Chapter 178: Inferno!
2024-05-15 Author: Samsung Charmander (Author Name)
Charmeleon brought its claws together into a spike and thrust it out mercilessly.
Ariados, in turn, crossed its two sharp, poisonous claws and slashed out fiercely.
"Clang!"
"Clang!!"
"Clang!!"
In an instant, their moves clashed back and forth several times. The spike and claws collided frantically in the air, emitting bursts of sound like metal being cut and hacked. Purple poison energy and black dark-type energy splattered and scattered with every collision, filling the air with violent residual energy.
"Hiss..."
"Roar."
After clashing for seven or eight consecutive exchanges, both retreated several steps simultaneously. It was an even match, but the high-intensity, continuous attacks required a pause to catch their breath.
"Roar!!"
But clearly, as a draconic, beast-like creature, Charmeleon's stamina was undoubtedly a bit higher than that of Ariados, a Bug-type Pokémon. It stomped hard on the floor and charged forward again, lowering its body slightly before suddenly thrusting its spiked claws powerfully upward from below!
Throat Chop!!
Ariados, guarding against a frontal attack, was struck square in the face by the Throat Chop from below. The blow landed viciously at the connection point between its head and abdomen.
"Hiss..."
Ariados retreated several meters, twisting its neck. The pain in its throat made it uncomfortable.
Throat Chop, upon landing, blocks the target's sound-based moves for a certain period.
"Was that just luck?"
Koga raised an eyebrow slightly. His Ariados knew a sound-based move, Bug Buzz, which dealt damage while also affecting the opponent's movements. He hadn't expected it to be sealed off before he even had a chance to use it.
"Great job, Charmeleon!"
Ash naturally hadn't thought that far ahead; it was simply that Charmeleon liked using Throat Chop.
However, with the two now less than three meters apart, Ash's eyes lit up, and he suddenly ordered a surprise attack.
"Now's our chance, use Flamethrower!!"
"Roar!!"
Without hesitation, the moment it heard the command, Charmeleon opened its mouth and spat out a pillar of flame that shot straight forward, carrying a searing heatwave.
"Fwoosh!!"
The flames erupted swiftly on Ariados's body. A direct hit!
It was super effective!
Ariados was thrown back violently, forcefully raising its two front legs in an attempt to block and disperse the flames.
"Ariados, use Cross Poison!!"
"Don't give it a chance! Keep using Flamethrower!!"
Charmeleon's gaze sharpened. The flame on its tail flared up with a *whoosh*, and the temperature of the flames from its mouth rose sharply as it blasted crazily toward Ariados.
"BOOM! BOOM! RUMBLE!!"
Flames shot skyward, creating a massive explosion. Smoke and dust billowed, and sparks flew everywhere!
"Charmeleon, be careful! The moment it emerges, use Flamethrower again to suppress it!"
This giant spider's strength was immense, and Ash wasn't sure if two Flamethrowers would be fatal. His concentration was at its peak; he didn't dare to relax in the slightest.
"Whoosh..."
Soon, the smoke and dust cleared.
"Where's the spider?"
Everyone blurted out in alarm. The center of the explosion, where Ariados should have been, was now completely empty. All that remained was the tragic sight of a large crater blown into the wooden floor.
"Where is it?"
Ash quickly scanned the surroundings and then the corners of the ceiling, but he saw no sign of the colorful giant spider.
"Wait, it's in—"
Ash suddenly noticed the large crater from the explosion. Just as he was about to give a warning, the floor beneath Charmeleon began to vibrate abruptly.
Koga laughed coldly. "Heh heh heh... Too late! A ninja must be adept at observing their surroundings!"
The next second, Ariados's figure suddenly burst out from the floor behind Charmeleon, launching itself up and pouncing on it.
"BOOM!!"
Caught off guard, Charmeleon was slammed to the floor by Ariados. The spider's legs seemed to have been trained for this very purpose; exerting force simultaneously, they firmly pinned Charmeleon's four limbs, tail, and neck to the floor, rendering it immobile.
