Chapter 719: Lava Eruption of Castform
Ash, wearing a blue-and-white short-sleeved shirt, rushed straight toward Terrance as soon as he entered Professor Oakâs Laboratory, proudly showing off his eight Badges.
âBrother Terrance, look. Iâve already defeated eight Gym Leaders, and now Iâm qualified to challenge the Indigo Plateau Conference!â
Seeing Ashâs smug expression, Terrance gave an awkward smile, not sure how to respond.
Fortunately, two figures following behind Ash immediately voiced what Terrance was thinking: âAs if you didnât get them all out of sympathy.â
At this point in time, Ash was still somewhat immature compared to how he would be a few years later.
Hearing this, Ashâs face turned blue and then purple. He wanted to argue back but didnât even know where to start, and in his frustration he decided to prove himself to Terrance through a battle.
âBrother Terrance, letâs battle again. Iâve gotten stronger!â
âNo, no, youâll definitely lose badly,â Misty waved her hand.
âIâm guessing youâll still get one-shotted,â Brock nodded.
âTheyâre both making some sense,â Professor Oak added, twisting the knife and making Ashâs whole expression fall.
âHahaha, alright then, letâs battle again and see,â Terrance said with a slight smile to Ash. âConsider it a test of your training results before the Indigo Plateau Conference.â
âAwesome!!â Overjoyed at Terrance accepting his battle invitation, Ash leapt up excitedly, shouting, âProfessor Oak, can I borrow the backyard?â
âUh⊠thatâs no big deal,â Professor Oak replied.
Seeing that Ash really meant to challenge Terrance, everyone smacked their foreheads. There was no need to guess the outcome of the battle. But Ash was brimming with enthusiasm, and for him, winning or losing had never mattered; what mattered was fighting with all his strength.
âOn my side, itâs this one.â
In Professor Oakâs Laboratory backyard, Terrance sent out a PokĂ©mon. Although this PokĂ©mon was smallâsmaller even than PikachuâMisty and Brock both froze at once, looking at Ash with concern.
âAsh, be careful! That Castform is the PokĂ©mon that defeated the Giant Tentacruel.â Although Misty had just been belittling Ash, when it came to the battle she hurried to tell him this crucial information, afraid he wouldnât recognize Castform.
âGot it,â Ash nodded. He pulled out his PokĂ©dex but found no data. Only after Professor Oak reminded him did he realize it was a PokĂ©mon from another region.
This Castform probably specialized in Ice-type moves. Ash hesitated; having also experienced the Acapulco incident, he naturally remembered how terrifying that power was, which had frozen over half the sea.
Recalling its strength made even Ash, usually so carefree, tense up.
âCharizard, I choose you!!â With a turn of his cap, Ash finally made up his mind and threw out Charizardâs PokĂ© Ball.
This choice made Brockâs expression grow serious. âIf I remember right, Ash still canât command this Charizard. Although itâs powerful, can Ash really make it obey?â
âYou big idiot,â Misty fumed.
Stunted development.
From the first glance at Ashâs Charizard, Terrance could tell the condition of its growth. Although it was clear that it had been earnestly trained, its development was, frankly, a mess; it was a classic case of being forced to evolve without a solid foundation.
Once the battle began, Ash took the initiative and ordered Charizard to use Flamethrower.
But in response, Charizard disdainfully blew out a puff of black smoke and lay down on the spot.
âCharizard, fight! The opponent is really strong!â Ash shouted.
âWhat an arrogant PokĂ©mon,â Terrance remarked, giving Castform an instruction. In an instant, the weather turned sunny, and warmth filled the entire backyard. ÊđŒNđïŒąÄđź
Above, the sunlight blazed. Lifting oneâs head to look at the sky would surely sting the eyes.
âItâs Sunny Day⊠but why⊠this benefits Charizard too,â Brock frowned. By now, Castform had already adapted to the weather and changed form, becoming its Fire-type Sunny Form.
âCharizard, if you wonât obey your own Trainer, how much of your strength can you even bring out?â Terrance said aloud. âCastform, give it a Flamethrower as a greeting.â
âCastformmm~~~â Castform shot out raging flames, turning them into a massive wave that looked ready to engulf Charizard. Faced with the attack, Charizardâs eyes shot open and it tried to take off to dodge, but suddenly the Flamethrower seemed to explode, accelerating, and at the very moment Charizard tried to dodge, it was instantly swallowed up.
Terrance calmly watched Ashâs worried shouting and the Charizard swallowed by flames. That move had actually used very little of Castformâs power; it was meant to give Charizard an opening.
Sure enough, the next second, Charizard whipped its tail to scatter the flames, now fixing its gaze seriously on Castform.
âAlright, Charizard, then itâs our turn to counterattack,â Ash said happily when he saw Charizard unharmed. âFly up, Charizard!â
Then Charizard took off. While Misty and Brock were puzzled, they also felt something was off.
âCharizard, from above, sweep with Flamethrower,â Ash ordered.
âRoar!â Charizard exhaled, forming a Fire Spin that swept toward Castform.
Seeing this, Misty and the others wore an âas expectedâ expression. It still wasnât following commands.
âCastform, spinning Fire Blast,â Terrance snapped his fingers, and Castform instantly flew up, forming a human-shaped flame. But instead of firing it, it controlled the move to spin continuously before itself. The thick flames gathered densely, spinning faster and faster, and by the time Fire Spin descended, it had already transformed into a circular vortex due to its incredible speed.
âThisâŠâ Ash froze, unable to tell which part was even Fire Spin anymore. Charizardâs move hit the spinning Fire Blast and was instantly absorbed, without even making a ripple.
âWhat exquisite control,â Professor Oak nodded, then suddenly noticed something strange.
The spinning Fire Blast began gradually thickening, as if mixing sand and water, slowly turning into a lava-like substance.
Boom!!
As the lava exploded, countless streams of magma burst out like inverted raindrops, flying towards the Charizard fluttering in the air, resembling a dense, reverse rain of fire!
The lava, created by mixing Sandstorm, Fire, and Water, possessed a higher temperature and was more lethal than Castformâs pure flames!
Almost instantly, Charizard was burned by the force released from the exploding lava and fell weakly to the ground.
The burns from the lava left deep marks on Charizardâs body. Seeing this injury, Professor Oak and the others frowned. This move of Terranceâs hadnât held back at all. I was aimed at completely and thoroughly injuring Charizard.
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