Earth Power and Flame Kick collided, the two forces exploding in mid-air.
A visible shockwave spread outwards, a powerful gust of wind blowing in all directions. The surrounding spectators instinctively tried to retreat, but the area was completely packed.
Those in front tried to back away, but those behind, oblivious to what was happening, refused to move an inch.
This resulted in the spectators in front being unable to move an inch, forced to raise their arms and brace themselves to block the spreading shockwave.
However, the shockwave disappeared without warning when it reached the edge of the arena. "Without warning" isn't entirely accurate; rather, the shockwave struck something at the edge of the arena, causing its energy to dissipate.
Ultimately, the shockwave didn't reach the edge of the arena, and the spectators around the perimeter were unaffected.
May, in her position, was already prepared to withstand the spreading shockwave. She was somewhat prepared for battles at the Gym level or even higher.
As a Trainer, she had already endured countless aftershocks from Pokémon clashes. Otherwise, how did she develop such an agile physique?
Fun fact: If a Trainer is weak, let alone command a powerful Pokémon, just watching from the sidelines might knock them unconscious. That's why there's a saying that a powerful Pokémon needs a powerful Trainer.
While trainers aren't expected to be as powerful as their Pokémon, they at least need to withstand the aftershocks of their Pokémon's battles. Not every place has protective barriers, especially in the wild.
May has suffered quite a bit from the aftershocks of Pokémon battles, but today she was surprised to find that the clashes between Pokémon on the field didn't affect those off the field. What was going on?
At that moment, Blaziken performed three somersaults in the air and landed gracefully in front of May.
It seemed Blaziken had successfully neutralized the Earth Force with its Flame Kick, but upon landing, it immediately half-knelt on the ground.
"It still couldn't neutralize the Earth Force? But that's not the point… The point is, why can Venusaur use Earth Force even after using Frenzy Plant? Ash, doesn't your Venusaur have the lag effect after using a move?" May couldn't suppress this question any longer.
The battle ended because it was simply too unbelievable.
Even if the stun duration of skills can be reduced through training, it's impossible for even Champion-level Pokémon to completely eliminate stun time. No matter how much you reduce it, stun will always exist.
However, that Venusaur didn't experience any stun at all—
It did, which led to May's misjudgment.
"My Venusaur is special. Even skills like Frenzy Plant don't affect it. And you should have guessed it when you used Giga Drain at the very beginning. You weren't observing carefully enough, May," Ash lectured May in a condescending tone.
May didn't argue. Instead, she recalled the details of the battle. She had indeed missed something because Frenzy Plant's strength far exceeded her expectations.
Even normal flames couldn't budge Frenzy Plant at all; it could only barely break free with Flare Blitz.
Even if Venusaur is an Elite Four-level Pokémon, it shouldn't be able to use Grass-type skills to exert such suppression on a Fire-type Blaziken.
This was what puzzled May. Because of her many questions, she didn't notice that Venusaur used other moves while using Frenzy Plant.
Blaziken's greatest strength is its agility. With enough effort, it might be able to dodge all the Harden Plants. If it could get close enough to Venusaur, it would have a chance to defeat it!
Using Frenzy Plant on Venusaur, countless green plants sprang up from the ground again. Blaziken's entire body burst into flames, and it shot out like a bullet, weaving through the gaps in the massive greenery.
Slightly smaller plants were instantly burned away by Flare Blitz.
While Venusaur's Frenzy Plant was indeed far tougher than most Grass-type moves, that only its main root system could achieve that.
If it were just small plants, Blaziken could easily break through them with Flare Blitz.
In less than two seconds, Blaziken had passed through layers of obstacles from the edge of the arena and arrived in front of Venusaur!
Just as Blaziken thought its Flamethrower would hit, and May's eyes lit up with hope, two thick green plants suddenly crossed in front of Venusaur!
"Bang!!"
Flamethrower collided with the hardened plants, producing a deafening roar. Instant flames engulfed the two thick green plants, orange-red tongues of fire frantically licking their surface, sizzling and burning.
Thick black smoke and sparks rose into the air, and the acrid smell of burning filled the entire battlefield.
Blaziken's flames intensified. It used all its strength to unleash Flamethrower, the intense heat relentlessly penetrating the hardened plants' tough surface.
The once indestructible roots began to crack under the extreme heat, and in just a few seconds, the two green plants blocking Venusaur's path were about to be completely burned away.
Seeing this, May's face lit up with surprise.
It seems that while Venusaur's Frenzy Plant technique has some mystique, it's ultimately just a Grass-type move.
Fire-type moves are undeniably effective against it. The fact that Flame Kick couldn't break through doesn't mean Flame Charge can't!
But this joy didn't linger on his face for long before freezing instantly—Venusaur's large petals trembled slightly, its leaves glowing with a rich emerald green light.
The ground trembled violently again, and countless tender green roots burst forth from the soil, denser and thicker than before, as if already poised to strike, frantically coiling around Blaziken's limbs and torso!
Blaziken sensed the anomaly and tried to use the force to bounce away, but the remaining Frenzy Plant bent behind him, blocking his retreat.
He now had only one option: to break through the Frenzy Plant and attack Venusaur's main body to save himself.
Seeing this, Blaziken disregarded everything and unleashed all its power without reservation.
The flames around it transformed from red to blue, indicating a qualitative change in its fire!
Under this transformation, the Frenzy Plant blocking Venusaur's path was quickly burned away, and Blaziken successfully broke through to reach Venusaur, its scorching flames slamming into Venusaur's body!
