As Charizard X blasted Cloyster to the edge of the field, causing a violent roar as it slammed into a transparent barrier, the originally enthusiastic cheers and noise from the surroundings instantly fell into a dead silence.
No one would have expected that Charizard X would actually knock Cloyster flying while facing down a Protect!
One must know that at the same level, the Protect skill can be said to be an invincible defensive skill. Its only limitations are that it cannot be used consecutively—otherwise, it easily fails—and its duration is limited, requiring precise timing. Other than that, it is a defensive technique with almost no flaws.
Forget being at the same level; even if the opponent is an entire major rank higher, they might not necessarily be able to pierce through Protect.
But now, Ash's Charizard had forcibly blasted Cloyster away right through Protect. Could it be that Charizard's attack power had already reached a point far exceeding Cloyster's?!
"That is naturally impossible," Lorelei thought with a solemn expression.
In reality, it wasn't that Charizard's attack power had exceeded the upper limit of Protect. Even though Charizard's Dragon Claw was more than twice as powerful as before, it still shouldn't have been able to break Protect. The secret behind shattering Protect lay in the two separate attacks Charizard performed.
The Protect barrier is indeed an absolute defense, but its duration isn't very long. Specifically, the Protect skill has a judgment mechanism: after blocking one skill, it enters a weakening phase. Even if the Pokémon forcibly maintains it, the defensive power of Protect will decrease significantly.
Just now, Charizard and Ash utilized this principle. First, they had Charizard use Dragon Claw to consume the energy of the Protect barrier. Then, the moment one Dragon Claw was deflected, they immediately followed up with the next Dragon Claw to achieve the goal of breaking through Protect.
It sounds like it shouldn't be difficult, but in practice, implementing it is fraught with obstacles.
Whether facing ranged or melee skills, the Protect barrier generates a counterforce upon impact to deflect the attack. Otherwise, if faced with a continuous energy output attack that could drain the duration of Protect, wouldn't Protect be useless?
Therefore, Protect also has a forced interruption effect, preventing the opponent from maintaining a continuous output. Charizard's initial Fire Punch and the subsequent Dragon Claw being deflected were the best proof of this.
Under normal circumstances, an interruption leads to a brief moment of stiffness. Thus, the skill Protect is also equivalent to a defensive counterattack. Once an opponent successfully uses Protect, one falls into a passive phase.
This is why Protect is called a divine defensive technique; compared to defensive skills like Detect, it has its own unique advantages.
However, Charizard had forcibly broken convention with its own strength. After being deflected by Protect, it used its other hand to unleash Dragon Claw, shattering the weakened Protect and causing some damage to Cloyster.
"After evolving, the power of Dragon Claw has increased by at least one hundred percent, maybe even two hundred percent—meaning triple the original damage. Besides the increase in base stats and overall strength, Charizard should now possess the Dragon-type and an ability that boosts melee damage. Am I right, Ash?"
Lorelei's words made Ash pause for a moment, then he couldn't help but clap and say, "As expected of the Elite Four. You're truly amazing, Miss Lorelei, to analyze so much information from just a single short attack."
The Elite Four were indeed the Elite Four; that title wasn't just for show. This ability to analyze information on the fly was something many Trainers could only dream of, while their actual strength was on another level entirely.
Facing a Charizard with completely unknown data, she had analyzed seventy to eighty percent of its information in just one encounter. This level of analytical skill should be among the best even within the Elite Four.
"It's because your Charizard's improvement in the Dragon-type is too obvious, which is why I could judge it from a single move. Simply adding an attribute or even an ability wouldn't increase it by that much," Lorelei said, not holding back her praise for Charizard.
Compared to before it evolved, the increase in the power of Charizard's Dragon Claw was not just a little bit. Previously, Dragon Claw could only scratch Cloyster's body slightly; although it could still cause damage, it merely left faint marks.
That kind of injury was essentially no different from an itch.
