Chapter 200: Winning the Championship
Lance felt his worldview shatter. He never imagined he’d one day witness a legendary move on a Charizard.
He remembered clearly—as a child, he’d read translated ancient texts describing the legendary Ho-Oh. The texts said Ho-Oh’s flame was called Sacred Fire—the supreme flame. It came in two colors: purple and white. Once released, all other flames would bow before it.
Ho-Oh had bestowed this flame upon Entei, one of its guardians. So in this world, only Ho-Oh and Entei could command this fire. Yet today, he was seeing it on a Charizard—something he’d never expected in his wildest dreams.
"Could this Charizard have Ho-Oh or Entei bloodline?" Lance wondered.
He looked at Brook on the battlefield and suddenly found the man utterly foolish—foolish beyond redemption. If you were going to abandon a shiny Charmander, why not abandon it near the Dragon Tamer Clan? Charmander belongs to the Dragon Egg Group—we would have taken good care of it!
"Sigh—infuriating." Lance felt a pang of bitter regret. Such a monumental opportunity had slipped through the hands of someone who should have recognized its value—him, the heir of the Dragon Tamer Clan. A Charizard that could not only re-evolve but also wield a legendary move like Sacred Fire—owning such a Pokémon would make even his dreams smile.
"Hey—you’ve been stunned long enough. Time to send out your second Pokémon."
On the battlefield, Rio called out to Brook across the arena—and also reminded the referee, who had been frozen in shock.
"Contestant Brook—please send out your second Pokémon. Otherwise, it will be considered a forfeit," the referee said, his voice tinged with sympathy.
He was already convinced the outcome of this match was all but certain. Brook’s strongest Pokémon had been one-shot by Rio’s ace. This kind of power gap was unprecedented in his years as a referee for the Indigo Conference—perhaps even unprecedented in the history of the tournament itself. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would have thought he was dreaming.
"Good work, Charizard," Rio said.
On the other side, Brook recalled his "Little Red" in a daze, as if struck by a heavy blow.
Why? Why is Little Gold so powerful now? Was it really a matter of training all along? Had I simply never unlocked its true potential? He stared at the Poké Ball in his hand, his emotions in turmoil.
A moment later, he sent out his second Pokémon—a Level 53 Blastoise.
"Charizard—Sacred Fire," Rio commanded.
"Blastoise—Withdraw into your shell!" Brook shouted in panic, hoping to endure the attack with defense.
"Blastoise~" Blastoise retreated into its shell. But Sacred Fire wasn’t something you could block by hiding. The searing heat roasted it even inside the shell, and its cries of pain echoed for four seconds before falling silent. Everyone knew—Blastoise was done. Charizard had scored another one-hit knockout with Sacred Fire.
"Are you serious? Is Rio going to win the entire Indigo Conference with just one Charizard—and every match a one-shot kill?"
"His strength is incredible. If he wins like this, he’ll be the strongest champion this tournament has seen in a decade!"
"Who could have predicted a Charizard this powerful would appear? I thought it was going all out in earlier matches—turns out it was holding back all along."
"My gut tells me even now, Charizard isn’t using its full power. Just look at how relaxed it is—how strong is this Charizard really? Who can force it to show everything?"
The audience murmured in awe, completely won over by Charizard’s overwhelming strength. They’d expected Rio to win today’s final—but not this easily.
Mr. Fuji watched Rio and Charizard on the big screen, their expressions calm and composed. He remembered when Rio first arrived—how he’d deliberately let Munchlax hurt him to get Charmander out of its slump. He remembered Rio commanding that same Charmander to defeat the invading Rockets. And then, Rio had grown stronger and stronger at an astonishing pace.
"You truly deserve this honor. Surpassing Giovanni may not be out of reach," Mr. Fuji murmured.
Rio was getting closer to the goal Mr. Fuji had set for him. Once he won the conference, then defeated the Elite Four to become the League Champion, Mr. Fuji would fulfill his promise and reveal the secret of the lockbox.
"This Rio is ridiculously lucky. How does he keep catching Pokémon that make everyone else green with envy?" Lance thought, remembering that Rio also had a Munchlax that could win battles with just Metronome. Jealousy surged within him to new heights.
For a moment, he almost wished Rio would die in whatever attack was supposed to come today. Then he could nobly avenge him—and just as nobly, take over all his Pokémon. He knew that with those Pokémon under his command, after some patient training, he could break the Elite Four structure that had stood for years. He’d defeat Ice-type Lorelei, Fighting-type Bruno, Ghost-type Agatha—and become the first dual-region Champion of Kanto and Johto.
But then he frowned: "Why haven’t the attackers shown up yet? This might be the fastest final in conference history. If they don’t act soon, Rio will claim the championship."
Minutes later, when Brook’s final Pokémon—a Nidoking—fell to Charizard’s Sacred Fire, the final match was over. Amid the deafening roar of the stadium, Rio was declared the Indigo Conference Champion.
"What happened? Weren’t there supposed to be attackers?" Aria and Saurion exchanged bewildered looks.
They’d been on edge the entire match, their nerves stretched taut, expecting chaos to erupt at any moment—only to watch Rio win without a single incident.
"Maybe the attack will happen during the awards ceremony?" Saurion whispered.
"That’s possible—the ceremony is when everyone’s guard is down." Aria nodded. She raised her communicator and ordered the undercover officers to remain patient—the crisis wasn’t over yet.
On the guest booth, Lance had the same thought: "If nothing happened during the match, the attack must be planned for the awards ceremony."
"Stay alert. Rio wouldn’t lie about something like this—Articuno’s feather is real."