"As expected of a Elite-level Pokémon." Willow was shocked inwardly, but her face showed excitement at the chance to battle such a strong opponent. Volcarona's move combinations were exceptionally well-executed.
(TN: Willow was a dude in this chapter. I read the raws and the name Wang Xiagou (Willow's name) was apparently a guys name, so I quickly edited everything to a guy version of Willow but after reaching chapter 5, the last chapter I edited and the earliest mention of Willow and it clearly stated she was a hot tempered sister and granddaughter of the elite 4. Now I'm mad and reverted everything to a girl version again. Huhuhu I just wasted my time. Sorry just venting XD)
(TN2: If you guys any errors about the gender its probably because of this.)
Though they were clearly two different moves, the way they flowed together seamlessly made them feel like an entirely new, unified technique.
Against Volcarona, Charizard's strength was clearly lacking—there was a significant gap between them. And in terms of stamina, Charizard was nowhere near Volcarona's level either.
"Even if we can't win, at least let Charizard have a good fight!" Willow shouted, then quickly issued commands. "Charizard, fly up into the sky, then use Dragon Dance!"
"Roar!"
Charizard let out a mighty roar and shot into the sky, circling as it performed Dragon Dance. The move significantly boosted its speed and attack power.
As soon as Dragon Dance ended, Willow gave the next command. "Use Smokescreen at full power, then charge in with Flame Charge!"
"Roar!"
Charizard roared, spewing a thick cloud of smoke from its mouth, quickly filling the battlefield's upper airspace and cutting off Volcarona's vision.
Yet Volcarona remained completely calm.
It had full trust in its Trainer.
Besides, its control over Fire-type energy was so refined that it could easily sense any nearby fire energy—even surprise attacks.
Whoosh—
A sound broke through the air.
A crimson figure shot out from the smokescreen, its entire body wrapped in scorching flames. With the boost from Dragon Dance, Charizard dived down like a flaming meteor crashing from space, bringing immense destructive force and fiery momentum with it.
The pressure it gave off was terrifying.
"This kind of attack won't work on Volcarona," Nathan said calmly. "Volcarona, use Substitute to block it, then counter with your own Flame Charge and finish the battle."
Fire-type moves deal half damage to Fire-type Pokémon, but that doesn't mean they're harmless.
Just before Charizard's attack landed, a decoy had already appeared in front of Volcarona. Meanwhile, the real Volcarona swiftly dodged to the side.
Boom!
The substitute was instantly destroyed.
Charizard managed to stabilize itself mid-air.
But Volcarona's counterattack was already prepared.
Its wings flared, and flames surged around its body, even more intense and violent than Charizard's.
The next moment—
Volcarona launched itself at Charizard like a blazing comet, its wings stirring up a fierce wind that fanned the flames to an even more violent intensity.
BOOM!
The explosive collision slammed straight into Charizard's body. The massive force of impact sent it flying, crashing hard into the ground.
Just one hit—despite the halved damage—left Charizard severely wounded and in critical condition.
After all, Volcarona's mastery over Fire-type energy had reached a terrifying level. Combined with long-term use of energy cubes and special attack boosters, Volcarona's special attack stat had also reached a monstrous level.
"Roar…"
Charizard struggled to rise from the ground, still eager to fight.
But Nathan wasn't about to give it another chance. Volcarona's appearance meant this battle would end quickly.
"One final strike—use Flame Charge with stored power!"
As Nathan gave the command—
Volcarona's body flared up with flames once again, this time gathering power before bursting forward at an even more terrifying speed, streaking through the air like a meteor.
It struck Charizard squarely once more, sending it flying again and crashing far off into the distance.
Charizard still had the will to fight, but it could no longer stand. Finally, it collapsed to the ground, unable to battle.
"Charizard is unable to battle! The winner is Nathan!"
The referee raised his flag and announced loudly to the audience.
Cheers erupted instantly.
"Nathan is awesome!"
"Ahhh, that was amazing—Volcarona, I love you!"
"Go Poplar City! Nathan, take the championship!"
"That was so exciting! Charizard was great, but Volcarona was just on another level."
"Yeah, Willow's Smokescreen tactic was clever. I'm going to try that when I get home."
