Despite being continuously hit by Lian's Flamethrower, Infernape swiftly raised its slender arms, withstanding the fiery onslaught and continued advancing.
Lian anticipated this response, but it was time to bid farewell. As Infernape approached, Lian opened his mouth.
The Flamethrower momentarily hindered Infernape, albeit briefly, possibly less than half a second. However, this brief delay provided Lian enough time to unleash Dragon Rage right as Infernape neared him.
A fierce shockwave struck Infernape directly, while Lian utilized the recoil to leap backward, increasing the distance between them.
Without even needing to observe, Lian knew he had defeated Infernape. The combination of these moves, coupled with Ninetales' Extrasensory earlier, rendered Infernape incapable of further combat.
As expected, Infernape couldn't evade Dragon Rage at such close range. Its entire body bore the scars from the impact, causing its offensive movements to halt abruptly.
"Infernape, hold on!" Cassia exclaimed, her eyes filled with astonishment. How could this Charmeleon unleash another Dragon Rage so quickly? It was incredibly swift.
Cassia thought Infernape was about to close in on Charmeleon, but within the blink of an eye, it appeared defeated and unable to continue.
A moment later, Infernape collapsed onto the ground, losing consciousness due to exhaustion.
"This can't be! How is Charmeleon so strong?" Cassia was utterly perplexed. Earlier, Grovyle's Giga Drain and Leaf Blade were indeed powerful moves, making sense for defeating Crawdaunt when doubly effective against Water-types.
However, now Infernape, resistant to Fire-type attacks, succumbed after just one Flamethrower and Dragon Rage combination. This outcome seemed inexplicable.
Kalia smiled; her Charmeleon remained impressively strong. She had initially worried about Infernape's Close Combat moves, but evidently, there was no need as Charmeleon adeptly evaded them.
"What happened? Infernape got taken out instantly?"
"Something's off here. That Charmeleon is genuinely formidable."
"Oh no, Cassia only has Froslass left, and Fire-types have an advantage over Ice-types. Froslass stands no chance against Charmeleon."
The spectators were astonished and began speculating on the outcome. Most now believed Kalia would emerge victorious, as they knew what Cassia's third Pokémon was.
Her final Pokémon, Froslass, had evolved from Snorunt using a Dawn Stone, possessing both Ice and Ghost Types. Against Fire-type Charmeleon, it clearly lacked any significant advantage.
Moreover, with Charmeleon fully energized, Froslass' chances of winning were slim. At this point, most students no longer underestimated Kalia, recognizing her substantial strength.
"Am I about to lose?" Cassia seemed incredulous, knowing that Froslass faced long odds against Charmeleon due to Fire-type advantage over Ice-types.
"It can't be! My Froslass is swift; there's still a chance to defeat Charmeleon. If I take down Charmeleon, I could win." Cassia quickly realized that Froslass' speed was its key advantage. By relying on agility to evade Charmeleon's moves, she might still have an opportunity.
She didn't necessarily need Ice-type attacks; Froslass also possessed Ghost-type moves. As a mid-level class student at the Pokemon Academy, Move Disks were readily available to her.
Froslass had already mastered Shadow Ball, a powerful Ghost-type move, giving her ample potential to defeat Charmeleon.
"Go, Froslass!" With this realization, Cassia promptly sent out her Pokémon—a female creature dressed in traditional Japanese attire, appearing footless as it floated ghost-like in mid-air.
Froslass thrives in cold regions and typically evolves from Snorunt using a Dawn Stone. As soon as it appeared, the temperature around the battlefield dropped noticeably.
Seeing Froslass, Lian felt relieved, knowing that one Flamethrower would suffice. Although Froslass is swift, could its speed surpass a Flamethrower? Clearly, it couldn't.
Kalia also smiled slightly, realizing that with only Froslass left, Charmeleon should have no trouble defeating it.
Cassia's Pokemon were indeed strong, with well-balanced types. Psychic and Water-type moves, effective against Infernape, were countered by Crawdaunt.
Fighting and Grass-type moves, which target Crawdaunt, were defended and even immune to by Froslass.
As for Dark, Fire, and Ghost-type moves, threatening to Froslass, they were resisted by Infernape.
It can be said that Cassia's Pokemon team effectively compensated for many attribute weaknesses among themselves. However, initially, Cassia underestimated her opponent, leading to Crawdaunt's defeat.
The well-balanced attribute resistance of Cassia's three Pokémon was disrupted, leaving Charmeleon unchecked without Crawdaunt to counterbalance its Fire-type strength. Consequently, Cassia's Pokémon fell one after another.
If Cassia had been more cautious and switched to Infernape upon seeing Grovyle, Kalia would have inevitably needed to change her Pokémon as well; otherwise, Grovyle would be swiftly defeated.
Once Grovyle was defeated, Crawdaunt would become unstoppable since the only Grass-type Pokémon capable of countering it had already been defeated. At that point, Kalia would find herself at a significant disadvantage.
Although Kalia believed Charmeleon could still triumph against the Water-type Crawdaunt, from a purely type advantage perspective, if Cassia had acted decisively, she theoretically would have faced an unfavorable situation.
"Charmeleon, end this battle," Kalia commanded, needing no further instructions as they shared a deep understanding. In this scenario, Charmeleon undoubtedly prepared to unleash Flamethrower.
"Froslass, dodge the incoming attack and use Shadow Ball!" Cassia responded, now regretting his initial underestimation, feeling like he had stumbled unexpectedly.
Now, everything depended on Froslass's performance. One mistake led to another, and if this counterattack failed again, she would lose definitively.
Losing to a Trainer from outside would bring ridicule from her fellow students, and just thinking about it made Cassia feel uneasy.
Lian wasted no time, immediately unleashing a standard Flamethrower. The scorching flames roared like a fire dragon, heading straight for Froslass.
Froslass attempted to dodge, moving swiftly with agility and unpredictability, but unfortunately, she faced Lian's precision.
Upon closer observation, one could notice that as Froslass moved, the trajectory of Lian's blazing Flamethrower subtly adjusted.
Don't underestimate this minor adjustment; it significantly increased the accuracy of Lian's move. Although not on par with Moltres' level, it was still remarkably impressive.
Despite Froslass's desperate evasive efforts, the flames managed to strike part of its body. Against Ice-type Froslass, the high-temperature inferno caused double damage.
Froslass displayed a pained expression, unable to evade the Flamethrower, effectively losing its last chance.
In the next moment, Froslass fell unconscious, unable to continue battling.
This outcome was undeniably due to type advantage. With their power levels being relatively close, there was little hope for Froslass to withstand such an attack.