Without taking any damage or using Flare Blitz to actively drain its own stamina, the time limit for the Magma Form was five minutes.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, Incineroar needed to finish off its opponent as quickly as possible. If it couldn't take the opponent down in one hit, it absolutely shouldn't go for a second.
Just like earlier when it failed to take down Togekiss in one hit, and now failing to take down Gardevoir in one hit—both were unacceptable.
Setting aside Su Qian's own strength and her Pokémon's tenacity, along with the groundwork she had laid with Future Sight, Wish, and two Intimidates, these scenarios all showed that Incineroar couldn't properly use Magma Form to its full potential in actual combat.
Now, Li Xiang faced a choice.
Should he end Magma Form while Incineroar still had decent stamina, switch it out, end its Taunt, and let its attack stat recover from the Intimidate drops, then try again?
If they started the Taunt game over, Incineroar might not necessarily lose to Gardevoir. With its ability to take hits, Gardevoir didn't have many moves that could hurt it much.
It really only had Focus Blast.
Or, should he keep Incineroar on the field and gamble on taking down the frail Gardevoir? After all, Wish couldn't be used every time, and Protect couldn't block all damage.
Eventually, Flare Blitz would take it down.
But the downside of the first option was that once Magma Form was deactivated, it wouldn't be easy to activate again, and he'd have to rely on conventional tactics.
The downside of the second option was that if the fight dragged on, it could easily backfire—Incineroar might exhaust itself to the point of fainting rather than being taken down by its opponent. Given how tenacious Su Qian's Pokémon were, the probability of this happening wasn't low.
The time to think was brief.
Just as Li Xiang was struggling to decide, a heavy, rasping breath—faint yet undeniable—suddenly reached his ears.
An indescribable surge of anger and frustration welled up from the depths of his heart.
He looked up in shock at Incineroar, at least twenty or thirty meters away, its body heaving violently.
Despite the distance and the crackling noises around them, he could hear its breathing.
And he could feel the suppressed frustration in its heart.
In that moment, Li Xiang suddenly remembered: the battle was never just about him alone. He was a trainer, not just a commander. He had to consider Incineroar's will.
His brief hesitation had left Incineroar, caught in a "desperate" situation, at a loss.
Two failed attacks had made it hesitant, unsure of what to do next—exactly like him.
So, when a Pokémon feels anger and confusion, when it finds that it can't take down an opponent it should have defeated twice in a row, when its stamina is draining and its energy reserves are shrinking, when it gets no feedback and feels its strength slipping away, leading to doubt, unwillingness, and unease...
What should he do?
What should he, as its trainer, do?
Simple.
It was just one word.
"GO!!!"
Realization dawning, Li Xiang cast aside all hesitation and shouted at the top of his lungs with all his might!
Courage!
What Pokémon need most in battle is courage. When facing a dead end, the trainer must—and can only—give them that!
With the loudest voice, the most rousing tone, throwing away all reservations, even if it felt embarrassing, he had to encourage it!
After all, from the very moment Magma Form was activated, Incineroar had no second option.
Only to keep attacking. And to win.
"ROAR!!"
Flames surged with the roar!
Incineroar's spirit swiftly gathered, the confusion in its heart dissipating completely!
Just one simple word, yet it clearly told Incineroar that Li Xiang stood behind it. Every decision it made was the right one!
Charge!!
Bang!
It leaped high, the explosive flames giving it a boost to close in on Gardevoir at extreme speed!
Mid-flight, Incineroar opened its gaping maw, flames surging forth to form blazing blue-white fangs around its arms!
Fire Fang!
The colossal flame fangs, like those of a prehistoric beast, consumed all the air, sending fierce winds howling!
Gardevoir certainly wasn't going to stand there and take this hit. The stamina it had just recovered with Wish was not to be wasted here.
This was the chance Togekiss had sacrificed itself to give it!
A pink glow suddenly radiated from its body!
Dazzling Gleam!
Both Pokémon seemed to be carrying a "resolve" boost, charging forward fearlessly!
The light swelled in an instant. Gardevoir transformed into a brilliant projectile, releasing terrifyingly bright light, like countless spears of radiance stabbing in all directions!
Even Incineroar was affected by the glare and had to close its eyes. But it had already gauged the distance. Even with its eyes closed, it could still hit Gardevoir.
One, two, three!
Bite down!
Incineroar swung its arms down with tremendous force!
Boom!
The flame fangs converged and exploded instantly!
The shockwave formed a ring, blasting outward, sweeping away everything in its path!
Smoke quickly covered the area.
—It missed!?
Incineroar landed, opening its eyes in surprise.
Its sensitivity to temperature told it that Gardevoir hadn't been hit directly, only caught in the explosion's aftermath.
It had once again used the shockwave and a special footwork to widen the distance.
And its movement style was... ballet!?
In the distance, Li Xiang, wearing his sunglasses, rubbed his sore eyes and felt a realization as he watched.
