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Chapter 140: Ace Challenge (5)
🕑 Added 2025-05-28 20:03:02 +0000 UTCGladion's fingers brushed his belt, selecting a Poké Ball with a flourish. "Let's go, Arsenal!" he called, tossing it skyward.
A flash erupted, and Arsenal, his Magmortar, materialized, its massive form dominating the field. A Magmortar is way bigger than a magmar making it even more intimating.
Arsenal's molten hide glowed, its cannon-like arms pulsing with heat, flames licking from their muzzles.
The crowd gasped, then exploded, the stadium quaking as fans leapt to their feet. The announcer, a notorious chunibyo with a flair for the dramatic, lost all composure, his voice a fevered shriek over the speakers. "Here it is, folks! The moment we've been waiting for! Gym Leader Gladion's Magmar has evolved into it's final form, and BOY, is it a beast! Look at that size, those cannons—forget Magmar being a bad boy, this Magmortar's the BIGGEST bad boy in Kanto! Dare I say, it's the COOLEST Pokémon I've ever seen! Cannons, flames—this is peak awesome! We are witnessing another never before seen evolution by Gym leader Gladion. How many surprises does he have for us?" He punctuated "awesome" with an air-guitar riff, nearly toppling his mic, drawing laughs from the crowd.
A kid in the stands mimicked him, yelling, "CANNONS RULE!" while his mom sighed, muttering, "Boys would be boys."
Gladion chuckled, 'The announcer is a total nerd for flashy moves and flashy Pokemon—thats why I chose him to be commenting during this match to get more hype.'
Arsenal flexed its cannons, flames spurting, and the crowd chanted, "Arsenal! Arsenal!"
Roland, however, felt a chill despite the heat radiating from Arsenal.
'This match is over,' he thought, his trainer's instinct screaming defeat. The Magmortar's aura was overwhelming, a wall of fire-type power that dwarfed his Bugs. Yes he has managed to beat 2 of Gladion's Pokemon with only 3 of his down. But this Pokemon was a dangerous fire type.
'Bug types are massively weak to fire types. I have trained my Pokemon to handle such Pokemon. But against overwhelming power no training matters?'
He glanced at Arsenal's cannons, their glow promising devastation.
'This Pokemon is made for war and destruction. And that's probably why it's evolution is not known. Maybe they caused so much destruction in the infinite wars that they had to be put down thus becoming extinct.' Roland thought
His mind flashed to Gladion's mother, Erza Vortex, Kanto's fiercest Fire-type ace trainer, whose fire types could torch forests in seconds.
'No doubt she helped train this beast. It's got her ruthlessness.*' Roland's Pinsir, already battered by the Gliscor's Earthquake and weakened by Superpower's stat drop, was a sitting target.
'One hit, and Pinsir's done— worse he would be critically injured. It's better to not risk it.'
Roland raised a hand, addressing the referee. "I'm forfeiting Pinsir." He recalled the Pokémon, its Poké Ball clicking shut.
The crowd murmured, some booing, but Gladion nodded, 'Smart move. Pinsir would've been crushed judging by how injured he was. Maybe permanently injured. He is a good trainer.'
The referee acknowledged, and Roland tossed his next Poké Ball. "Go, Beedrill!" A sleek Beedrill emerged, its stingers glinting, wings buzzing as it took to the air. Roland's voice was urgent.
"Keep your distance, Beedrill! Stay high, dodge everything, use the trees for cover if required!" Beedrill soared and zigzagged through the trees, its speed a blur.
Gladion's smirk widened with mischief 'Trying to outrun Arsenal's fire? Cute.'
"Let's show 'em your firepower, Arsenal—Flamethrower!" Arsenal raised one cannon, flames roaring to life, a torrent hot enough to melt stone blasting across the field. Beedrill darted left, the flames scorching a tree into ash, the heat warping the air.
The crowd gasped, the announcer screaming, "FLAMETHROWER! Arsenal's turning the field into a barbecue! Beedrill's dodging for its life!"
Arsenal, unfazed, raised its other cannon, unleashing a second Flamethrower, the dual streams chasing Beedrill. Roland's Pokémon was fast, instincts razor-sharp, weaving through the trees, dodging each blast, but the arena was shrinking, flames licking closer.
Gladion leaned forward, his smile pure Vortex. "Start spinning, Arsenal!" Arsenal's massive frame pivoted, spinning in a circle, its cannons whirling like a firestorm.
Flames spiraled outward, a blazing vortex engulfing the field, unpredictable and all-consuming. The stands' barriers glowed, protecting the crowd, but the arena was a sea of fire—grass incinerated, trees reduced to embers. Beedrill, caught by the spinning flames, took a direct hit, its wings singed as it plummeted into the burning battlefield, crashing amid the inferno.
The crowd roared, a tidal wave of awe, Milo and Lila chanting, "Arsenal's the king!" The announcer, practically unhinged, shrieked, "SPINNING FLAMETHROWER! Arsenal's a walking apocalypse! Beedrill's toast—literally!"
Roland recalled Beedrill, his face a mix of humiliation and respect.
'One hit,' he thought, shaking his head.
'A single move, and Beedrill's out.' The loss stung, his pride bruised by such a swift defeat in front of thousands.
'I knew I couldn't win—Gladion's a monster—but this? It's humbling." Yet admiration bloomed amidst the sting. 'The kid's a prodigy. His Pokémon are trained to perfection—speed, power, versatility. He's mastered their movesets, from standard attacks to creative spins like that Flamethrower trick. And Arsenal? It's not just strong; it's a reflection of the kid's genius.' Roland thought unaware that Gladion was strong because he exploited the knowledge of his previous life. He knew which moves his Pokemon could learn and which moves were the best for him to train something that takes trainers decades to figure out. As for his training methods, he uses training methods from different animes and fantasy novels that he has seen. It works wonders for his Pokemon like the gravity training to increase the speed of his Pokemon.
Roland regretted his team's poor showing—'I wanted to shine, not fizzle out like this,'—but couldn't deny Gladion's brilliance. 'This is why he beat Pryce. This is why he's Kanto's future.'
Roland sighed, gripping his final Poké Ball, his resolve unbroken. 'One last stand. Let's make it count.'
He prepared to release his last Pokémon.