But this time, while Charizard's Dragon Claw was attacking against Protect, it actually managed to leave three shocking claw marks on Cloyster. This blow caused significant damage to Cloyster.
The only explanation was that besides the strength increase from MEGA Evolution, Charizard had also improved in all other aspects, and one of its types had converted to the Dragon-type.
Originally, Charizard was Fire and Flying-type. Currently, Charizard most likely still possessed the Fire-type. This meant that, excluding the possibility of Charizard having three types, its Flying-type had most likely been replaced.
So far, a Pokémon can have at most two types. Except for abilities like Protean and Libero, there is no way for a Pokémon to have more than three types, and those two abilities only change the Pokémon's type rather than increasing the number of types to three.
Therefore, Ash's Charizard most likely possessed the Dragon and Fire types after evolving, making it even more troublesome than before!
The Dragon-type, which was originally weak to Ice, was no longer a weakness at all with the support of the Fire-type.
Furthermore, Rock-type attacks that could deal four times damage to Charizard were now only two times—what a troublesome evolution!
"Cloyster, it's our turn to counterattack. Use Rock Blast!" Even if it was only double effectiveness, it was better than nothing. Lorelei decisively had Cloyster use the multi-strike skill Rock Blast.
Under Cloyster's 'Skill Link' ability, Rock Blast could directly hit for the maximum five consecutive strikes!
"Spa!" Cloyster opened its massive shell, and a giant rock formed in front of it, flying towards Charizard!
"Dragon Claw!" Now, Charizard was completely unafraid of a direct confrontation. Facing Rock Blast, Ash had no intention of letting Charizard dodge; he was going to power through!
"Roar—!" Emerald green energy claws lit up on Charizard's claws again. Then, its arms swung out violently with the force of breaking wind, slamming down hard! In an instant, the first incoming rock was split into four or five pieces, sending stone fragments flying!
After shattering one Rock Blast, Charizard flapped its wings, quickly approaching Cloyster. Giant rocks condensed one after another in front of Cloyster's shell, blasting towards Charizard one by one.
Charizard flew through the air, its emerald green Dragon Claws carving sharp arcs under the sunlight. Just as the second rock reached it, its left claw swung horizontally. The energy claws embedded themselves into the rock's texture like sharp blades, and with a crisp "crack," the entire rock instantly disintegrated into a shower of stones.
The third, the fourth... every rock was smashed by Charizard like blocks of tofu. This violent scene was awe-inspiring and at the same time, made one's blood boil.
This kind of fist-to-fist combat is what truly defines a thrilling battle!!
Seconds later, Charizard broke through all of Cloyster's skills and arrived in front of it. Lorelei's expression had become incredibly solemn. At this moment, she definitely couldn't use Protect, or the previous scene would just repeat itself.
Therefore, Lorelei chose to have Cloyster counterattack directly: "Cloyster, use Hydro Pump!!"
Using Hydro Pump at this distance, no matter how fast Charizard was, it wouldn't be able to dodge!
In the blink of an eye, a massive water sphere condensed in front of Cloyster. The next instant, the water sphere erupted into a water pillar, the azure stream reflecting in Charizard's eyes.
"Dragon Rush!!" Charizard had been maintaining its charging momentum all along, so even using Dragon Rush, which requires a charge-up, was no problem at all in this situation.
"Roar—!" Charizard's roar shook the battlefield. Its entire body was instantly enveloped in dense, azure Dragon-type energy. Its wings tightened like blades, and its diving speed suddenly accelerated! The figure that was originally charging forward turned into a brilliant stream of light, heading straight for the core of the Hydro Pump's eruption!
"Boom!" The azure Dragon-type energy and the azure water stream collided violently. The berserk power instantly tore a gap through the water flow. Water splashed everywhere like a torrential downpour. Amidst the mist, Charizard charged through, forcibly tearing a path through the Hydro Pump!
