Standing next to Ninetales, Lian felt invigorated amidst the scorching heat. The dense fire energy surrounding them intensified as sunlight blazed down from above, even more glaring than before.
Abilities function like passive traits; they cannot be actively triggered by the Pokemon but instead take effect automatically under certain conditions.
For example, Abilities like Blaze, Torrent, and Overgrow require the Pokemon's Stamina to decrease below a specific threshold to unleash their latent power. Similarly, Abilities such as Hyper Cutter or Iron Fist also need unique circumstances to activate.
Lian carefully observed the changes within his body during Sunny Day, but he didn't notice any immediate effects. It seemed likely that Solar Power would only trigger automatically when using Fire-type moves.
"Let's give it a try."
He opened his mouth, preparing to use Ember. As Lian was about to release the move, he suddenly felt Solar Power taking effect - a wave of pain surged through him, indicating a loss of Stamina.
The amplification provided by Solar Power does not come without consequences. The longer Solar Power remains active, the greater the pain Lian experiences, leading to increased Stamina depletion.
Based on the game mechanics, Solar Power would periodically reduce his stamina by one-eighth. In other words, without any Pokemon attacks, after using eight Fire-type moves, Lian would lose consciousness and become incapacitated.
Of course, relying solely on game mechanics isn't accurate; experimentation is key. However, typically, Sunny Day wouldn't last long enough for Lian to use eight moves.
Nature has its own adaptive mechanisms. When a Pokemon's power alters the weather, nature gradually seeks to restore balance. Thus, Sunny Day effects usually diminish over time until normal conditions return.
Exceptions occur due to geographical influences, such as at Steel Fire Mountain, where sustained Sunny Day conditions persist and do not easily dissipate.
Lian estimated that with Solar Power, he could effectively release two or three Fire-type moves. Combining the amplification of Sunny Day and Solar Power, even a single Flamethrower move would be incredibly devastating, capable of obliterating almost anything in its path.
He opened his mouth and expelled Ember. As the flame left his lips, it visibly grew larger, transforming into a small fireball before striking the ground with a loud explosion.
Kalia naturally noticed Lian's action, and upon seeing the enlarged flames, a realization dawned on her. She blurted out, "Sunny Day?"
Kalia felt it must be Sunny Day, as there was no other explanation for the sudden increase in temperature and intensified sunlight. However, the rest of the training grounds remained at normal temperatures.
She wasn't sure which Pokémon caused Sunny Day.
Looking around, Kalia noticed no additional Fire-type Pokémon present, only her three Pokémon.
"Could it be Ninetales?" she wondered skeptically. She was certain about Charmeleon's Ability being Blaze, due to its distinct changes during Blaze Mode, which couldn't be mistaken.
Moreover, she didn't possess a Move Disk for Sunny Day. Last night, Charmeleon had indeed watched the Weather Ball Move Disk, but that move is unrelated to Sunny Day.
Kalia began doubting Ninetales' Ability. Honestly, she hadn't definitively confirmed Ninetales' Ability yet, always assuming it was Flash Fire.
Ninetales hadn't evolved long ago, and since they primarily fought in the Battle Tower where weather conditions don't affect battles, there was no opportunity to verify. Now, considering it, Drought seemed like a real possibility.
However, what puzzled her was that on several occasions in the wilderness, when she deployed Ninetales, there were no noticeable weather changes. Even during yesterday's battle, Ninetales' appearance did not alter the environment.
"What's going on?" Kalia pondered but couldn't find an explanation. If Ninetales indeed possessed the Drought Ability, it would be fantastic news.
Kalia decided to conduct an experiment to confirm Ninetales' Ability. The method was straightforward: have Charmeleon attack Ninetales with a Fire-type move. If Ninetales gets injured, then it doesn't possess Flash Fire, confirming its Ability as Drought.
"Charmeleon, use Ember on Ninetales."
For a battle between their own Pokémon, there was no need for overly powerful moves; Ember would suffice.
Upon hearing this, Lian understood Kalia's intention—to verify Ninetales' Ability. Without hesitation, he released Ember.
Ninetales, being intelligent, didn't dodge and allowed the Ember to hit. Lian's Ember was quite strong, further amplified by Sunny Day, visibly damaging Ninetales' fur.
"As expected, it's Drought." Observing Ninetales' reaction, Kalia confirmed that Ninetales indeed had the Drought Ability. Despite some peculiarities, she now definitively knew that Ninetales did not possess Flash Fire, thus confirming it as Drought.
Kalia had heard before about rare Pokémon having hidden Abilities, and it seemed likely that Ninetales had one such hidden Ability, which remained concealed until recently emerging.
"Oh right, Charmeleon, did you learn Weather Ball from watching the demonstration video yesterday?" Kalia recalled that Charmeleon had viewed the recording on its own.
If Charmeleon indeed learned Weather Ball, it could potentially complement Ninetales' Drought Ability. Although Weather Ball's base power is not high, its strength and type can drastically change depending on external weather conditions such as Sunny Day, Rain, Sandstorm, Hail, etc.
Kalia once witnessed a battle where a Trainer with a Castform used Sunny Day followed by Weather Ball. The resulting Weather Ball, imbued with the Fire Type, displayed astonishing power.
Unsurprisingly to Lian, Kalia had observed this possibility but didn't mention it earlier. Taking advantage of the ongoing Sunny Day condition, despite the pain caused by Solar Power's side effects, Lian unleashed Weather Ball.
Ordinarily, Weather Ball appears as a regular gaseous sphere, formed by condensing surrounding gases, with relatively low power. However, during Sunny Day, when Lian cast Weather Ball, the forming gaseous sphere rapidly absorbed nearby fire energy, transforming into a highly charged, scorching-hot orb filled with Fire-type energy.
Lian directed the scorching gas ball swiftly towards the ground. Upon impact, with a loud explosion, the fire energy within unleashed its immense power, creating a sizable crater.
"Wow, that's incredibly strong," Kalia exclaimed, impressed by Charmeleon's mastery of moves.
While she was accustomed to Charmeleon's proficiency, the sheer force and spectacle of Weather Ball during Sunny Day weather still astonished her.
Kalia was amazed, but Lian was ecstatically surprised. He realized that Weather Ball did not consume his Pokémon's intrinsic Fire-type energy since it absorbed from the environment; only Normal-type energy was used.
This meant that after casting Weather Ball, Lian could immediately follow up with Flamethrower. According to game mechanics, when Weather Ball transforms into a Fire-type move, its base power doubles to 100, combined with Flamethrower's 90 base power.
If executed rapidly like a combo, it would effectively be equivalent to Lian unleashing a terrifying Fire-type move with 190 base power, further amplified by Solar Power and Sunny Day effects.
Lian couldn't even fathom the explosive damage potential of this move combination-it was truly mind-boggling!