"Why don't you try learning from Volcarona instead? Its Flying and Fire-type move combos were insane."
"Yeah right. If only my Pokémon had that kind of control…"
Amid the cheers, Nathan recalled Volcarona, smiled at Willow, then turned and walked back through the contestant tunnel.
…
"That was amazing."
As soon as Nathan walked out of the tunnel, Leo came over with a look of admiration.
"It was alright. Willow's Charizard was strong too," Nathan replied with a smile.
"Oh come on, you totally crushed him," Willow chimed in, rolling her eyes as she joined them from the other side of the tunnel.
The three of them chatted as they walked over and took their seats.
Just then, a staff member approached holding a few booklets and handed one to each of them. "The competition isn't over yet, but the champion will be chosen from the remaining participants tomorrow. This booklet contains the Pokémon you can choose from as your reward if you win, so take a look in advance."
"Oh?"
Curious, Nathan took the booklet and opened it.
There weren't many pages—just four. Meaning he could only choose one from four Pokémon.
Page one: the previously announced Alolan Vulpix from the far north. Its pure white fur was incredibly cute.
Page two: a Charmander. Like the Vulpix, one of its parents was a Elite-level Pokémon—this was a requirement for the Trial Tournament's champion reward. Only Pokémon with at least one Elite-level parent could be included in the selection.
Page three: a Natu.
Page four made Nathan's eyes light up.
It was a Trapinch.
Despite the name, Trapinch wasn't a Bug-type Pokémon—it was Ground-type, with solid base stats. Its evolved form, Flygon, was an excellent Pokémon to train.
More importantly, Flygon could serve as a rideable mount. Though it couldn't fly very high, it could still fly and was a decent transportation option. Its typing was also quite good.
The only issue that gave Nathan pause was Flygon's 4x weakness to Ice.
But compared to the other three Pokémon, Trapinch was still the one he wanted most.
Vulpix and Natu were nice, but not nearly as practical. And while Charmander could eventually become a Flying-type mount, Nathan already had a Fire-type—Volcarona. Two Fire-types would make him too easy to counter in the national tournament.
After thinking for a moment, Nathan closed the booklet.
Next to him, Leo asked, "Which one do you like best?"
"I'm deciding between Trapinch and Vulpix," Nathan said thoughtfully. Honestly, he wanted both—but of course, that wasn't possible. He could only choose one that best suited his current situation and would be most helpful moving forward. After all, Nathan didn't plan to limit himself to just six Pokémon—he had plenty of time to catch others later.
"Trapinch and Vulpix, huh? Yeah, both solid choices," Leo nodded.
The three continued chatting, and time flew by.
Soon, Nathan's second match began. If he won, he'd head straight to the finals. If he lost, he'd have to fight again for a spot.
This time, his opponent was—Leo.
Nathan defeated him directly, eliminating Leo from the competition. Leo would now have to fight for third place at best.
After the final match of the day ended, Nathan didn't leave right away. He waited for Evelyn.
Evelyn had also won two in a row. Her second opponent was Willow.
When her match ended, she and Nathan met up and started discussing energy cubes.
"If you're interested, you can have my family handle the production of the energy cubes. We'll only charge a small fee, and everything you earn is still yours," Evelyn offered.
Nathan smiled and shook his head. "I'll think about it."
He knew she was sincere.
Energy cubes were highly profitable. While the Pokéball Corporation might be interested, they wouldn't try to steal it. In fact, if Nathan agreed to let them manage the energy cubes, the company would likely give up its share of the profits just to gain access to the product.
That's what the corporation really wanted.
Of course, if Nathan did go that route, they would still charge for things like labor and distribution fees.
"Well, if you decide, just let me know. Also, if you've got enough cubes in stock, you can send 3,000 of them to the address I gave you yesterday. I'll transfer the money once I get them," she said.
"No problem." Nathan gave her an "ok" hand gesture.
Three thousand energy cubes meant 3 million Pokécoins. After deducting the cost of berries, he could make over 2 million in profit.
"Alright, see you tomorrow," Evelyn said before turning to leave.
The finalists were set.
It would be him versus Evelyn.
As Nathan watched her drive off in a luxury car, escorted by her butler, he smiled helplessly, then hopped on his shared bike and rode home.
Back home, it was still early.