The originally unstoppable Hydro Pump was forcibly scattered into a mist, failing to wet even a single scale on Charizard! Lorelei's pupils shrank, and a look of shock appeared on her face. She never expected that Charizard's Dragon Rush could erupt with such terrifying piercing power!
Even the power of Hydro Pump couldn't shake it in the slightest; its strength was already far above that of Cloyster.
Furthermore, the damage from this Dragon Rush was also abnormal. It must have benefited from an ability bonus. Thus, Charizard's ability was now obvious: Tough Claws!
Tough Claws—increases the power of contact moves by 30%.
It says "claws," but in reality, as long as it's a melee skill, it can basically benefit from this ability's bonus. Dragon Rush is a melee skill.
The already powerful Dragon Rush, under the empowerment of Tough Claws, could almost be compared to ultimate moves like Blast Burn.
Adding to the fact that Charizard's strength was already superior to Cloyster's, it was able to tear through the Hydro Pump with ease.
"Spa?!" Before Cloyster could recover from the shock of its Hydro Pump being broken, Charizard had already slammed into its embrace like a meteor!
The azure Dragon-type energy, along with the immense force of the dive, exploded violently. Cloyster's massive shell made a piercing "crack" sound. Already covered in numerous scars, its entire body was sent flying towards the spectator stands by the massive impact. The spectators on Cloyster's side instinctively shielded themselves with their hands and closed their eyes.
But with a boom, the spectators in that direction found that they hadn't suffered any damage. Lowering their arms, they discovered that Cloyster seemed to have hit an invisible wall and hadn't even fallen out of the field.
At this point, the audience finally realized that there seemed to be an invisible barrier covering the entire field, preventing attacks from spreading outside.
Otherwise, the intense battle in the arena would have long since destroyed the surrounding spectator stands.
The state of the field was the best proof: the originally solid ground had become pitted and tattered.
"Charizard, final blow, Flare Blitz!!" Ash shouted loudly, giving the final command.
"Roar!!" Charizard's roar carried a heatwave that could burn the heavens. Its wings snapped open, and its entire body was instantly engulfed in raging, colorful flames! Even the air was scorched into a distorted shape, making a "sizzling" sound!
Under the Tough Claws ability, the power of Flare Blitz was further enhanced. The already powerful move was now even more potent than Blast Burn!
The next second, Charizard dove down like a scorching meteor, its brilliant colorful flames leaving a long trail in the air.
"Protect!" Lorelei's face was as still as water. If this hit wasn't blocked, it might really be over.
"Spa!" Cloyster struggled to half-open its eyes, gathering the scattered energy within its body to form an azure barrier in front of it. Although the barrier was thin, it carried a defensive power capable of blocking any attack.
"BOOM!!!" A deafening sound erupted, and a visible shockwave spread out, whipping up a terrifying storm within the field!
Sand and stones flew across the entire arena, dust filled the air, and frantic heat swept through the field. However, those outside the field could not feel the impact caused within at all.
Normally, they might have wondered what kind of protective shield this was to be able to completely withstand such an impact without a single trace of aftershock leaking out. But now, all their attention was focused on the collision on the field.
Flare Blitz pressed hard against the Protect barrier. Colorful flames scattered everywhere as if being deflected by the Protect, but Charizard at the center did not waver at all, pressing down fiercely against the counterforce!
Time passed second by second. Some people outside the field even forgot to breathe, as if they were the ones battling on the field instead of Charizard and Cloyster.
A full half-minute passed, and the stalemate on the field finally changed!
The light of the Protect barrier actually began to dim. A few more seconds later, under everyone's watchful eyes, the Protect barrier began to shatter into pieces, finally breaking with a roar!
"Roar!!" After smashing through the Protect, Charizard lets out another roar. The colorful flames on its body became even more intense. No one but Ash noticed that a tiny speck of black light had actually risen within those colorful flames!
While Ash was dazed by that speck of black light, Charizard's flames had already completely swallowed Cloyster!
Unparalleled flames spread across the entire arena, turning the arena directly into a sea of fire!