"BOOM!!"
A huge cloud of smoke exploded across the arena, and violent waves of wind swept outwards in layers.
This time, for some reason, nothing blocked the surrounding wind and sand, blinding the surrounding spectators, including May, who couldn't see for a moment.
A full ten seconds passed before the dust settled, the smoke dissipated, and the scene inside was revealed.
"How is this possible!"
"My God! Is that Venusaur made of iron? Even if it were, being burned by that temperature shouldn't only cause this much damage, right?" The scene unfolding before everyone's eyes sparked a flurry of discussion among the audience.
The expected scenario of Venusaur being unable to maintain its Frenzy Plant state after being hit by Blaziken didn't occur.
Instead, Blaziken was bound in mid-air, its limbs and body firmly restrained by the hard green plant, a pained expression on its face.
On the other hand, Venusaur, not far in front of it, although its forehead and the large petals on its back were slightly charred, suffered only this much damage from being directly hit by that powerful Flame Charge—it was simply unbelievable!
If she had noticed, she certainly wouldn't have attacked so rashly. Ultimately, the initial accident had somewhat clouded her judgment.
"Let's finish this with the next move, Venusaur, Frenzy Plant!" Seeing the panting Blaziken, Ash didn't hesitate.
He once again had Venusaur use its Grass-type ultimate move, Frenzy Plant, preparing for the final blow.
May's expression was grave. Blaziken had already exhausted a lot of its stamina.
Using Flare Blitz also had its side effects, and with the wear and tear caused by Earth Power, if it were to be hit by this move, it could indeed be knocked down instantly.
"Give it a shot, Blaziken, use Flare Blitz, straight for the core!"
Even Flare Blitz might not be able to break through so many Harden Plants head-on, but there's no rule saying you have to fight them head-on.
As long as you get past the Harden Plants, you can attack Venusaur directly!
"Wow, is this Ash's strength? It's terrifying! Even a Venusaur is this powerful. I can't imagine how strong Ash's legendary Pokémon must be!"
In this exchange, Venusaur still held the advantage. This wasn't just an advantage; it was a decisive victory!
Blazing Blaziken, entangled in hardened plants, had lost all its flames. Its face showed pain, even a hint of suffocation, a sight that made one feel as if they were right there with it.
"Blaziken, break free! Flamethrower!!" May's anxious shouts reached Blaziken's ears, but no matter how desperate May was, it couldn't break free.
Blaziken's strength was almost completely depleted from the relentless attacks, plus the backlash from Flamethrower.
A counterattack was simply a pipe dream.
In a matter of moments, Blaziken's eyes completely lost their luster, its tightly clenched fists loosened, its head drooped, and it became utterly still.
"Banana." Venusaur gradually released the Frenzy Plant, ceasing its absorption of Blaziken's stamina and life force, and tossed it to the ground.
The Blaziken lay motionless on the ground, clearly incapacitated.
"So it's over already! It feels like it only lasted a short while."
"Indeed, it's a bit too much! But this is Ash after all! Everyone knows how strong Ash is."
"To be honest, Ash didn't even use his full strength this time. If he used the same power he had against Lorelei, Blaziken would be considered a success if it lasted more than one round!"
"Yeah, although this battle was intense, it's still quite different from his battle against Lorelei, the Elite Four member."
"But you know what, that guy on the other side looks about the same age as Ash, right? To have this level of skill at that age, he's definitely a genius trainer!"
"Exactly! If you guys went up against him, you probably wouldn't last a single round against his Pokémon!"
"..." With Blaziken's defeat, the people around, who hadn't even dared to breathe loudly, began to discuss amongst themselves.
The battle had been so intense they couldn't even speak; opening their mouths slightly resulted in a mouthful of sand. Now that it was over, they could finally vent.
After the battle, May recalled Blaziken, and amidst the murmurs of conversation, the group left the training ground.
Along the way, several people approached Ash, some wanting a challenge, others asking for photos and autographs, but Ash politely declined.
Fortunately, while the spectators were enthusiastic, they were also well-mannered. After Ash repeatedly refused, they didn't linger and made way for them.
The first thing they did after leaving the training ground was, of course, return to the Pokémon Center. Although the center was packed, that was only for the registration area. To prepare for the Silver Conference, the recovery entrance and recovery devices had already been moved to another location.
After handing Blaziken to Nurse Joy, May and Ash found a place to sit down. She then asked the question that had been puzzling her since the start of the battle: "Why..."
"Why isn't Frenzy Plant affected by Fire-type moves?! Grass-type moves should be completely weak to Fire-type moves! Even if my Blaziken isn't as level as your Venusaur, the effectiveness of Fire-type moves shouldn't be completely negated by a level difference! What's so special about your Venusaur?!"
Before May could even ask, her younger brother Max spoke up. Despite being only ten years old, Max's knowledge of Pokémon was comparable to some veteran trainers; he was just too young to travel or own a Pokémon.
So, like his sister, Max was utterly confused by what had happened. That slight level difference shouldn't have caused such a type reversal!
"Because my Venusaur is special, all its Grass-type moves contain powerful life force. Thanks to that terrifying life force, its Grass-type moves are not only incredibly powerful, but also less vulnerable to Fire-type moves. This is because the life force within the Grass-type moves replenishes itself the moment they are burned."
"In other words... if you can't completely destroy all Grass-type moves at once, you'll face constantly regenerating lush, robust vegetation. This is also why Hardened Plants aren't so afraid of Fire-type moves."