Ash, with his invincible physical body, wants to become a Pokémon Master...

Before Charizard could even fly into the air, Magmortar's Flame Punch was already right next to Charizard's face, delivering a powerful punch.

Charizard's face felt numb on one side, and it suffered a lot of damage.

However, it also reacted quickly, striking the duck-billed fire dragon with its claws.

"Not bad, not bad, Charizard is also excellent. I admire you more and more, young man."

【Crimson Lotus Gym Leader Blaine: Affection +5】

"The fire-breathing dragon flew up and flew over the crater."

Since Shapo said that the entire crater is a battleground, then of course the sky is included. Ash should make good use of the battleground now.

"With a quick decision, the Magmar uses Fire Blast!"

"Charizard, get out of the way!"

In the sky, Charizard has much more room to maneuver than on the ground.

With a tuck of its wings, it swooped down and glided away, successfully dodging the Duckbill Fire Dragon's massive attack.

"Alright, let's continue in this state. Charizard, use Dragon Dive."

The Charizard swooped down from the sky and quickly approached the Magmar, its Dragon Dive hitting the Magmar.

"The Duckbill Fire Dragon should seize the opportunity to grab the Charizard and prevent it from flying up again!"

In the split second of the dragon's dive, the Magmar reacted and grabbed the Charizard's arm.

Although the dragon's dive caused it damage, the Magma Dragon managed to withstand it.

"Well done, Duckbill Fire Dragon!"

"Elder, it's not just that the Magmar caught the Charizard, it's that the Charizard caught the Magmar!"

"Just grab the dragon, fly up, and use the Earth Throw!"

"How is that possible? Are you suggesting Charizard should learn to throw like it did on Earth?"

Ash's Charizard is used to training to lift boulders into the air, so Charizard would be no problem for it.

With a powerful flap of its wings, it successfully carried its opponent into the air, drawing a beautiful circle in mid-air—the shape of the Earth.

Then it quickly swooped down and slammed the Magmar onto a stone pillar next to the arena.

As the smoke cleared, the Magmar lost its ability to fight.

"Very good, congratulations on your victory, young man."

Both of them retrieved their Pokémon, and Blaine came to Ash and took out a flame-shaped badge from her pocket and handed it to him.

"This is the Crimson Badge of the Crimson Gym. Please keep it safe."

[Ding! Main quest completed: Crimson Badge!: Defeat Crimson Gym Leader Blaine]

[Rewards: Alliance Coins +500; Special Attack +2; Free Attribute Points +3]

[When you have the Crimson Badge, the power of fire-type skills increases by 5%]

"Speaking of which, I still want to ask, young man, what exactly was your mentality when you made Charizard use the Earth-style throw?"

Ash was a little embarrassed by Blaine's question and could only answer helplessly.

"That's actually because Pokémon itself likes it."

Chapter 76 Training the Fire-Breathing Dragon

The day after challenging the Cinnabar Gym, Ash and Misty were still staying at Blaine's inn.

After all, another important purpose of Ash's visit to the Cinnabar Gym was to learn powerful Fire-type moves from Blaine.

In particular, we focus on training the Charizard.

Although Charizard defeated Magmar in yesterday's match, it was actually because Seppie held back in the gym battle.

If we're really talking about raw talent, Blaine is actually at the level of one of the Elite Four or even a champion.

The Kanto region is truly a place where hidden talents abound. Not only are there Champion-level Elite Four members, but the various Gym Leaders also possess formidable strength.

All I can say is that the Kanto region is just too complicated.

"You're up so early, young man."

As soon as Xia Bo, still half asleep, came out of his room, he saw Xiao Zhi returning from his morning exercise.

"Yes, of course. How can I waste such a beautiful morning? Regular exercise is a habit I've always maintained."

[Edward: Affection +1]

"What an outstanding young man."

"It's rare that you think so highly of an old man like me. Tell me, what do you want me to train for you?"

"Saboteur, I hope you can help my Charizard learn Flamethrower and Flare Blitz."