At this moment, a colorful giant spider, even larger than Charmeleon, was pinning it down like a predator that had captured its prey. The scene was truly shocking and terrifying.
"Heh heh, perhaps my Ariados can have a new nickname: the Dragon-Capturing Spider," Koga sneered.
If it had been Pidgeotto with a colorful spider larger than itself on its back, the bird would have likely been scared limp already.
But Charmeleon was different. How could its explosive temper tolerate this? It struggled frantically, exerting all its strength, but its vital points were pinned.
"Roar..."
Charmeleon twisted its head violently, a flame gathering between its teeth, ready to be unleashed.
"Hiss..."
However, Ariados was a step faster. It spat silk from its mouth, which wrapped around and tightly bound Charmeleon's mouth shut, preventing it from opening or closing.
It's said that a crocodile's bite is powerful, but its jaw-opening strength is weak. Once someone gets close and holds its mouth shut, it's as if its fangs have been pulled.
Charmeleon was now in the same predicament. No matter how much strength it exerted, it couldn't break free from the silk binding its mouth.
"Heh heh heh... Is this your strongest Pokémon? Its strength is rather lacking."
Koga couldn't help but form a hand seal, his expression cold and ruthless.
Although this youth was already quite strong compared to an ordinary trainer, if this was all he had, his strength was still severely lacking.
He wasn't even as good as that other trainer from Pallet Town a few days ago. That trainer had managed to defeat his chunin-level Pokémon without any kind of power-up, forcing him to use his third Pokémon, a jounin-level one!
Though, the process had been extremely brutal.
And after he sent out the jounin, the opponent seemed to have inexplicably transformed. It was as if he had suddenly leveled up countless times, pinning him to the ground and utterly thrashing him, unable to fight back at all...
But returning to the matter at hand, this youth before him...
"If this is all you have, you won't be able to force me to use my third Pokémon," Koga said.
It wasn't just feline Pokémon that had the habit of toying with their prey; spiders did too. Ariados shot a large bundle of silk from its abdomen, tying Charmeleon up into a fleshy cocoon. Then, it shot another silk thread to the ceiling, hoisting Charmeleon upside down to suspend it in mid-air.
Now, Charmeleon was completely immobilized, unable even to make a sound. It could only struggle and sway in the air.
Meanwhile, Ariados had finished spinning a web and was slowly approaching, its bladed legs once again glowing with a terrifying, eerie purple light.
The situation had become dire.
"Charmeleon!!"
Following Ash's furious roar, Charmeleon's eyes snapped open. The flame on its tail surged in an instant, burning the surrounding webbing.
At this moment, a strange red light began to emanate from Charmeleon's upside-down body. The temperature skyrocketed, and steam even began to rise from its skin. The intense heat scorched the web, making a continuous sizzling sound.
"What is this...?" Ash was shocked; he had never seen his Charmeleon in such a state before.
"ROOOOAR!!"
With a furious roar from Charmeleon, the terrifying, high-temperature energy finally incinerated the webbing on its mouth. Searing flames visibly condensed on its body, instantly turning the countless strands of the web into black soot.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!"
The flames spread out like a shockwave, violently blasting the still-approaching Ariados back several meters.
However, this seemed to be merely the prelude to the move. While in mid-air, Charmeleon's body continued to frantically accumulate flame energy, wreathed in white steam.
The Pokédex beeped. "Charmeleon has learned a new move: Inferno."
"Inferno. Forms a high-temperature cyclone of flame around the body to attack the enemy. It has immense power and is guaranteed to inflict a Burn," the Pokédex explained promptly.
"Inferno, huh..."
A joyful look appeared on Ash's face. He clenched his fist, spun his hat forcefully, and then shouted loudly:
"Charmeleon, use Inferno!!"
"ROOOAR!!"
The flame energy around Charmeleon's body instantly erupted, coalescing into a tangible mass of searing, high-temperature flames that rushed towards Ariados like a massive, rolling wave!
(end of chapter)