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Jacob recalled Sceptile and sent out Charizard onto the battlefield.
Although the Fire and Flying-type Charizard was naturally weak to Water-type attacks from Palafin, it was worth noting that Palafin couldn't learn any Rock-type moves whatsoever.
This meant Charizard effectively lost one of its most dangerous quadruple weaknesses, significantly reducing the overall threat level.
Of course, Palafin's Water-type moves still held some type advantage against Charizard. However, in sunny weather conditions, Water-type moves were considerably weakened, which would help protect Charizard substantially.
"Mega Evolve, Charizard!"
The moment Charizard entered the battle, Jacob didn't hesitate for even a second. He immediately chose to have Charizard undergo Mega Evolution. Brilliant white light enveloped Charizard's entire body, and in the blink of an eye, the Mega Evolution was complete.
The key to victory in the battle between Palafin and Charizard would be control over the weather. As long as they secured the weather advantage, more than half the battle would already be won.
"ROAR!"
Along with Charizard's thunderous roar, the Drought Ability activated instantly. Fire-type energy radiated outward in waves, dispelling the dark storm clouds blanketing the sky and tearing open a massive rift.
A brilliant ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, shining down directly onto the battlefield. The rain gradually ceased falling, and the weather transformed into bright sunshine.
"Here it is—Jacob's other ace Pokémon, Charizard! From his previous battles, we've clearly observed that after Mega Evolution, Charizard's Ability changes to Drought, which immediately turns the weather sunny."
"In sunny weather conditions, not only is the power of Fire-type moves dramatically increased, but the power of Water-type moves is also significantly reduced. Additionally, Solar Beam's charging time is drastically shortened. This is definitely not good news for the Water-type Pokémon Palafin."
"Ladies and gentlemen, Mega Charizard versus Palafin—who will emerge victorious from this matchup? Let's find out together!"
"Palafin, use Wave Crash!"
Watching Mega Charizard change the weather so decisively, Augustine's expression grew grim as he frantically thought of potential countermeasures.
Originally, in his carefully laid plan, he had intended to use Bellibolt's Soak move combined with the Charge state and Thunder attack during the rain. He had expected this strategy to at least force Mega Sceptile into retreating, if not outright defeat it, thereby seizing absolute control of the match's momentum.
However, due to Mega Sceptile possessing the Lightning Rod Ability, Augustine's entire plan had been completely disrupted from the start.
He'd had no choice but to switch out Bellibolt and sacrifice Pelipper as a stepping stone, sending out his ace Pokémon Palafin far earlier than he'd intended.
Having lost Pelipper—his dedicated rain weather setter—Augustine no longer had any reliable way to restrict Charizard's dominance. He had fallen behind catastrophically in the weather battle, immediately putting him at a severe disadvantage.
Augustine had thoroughly researched Jacob's Pokémon team in advance. He knew exactly how explosive Mega Charizard Y's Special Attack output could become.
If Augustine's Palafin represented the absolute pinnacle of Physical Attack prowess, then Jacob's Mega Charizard Y embodied the ultimate peak of Special Attack devastation.
A showdown between a rain-weather Physical Attacker and a sun-weather Special Attacker!
"Palafin, use Wave Crash!"
Even though he faced a complete weather disadvantage, Augustine refused to back down. He gave the first command decisively, having Palafin launch the initial offensive.
Azure Water-type energy surged powerfully around Palafin's muscular body, completely enveloping him. He leaned his body forward, adopting a runner's starting stance. His muscles tensed visibly, appearing ready to charge forward explosively at any moment.
"Charizard, use Solar Beam!" Facing the Water-type Palafin, Jacob's choice was naturally the Grass-type move Solar Beam.
In sunny weather conditions, Solar Beam's charging time would be dramatically reduced. Under Charizard's tremendously powerful Special Attack stat, brilliant emerald Grass-type energy gathered around Charizard's body like a rushing torrent.
"BOOM!"
In barely an instant, Solar Beam erupted like a devastating laser cannon. At the exact same moment, Palafin moved explosively. His azure body launched forward like a fired cannonball at incredible speed, instantly dodging Solar Beam's direct path and leaping upward toward Charizard hovering in the air.
Simultaneously, the Aqua Jet propulsion behind Palafin acted as a powerful boost, pushing Palafin upward as he violently attempted to collide with Charizard in the sky.
"Dodge it, Charizard!"
Facing Palafin's fierce incoming attack, Charizard flapped his powerful wings with tremendous force. Using his natural Flying-type advantage, he maneuvered nimbly through the air, narrowly avoiding Palafin's aggressive assault by mere inches.
Palafin's massive body almost brushed directly past Charizard's scales.
"Now, Charizard! Keep using Solar Beam!"
Counterattack!
This was the absolute perfect opportunity for a devastating counterattack. Charizard, without even requiring Jacob's verbal command, had already keenly sensed this golden chance.
Even if Palafin could temporarily take to the air by using Water-type propulsion from his feet, he certainly couldn't maneuver as flexibly in midair as a true Flying-type Pokémon could.
This brief airborne period was Charizard's excellent opportunity for a crushing counterattack.
Emerald energy rapidly converged once more. Almost instantaneously, Solar Beam formed again and was ready to fire.
Mega Charizard Y functioned like an aerial artillery cannon. Solar Beam burst forth with tremendous violence—a massive pillar of concentrated light completely engulfing Palafin and striking him with devastating force.
"BOOM!"
Solar Beam blasted Palafin straight down into the ground below, creating a large circular crater from the impact.
With just one direct hit, Charizard had severely wounded Palafin.
"Palafin!" Augustine's expression became exceptionally grim. "Hang in there!"
Facing Charizard soaring freely in the sky above, Palafin actually didn't have very many effective countermeasures available. Of course, Augustine could have chosen to have Palafin use ranged moves like Hydro Pump to attack Charizard from a distance.
However, as he himself had stated earlier, his Palafin had completely abandoned Special Attack training and focused entirely on maximizing Physical Attack power. Setting aside the question of whether a Special Attack-oriented Hydro Pump could even hit the agile Charizard, even if it somehow connected, with Water-type moves severely weakened under sunny weather conditions, the damage dealt to Charizard would be pathetically minimal.
Therefore, Augustine's viable options were extremely limited at this point. He could only continue relying on Wave Crash.
Palafin, his body covered in visible wounds and bruises, slowly pushed himself back up to his feet. His eyes remained fixed determinedly on Charizard above, burning with fierce fighting spirit that refused to diminish.
"Sense Charizard's position carefully. Remember exactly how I taught you during training."
"Even if our opponent is flying high in the air, we can still defeat them."
"Palafin, use Wave Crash again!"
Energy began gathering around Palafin's body once more. Water-type energy enveloped his muscular frame completely. He looked upward at Charizard flying through the air above, his gaze firmly locking onto his target.
"BOOM!"
With the explosive sound of Aqua Jet igniting, Palafin's body launched into the air once again, charging directly toward Charizard soaring in the sky.
"Charizard, dodge it, then use Solar Beam!" Jacob's commanding voice rang out clearly.
The exact same scenario was playing out all over again. If nothing unexpected occurred, Charizard would successfully defeat Palafin with this pattern. But Augustine wasn't foolish—how could he possibly allow the same mistake to happen twice?
This time, Palafin flying through the air no longer traveled in a straight line directly toward Charizard. Instead, he approached using an unpredictable zigzagging flight path.
His movements became erratic and incredibly difficult to predict accurately.