Pokémon: Rebron as Red, The Strongest Champion - 291

Chapter 291: Ash’s Charizard Advances

“Roar!”

The moment it appeared, Charizard let out a fierce roar, its presence immediately suppressing Leaf’s Venusaur.

Venusaur stared grimly at the Charizard before it. This was an absolute type disadvantage. Venusaur didn’t dare make the first move.

“So it finally shows up—Ash’s Charizard,” Leaf said carefully.

(As long as I defeat Charizard, I can win this match.)

In Leaf’s view, the biggest problem in Ash’s lineup was Charizard. She had to proceed with caution.

“Venusaur, use Sunny Day,” Leaf ordered.

To prevent Venusaur from starting at a disadvantage, Leaf needed to change the battlefield conditions at once.

Venusaur roared toward the sky, and the flower on its back released a glowing orb that shot upward. In moments, the battlefield transformed.

The harsh sunlight made many spectators squint in discomfort. Some less robust onlookers had sweat pouring down their faces, nearly fainting from the sudden heat.

At that moment, the long-absent Team Rocket trio appeared again. This time, they weren’t causing trouble—they were selling parasols to the crowd to make a tidy profit.

It was unclear how the trio would end up squandering this income later.

“Feels great~” x3

Flush with fresh cash, the Team Rocket trio beamed. Chasing Pikachu every day wasn’t nearly as fun as raking in money like this.

“Charizard, use Flamethrower!”

Even if he didn’t fully understand Leaf’s reasoning, Ash gave the command instantly. He aimed to take down Venusaur as quickly as possible.

(This really does feel amazing… thank goodness for big bro’s help!)

Even now, Ash felt like he was in a dream. The Charizard that had once ignored him was now following his commands. It was incredible.

To earn Charizard’s acknowledgment, Ash had worked hard—at the very least, his battle knowledge was far better than before.

At Ash’s command, Charizard opened its mouth and blasted a terrifying pillar of flame straight toward Venusaur, its momentum like a wave that would engulf Venusaur whole.

“Venusaur, use Solar Beam now,” Leaf said calmly.

Unfazed by the approaching inferno, Venusaur rapidly absorbed the sunlight and gathered it at the flower’s core. A moment later, it unleashed a powerful Solar Beam right into the heart of the flames.

With Sunny Day active, Venusaur could fire Solar Beam instantly, avoiding being swallowed by Charizard’s blaze.

Bang!

Flamethrower and Solar Beam detonated at the center of the field. The shockwave made both Charizard and Venusaur stagger back.

(That was close… but we blocked it.)

Leaf looked at Ash’s Charizard in surprise. She hadn’t expected it to be this strong.

“Return, Venusaur.”

Knowing Venusaur couldn’t beat Charizard, Leaf recalled it and immediately sent out her next Pokémon.

“I’m counting on you, Wigglytuff!”

White light faded, and Wigglytuff fixed its determined gaze on Charizard. Its mission this round was to drain Charizard’s stamina as much as possible.

“Charizard, use Flamethrower again!”

“Wigglytuff, use Thunderbolt!”

Ash and Leaf issued their orders in unison.

Charizard fired a stream of intense flames, shaping into a thick pillar that surged toward Wigglytuff.

Wigglytuff refused to back down. It released a powerful surge of electricity, sending a twisting thunderbolt straight into the oncoming flames.

“Looks like Leaf wants a few of her Pokémon to wear down Charizard, so her ace Nidoqueen can finish it,” Gary analyzed from the stands. It was indeed the only way to beat Ash—Venusaur alone couldn’t defeat Charizard.

“Ash still picked the wrong lineup…” Brock said helplessly.

Neither Pikachu, Primeape, nor Muk had any real advantage against Nidoqueen, and none could inflict sustained, effective damage. That was why Leaf kept Nidoqueen as her final trump card.

Another explosion shook the field. Charizard’s flames overwhelmed and consumed the electricity, surging onward toward Wigglytuff.

“Wigglytuff, dodge!” Leaf called urgently.

Wigglytuff inhaled deeply and used its natural elastic ability to inflate like a balloon. With well-timed bounces, it deftly avoided the flame pillar.

“Charizard, press in with Drago—no, use Wing Attack.”

Thanks to a paper Red had published, Ash remembered Wigglytuff was a Fairy-type. Dragon-type moves would be useless, so he adjusted.

Charizard beat its massive wings and lunged at the floating Wigglytuff. With a sharp cry from Wigglytuff, Charizard’s glowing wings slammed into it, knocking it from the air.

“Wigglytuff, use Charm!”

Seeing Wigglytuff struggle to rise, Leaf understood its resolve and chose not to recall it. Wigglytuff looked up pitifully at the circling Charizard, its cute eyes leaving Charizard stunned for a moment, as if doubting whether it had gone too far.

“Wigglytuff, Thunderbolt, now!” Leaf commanded.

A fierce surge of electricity burst from Wigglytuff and struck Charizard midair.

“Roar!”

Charizard cried out in pain. The hit snapped it back to reality—this Wigglytuff was only playing cute. It could not show mercy.

“Charizard, Flamethrower—now!”

Charizard’s fury exploded from its jaws, a thick pillar of fire engulfing Wigglytuff entirely.

“Wigglytuff!”

Leaf shouted, panic in her voice.

Under everyone’s gaze, Wigglytuff lay charred on the ground.

“Wigglytuff is unable to battle!” the referee announced.

“Return, Wigglytuff. I’m counting on you, Clefable!”

After recalling Wigglytuff, Leaf sent out Clefable.

White light faded. The pink Clefable landed lightly on the field.

“Clefable, use Moonblast.”

A moon sigil shimmered above Clefable. It thrust both hands forward and unleashed a powerful pink beam at Charizard.

“Charizard, dodge!” Ash yelled.

But the beam came too fast. Still reeling from the electric hit earlier, Charizard couldn’t react in time and took the full force of Moonblast. Fortunately, the Fairy-type attack failed to deal effective damage to Charizard.

Seeing Charizard steady itself, Ash let out a quiet breath. Charizard was his final trump card. It could not fall easily.