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When Daisy saw that Swampert had somehow used Rain Dance without anyone noticing, causing rain to start falling across the battlefield, she immediately had the urge to recall Infernape back into his PokeBall.
But just thinking about how fired up her ace Pokémon currently was, she knew if she pulled him back now, with her understanding of Infernape's temper, he'd absolutely fly into a rage—and might even refuse to listen to her for quite a while.
"Infernape, now's our chance! Charge in, use Focus Energy, then get in close and unleash a barrage of Mach Punches!"
With that in mind, Daisy quickly dismissed the idea of recalling Infernape. Taking advantage of the mist and steam that now blanketed the battlefield, she gave her orders without hesitation.
Although the rainy weather was definitely a major disadvantage for Infernape, he wasn't just a Fire-type—he was also a Fighting-type.
Given Infernape's current strength, even if he was facing Swampert, whose typing completely countered his own, he still had a shot at winning with his Fighting-type moves.
Upon hearing Daisy's command, Infernape's eyes burned with even fiercer fighting spirit. The Flame Orb on his neck glowed bright red.
In an instant, the blue flames surrounding his body surged, evaporating the rain and moisture in a five-meter radius around him on contact.
This only caused the mist on the battlefield to grow even thicker under the rain, which ended up giving Infernape better cover to work with.
The very next second, Infernape extinguished the blue flames cloaking his body and dashed at incredible speed toward Swampert's direction.
Though visibility was poor, his sharp battle instincts allowed him to sense Swampert's general location.
As he charged, a yellow aura flared around his body, elevating his mental state to the peak—Focus Energy activated.
"Heh, use Muddy Water."
Even though he couldn't see much of the battlefield due to the thick mist, Sato still trusted Swampert's abilities completely. He immediately ordered a wide-area attack before Infernape could close the distance.
"Swamp!"
Swampert pounded the ground with both fists and let out a powerful roar. Instantly, the rainwater within a ten-meter radius lit up with a blue glow.
Under Swampert's control, the rainwater rapidly mixed with the mud and soil on the ground, forming a massive, murky tidal wave of muddy water.
As the surge swept across the field, the resulting turbulence instantly cleared away all the lingering steam.
In just moments, visibility across the battlefield returned—only for everyone to realize, stunned, that Infernape was nowhere to be seen.
"He's in the air! Swampert, use Rock Tomb to form boulders—then throw them with Rock Throw!"
Seeing this, Sato quickly realized what was happening. He looked up and spotted Infernape's silhouette in the sky, shouting his command.
Once Sato called it out, nearly everyone else caught on too. When they looked up, they saw Infernape, engulfed in blue flames, hurtling toward Swampert like a fiery meteor.
The trail of blue fire blasting from Infernape's back worked like a jet engine, allowing him to maneuver mid-air and adjust his angle of descent with remarkable speed and control.
"As expected of Professor Oak's granddaughter—Daisy actually came up with a training method like this. Using Infernape's expert control over fire and the propulsion from flame jets... this Infernape has probably achieved short-term aerial movement."
Seeing Infernape's mid-air maneuvering, Sato's pupils shrank, astonished by the technique.
In truth, he had once tried to teach Growlithe similar flame-propulsion methods, but this kind of precise control was clearly on another level—Growlithe wasn't quite there yet.
From the look of things, it was clear Infernape had leapt into the air specifically to avoid Swampert's wide-range Muddy Water attack. Now, using the aerial vantage point, he was aiming to precisely locate and strike Swampert.
After hearing Sato's command, Swampert also looked skyward, his eyes glowing a deep earthy brown.
In an instant, five massive boulders—each the size of a millstone—rose from the ground around him.
Swampert picked them up one after another and hurled them at the rapidly descending Infernape.
A moment later, a series of sharp whoosh whoosh whoosh noises sliced through the air.
Empowered by Swampert's incredible strength, the boulders shot toward Infernape like cannonballs, each one deadly accurate.
"Don't try to take them head-on! Use fire propulsion to dodge! If you can't avoid them, smash them with Focus Punch!"
Daisy's face changed when she heard the incoming sound of the boulders cutting through the air. She quickly shouted up to Infernape, who was eagerly preparing to strike.
Infernape frowned but followed her command. Using the flame jets from his body, he twisted through the air, attempting to dodge the flying rocks.
He managed to anticipate and avoid three of them using sheer battle instinct, but the remaining two were too fast to completely evade.
"Grahhh!!"
Seeing he couldn't dodge them, Infernape chose not to. Instead, he raised a fist and struck the incoming boulder head-on.
BOOM!
A loud explosion rang out as shards of rock scattered from the sky.
Infernape had charged up and unleashed a Focus Punch, shattering one of the massive boulders. But the cost was high.
The boulder had been thrown with Swampert's full strength. Though Infernape had crushed it, he had severely underestimated the force behind it. The impact surged through his arm, leaving him feeling like his right arm was about to break.
Infernape grimaced in pain, clutching his trembling right hand with his left as his body was sent flying backward, crashing down from the sky after a long arc.
Still, thanks to that, he narrowly avoided Swampert's final boulder.
"Infernape!"
Seeing how badly Infernape had been hurt just blocking one of Swampert's thrown rocks, Daisy finally realized just how terrifying Sato's Swampert truly was. Her eyes widened in shock, and she couldn't help but cry out.
"Sato's Swampert is insanely strong! Big sis Daisy's Infernape couldn't handle even one of those boulders."
At that moment, Ash, holding a pink umbrella with Serena, also gasped when he saw Infernape's injuries.
"Shut it, you idiot Ash! My sister's Infernape wouldn't lose that easily! He took down four opponents by himself in the Sinnoh League semifinals and got her into the finals! If he hadn't been so worn out, she would've won the championship for sure!"
Hearing Ash's comment, a visibly upset Gary immediately turned and snapped at him.
"You're the idiot! Just look at the situation—Infernape's clearly on the back foot right now!"
Ash retorted angrily, not liking being called an idiot himself, and the two quickly devolved into a heated argument.
Watching the two bicker, Serena and the other kids nearby sighed collectively. This was nothing new.
"Not looking good... That Swampert might be a natural powerhouse. Add in its physical strength and the type advantage... Daisy's Infernape probably doesn't stand much of a chance."
Professor Oak cast a quick glance at his grandson and Ash, then refocused on the battlefield, anxiety creeping into his heart for his granddaughter.
While Ash and Gary argued loudly, things on the field shifted again.
This time, Swampert took the initiative. He vanished from view with Dig, reappearing behind the injured Infernape.
Swampert carried pride equal to Infernape's. Although the rain had effectively suppressed Infernape's type advantage, he still wanted to win in a head-on fight.
As Swampert's trainer, Sato knew his Pokémon's personality well. He didn't order Earth Power or another move to easily finish this nearly unwinnable fight—instead, he let Swampert follow his instincts.
"Counter with Focus Punch!"
"Hit back with Hammer Arm!"
Daisy and Sato gave their commands almost simultaneously.
The next moment, Infernape—having finished charging—threw a Focus Punch with his still-functioning left arm.
Swampert met him head-on, swinging a massive fist the size of a sandbag.