Pokémon: When the World Changed

Chapter 608 603: Let the Most Dazzling Flame Bloom

"Litwick?!"

"Are you kidding?!"

"How is a Litwick supposed to fight against Aegislash?!"

Seeing the Pokémon Ethan sent into battle, the spectators who were still intoxicated by the battle between Charizard and Empoleon immediately began murmuring.

In their eyes, Litwick and Aegislash simply had no point of comparison.

"It's that Litwick!"

"But even so, even if Litwick is strong, isn't it still a bit lacking to stand on this stage?"

"Could it be that during this time that Litwick has achieved some kind of breakthrough again?"

Naira observed the Litwick floating calmly on the field and then looked at Ethan's serene face; her expression became a little more serious.

Ever since she had seen the performance of that Vibrava, she already knew that she could not evaluate Ethan or his Pokémon with a conventional perspective.

Even a Vibrava had been able to display Quasi-Elite level strength; it was not impossible for a Litwick to have been trained up to the Professional level!

Under the audience's doubtful gazes, the battle began.

"Swords Dance!"

Lucas frowned slightly.

However, he also knew that Ethan and his Pokémon could not be judged by common sense.

Therefore, as soon as the battle began, he decided to make Aegislash fight with all its strength.

In its battle form, Aegislash's body began spinning rapidly, releasing streams of energy from the move Swords Dance.

"Litwick, use Substitute."

With Ethan's order, countless sparks of fire suddenly scattered in all directions.

Immediately afterward, they transformed into multiple Litwick that appeared all over the field, becoming clusters of blazing flames.

"Is that Double Team?"

"That number is incredible!"

Seeing this, the spectators showed expressions of doubt.

"No... that's not it, all those Litwick are real entities! Look around their bodies! That heat distorting the air isn't fake."

Suddenly, someone shouted among the audience, leaving the others stunned.

All those Litwick were real?

In other words... they were all clones?

But that was impossible!

Each clone requires an enormous consumption of physical and mental energy.

And there weren't dozens there, but perhaps close to a hundred clones. How could a single Litwick create so many?

Even Pokémon with extraordinary stamina would be completely exhausted after creating so many clones, much less one that was still in its initial form like Litwick.

"Look, what are those Litwick doing?!"

Suddenly, another spectator shouted in alarm.

Everyone looked and saw the Litwick begin gathering around one in particular.

Then, one after another, the Litwick transformed into flames and quickly rushed toward the central Litwick.

Like moths drawn to a flame, those fires continuously merged into the flame dancing on the head of the central Litwick, causing it to grow at an inconceivable speed.

Gradually, when all the Litwick had completely fused, a gigantic fireball several meters in diameter appeared in the air, like a blazing sun, from which terrifying energy emanated.

"Damn it, what is this?!"

"They fused, all the Litwick fused!"

"How terrifying! The pressure emitted by Litwick after the fusion is horrifying!"

"Is that still a Litwick? Is that energy something a Litwick can release?"

Seeing this scene, the spectators were speechless, disbelief reflected in their eyes.

In terms of presence, the energy now emanating from Litwick even surpassed that of Charizard when it had used Sunny Day Fire.

"This is... the Flash Fire ability!"

"No, Flash Fire alone couldn't produce this effect."

"Multiple Flash Fire!"

"Exactly. Litwick and all its clones activated the Flash Fire ability at the same time, stacking their power dozens of times; only in that way could such a powerful flame be produced."

Thinking of that possibility, Naira could not help but inhale a breath of cold air. Dozens of layers of Flash Fire stacked together... how powerful must that flame be?

The next instant, she got the answer.

Ethan spoke calmly: "Let the most dazzling flame bloom... Overheat!"

Immediately, a spiraling blaze burst violently from Litwick's mouth, turning into a sea of fire that rushed toward Aegislash on the ground.

"King's Shield!"

Lucas's expression changed slightly, and he quickly gave the command.

Aegislash spun its sword-like body and switched to its shield form. In front of it, numerous light-blue hexagons appeared one after another, assembling into a protective barrier.

Just as Aegislash finished deploying the move King's Shield, the flames descended furiously.

Boom!

The next instant, a devastating fire slammed into the barrier.

"What a terrifying attack!"

"Will Aegislash be able to withstand it?"

Feeling the magnitude of Litwick's attack, a spectator muttered uncontrollably.

"It won't withstand it?"

"Impossible. That's the move King's Shield, there's nothing it can't block."

A researcher wearing glasses adjusted his lenses and expressed his opinion.

Indeed, the move King's Shield functioned similarly to the move Protect or the move Spiky Shield, granting an almost invulnerable state when used.

Crack, crack, crack!

But just as the researcher finished speaking, a breaking sound was heard.

Before his incredulous eyes, the supposedly invincible King's Shield move shattered into pieces!

"How is this possible?"

"It must be an illusion, I must be seeing an illusion!"

"That's it! I remember that the Litwick family possesses abilities to induce hypnotic illusions."

