Steven wants to battle his Charizard?
Ash nodded.
Challenging a champion—no, not just any champion. Steven Stone, the forr Champion of Hoenn, was a man whose strength rivaled or even surpassed Wallace's.
"Alright, I'd like to see just how far Charizard's power has grown!"
"Rooaaar!"
Charizard let out a thunderous roar, wings flaring wide as it soared into the sky, stirring up powerful gusts of wind.
"Pika Pika!"
"Snorlax!"
"Pidgeot!"
Imdiately, Pikachu, Snorlax, Pidgeot, and the rest of Ash's Pokémon began cheering for Charizard.
Just monts ago, Charizard had been feasting, making it difficult for Steven to gauge its strength. But now, as it took to the skies, Steven's eyes glead with admiration.
This Charizard… its level was incredibly high!
"Very well, but let's keep this to a friendly match. I still have an important mission ahead, and I'll need tagross for it. Let's head to the battle grounds in the back mountains—it's a specialized training field I use. Co out, tagross! Let's go!"
With a flash of light, Steven's trusted partner appeared—a shining, platinum-colored tagross.
"A shiny tagross?!"
Anabel's eyes widened as she observed it closely. This was an opportunity she couldn't pass up—after all, she had a tagross of her own.
On the battlefield, Charizard and tagross locked eyes, sparks of anticipation crackling between them.
Level 80.
Ash felt the pressure instantly.
An 80-level Pokémon was a force to be reckoned with. Reaching that threshold marked an evolutionary leap in power—strength, endurance, speed, and even energy reserves all surged dramatically.
This was the realm of legendary Pokémon.
"Charizard, use Dragon Dance!"
First things first—boost speed and attack!
"A wise move. tagross, use Psychic!"
Steven snapped his fingers, and tagross's tallic X-shaped forehead glowed an eerie blue.
Its red eyes shimred as psychic energy surged forward.
"A powerful tagross indeed, but my Charizard is no ordinary Pokémon! Psychic won't hold it down! Charizard, Flare Blitz!"
"ROOOAARRR!!!"
tagross attempted to restrain Charizard with its psychic force, but Charizard roared and broke free with sheer willpower.
Blazing flas erupted around Charizard's body as it charged forward with unstoppable montum!
"Impressive. tagross, et it head-on—use Zen Headbutt!"
Steven commanded, and tagross's entire body glowed deep blue as it lunged forward to collide with Charizard.
Anabel watched without blinking.
Both Pokémon were incredibly strong—this was a battle at the peak of Champion level!
Sizzle…
BOOM!!!
Powerful psychic energy and scorching flas clashed, creating a deafening explosion!
tagross slid backward—Charizard had the slight advantage due to type effectiveness and its prior stat boost.
But Flare Blitz inflicted recoil damage on Charizard as well.
"Good! Your Charizard has the edge in a direct clash. tagross, let's turn up the intensity—use Heavy Slam!"
Steven's voice carried excitent—this battle was exhilarating!
"tagross!"
tagross, covered in residual flas, let out a deep, tallic growl. Its imnse weight made Heavy Slam a devastating move.
Ash clenched his fists.
This was Steven Stone—the strongest Hoenn Champion. And right now, he and Charizard were battling him on equal ground!
"Then let's go all out! Charizard, use Shadow Claw!"
tagross charged forward, its massive body prepared to crush Charizard with sheer force.
But Charizard was ready.
With glowing purple claws, it slashed across tagross's steel hide—a super-effective hit!
However, Charizard wasn't strong enough to completely overpower tagross in raw physical strength.
BAM!
tagross slamd into Charizard's chest, sending it skidding backward.
"Now's our chance! tagross, Bullet Punch!"
Steven seized the opportunity, commanding tagross to launch an imdiate high-speed strike.
Ash was waiting for this mont.
BOOM!
Right before Bullet Punch landed, tagross's entire body suddenly erupted in flas!
"That's it! Charizard, now! Blast Burn!"
Ash's eyes glead with excitent. This was exactly what he had planned for!
Burn status.
Using Flare Blitz early on increased the chances of inflicting a burn on tagross, especially when enhanced by Charizard's held Charcoal.
The mont tagross suffered from the burn, its physical attacks lost potency.
Charizard rushed forward, summoning a massive inferno in the shape of a fiery kanji symbol.
The burning explosion engulfed tagross.
BOOM!!!
The flas dissipated, and tagross was left covered in black soot, struggling to stand.
"Charizard, one more—"
"That's enough."
Ash: ???
Charizard: ???
Right in the heat of battle, Steven suddenly called off the match.
"Ash, I only wanted to gauge your and Charizard's current strength. I see it now. If I don't go all out, I have no guarantee of victory. But I still need tagross for an upcoming mission, so let's save our true battle for another ti."
Mission?
So even though he had stepped down as Hoenn's Champion, Steven was still carrying out secret responsibilities?
"In that case, Mr. Steven, I'll be heading to the Sinnoh region soon. I'll be competing in the Lily of the Valley Conference."
Ash nodded in understanding.
"Good. Keep in touch, Ash. Your strength is incredible. I have a feeling the Pokémon League will take notice of you soon—they might entrust you with sothing even greater."
Entrust with sothing?
Ash frowned slightly—he didn't like the idea of being tied down by official duties.
Steven extended his hand, and Ash firmly shook it.
Charizard, anwhile, exchanged a fierce stare with tagross—this wasn't over.
Next ti, they would finish what they started.
Author's Note:
Steven's tagross is ridiculously strong, especially in certain adaptations where it even overpowered Alain's ga Charizard X. But for now, this tagross isn't quite at that level yet.
Next, Ash will return to Pallet Town for a short while before embarking on the Sinnoh arc!
Let's get ready for Sinnoh's epic battles!
--------------
T/N:
Access 40 Chapters in Advance on my
P@treon: [email protected]/PokePals
Reviews
All reviews (0)