Lv26.
Right after evolving, Monferno's strength surged directly by six levels.
At this moment—the nearby Rhyhorn stared at his opponent, who had completely changed in appearance, feeling immense pressure crushing down on his heart.
"Referee, we haven't exceeded the time limit, have we?"
Just then—Hu Yan'er turned to the referee at the side and asked.
The referee glanced down at his stopwatch.
One minute, fifty-two seconds, point zero eight.
That was the exact time when Chimchar had been enveloped by the light of evolution.
It hadn't exceeded the two-minute limit.
"No overtime!"
"I declare—the match continues!"
The referee decisively waved the flag in his hand, signaling for the battle to proceed.
Ishimori attacked first.
"Rhyhorn, [Rock Slide]!"
Whoosh!
Facing the intense pressure from Monferno, Rhyhorn no longer dared to hesitate!
The moment Ishimori gave his command, Rock-type energy surged forth within Rhyhorn's body.
Massive boulders, each clearly visible and as large as millstones, rapidly condensed in the air above Monferno's head—before immediately plummeting downward like meteors.
"Monferno, let me see the power of your evolution!"
"Smash them!"
Since Monferno had just evolved—Hu Yan'er wasn't yet entirely clear about his condition.
Thus, she simply allowed Monferno to battle freely.
"Kuah—!"
Monferno roared, his hunched body instantly bursting with force as he leapt directly into the air.
Facing the huge falling rocks, Monferno showed no fear whatsoever.
He suddenly raised his fists...
In the next instant—countless shadows of fists appeared rapidly in midair.
Mach Punch!
The new move Monferno learned upon evolution.
Before evolving, Monferno had already been boosted by Swords Dance, and now after evolving, his own attributes had been further strengthened dramatically.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With a continuous chain of explosions, all the boulders from Rhyhorn's Rock Slide were instantly smashed into powder!
And as Monferno burst out from the cloud of rock dust, his eyes sharply locked onto Rhyhorn.
"Rhyhorn, [Magnitude]!"
Seeing how simple rock attacks no longer posed a threat to Monferno—
After all, post-evolution, Monferno had acquired a Fighting-type attribute, so Rock-type moves no longer held any type advantage against him.
Ishimori decisively changed his tactics, ordering Rhyhorn to unleash its hereditary specialty—Magnitude.
"Monferno, charge straight in!"
"Use [Brick Break]!"
If Rhyhorn had used Earthquake, perhaps Hu Yan'er wouldn't have allowed Monferno to tank the damage head-on and counterattack.
After all, despite evolving, Monferno hadn't recovered completely to full condition.
But Magnitude was different.
Though the maximum Level 10 Magnitude boasted a terrifying power of 150—
Even surpassing Earthquake—the weakest, Level 4 Magnitude, had merely a power of 10.
A move with notoriously high upper limits, but also a terribly low floor.
Earthquake had a fixed strength of 100, but Magnitude's damage was purely dependent on luck.
Yet Hu Yan'er was rather confident in her own luck.
Thus, she was willing to gamble right now on both sides' fortune.
Whoosh!
Rhyhorn exhaled a heavy breath, slamming its powerful forelegs heavily onto the ground.
An invisible shockwave spread across the entire field.
Yet...
Despite Rhyhorn's impressive movements, the actual damage inflicted was far weaker than expected.
Monferno, taking the Magnitude head-on, merely furrowed his brows slightly, having suffered minimal damage.
Just as expected!
In terms of luck, Hu Yan'er never disappoints!
Rhyhorn's Magnitude attack had merely reached the weakest Level 4.
Seeing this, students nearby sighed heavily:
"Such a pity! Lady Luck really isn't siding with Ishimori. Had it been a Level 10 Magnitude, even the evolved Monferno probably couldn't handle it!"
"The chance of Level 10 Magnitude was slim from the start. Seeing this result, it's clearly just a Level 4—really unlucky for Ishimori."
"There's nothing to argue about. Luck itself is part of a trainer's strength."
"Now that Rhyhorn has allowed Monferno to get close, things aren't looking good for it."
Even before Monferno had evolved, a single Close Combat had already dealt considerable damage to Rhyhorn.
And now, after evolving—Monferno, having gained the Fighting attribute, could unleash Fighting moves at their absolute peak.
With Rhyhorn's rhythm disrupted, it was finally Monferno's turn to strike back.
Mach Punch! Brick Break!
Monferno relied on his agility to constantly circle around Rhyhorn, alternating between these two Fighting-type moves.
Intense waves of pain caused Rhyhorn to cry out involuntarily.
During this onslaught—Ishimori repeatedly commanded Rhyhorn to counterattack—
But alas!
None of it had any effect.
Ultimately, after a full minute of relentless pummeling by Monferno, Rhyhorn finally collapsed, unable to endure any longer.
Its eyes spiraled into swirls, completely unconscious.
