Lian chose not to use Protect. He had been wanting to test if ordinary moves could counteract the immense power of Z-Moves. Even if they couldn't fully defend against it, Lian wasn't concerned; with his Rock Resistance, combined with his current Stamina and defensive capabilities, he could withstand Continental Crush's destructive force.
As Lian observed Aggron, Joel's Z-Ring began to glow brightly, emitting a blinding radiance. Simultaneously, the Z-crystal on Aggron also illuminated.
Roar!
Aggron let out a thunderous roar, its sound waves sweeping through the arena. At the same time, Joel shouted, "Aggron, Continental Crush!"
A massive rock appeared beside Aggron, soaring high into the sky. Under the influence of Z-power, the rock rapidly expanded until it resembled a towering mountain peak before plummeting towards Lian.
The colossal mountain seemed both ethereal and tangible, creating an overwhelming sense that escape was impossible. As it descended ominously, Lian felt akin to Sun Wukong being crushed beneath Five Fingers Mountain.
Lian unleashed a Flame Spiral, hoping it could resist this devastating Continental Crush attack. However, he quickly realized it might not work, as this was a Physical Attack move rather than a Special Attack.
Although the Z-Move-formed mountain appeared somewhat ethereal, its origin was clearly a Rock-type Physical Attack, likely Rock Slide.
Consequently, Flame Spiral would struggle to withstand it, but there was no harm in trying since it had already been released.
In the next moment, Flame Spiral collided with the massive mountain peak. As expected, Flame Spiral couldn't match the mountain's force and was instantly crushed, dissipating without even slowing it down.
Joel rejoiced; Charizard had foolishly countered a Z-Move with a Fire-type attack, sealing its fate. The colossal mountain plummeted directly towards Charizard.
Despite the mistake, Lian remained unfazed. At the last second, he unleashed a Fire Punch, knowing that countering an attack move required another attack move.
Boom!
Lian felt his arm instantly go numb, akin to a mantis futilely blocking a cart, as he was slammed by the mountain peak and crashed into the ground with a loud thud, kicking up clouds of dust.
"Charizard!" Kalia exclaimed in shock, realizing that Charizard had been directly hit by the Z-Move—a quadruple weakness against it, compounded by being a Z-Move itself.
How could Charizard be so careless?
Amidst the dust, Lian shook his head, feeling a sharp pain in his chest. The impact from such a massive falling mountain was undoubtedly intense, but fortunately, it didn't render him unable to continue fighting.
The Continental Crush move likely depleted just over half of Lian's Stamina, which was significant. With Aggron's 110 attack base stat combined with the 140 power of Continental Crush, the force was formidable. Without Rock Resistance, Lian doubts even double his Stamina would have sufficed to withstand it.
He flapped his wings and took flight once again. This mistake might lower his combat rating significantly, but it wasn't concerning. At least it demonstrated how challenging Z-Moves are to resist.
Amidst the dust, a towering silhouette gradually emerged, leaving Joel astonished and almost disbelief-stricken. As the haze cleared, it revealed Charizard.
"Impossible!" Joel roared, his face filled with incredulity, eyes wide open, as if questioning whether this Charizard had been switched somehow.
Kalia's expression showed surprise, her features reflecting genuine astonishment that Charizard could withstand a Z-Move—how was that even possible?
Yet, the reality stood before them: Charizard rose after enduring Continental Crush, managed to take flight again, and appeared relatively unscathed, still ready for battle.
"What's going on? Is this Charizard cheating or something? It should be devastated!"
"Rock-type moves are universally known to be super effective against Charizard, especially when amplified by a Z-Move. How is it unaffected?"
The audience was stunned; at the moment of impact, they were certain Charizard couldn't survive, but surprisingly, it did. This defied logic.
"A bit intriguing." Taro's eyes flickered, eyebrows slightly raised. There seemed to be something unusual about this Charizard. Regardless of training, theoretically, no Charizard should endure Continental Crush.
Given the absolute type disadvantage, it should have been devastating, yet Charizard endured effortlessly. Could it have used Protect at the last moment?
Impossible! There wasn't enough time for Charizard to execute Protect, and everyone clearly saw it collide with the massive mountain peak.
Joel couldn't believe that even using a Z-Move failed to defeat Charizard. If it had employed Protect, he could understand, but Charizard didn't use that move. This was utterly baffling!
However, Joel didn't dwell on it; winning the battle was paramount. Even if Charizard hadn't lost its ability to fight, it must be severely injured now—an opportunity not to be missed to finally take down the dragon.
"Aggron, use Rock Slide!" Joel shouted loudly. He was certain Charizard's fighting capacity was diminished; one successful hit would surely defeat it.
Aggron itself was stunned that its Continental Crush failed to eliminate Charizard. Upon hearing Joel's command, it hesitated momentarily before unleashing Rock Slide.
Meanwhile, Lian unleashed a Flame Spiral towards Aggron, which was focused on its offensive and momentarily unguarded, making this move highly effective.
Having continuously endured the Wrath of Fire, Aggron's body had already sustained some damage. Lian skillfully released his Flame Spiral with precision.
As Aggron initiated Rock Slide, chunks of rock hurtled towards Lian. Despite being mid-attack, he effortlessly dodged the projectiles by flapping his wings and shifting position. Simultaneously, he continued to emit Flame Spirals, creating swirling infernos like coiling spears aimed directly at Aggron.
Boom!
The scorching flames engulfed Aggron, sweeping it away in a whirlwind of heat.
In the next instant, overwhelmed by the Flame Spiral assault, Aggron crashed to the ground. Against Aggron, with only 60 Special Defense base stat, Lian's Flame Spiral proved far too powerful, especially considering Aggron has no resistance to Fire-type moves.
"Aggron!" Joel was stunned as his Aggron collapsed to the ground. How could this be? A single flame from Charizard should not have defeated Aggron so easily.
Yet, it was indeed true. Lian's Flame Spiral, combined with the descending inferno from the sky, overwhelmed Aggron completely.
With Joel's strongest Pokémon, Aggron, defeated, no one anticipated this outcome at the start of the battle. Now, doubts began to surface among the spectators.
Joel's formidable Aggron had fallen first, leaving him with only three Pokémon remaining. Meanwhile, Kalia's Charizard still appeared ready for more combat, not to mention her Sceptile with its astonishing evasive capabilities.
"Could Joel really lose? He even used a Z-Move! Kalia's Charizard hasn't utilized one yet."
Anticipation grew among the crowd. If a beginner trainer managed to defeat Joel, it would certainly make for an intriguing story. However, possessing such strength while still being classified as a beginner seemed quite peculiar.