it sensed that Asher's heart was even more angry, more confused, and... more sorrowful than before!!
Flare became confused and alarmed.
Wha... what... what's wrong with him?
I beat the enemy. Everyone's cheering for us. So why is he... why is he...
Why is he so unhappy?!!
Very quickly, in its own way, it thought things through and found an answer in the people's celebration!
That's right—my firepower still wasn't strong enough! I didn't melt that rock fast enough, so I ruined his joy in enjoying this celebration, and now he's unhappy!!
He's grieving my weakness!!
So it had to use all its strength to quickly blast, melt, and crush every enemy to make him happy!
Boom—
In an instant, the cowlick on Flare's head sprang straight up, and a searing aura burst from its entire body!
Feeling Asher's anger, confusion, and sorrow, Flare roared inside its heart—
I... I'll make sure to serve you the next wave of celebration even faster!!!
At that same time, Asher was lost amid the cheers...
Why?
Why did trampling on life make these people so happy?
What was the meaning of Pokémon battles, really?!
Did being a Trainer mean doing everything possible to make Pokémon fight, suffer, and die just so others could be entertained?!
As he sank into confusion and despair, even beginning to think about quitting, Asher suddenly felt the battle spirit erupting from Flare!
He couldn't help but feel bewildered.
Why was it so... why was it so...
Why was it so fired up?!!
Very quickly, in his own way, he thought it through and found an answer in the crowd's celebration!
That was it. Flare had spent ten years at the lab as a gloomy little nobody. It had fought step by step to become stronger and finally reached this point, proving its worth and meaning through battle in front of everyone. Deep down, it truly longed to fight!!
In that instant, it was like being slapped hard across the face. Asher went pale and abruptly came to his senses!
Yes. I don't understand Pokémon at all. Maybe this really is what they desire in their hearts—to battle!
Flare had always been too weak to express that instinct. But now that it had gained strength through all its effort, Asher had tried to avoid battle.
That kind of behavior would only insult everything Flare had worked for! It would trample on it!
If he thought about it carefully, when Flare had been looked down on and belittled, hadn't it wanted one day to prove the meaning of its own existence?!
In that instant, Asher suddenly achieved total clarity and felt childish and ashamed of his own fear and hesitation!
A Trainer had to have the resolve to fight!
Even if it meant killing or destroying the opponent, they still had to go all out for victory!
Flare, I understand now!
If battle is what proves everything, then let's fight!
Let our ambitions become one!!!
"Flare!!!"
"Gaaah!!!"
After one of those classic moments of mutual understanding, the two of them burst with astonishing battle spirit!
[Rotom... you two... you two...]
The app seemed to have short-circuited. It was no longer capable of describing this kind of higher life-form behavior in the language of carbon-based beings...
Humans and dragons do not share the same joys and sorrows—
but they can still understand each other!
Asher tilted his cap and declared with blazing battle spirit,
"Come on, Roxanne! Even if I have to smash every last one of your teaching tools today, I'm going to show you this—masters of bad matchups really do exist!!!"
Roxanne, having already suffered two losses while being torn apart by the crowd's cheers, stood there in silence, looking down at the melted Geodude on the floor.
Her body trembled uncontrollably!
She...
couldn't hold it in anymore.
Roxanne was actually crying!!
"Wah... waaahhh..."
She cried with overwhelming grief, as though mourning the death of her Pokémon.
A flicker of guilt suddenly rose in Asher's heart!
Had their bond really been that deep? Had he...
However...
in the very next moment, the mentally unhinged Roxanne suddenly lost control and screamed at the Geodude on the floor!
"Waaahhh-aaahhh! Rock-types are supposed to counter Fire-types! You're not even a Rock-type Pokémon at all! Why... why did you pretend to be a Rock-type Pokémon?!"
Then she let out a low, furious growl at Flare!
"I've already mastered every type matchup! There's no way a Rock-type Pokémon could lose to a pathetic Fire-type loser like you! Baby! Go beat him for me!"
[Rotom! Your actions have driven Roxanne insane! Your relationship has changed to [Gonna Kill You Dead]!]
That scared him.
Asher was genuinely scared by the sight of this woman having a complete breakdown.
So Roxanne was actually insane!
At the same time, though, he muttered to himself,
"Baby?"
This crazy girl sure had a weirdly stylish way of talking...
Boom—
A heavy thud echoed across the battlefield as a mineral aggregate with a huge nose, standing half a person tall, dropped into the arena!
[Rotom... scanning target.]
[Target: Nosepass]
[Level: 15]
[Element Affinity: Earth 32]
[Relationship: enemy!]
[Social advice: You made its owner mad. It really wants to kill you.]
Reading the app's information, Asher's mouth twitched.
Damn, so this thing was called Nosepass!
The first Badge challenge was set at a pretty low level. It basically never involved anything above level 20.
Seeing that the opponent was only level 15, Asher let out a breath and felt confident he could take it down!
"Go, Flare! Stick to the original plan and take it out!"
"Gaaah!"
Flare breathed fire with all its focus and force!
Compressing the power of Ember to its absolute limit, it once again unleashed Secret Art: Frenzied Fire Rope!
But with a thunderous boom, Nosepass charged straight through the focused stream of fire with terrifying speed, hovering off the ground like a train as it slammed toward Flare!
This was...
the power of magnetism!!
The power of the Earth element, when paired with the rocky body of a Rock-type, could release the power of magnetism.
That was the very principle behind how Geodude could float in the air!
And this Nosepass could use its mineral-heavy body to drive Earth-element power, altering the magnetic field around it and affecting its own physical state!
Secret Art: Train Tackle!
Boom—
That strike, carrying endless profundity, came crashing in at incredible speed!
Fast, fierce, vicious, wild!
It came so quickly that Asher had no time to react at all, and it slammed into Flare like a runaway dump truck, knocking it straight into a near-death state!!
Roxanne burst into manic laughter. Her once-slender body now seemed towering and immense, like some demonic war god!
"Hahahahahaha—you ignorant failing student! Go study your lessons properly before you come back to take the test again!!!"