"Brick Break!" Silas naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip by.
Blaziken quickly adjusted its center of gravity, restoring its stance. With the advantage of having the element of surprise, upon hearing Silas's command, its claws came crashing down again and again in a flurry of downward chops.
"Catch it with Slam!" At this moment, Celeb had no better choice. He could only hope that his Poliwrath—barely managing to stay upright on one knee—could endure this wave of attacks.
Thud! Thud! Smack! Thud! Smack! Smack!
One had to admit, Celeb's ace Pokémon was truly formidable. Even under such a disadvantage, Poliwrath gritted its teeth and blocked the first two Brick Breaks with Slam.
But unfortunately, from the moment the first blow landed, the last bit of strength Poliwrath had been holding on to began to fade. After barely managing to block once more, it was relentlessly hammered by Blaziken's furious assault.
Very soon, Poliwrath collapsed to the ground. Its eyes swirled into spirals—it had lost the ability to battle.
"Poliwrath is unable to battle! Blaziken wins!" Blaine raised the flag, announcing the result of the first round.
"One wrong step, every step goes wrong," Celeb sighed as he recalled Poliwrath. "You worked hard… This one's on me."
Silas looked at the heavily panting Blaziken on the field and silently reflected as well.
"This is why I say—information warfare is an extremely important part of battles between Trainers and Pokémon.
Whether it's a Pokémon's level, species traits, abilities, or even the finer points like move mastery—every subtle detail can become the key that determines victory or defeat.
It's not that the stronger one will always win. Rather, the one who does win will, in that moment, be the stronger—whether that's due to skill, tactics, or even luck influencing battle conditions."
Standing to the side, Blaine observed the two young men and, for the first time, spoke seriously. Of course, only for these three sentences—after that, he reverted to his mischievous, playful self. "Come on now! Second match, second match! I haven't seen enough yet!"
It wasn't that he didn't intend to teach anything—it just wasn't necessary. Both of these young men were exceptionally talented; they simply lacked enough real experience.
They understood these principles already. They knew them well.
But the simulations in your head can never match the unpredictable variables of an actual battlefield.
To be able to, in one or two seconds—sometimes even half a second—scan through the dozens of moves your Pokémon knows, factor in the opponent's characteristics and attack pattern, and then find the best countermeasure… That is already a difficult feat.
Even then, because of differences in the opponent Trainer's habits or personality, you have to be ready for the next counter—otherwise you'll lose the initiative.
The mental processing involved is astonishing.
Even though Silas had a fair amount of wild battle experience, wild battles rarely played out the same way as formal stadium matches.
You can't exactly dig traps in the middle of the arena ahead of time—that would be against the rules.
This is why, at higher levels of competitive battling, a simple-looking 6-on-6 match between strong Trainers is exhausting—not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.
Most of the time, the battle won't go in the direction you planned.
Learning how to respond well to everything can't be done through imagination alone—you have to battle, and battle often, especially against evenly matched opponents.
When you reach the point where your commands are second nature, many of them will come instinctively.
That's why Blaine had his underachieving last disciple face off against Silas.
Sometimes, the only thing that can bring out a spark in a genius… is another genius—or a true prodigy.
"Well then… my next Pokémon will be—Ponyta!"
Celeb quickly calmed himself after losing the first match. It wasn't the first time he'd lost, after all.
Neigh!
Ponyta appeared on the battlefield, its four diamond-hard hooves stamping the ground again and again.
Silas looked at the dashing Ponyta with a hint of envy. But he wasn't the kind of Trainer to capture Pokémon on a whim—it was simply an instinctive longing for a fine Pokémon.
After all, he still had to consider whether he could properly care for it.
"Will the challenger be switching Pokémon?" Blaine resumed his role as referee.
"Not switching for now." Silas shook his head and looked across at Celeb. "By the way—aren't you going to use Pelipper?"
While Ponyta's Flash Fire Ability gave it a huge advantage in a Fire-vs-Fire battle, and Blaziken's stamina was running low—making speed an area Ponyta might dominate—none of that could change the fact that there was a large natural power gap between them.
By Level 40, Ponyta could evolve into Rapidash. Based on estimation, this Ponyta was only around Level 33 or 34.
Roughly calculated, that was at least a ten-level difference—and ten levels at the Advance Tier is a much bigger gap than ten levels at lower tiers.
And Pelipper, with Drizzle, higher level, and the Water-type advantage over Blaziken, was a natural counter to Silas's current ace. Celeb was well aware of that.
"This is a Gym match. Poliwrath's level already exceeded the limit just now—I can't go overboard. We have to keep the average level around 37," Celeb said seriously, giving Silas a reason that was both unexpected and completely reasonable.
"Truly your style," Silas said helplessly.
"Well then, let's begin. This time, I'll take the first move—Ponyta! Circle around it at high speed and use Flamethrower!"
