A blazing crimson wheel of fire rolled straight through the Fire Spin, deliberately drawing the flames of the vortex into itself!
With the Fire Spin's restraint lifted from Blastoise—
The Infernape within the Flame Wheel leapt high into the air!
Relying on the wheel's momentum, it absorbed all the flames of the Fire Spin!
The fire surrounding Infernape condensed into an enormous fireball!
The soaring fireball slammed head-on into Moltres's Air Slashes!
After clashing with Infernape so many times—
This was the first moment Moltres felt truly troubled.
Ever since that human joined the battle, Infernape's strength had multiplied severalfold!
That fireball actually shattered its Air Slashes!
Moltres's entire body ignited with blue flames—
Sky Attack!
Only now did Infernape qualify as an opponent worthy of Moltres's full power!
Facing Moltres's Sky Attack—
Ash and Infernape showed not the slightest fear!
At this moment, Trainer and Pokémon were perfectly synchronized!
"Infernape!"
"Ha-ka!" "Pika!"
"Reborn through death—use your final Endure and Reversal!"
Ash's roar echoed throughout the valley!
Even the waterfall in the gorge seemed to freeze in that instant!
Ash's eyes gleamed with the certainty of victory—and so did Infernape's!
The instant the fireball collided with Moltres—
A massive explosion erupted!
The shockwave was so violent that Gary could barely keep his eyes open—
Yet he refused to look away!
The fireball couldn't withstand Moltres's Sky Attack—
But there was still Infernape!
From within the fireball emerged a reborn Infernape—
Like the Monkey King of legend, breaking free from beneath Five-Finger Mountain!
Blue light—the color of life itself—gathered around Infernape's body!
And before everyone's eyes—
Infernape threw a single punch!
A punch that smashed straight into Moltres's head, still wrapped in Sky Attack!
"BOOM!"
In that moment, the world was reduced to a single ringing hum!
Infernape, bearer of life—
Moltres, embodiment of divine authority—
The two actually locked in midair!
Gary stepped in front of Ash, pulling a Key Stone from his pocket.
"This is exactly the moment a protagonist like me should take the stage!"
With a confident hair flip, Gary prepared to deliver the decisive blow.
However—
Ash decisively stopped him!
"This is my battle with Infernape!" Ash said firmly.
Seeing Ash's gaze, Gary fell silent for a moment.
Then he casually raised his hand.
"Alright. I'll leave it to you—don't disappoint me."
"Of course not! Infernape and I won't lose!"
Ash declared with absolute confidence!
The flames burning in his eyes were the flames of inevitable victory!
[Bruno: Too cool, Master Ash! Taking down a mere Moltres is nothing!]
[Flint: Damn! The more I watch, the scarier this gets! We're both using Infernape—why is the gap so huge?! I refuse to accept this!]
[Volkner: Stop complaining. Sometimes the difference between people is bigger than the difference between people and dogs—let alone Pokémon.]
[Flint: Don't say anymore… I'm going to catch an Entei!]
[Entei: ?]
[Volkner: Hahaha, you're dead now!]
Flint, enjoying afternoon tea in Paldea, jolted upright the instant Entei's question mark appeared.
His back was drenched in cold sweat!
That was Entei!
Since when did Legendary Pokémon have such small hearts?!
I just said it casually—why is Entei already eyeing me?!
This was peak cold-sweat terror!
…
On-screen—
After saying that, Ash didn't look at Gary again.
His gaze locked entirely onto Infernape!
At the same time, he pulled a flame-red Z-Crystal from his pocket.
Anyone who knew, knew what was coming next!
After a sequence of dance-like motions—
The Alolan Z-Move once again appeared before all eyes!
"End everything with fire!"
"Inferno Overdrive!"
Ash shouted every word!
Countless particles of light burst from Ash's body, flowing into Infernape!
The stalemate in midair instantly collapsed!
Before Ash even arrived at the valley, Infernape had already been fighting Moltres.
It had the upper hand then—
And later, Ash had ordered Flare Blitz.
Flare Blitz inflicted recoil damage on the user—
Add to that the clash between Flame Wheel and Sky Attack—
At this very moment—
Infernape was already a flickering candle in the wind!
