The moment Torkoal's heavy body slammed onto the battlefield, the temperature of the entire arena skyrocketed as if ignited by an invisible flame. This intensified the already sweltering heat.
The sun high in the sky seemed to be infused with some kind of scorching energy.
Its light became exceptionally blinding, and the moisture in the air seemed to evaporate instantly.
Even the spectators could clearly feel the intense heat, as if being baked, and a slight burning sensation on their skin.
This was the power of the Solar Beam ability combined with the midday heat of Furnace Town.
Larvesta on the field, whose expression had been slightly relaxed after easily defeating Cyndaquil, tensed abruptly the moment the heatwave swept over it.
Its five antennae around its head instinctively curled up.
In its keen perception, although the Torkoal's energy was still inferior to its own, the difference was no longer as vast as when facing Cyndaquil.
More importantly, the opponent exuded a sense of unease that instinctively alerted it.
The five antennae around Larvesta's head trembled slightly, and the flickering flames at their tips became more rapid, clearly indicating that it considered the Torkoal a true opponent.
"Torkoal, black smoke!"
Flannery's voice rang out clearly. Giving Lionel no time to think, she launched the first attack.
Receiving the command, the Torkoal took a deep breath, its massive body slightly expanding.
The next second, thick black smoke billowed from its nostrils and the gaps in its shell.
The black smoke spread rapidly across the field like spilled ink, instantly enveloping half of the battlefield.
It completely concealed itself, making it impossible to pinpoint its exact location.
Larvesta's vision was filled with swirling gray-black mist, and the discomfort of obstructed vision made it uneasy.
This was different from Larvesta's previous battles in the wild.
The situation of having to continue fighting without being able to see its opponent filled it with a sense of anxiety.
Larvesta couldn't help but shake its head, its six tiny legs shifting slightly in place, trying to change position and find its opponent's tracks.
"Larvesta, use Charged Flame Strike, keep moving, we'll slowly wear it down."
Lionel's command, like a calming spell, clearly reached Larvesta's ears, instantly stabilizing its slightly agitated emotions.
Hearing Lionel's command, Larvesta's anxiety quickly faded, and it regained its composure.
Its six tiny legs instantly flared with bright orange-red flames, its body transforming into a blurry fire shadow, rapidly moving across the battlefield.
With each movement, the flames on its body grew increasingly intense, and its speed steadily increased with the boost from Charged Flame Strike.
Like a snowball rolling downhill, it grew faster and faster, leaving fleeting trails of fire on the battlefield.
Upon hearing Lionel's command, Flannery's brow furrowed slightly.
She was well aware of the effects of the Charged Flame Strike; if Larvesta continued to increase its speed, the battle would become increasingly difficult to control.
"Torkoal, use Primal Power!"
Flannery decisively issued a new command.
Before her words even finished, a series of "crackling" and scraping sounds of rolling rocks came from the thick black smoke, clearly reaching the ears of everyone present.
Immediately afterward, dozens of fist-sized rocks, as if controlled by an invisible force, shot out from different parts of the black smoke, accompanied by sharp whistling sounds, covering Larvesta's location from all directions.
They almost completely blocked all possible escape routes.
Lionel's gaze instantly sharpened. He already had a good understanding of Torkoal's skill pool through the system panel; he also predicted that Flannery would likely choose a Rock-type skill to attack Larvesta.
He immediately responded in a deep voice: "Larvesta, use Silk Shot to assist in movement!"
Larvesta understood immediately, instantly spitting out a strong red silk thread, one end of which accurately stuck to the ground at the edge of the battlefield.
The silken threads tightened suddenly, and Larvesta, using the powerful pull of the threads and the momentum from its charged Flame Attack, darted sideways like an arrow, narrowly avoiding most of the oncoming rocks.
Even so, a few stray rocks grazed its body, leaving minor scratches.
Larvesta hissed in pain, but without hesitation, it used its Silk Spit ability again, spitting out new threads that adhered to the other side of the arena.
Using the pull of the new threads, it nimbly adjusted its direction again, continuing its high-speed movement along the edge of the arena.
Amidst the Torkoal's relentless barrage of rocks, Larvesta left dazzling trails of flame on the battlefield, as if dancing on a knife's edge.
A gasp erupted from the audience, and the live stream chat exploded with comments: "That was close! If that had hit, Fubuzz would have been in real trouble!"