"Rhyhorn has lost the ability to battle!"
Seeing Rhyhorn's condition, the referee immediately announced the result.
Monferno had won!
With the momentum gained from evolution, Monferno staged a perfect comeback victory.
Of course—this outcome was only possible because of the match's regulated rules.
If this had occurred in the wild…
When Monferno had lost consciousness, no enemy would foolishly wait for your Pokémon to wake up.
But regardless, Monferno had given the audience an absolutely spectacular battle.
"You fought well."
Ishimori recalled Rhyhorn into its Poké Ball, without the slightest dissatisfaction over its defeat.
In Pokémon battles—as long as he and his Pokémon had given everything they had, what did it matter if they lost?
And besides, Rhyhorn's defeat didn't mean the match was over.
Putting away Rhyhorn's Poké Ball, Ishimori immediately took out his second Pokémon.
At the same moment—Hu Yan'er also recalled the thoroughly exhausted Monferno.
Having defeated Rhyhorn, Monferno had already more than accomplished his task.
In his current condition, it wouldn't be wise for him to face an even stronger Donphan.
So for the next fight—it was all up to Pikachu.
"Donphan, it's your turn!"
As his voice fell—Ishimori's Poké Ball landed squarely in the arena.
"Kuba!"
With a low, rumbling cry, Donphan appeared on the battlefield.
[Donphan (Ground-type)]
[Gender: ♂]
[Level: Lv35 (Veteran-tier)]
[Ability: Sturdy]
[Moves: Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Defense Curl, Rollout, Stomp, Magnitude (commonly used)]
[Tutor Move: Gyro Ball]
[Egg Move: Heavy Slam]
[Held Item: Hard Stone (Gym Leader-tier)]
[Potential: Gym Leader-tier]
Donphan resembled an elephant in appearance, its gray body covered entirely by a rock-hard hide.
Ordinary physical attacks simply couldn't leave even the slightest scratch.
Donphan's black trunk stretched all the way to its tail, and a pair of sharp, sturdy tusks protruded from either side of its snout.
These were Donphan's ivory tusks.
Within Donphan herds, tusks symbolized status.
Since tusks grew extremely slowly, the larger and longer they were, the older and more respected that Donphan was within the group.
And though Donphan was a Ground-type Pokémon—
Its bodily structure made it exceptionally skilled at rolling into a ball and charging at foes while spinning at high speeds.
Once the roll started, stopping wasn't easy.
The destructive power of a Rollout was immense enough to easily smash a house apart with just a single strike.
Precisely because of Rollout's terrifying power—
Ishimori's Donphan deliberately carried a Hard Stone, an item that boosted the power of Rock-type moves.
Its purpose?
Naturally, to strengthen Rollout itself, a Rock-type move.
"Pikachu, you're up next."
Seeing Donphan take its place, Hu Yan'er turned to the Pikachu resting on her shoulder.
"Pika!"
Pikachu patted her chest confidently, signaling Hu Yan'er to trust her.
She then leaped forward gracefully, landing squarely on the battlefield.
Despite her type disadvantage, Pikachu remained completely confident.
After all, when it came to battling Pokémon she was weak against, Pikachu had far more experience than Monferno.
"Donphan, [Defense Curl] and [Rollout]!"
Ishimori was fully aware of Pikachu's strength, his eyes filled with complete seriousness.
Without hesitation, he commanded Donphan to use its signature combination.
Defense Curl and Rollout—
For Pokémon such as Geodude, Miltank, and Donphan, this was undoubtedly their strongest move combination.
Defense Curl not only boosted the Pokémon's defense but also doubled the power of Rollout.
Moreover—unlike in the games, these two moves didn't have to be executed in a strict sequence.
As long as Pokémon were properly trained, most could seamlessly use Defense Curl and Rollout simultaneously.
Of course—doing so meant the defensive boost from Defense Curl wouldn't reach its maximum immediately.
But the advantage was sustainability.
Since Rollout's power increased gradually with momentum, by the time it reached peak damage, the effects of Defense Curl would also have fully kicked in.
But—Guo Yi had specifically discussed this very common combo with his students.
And among them, Hu Yan'er had listened especially closely.
She had no choice.
Because most Pokémon proficient with these two moves happened to have Rock or Ground typings—two attributes that heavily suppressed Hu Yan'er's current Pokémon lineup.
She couldn't afford not to pay close attention.
Teacher said before...
To disrupt this combo, you have to strike before their speed fully builds up!
Seeing Donphan already accelerating on the battlefield, Hu Yan'er immediately called out decisively:
"Pikachu, [Agility]!"
"Then close in with [Quick Attack]!"
Speed was always relative.
If your opponent was standing still, building speed was easy.
But if your target was also moving—especially when your opponent's speed exceeded your own, it became uncertain who was faster.
And when it came to speed—Pikachu was extremely confident.