Pokémon: Rebron as Red, The Strongest Champion - 294

Chapter 294: Leaf Advances, Red’s Irritating Semifinal Win

“Venusaur, one last Power Whip!”

Venusaur’s thick green vines lashed out in a single, heavy strike, whipping straight toward the oncoming Pikachu.

Bang!

Wreathed in lightning from Volt Tackle, Pikachu tore straight through the wall of vines and slammed its small body into Venusaur’s chest with everything it had, dealing heavy damage.

“Venaaaar!”

Venusaur cried out in pain under the force of Pikachu’s desperate charge.

“Pika… chu…”

Seeing the hurt it had inflicted, Pikachu’s lips curled into the faintest victor’s smile. Then its body gave out, and it collapsed where it stood.

Realizing Pikachu could no longer battle, Venusaur forced its temper down. It retracted its extended vines and willingly gave up its chance to strike the fallen opponent.

“Pikachu is unable to battle!” the referee declared.

Most of the spectators had already begun to regard Leaf as the winner, but no one tried to stop the match. That silence was the greatest respect they could offer both Ash and Leaf.

“Then my last hope is you, Charizard!”

Ash hurled his Poké Ball with all his strength.

White light burst, and Charizard beat its wings, soaring into the air to glare down at Venusaur from above.

At that moment, the jagged stones planted around the battlefield lifted again, drawn by an eerie force as they shot up toward Charizard.

“Charizard, Dragon Claw, now!”

Ash shouted, panic edging his voice.

Charizard roared and slashed out with its razor-sharp claws, smashing as many incoming stones as it could. Even so, it could not block the barrage from every angle and took the Stealth Rock damage head-on, the Rock-type move tearing into its quadruple weakness.

Breathing hard from the impact, Charizard steadied itself in the air.

“Charizard, use Flamethrower!”

After a brief reset, Charizard opened its jaws and spat a brutal stream of fire down at Venusaur, the thick flame roaring across the field.

“Venusaur, Power Whip to block it!”

Leaf shouted, surprised that Charizard still had the strength to attack.

Venusaur’s thick vine swung up to intercept the flames, but the fire consumed it almost instantly. The blazing pillar then smashed into Venusaur’s body, landing a super-effective hit.

“Venaaaar!”

Venusaur struggled to shake off the flames licking across its back, its skin charred as it glared up at the smug Charizard circling overhead.

“You did great, Venusaur. I will leave the rest to Nidoqueen.”

Leaf withdrew Venusaur and immediately sent out her next Pokémon.

“Nidoqueen, let’s go!”

White light faded to reveal Nidoqueen, full of energy and ready to fight.

“Nidoqueen, Rock Slide!”

“Charizard, Dragon Claw!”

Sharp stones flew up toward Charizard. It dove straight into them, claws glowing green as it shredded the incoming Rock Slide one blade at a time.

“Nidoqueen, aim for Charizard’s wings and use Ice Beam!”

A beam of freezing light fired from Nidoqueen’s mouth and struck Charizard’s wings. With its flight impeded, Charizard lost lift and crashed back down to the field.

“Nidoqueen, Iron Tail.”

“Charizard, Dragon Claw again!”

Nidoqueen charged, swinging her thick silver tail toward Charizard. Charizard met it with glowing claws, managing to block the heavy blow, though its arms shook from the impact.

“Follow up with Double Kick,” Leaf pressed.

Nidoqueen shoved Charizard away, then pivoted and hammered its body with her powerful legs. Charizard refused to simply take it, slashing a Dragon Claw across Nidoqueen’s torso at close range to salvage its pride.

But the prolonged battle had drained nearly all of Charizard’s stamina. It no longer had the strength to withstand Nidoqueen’s relentless assault.

“Charizard, return…”

Ash lifted his Poké Ball. He wanted to win, but he could clearly see Charizard’s condition and chose to concede early.

“Rooaaar!”

Charizard turned and roared furiously at him, clearly displeased by the idea.

In Charizard’s view, even badly injured, it would fight Nidoqueen to the very end.

“Charizard…”

Only then did Ash truly understand Charizard’s resolve.

“Okay. Charizard, then we fight to the end. Let’s pour everything into Flamethrower!”

Charizard inhaled deeply and blasted a torrent of searing fire toward Nidoqueen, the flames thickening into a pillar that looked ready to swallow everything in its path.

“Nidoqueen, meet it with Rock Slide!”

Wanting to honor Ash and Charizard’s determination, Leaf shouted the command with matching fervor.

The sharp stones slammed into the blazing fire. For a heartbeat, the two attacks warred violently.

Then, to the shock of most of the crowd, Charizard’s Flamethrower actually pushed through the Rock Slide, forcing it back and surging toward Nidoqueen.

“So this is Ash and Charizard’s resolve…” Leaf said softly, a hint of admiration in her eyes.

The clash continued, but suddenly the towering column of flame began to flicker and shrink, dwindling to a thin tongue of fire.

Nidoqueen realized at once that Charizard’s strength had simply reached its limit. She immediately unleashed another Rock Slide, hurling a wave of jagged stones that crashed into Charizard’s exhausted body.

“Rooaaar…”

Charizard let out a final, unwilling roar as it collapsed, too injured to rise again.

“Charizard is unable to battle. The winner of this match is Leaf from Pallet Town!”

Seeing Charizard fall, the referee announced the result.

Indigo League – Main Stadium – Semifinals

The next day.

It was time for Red’s semifinal match. This was a crucial step toward the finals, yet the spectators looked more annoyed than excited.

The reason was simple: Red’s opponent, Yohei, still had not appeared. He seemed to be actively avoiding their match, leaving Red, who had arrived on time and was eager to battle, quietly simmering with irritation.

“This is so weird. It is the semifinals. How can Yohei be two hours late? Even if there was some accident, he should have notified the League officials beforehand,” Leaf said from the stands, frowning. She was angry on Red’s behalf. Someone had actually kept a battle maniac like Red waiting for this long.

“I think I know why…” Gary said coolly. He had already figured out Yohei’s mindset. The guy was likely trying to avoid fighting Red so he could keep his main team fresh for the third-place match.

“If that is really what he is doing, that is just dirty!” Ash said angrily, condemning Yohei’s sportsmanship.

“It is disgusting, sure, but it does not technically break any League rules. It is just a total lack of competitive spirit. The League cannot punish him for that,” Brock said with a sigh, doing his best to calm Ash down.

“My apologies, Lord Red. I did not expect your semifinal match to end so hastily,” the referee said as he approached Red. Having seen many tournaments, he understood perfectly well what Yohei was trying to pull. He bowed deeply in apology.

“It is fine. I just did not expect someone who made it to the semifinals to be this cowardly,” Red said with a helpless smile, more resigned than angry.

“Since contestant Yohei has failed to appear, the League will consider this a forfeit. As such, the result of this match is a win by default for Lord Red!”

The referee made the announcement under a rain of boos and curses from the stands.

“What a shame. Looks like all six of my Pokémon will have to be saved for that unlucky guy, Yulongnan,” Red said lightly as he turned and walked off the field.

When the TV crews hurried over, Red refused all interviews. He was in no mood to talk.