Ash, with his invincible physical body, wants to become a Pokémon Master.

Chapter 75 Battle against the Duckbill Dragon

"Hmm, Squirtle is being raised really well."

Blaine recalled the Nine-Tailed Fox and took out another Poké Ball.

"Young man, this is the Pokémon I'm sending out next."

"Go, Blazing Steed!"

A large, yellow and white horse appeared on the battlefield, its mane, made of flames, rising continuously with each breath.

Ash had seen Ponyta before; Rapidash is the evolved form of Ponyta and is much larger than Ponyta.

"It's so cool! I should have tamed one as a mount."

Ash was getting a little tired of riding Slime every day and had been wanting to try something different for a long time.

(Suiki: You heartless and ungrateful man!)

"Squirtle, use the water gun!"

"Get out of the way, move at high speed!"

Several water jets were fired in succession, but the fiery horse easily dodged them all; the fiery horse was even faster than the nine-tailed fox.

It was finally Ash's Pokémon's turn to have its attack dodged by someone else.

Since the battle was taking place on the lava of a volcano, the ground was getting hotter and hotter, and Squirtle was sweating profusely.

"At this rate, we'll end up like a dried-up turtle. Let's finish this quickly, Squirtle! Let's use the Water Gun on the ground, fly into the air, and then use Rocket Headbutt!"

Squirtle immediately fired a water gun at the spot where it was standing, using the reaction force to propel itself into the air, while the water gun also cooled down the area.

Blaine smiled as he watched Squirtle, now airborne, charge at his Rapidash once more.

"The same trick won't work on me a second time."

"Flaming Steed, Blazing Charge!"

Engulfed in flames from head to toe, Rapidash didn't dodge but charged straight at Squirtle in the same manner.

After the intense collision, Rapidash stood unharmed on the field, while Squirtle was sent flying.

"Jenny..."

The additional effect of the flames erupted, and Squirtle was engulfed in flames.

"Squirtle, unable to battle!"

Immediately recall Squirtle back into its Poké Ball.

"You did a great job, now get some rest, Squirtle."

"My next Pokémon is Pikachu, I choose you!"

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu leaped down from Ash's shoulder, waving its little fists with great enthusiasm.

"The Electric Mouse has excellent fur and good electrical currents on its cheeks. Young man, your Pokémon training is quite good."

Observing Pikachu, Blaine couldn't help but praise Ash.

It's been a long time since such an outstanding young man has challenged the dojo.

"However, there is still a lot of room for improvement."

Blaine also decided to stop hoarding Pokémon and would help Ash train his Pokémon properly after the Gym Battle.

"Firehorse, breathe fire!"

"Pikachu uses Quick Attack to dodge, then unleashes Thunderbolt."

Pikachu's two strong hind legs immediately tensed up and sprang away from their original position like cannonballs, dodging Rapidash's flame-breathing attack.

At the same time, he quickly approached Rapidash and unleashed a Thunderbolt attack, successfully hitting Rapidash's hind leg.

"That's an amazing speed. Are you trying to use your high speed to counter my Rapidash's high speed?"

Because it was hit in the leg by Pikachu's Thunderbolt, Rapidash's speed did indeed decrease significantly.

"Don't think it's too simple. As I said, the venue is also a very important factor and we need to make good use of it."

"Flaming Horse, use Charged Flame Strike!"

This teppanyaki-like arena really limits the speed of Ash's non-Fire-type Pokémon.

Pikachu, being chased by Rapidash, was already so hot from running for only a short while that it started tap-dancing non-stop.

"Pikachu, hold on! Use Quick Attack again to dodge."

Unfortunately, the high temperature of the arena still affected Pikachu's reaction speed, and it was knocked down by Rapidash's Flare Charge.

"Pikachu used its tail to jump and landed on Rapidash."

"Oh, what are you trying to do? Pikachu can also be attacked by Rapidash's back flames."

"Since we'll be grilled on the hot plate anyway, let's take this opportunity to bring Rapidash off. Pikachu, use Thunder."

Using its flexible tail, Pikachu leaped into the air and, taking advantage of the Rapidash's unpreparedness, jumped to the spot on its neck where there were no flames and used Thunder.

"Flame Horse, continue using Charged Flame Strike."