"Exactly! It has to be an illusion; otherwise, a Litwick couldn't possibly be this strong!"

Seeing this scene, the researcher began stammering nervously, unable to accept the reality before his eyes.

However, whether he believed it or not, the referee's eyes were impartial.

Seeing Aegislash lying on the ground, defeated in a single blow by the move Overheat, the referee was stunned for a moment and then announced the result.

With the referee's voice, the entire stadium fell into absolute silence.

No one had imagined that a Litwick could step onto that stage and, moreover, win the battle with an overwhelming victory.

"I lost...?"

"Even the invincible King's Shield was destroyed?"

"This Litwick is truly terrifying."

Seeing this, Lucas felt a deep sense of helplessness.

This already went far too much against common sense.

Whether it was that Litwick or that move capable of destroying the move King's Shield, nothing seemed normal.

"It seems the gap between us is still quite large. 'The best researcher in move development'... that title really isn't exaggerated."

Shaking his head slightly, Lucas recalled the title circulating in the academic world about Ethan and sighed.

"But there is still the final battle left. This Pokémon is my strongest partner!"

Taking a deep breath, Lucas released his last Pokémon.

It was his starter Pokémon, the pseudo-legendary Metagross!

"As expected, the final opponent is him."

Ethan's expression became more serious.

Then he took out a Poké Ball and returned Litwick, who was floating in the air and panting heavily.

With the Poké Ball opening, Charizard's figure appeared once more on the field.

"Charizard again?"

Lucas frowned and directly ordered Metagross to attack.

"Charizard, endure it and use Sunny Day!"

After hearing Ethan's command, Charizard directly endured the move Psychic.

Then it spat out a fireball, covering the entire field with the move Sunny Day.

"Good work, return, Charizard."

As soon as Sunny Day appeared, Ethan withdrew Charizard.

Immediately afterward, he threw another Poké Ball, and the figure of Cacturne appeared on the field.

"Sunny Day... Cacturne."

"I see, a strategy based on weather?"

Seeing Cacturne, a Grass-type Pokémon, appear, Lucas immediately understood.

Thanks to its Dark typing, Cacturne could somewhat immunize the Psychic-type moves of Metagross.

Additionally, under Sunny Day weather, some of its Grass-type moves would receive bonuses.

In that environment, Cacturne was indeed the most suitable Pokémon to face Metagross.

"Metagross, use Flash Cannon!"

Frowning, Lucas gave the command.

Metagross responded with a deep roar, forced to abandon its preferred move to use a long-range Steel-type move.

Even so, under its powerful mental strength, the power of the move Flash Cannon was still terrifying!

"Use Ingrain and endure it head-on!"

Hearing Ethan's command, Cacturne used the move Ingrain on the spot.

Boom!

With a loud explosion, the move Flash Cannon struck directly against Cacturne, dealing damage.

However, the next moment, a faint green light spread across its body, causing its wounds to begin healing rapidly.

"Cacturne, use Rototiller!"

With another command from Ethan, countless roots began violently stirring from the ground.

In the blink of an eye, the entire soil of the field was plowed, filling with small green glimmers.

At the same time, countless roots sprouted from that fertile soil, rapidly transforming into a domain of roots.

"Root Domain!"

Finally, when Cacturne used Growth, the roots across the field expanded once more in a rampant manner, filling the entire terrain with an interwoven network of roots.

"Hey, hey! What is this?!"

"Does Ethan not have a single normal Pokémon?!"

Seeing this scene, the spectators were left dumbfounded, almost numb by now.

"With such an absolute domain like this, how is anyone supposed to fight?"

Looking at the roots that practically covered the entire field, some spectators were already shaking their heads.

"Wait! What is that?"

At that moment, a spectator suddenly shouted.

Everyone looked and saw Metagross's figure descending sharply from the sky.

With its movement, it seemed as if something invisible was pressing down on the entire field, and the roots began being crushed simultaneously under that force.

It was like something gigantic pressing down on a wheat field, bending all the stalks at the same time.

"This is... Gravity!"

Seeing the scene, Ethan's gaze tightened.

And judging by the strength of the gravity, it was clear that Metagross had trained that move for a very long time.

Without a doubt, Gravity was one of its key moves.

"So it was the move Gravity!"

"This is an extremely rare move."

"Moreover, Psychic-type moves have always been considered the most mysterious."

"I never imagined that this Metagross could master it!"

Outside the field, the spectators began discussing animatedly, their faces full of astonishment.

Crack, crack!

As the roots were crushed against the ground, continuous cracking sounds could be heard.

At the same time, Cacturne's body sank slightly, feeling the gravity applied onto it, causing its movements to become slower.

"Cacturne's Dark typing can't immunize the move Gravity?"

Ethan's expression completely changed. The situation on the field had taken a drastic turn.

Cacturne, who had originally dominated the battle thanks to the root domain, lost all its advantages due to Metagross's Gravity move and instead fell into a huge disadvantage.

(End of Chapter)