PS040
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| Shogakukan full volume | Chapter 40 in Vol. 3 |
| VIZ Media monthly issue | Chapter 40 in The Final Challenge! |
| VIZ Media full volume | Adventure 40 in Vol. 3 |
| Series | Pokémon Adventures |
| Location | Indigo Plateau |
A Charizard...and a Champion (Japanese: VS リザードン VS Lizardon) is the 40th chapter in the Pokémon Adventures manga, and the final chapter of the Red, Green & Blue arc.
Plot
At the Pokémon League tournament held at the Indigo Plateau, the rivals Red and Blue begin their heavily anticipated match to decide the League Champion for the year's competition, with Bill, Green, and Professor Oak among the excited audience. A simultaneous drop of their Poké Balls marks the start of the fight, revealing Blue's Charizard and Red's Saur, Green and Bill lamenting Red's obvious type disadvantage. Blue chuckles to himself, taunting Red for leading with a Grass type as he orders a Fire Spin, which Saur is barely able to dodge. As Charizard lunges in for a follow-up Fire Punch, Saur surprises it with a burst of PoisonPowder, leaving Blue shocked as Red warns him about getting overconfident. Red follows with a Razor Leaf, which Blue forced to physically assist his addled Charizard in dodging, before Red switches for Snor to continue.
Before Snor can strike with Mega Punch, Blue switches out Charizard for his Machamp, using his four arms to block Snor's movement. The two Pokémon begin to grapple with each other, Blue inviting Red to a head-on match. Machamp is eventually able to use his immense strength to lift up Snor, and Blue brags about Machamp's ability to block his enemy from punching or kicking at the same time with his four arms. Spinning the Pokémon in the air, Blue orders a Slam, leaving Snor stunned as the crowd looks on with a mix of admiration and shock.
The arena floor cracks and breaks under the pressure, and Blue smiles to himself, thanking Red for giving him the opportunity to show appreciation for evolving Machamp under his care. Confidently, he announces it's time to finish Snor, Red in silence as Bill notices a weak smile spread across his face, recognizing it as a sign that Red has yet more fight in him. Snor uses Harden in anticipation as Blue sends in Machamp for a final Karate Chop, Red and Bill both rejoicing in the success of his plan. Blue glances over to his opponent and begins to chastise him for underestimating his ability to predict such an obvious trick. Machamp strikes a part of the broken arena floor, launching Snor into the air.
Blue paraphrases a quote from Archimedes on the power of levers as Snor continues to soar higher into the air, Professor Oak happy that his grandson is finally maturing, remembering back when he first started as a Trainer and was too rigid and unwilling to adapt, concluding he's ended up becoming more like Red over the course of his journey. Blue looks over at Red with confidence, the announcer commenting that any Pokémon which touches the ground outside of the area will be immediately disqualified. Just before the announcer can finish speaking, they are interrupted by Snor coming down from above, crushing Machamp with a Double-Edge as the spectators flee from the rubble. Red brags about Snor's maneuverability, as Professor Oak thoughtfully rubs his chin, noticing that his grandson isn't the only who who has been growing up, thinking on how Red has been getting better at keeping calm and backing up his practice with considerable theory, just like Blue.
Red celebrates with his Snorlax, happy that their idea of an aerial attack worked, while Blue crouches down and comforts his Machamp, noticing the effects of Snor's Toxic on his health and recalls him to his Poké Ball, knowing he did his best. Red notices Blue's change in demeanor, remembering back to when he had to stop him from attacking a Kangaskhan and her sick baby. Blue sends in Ninetales, which Red notes as being the one both of them had fought over previously. Initially deciding to respond with Snor, he stumbles backwards, reminding Red that he should give the wounded Pokémon a chance to rest. Red and Blue look over to each other, cheerfully exchanging some banter about advice they had given the other in the past. Professor Oak chuckles at the exchange, noticing that they've picked up more than battle strategies from each other, their personalities having been affected as well.
The mood is tense, the announcer declaring that a single move in either direction is enough to tip the balance. Red quickly checks his Pokédex, and Bill is left wondering what his response to Ninetales will be, knowing any mistake could cost him everything. In the crowd, a group of four shadowed figures concentrate on the match, trying to evaluate which of the two is better.