After exchanging words, Celeb didn't hesitate—he immediately gave the order.
Silas raised an eyebrow. Impressive. Normally, Pokémon can't use Flamethrower while running at full Agility-boosted speed.
Imagine trying to sprint at top speed while blowing out a precise stream of fire—you get the idea. Add in the unique energy flow required for Pokémon moves, and it was even harder.
"Take it head-on—and Focus Energy."
Silas made his response.
Rather than have Blaziken pointlessly chase in a speed battle, he preferred to stand its ground and prepare for the next step.
Fire-type moves didn't do much damage to Blaziken, and there was no way Ponyta's firepower could match Blaziken's. This made the damage even less threatening.
"Blaz!"
Standing in Ponyta's flames, Blaziken took a deep breath, its eyes suddenly blazing with light as it focused its spirit to the highest degree.
"Then—use Dig!"
Although Celeb couldn't see exactly where Blaziken was within the flames—since that entire area was engulfed by Ponyta's fire—the same was true for his opponent.
What's more, Ponyta's biggest problem was its lack of moves like Earthquake, which could strike underground targets.
"Keep running, stop the Flamethrower, and pay attention to your surroundings," Celeb ordered immediately.
The flames soon faded, and in the spot where Blaziken had been standing, there was now only a large hole in the ground.
"Circle around and use Stomp!" Once Celeb confirmed the location, he commanded Ponyta to act.
Stomp? Could that even affect a Pokémon underground? Silas was momentarily stunned, but quickly realized the plan.
The move didn't need to hit a Pokémon directly underground. After all, Blaziken's Dig wasn't like that of a true Ground-type—it couldn't survive for long beneath the surface, especially if buried by collapsing debris.
The purpose of Stomp was to create tremors that would break up rocks and soil, causing them to fall in and block the tunnel—not to inflict direct damage.
"Avoid that area—come out from the other side."
Silas's order caught Celeb off guard. Could Blaziken actually know where Ponyta is?
Even though Ponyta was running constantly, its light-footed nature made almost no sound. Just from Celeb's commands, it was impossible to pinpoint Ponyta's range of movement.
Silas gave a faint smile. That earlier Focus Energy wasn't used for nothing—otherwise he could have just told Blaziken to Dig from the start and avoided the initial direct hit.
Though the boost wasn't huge, Blaziken's stamina wasn't in great shape either. This was battle stamina in relative terms.
Focus Energy was known to raise the chance of landing a critical hit, but after so much training, Silas had realized that at its core, it was about achieving an extreme level of concentration.
In this heightened state, even while underground, Blaziken could keenly sense the subtle vibrations above.
Of course, a Trainer always needs to keep a trump card in reserve—otherwise, Blaziken wouldn't even need to use Focus Energy here.
"Now!" — BOOM!
Blaziken's battle cry rang out at the same moment Ponyta's diamond-hard hooves struck the ground with a heavy thud. Now, the positions of the two Pokémon were practically reversed from when they had first entered the battlefield.
"Rock Slide!"
Catching Ponyta still recovering from the recoil of its Stomp, Silas decisively gave the order.
Blaziken seized a large rock nearby and hurled it at Ponyta. Though Blaziken's frame didn't look especially bulky, it easily lifted the massive stone with tremendous power.
Celeb suddenly felt a flash of déjà vu—this scene looked familiar. The last time was aboard the S.S. Anne, when Blaziken was still a Combusken. The rock then had been much smaller, and the arena back then was a standard battlefield, not a rocky terrain with ready-made materials.
Celeb's face darkened slightly. "Iron Tail—smash that rock!"
It was the perfect counter. At that moment, Ponyta's side was still angled toward Blaziken.
Whoosh! The massive rock, flung with Blaziken's immense strength, cut through the air with a shrill whistle.
Neigh! Ponyta let out a sharp cry as its flame-covered tail suddenly glowed with a brilliant white light. The flames seemed to turn to steel, taking on a metallic silver sheen. Pouring its full strength into the strike, Ponyta whipped its tail hard against the oncoming boulder.
BANG! — Crack! Clatter!
The impact shattered the massive stone into fragments, though a few chunks still flew forward and struck Ponyta. Luckily, their force was greatly reduced.
"Don't stop!" Silas's voice was like that of a demon. After all, this was a rocky battlefield.
Blaziken grabbed another nearby boulder and hurled it. Then another. And another.
If it had to form the rocks purely with energy, it could never have achieved this barrage—but with the terrain's ready supply, it was relentless.
"Flame Wheel!" Celeb was fearless, but he also knew Ponyta's stamina. It couldn't withstand more than one or two super-effective Rock-type hits without collapsing. He gave the command to counterattack without hesitation.
Ponyta bolted forward, flames erupting from its mane, hooves, and tail, spreading to cover its entire body. Gradually, the fire took the shape of a blazing wheel, rolling toward both the incoming rocks and Blaziken itself.
..
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