Kalia wasn't surprised to hear about the delay due to weather conditions; she too felt the intense heat when Ninetales activated its Drought Ability, but her focus on directing the battle overshadowed any discomfort.
Today's battles left Kalia feeling incredibly satisfied. Charmeleon's strength instilled immense confidence in her, allowing her to approach each match with unwavering assurance of victory—a sensation entirely new to Kalia.
This newfound self-assurance gradually transformed her mindset, yet remarkably, she maintained her composure without becoming overconfident. Instead, she approached every battle with both confidence and calmness.
A Trainer's confidence is crucial; without it, their commands become hesitant, sometimes affecting the Pokemon's performance negatively, leading to mistakes.
The better a Trainer's state of mind, the greater their control over the battle, enabling more precise strategic thinking. Over time, this strong sense of confidence can also influence the Pokemon positively, fostering increased motivation during training sessions.
In the afternoon, Kalia returned to the training grounds. The mid-level class students now looked at her differently, many actively seeking her out for training sessions, conversations, and discussions on nurturing their Pokemon.
***
Time flew by, and two days passed swiftly.
The second round of competitions took longer than anticipated, lasting three full days before concluding. Finally, the final rankings for this phase were announced.
Although students from the Ellie Region still dominated the top twenty spots, their advantage had significantly diminished compared to the previous round. In the top ten, both Sebas and Ellie Regions claimed five positions each.
Of course, the second-round rankings were not definitive, as there remained one more challenge round to determine the ultimate winner.
Kalia emerged at the top with the highest points, undefeated throughout the competition. Her success was primarily due to her exceptional strength combined with favorable luck, avoiding encounters with other leading contenders.
Her toughest opponent was the student ranked fourth, whom she defeated convincingly, securing the most points overall.
Despite Kalia's first-place finish, once the third round commenced, she would become the primary target for challenges. Anyone capable of defeating her could potentially claim the top spot.
However, even after beating Kalia, they would still face challenges from others. Those who lost could no longer initiate challenges but could only be challenged themselves.
The third round was scheduled for tomorrow, and currently, Kalia was at the training grounds, diligently practicing with her Pokemon. Holding the top rank brought some pressure to Kalia, as she would face continuous challenges starting tomorrow.
Being first in the second round held no significant advantage; only maintaining the first position during the third round would secure the true top spot. Historically, many students who initially claimed the first place inadvertently lost their standing, dropping outside the top ten after being defeated.
Once the first-ranked trainer suffered a loss, they could no longer challenge for the top spot, limited only to challenging the second rank. This limitation served as a disadvantage for holding the number one position.
Evening arrived.
Lian entered the system space.
Over these three days of intense battles, Lian felt thoroughly invigorated. Charmeleon's inherently combative nature naturally influenced him, making him more receptive to battling. Once engaged, he easily got fully immersed in the heat of combat.
The sensation of defeating opponents with a single move was incredibly exhilarating. There were no flashy maneuvers, just the mastery of Flamethrower pushed to its limits.
The results from his relentless efforts over these three days were immensely satisfying. Aside from Combat Points gains, solely focusing on levels, Lian had officially reached Level 30, bringing him closer to evolution.
Charmeleon
Type: Fire
Gender: ♂
Level: Lv 30
Abilities: Solar Power / Blaze
Moves: ..., Scary Face
Stats: Stamina - 1150, Attack - 716, Defense - 860, Special Attack - 1172, Special Defense - 902, Speed - 1052
Explosive Power: 1.7 (+)
Rock Resistance: 1
Water Resistance: 1
Fire Element Mastery: 31%, Dragon Element Mastery: 10%, Normal Element Mastery: 10%, Other Element Mastery: 2%...
At level thirty, Lian's overall stats surpassed those of many other Pokemon significantly. Apart from the Attack stat, which remained below its maximum potential, all other abilities had notably increased.
The Special Attack stat was nearing 1200, far surpassing Grovyle's current Special Attack stat of just over 500. Lian's Special Attack capability was more than double that of Grovyle's.
Upon reaching level thirty, Lian learned a new Normal-type move called Scary Face. This move projects a terrifying expression, causing opponents to feel fear and subsequently reducing their speed.
Scary Face has a decent effect, influencing the opponent's emotions, but in terms of actual speed reduction, it is not particularly significant. It would be unrealistic for a Pokemon to become immobilized simply due to fear; however, it can still induce hesitation or mistakes during battle.
The primary effect of Scary Face is to instill fear in the opponent's Pokemon, leading to various mistakes during battle. However, if facing a determined or well-trained Pokemon with courage, Scary Face would have minimal impact.
Thus, while not as potent as described, when used effectively, Scary Face can still play a significant role. It largely depends on the Trainer and their Pokemon's mastery of the move.
For now, Lian hasn't focused on increasing proficiency for Scary Face, considering it's just a status move. However, once he has spare Combat Points in the future, he might consider enhancing it, potentially synergizing it with other moves.
Over these three days, Lian refrained from immediately using his Combat Points, instead opting to accumulate them for a single bulk upgrade of his Fire Element Energy control.
Currently, Lian's total Combat Points reached 9,766. Today's combat evaluation rewarded him with over three thousand points, quite fortunate as his first match was against a top-ten student, whom he defeated without sustaining any damage.
With nine thousand plus Combat Points, Lian planned to invest all into improving his Fire Element Energy control. Now, each 1% increase required two thousand Combat Points, significantly expensive.
31%... 32%... 33%...
The Fire Element Energy Control Rating gradually increased, with each click consuming two thousand Combat Points instantly, causing Lian's heart to ache. The higher the mastery level, the more Combat Points it required.
Finally, the Fire Element Mastery reached 35%, getting closer to the desired 40%. With only 1,766 Combat Points remaining, he couldn't continue enhancing it further.
However, Lian had a solution. During this period, his Mastery of Evil Elemental Energy had increased to 2%, which could now be exchanged for Combat Points.
Converting 2% Mastery yielded 400 Combat Points, bringing his total to 2,166 points, allowing him to proceed with improving his Fire Element Energy Control Rating.
In the next moment, it jumped to 36%. Lian anticipated that reaching 40% would significantly enhance his control over fire energy.
Just 4% away.
Lian remained patient; achieving 4% more mastery equated to approximately eight thousand Combat Points, which he could easily accumulate soon. Even on the lowest end, he earned at least two thousand Combat Points per day, meaning it would take no more than four days to gather enough.