"Pii~!!"
Clefairy nimbly leapt into the air and mimicked Squirtle's Water Gun with pinpoint precision. With puffed cheeks, it fired a jet of water as thick as a child's arm from its tiny mouth.
"Charmander, dodge it!!" Keisuke shouted urgently as the water beam cut through the choking black smoke like a javelin hurled by a titanic Olympian—fast, fierce, and dead-on.
"Squirtle, use Rapid Spin—now!!" Okazaki barked his next order.
But it was too late.
BAM!!
Before Squirtle could even start spinning, Froakie burst out of the smoke like lightning and slammed into it with Quick Attack, sending the water-type flying across the battlefield.
PFFFT–BOOM!
At the same moment, Charmander—still recovering inside the dissipating smoke—was caught off guard. It hadn't expected Clefairy to copy Water Gun and redirect the attack.
The water beam struck with full force.
It wasn't a critical hit, but Water still trumps Fire. Charmander was sent tumbling across the ground with a pained cry.
With both Squirtle and Charmander knocked off balance, the battlefield shifted dramatically. The chaos of crossfire, tactics, and counters cleared—and the momentum was now clearly with Ash and Serena.
The campers watching from the sidelines had half expected this, but they still couldn't help clinging to the hope that Okazaki and Keisuke might somehow pull off an upset.
Now, seeing their idols on the back foot, most could only sigh and mutter: "So it really wasn't enough..."
Thanks to Ash's hands-on coaching and battle insights, Serena had stepped into the fight fully focused, mirroring Ash's signature intensity and clarity.
"Clefairy, use Disarming Voice on Squirtle!!" Serena didn't hesitate for even a second. The moment she saw the gap, she struck.
Since Froakie's Water-type attacks wouldn't deal significant damage to Squirtle, who was also Water-type, Serena predicted that Ash would shift focus to Charmander next—and smartly redirected Clefairy's attack toward Squirtle to complement that.
"Froakie, hit Charmander with Bubble!" Ash followed up without missing a beat.
And Serena had been right.
In perfect sync, Ash and Serena executed their plan—precise and relentless.
A breeze swept in from the woods beyond the camp, scattering the last remnants of the smokescreen.
With the battlefield cleared, Charmander stood completely exposed.
PFFT PFFT PFFT!
Froakie inhaled sharply and launched a barrage of compressed air-filled water balloons—each orb spinning through the air with deadly accuracy.
Squirtle ← (Disarming Voice) Clefairy
Charmander ← (Bubble) Froakie
"Squirtle, dodge!!"
"Charmander, move!!"
Okazaki and Keisuke were under intense pressure, shouting in panic as both of Ash and Serena's Pokémon unleashed their wide-area moves.
But there was no dodging now.
Both Disarming Voice and Bubble were AoE (area-of-effect) moves, not single-target. And worse still, Squirtle and Charmander had just been hit—they were still reeling, making dodging nearly impossible.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"Chaaaaar!!"
Froakie's attack landed first. Bubbles burst across Charmander's body in a rapid staccato. It stumbled backward, wailing in pain.
"Squirtle?!"
Squirtle knew it couldn't escape the sound-based attack, so it withdrew into its shell to endure the blow.
But this time, that strategy backfired.
While Squirtle's defenses were great against physical and special attacks, Disarming Voice was neither—it was a sound-based move.
And inside the shell, the echoing of that sugary-sweet voice only amplified the damage!
"Piiiiiiiii!"
"Squirt—!!"
The sound drilled into Squirtle's skull like a thousand soft needles. Though the attack was painless, the magical charm and mind-numbing dissonance of the voice overwhelmed it.
Its eyes spun as it popped its head and limbs back out—two big, dazed pupils turning into heart-shaped swirls. Squirtle was completely charmed.
"Squirtle!!"
"Charmander!!"
Their Trainers called out in panic.
But Ash and Serena were relentless.
"Froakie, don't stop! Hit Charmander with Bubble again!"
"Clefairy, now use Disarming Voice on Charmander too!!"
Since Squirtle was already incapacitated by charm, Serena joined Ash in focusing down Charmander next—then they'd deal with Squirtle later.
Perfect timing. Perfect execution.
FWOOM!! FWOOM!!
The next wave hit with even more intensity.
"Squirtle, snap out of it!!"
"Charmander, use Ember—fight back!!" Keisuke screamed.
"Chaaaaaaar!!"
Charmander struggled to rise, opening its mouth to launch an Ember in retaliation.
But it was too late.
Froakie and Clefairy weren't aligned from the same angle—one attacked head-on, the other from the flank. The split trajectory confused Charmander, who froze trying to decide which one to target.
And that brief hesitation cost everything.
Two-pronged. Timed to perfection. A symphony of water and song.
BOOM!!
WHAM!!
Charmander was hit from both sides and slammed to the ground once more—hard.
With Froakie at Level 16 and Clefairy at Level 10, both hitting with maximum force, Charmander simply couldn't stand back up this time.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You've defeated LV.9 Charmander. Gained +130 EXP.]
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T/N:
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