"Evolve?"
Aron was startled for a moment as Torchic's body became surrounded by a brilliant white light. He whispered to himself.
Evolution is a key process for Pokémon to grow stronger.
The difference in strength between a pre-evolved and post-evolved Pokémon is immense, and the appearance also changes significantly.
This was the first time Aron had witnessed a Pokémon evolve with his own eyes. He stared intently at Torchic, watching it glowing in the white light.
After a while, the white light dissipated, and Torchic's figure had changed dramatically.
Its body now had a mix of olive green and orange hues, standing about one meter tall. Its palms had sharp, cold claws that shimmered slightly under the sunlight.
"Com-busken!"
Seeing Aron looking at him, Combusken let out a low cry. His orange eyes gleamed like sharp knives, and his iconic cockscomb stood tall.
[Pokémon: Combusken (Fire/Fighting)]
Ability: Speed Boost
Qualification: Champion
Skills: Grab, Peck, Growl, Ember, Baton Pass, Heat Wave, Detect, Sand Attack, Aerial Ace, Double Kick, Feather Dance, Agility, Quick Attack, Flame Charge, Flamethrower
Level: Lv16 (Normal Level)]
Compared to before, Combusken's skill pool had expanded greatly, and his range of attacks had widened significantly. This was the result of two weeks of intense training.
After evolving into Combusken, it gained an additional Fighting-type, allowing it to learn more skills and boosting its combat power considerably.
Aron observed Combusken's strong lower limbs and muttered softly, "Combusken's main means of attack are the scorching flames from its mouth and its devastating leg attacks."
"Next training will focus on those two aspects," he thought.
"Kid, do you want to continue?" The voice of the sparring partner interrupted Aron's thoughts.
Seeing that Combusken was in high spirits, his eyes filled with fighting intent, Aron nodded. "Continue."
The sparring partner called for a break and tossed another Poké Ball.
"It's your turn, Rhyhorn!"
"Roar!"
With a deep roar, Rhyhorn landed on the field with a heavy 'boom'. Its body was covered with tough gray armor, and a single horn protruded from its head.
[Pokémon: Rhyhorn (Ground/Rock)]
[Ability: Rock Head
Qualification: Advanced
Level: Lv15 (Normal Level)]
Combusken stood firm on the field, its eyes sharp as knives. No longer the playful Torchic, Combusken now resembled a sharp sword—focused and strong.
Pokémon scholars have studied that each evolution can change a Pokémon's personality to some extent.
A perfect example was Ash's Charmander. As a young Pokémon, it was friendly, but after evolving into Charmeleon, it became rebellious, no longer following Ash's commands.
Although this may have been due to Ash's lack of experience, the change in Charmander's personality was the biggest factor.
After the failure in the previous match, the sparring partner was no longer careless. He treated Aron as a rival on the same level and shouted, "Rhyhorn, Horn Attack!"
"Horn!"
Rhyhorn let out a growl and charged toward Combusken with overwhelming momentum. Its horn glowed with a brilliant white light, sharp energy crackling around it.
"Aerial Ace!" Aron commanded calmly.
Combusken watched Rhyhorn's approach, and just as they came close, it suddenly stepped back and then swept forward, dashing to Rhyhorn's left side. With a powerful kick, it sent Rhyhorn flying!
Boom!
Combusken's kick was so powerful that Rhyhorn froze in place, momentarily stunned. However, Rhyhorn had strong resistance to Flying-type moves, so it took only weak damage.
"Double Kick!" Aron ordered, pressing his advantage.
"Move out of the way!" the sparring partner yelled, raising his arms.
At this point, Combusken was positioned to the left of Rhyhorn. For Rhyhorn to avoid the next strike, it had to either keep charging forward or move to the right.
"Roar!" Rhyhorn growled in frustration.
Rhyhorn chose to move forward, but despite its strong physical defense, its speed was far inferior to that of Combusken, especially with Combusken's Speed Boost ability.
"Combusken!"
In an instant, Combusken caught up to Rhyhorn, swinging its leg with a force that created a sonic boom. The sound was deafening.
Then, with a series of bang-bang sounds, Combusken kicked Rhyhorn twice in quick succession, sending the Pokémon flying through the air!
Boom!
Rhyhorn's heavy body hit the ground with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Roar!!"
After a few moments, Rhyhorn shakily got to its feet, its eyes burning with fury. The Pokémon let out a fierce roar.
Rhyhorn had been badly injured by Combusken's Fighting-type moves, its body weakening like a candle in the wind.
"Quick Attack!" Aron shouted.
"Com-busken!"
Combusken's condition was perfect; it rushed like a whirlwind, a white afterimage trailing behind it. In an instant, it reached Rhyhorn and struck with precision.
Boom!
Rhyhorn couldn't avoid the attack and was knocked down with perfect accuracy.
"Rhyhorn is unable to battle, Aron wins!" The referee raised the flag and announced loudly.
"Take a break, and we'll continue later," Aron said.
Although Combusken was still ready for more, Cubone hadn't fully recovered, and Rhyhorn had just fallen after a short recovery period.
---
Half an hour later
As Aron's figure disappeared from sight, the sparring partner and the young referee exchanged a glance.
After a long silence, the sparring partner finally spoke. "Where did this little prodigy come from?"
The referee shrugged. "How should I know?"
"The level of command is so sophisticated, it's completely different from the recklessness trainers. It's like he's an experienced senior trainer," the sparring partner muttered as he remembered the battle.
The referee nodded, adding, "If I'm not mistaken, he only started training with Pokémon two weeks ago, right?"
"It took only two weeks for Torchic to evolve into Combusken, and its battle power is already this outstanding. It's truly unbelievable."
"Before you arrived, he was sparring with someone his own age. Their Squirtle just reached the normal level."
"In previous years, training a Squirtle to normal level at this time would have been quite remarkable."
The sparring partner sighed. "I guess we're always comparing ourselves to someone else."
"Yes," the referee replied.
"There will always be a genius who is more powerful than the next. That has been the way of things through all ages."