However, the league was clearly prepared for this kind of situation. The official protective shields that hadn't been activated during the previous matches were finally turned on in the finals, because they also knew that the level of the finals was not on the same tier as before.
As long as the surrounding shields weren't hit with power exceeding Elite Level, they remained unbreakable, and even in the unlikely event of a breach, the Elites would intervene, so the audience had a comfortable viewing experience.
If, after paying so much money, spectators still had to experience anxiety and fear, the service would be quite lackluster. Would it be worth the high ticket price?
As the flames struck the barrier, the Monferno in the sky landed on the ground, and Ash's voice rang out, "Monferno, use Mach Punch!"
"Huh!" Monferno's feet explosively powered up as it landed on the ground, and the entire body shot forward like an arrow leaving the bowstring, instantly arriving in front of Magmortar, fists flying like bullets, with countless punches appearing in front of Magmortar.
These punch shadows were created by Monferno's extremely fast punching speed, meaning the number of punch shadows represented the number of actual punches Monferno had made.
"Bang bang bang!!" The fists landed on Magmortar like raindrops. With the enhancement from Aura Power, Monferno's current strength was at Professional Junior Level, and each punch landed could not be ignored by Magmortar.
"Flare Blitz." Paul calmly gave the command.
Magmortar's body erupted in fervent flames, which partially melted the ground at that moment. Monferno continued to unleash Mach Punch, which caught him off guard, getting burned by the flames from Magmortar. In an instant, his fists were scorched black, and due to the intense heat, he quickly retreated and stopped using Mach Punch.
Covering the entire body with flames to make the attacker retreat was truly Paul's style. Monferno, seeing the opponent enveloped in flames, was momentarily unsure of how to respond.
"Charge forward." With a command, Magmortar charged fiercely like an erupting volcano, wrapped in blazing flames, toward Monferno.
"Detect." Ash's counter method was still using Detect. Like Protect, Detect couldn't be used consecutively, but Monferno had already used Mach Punch in between, so Detect could be used again.
A sharp gleam flashed in Monferno's eyes; the opponent's fierce speed seemed to slow down in his vision. Yet, even slowed down, the speed was still not something he could evade.
In the eyes of the outside audience, Magmortar was like a tank bulldozer, crushing everything in its path. Using Flare Blitz, it scorched the ground into a charred state, leaving a pitch-black trail behind.
In less than a second, Magmortar reached Monferno, who tried to dodge, but the flames around Magmortar suddenly exploded, the range nearly encompassing three meters around. Monferno's evasive maneuver couldn't escape this range.
"Boom!!" A violent explosion suddenly erupted in the field, with the entire arena filled with flames and the aftermath waves of the explosion. A barrier appeared in front of Paul and Ash, as the shockwaves of the explosion extended to the trainers' platform.
If it weren't for the protection of the barrier, trainers on the platform might have faced life-threatening danger, and this was merely a Gym Level explosion.
Yet, given Ash's physical condition, even being directly hit by Flare Blitz might not affect him...
The smoke and aftermath slowly dissipated, and Monferno's silhouette shot out from the smoke, feet skidding across the ground to arrive in front of Ash, already showing multiple burn marks.
Just during the explosion's peak, he used Flame Wheel to defend, and because Magmortar hadn't directly hit him, along with Magmortar's tendency to spread its power in an area-wide blast, Monferno's Flame Wheel managed to block a substantial amount of force.
Even so, Monferno's body still suffered multiple burns from the flames, highlighting the vast disparity in Level between them.
As the smoke thoroughly cleared, Magmortar was standing in the center of the field, with a huge black crater marking the ground from Flash Flare Blitz's explosive influence.
At that moment, Magmortar glanced contemptuously at Monferno, appearing quite disdainful about Monferno's current state, thinking that just being scraped by his Flare Blitz resulted in such a condition; if directly attacked, it's doubtful even reaching the Pokemon Center would save him.
With this level of power, how could it take his place as the lead? Why?
Indeed, Magmortar had been Paul's lead Fire Type Pokemon prior to acquiring Chimchar, shifting all focus to it with the intent to groom Chimchar into the new lead Fire Type.
Magmortar initially had no objections. In Paul's team, the philosophy revolved around 'victor is king.' However... Chimchar seemed like useless mud, never progressing beyond a certain level despite extensive training.
The Super Blaze that astonished Paul was never activated, proving overall inferior to him. At first, Magmortar had no issue, but gradually felt Chimchar was merely wasting his trainer's time and effort.
No matter the training method, Chimchar couldn't tap into its initial power, feeling like a scam.
Losing his lead position could be endured, but he couldn't tolerate Chimchar squandering his trainer's experience, hence why he held significant disagreements against Chimchar.
Once Paul abandoned Chimchar, reinstating Magmortar as the lead, Chimchar disappeared from view, unexpectedly resurfacing in today's duel!
Despite evolving, Magmortar wouldn't mistake the opponent's familiar eyes and vibe, confirming this Monferno was indeed Paul's Chimchar.
Just days without seeing each other, but the opponent transformed dramatically, not only evolving but expanding its power audaciously, yet still far behind him.
Magmortar was infuriated on realizing the opponent never showcased value to Paul, but thrived under Ash, questioning Paul's cultivation efforts.
This fueled Magmortar's fury and intolerance; from his perspective, Chimchar's behavior was intentional. Paul's rigorous training spawned Chimchar's discontent, causing deliberate withholding of power despite possessing it.
Transferring to another trainer promptly showed a contrasting display. Without Paul's training, Magmortar doubted Monferno's swift progress.
Therefore, for the 'ungrateful' Monferno, Magmar was determined to deploy full force as a lesson.
Ash and Paul remained unaware of Magmortar's self-conceived notions, yet it didn't change the unfavorable stance Ash held from the scratched impact. How to counter this?
"Monferno, channel the power within you. Don't fear it; that power is yours. Let's master it together!" Ash's words were like potent tranquilizers bolstering Monferno's resolve.
Initially hesitant, Monferno's eyes flickered with determination and decision. Super Blaze's prime attribute wasn't just surpassing regular Blaze's boost, but its trigger opportunity.
With Monferno's willingness, once his Physical Strength dropped below half, it acted like an active skill, directly igniting!
"Hicha!!" Intense flames erupted fiercely, surrounding Monferno, with the pillar of fire ascending skywards and enveloping the entire area.
Super Blaze activated!