(All buffs stacked!)
Everything had been decided long ago!
Blaze!
No—
Super Blaze!
The flames surged upward—
Even the fire burning on Moltres, the incarnation of flame itself, was suppressed by Infernape!
What overwhelming power!
Even divine radiance paled before it!
This scene—
This feeling—
The audience felt an intense sense of déjà vu!
Where had they seen this before?!
"Pika!"
Pikachu's cry snapped everyone back—
And reminded them exactly where!
Zapdos!
When Pikachu fought Zapdos, hadn't this happened too?!
The so-called God of Thunder—
Being overpowered in electricity by Pikachu itself!
The difference was—
Pikachu used Ten Million Volt Thunderbolt.
Infernape relied on its ability.
Blaze—an ability nearly every Fire-type Pokémon could have!
But are you sure this was Blaze?!
Ash, what did you do to Infernape?!
Why is it this insane?!
I want one too!!
Even Flint forgot the danger of Entei's attention, staring fixedly at Infernape on the screen!
"So this is Blaze's true power?!"
[Flint: Do you have any idea how excited I am right now?! As an Infernape Trainer, seeing Blaze alone erupt into such terrifying flames—this is unbelievable!]
Flint was green with envy!
Compared to him, Ash deserved the title of Fire-type Elite—
No, Fire-type Champion!
Whether it was Charizard or Infernape—
Their power could no longer be described as "strong".
It was outright bugged!
[Blaine: Relax. Once you battle Ash, you'll realize this is just standard procedure. My Magmar has seen cosmic scenery. Can you imagine it? A Charizard whose ultimate move is Seismic Toss—more Fighting-type than Fighting-types!]
[Pryce: Haha, Ash is synonymous with miracles. Don't forget—he's a Trainer blessed by Ho-Oh. Exceptional Fire affinity is only natural.]
[Leon: Fascinating… So Charizard can be used like that too. Learned something new.]
[Raihan: Stop learning everything! A Charizard with Thunder Punch and Ancient Power is already insane—if you add Seismic Toss, how am I supposed to live?!]
[Lance: I seriously suspect Ash has more hidden talents—like Flying-types. I've seen several in his backyard!]
[Lorelei: Ash never labeled himself as any one type—he's all-rounder. Unlike you, Lance. Flying-types and Dragons, that's it.]
[Mustard: Young people these days are incredible. What a pity I didn't live in their era.]
[Alder: We relics of the old era will fade into history. The future belongs to Iris, Ash, and the rest. Perhaps one day, we'll see them ascend to legend as the greatest battlers of all time.]
[Professor Kukui: Ash, Red, Blue, Leon—four-way deadlock shaping the ultimate legend!]
[Gary: Don't forget me! I won't let Ash leave me behind!]
At that moment, everyone's hearts surged.
Battle Legend—
A title reserved only for the strongest of the age.
…
On-screen—
Victory was inevitable!
Z-Move—Activated!
Infernape, struck by sudden inspiration, used the recoil from Sky Attack to retreat!
Then—
A torrent of Blaze erupted from its crown!
In an instant, the sky itself was dyed crimson!
Next, Infernape placed its arms at its waist—
A seed of fire condensed between its palms!
Moltres finally sensed danger!
It immediately dispersed the energy of Sky Attack—
Replacing it with flames burned to their absolute limit!
This was a Fire-type move—
Burn Up!
A technique that sacrificed one's Fire typing in exchange for power that incinerated everything!
The bird of flame descended like a god!
Seeing this, Gary couldn't help but pray—
"Ash… Infernape… please don't lose."
He murmured softly.
In the valley—
Infernape focused completely.
In its eyes, only that blazing figure existed!
Facing Moltres, sweeping across the world like a deity—
Infernape felt no fear!
It thrust both hands forward!
A colossal pillar of fire erupted, slamming into Moltres's flame-covered body!
Inferno Overdrive VS Burn Up!
At first, Moltres pushed downward with Burn Up's extreme heat—
But soon—
Its entire body was swallowed by Inferno Overdrive's overwhelming force!