Unlike games, in the Pokémon world, you don't need to reach a certain level to learn specific skills.

Instead, you need to actively train in a targeted manner, such as Ash's Treecko learning Seed Bomb and Swellow learning Aerial Awakening.

In the hands of a teacher with extensive experience in Pokémon skill training, various Pokémon can learn powerful skills at a younger age.

So now Ash wants Blaine to strengthen Charizard's power.

"Alright, young man, come with me to the training ground behind the hotel."

"Back then, I conducted a lot of research at the Pokémon Research Institute to explore ways to make Pokémon moves more powerful."

"Although the Pokémon Research Institute is still open, it has been abandoned for quite some time. It is usually used as a temporary accommodation for tourists who have not been able to book a hotel."

"So I moved all of the training facilities back to my dojo."

Ash knew that Misty had said that it was because of the research institute and Blaine that Cinnabar Island became the dream destination for Fire-type Pokémon trainers.

"Speaking of which, when your Pikachu used Quick Attack yesterday, I saw its amazing speed and impact. I can help it learn Volt Attack too."

"Really? Mr. Chapel, then I'll leave everything to you. Thank you so much."

Blaine is truly knowledgeable to be able to teach Pikachu Volt Attack.

It seems that in this world, scholar-type characters like Professor Oak can drop a lot of gold coins.

It seems I'll have to work harder on Professor Oak from now on.

Upon arriving at the hotel's backyard, we found various kinds of equipment displayed there.

"This is the place. Release your Charizard."

"Come out, Charizard!"

The newly released Charizard was a little confused and curiously observed its surroundings with its big head.

"Charizard, now we'll be learning new skills with Blaine. I'll train with you, so do your best!"

"Awooo, awooo!"

Holding Ash's hand, Charizard immediately raised its arm to indicate that there was no problem.

"It's good that you're motivated. Charizard hasn't had breakfast yet, has it?"

"No, I haven't eaten yet."

"That's fine. I have unlimited servings of my special curry rice. You can have some first."

Three large plates of red curry were brought out from the kitchen and placed in front of Ash and his friends, with one plate each for Charizard and Pikachu.

"We'll learn how to do the big character explosion first."

Ash, who was already very hungry, immediately began to devour the curry rice as soon as it was served, responding to Blaine as he ate.

"Okay, how do we practice, and when do we start?"

"We're already practicing now."

Perhaps because he was too hungry, Xiao Zhi didn't even notice the sizzling sound when the spoon touched the curry.

Something's wrong with this curry.

"what……"

Soon, a strong spicy sensation spread from Ash's stomach to his head, and this magical attack that turned his whole body red was quickly too much for Ash to bear.

It opened its huge mouth and fired a jet of flame.

"Ugh, it's so spicy!"

"Pikachu, Pikachu!"

Pikachu and Charizard are also firing their jets of fire together.

"Ice water, if ice water won't do, milk will do!"

Unfortunately, Blaine's words immediately filled Ash with despair.

"There's no ice water, and no milk, so you'd better finish this whole pot of curry rice."

"Feel the temperature and shape of the flames inside your mouth."

"This is cultivation. When you can shoot flames from your mouth and make them circle, you'll have passed this stage."

What kind of test is this? And what exactly is added to it that can actually make someone shoot out flames?

[Ding! Side quest triggered: Complete Blaine's first test.]

[Reward: Alliance Coins +800; Attack +1; Gain Skill: Flamethrower]

If learning to use a seed machine gun requires eating watermelon and spitting out seeds, then learning to use a big-character explosion requires eating curry that can breathe fire and spitting it out.

"Hmm, that makes sense!" Ash could only accept it.

Xiao Zhi didn't expect that he would be like a fish when it comes to eating spicy food, taking half an hour to eat just a plate of ordinary curry rice.

Charizard finished eating in 15 minutes, while Pikachu took the longest, 45 minutes.

"This curry rice has a special secret recipe, which is very good for the body. It can enhance the body's physical condition and allow you to feel the power of fire. It's very precious."

"I wouldn't normally be willing to take it out."