Kalia wasn't surprised that Hassa didn't switch out Feraligatr. However, she knew if he continued without replacing it, Feraligatr would inevitably be defeated.
Charmeleon's defensive capabilities impressed Kalia, but its evasive skills were even more remarkable. With its burst of speed technique, Feraligatr would struggle to land a single hit on Charmeleon.
In this scenario, defeating Feraligatr wouldn't be challenging for Charmeleon. The boost from Sunny Day allowed Charmeleon to ignore type resistances. Once Feraligatr was down, the battle would shift to three against two, significantly diminishing Hassa's team advantage.
"Go, Charmeleon!"
Kalia tossed her Poké Ball, and with a thud, Charmeleon landed on the battlefield. Although shorter than Feraligatr, its imposing stature still commanded respect, matching the presence of its opponent.
As soon as Lian emerged, he saw Feraligatr charging towards him rapidly, legs pounding like a tank bearing down, jaws filled with sharp teeth wide open.
"Charmeleon, dodge."
Before Kalia's reminder finished, Lian had already activated his Explosive Power, instantly leaping to the edge of the battlefield and effortlessly evading Feraligatr's Crunch attack.
If Feraligatr hadn't been eagerly waiting for his appearance to launch an attack, Lian wouldn't have needed to utilize Explosive Power; his regular speed would have sufficed to dodge.
Feraligatr's Crunch move, although limited in damage against Lian at this point, still required him to evade. Since Explosive Power had no significant cost and could be used again after a short cooldown period, there was no need to conserve it.
"It dodged?" Hassa momentarily froze but quickly recalled Charmeleon's exceptional evasive abilities from previous battles.
This reinforced Hassa's belief that Charmeleon's defensive capabilities must be weak. As long as he could land attacks on Charmeleon, defeating Kalia would be effortless. Without her Charmeleon, Kalia's other Pokémon posed little fighting challenge.
"Charmeleon, use Flamethrower!" Kalia called out, initiating a counterattack.
At that moment, Lian observed the shimmering barrier surrounding him, which must have been the protective shield created by Safeguard.
However, Safeguard only defends against moves causing abnormal status effects, not the direct power of Ember. It can prevent burns caused by Ember but not its impact force.
Upon Kalia's command, Lian swiftly unleashed Flamethrower, emitting a torrent of scorching flames from his mouth.
"Feraligatr, charge forward and use Crunch!" Hassa shouted determinedly. He aimed to ensure Feraligatr landed at least one attack on Charmeleon; even if it didn't immediately incapacitate it, the impact would be significant.
Once that happened, even if Feraligatr ultimately lost, he was confident that his other Pokémon could definitely defeat Charmeleon.
Lian noticed Feraligatr preparing for its assault and decided not to give it any chance. The Flamethrower had already been directed towards Feraligatr, intensifying under the amplification of Sunny Day, becoming hotter and more forceful.
Boom!
Feraligatr attempted to dodge the Flamethrower but failed. Despite practicing evasion techniques, avoiding Lian's Flamethrower proved difficult due to his 36% Control Rating mastery.
Currently, Lian's proficiency in controlling fire energy was exceptionally high, making it almost effortless to accurately hit Feraligatr with Flamethrower.
The fierce flames struck Feraligatr relentlessly, forcing it to push through the intense heat, enduring the searing burn as it advanced.
"And more to come."
A single Flamethrower was insufficient to defeat Feraligatr, as its Special Defense was quite strong. To overcome it, Lian needed another Dragon Rage.
In the next moment, he unleashed it.
The shockwave surged towards Feraligatr, which had just endured the flame assault and was about to reach Lian. However, it encountered a powerful blast head-on.
Feraligatr, already significantly weakened by Flamethrower, took a direct hit from Dragon Rage, sending it flying.
Upon landing, Feraligatr's body was covered with injuries. It staggered back a few steps before collapsing heavily onto the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.
Feraligatr, defeated!
"Feraligatr is unable to continue!" The referee observed and confirmed that Feraligatr had lost its fighting capability.
"That's it?" Hassa's eyes widened in surprise. Although he had witnessed Charmeleon swiftly defeat opponents using consecutive moves multiple times, he always attributed it to the weakness of other trainers' Pokemon.
Seeing Feraligatr defeated, Hassa retrieved another Poké Ball. His initial eagerness to beat Charmeleon had clouded his judgment, but now, he gradually regained composure.
To defeat Charmeleon, one must first withstand its attacks, and Blissey excelled at this better than any other.
"Go, Blissey!"
Blissey is a highly rare Pokémon, strictly controlled by the Pokemon League due to their healing abilities. Every Chansey and Blissey is assigned to a Pokémon Center as medical support Pokémon, treating countless injuries annually.
Hassa's father, Harvey, went through great lengths to obtain this Blissey for his son. Originally just a Happiny, it endured numerous hardships before evolving into Chansey and eventually into Blissey.
This feat was possible thanks to the extensive research on Pokémon intimacy conducted by the Pokemon Academy. Evolving from Chansey to Blissey requires a high level of intimacy between the Chansey and its Trainer, ultimately leading to the final evolution.
As Hassa released the Poké Ball, an egg-shaped Pokémon landed gracefully. Appearing incredibly adorable, compared to Chansey, Blissey had a white lower body, a pink upper body, with wing-like white extensions near the boundary, curly hair atop its head, and a pocket on its belly holding a pristine white egg.
A Blissey.
Lian stared at the Blissey, envisioning it as a massive source of Combat Points. The greatest challenge in this battle was finding ways to continuously prompt Blissey to use Soft-Boiled, restoring its stamina.
However, he couldn't go overboard; otherwise, defeating the Blissey would become impossible, resulting in a poor combat rating. Therefore, Lian strategically reserved a significant amount of flame energy as his trump card. In case any unexpected turns occurred during the fight, he could unleash maximum firepower, defeat the Blissey, and ensure victory.
"Blissey, use Minimize!" Hassa commanded. Normally, Blissey excels with moves like Thunder Wave or Sing, but with Charmeleon protected by Safeguard's shimmering barrier, those tactics were rendered ineffective.
At this point, the only viable option was for Blissey to employ Minimize. This move reduces the Pokemon's size, making it easier to dodge opponents' attacks.
Once Blissey shrinks to its smallest extent, even for a Charmeleon, hitting Blissey consistently becomes challenging. At that moment, Blissey effectively gains an unbeatable advantage.