On the battlefield, both sides' Pokémon awaited their trainers' commands. The sun above was fierce and hot, baking the earth. Under the influence of the sun and the "Solar Power" ability, Charizard's power continued to soar!
Solar Power: In intense sunlight, the Pokémon's Special Attack increases by 1.5 times, but it loses one-eighth of its maximum HP each turn.
The power of the Fire type permeated the air. Incineroar's power also became active. Not to be outdone, it faced off against Charizard from a distance, and the battle was on the verge of starting.
The opponent's intentions were clear. They obviously wanted to use a Gigantamax to get a quick knockout and trap the opponent's Pokémon in Gigantamax Charizard's signature move—G-Max Wildfire!
Even after Su Yuan shared his opinion, the chat comments were still unanimously unoptimistic, though it was better than the very beginning.
Su Yuan stopped commenting and focused on eating.
Swoosh—
In the stream. The two trainers simultaneously recalled their Pokémon. The Dynamax Bands on their right wrists flashed with red light, and the power of Eternamax Eternatus was transmitted into their Pokémon through the Poké Balls.
Bang!
The Poké Balls suddenly grew large, and both trainers threw them backward at the same time.
Roar!!!!
As expected, Charizard was the first to Dynamax. It was in its Gigantamax form! Its massive, mountain-like body landed on the field, kicking up a large amount of dust. The wings on its back were completely elemental, made of flames that fanned hot wind as it looked down disdainfully at everything.
Then!
Hoooshhhhhhh—
The Gigantamax Charizard, whose stance had completely changed, let out a loud cry. The flaming wings on its back detached and flew off, merging into a massive fiery bird that soared toward where Togekiss was standing!
G-Max Wildfire!!
And the moment the opponent's Charizard used its move, the streamer's Pokémon also finished its Dynamaxing.
To everyone's surprise, the one that Dynamaxed was Togekiss!
Clang!
Just as the G-Max Wildfire was about to hit Togekiss, a giant, translucent barrier suddenly appeared in front of it. The fiery bird crashed into the translucent barrier and dissipated.
This single move completely neutralized the opponent's most powerful offensive!
The viewers in the chat were collectively stunned.
"Can someone tell me what just happened?"
"I'm looking at Togekiss, and it doesn't have the 'Protect' move??"
"This... this must be a bug, right??"
Since the Dynamax mode had just been released, viewers who hadn't followed it naturally wouldn't know. But soon, some who were in the know explained.
"This isn't a bug. It's a feature of Dynamax mode!"
"If a Pokémon that undergoes Dynamax has a status move, all its status moves will turn into 'Max Guard'!"
"And only the 'Max Guard' move can completely block a Dynamax Pokémon's attack."
"That 'Max Guard' just now should have been converted from Togekiss's 'Follow Me'."
With that explanation, most of the viewers reacted. The chat once again scrolled at a rapid pace.
"Whoa, so you can play Dynamax like this?"
"They just wasted a turn of Gigantamax. The opponent's loss is huge!"
"Follow Me is a godsend!"
The battle continued. Incineroar let out a huge roar, and a visible shockwave burst through the air, heading toward the Gigantamax Charizard and Torkoal.
Luyou:Take this, my Parting Shot!!
Parting Shot. This is a very annoying move. While dealing a small amount of damage, it also lowers the target's Attack and Special Attack by one stage. It's especially effective against these two Special Attackers!
Boom!
Like a volcanic eruption, a large number of fireballs spewed from Torkoal's back, raining down on Incineroar and Togekiss.
"Didn't he learn Body Press?" Su Yuan mused.
Charizard's power in the sun is indeed high, but with Incineroar on the opponent's side, the optimal move for Torkoal should have been the Fighting-type move, Body Press. Although Body Press is a physical move, its damage calculation is based on the user's physical defense. The thicker the skin, the more it hurts—that's what this move is all about. It's a perfect fit for Torkoal, which has a very high physical defense stat.
With its Special Attack lowered, Torkoal's Eruption only dealt a tiny amount of damage to Incineroar. It was completely ineffective.
"Maybe he was afraid that Charizard wouldn't be able to take out Togekiss and wanted to use Eruption to finish it off?" Su Yuan could only guess. Otherwise, the opponent had no reason not to use "Body Press."
Torkoal's Eruption was once again blocked by Togekiss's Max Guard. One turn had passed. Because of the Solar Power ability, Charizard lost one-sixteenth of its health.
(Note: After Dynamaxing, a Pokémon's HP doubles, but the HP lost from Solar Power doesn't.)
"Charizard, use G-Max Wildfire!"
In the second turn, the opponent's trainer's command was the same. G-Max Wildfire doesn't just do damage; the residual damage from the fire it leaves behind is also significant.
Bo—
This time, Charizard's attack hit Togekiss directly. The firebird hit Togekiss's body and then turned into a sea of hellfire! Then Charizard's health dropped a little more, a result of the Life Orb.
Life Orb: The holder's moves are boosted by about 30% in power. However, it loses 10% of its maximum HP whenever it hits a target with an attacking move.
Since its Special Attack was already lowered by one stage and its HP was doubled from Dynamaxing, this one G-Max Wildfire couldn't do any fatal damage to Togekiss.
Bo!
After taking a Dynamax move head-on, Togekiss's eyes flashed with fierce intent! The storm vortex stirred up by its wings hit Torkoal head-on. Even though it wasn't a super-effective move, it still did a substantial amount of damage. Torkoal has an extremely high physical defense stat, but its special defense is lacking.
This Max Airstream took out two-thirds of its health!
Critical Hit!!!
Togekiss's Abilities: Serene Grace and Super Luck. Held Item: Scope Lens!
Super Luck: Increases the critical hit ratio!
The effect of the Scope Lens is the same as the Super Luck ability, and they can stack!
The subsequent moves from Incineroar and Torkoal were still Parting Shot and Eruption. At this point in the battle, the scales of victory were already tilted. As long as the streamer could knock out Torkoal in the next turn, the Rapid Strike Urshifu in their backline would be an unstoppable force!
It wasn't that Urshifu feared Torkoal; it feared the effect of the sun. The power of Water-type moves is lowered to 50% of their original power under the sun.
The third turn was the key to victory! Because of the speed boost from Max Airstream, Togekiss would be faster than Charizard this turn! It had absolute priority!
"The opponent should be thinking about switching out for a shield."
As soon as Su Yuan's words fell. In the stream, the opponent immediately recalled Torkoal and sent in...
"Tyranitar!"
This was a good move. Switching to Tyranitar changed the weather to a sandstorm. While this took away the sun's boost from Charizard, it also saved it from the awkward situation of losing health every turn without doing any damage. Even though Charizard would be affected by the sandstorm, the damage would be less than what Solar Power would inflict each turn.
The most important point was that neither Incineroar nor Togekiss had any moves that could hit Tyranitar effectively. Under a sandstorm, Rock-type Pokémon get a 1.5x boost to their Special Defense! Togekiss had no reason to use "Max Starfall"!
The opponent had a good idea, but it was useless.
Perhaps to be extra cheeky, the streamer commanded Togekiss to use a classic Luyou-sensei tactic.
"Protect, no protect, protect."
Both Su Yuan and the audience were stunned.