Mienshao's agility was on par with Sceptile's, and its evasive capabilities were exceptional. Even Lian's preemptive Air Slash couldn't land a hit.
What a pity!
Despite the suddenness and stealth of the Air Slash, Mienshao managed to dodge effortlessly. If it had connected, Mienshao could have been instantly defeated.
However, challenges make battles more engaging; if one Air Slash could end it all, that would be absurdly anticlimactic, leaving Takeshi utterly dumbfounded.
With a backflip, Mienshao evaded the Air Slash, causing the air blade to strike the ground and create a deep crater. It then turned towards Lian, raising both hands to unleash numerous spherical energy blasts at him from mid-air.
These were unmistakably Aura Spheres, hurtling rapidly towards Lian like fired projectiles.
Although Lian regretted missing with his Air Slash, the battle had just begun. Confronted by the onslaught of Aura Spheres, realizing evasion was futile due to their sheer number, he decided to counter with another move instead.
Boom!
Lian unleashed a Dragon Pulse directly from his mouth, colliding fiercely with the spherical energy orbs, resulting in a series of explosive detonations.
Despite Dragon Pulse's defense, some Aura Spheres still managed to bypass it and headed straight for Lian.
He decided not to bother evading; it was futile anyway. As a flying type, the impact of Fighting-type moves like Aura Sphere on him was significantly limited. Unless Master Mienshao could land multiple direct hits consecutively, Lian didn't need to worry much.
The spherical energy struck Lian with loud explosions, but the damage inflicted was minimal, almost negligible.
"Watch out, Charizard!" Kalia suddenly warned.
Just then, Master Mienshao appeared abruptly before Lian. It turned out that by utilizing the powerful jumping ability from Bounce, Mienshao had leaped over ten meters into the air. While Lian was busy countering Aura Spheres, Mienshao closed the distance swiftly, forcing close combat.
Wow!
Lian was taken aback; Master Mienshao's speed was astonishingly swift. After launching Aura Spheres, he immediately followed up with Bounce, reaching Lian in mere seconds.
As Master Mienshao confronted Lian, the latter rapidly flapped his wings to create some distance. However, Mienshao proved even more formidable than Lian anticipated, attacking mid-air directly with a swift punch towards him.
As Mienshao closed in for the attack, Lian swiftly unleashed his top speed of over 3,000 points. Mienshao couldn't keep up, allowing Lian to successfully create distance and evade its assault.
With no objects to gain leverage mid-air, and after Lian's agile dodge, Mienshao performed a flip, spreading its arms like a soaring eagle before plummeting straight towards the ground.
Lian felt a shiver of fear; if Mienshao had managed to close the gap, considering its formidable close combat abilities, the consequences would have been dire. Thankfully, he reacted instinctively by surging forward, preventing it from getting too close.
Mienshao excelled at relentless, continuous strikes. At this level, it no longer relied on specific moves but seamlessly integrated them into its martial arts style.
"It dodged?" Takeshi was taken aback as Charizard suddenly burst with unmatched speed, quickly creating distance.
How did it achieve that?
Kalia sighed in relief; witnessing Mienshao leap abruptly over ten meters directly towards Charizard had genuinely startled her.
Perfect opportunity!
Seeing Mienshao losing control upon landing, Lian recognized his chance. With no support available mid-air, Mienshao would inevitably pause briefly upon touchdown—a prime moment to launch an attack.
Flame Spiral!
Lian had been holding back on using Flame Spiral until now, waiting for the perfect opportunity when he felt confident of its effectiveness. This moment was undoubtedly the ideal chance.
As for other moves like Heat Wave, which have broader coverage, Lian refrained from using them. Considering Mienshao's exceptional evasive capabilities, hitting it would be extremely challenging. Even Air Slash couldn't catch it off guard; while Heat Wave is a wide-ranging move, against Mienshao, it would likely be easily dodged.
Seizing this opportune moment, Lian unleashed the Flame Spiral. Intense flames raced through the air towards Mienshao, who was about to land—this time, seemingly unable to evade.
However, in the very next second, Mienshao sensed the approaching Flame Spiral. Before touching down, with an astonishingly swift maneuver, it managed to escape the range of the spiraling inferno.
It was as if an invisible force propelled Mienshao, enabling it to narrowly dodge the impact of the Flame Spiral.
But things were not that simple.
"Explode!"
With his high Control Rating, Lian commanded the Flame Spiral to detonate instantly. Given Mienshao's strength, simply releasing the Flame Spiral wouldn't suffice. To hit such a nimble opponent, the best strategy was to capitalize on the moment it attempted to dodge and trigger an explosive burst, leveraging the inherent properties of flame.
