Paragon

Origin Child [1]

PARAGON

Origin Child Arc [1]

Chapter 1 : World Champion

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"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt, let's go!"

"Charizard, Fire Blast now!"

A torrent of golden electricity erupted around Pikachu's tiny form, and he shot forward towards his opponent, poised to deliver the final blow of their climactic battle. At the other end of the battlefield, Charizard roared, and a great column of fire geysered from its maw before splitting into five and falling back over its body like armor, and it too burst forward with a spin.

Pikachu and Charizard smashed into each other and dust exploded outward. The elements encasing them mixed together, screeching as they fought for dominance. Lightning tore through flames, fire burned through electricity, and neither side seemed to be able to overcome the other. Pikachu grit his teeth and willed himself forward, but Charizard refused to brook even an inch of quarter, growling in defiance.

In his mind's eye, Pikachu's journey replayed itself. From his initial meeting with Ash and their ensuing quarrels, to all of their friends that joined them on their adventures as they traveled across the various regions, to finally, Greninja's victory against Alain's Charizard in the Lumiose Conference finals a year ago. Come to think of it, it was a Charizard then that stood between Ash and his first conference victory, and it was a Charizard now that barred him from the title of World Champion. As if Pikachu would let himself get upstaged.

As his determination swelled, visions of his friends crystallized in his mind, one by one, as if joining their wills to his own. They smiled at him and clenched their fists, urging him to carry their master's long held dream into reality. Then, the young man himself appeared. Ash smiled, extending a fist.

Pikachu's eyes shot open, blazing with newfound resolve. Power began to surge in the depths of his core, and the crackling vortex of electricity around him throbbed as Pikachu siphoned more of his depthless energy into the assault. He'd feel this later for sure, but a sore body was a minuscule price to pay for victory.

Charizard snorted and the skin around its eyes tightened, sensing the balance of their clash beginning to tip. It roared, increasing the intensity of its fire. The waves of red and orange that crashed between them shuddered and spat, turning lighter and lighter as they got hotter.

But impossibly, impossibly, Pikachu didn't falter in the slightest; a ferocious scowl that could put many a monster to shame was all that adorned the mouse's face. Charizard grit its fangs nearly to the point of shattering. The frustration of this insurmountable wall burned. But the fear that came next was cold. Its eyes widened.

Pikachu's electricity engulfed Charizard, snuffing out its effulgent fire like storm clouds before a summer sun. It roared, trying to muster up another bout of power before it could be overwhelmed, but a veteran like Pikachu would never allow a recovery at this stage. Pikachu ripped through the last of its flames, slamming into its head before leaping back and extinguishing his attack, not wanting to exhaust himself a single second further.

Charizard's eyes rolled in their sockets and it stumbled backward, groaning. Time stopped as every single soul in the stadium held their breath. Then Charizard pitched backward, falling to the ground unconscious. Black smoke trailed from its defeated snout.

The referee, riding an Aegislash, glided over to inspect the outcome, but there was hardly anything to inspect. The outcome was clear. After a moment, he made his declaration.