Brad showed a grim expression. He understood Cain's message perfectly: Mega Gengar's attack was merely a warning.
A warning for him not to get distracted and to focus on commanding the battle between Yanmega and Blaziken. If he truly wanted to attack the trainer directly, Cain was not afraid at all and, in fact, held a clear advantage both in the number of Pokémon and in overall strength.
Brad had fallen into extreme passivity. Now Cain only wanted him to obey and direct Yanmega, turning it into Blaziken's opponent—or, in other words, into a whetstone for Blaziken.
With such obvious intent, with an attitude so casual that he was using Yanmega as nothing more than a test for Blaziken, how could Brad possibly endure it?
But in his current situation, he was completely cornered. If he wanted to break out of that passive state, his only option was to command Yanmega so that, by taking advantage of a momentary lapse from Cain, it could eliminate Blaziken in a single strike.
If he succeeded, he and Cain would be back on the same starting line.
Therefore, Brad began to seriously command Yanmega's battle.
However, the indifferent attitude Yanmega had previously shown toward Blaziken had completely ignited the fighting spirit of this warrior.
Even when facing stronger opponents, no one dared to ignore it like that—let alone an opponent who, in Blaziken's eyes, was at best on the same level as itself.
Following Cain's orders, Blaziken had already silently used the move Swords Dance once. The first boost was always the most significant.
It positioned itself beneath Yanmega, staring up at that Pokémon floating calmly in the air, utterly convinced that Blaziken could not reach it.
Blaziken's blue eyes sharpened. A fierce aura surged skyward; its body crouched slightly, its arms drew back to its waist, and the four bands of fire around its wrists tightly coiled around its fists.
If there had been any instrument capable of measuring temperature at that moment, it would undoubtedly have detected that the heat of Blaziken's body had already surpassed any imaginable limit.
Boom!
Two pillars of fire shot into the sky. Due to the extreme condensation of the flames, there was no dispersion at all; all the fire seemed to have transformed into arrows, like two blazing swords.
Yanmega thought it had flown high enough, but it did not expect Blaziken's flames to appear before its eyes in an instant.
Fortunately, Yanmega had the move Tailwind active, and its altitude gave it a brief window to react, allowing it to avoid taking the flames head-on.
Even so, the fire that passed just inches away transmitted a terrifying heat. For a Bug-type Pokémon, that temperature was an extremely violent stimulus.
It beat its wings, trying to gain distance, but when its red compound eyes looked downward, it saw—between the space formed by the two pillars of fire—a figure rising straight into the sky.
"Yanmega, watch out!" Brad's voice barely reached Yanmega's ears.
Flying high had its advantages, but also its disadvantages. For a Pokémon fighting under its trainer's commands, at that height it was not easy to hear instructions in time.
And at certain moments, a Pokémon launching itself with all its strength—even if it was not as fast as sound—was not far behind.
That ascending figure was Mega Blaziken, which had leapt swiftly using the move Bounce.
Who said you couldn't damage a flying Pokémon if you couldn't fly?
Mega Blaziken proved a truth: as long as you jump high enough, you can even knock Rayquaza out of the sky.
Mega Blaziken's enormous fist, wrapped in flames, slammed fiercely into Yanmega's face—a face capable of inducing nausea even in those who suffered from trypophobia.
Bounce + Sky Uppercut + Fire Punch!
The power generated by the combination of these three moves was not something an ordinary move could match. Moreover, after Mega Evolving, Blaziken's mastery over Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire had increased drastically. The flames concentrated in this Fire Punch already contained a portion of the power of Sacred Fire.
If it were not for the fact that Bounce and Sky Uppercut had consumed too much energy, that blow could have transformed all the flames into Sacred Fire.
Even so, thanks to Blaziken having reached the Champion level, its understanding and control of the move Sacred Fire had taken another great leap forward.
Boom!
Upon taking the blow to the head, Yanmega felt a deafening buzz. It could no longer hear its trainer's voice, and an instinctive panic arose within it.
Immediately after, it felt its wings grow heavy, as if something were restraining them, preventing it from flying freely.
The nerves in Yanmega's wings were sparse—after all, it was a Bug-type Pokémon. In truth, the one restraining its wings was Mega Blaziken itself, which had just jumped up—not with its claws, but with the four bands of fire hanging from its wrists.
Mega Blaziken's two golden brows rose fiercely, and its aura remained at its peak. Gripping Yanmega, it began to slowly drag it downward.
When Yanmega managed to recover slightly from Blaziken's attacks and lowered its head to see what was holding its wings, it was met with Blaziken's mocking eyes, as well as the red-golden flames that were condensing around its feet.
The reason Blaziken had waited a moment was simple: it wanted that Yanmega, which intended to abuse its flying ability without restraint, to experience what the "Deadly Kick of the Blue Beast of Konoha" was like.
No... the deadly fire kick!
However, at that moment Blaziken was still beneath Yanmega, and executing an effective kick was not so simple. But that posed no problem for Blaziken, a master of technique.
The four bands of fire around its wrists suddenly tightened, yanking its body upward. A nimble current of air surged around it, rotating it one hundred and eighty degrees from beneath Yanmega to a position above it.
Flying-type move: Aerial Ace!
Long ago, Blaziken had fully integrated this move into its own combat system; it used it naturally as a standard technique for changing position.
The fully charged fire kick could wait no longer!
(End of chapter)