Chapter 211: Gengar VS Charizard (2)

Red stared at Gengar, who was moving freely within the Fire Spin, a flash of surprise in his eyes, and then ordered in a deep voice: "Increase the flame power, compress the range of the vortex!"

A low roar erupted from Charizard's throat, its chest heaving violently, and the flames it spat out instantly became as scorching as magma.

The originally wide Fire Spin visibly shrank, the temperature soared suddenly, the stone slabs at the edge of the field were baked to a slight red, and even the air was distorted into heat waves.

Huo La looked at the flames that were almost condensing into substance, unable to help clenching his fists, sweat seeping from his palms.

He knew Old Ghost was powerful, but facing this level of flame suppression, he still had no bottom line in his heart.

Just then, a bone-chilling cold suddenly exploded from the center of the Fire Spin! The chill came so fast and fierce that in the blink of an eye, the originally raging flames were completely frozen, turning into a crystal-clear ice cage.

Immediately after, Gengar's arm suddenly turned into a huge ice-blue fist, smashing fiercely onto the ice cage. With a crisp "crack," the ice cage shattered into ice crystals that filled the sky, falling with a rustle.

"Hehehe..." Gengar's weird laughter echoed among the ice crystals.

"Icy Wind?" Red looked at the broken ice all over the ground, his voice full of doubt: "Ordinary Icy Wind can't reach this level at all!"

"It is Icy Wind, alright." Huo La's voice carried undisguised shock: "But it was actually able to directly freeze the Fire Spin; this power... has already far exceeded the scope of conventional moves."

Red didn't have time to think, and immediately shouted to Charizard: "Charizard, rush over, use Dragon Pulse!"

Charizard flapped its wings violently, its massive body rushing straight at Gengar like a cannonball, pale blue Dragon-type energy wreathed around it, and the light in its mouth grew brighter and brighter, clearly Dragon Pulse was fully charged.

"Want to get close? Hehe!" Gengar grinned, not only not dodging, but turning into a purple shadow and rushing toward Charizard.

A flash of surprise crossed Charizard's eyes, but the distance was already extremely close, and there was no possibility of retracting Dragon Pulse.

It opened its mouth and spat out that condensed Dragon-type energy, rushing straight at Gengar.

But an eerie scene occurred—Gengar just waved its hands casually, and that Dragon Pulse seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, bypassing its body directly and changing direction to shoot toward Charizard itself!

"Not good, it's Counter!" Red's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed.

The distance closed to ensure a hit had now become a fatal flaw.

Dragon Pulse slammed solidly into Charizard's chest. It let out a painful muffled groan, its massive body falling from the sky like a kite with a broken string, smashing heavily onto the ground and raising a cloud of dust.

The dust settled, and beside the claw marks that were already on Charizard's chest and abdomen, another burn mark appeared, and its aura withered instantly.

"Charizard, are you okay?" Red stepped forward two steps, his tone full of worry.

Charizard didn't look back, only spitting a puff of sparks from its nostrils, its claws digging hard into the ground, stubbornly supporting its body to stand up, its eyes still unyielding.

"Well done!" A flash of approval crossed Red's eyes, and then he said in a deep voice: "Be careful, Huo La's Gengar is probably the strongest opponent we've encountered on this journey!"

Charizard took another step forward, let out an unwilling roar toward the sky, and the hot wind stirred up by its flapping wings rolled the gravel on the ground.

"Charizard, use Dragon Claw for close-quarters combat!" Red suddenly issued a command that surprised everyone.

Charizard's claws were instantly covered in sharp pale green Dragon Claws. With a low roar, it rushed toward Gengar, its sharp claws scratching with a whistling sound.

Huo La frowned, completely unable to understand Red's intent—Gengar was a gaseous Ghost-type Pokémon, and pure physical attacks were already difficult to be effective; what use could a close-quarters physical move like Dragon Claw have?

In the field, Charizard's Dragon Claws, wreathed in whistling sounds, constantly greeted Gengar.

Although Gengar's figure was flickering, it was forced to dodge and move by this airtight offensive, not even having a gap to condense moves.

It could have directly turned gaseous to ignore physical attacks, but this battle was something it had volunteered for, and if it relied on virtualization to dodge moves the whole time, it would be too embarrassing.

So Gengar could only rely on agile footwork to tank it, and for a time, it actually fell into a disadvantage.

Red's gaze was locked on the field, his fingertips unconsciously gesturing something in his palm; Huo La did the opposite, his gaze always glued to Red, trying to figure out the purpose of this strange tactic from his micro-expressions.

"Xiao Gang, Red letting Charizard keep using Dragon Claw, it definitely can't be that simple, right?" Bilan clung to the railing, full of confusion.

Xiao Gang shook his head, his brows locked: "I haven't seen through his intent either, don't be anxious, let's keep watching."

Huo La stared at Red's profile, a flash of inspiration suddenly crossing his mind, and he turned his head to look at the battlefield abruptly.

Just then, Red's voice sounded abruptly, carrying unquestionable decisiveness: "Charizard, right-hand Thunder Punch, hit the upper right!"

The Dragon Claw on Charizard's right arm was instantly retracted, the fist surface suddenly covered in crackling yellow electricity, and almost without any pause, it blasted straight toward the upper right.

"Thud!" With a muffled sound, Thunder Punch slammed solidly into Gengar's face, strong electricity instantly coursing through its body, Gengar's face twitching uncontrollably on the spot, even its figure swaying.

"Now, Shadow Claw!" Red's command followed closely.

The Thunder Punch on Charizard's right arm hadn't been fully retracted, and its left arm had already condensed rich Shadow energy, its claws shimmering with eerie black cold light, scratching fiercely toward Gengar's side face.

Gengar, already stiff from the electricity, couldn't dodge at all and took the claw solidly, hurting so much it immediately let out a weird cry: "Ouch! My face!"

Red didn't give it a chance to catch its breath, his voice sounding again: "Charizard, lower right!"

Charizard heard the sound and swung its fist, hitting Gengar's lower body precisely, knocking its figure sinking abruptly.

"Lower left!"

"Upper left!"

"Right—!"

Commands were issued one after another, Charizard's fists as if they had eyes, predicting Gengar's dodging route precisely every time, hitting every time, making Gengar's weird cries rise and fall one after another.

"So that's it!" Xiao Gang slapped his thigh abruptly, nodding in sudden realization.

Bilan was still completely confused and hurriedly looked at him: "Brother Xiao Gang, what exactly is going on?" Xiao Gang pointed to the field, his tone carrying a hint of admiration: "When Red used Dragon Claw at the beginning, it wasn't for attacking at all, but to test Gastly's evasion trajectory! The routes and habits Gastly used for its previous dodges had long been secretly noted down by him. Now, every move Charizard makes is launched after predicting Gastly's movement direction in advance; it's equivalent to having calculated Gastly's positioning perfectly!"

Bilan's eyes lit up instantly, and she couldn't help but blurt out: "So amazing! This tactic is too exquisite!"

Huo La looked at Gengar, who was being beaten back step by step in the field, and felt a burst of admiration in his heart—Red's observation and tactical layout were indeed worthy of being a Trainer evaluated by Professor Oak as a "born fighter." ===== CHAPTER 212 =====