"Shelgon!!!" Liu Qing had never expected Rhydon's strike to split the battlefield apart. Watching Shelgon fall toward the magma, he let out a heart-wrenching cry. Memories of their journey together flooded his mind, filling him with anguish. Suddenly, a possibility flashed through his mind, and he hurriedly shouted, "Shelgon, haven't you always wanted to fly? Now's the time! Evolve!!!"
"Roar!" Shelgon had already closed its eyes and resigned itself to death, but Liu Qing's words rekindled its lifelong desire to fly. With a mighty roar, its entire body erupted in brilliant white light just before the magma could swallow it. Its body gradually lengthened, and a pair of enormous wings sprouted from its sides. When the light faded, a huge Salamence appeared, its body blue, its belly covered in white armor, and its wings blood-red. A single beat of its wings whipped up a whirlwind, carrying it swiftly back over the battlefield. It unleashed a thunderous roar at Rhydon, spreading an overwhelming pressure that seemed to bring the very air to a standstill.
"That's wonderful, Salamence!" Tears glimmered at the corners of Liu Qing's eyes. Thankfully, Shelgon had already been on the verge of evolving for some time. He had only held it back because he wanted it to master Draco Meteor first. Otherwise, he would never have forgiven himself.
"Roar!" Salamence clearly sensed Liu Qing's concern. It turned back to roar at him, then faced Rhydon, which had already climbed back to its feet.
"I never expected it to evolve at the very last moment." Blaine pointed toward the magma as he spoke. "Actually, even if Shelgon had fallen in, its life wouldn't have been in danger. Magmar was down there waiting to catch it."
Liu Qing looked down and, sure enough, saw a Magmar slowly emerging from the magma. He nodded. "Even though Salamence escaped on its own, I still owe you my thanks."
"Ha ha, don't worry about it. Now, let's continue the battle," Blaine said with a laugh. "Rhydon, attack with Stone Edge!"
"Roar!" Rhydon bellowed, and two intersecting bands of white light appeared around its body, spinning rapidly. They then transformed into countless stones that shot toward Salamence in the air.
"Roar!" Before Liu Qing could give an order, Salamence roared, and a rapidly spinning purple aura enveloped its entire body. It dodged Stone Edge, then slammed into Rhydon, sending it flying. Rhydon hit the ground and slid some distance before finally coming to a stop, unable to battle.
"Giga Impact!" Today really was full of pleasant surprises. Not only had Salamence evolved, it had also learned the Ultimate Move, Giga Impact, all on its own.
"Return, Rhydon." Blaine recalled Rhydon, then addressed Liu Qing. "According to the battle rules, you've won two rounds and earned your Badge. However, I still have my strongest Pokémon, Magmar. Whether you challenge it is up to you."
"Of course I will. And I'm going to challenge it with a Fire-type Pokémon, too." This was an excellent training opportunity, and Liu Qing certainly wasn't going to pass it up. He immediately recalled Salamence, took out another Poké Ball, and threw it. "Go, Arcanine!"
"Hmm, there's actually one more condition. If you lose the third round, I won't award you the Gym Badge." Blaine was a little surprised by Liu Qing's ready acceptance, but he still laid out his condition. "So, do you still want to challenge me?"
"Of course, Blaine. I don't challenge Gyms just to collect Badges. I do it for the chance to train," Liu Qing said frankly.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Blaine burst into delighted laughter. "Good, good! The younger generation really is formidable. Come out, Magmar!"
At Blaine's command, Magmar sprang out of the magma, radiating terrifying heat, and landed on the battlefield. Even the rocky ground beneath it glowed red-hot, as though it were about to melt.
"Magmar, Flamethrower!" Blaine gave the first command.
"Arcanine, Fire Blast Flame Wheel!" Liu Qing's order followed right after.
Upon hearing its command, Magmar breathed out a stream of terrifyingly hot flames that roared toward Arcanine. Arcanine faced the oncoming fire without fear, opening its mouth to spit out flames of its own. They formed a huge star-shaped Fire Blast in front of it, and it used Flame Wheel, placing itself right in the center. At the same time, it absorbed both Fire Blast's flames and the fire pouring toward it from Magmar. The entire Flame Wheel rapidly swelled at a rate visible to the naked eye.
