"First of all," Axel announced, his voice filled with excitement, "Arcanine and Ninetales will battle. The winner will face Charizard for the title."
Axel eagerly awaited the clash between his mother's and father's Pokemons. However, to his surprise, Ninetales lowered its head and stepped aside, surrendering the fight. This turn of events puzzled Axel, leaving him wondering why Ninetales had given up without even trying.
The reason for Ninetales' surrender was cause it acknowledged its inferiority to Arcanine. Having spent a considerable amount of time by Arcanine's side, Ninetales knew it would be defeated and chose to spectate instead. It had joined the stage solely to gauge Charizard's true strength.
Since the battle was not fought and Arcanine emerged as the victor by default, Axel promptly declared it the winner and prepared it to face Charizard. Both powerful Pokemons stepped onto the stage, igniting Axel's anticipation. He understood that while Arcanine was a rare-ranked Pokemon with extensive experience, Charizard also possessed remarkable strength and newly acquired moves.
Axel examined Arcanine's stats
---
Pokemon Name: Arcanine (Age: 16 years)
Pokemon Nickname: None
Pokemon Rank: Rare
Ability: Flash Fire (100%)
Hidden Ability: Justified (45%)
Potential: Purple (Advanced)
Health: 1500/1500 Attack: A
Agility: B Defense: D
Sp. Atk: S Sp. Def: D+
Moves: Flamethrower, Crunch, Extreme Speed, Agility, Thunder Fang, Dig, Close Combat, Raging Fury, Morning Sun, Sunny Day Core: Fire (70%)
---
Before he looked at Arcanine's stat he was not sure that Charizard would win. But after looking at its stats, he was sure that Charizard would not win.
'Why are its stats so high? I mean I get it that it is 16 years old and had many experiences but with that stats shouldn't it have ranked up by right now?', thought Axel.
Then he realized why it had not ranked up to elemental. Its fire core was not fully mastered. Unlike Axel, other trainers lacked the means to determine if their Pokemo's fire core had reached 100%.
Additionally, finding resources to level up the fire core proved challenging for most trainers. While Arcanine had diligently trained its fire mastery over the years, progress remained slow, with its fire core only reaching 70%.
However, the fire core alone did not convince Axel that Charizard would lose. Despite Arcanine's impressive stats, Charizard had undergone thorough training. What truly concerned Axel was Arcanine's ability, 'Flash Fire', which it had already been mastered to 100%.
This meant that none of Charizard's fire-type attacks would affect Arcanine, and any fire attacks on Arcanine would boost its fire powers by 50%. While some might consider this ability overpowering, Axel believed that Arcanine's other ability, 'Intimidate', held greater versatility and superiority. Yet, Axel had no intention of informing Charizard about Arcanine's abilities, as that would be deemed cheating.
###
"Let the battle begin!" Axel announced eagerly.
Charizard initiated the fight with a scorching 'Flamethrower', its go-to move. To Charizard's surprise, Arcanine directly confronted the attack, defying expectations. Wondering why Arcanine had not evaded it with its remarkable speed, Charizard began performing a 'Dragon Dance' to enhance its speed and attack stats.
However, before Charizard could complete the dance, Arcanine lunged forward with astonishing speed, landing a powerful blow on Charizard's body. The force was immense, sending Charizard flying. Despite the impact, it managed to stabilize itself mid-air.
Capitalizing on the moment, Arcanine employed 'Sunny Day' to enhance its fire powers. Unaware of the futility of using fire-type moves against Arcanine, Charizard replicated Arcanine's strategy by invoking 'Dragon Dance' and subsequently initiating 'Sunny Day'.
'You fool', Axel inwardly chided.
As fire-type attacks had no effect on Arcanine, using 'Sunny Day' proved futile and inadvertently assisted Arcanine in overpowering Charizard. Watching the second 'Sunny Day' unfold made Axel break into a nervous sweat.
Without wasting a moment, Arcanine unleashed a 'Flamethrower' toward Charizard. Although Charizard managed to dodge the attack, it quickly discovered the sheer potency of Arcanine's flames, amplified by its ability and the sunny weather. Charizard instantly grasped that Arcanine's fire powers greatly surpassed its own, leaving it seething with anger. After all, how could another Pokemon possess superior fire prowess when Charizard had dedicated extensive training to its fire abilities.
Driven by frustration, Charizard activated its 'Solar Power' ability, which, combined with the scorching sun, boosted its special attack while gradually draining its health points. Charizard engaged Arcanine in a fiery clash, relying on fire-type moves. However, after four intense minutes, Charizard had a distressing revelation—its fire-type attacks failed to inflict any damage on Arcanine.
Throughout the battle, Charizard endured multiple strikes from 'Flamethrower', 'Close Combat', 'Dig' and 'Thunder Fang'. Its claws and stomach oozed blood, and traces of it tainted its mouth.
Understanding the futility of fire attacks, Charizard shifted its strategy, resorting to 'Dragon Claw', 'Dragon Rush', 'Iron Tail', and 'Thunder Punch', Some of these attacks found their mark, but Arcanine, a seasoned combatant, refused to yield. Both Pokemons sustained injuries over time, with Charizard bearing more brunt.
To regain some lost health, Arcanine employed 'Morning Sun'. Charizard had long abandoned its 'Solar Power' ability, but its health points remained perilously low. It resorted to using 'Roost' to recover some HP. However, this move came with a glaring weakness—it drained the user's stamina, rendering them unable to continue fighting shortly after.
Charizard berated itself for not focusing on developing this move. Had it been honed to a higher stage, the stamina depletion would have taken much longer.