The instant the flames sprayed out, a trace of pain appeared on Infernape's face.
'Damn, that hurts!'
'That Gyarados was way too cruel to me, wasn't it?'
To actually make this kind of move, hurting the enemy eight hundred, hurting oneself a thousand, into a standard technique.
But now that he thought about it, the effect was really good.
Infernape could clearly see the dumbfounded expression appearing on Archaludon's massive head.
As long as it kept this up, burning the opponent was only a matter of time.
Raihan was already numb.
Just when the opponent used Switcheroo, swapping the held items, he had realized this battle might not be so simple.
But he never expected it to be this not simple.
'Spraying fire from there?'
'Doesn't that hurt?'
If it were any normal Pokémon, being trained like this by its trainer for a few days, it would have defected long ago.
Thinking this, Raihan dropped his arms from his chest and gave Flint a big thumbs up, "You're amazing, to actually make a Pokémon willingly do something like this for you. Looks like I underestimated the bond between you."
"But…", Raihan lifted his head to look at Archaludon, his eyes still full of confidence, "My Archaludon is no slouch either!"
Hearing that, Flint lightly nodded.
He understood Raihan's style. Raihan was just as aggressive as him, usually carrying Weakness Policy.
This time, maybe because it had just evolved, Raihan chose a held item more fitting for Archaludon's ability.
If the opponent had still been carrying Weakness Policy, then his Infernape would probably already have pushed it into kill range.
"Archaludon, use G-Max Quake, crush the opponent completely!"
"ROAR!"
A thunderous roar shook the sky, as a massive mass of earthen light almost solid in form erupted on Archaludon's body.
Infernape was instantly blasted away, letting out another muffled grunt.
The immense Ground-type power slammed into Infernape like a tidal wave, instantly sending it flying far beyond the arena.
Taking the impact of two consecutive Ground-type moves, Infernape's stamina had already dropped below half.
Meanwhile Archaludon, in its Gigantamax state, had a huge increase in HP. Having only taken one Low Sweep and a few Ember sprays, its condition was still extremely healthy.
What was worse, with the Stamina ability, Archaludon's Defense had already been boosted multiple times.
And though it lacked the Assault Vest, the Special Defense boost from G-Max Quake completely made up for it.
If Archaludon kept using G-Max Quake a few more times, it would completely turn into a fortress, an unshakable fortress.
Gigantamax Archaludon revealed to the public for the first time, sharp and overwhelming.
Almost everyone believed Infernape was doomed to lose.
But just then, a faint ember appeared on Archaludon's body.
That little flame, though tiny, resolutely, irresistibly burrowed into Archaludon's body.
It was burned.
Infernape's eyes instantly lit up with sharp brilliance.
Just yesterday, it had beaten Pryce's Swinub under this exact situation.
Though today had been bumpy, it seemed the result was still pretty good.
It could fight.
With the Life Orb and burn both draining Archaludon's HP, even at full health it wouldn't last long.
By the calculation method it learned yesterday, the opponent could probably only get off six more attacks in that time.
And now its HP had already dropped quite a bit…
In that case, it only needed to endure four more.
Thinking this, Infernape grinned excitedly, its body glowing with a rich white light.
Flint: "???"
"Infernape, what are you doing? The opponent hasn't even attacked yet, why are you using Protect?"
Infernape curled its lips into a secretive smile at Flint.
'This round… watch my play!'
Seeing Infernape's expression, Flint froze hard.
Raihan was about the same, both of them turning to look at Axel and Briar at the same time.
"Referee, we need to check if Infernape has an earpiece in its ear!"
If they didn't check, they couldn't shake the feeling that Infernape's commands today were coming from a certain trainer named Axel.
"Alright, I'll check for you afterward…", Black lines appeared on Briar's forehead.
These two guys were clearly already rattled. Archaludon was still in Gigantamax, how could they pause now?
The battle continued.
Archaludon kept using G-Max Quake, while Infernape completely gave up on strong offense.
Now that the opponent was as solid as an iron barrel and still in Gigantamax form, frontal assault was impossible.
With three G-Max Quakes unleashed, the whole plaza was pockmarked and devastated.
Then Archaludon's Gigantamax state ended, and the two Pokémon were about to clash directly.
Raihan and Flint both narrowed their eyes slightly, simulating the battle in their minds.
In the end, they both recalled their Pokémon at the same time.
Archaludon truly had no stamina left, but Infernape's remaining energy wasn't enough to Substitute again either.
If they kept fighting, it would still only end in a draw.
After both sides stopped, two flashes of light appeared. Raihan's Flygon and Flint's Steelix came out together, quickly repairing the plaza back to its original look.
The students in the distance cheered as they rushed back to their seats, every one of them boiling with excitement.
They had witnessed history today.
Not only had Raihan unleashed Gigantamax at Blueberry Academy, but Flint's Infernape had exploded with unimaginable strength, even fighting Gigantamax Archaludon to a draw.
Hearing the cheers outside, Infernape crossed its arms inside its Pokéball, peeking out the little window at Flint.
'How about it, was I awesome or not this round?'
Hearing the faint voice from inside the ball, Flint sighed up at the sky.
'Ah… in the end, it still turned dirty.'
If Infernape had been unwilling to use that tactic, Flint might've felt better inside.
But now…
'Brother, you've only been with Axel for one day!'
'Spraying fire from there was one thing, but now you're happily playing Protect-and-stall variants too?'
These days, it wasn't him watching Axel's Pokémon, it was clearly Axel training his.
After some mental adjustment, Flint rubbed his face, looked blankly at Axel, and took a deep breath, "Though it feels a bit weird, thank you anyway."
"Ninety percent of the credit for me drawing with Raihan goes to you."
Axel waved his hand with a cheerful smile, "No need, no need, even if you just had Infernape hang on a few more times, you could've won."
Flint: "..."
'Hang on, stand up, stall him out, and top it off with a 'for the dream, keep fighting'…'
'Why do I suddenly feel like I have some sort of protagonist plot armor physique?'
Just as Flint was doubting life, Raihan came over smiling, giving him a big thumbs up.
"Very strong!"
"You really think I'm strong?"
"Of course," Raihan nodded without hesitation.
"My Archaludon stacking both defenses was also a kind of tactic, just a different one from yours."
"Battling itself is an art. An art of pursuing victory!"
Hearing Raihan's words, Flint's heart instantly cleared.
As a Galarian, where battling was a cultural tradition, Raihan's words carried heavy weight in the field.
If even he said that, then it wasn't dirty.
"I understand now," Flames flickered in Flint's eyes as he turned back to Axel, "Axel, thank you. I'll spread the tactics you taught Infernape far and wide."
"When I get back, I'll defeat Cynthia and spread your philosophy across the land of Sinnoh."
Axel: "..."
Well, Flint had officially gone crazy.
Didn't he know Cynthia's Garchomp knew Dragon Dance?
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