Pokémon: Rebron as Red, The Strongest Champion - 300

Chapter 300: Lightning Versus Flame, A Clash Between Legendary Birds

“Let us look forward to the Legendary showdown between Zapdos and Moltres!”

As soon as the announcer finished speaking, the bell rang across the battlefield.

“Moltres, use Flamethrower!” Ryden Wataru ordered first.

“Zapdos, Thunderbolt,” Red said calmly.

Moltres immediately unleashed scorching flames from its beak, shaping them into a thick pillar of fire that surged toward Zapdos.

But in terms of attack speed, how could Moltres ever compare to Zapdos?

Zapdos gave a disdainful, icy sneer. It beat its radiant wings, electricity whipping around them. In an instant, a towering lightning column formed and crashed forward.

“How is that possible?!” Ryden cried, shocked.

In Ryden’s eyes, the massive fire pillar barely held against the lightning for a moment before being shattered by Zapdos’s Thunderbolt. The lightning spearheaded straight through, nearly piercing Moltres head-on.

“Moltres, use Agility, now!” Ryden shouted urgently.

Moltres stared in fear at the incoming lightning. Thankfully, it reacted to Ryden’s warning in time, using Agility to slip away and narrowly avoid the Thunderbolt.

Bzzzt.

The very next second, the lightning column slammed into the ground. The battlefield scorched black where it struck.

“Moltres, use Ancient Power while you have the chance.”

Ryden immediately changed tactics, ordering a Rock-type move that could threaten Zapdos.

Several strange, glimmering stones appeared out of nowhere around Moltres. Under its control, they shot toward Zapdos at high speed.

“Looks like my luck is not very good…”

When Moltres failed to get the stat boost that sometimes comes with Ancient Power, Ryden shook his head with a disappointed sigh.

He had been hoping to gamble on that rare boost, raising Moltres’s Attack, Defense, Sp. Atk, Sp. Def, and Speed all at once.

Unfortunately, that was wishful thinking. Luck like that was never something you could count on.

“Zapdos, use Thunderbolt again.”

On Red’s command, Zapdos released another surge of high-voltage electricity. It condensed into a massive lightning serpent and tore straight through the incoming Ancient Power, shattering the stones into fragments that clattered onto the field.

“What terrifying electric damage. Zapdos has gotten even stronger!” Gary said in amazement from the stands.

“That makes sense. It was once revered by ancient people as the Thunder God. Its control over electricity is naturally extraordinary,” Leaf agreed, nodding.

“As expected of big bro’s Zapdos!” Ash said excitedly.

“Red really is Pallet Town’s rising star,” Professor Oak said with a heartfelt sigh.

“Moltres, use Heat Wave!” Ryden ordered quickly, seeing Thunderbolt bearing down again.

Bang.

Moltres beat its flame-wreathed wings with full force, turning fire into a scorching gale. Heat Wave collided with the incoming electricity, and both attacks broke apart, neutralizing each other.

“Use Agility, then chain into Wild Charge,” Red said evenly.

In Moltres’s vision, Zapdos’s body blurred. In the next instant, it was behind Moltres, slamming into it with an electric-coated body.

Moltres was jolted by the electricity on impact, its body taking damage. Fortunately, Wild Charge could not inflict paralysis.

After landing the hit, Zapdos pulled back with smug ease, also avoiding the flames Moltres lashed out in fury.

Zapdos took recoil damage equal to a quarter of the attack, but it did not seem affected at all. Moltres, however, looked strained and kept gasping for breath.

“Your strength is getting weaker and weaker,” Zapdos said with a regretful shake of its head, clearly dissatisfied with Moltres’s performance.

“You arrogant bastard!” Moltres roared, then fired back with Fire Blast.

A searing blaze erupted from Moltres’s beak, taking the shape of a blazing kanji-like burst as it surged toward Zapdos.

“Zap Cannon.”

Zapdos gathered high-voltage electricity around its body, compressing it near its beak into a thick, brutal Zap Cannon shot.

With Zapdos’s control, the electric blast fired straight into the approaching Fire Blast.

In the brief clash, Zap Cannon broke through the Fire Blast. The remaining force kept pushing forward toward Moltres.

“Moltres, Flamethrower again!”

Moltres blasted a stream of fire to destroy the leftover Zap Cannon. The collision triggered a violent explosion that surged upward, shaking even the highest space over the arena.

When the black smoke finally cleared, Zapdos’s figure had already vanished from its previous position.

“Moltres, watch behind you! Use Agility to dodge!” Ryden shouted in panic.

Right as he spoke, the crackling sound of electricity rose behind Moltres.

Under Moltres’s horrified gaze, several strange, glimmering stones floated into existence around Zapdos. Under Zapdos’s control, they shot straight into Moltres.

Bang.

Ancient Power struck repeatedly. Moltres cried out in agony and could no longer maintain flight, dropping heavily to the ground.

After all, Rock-type damage against Moltres was a quadruple weakness.

Seeing Moltres badly hurt, Zapdos did not press the advantage. Instead, it hovered above with a victor’s posture, looking down at Moltres lying on the field.

“Moltres, use Roost, now!”

Ryden seized the moment while Moltres was grounded.

Moltres took a deep breath, forcing its body to relax. Its strength returned as it recovered half of its stamina.

“Sky Attack.”

As soon as Red spoke, Zapdos dove straight down. Golden energy flared around its body as it launched Sky Attack.

“Moltres, use Burn Up!” Ryden shouted urgently.

Moltres’s flames boiled violently. It released a massive pillar of fire to meet Zapdos head-on.

“Interesting,” Zapdos said with a light laugh.

It beat its electric-wreathed wings harder. The golden aura swelled dramatically. In Moltres’s terrified gaze, Zapdos broke through the massive fire pillar and slammed into Moltres, dealing immense damage.

“Press the advantage with Ancient Power.”

At Red’s command, hard stones shimmering with strange light gathered around Zapdos again. Under its control, they slammed into Moltres in quick succession.

Within moments, Moltres collapsed, too injured to continue.

“Moltres is unable to battle!”

The referee announced regretfully. No one expected the Indigo Conference’s sacred flame to fall like this to the Thunder God.

Some spectators shook their heads in disappointment, but their feelings eased slightly. At least Moltres had lost to another of the three Legendary birds, Zapdos.