The scorching flames surged out, directly engulfing Venusaur completely.
Seeing this, Erika's beautiful eyes narrowed, her face showing an expression of disbelief, as if she hadn't anticipated such a situation at all.
As Venusaur was swallowed by the flames, Charizard also pushed open Venusaur's two front limbs, retreating two steps backward with an extremely exhausted expression on his face.
But he still stared with fierce eyes at Venusaur, as if he would continue to unleash a relentless barrage if Venusaur hadn't lost the ability to battle.
However, as the flames slowly dissipated, the Venusaur within was no longer moving at all. Its light blue skin bore multiple scorch marks, and several pieces of petals on its back were missing, all burned away by the flames. Even if it recovers at the Pokemon Center, it would take quite some time.
In this state, it was certain that Venusaur had lost the ability to battle, so...
"V-Venusaur is unable to battle, Charizard wins!"
"Roar!!" As the verdict of victory was announced, Charizard roared towards the sky, but did not spout any flames.
And after roaring, Charizard kept its head raised, its body frozen in place, unmoving.
A blue light from Ash dispersed, causing him to stagger a bit on the spot, but he didn't fall, just his face looked rather unwell.
In fact, for Ash, this level of battle didn't even count as a warm-up, but the Aura Fusion transferred some of Charizard's injuries directly to Ash, which drained his mental strength.
Now Ash's mental exhaustion was quite significant, and as for physical damage, while it wasn't nonexistent, it was negligible.
That's why Ash's face looked so pale, because he was mentally worn out!
But compared to Ash, Charizard was the one truly overworked.
The barrier on the field automatically retracted once the battle ended, and Ash, enduring the slight pain in his head, walked step by step to Charizard's side.
At this moment, Charizard was still unmoving.
Ash showed a comforting smile and patted Charizard's shoulder, "Thank you for your hard work, Charizard, you did great, we won."
Charizard still didn't move because it had lost the battle capability, only it was standing while incapacitated.
It truly achieved it, even if it failed—it failed while standing!
Ash infused some of the Power of Viridian into Charizard's body, then took out a Pokeball to retract it.
This battle saw Charizard surpassing its limits. Evolution brings an increase in power, but does not enhance physical strength.
On the contrary, due to the newly evolved state, Charizard hadn't improved its stamina, and each move consumed even more stamina than usual.
From the moment Charizard used Fire Punch to block a stomp, it relied entirely on sheer will to keep itself from collapsing.
Normally, Charizard would have been down for the count by then, but it took an extra step fueled by an indomitable spirit, Fire Blast in one step, repositioning in another.
It was precisely because of this unyielding willpower that they ultimately claimed victory.
On the other hand, Erika sighed softly and retracted Venusaur as well.
To be honest, if it weren't for giving away those three moves, Ash and the others wouldn't have stood a chance of winning.
Not to mention Sunny Day—though it boosts Venusaur too, even if Gardevoir didn't use it, Venusaur could have.
But the Double Wall truly saved Charmeleon's life.
Otherwise, even if the two Solar Beams hadn't taken Charmeleon out, using Flare Blitz with its remaining strength would have caused recoil damage enough to take it down.
Then again, if she'd used an Elite Level Pokemon, Charmeleon would have been defeated even before setting the field.
With Charmeleon's power, below Professional Level, it would be thrashed like a punching bag.
So even though she gave a hand, compared to the challenge posed, not giving a hand would've been better.
In an Elite Level match-up, using Charmeleon is an easy breeze for Ash.
"Congratulations on your victory, Ash. Here's the Rainbow Badge, for you." Erika walked up to Ash, extending her fair hand, upon which lay a colorful badge.
"Thanks, Erika." Ash took the Rainbow Badge, a hint of excitement on his face, not just because he had acquired his fifth badge, but also because this time he defeated a Professional Level Pokemon with his own strength!
This wasn't the watered-down kind like Raichu from Lt. Surge, but an elite presence even among Professional Levels!
In terms of ability, form, move pool, and trainer prowess, Erika's Gardevoir was flawless, the elite of the elite.
Being able to defeat it proved he had taken a solid step on the path of being a Trainer!
Now he had at least three Pokemon capable of posing a threat to Professional Level opponents: Charizard, Gardevoir, and Pikachu.
From now on, they'll be called the Three Generals!
Thinking happily, Ash raised the Rainbow Badge high in his hand, grinning, "I got the Rainbow Badge!"
"Pika Pikachu!"
"Congratulations, Ash! Not only did you get the Rainbow Badge, but you also defeated a Professional Level Pokemon. And Charmeleon and Kirlia have evolved. You gained a lot from this battle!" Misty also stepped forward to congratulate Ash.