Pokémon: Rebron as Red, The Strongest Champion

Ignoring Moltres's pleading eyes, Zapdos erupted with electricity, summoning a thundercloud out of thin air above the volcano crater. The cloud then channeled a torrent of current down into Zapdos itself.

To Moltres's horror, Zapdos took no damage. Instead, it joyfully absorbed the current, raising its Special Attack even higher.

Zapdos gathered its power and fired a cannon blast of pure electricity at Moltres—it was using Zap Cannon.

"Stop! Don't you dare harm Moltres!"

A lance of pure ice shot from the distance. Just as it was about to strike Zapdos, Charizard, positioned below, unleashed a torrent of flame. The pillar of fire easily vaporized the beam of freezing energy.

The sudden intervention made Red turn his head toward the direction of the attack, wondering who would dare interfere.

Under the watchful eyes of Red and his Pokémon, a cloaked young man appeared. He had short, vibrant red hair and rode a powerful Dragonite. His clothes and face bore a striking resemblance to Lance.

"Who are you?" Red asked instinctively, assuming the newcomer was some hardcore Lance fan.

But then he reconsidered. A Dragonite wasn't a Pokémon just any trainer could handle. Red began to guess the newcomer's true identity.

"Vincent of the Dragon Clan, a Dragon Tamer!" the young man answered haughtily, his disdainful tone grating on the nerves.

"So, not a fan of Lance, but a clansman," Red said flatly, already annoyed by Vincent's arrogance.

"Watch your tone, kid," Vincent sneered. "You have no right to utter the name of my cousin, Lance, the Dragon Master of the Elite Four! Show some respect!"

"Yo! You got a lot of nerve, punk!" the ancient Gengar shot back, pounding a spectral fist on Red's shoulder. "Calling our boss 'kid'? You got a death wish or something? Easy there, Boss, easy."

"You're just making this more awkward," Red muttered.

"I have no time for your talking phantom's antics," Vincent said with supreme arrogance. "Make your Zapdos stop its attack on Moltres immediately. Don't think you can just trample on the League's rules because you got lucky and caught one legendary bird!"

"Is that so? My Charizard is curious to see what your Dragonite is made of," Red said coolly, giving a silent command to the Pokémon beside him.

"ROAR!"

Charizard let out a menacing roar that shook the very air. Vincent expected his own Dragonite to roar back, but was shocked to find it trembling instinctively, a primal fear in its eyes as if the Pokémon before it was not a Charizard, but a dragon of a far purer and more terrifying bloodline.

"Impossible! A mere mutated Charizard?!" Vincent exclaimed in disbelief. He scanned Charizard's form, and his eyes froze when he saw its crimson pupils.

"Could you be… the Charmander that was meant for me?!" Vincent realized with a jolt.

If Charizard hadn't accidentally injured the Charmander that was supposed to be Red's, perhaps Vincent would be its trainer now.

Of course, this was just his own fantasy.

Charizard snorted a wisp of flame in disdain. It found Vincent's attempt to claim a connection now to be utterly pathetic. Charizard knew one thing very clearly: if its master wasn't Red, it would never have become this strong. After all, the stacking of abilities was a gift unique to Red's power.

With a grateful glance at its master, Charizard beat its wings and shot toward Dragonite, ready for a duel.

"Dragonite, use Dragon Claw!"

"Charizard, you too! Dragon Claw!"

Emerald energy coated the claws of both Pokémon as they clashed, testing each other's strength in a shower of sparks.

"This Charizard's arms are unbelievably strong!" Vincent said, stunned. Only in close combat did he notice the "bizarre" development of Charizard's limbs.

He knew that after evolving, a Charizard's powerful arms would typically atrophy. Yet Red's Charizard still possessed the same robust build as a Charmeleon.

To Vincent's further astonishment, his Dragonite was being overpowered, pushed back by Charizard's strength alone.

"Dragonite, use Extreme Speed and break away!"

Seeing the disadvantage, Vincent gave a decisive command to disengage.

Dragonite slammed into Charizard's body and used the momentum to create distance. To avoid hindering the battle, Vincent had Dragonite set him down on the ground before it flew back into the sky, its small wings beating furiously.

"Dragonite, use Thunderbolt!"

Playing the type advantage, Vincent ordered a super-effective Thunderbolt. Unfortunately, the move was incapable of causing any real harm to Charizard.

However, to avoid having its Multiscale ability broken by the electric current, Charizard countered with Flamethrower. The scorching pillar of fire met the high-voltage electricity, and the collision resulted in a fierce explosion.

"Stop watching and finish your business!" the ancient Gengar urged, seeing Zapdos distracted by the fight between Charizard and Dragonite.

'Oh, right!'

Zapdos snapped back to attention, turning to finish Moltres off with Zap Cannon.

Moltres had hoped Vincent and his Dragonite could save it, but Charizard had blocked the way. It closed its eyes in despair, awaiting its fate.

The piercing sound of electricity shot past its ear. Moltres opened its eyes in confusion, only to see that Zapdos had fired the Zap Cannon into the sky, doing no real damage.

'Don't get any ideas,' Zapdos's thought crackled. 'You still have to faint!'

With that, before Moltres could protest, Zapdos unleashed a Thunderbolt that struck its body.

The high-voltage current engulfed Moltres. Its charred body fell back down into the crater, its whereabouts unknown.

Red didn't use his Viridian Power to heal it. He knew of Moltres's special ability to heal its wounds by bathing itself in lava.

Zapdos had also held back as much as possible to avoid causing serious injury. The initial Zap Cannon was merely a feint to crush Moltres's will to fight. After all, as a fellow legendary bird, Zapdos had no intention of killing its own kind; it simply wanted to prove who was the boss.

Seeing that he had misunderstood Red's intentions, Vincent grunted, his expression sullen. But for someone as proud as Vincent, a proper apology was impossible. He wouldn't even offer a slight bow.

Not unless he was facing a trainer far stronger than himself.

Red knew Vincent's type well. To earn his respect, he had to completely overwhelm him.