"Charizard, use Heat Wave! Ninetales, activate Protect."
Kalia immediately employed one of the most common strategies in double battles: the Protect tactic. By having one Pokémon utilize Protect, the other could freely attack without concern for incoming moves.
The Protect strategy is widely used and versatile due to its familiarity. However, Soren on the opposing side opted not to employ Protect but instead targeted Sunny Day directly with his offensive moves, clearly recognizing it as a critical issue to resolve.
In the initial phase of a double battle, Trainers can provide detailed instructions without worrying about speed. However, once combat ensues, the rapidly changing dynamics often overwhelm Trainers' ability to react promptly, necessitating reliance on their Pokémon's autonomous decision-making skills.
"Gyarados, use Rain Dance! Marowak, Earthquake!" Soren swiftly assessed Kalia's Fire-type lineup and issued commands accordingly.
Rain Dance would counteract the advantage of Sunny Day, while Earthquake aimed to instantly eliminate Ninetales, preventing Kalia from utilizing its Drought Ability further.
However, at that moment, Ninetales had already activated Protect, creating two protective shields around Lian and itself, safeguarding them from incoming attacks.
Simultaneously, Lian swiftly unleashed Heat Wave, aiming to prevent Gyarados from successfully casting Rain Dance first. Once Sunny Day disappeared, Fire-type moves would significantly weaken.
He decided to eliminate Gyarados first; without it, there would be no concern about losing Sunny Day's effect. Even if Ninetales fell, Lian himself could still cast Sunny Day.
Lian soared into the sky, now highly proficient with the Heat Wave move. Compared to the fan-shaped Flamethrower, Heat Wave covered a wider area and was undoubtedly more powerful, perfectly suited for Charizard.
With Lian's control, his wings began vigorously flapping, gathering immense flame energy. Through intense gusts of wind, these scorching-hot blasts were directed towards Gyarados and Marowak on the ground below.
As Lian released Heat Wave, Marowak simultaneously cast Earthquake. Holding its bone, Marowak pressed against the ground, channeling large amounts of Ground-type energy beneath the surface. With rumbling vibrations, the earth started shaking violently.
Although the Earthquake was intense, its range was limited to the battlefield area and wouldn't affect surroundings.
The ground's rumbling did not bother Lian, as Ninetales promptly used Protect, creating a protective shield around her, safeguarding against any earthquake damage.
In essence, their opponent's attack was effortlessly neutralized by Protect, while Lian's offensive simultaneously inflicted harm on both Gyarados and Marowak.
The scorching gale swept towards Gyarados and Marowak, not particularly fast but covering a vast area. With Lian's precise control, Gyarados and Marowak had little chance to evade.
Gyarados' Rain Dance could not outpace Lian's Heat Wave. Normally, Rain Dance would have taken effect swiftly, but it must be remembered that they were currently under clear skies. Transitioning directly from bright sunshine to rain is virtually impossible.
During this transition period, Lian unleashed his Heat Wave without hindrance. The torrent of searing winds engulfed Gyarados before it could successfully activate Rain Dance, continuously blasting and burning it. Despite being a Water-type Pokémon, Gyarados sustained considerable damage.
Lian knew that one Heat Wave wouldn't defeat Gyarados, considering its decent Special Defense and resistance to Fire-type moves, making it resilient against such attacks. However, Lian wasn't one to stop after just using a single move.
As soon as Heat Wave concluded, without waiting for Sunny Day to be overtaken by Rain Dance, he decisively unleashed Air Slash directly at Gyarados.
The invisible gust blade swiftly approached Gyarados, which remained oblivious, still channeling Water-type energy to gradually dissipate Sunny Day and transition into Rain Dance.
Trainer Soren seemed to sense something amiss but failed to detect the invisible Air Slash heading towards Gyarados; had he noticed, he would have promptly alerted his Pokemon.
By the time the Air Slash reached close proximity to Gyarados, it was too late. The sharp gust blade viciously sliced through Gyarados's hard scales.
Gyarados had already sustained significant damage from the scorching Heat Wave earlier, with lingering pain from burns all over its body. Now, unexpectedly hit by Air Slash, it suffered further severe injuries.
The Rain Dance move was abruptly interrupted; however, since it had already been partially cast and forcefully disrupted by Air Slash, the Sunny Day weather slowly dissipated without transitioning to rain, resulting in a normal overcast sky - neither scorching sun nor falling rain.
This could be considered quite fortunate, as such scenarios are rare. Essentially, the effects of Sunny Day and Rain Dance canceled each other out, reverting the weather back to its initial state.
In reality, Lian emerged advantageous here. Both his Heat Wave and Air Slash were successfully released and precisely hit their targets.
Having endured both Heat Wave and Air Slash from Lian, Gyarados appeared unsteady, struggling to remain standing before collapsing with a thud moments later.
As for Marowak, despite only taking one Heat Wave, it lacked resistance against Fire-type attacks. It lost its ability to battle even before Gyarados did. After executing just one Earthquake, Marowak fell, unable to continue.
Lian swiftly defeated two of Soren's Pokemon, which might seem slow but actually took merely around ten seconds. First, he used Heat Wave to severely damage Gyarados while simultaneously defeating Marowak, then immediately followed up with Air Slash to finish off Gyarados.
The battle ended swiftly; Soren had anticipated more opportunities to counterattack but found both his Pokemon defeated within moments of engagement.
Soren then sent out his last Pokemon, but battling against two opponents with just one was an uphill task. Soon, Lian and Ninetales' combined efforts overwhelmed it, securing victory.
Kalia's first match concluded effortlessly. Throughout the entire battle, she only provided initial instructions, allowing her Pokemon to freely execute their moves thereafter. Her primary focus remained on observing the fight, occasionally offering reminders when necessary, as some nuances might escape the Pokemon's attention, requiring guidance from the Trainer.
"Kalia advances to the top 32."
With the referee's announcement, the battle concluded, and Kalia returned to the spectator area. On the large screen, the names of Kalia and Soren were displayed, with Soren's gradually fading away as Kalia secured her spot among the top 32 contenders.
"You're incredibly strong, Kalia," Julian said enviously. Kalia's performance was remarkably effortless; her Charizard dispatched two Pokemon using merely two moves, and the final opponent was also easily overcome without any significant resistance.
"Good luck to you too."