"Charizard, let's begin with practicing your moves first."
After attaching the Z-crystal, Kalia started training her Z-Move technique. Based on their previous experience, there was no need for an opponent; simply practicing and finding the right feel sufficed.
During the release of a Z-Move, energy resonance plays a crucial role. Mastering this resonance is essential to effectively executing a Z-Move.
A Trainer can control when to initiate a Z-Move, either at the beginning or during combat, but precise timing requires practice.
Energy resonance is significantly simpler compared to Mental Resonance. With his Inferno Overdrive proficiency already at 70%, Lian had developed a good understanding of triggering energy resonance. Although Kalia needed to find her rhythm, Lian could preemptively generate energy resonance by channeling fire energy into his own Z-crystal.
Within a certain range, identical Z-crystals can resonate with each other, generating a Z-power. Since Lian wore the larger Z-crystal, once resonance occurs, all Z-power will converge towards him, enhancing his Fire-type moves into Z-moves.
Lian's first step was to diffuse fire energy outward, naturally directing it towards the Z-crystal.
Essentially, a Z-move functions like a game's ultimate ability, requiring an energy bar to fill up before it can be unleashed. Lian could rapidly charge this energy bar from the start.
However, instead of immediately triggering the energy resonance, he began by releasing several Flamethrowers to warm up, allowing Kalia to gradually sense the approaching energy resonance.
Time passed, and half an hour went by.
Whoosh!
Lian released another Flamethrower, forming a fiery dragon that dissipated in the air. At that precise moment, Kalia suddenly felt her Z-Ring vibrate as the Z-crystal began shimmering, indicating the imminent onset of energy resonance.
"Resonance achieved! Charizard, prepare to unleash the Z-Move." Kalia's eyes lit up as the resonance finally occurred. She quickly seized this sensation and placed her hand on the Z-crystal, amplifying the energy resonance.
These techniques were learned at the research institute; physical contact enhances energy resonance, with the optimal method being placing one hand directly on the Z-crystal.
Lian also felt the glow emanating from the Z-crystal around his neck. Once resonance is established, it releases Z-energy, allowing him to execute a Z-Move.
Typically, Z-Moves cannot be interrupted during combat, not even by opponents' attempts to halt them, unless they manage to knock out the Pokemon, rendering it unable to perform the move.
Responding to Kalia, Lian let out a roar, causing Kalia's Z-Ring to intensify its radiant red glow, spreading brilliant light all around.
Simultaneously, Lian's Z-crystal illuminated with a dazzling red hue, and he could sense a mysterious force being unleashed, unmistakably the Z-power.
He felt both energy and stamina draining, which is the necessary cost for executing a Z-Move. Similarly, Kalia was also experiencing a depletion of her stamina.
Just as Lian was about to unleash Flamethrower, the energy resonance reached its peak. At that moment, Kalia experienced a brief Mental Resonance, sensing that Charizard was ready to execute its move.
With no one else around, Kalia confidently shouted the Z-move's name, her voice crisp and loud: "Charizard, Inferno Overdrive!"
As she called out the move, due to the Mental Resonance, Kalia instinctively mirrored the Flamethrower pose, knowing Lian was about to release it. Instead of using her mouth, she extended both arms forcefully forward behind Lian.
Simultaneously, Lian opened his mouth and unleashed Flamethrower. As soon as it left, the Z-power transformed it, creating a massive, scorching inferno with swirling flames around, looking incredibly impressive.
Although named Inferno Overdrive, in reality, different Fire-type moves can produce distinct variations of Z-moves when combined.
Kalia was thrilled with successfully releasing her first z-move, unlike the previous attempt when she didn't fully possess the ordinary Z-crystal. Now, this Fire Z-Crystal belonged completely to her.
With ample time available, Kalia could thoroughly study and master various z-moves, making her even more delighted.
After taking a brief rest, releasing a z-move drained much of Kalia's stamina, necessitating replenishment.
Lian also consumed a few energy cubes to fill his stomach. Executing a z-move indeed felt exhausting, but he believed he could manage two releases before both Kalia and himself would likely become too weak, possibly leading to fainting or lacking strength for further combat.
Thus, it was crucial not to attempt a second move without sufficient rest and recovery of stamina.
"Charizard, let's continue our training."
Following a short break, Kalia stood up, ready to resume practicing z-moves as her energy had mostly been restored.
***
Time flowed swiftly like water, quietly passing by.
Before they knew it, over ten days had gone by.
For nearly two weeks, Lian consistently trained with Kalia on mastering Z-Moves. They started with Flamethrower as the base move and then progressed through Ember, Fire Fang, Incinerate, Fire Spin, Inferno, Fire Pledge...
They experimented with every possible move, transforming them into various forms of immensely powerful Inferno Overdrives, each resulting in distinct levels of destructive force.
For instance, when using Fire Spin, its shape remained largely unchanged due to the amplification from Z-power. However, the restraining effect of the whirlpool was eliminated, turning it into a single burst attack.
Upon converting any offensive move into a Z-Move, the Z-power would remove all additional beneficial or detrimental effects. This meant that even unique conditions like Burn, typically associated with Fire-type moves, would not occur.
This is considered the trade-off for enhancing the power of moves with Z-energy. Consequently, sometimes regular moves might not necessarily be inferior to Z-Moves; it ultimately depends on how effectively they are utilized.
After more than ten days of practice, Kalia had mastered the timing for releasing Z-moves. From the onset of battle, she could swiftly enter her focused state, and with Lian's coordination, they could instantly trigger resonance with the Z-crystal to unleash a Z-move.
Lian also became increasingly proficient at executing Z-moves. With Combat Points, he had already upgraded Inferno Overdrive to 70 proficiency, further honing his skills through recent training sessions, achieving mastery over time.
During these ten-plus days, besides move training, Sceptile made significant progress in combat techniques under Takeshi's guidance. As expected from a great martial artist, Sceptile's application of combat moves improved remarkably compared to before.
Notably, the skill of simultaneously using Leaf Blade with both hands, which was often forgotten amidst battles, is now effortlessly executed by Sceptile.
Additionally, Torchic successfully evolved into Combusken. With its new Fighting Type attributes, Combusken displayed exceptional fighting prowess, although not quite on par with Sceptile, it still showed remarkable potential.
Combusken quickly mastered several combat moves such as Blaze Kick, Double Kick, among others.