The fiery horse, struck by the powerful lightning, let out a painful howl.

But he still forced himself to use the Charged Flame Strike, enveloping his entire body in flames.

Pikachu was also burned by the flames, and when the thunder ended, Pikachu and Rapidash both lost their ability to battle.

Ash quickly stepped forward and picked Pikachu up.

"The tactics were acceptable. Young man, you can take Pikachu to my hot spring for a bath later. The hot spring here is very effective in treating burns."

"Then there's only one left. Time for my Charizard!"

As Blaine finished speaking, a series of loud noises came from the magma below the arena, and a figure suddenly leaped out of the magma.

"What an imposing Magmar!" Misty and Togepi, who were watching the battle from the sidelines, were both amazed by this Magmar.

Ash was also very excited, because it would be meaningful to win against such a strong opponent.

"Go! Charizard, your fate is in our hands now!"

Ash chose Charizard as his last Pokémon.

The moment the old flamethrower entered the fray, it immediately gave the opponent a "greeting gift" of a flamethrower.

The opposing Charizard retaliated with a Flamethrower, and the two powerful flames collided in mid-air, creating a huge explosion.

"It seems both sides are quite satisfied with their opponents in this battle."

Seeing this scene, Blaine felt a long-lost surge of excitement.

"Let's have another little something to say, Charizard, use Flame Punch!"

"Charizard, dodge and use your Dragon Claw."

The Pokémon that Blaine trains all have one characteristic: they can unleash their special moves exceptionally quickly.

Before Charizard could even fly into the air, Magmortar's Flame Punch was already right next to Charizard's face, delivering a powerful punch.

Charizard's face felt numb on one side, and it suffered a lot of damage.

However, it also reacted quickly, striking the duck-billed fire dragon with its claws.

"Not bad, not bad, Charizard is also excellent. I admire you more and more, young man."

【Crimson Lotus Gym Leader Blaine: Affection +5】

"The fire-breathing dragon flew up and flew over the crater."

After all, Shapo said that the entire crater was a battleground, so of course that included the sky. Ash should make good use of the battleground right now.

"A quick decision-making move, the Magmar uses Fire Blast!"

"Charizard, get out of the way!"

In the sky, Charizard has much more room to maneuver than on the ground.

With a tuck of its wings, it swooped down and glided away, successfully dodging the Duckbill Fire Dragon's massive attack.

"Alright, let's continue in this state. Charizard, use Dragon Dive."

The Charizard swooped down from the sky and quickly approached the Magmar, its Dragon Dive hitting the Magmar.

"The Magikarp seizes the opportunity to grab the Charizard, don't let it fly up again!"

In the split second of the dragon's dive, the Magmar reacted and grabbed the Charizard's arm.

Although the dragon's dive caused it damage, the Magma Dragon managed to withstand it.

"Well done, Duckbill Fire Dragon!"

"Sherlock, it's not just that the Magmar caught the Charizard, it's that the Charizard caught the Magmar!"

"Just grab the dragon, fly up, and use the Seismic Toss!"

"How is that possible? Are you suggesting Charizard should learn to throw something like it did on Earth?"

Ash's Charizard is used to training to lift boulders into the air, so Charizard would be no problem for it.

With a powerful flap of its wings, it successfully carried its opponent into the air, drawing a beautiful circle in mid-air—the shape of the Earth.

Then it quickly swooped down and slammed the Magmar onto a stone pillar next to the arena.

As the smoke cleared, the Magmar lost its ability to fight.

"Very good, congratulations on your victory, young man."

Both of them retrieved their Pokémon, and Blaine came to Ash and took out a flame-shaped badge from her pocket and handed it to him.

"This is the Crimson Badge of the Crimson Gym. Please keep it safe."

[Ding! Main quest completed: Crimson Badge!: Defeat Crimson Gym Leader Blaine]

[Rewards: Alliance Coins +500; Special Attack +2; Free Attribute Points +3]

[When you have the Crimson Badge, the power of fire-type skills increases by 5%]

"Speaking of which, I still want to ask, young man, what exactly was your motivation for making Charizard imitate Earth's throwing technique?"

Ash was a little embarrassed by Blaine's question and could only answer helplessly.

"That's actually because Pokémon itself likes it."