This was the combined power of Ash and Infernape!
At this moment—
The world was left with only Infernape's flames!
Ash's eyes burned as he clenched his fist!
How long had it been?!
He didn't know—
Didn't know how long it had been since he and Infernape fought so freely!
A heartfelt smile spread across Ash's face—
So bright that even the sky seemed illuminated.
Beside him—
Gary and Blastoise were utterly dumbfounded.
You can do it like this too?!
Give me one of those!!
Gary immediately decided—no matter how shameless it felt, he had to ask Ash later where that move came from!
Not getting one would be inhuman!
After all—
No one can resist the allure of a Kamehameha!
The pillar of fire lasted a full minute before finally fading.
Under everyone's gaze—
Infernape collapsed weakly onto the ground.
Yet it still gave Ash a thumbs-up, signaling it was okay!
As for Moltres—
It was in terrible shape!
Its massive body crashed into the valley floor, barely clinging to consciousness!
Its orange-red eyes were filled with confusion—
Why did Infernape grow so strong just because that human joined the battle?!
This wasn't scientific!
Was this the power of the heart that the gods once spoke of?!
Countless thoughts raced through Moltres's mind.
But after using Burn Up—
The flames on its body were steadily dying out.
To reignite its proud fire would take time—
And with its severe injuries, it could only curl up on the ground.
The once-majestic bird now looked utterly pitiful.
Honestly—
Moltres defeated by Inferno Overdrive looked just as tragic as Zapdos defeated by Ten Million Volts.
But falling to Ash and Infernape—
It had lived up to the name of one of the Legendary Birds.
Ash hurried to Infernape's side, helping it up.
The Aura Tears in his hand slowly flowed into Infernape's body, restoring its strength.
Once it recovered enough, Ash helped it sit against a rock—
Then walked over to Gary, who was examining Moltres.
Gary's eyes scanned Moltres in amazement.
He'd seen Moltres before—
But a Moltres stripped of its Fire typing after Burn Up?
That was new.
Right now, Moltres looked like nothing more than a golden chicken.
The flames on its crest and tail feathers were barely flickering.
Completely unworthy of its earlier, world-scorching presence.
Seeing Ash approach, Gary tossed him a transparent glass container.
"Your test is complete. Just bring back one Moltres feather."
His tone lacked its usual arrogance—
Instead, there was clear recognition.
Only this Ash deserved to be his rival.
Ash examined the container—
A hollow glass cylinder, nothing special.
He turned his attention to Moltres.
How should he get the feather?
Pull it out directly?
Wouldn't that be too cruel?
As Ash pondered—
Moltres lifted its head and pecked at its own wing.
A golden feather wreathed in flame appeared in its beak.
It placed the feather on the ground and nudged it toward Ash.
"Krri."
"Moltres… are you giving this to me?"
Ash asked in surprise.
Moltres nodded solemnly.
It acknowledged Ash's strength—
A Trainer who, through sheer will, overturned the gap between it and Infernape.
He reminded Moltres of the crimson youth spoken of in the legends of the Three Birds.
Perhaps this boy called Ash was no worse than that legendary figure.
Moltres's gaze flickered—
With thoughts yet unspoken.
Ash, unaware, picked up the feather and placed it in the container.
"Yes! Pikachu, Infernape—we passed the test!"
He immediately shared the joy with his Pokémon.
Watching Ash embrace his partners—
The light in Moltres's eyes grew brighter.
Would following such a Trainer make it stronger?
Like that legendary predecessor—
One who stood shoulder to shoulder with gods?
If it received this human's guidance—
Wouldn't it grow even more powerful?
With that thought—
This defeat suddenly didn't feel so unacceptable.
Ash returned the container to Gary.
Gary stored it in his bag and recalled Blastoise.
Then he waved for Ash to leave.
"Hey, we've got what we need. Let's go."
He turned and headed out of the valley—
But after walking some distance, he realized something was wrong.
Why wasn't Ash's chatter following him?
Sure enough, when he turned back—
Ash was still crouched in front of Moltres.
His hands gently stroked Moltres's head.
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