After evolving, Infernape's head was adorned with a flame that burned endlessly. His body was predominantly red-brown, with white fur on his head, chest, calves, and feet. Golden swirl scales adorned his shoulders, chest, hands, and knees, giving him an incredibly majestic appearance.
Compared to Monferno's appearance, Infernape lost a bit of mischief but gained a sense of stability, and his body became even stronger.
After the evolution, the burn marks on Monferno's body had all disappeared. Although this didn't mean the damage caused by Magmortar was completely gone, it was certain that Infernape's condition was much better than before.
The intense flames that were constantly erupting from Monferno were now unseen on Infernape. The spectators could only see the flame on Infernape's head flowing like long hair.
This wasn't because Infernape's Super Blaze disappeared but because that flame transformed into the power of his evolution, fully integrating into his body, restrained, and not outwardly visible.
The flames on Monferno's body might have looked mighty, but in reality, they rapidly consumed Monferno's physical strength. Even opening Blaze at fifty percent strength was quite deadly for him.
Now, after evolving into Infernape, the power of Blaze was still present, but Infernape fully retracted it into his body, only unleashing it when needed. This greatly reduced the energy consumption for Infernape.
Compared to before the evolution, Infernape had significantly improved his energy control and made a leap in his strength, jumping from Elite Junior Level straight to Elite Advanced Level, advancing two stages.
Coupled with Ash's Aura Power and his own Super Blaze, Infernape finally had some capital to engage in a hard confrontation with Magmortar!
"Evolved? So what, relying on that bit of weak physical strength from evolving will deplete in a blink, and your defeat remains unchanged." Infernape's evolution slightly startled Paul.
Evolving in a desperate situation, needing an impossible breakthrough seemed to be Ash's trademark strategy, and every time the protagonist was Chimchar.
However, the current situation was different from before. Chimchar previously evolved into Monferno with ample physical strength, which allowed it to win that battle.
But now, Infernape, even if he recovered a bit of physical strength due to evolution, that's just it. What's the difference between collapsing after one attack to collapsing after two?
The outcome would not change because of Monferno's evolution.
"Magmortar, Fire Blast." Paul changed his attack strategy, choosing to use a fire-type ultimate move, Fire Blast. This is a special attack type ultimate move, slightly less powerful compared to Flare Blitz, and both the launch and attack speeds were somewhat slower.
But the advantage is that it has no side effects. Flare Blitz is a move that harms the enemy by a thousand but also injures oneself by three hundred, while Fire Blast doesn't have such side effects.
Magmortar aimed its two barrels at Infernape, and intense flames gathered inside the barrels. The next second, an unparalleled blazing flame erupted from the barrels, merging into one large flame.
The flame transformed into a '大' shape, vigorously pressing down on Infernape.
"Infernape… Flare Blitz!"
"What?!" Ash's command once again surprised and shocked Paul.
Given Infernape's current physical strength, using Flare Blitz is akin to a suicidal move, right?
Even if this Flare Blitz could hit Magmortar and cause damage, it certainly couldn't take Magmortar down. Instead, Infernape would suffer backfire damage from Flare Blitz, ultimately leading to the complete loss of his remaining physical strength.
So for Infernape, it is a situation where, regardless of success, he would lose his ability to continue fighting.
But in reality, this approach is indeed the most suitable for the current situation. With little physical strength remaining, using the strongest move for a final gamble—even if he lost the ability to fight, he could still inflict substantial damage on the opponent.
For Infernape's current state, it is definitely the best use of his physical strength, but this way... it doesn't align with Ash.
If Paul made such a decision, it would be perfectly normal, squeezing every bit of value from the Pokemon in preparation for the upcoming battle, which is Paul's battle style.
As for the Pokemon's mood, their thoughts, those don't matter. Only victory is of utmost importance. If you lose, it's all over. That's why Paul is someone who will stop at nothing within the rules.
But Ash is the complete opposite of Paul. Even knowing that a certain way is optimal, if it harms the Pokemon or affects their mood, Ash wouldn't choose to do it.
Having Infernape, with physical strength already reduced to the freezing point and wearing notable injuries, use Flare Blitz does not fit Ash's style, which is why Paul was so shocked.
But no matter what, Ash's command had already been issued. Infernape's body began to burn with intense flames, spreading rapidly over his body, changing from a crimson color to a vibrant blue in a very short time.