"Gym Leader Flannery is really going all out! First, she used black smoke to block vision, then she used Ancient Power to block movement and attack—that combo is ruthless!"
[The streamer's reaction was incredible! She even thought of using String Shot to help change direction—that was amazing!]
[Too bad Larvesta couldn't completely dodge Torkoal's rock attack!]
[It's not that easy! The area where the Torkoal is hiding is shrouded in black smoke, making it impossible to see which direction the attack is coming from. Larvesta is already incredibly impressive for hiding like this!]
This was actually a new application Lionel developed during his forest training, specifically targeting Larvesta's web-slinging ability. Similar to Spider-Man, the webs, originally used to bind opponents, were transformed into "mobile cables" that aided Larvesta's agile movement, greatly enhancing its mobility in complex terrain.
Flannery, standing at her battle position, watched Larvesta dart across the battlefield like a ghost, her brow furrowing even more deeply.
She hadn't expected Lionel's Larvesta to utilize its web-slinging ability to such a degree.
Her previously assured suppression tactics had been easily neutralized.
"Don't give it any breathing room! Torkoal, unleash Rock Slide and Primal Power, all at once!"
With Flannery's increasingly stern command, a more intense vibration emanated from the black smoke.
This time, in addition to the scattered stones from before, dozens of massive rocks, each the size of a millstone, shot out from the black smoke.
These rocks, like meteorites falling from the sky, slammed into Larvesta with overwhelming force, almost completely blocking its escape route.
The whistling sound of the rocks tearing through the air was so dense it made one's scalp tingle.
Even the audience gasped, many holding their breath for Larvesta.
It was clear that Flannery's attack was intended to be a decisive blow.
"Keep dodging!"
Lionel's voice remained calm and composed, without the slightest panic, as if everything was under his control.
Larvesta obeyed, the speed boost from its charged flame attack and the assistance of its silk-spitting allowed it to stubbornly withstand the rain of stones, constantly searching for gaps to dodge.
But the number of rocks was simply too great, and the coverage area too wide; there was always a time when it was impossible to avoid them.
"Bang!"
A dull thud rang out as a rock slammed solidly into Larvesta.
Larvesta winced in pain, the flames on its antennae dimming slightly, and a clear look of agony crossed its face.
Several more rocks followed, and despite its best efforts to dodge, it was grazed a few times, leaving numerous clear wounds on its body.
Outside the arena, many spectators watched, utterly bewildered, their faces full of confusion: "What's going on? Larvesta is being attacked one-sidedly. What's the point of increasing its speed? At this rate, its stamina will be completely exhausted!"
"Exactly! It clearly has the strength to fight head-on, so why choose to passively take the hits? This challenger's tactics are so strange!"
"Is he too arrogant after beating the Cyndaquil and wants to pull some fancy tricks here? This is a formal gym battle, not an exhibition match!"
Flannery was also secretly puzzled; she couldn't understand Lionel's intentions.
But she clearly had the upper hand, and there was no reason for her to stop. She immediately continued to command, "Keep the offensive! Don't give it any chance to retaliate!"
Waves of rock attacks from the black smoke surged towards Larvesta like a raging tide.
Larvesta's dodging became increasingly difficult, and its body was covered in wounds, making it look quite pathetic.
Just when everyone thought Larvesta was about to give up, Lionel knew that the time had come.
After this series of continuous, charged flame attacks, Larvesta's speed had reached a critical point.
Even without the aid of its silk threads, it could easily avoid most of the rock attacks.
"Now!"
Lionel keenly seized the moment when the Torkoal was releasing its skills and decisively commanded, "Larvesta, use Morning Sun!"
Larvesta immediately stopped dodging.
It bathed its body completely in the hot and bright sunlight of the sunny day, its antennae drooping slightly, and a soft and warm golden light began to emanate from its body.
The next second, a shocking scene unfolded.
Countless dazzling golden rays of light showered down on Larvesta like sweet rain.
As if possessing magical healing power, they were rapidly healing its wounds.
Moreover, this was under the bright sunlight provided by Torkoal's Drought ability, making the sunlight far more intense than usual.
Under this blazing sun, the recovery speed of the Morning Sun move was astonishing.
In just a few seconds!
Larvesta's wounds healed at a visible speed; the wounds inflicted by the rocks quickly healed and gradually disappeared.