"Oh no, it has Flash Fire." Seeing this, Blaine immediately recognized Arcanine's Ability and hurriedly shouted, "Magmar, stop!"
"It's too late! Arcanine, charge!" Despite the enormous Flame Wheel, which measured at least six or seven meters across, Liu Qing wasn't entirely satisfied. It was certainly big, but its firepower was too spread out. If it could shrink to the size of Arcanine itself, the power of the whole Flame Wheel would probably multiply several times over. But now wasn't the time to consider that. He ordered Arcanine to charge straight at Magmar.
"Dodge it, quick!" Faced with that terrifying Flame Wheel, even Blaine didn't dare let Magmar take it head-on. He hurriedly ordered it to evade.
Unfortunately, Arcanine's nose was far too keen. Without even needing to look, it easily followed Magmar as it fled in every direction.
"Magmar, Flare Blitz!" Seeing that it couldn't escape, Blaine abandoned evasion and ordered an attack.
On the battlefield, Magmar stopped fleeing at Blaine's command. Blue flames instantly erupted over its body, and it charged straight at Arcanine.
Boom! With a tremendous crash, Flame Wheel and Flare Blitz collided. One had more potent flames, while the other's flames were weaker but far greater in quantity. Neither came out ahead. The flames surrounding both Pokémon scattered, and the enormous impact hurled them backward.
"Arcanine, Bulldoze!" Since Arcanine was already airborne and falling, Liu Qing wasn't about to waste the opportunity. He immediately shouted his command.
This is bad! Hearing Liu Qing's order, Blaine hurriedly shouted, "Magmar, use Fire Punch on the ground!"
At Liu Qing's command, Arcanine let out a mighty roar and slammed into the ground. A powerful shock wave swept up the dust and spread outward from it. Just as Magmar was about to land, however, the recoil from Flare Blitz suddenly struck. Blue sparks flashed across its body, and it gave a muffled groan, missing the best chance to use Fire Punch. It landed and was hit by Bulldoze, its face contorting in pain.
"Thunder Fang!" Following Bulldoze with a close-range attack had practically become second nature to Arcanine. Before Liu Qing even gave the order, it had already run up beside Magmar. Right on cue, it sank its teeth into Magmar, drawing an immediate scream of pain.
"Break free! Iron Tail!" Although Flare Blitz's recoil had allowed Liu Qing to land a string of attacks, Blaine still countered swiftly.
As expected of Blaine's mainstay, Magmar unleashed Iron Tail the instant the order came. Arcanine had already let go, but before it could get away, the tail swept it aside. Fortunately, Magmar had used the move to escape Thunder Fang, and the strength it had gathered in its haste wasn't particularly great. Arcanine took little damage and quickly stopped its backward slide.
"Once more, Bulldoze!" Liu Qing shouted again.
"Magmar, jump into the air!" Aside from jumping into the air, the only way to counter Bulldoze was with moves such as Bulldoze or Earthquake. Magmar knew neither, leaving it no choice but to jump.
Unfortunately, Blaine failed to notice that Magmar had flinched. It didn't follow his command, and under Arcanine's Bulldoze attack, it held on only briefly before collapsing unconscious.
"Thanks for all your hard work, Magmar!" Blaine walked onto the battlefield and stroked Magmar's head, then took out a Poké Ball and recalled it. Afterward, he approached Liu Qing, who was praising Arcanine.
"Blaine!" Liu Qing called as he looked up and saw him approaching.
"It's been a long time since I've experienced such a wonderful battle. Young man, this Crimson Badge is yours." As he spoke, Blaine placed a flame-shaped, deep crimson Badge in Liu Qing's hand.
"Thank you." Liu Qing accepted the Badge, took his Badge Case out of his shoulder bag, opened it, and placed the Badge inside.
"Oh? I see you've already qualified for the Pokémon League," Blaine said with a smile as he looked at the Badges in the case.
"Heh, yes. It's all thanks to my Pokémon's hard work. Whenever I see these Badges, I remember how they looked in battle," Liu Qing said proudly.
"Ha ha, I knew I was right about you. You're an outstanding Trainer." Blaine wholeheartedly approved of Liu Qing's words. "I'm sure you'll achieve excellent results at the Pokémon League Conference, too!"
"Yes, Blaine. I'm traveling with the goal of becoming the League Champion!" Liu Qing said confidently with a smile.
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