Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [223]

The battle between Sceptile and Charizard kicked off at full throttle.

“Sceptile, use [Magical Leaf]!”

At Gary’s command, the leaves on Sceptile’s forearms lit up with a brilliant green glow—then with a sharp motion, it flung them forward!

A flurry of glowing leaves shot toward Charizard like blades.

Charizard, unfazed, responded by spitting a stream of flames from its mouth, intending to incinerate the [Magical Leaf] attack as it had before.

But this time—Charizard had miscalculated.

A gleam flickered in Sceptile’s eyes, and in the next instant, the leaves in the air suddenly curved, splitting and arcing around to strike from both sides.

Charizard hesitated, visibly startled by the sudden trajectory change. It looked left, then right—clearly unsure what to do.

Ash, seeing this, shouted out in a panic, “Charizard, dodge it!”

...

Seriously? August, watching from the sidelines, nearly rolled his eyes.

He’d been hoping Blaine’s training would at least bring some surprises—yet it was the same old routine.

Ash, what exactly did you train?

Still, there had been improvement. At the very least, Charizard now listened to Ash’s commands. The moment Ash gave the order, Charizard flared its wings and shot into the air.

You had to admit, Mr. Charizard really had the moves. His takeoff was clean, smooth, and decisive—he managed to escape the incoming attack just in time.

However…

“...That’s [Magical Leaf], you know!” August muttered.

If Ash had even skimmed the books Gary once gave him, he’d know that [Magical Leaf] tracks its target. That’s one of its most basic properties!

Charizard had ascended high into the air, glaring down at Sceptile below, ready to deliver a crushing counterattack—but before it could even move…

Ash’s voice rang out again—“Charizard—!”

Whoosh!

Boom!

The [Magical Leaf] had already closed the distance—one of the glowing blades slammed square into Charizard’s rear end.

Grass-type damage against a Fire/Flying Pokémon wasn’t exactly threatening, but the location of the hit?

That was psychological warfare.

It didn’t hurt much, but it sure was humiliating.

You could practically see the trauma on Charizard’s face. Like it had just been slapped with a Magikarp.

Mr. Charizard was in pain—deep, emotional pain.

Watching it unfold, Gary couldn’t help laughing, flicking back his bangs. “Tsk, Ash—you’ve still got a long way to go!”

He had briefly felt a bit tense when he saw Ash send out Charizard, but now? It looked like Charizard was all show. Even with the type disadvantage, he could turn this around with solid strategy and command.

Feeling smug again, Gary’s grin widened.

But Ash was fuming. “Charizard, show Gary what our training has done! Use [Flamethrower]!”

Up in the sky, Charizard drew in a deep breath, tucked its wings, and dove downward in a steep nosedive.

As it plummeted, it opened its jaws and launched a fierce stream of flames toward Sceptile!

It was a fearsome assault. That Flamethrower was no joke.

But Sceptile had been prepared. It crouched slightly—then with a spring-loaded motion, leapt into the air.

As it spun midair, it whipped its glowing leafy arms around, bringing them down toward Charizard in a precise strike.

[Leaf Blade]

Sceptile had jumped right in front of Charizard, meaning it had clearly seen the counterattack coming.

Logically, Charizard should’ve dodged. Ash had even yelled for it to evade.

But Charizard’s temper got the better of it.

Last time it tried to dodge, it ended up getting hit in the butt by a tracking leaf attack.

Its butt still hurt.

So this time…

Charizard’s eyes flashed with a dangerous glint. In midair, it suddenly rolled its body—turning to face Sceptile head-on!

Then, with a deep inhale, it opened its jaws.

But this time, it wasn’t [Flamethrower].

It was [Heat Wave].

A blast of sweltering air erupted from Charizard’s mouth, engulfing Sceptile in a wave of intense heat.

There was no dodging it—at this close range, [Heat Wave] acted like an area-of-effect move. Full-body coverage.

The leaves on Sceptile’s arms, head, and tail began to scorch and curl, their edges turning a brittle yellow.

Sceptile flinched in pain and tried to pull away—

But Charizard wasn’t about to let it go that easily.

Roaring, it powered through Sceptile’s [Leaf Blade] strike, seized the Grass-type in a tight grip, and rocketed upward into the sky.

Higher and higher they climbed—then, at the peak of their ascent, Charizard suddenly stopped.

And dropped.

Like a meteor.

Charizard dove, dragging the struggling Sceptile down with it. Just before they hit the ground, it flung Sceptile away and flared its wings, using the recoil from the wind to halt midair.

Boom!

Dust erupted from the impact.

When the smoke cleared, Charizard stood tall above a fainted Sceptile—like a king.

“Sceptile!”

Gary, who had just been smirking a moment ago, was now utterly stunned.

That combo… the sheer gap between what Charizard had just done and what it looked like before—he didn’t even have time to react before Sceptile was down.

Since when did Ash’s Charizard fight like a completely different Pokémon the moment it stopped taking orders?

This doesn’t make sense!

...

It makes perfect sense.

August had watched the entire beatdown unfold with quiet satisfaction.

Now that looks like the real Mr. Charizard.

Earlier, it hadn’t even been able to deal with a [Magical Leaf]—clearly, Ash’s commands were holding it back.

Sure, if Charizard had followed Ash’s instructions from start to finish, it might’ve still won.

But not like this.

The days of training had solved one problem: Charizard now respected and obeyed Ash. Their bond had grown.

But that didn’t fix Ash’s underdeveloped command skills.

Which was why letting Charizard fight on its own… actually yielded better results than having Ash dictate every move.

Back on the battlefield, Gary had finally composed himself. He silently returned Sceptile to its Poké Ball, his face unreadable.

It didn’t bother him too much—Charizard just happened to be a bad matchup. He could turn it around in the next round.

No way Ash gets to win that easily.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a new Poké Ball, and flung it onto the field.

Roar!

With a heavy thud, a hulking, violet Pokémon emerged—a massive beast with spiked armor and a brutal glare.

Nidoking!

The towering creature beat its chest with a low, echoing growl. Its thick tail casually swept across the ground, smashing a protruding stone into dust.

“…That thing looks tough,” Ash muttered.

This wasn’t going to be an easy opponent. Should he switch to Kingler?

Ash hesitated—then looked toward Charizard, silently asking its opinion.

Unlike the aloof, indifferent Charizard of the past, this one looked back at Ash without hesitation. It snorted a stream of flame and struck a battle-ready pose.

Leave it to me.

“Alright then,” Ash grinned. “Go get ’em, Charizard!”

---

T/N: WOOOO CHARIZARD

This is a fan translation of 我，宝可梦称号大师！ by 落唯 白良. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!