As soon as Charizard's flames appeared on the field, the temperature of the entire area rose significantly, and the audience close by instantly felt sweat starting to bead on their foreheads.
"Zane, dodge quickly!!" Sweat beads appeared on Ah Hong's forehead as well, not sure if it was due to the heat or from the cold sweat caused by Charizard's flames. Regardless, if Zane tried to withstand flames of this level, the outcome might be completely different from when Ash's Charizard endured Zane's flames—they must dodge.
However, aside from the temperature and size of the flame, there's also the speed of Charizard's Flamethrower compared to Zane's!
The blazing flame descended upon Zane with lightning-fast speed, giving no space for evasive action.
Ash's Charizard doesn't need to dodge the opponent's Flamethrower, while Zane can't even avoid Ash's Charizard's Flamethrower!
"Boom!!"
Zane was directly engulfed by the flames, and the raging inferno on the field seemed intent on incinerating everything anywhere around, including Zane at its core, into ashes.
Ah Hong's face showed extreme concern, his fists clenched tightly. Unknown amounts of time passed by, maybe a second, maybe ten seconds, before the fire finally began to subside.
For Ah Hong, those few seconds felt like several hours as his heart became intertwined with the burning flames.
Zane, engulfed by the flames, didn't show any resistance as if he had completely lost all signs of life within the fire.
Once the flames died down, Zane's figure finally appeared before the audience and Ah Hong.
Zane's orange-red skin was now covered with a heavily charred layer, indicating just how searing hot those flames were to even scorch a heat-resistant Zane like him.
And this was without Charizard using the power of Divine Flame. Had that been used, it wouldn't be just a matter of black patches here and there—it might have turned the entire body black.
But even normal flames at Charizard's Gym Advanced Level complete outburst, coupled with increased heat intensity from understanding the Divine Flame, nearly depleted Zane's physical strength.
"Roar!!" Burned by Charizard's Flamethrower, Zane let out an unwilling roar, as if wanting to perform some action but ultimately failing to use the next skill he wished to, collapsing directly.
Instantly defeated...
Though Zane resisted Fire Type moves and had a higher level than Sparky, he still couldn't evade the instance of being defeated in one hit. After all, this time the skill used wasn't Quick Attack but a more explosive Flamethrower.
And this Flamethrower was upgraded for Charizard; in terms of power, it was not inferior in the slightest to Flamethrower used by typical Elite Level Fire Type Pokemon.
That Zane didn't collapse immediately is already commendable physical resilience, but unfortunately, that's all there is. After some struggle, Zane ultimately fell.
"Charizard is unable to battle, Pikachu wins!"
Having the previous experience, this time the referee didn't stay dazed for long and directly announced the result.
Surrounding discussions emerged continuously. Compared to Pikachu's earlier Quick Attack instant defeat, this time, though not as swift, was equally if not more shocking, as it's a Fire Type Pokemon defeated directly by a Fire Type move.
Moreover, the temperature of that flame raven even affected the audience seating around, showcasing its power.
Those present had also witnessed Charizard's battle against Glaceon; it was from that point on they became fans of Ash's Charizard.
In this battle, Ash's Charizard, despite not showing the strength it did against Lorelei, seemed more masterful and effortless.
What? Facing the Professional Level and Elite Level Pokemon varies so greatly; shouldn't being effortless be expected?
It's not the same situation; being effortless here referred to Charizard's control over power and mastery of the flames, which now felt more adept than before.
Summing it up in one sentence—it's become stronger.
Ah Hong took a deep breath, retrieved Charizard, accepting that the defeat was expected; winning would probably only rely on the opponent having issues or Zane exploding with potential.
Under normal conditions, there's no way to win, but Ah Hong didn't want to pass up even a one in ten thousand chance of victory, though being instantly defeated was indeed a harsh blow.
After retrieving Charizard, Ah Hong took out the final Pokeball: "This is the last one, go, Babi!"
A flash of light revealed a Butterfree on the field!
This Butterfree's level is only Elite Advanced Level, Bug Type Pokemon's growth is exceedingly difficult, this Pokemon has been by Ah Hong's side since the very start of his journey, and it hadn't been rotated much.
After countless battles, it finally grew to Elite Advanced Level, but this level is likely the peak for his Butterfree; advancing further is extremely challenging.
Even Ash's Butterfree is only at Professional Level, having accompanied him since he began his journey, illustrating how tough it is to improve with Butterfree.
Deploying an Elite Level Butterfree at this moment seems like Ah Hong willingly giving up on the match.
After all, this Butterfree is a whole level lower than the prior Charizard!
In reality, aside from Charizard and Pikachu, this is one of Ah Hong's most competent Pokemon.
Direct combat won't defeat Ash's Pikachu and Charizard with any method, so it's time for a strategic approach.
Butterfree's greatest strength isn't in its combat abilities but the various status effects it possesses—Hypnosis, sleep, paralysis... Ah Hong's only possible path to victory lies in Sleep Powder hitting the opponent.
Only then might there be a sliver of a chance; otherwise, in a direct contest, an Elite Level Butterfree could never be a match for the opponent.
"So it's Butterfree, huh? Come back, Charizard!" Upon seeing Ah Hong's third Pokemon, Ash's face showed a predictable expression before retrieving Charizard.
"Thank you for your hard work, Charizard, this is my last one too—I've decided, Butterfree!" Ash sent out his last Pokemon.
Just like Ah Hong, it's a Butterfree!
With that, Ah Hong's three Pokemon and Ash's three Pokemon perfectly overlapped.
Upon seeing Ash's Butterfree, Ah Hong stood stunned, followed by a somewhat helpless smile: "Not just on the Pokemon's strength, even at the trainer level, he's entirely seen through, eh? Losing this match without much regret!"
The participating Pokemon were fixed from the start; Ash selecting these three signifies he anticipated Ah Hong's choices. This was a complete trainer-level crush.
But Ah Hong somewhat mythologized Ash too much; predicting his Pokemon was not too difficult, considering the strong ones in his hand are limited, with notable gaps between them.
The Professional Level Pokemon were only Pikachu and Charizard; obviously, he would use them, right?
So guessing Ah Hong's Pokemon wasn't particularly impressive.
"Let's begin then, this final showdown, Babi, use Tailwind!"
Opening with Tailwind to increase his own speed, in a match between the same species, the side with speed advantage definitely holds superiority. Given the lack of level advantage, seizing initiative with speed is crucial—without it, it's entirely over.