Chapter 134

Daye: "Just asking, no need to be so irritable."

Jike: "Heh."

It was a good thing Daye wasn't standing in front of her, otherwise she would definitely make him understand why flowers are so red.

【Blood-red wings, skin deeper in color than a normal Charizard, its build not exaggerated, roughly the same size as Ash's Charizard. What was most impressive was that its entire body was covered in scars; there was almost no intact skin left.】

【"Why does it have so many scars?" Misty asked, her face full of disbelief.】

【Ever since the League promoted Pokémon Centers across the world, it has become rare for a Trainer's Pokémon to be left with scars.】

【Nurse Joy is not just a healing master, but a beauty master as well. As long as an injured Pokémon is sent to a Pokémon Center, it is impossible for any scars to remain.】

【Misty's surprise was very satisfying to Jike, who said proudly: "Scars are the medals of a wild Charizard. By the way, its name is Scar, and it is the strongest Charizard in Charizard Valley."】

【Scar stood motionless, yet Ash could still feel the chill rushing toward him. This guy was definitely a veteran of a hundred battles; its combat experience was even richer than that of his own Charizard.】

【"BOOM!!!"】

【Ash's Charizard was the first to strike. It would not allow a Charizard more badass than itself to exist in this world. Taking light steps, it charged rapidly toward Scar.】

【As it ran, deep blue Dragon-type energy rapidly armed its claws. Charizard prepared to use the same old trick, intending to take down its opponent with Dragon Claw.】

【When it was only a meter away from its opponent, Charizard struck, its claws slashing fiercely toward the target with such momentum that it seemed as if it wanted to cut the opponent in two.】

【The onlookers all held their breath, not even daring to breathe loudly, for fear of affecting the duel between the two.】

【Casey pressed her hand gently against her chest; her heart was thumping wildly. She was truly nervous now; she really wanted to know how Scar would respond to Charizard's attack.】

【Would it dodge? Defend? Or perform a defensive counterattack?】

【The answer was none of the above.】

【In Casey's disbelieving eyes, Scar just stood there, letting Charizard's attack land squarely on its chest.】

【At this moment, fresh blood splattered everywhere.】

Lance: "What the—is this guy a lunatic? Doesn't that hurt?"

Just watching it made Lance feel a piercing pain; he truly couldn't imagine how much pain the subject itself was in.

Daye: "Wow, so cool! I've never seen such a cool Pokémon before!"

Taking an opponent's attack head-on and then putting on a cold, stern expression—it really was as cool as it gets. Next time he duels Cynthia, he's going to do that too.

Flint: "No, Daye, do you even hear what you're saying?"

Lucian: "You're even crazier than Scar. If you dare to do that in a battle against Cynthia, I guarantee Cynthia will beat you into a pig's head!"

Anyone who doesn't respect a battle will not receive Cynthia's respect, and once Cynthia is angered...

*Hiss*, Lucian didn't even dare to imagine it further.

Daye: "I was just saying it casually."

Lorelei: "This is my first time seeing such a wild Charizard."

The term "wild" is usually used to describe wild Pokémon, but in reality, there aren't many wild Pokémon that truly live up to the word.

Most wild Pokémon are actually more timid than those raised by Trainers; at the slightest sign of trouble, they will flee.

But Scar was clearly not in that category; it was born for the word "wild."

【Blood was still spurting from its chest, but Scar didn't care. It dipped its finger into its own blood and brought it to its mouth to savor it.】

【While savoring the blood, it closed its eyes, revealing an obsessed expression.】

【"Pervert," Casey couldn't help but say. It was her first time seeing such a manic Pokémon; it was no different from a lunatic.】

【As the opponent, Ash didn't have much of a reaction; he wouldn't let these little tricks affect him.】

【After finishing the blood, Scar opened its eyes. At this moment, its aura changed completely; its eyes were crimson, and its whole body radiated a manic intensity. It was going to start its attack.】

【Scratch.】

【The most basic skill. When Charizard was still a Charmander, its only melee move was Scratch. Once it evolved into Charmeleon, Scratch would gradually be replaced by Slash. But Scar was a Charizard that didn't follow the beaten path; even as the overlord of the valley, its attack method remained so simple and unadorned.】

【Facing the opponent's Scratch, Charizard chose to respond with Dragon Claw. It originally thought that by using the more powerful Dragon Claw, it would win with overwhelming superiority, but reality slapped it hard in the face.】

【In the first clash with Scar, it quickly fell into a disadvantage.】

【Dragon Claw is definitely stronger than Scratch, but its power was far inferior to Scar's.】

【"... This guy's strength is too great." Brock was shocked. The strength talent of Ash's Charizard was already explosive enough; at full power, it could even lift his Onix. But today, it actually lost in a test of strength to a Charizard of the same size. This was simply incredible.】

【"Create some distance, Charizard."】

【Charizard lost to its opponent in a test of strength, but Ash wasn't too surprised. After all, Scar was the top dog of Charizard Valley; if it didn't have any standout points, that would be what's strange.】