Blue speculates over Red's inaction, knowing he must be planning on sending out something big like Gyara or Aero to counter his Fire-type moves. Giving up on waiting, he orders Ninetales to attack, forcing Red to make his choice by sending in Poli. Figuring Red assumes that a smaller target is the better choice, he calls out Fire Blast, restricting Red's movement and launching up Poli on a column of super-heated air. Poli's water sprays wildly, and is unable to stop himself from slamming into the ceiling. An attempt to switch in Pika ends similarly, both of them crashing into the ground as the Fire Blast fades away. To re-invigorate the attack, Blue switches into Charizard, and attempts to keep up the heat.
Red switches in Saur to the shock and horror of the crowd, even the announcer admonishing Red for the disastrous decision. Blue recognizes the meaning of the switch, understanding that he wants to finish the match with the two Pokémon his grandfather gave him, laughing that he would choose sentimentality over the victory. They both attack, Saur attempting to use Vine Whip to bind up Charizard, Blue beginning to chastise him until a dark rain cloud inside the building catches his attention.
Red explains that his choice to use Saur's vines was calculated, and explains that he used the water from Poli that had been turned into steam from Fire Blast and charged it with lightning using Pika's electric energy, creating a thunder cloud. Suddenly, the lightning from the cloud strikes down onto Saur's vine, functioning as a lightning rod, causing immense damage to Charizard. With Saur's vine acting as a lightning rod, Charizard is not only trapped but severely shocked by the combination attack of Red's three closest Pokémon. Red proudly informs Blue that the only reason this was possible is because of the deep connection and friendship they share, and a loud explosion echoes in the arena.
The crowd stare at the stage in anticipation as the fog lifts, revealing Blue and Charizard still standing. The announcer begins to call out the winner, but they both fall to the ground in defeat. Red, barely standing, is declared the Champion, the crowd roaring as he thanks his Pokémon for their hard work, before also collapsing to the ground.
Shortly after, the award ceremony is held for the three Trainers of Pallet Town, with Green being considered in third place since Professor Oak withdrew from the competition. As Green calls the two boys up to the stand, they exchange glances with each other, slight smiles on their faces. As the trio head home, the Mythical Pokémon Mew, who had been watching from outside the stadium, flies away.
Major events
- Red defeats Blue in the finals and becomes the ninth triennial Pokémon League Champion.
- For a list of all major events in the Pokémon Adventures manga, please see the history page.
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Spoilers end here. |
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Debuts
Pokémon debuts
Characters
Humans
Pokémon
- Poliwag (Poli; Red's; flashback)
- Poliwhirl (Poli; Red's; flashback)
- Poliwrath (Poli; Red's)
- Bulbasaur (Saur; Red's; flashback)
- Venusaur (Saur; Red's)
- Pikachu (Pika; Red's)
- Snorlax (Snor; Red's)
- Gyarados (Gyara; Red's; fantasy)
- Aerodactyl (Aero; Red's; fantasy)
- Charizard (Blue's)
- Machamp (Blue's)
- Ninetales (Blue's)
- Arbok (Koga's; flashback)
- Mew (Adventures)
- Kangaskhan (flashback)
Trivia
- This chapter is included in The Best of Pokémon Adventures: Red.
- While Blue only uses three Pokémon (Charizard, Machamp, and Ninetales), Red uses four (Saur, Snor, Poli, and Pika).
Errors
- Blue's Machamp is revealed to know Slam, which it cannot legitimately learn.
Translation edits
- In the VIZ Media and Chuang Yi releases, Blue's order for Machamp to use Submission is replaced with him claiming that Snor is helpless at the moment.
In other languages
| Language | Title | |
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| Mandarin Chinese | VS 噴火龍 (Taiwan) VS 喷火龙 (Mainland China) | |
 Czech
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Vs. Charizard | |
 Finnish
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Red vastaan Charizard | |
 European French
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Dracaufeu (Glénat) Le sens de la rivalité (Kurokawa) | |
 German
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Ein Glurak ... und ein Gewinner (Egmont) VS. Glurak (Panini Comics) | |
 Italian
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VS Charizard | |
 Korean
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VS 리자몽 | |
 Brazilian Portuguese
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VS Charizard | |
| Spanish |  Latin America
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VS Charizard |
 Spain
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Contra Charizard | |
 Vietnamese
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VS Lizardon | |
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This article is part of Project Manga, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each series of Pokémon manga. |
