VS Leon (4)

Leon could not understand how someone could fight this dirty! Toxic and Curse were one thing, but why was there Hypnosis too? Even if the Toxic meant Hypnosis would only last a short time, once it landed, the opponent could only be slaughtered at will!

"Kehehe~ Kehehe~"

Haunter waved both hands, releasing streams of invisible light with each motion. Charmeleon had nowhere to dodge; his eyelids grew heavier and his body began to sway.

"Finish it with Hex!"

Seeing Charmeleon's body begin to sway, Blake knew he could not wait any longer. With two negative conditions afflicting him, Charmeleon would have a hard time resisting sleep.

With the opponent unable to focus, attacking now was the best choice.

"Kehe!"

Purple-black mist poured from Haunter's body, engulfing Charmeleon.

"Roar!"

Suddenly, Charmeleon's eyes sharpened, and he broke free of Hypnosis at an unimaginable speed.

"Charmeleon! Show them our fighting spirit! Maximum power! Overheat!"

"Roar!"

A red glow erupted all over Charmeleon's body.

The next moment, unimaginably violent flames burst from Charmeleon's mouth and collided with the purple-black mist.

"Haunter! Put more power into it!"

"Charmeleon! Hold on!"

Both sides were giving it everything now. For the first time, Haunter was unleashing his full power, and the purple-black mist around him had deepened until it was nearly ink-black.

Charmeleon refused to yield as well. This was the hardest battle he had ever fought.

His opponent was not much stronger overall, unlike Urshifu at Master Ma's place, who had completely overwhelmed him. Haunter had suppressed him from beginning to end through combinations of strange and unusual moves.

Charmeleon was unwilling to accept it. Being denied a chance for a direct clash left him feeling stifled, yet he had to admit that it was impressive.

Playing to one's strengths and avoiding one's weaknesses was not cowardice, but wisdom. Still, Charmeleon wanted a head-on clash just once, and now was the perfect opportunity.

"ROAR!!!"

Charmeleon's roar grew louder and louder. I want to win! I want to become stronger!

With that thought, a white light burst from Charmeleon's body the very next moment.

"Haunter! Stop!"

The moment Blake saw the white light surrounding Charmeleon, he immediately understood what was happening. Evolution!

An attack at this moment could very likely cause irreversible damage to Charmeleon.

"Kehe! Σ(⊙▽⊙a"

Haunter noticed the problem as well and hurriedly redirected Hex's mist elsewhere, sending it skimming past Charmeleon's body.

"Charmeleon... evolved!"

Leon stared at Charmeleon, glowing white all over, and exclaimed in delight.

"CHAR!!!"

With an enraged roar, a towering Charizard far larger than an ordinary one appeared on the arena.

Flames far more powerful than before erupted from his mouth.

"Charmeleon—no, Charizard! You evolved! Hahahahaha!"

Leon excitedly ran onto the field and threw his arms around the evolved Charizard.

"Char!"

Charizard gave Leon a thumbs-up.

But before he could do anything else, his expression suddenly changed as pain surged through him. The newly evolved Charizard went limp and dropped to his knees.

"It's the Toxic. Use the medicine first."

Blake ran over. This battle was already over; treating Charizard came first.

"Thank you."

Leon did not stand on ceremony. He took the antidote and poured it down Charizard's throat.

Only then did Charizard's complexion improve somewhat.

Then Blake placed a hand on Charizard's body. As purple light glowed from his hand, the lingering effects of Curse on Charizard were removed as well.

"Kehe, kehe (.・＿・.)ﾉ I'm sorry~"

Haunter floated over to Charizard's side and apologized awkwardly.

"Char—"

Charizard shook his head, indicating that both sides had fought with all their strength, so there was nothing to apologize for.

"We lost this match. If you hadn't had Haunter redirect his attack, that blow would have ended the battle."

"Although Charizard regained some stamina through evolving, it clearly wasn't enough for him to keep going."

"So I'll count this round as my loss."

Leon readily admitted defeat without the slightest hesitation. Rather than being discouraged by the loss, he seemed even more excited.

"It could also be considered a draw. Haunter doesn't have the strength to fight anymore."

Blake looked at Haunter. The previous battle had drained nearly all of Haunter's stamina.

After all, Haunter's evolutionary line was not known for endurance. Combined with Substitute and Curse, both moves that damaged himself, Haunter was at the end of his rope as well.

"No. A loss is a loss."

"If we continued, Haunter could still hold on for a while, but Charizard wouldn't be able to withstand another eruption of Curse and Toxic."

"By the rules, I've indeed already lost."

Leon shook his head. He was not someone who refused to acknowledge defeat. A loss was a loss.

"However, you still have two Pokémon that can battle, while I only have this little guy left. So let's begin our final battle."

Blake took out his last Poké Ball.

"That's right. Let's have our final battle. Just as we agreed, I'll fight without holding anything back!"

Leon nodded.

"That's right. Let this little guy learn that there's always someone stronger."

The most important reason Blake had accepted this battle was to make Dreepy recognize his own shortcomings.

Although he was a pseudo-legendary Pokémon, a pseudo-legendary that had not evolved to its final form had very limited ability to protect himself, especially in his base form.

While Dreepy had inherited nearly all his inherited moves, having moves did not mean he knew how to use them properly.

He still needed training, but the playful Dreepy had no desire to train at all.

Making him recognize his shortcomings and turn shame into motivation was Blake's true purpose in accepting this battle.

As for defeating Leon's ace, that was simply an unexpected bonus.

"Then come on! Get back out there! Thwackey!"

"Thwack!" Thwackey took the field again, though his expression was much more cautious this time.

"Dreepy, welcome to your first battle!"

"Dree?"

Dreepy looked curiously at Thwackey across from him, seeming as though he wanted to play together.

"Take the initiative! Thwackey! Use Knock Off!"

"Dodge it! Double Team!"

"Dree!"

Dreepy was startled by the incoming attack. His Double Team was a step too slow, and Thwackey smacked him straight to the ground.

Clearly, his first battle was not off to a good start.