As expected, Mienshao thought it had successfully evaded the Flame Spiral and landed securely, only to be caught off guard by the sudden explosion.
This showcased the true power of Control Rating. While Lian might not match Mienshao's skill level, he possessed the system, granting him exceptional control capabilities.
Did you dodge it?
No problem, I can ensure you won't escape - just detonating the flames instantly. If Mienshao could still avoid this, Lian vowed to live-stream himself eating feces.
In the next moment, the immense shockwave from the flame explosion surged towards Mienshao. Although the blast spread in all directions, Mienshao was unable to completely evade its impact.
While the direct explosion significantly reduced the potency of Flame Spiral, making it even weaker than Incinerate, it proved sufficient for the task at hand.
Mienshao inherently has weak defensive abilities, relying instead on high speed and offensive prowess. Combined with its martial arts moves and exceptional evasion skills, unless faced with overwhelming power, Mienshao is virtually unbeatable.
Unfortunately for Mienshao, it encountered Lian, who possesses extraordinary technique mastery alongside his superior Control Rating, enabling him to adapt his moves dynamically-an element unforeseen by Mienshao.
The reality proved that Control Rating outweighs technique, but one cannot deny the strength of Mienshao either. If Lian lacked high Control Rating, he might not have even grazed Mienshao's fur, unless using a guaranteed hit move like Swift.
"How is this possible?" Takeshi was stunned, wondering what kind of move it was. He clearly avoided it, yet there was an unexpected explosion affecting his Mienshao directly.
Mienshao, inherently fragile, managed to protect itself with its arms and quickly unleashed Force Palm, creating a shockwave to counteract the flames' impact.
Force Palm is a unique move, generating a short-range shockwave akin to a burst of energy, effectively blocking the flames.
However, unfortunately for Mienshao, before deploying Force Palm, it had already endured the initial blast from the explosion. The subsequent defense only mitigated a small portion, which came too late.
Much of Mienshao's fur was singed, and once the flames subsided, it was evident that significant damage had been sustained.
Takeshi primarily focused on training Mienshao's speed, attack, and evasion skills, neglecting resistance exercises.
This was both Takeshi's and Mienshao's confidence, as they believed their Pokémon would never be hit by any move, whether through blocking or evading; Mienshao had consistently demonstrated exceptional skills.
However, now with its untrained defense exposed, Mienshao sustained significant damage. Although not incapacitated yet, it dealt a severe blow to its confidence, shattering years of built-up assurance in mere moments. If it were an unavoidable move, that would have been understandable, not reflecting on its abilities, and potentially even deflectable. But Lian clearly used Flamethrower, not an inevitable attack.
Lian smiled triumphantly. No matter how advanced one's techniques, they ultimately have limitations. It's akin to someone dodging bullets but being unable to escape a bomb explosion.
With Mienshao severely injured, though still fighting, Lian gained the upper hand.
Immediately following, Lian unleashed an Air Slash directly towards Mienshao. The heavily wounded Pokémon, rapidly losing stamina and growing increasingly fatigued, made victory almost certain for Lian.
"Mienshao is hurt! Charizard is about to win!"
"What kind of move did that Charizard just use? I've never seen anything like it."
"It's obviously a self-created move. Even high-level trainers struggle to achieve such feats!"
The thrilling battle elicited continuous gasps from Trainers, visibly stunning those who understood the significance, while others, less knowledgeable, joined in awe-struck exclamations nonetheless.
Takeshi's confidence was shattered after witnessing this spectacle. He had anticipated Mienshao to swiftly defeat Kalia with a three-Pokemon sweep, but now it seemed reversed. Had Charizard been deployed from the start, it likely would have achieved a clean sweep itself.
Lian unleashed another Air Slash, which Mienshao noticed and dodged once more with a backflip. However, upon landing, Mienshao began panting slightly, indicating its diminishing stamina.
"We're about to win," Kalia confidently thought, seeing victory within reach as Mienshao clearly lacked sufficient energy, barely able to execute moves multiple times.
Without any recovery moves for sustained endurance, eventually, Mienshao would exhaust its stamina, collapsing despite not losing consciousness, rendering it incapable of further combat.
As time passed, Lian casually launched attacks mid-air, aiming not necessarily to hit but to steadily drain Mienshao's stamina.
Mienshao continuously evaded Lian's moves, consuming its own energy rapidly. Although unharmed, when a Pokemon's stamina is depleted, it is deemed unable to continue battling.
In this manner, Lian relentlessly wore down Mienshao, draining every last bit of its energy.
Finally, exhausted, Mienshao collapsed, losing the ability to engage further.