【If the opponent's strength is high, then don't engage in a battle of pride. Create distance and use long-range attacks to suppress the opponent.】

【"Charizard, Ancient Power."】

【After creating enough distance, Ash issued a new command.】

【A massive rock condensed in front of Charizard, and then it threw the boulder heavily toward Scar.】

【Scar was dismissive of Charizard's attack. It was still Scratch—a plain, unremarkable Scratch—but it was this ordinary Scratch skill that cut the rock in two.】

【Scar seemed very dissatisfied with Charizard's cowardly behavior. In its view, a real man should fight head-on; dodging and weaving is not a battle between men.】

【"BOOM!"】

【It let out a roar of dissatisfaction and used gestures to mock Charizard for being a coward.】

【Coward? How could Charizard endure such an insult? It exploded with rage. Just as it was about to fly over and have a head-on duel with Scar, Ash's voice reached its ears.】

【"Calm down, Charizard."】

【Trust and respect for its Trainer ultimately overcame the anger in its heart. Charizard forced itself to calm down and waited quietly for Ash's next command.】

【"This is the difference between a Trainer's Pokémon and a wild Pokémon," Ash said to Jike. "Wild Pokémon only rely on desire to fight, while everything a Trainer's Pokémon does is for the sake of winning."】

【Letting a Pokémon fight according to its own heart is certainly good, but there is a prerequisite: it must win. Only under the premise of winning can a Pokémon fight wantonly. But once it realizes this mode cannot win, then the initiative must be pulled back into one's own hands.】

Ash: "But Charizard clearly wanted to have a hearty, full-blown battle with Scar. Why stop it?"

Lance: "Because that would lead to a loss."

Just from the first collision, Ash already understood that in a head-on battle, Charizard was no match for Scar. Since that was the case, he naturally wouldn't let Charizard continue to fight a war of attrition.】

Bruno: "Losing a match for the sake of a meaningless struggle is not what a Trainer should do."

A Trainer's role is to help the Pokémon find the path to victory in battle.

If everything were done according to the Pokémon's wishes, then what would a Trainer be for?

Leon: "Ash has already seen through Scar's weakness. The match can already be declared over."

Jike: "Weakness? What weakness does Scar have?"

Leon: "It values physical fitness too much while neglecting the honing of skills. If we only talk about physical conditions, Scar is the most excellent Charizard I have ever seen. Even stronger than my own Charizard."

But it's a pity; battle is never just about physical fitness.

【Ancient Power again.】

【Scar, having cut the stone again, was very dissatisfied. This kind of battle was not what it wanted; what it wanted was a hearty, flesh-to-flesh battle. It didn't like this kind of soft-hearted battle at all.】

【But even if it didn't like it, there was nothing it could do. The initiative of the battle was not in its hands; its flight speed was not as fast as its opponent's, so it could only be beaten passively.】

【This is the drawback of Scar relying too much on melee combat; once the opponent chooses to avoid close combat, it can only take a beating.】

126: Jike: Agree to my conditions, and I'll be your girlfriend!

【The wild Charizard in the valley were all stubborn; they wouldn't play tricks with Scar. But the Charizard outside the valley, those captured by Trainers, were different; their tricks were deeper than the last.】

【So what if you're great at melee? I'm not playing melee with you at all.】

【A true powerhouse must be a hexagonal warrior; only then will they not be caught by flaws.】

【Ancient Power, Ancient Power, and still Ancient Power.】

【At this time, Scar also felt that something was wrong. Not only did the opponent not look exhausted from the continuous release of skills, but its aura was becoming increasingly imposing.】

Ash: "What happened? How does Charizard look like it's become even stronger?"

Brock: "It's Ancient Power. The additional effect of Ancient Power: when using the skill, it sometimes increases all of the Pokémon's stats."

Misty: "In other words, Ash didn't have Charizard use Ancient Power repeatedly to exhaust the opponent, but to increase Charizard's own strength?"

Cynthia: "Correct. Scar is in for a rough time. Ash's Charizard is about to become invincible."

Lance: "It has to be invincible. All six stats have been raised to the limit; if this isn't invincible, who is?"

Clair: "This is the shortcoming of wild Pokémon. If it were any Trainer's Pokémon, they wouldn't just watch the opponent strengthen to the limit."

【The opponent was finally willing to fight it, but before Scar could be happy for a few seconds, it discovered a terrifying thing: the strength it was so proud of could no longer suppress the opponent. No, no, no—not only could it not suppress the opponent, now it was the opponent suppressing it.】

【Scar could not accept this result and tried to counterattack, but it was all in vain. With all six stats raised to the limit, let alone Scar, even if a Champion-level Pokémon came, Ash would have the mood to trade a few blows.】

【Three minutes later, Scar was knocked down again, and this time it couldn't stand up.】

【The match was over, and Jike went from the excitement and anticipation before the battle to silence now.】

【Scar's failure was not what she found hardest to accept; what she couldn't accept was the way Scar lost.】