—Combat Dance.
This was Su Qian's Gardevoir's special ability.
Special characteristics were never exclusive to any one person. As long as one was willing to invest time and money, anyone could have special Pokémon. The only difference was how useful they were.
Combat Dance originated from its Ralts and Kirlia stages, when sensing its trainer's emotions, it would dance excitedly.
Su Qian's Kirlia had always possessed excellent dancing ability, picking up any dance easily.
Even more amazingly, it could incorporate this into battle, granting it evasive ability rivaling that of Double Team.
Any single-target move was something it could dodge.
For area-of-effect moves, it would also quickly move to the area of least power.
The trigger condition was the trainer's emotions; different emotions produced different styles.
At this moment, Su Qian's heart was filled with an intense fighting spirit.
Thus, Gardevoir's dance was fiercely passionate, graceful and agile like a startled swan, supple and smooth like a swimming dragon!
With Tailwind's assistance, Gardevoir was even more formidable!
"ROAR!"
Incineroar let out a furious roar. A mass of dark purple energy erupted from its mouth, exploding mid-air into a pitch-black shockwave!
Snarl!
No matter what, the priority was to damage Gardevoir and slow its movements.
The rapidly depleting energy and growing exhaustion made it clear that if this dragged on, it might be the one to fall first.
Mid-air, Gardevoir swayed gracefully, riding the wind, but instead of retreating, it spun sideways.
At the same time, its eyes faintly glowed blue as invisible force moved intangible things.
Skill Swap!
Sensing the anomaly within itself, Incineroar's expression flickered with fierceness.
You still want to trigger Intimidate? Do you take me for a fool!?
Bang!
A layer of flame suddenly wrapped around its waist, then sprayed out a torrent of solidified blue-white light!
Each flame cluster was over five thousand degrees!
Overheat!
As Incineroar pressed the attack despite the Intimidate drop, Gardevoir, not yet finished with Skill Swap and unable to trigger Intimidate, hastily erected a strong barrier.
The light flames struck the barrier like bullets, pattering against it like rain on banana leaves.
But when the third flame cluster hit, the barrier cracked and lost its protective effect.
Gardevoir's psychic power was strong, but it hadn't had enough time to solidify the barrier.
Thus, several light flames struck the still-dancing Gardevoir!
Bang!
A flower of fire bloomed!
Gardevoir was sent plummeting from the air, its body wreathed in black smoke!
A huge loss!
"ROAR!"
Incineroar felt its sharply dropped Special Attack and the growing emptiness in its body, yet it laughed heartily.
It had backfired.
Gardevoir had underestimated Incineroar's Special Attack. Relying on its evasive ability, it had tried to lower Incineroar's Attack once more.
But it had no choice. Incineroar's physical attacks were absurdly strong. After two Intimidate drops, most physical attackers would be useless. Yet this guy's damage remained solid, still capable of breaking shields and taking out opponents in one hit. What was Gardevoir supposed to do?
Use Charm?
It wanted to, but in its enraged state, Incineroar might not have been affected by Charm anyway. And whether it used Charm or Skill Swap, it would have to take Overheat from the opponent. There was no difference, so it might as well go with the safer option.
Smack.
Gardevoir hit the ground.
Its internal organs aching, it knew the situation was dire. While triggering Intimidate, it quickly scrambled back up and used Dazzling Gleam!
Dazzling light shot out like spears in all directions!
But in an instant, several dark red streaks of light shot through the air, like vicious blood-red claws, colliding with Dazzling Gleam!
Bang!
The moves clashed violently!
But they didn't completely cancel each other out. The blood-red claws broke through the radiance, slashing across Gardevoir's side as it tried to dodge with a dance!
Bang!
Smoke exploded!
Gardevoir cried out in pain as it was sent flying, rolling several meters before stopping!
Not far away, Incineroar roared as it charged in. The move it had just used was called Lash Out, a technique it had recently learned. As long as its stats were lowered, the move's power would increase.
If not for the distance being too great and Gardevoir being too evasive, it would have used it much earlier.
But even now, it wasn't too late.
Flames flowed to its fists, the fierce fire swelling them to dozens of times their size, like inflated balloons, as they smashed down with devastating force!
This punch would end the fight!
"ROOOAR!"
Incineroar roared wildly, unleashing this all-out blow!
Gardevoir had nowhere left to dodge. Having taken Overheat and Lash Out, its dance, while excellent, wasn't perfect. It had reached its limit.
So be it.
Sensing its trainer's will, a trace of resolve crossed its face.
You were the one who gave me courage.
"Gardevoir!"
Gardevoir cried out loudly. Facing the fist that seemed to bring down the sky, it clasped its hands together, a single tear falling from its eye.
Across the smoke-filled sky, a shooting star streaked by.
The next moment, the flame fist arrived!
BOOM!!
A cataclysmic explosion!
Gardevoir's figure vanished into the flames!