"Blaziken, Focus Energy!"
"Magmar, Mach Punch!"
As both commands rang out, the battle ignited in an instant.
Magmar moved first, white light flaring at its knuckles. It vanished from where it stood, its burst of speed skimming the edge of sound. Shockwaves rippled the air; Blaziken planted its feet, feathers ruffling in the gusts.
Thud!
The glowing fist hammered Blaziken in the chest. Impact bloomed through its body and shoved it back a few steps.
But the fire in Blaziken's eyes only burned sharper.
It locked onto the punching Magmar, a faint smile tugging at the corner of its beak.
"Cha-oh!" (Feeling weak? Need a bite?)
Blaziken chuckled, a red aura flaring around it as its presence tightened and surged.
Blaine's gaze flicked; he snapped, "Magmar, stoke your fighting spirit! Use Fire Punch!"
"Graah!"
Magmar raised its arm again. This time a dusky flame rolled over its fist, resonating with the molten lava coursing over its body. The heat it threw off made even the Fire-type Blaziken feel a prickle of scorch.
The punch crashed in, far heavier than the earlier Mach Punch.
Eyes narrowing, Blaziken relied on its accelerating footwork, slipping past the oncoming blow.
"No wonder it can swim through magma…"
Grey felt the pressure pouring off the opponent and, after that brief acknowledgment, barked, "Don't lose to it—Fire Punch!"
"Cha-oh!"
Flames roared from Blaziken's wrists, swallowing its hands in an instant. Clenching both claws into fists, it met Magmar again, blinking out of the line of attack—
Sssht!
Magmar's strike whiffed. Blaziken countered, smashing a fist straight into its face.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In the next few seconds Blaziken unleashed dozens of Fire Punches in a blur.
With Speed Boost kicking in, Blaziken outpaced Magmar; stacked with Focus Energy, both its speed and power now eclipsed its foe. Sparks sprayed through the air. Magmar's face looked a mess, swelling in angry patches.
All it could do was cross its forearms tight over its head to shield its face from the relentless barrage.
Right now, the fight had tilted hard—Blaziken was crushing Magmar with overwhelming pressure.
But Blaine, a seasoned veteran, had answers ready.
The instant Blaziken's final punch finished and the opening after its motion appeared, Blaine shouted, "Scorching Sands!"
"Graaaah!!"
Magmar stamped the rocky field. Fire flared underfoot and fused with the ground, burning and baking without pause.
In under two seconds the whole arena crumbled into soft sand, then grew hotter and hotter under the blaze.
Shrrraaash!
The searing sand rolled and rolled, gathering into waves that surged to bury Blaziken where it stood.
Only a Pokémon tempered by countless battles could whip out a counter this fast.
White steam hissed off the dunes—the heat alone told the story.
Blaziken's throat bobbed. It swallowed, instincts screaming to dodge.
But its footing gave; one foot sank into the roasting sand. Even with two Speed Boost procs, moving was a slog.
A closer look showed the entire field had turned to beach, and at this temperature it would give most Pokémon a real headache.
Even one as strong as Blaziken could only grit its teeth and hang on.
Grey didn't dare take it in close anymore. He tried to trade at range instead: "Flamethrower!"
A pillar of red flame burst from Blaziken's beak, flecked with gold, and slammed into the incoming Scorching Sands.
Boom!
Fire and ground energy collided. Flamethrower's tongue licked at the blazing sand, freezing a mass of it midair, holding it in place.
Scorching Sands refused to yield. Everything not locked by the flames came crashing down with sharp patters.
Grains sank back into the field; the baking heat flooded up around Blaziken's legs and climbed higher.
"Cha…oh…"
Blaziken's eyes tightened. Mired in the Scorching Sands, it could barely move, and even its Flamethrower began to flag.
Little by little, Flamethrower looked like it was getting smothered.
Give it a bit longer, and defeat would be a foregone conclusion.
Grey wasn't surprised.
Blaziken was, on paper, a notch below this Magmar; facing a Ground-type trump like Scorching Sands, keeping things even this long was already impressive.
"Cha…oh!"
Watching its Flamethrower get pushed back made Blaziken bristle. It poured more power into the stream.
The blaze swelled; Flamethrower ballooned, and for a heartbeat the two moves locked into a strange, teetering equilibrium.
Neither could quite break the other.
But old hands win long games.
With lava reflecting in his lenses, a cold edge flashed in Blaine's eyes. He rapped out, "Clear Smog!"
Magmar paused its direct control over Scorching Sands, but the scalding sand-wave kept its press, pinning Blaziken in place.
Then Magmar shifted—bursting out from the flank of the dunes!
Its flat, duck-bill mouth gaped and belched a cloud of fumes toward Blaziken.
The haze spread midair and swallowed Blaziken before it could mount a proper reaction.
"Cough, cough…"
Hit head-on, Blaziken's body sagged. The Speed Boost stacks it had built up were wiped away.
[Dang, Blaziken's in real trouble!]
[Did Speed Boost 'ken just get hard-checked?]
[No… I feel like the streamer's still holding a trump card.]
Chat flooded in, nerves fraying for Blaziken.
Grey's viewers were used to his stomp fests; this was the first time a fight had been this even, and palms were sweating.
Was this where the run ended?
With its speed buffs scrubbed and its feet pinned, everything looked like it was unfolding in Blaine's hands.
Blaine lifted his chin. Through the Scorching Sands he fixed on Blaziken, still gritting its way forward.
If it had to rebuild its speed, dodging his finisher would be nearly impossible.
"Magmar, show Blaziken your resolve! Use—Fire Blast!"
Knowing how scary Speed Boost gets, Blaine chose to end it now—no dragging this out.
All-out right here was the best window to put Blaziken down.
"Been waiting for this. Use Sand Attack!"
"!?"
Hearing Grey's command, Blaine felt a twinge of dread.
Normally, using Sand Attack would take time to gather sand energy—a window wide enough for Magmar to tag Blaziken a few times.
But this wasn't "normally."
Blaziken was standing in sand already. There was hardly any gather time at all.
"Cha-oh!"
Blaziken cried, yanked a leg free, and flung the roasting sand up into Magmar's face.
The kicked-up spray bloomed like a starburst. Magmar had only just formed the seed of a fireball when its vision went blurry.
It squeezed its eyes shut and rubbed at the corners.
By the time its sight cleared, Blaziken was gone.
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