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Searing flames burned on the field, and a frenzied look appeared in Monferno's eyes. As the Super Blazefire Ability activated, Monferno's rationality began to be gradually swallowed.
Although Monferno had managed to control that power with Ash's help the first time the Super Blazefire Ability activated, whenever Monferno later actively triggered the Super Blazefire Ability, it would still go berserk.
When its stamina dropped below fifty percent, Monferno could choose to actively trigger the Super Blazefire Ability. Although this power could be used when its stamina was halved, the difficulty of control inexplicably increased exponentially.
Even with Ash's help, the probability of controlling that power was only fifty-fifty, whereas the passively triggered Super Blazefire Ability, which occurred when Monferno's stamina dropped to thirty percent, was relatively easier to control.
The Trainer and the Pokémon continued to experiment after that, concluding that when the Super Blazefire Ability was triggered at fifty percent stamina, there was a fifty percent chance of controlling it. The other fifty percent involved Ash being unable to wake Monferno at all, leading Monferno to rampage until its stamina was completely exhausted before returning to normal.
However, when their stamina dropped to thirty percent, they had a ninety percent or higher chance of controlling the Blaze Ability's power. Monferno only needed to raise its strength by one more level, and that probability should reach one hundred percent.
The reason Monferno could control the Super Blazefire Ability was due to Ash's power. Ash could use the power infused through Aura Fusion to preserve Monferno's rationality.
The stronger Monferno's power became, the stronger the power Ash could infuse. Therefore, as long as Monferno's level increased, Ash could ensure Monferno remained conscious, even when the Super Blazefire Ability was triggered at fifty percent stamina.
However, this was only a temporary measure. In the future, Monferno would definitely need to control this power on its own. But during the Indigo Plateau Conference, being able to use the Super Blazefire Ability this way was already fortunate—it was better than not being able to use it at all.
Monferno's ability to challenge opponents above its level relied on the Super Blazefire Ability, in addition to Ash's Aura.
When facing Gym Leader Level opponents, Ash's Aura alone was insufficient to handle that intensity, so Monferno had to activate the Super Blazefire Ability as quickly as possible.
Although Monferno was only grazed by the Flare Blitz just now, its stamina still dropped below half, meeting the basic conditions for activating the Super Blazefire Ability. The problem was that Monferno itself was somewhat fearful.
On one hand, this was not practice; it was a real battle. If it went berserk in a real battle against an opponent of Gym Leader Level caliber, mere mindless rampage would not be enough to defeat them.
On the other hand, the opponent was Paul. Monferno wanted to prove itself in front of Paul, not embarrass itself, which made it even more hesitant to trigger the Blaze Ability.
But when Ash's encouraging words rang out, Monferno felt that nothing else mattered. It just needed to trust Ash and trust itself, display its greatest power, and leave no regrets.
It wanted to prove itself in front of Paul—but that was only a secondary goal. The main objective should be helping Ash win this battle!
"Kshhh!!" Fierce flames wrapped around Monferno, forming a vortex of fire that engulfed it. The heat of these flames was only slightly lower than the Flare Blitz Magmortar had just used.
"So you finally used it? This must be the capital you rely on for challenging higher-level opponents. Let me see just how far you can push this power." Facing the Super Blazefire Ability, Paul's expression remained cold and indifferent. It was predictable that Ash would use this power.
Without this power, Ash would not have the confidence to let Monferno stand on the final stage. However, Paul still believed that even with this power unleashed, Monferno was not strong enough for the current stage.
The future belonged to it, but the present... did not.
"Magmortar, Flamethrower." Paul still started by using Flamethrower as a probe. Searing flames erupted from Magmortar's two cannons, engulfing Monferno's figure.
At this moment, Monferno's eyes still flickered with madness and struggle. Clearly, it had not yet fully controlled this power, but the opponent's attack had arrived. If it were hit by those two Flamethrowers, Monferno's chance to actively activate the Blaze Ability would be completely wasted.
The purpose of actively activating the Super Blazefire Ability was to preserve more stamina to utilize this power. But if activating this power led to being hit by the opponent's attack, resulting in even greater stamina loss, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?
In the nick of time, just as the Flamethrower was about to hit, the madness in Monferno's eyes finally vanished. Simultaneously, a sharp glint flashed in its eyes—Detect!
Just like before, the two streams of flame crossed paths, bypassing Monferno's body, and collided behind it, exploding.
This time, Paul finally understood. This was the move used by the opposing Bellsprout during Ash's fourth preliminary match.
This kind of move was less of a Pokémon move and more like human martial arts. Its principle was "Using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds," and its name was—Tai Chi.
Tai Chi focuses on using an opponent's strength against them. When one force attacks, skill can be used to deflect it. When two forces attack, the trajectories of the two attacks can be directly shifted, causing them to collide and cancel each other out.
This was why Monferno used Detect even though it couldn't physically dodge the two attacks. Only by utilizing the ability of Detect could it employ that technique and evade all incoming attacks.
Otherwise, given Monferno's current level, it wouldn't be fast enough to dodge Flamethrower, not even with Detect. And if it used Protect, it would still be broken through by the Flamethrower.
When the gap in strength is too large, so-called absolute defense is nothing more than a joke.
Since the opponent was using softness to overcome hardness, he would increase the hardness so that Monferno had no way to utilize the power of softness: "Magmortar, Flare Blitz."
Magmortar's specialty was actually Special Attack type moves, but Paul kept using Flare Blitz specifically to ensure an accurate hit on Monferno, just like before.
If he used Flamethrower or Fire Blast, Monferno would simply evade using that special technique and find an opportunity to counterattack. Paul did not intend to give the opponent that chance.
"Fire!!" Magmortar's entire body was once again wrapped in scorching red flames. Immediately afterward, its body shot out like an arrow released from a bowstring. Burning with fire, it resembled a giant meteor aiming to crush Monferno, the small stone!
"Monferno, use Flame Charge!" Ash's voice echoed across the field, and this command startled the surrounding audience.
Flame Charge? This move was equivalent to a super-weakened version of Flare Blitz. It was also a charging move, but its power was less than half. The benefit, however, was that it had no drawbacks and increased the user's Speed.
Looking at the move alone, there was no issue, but Magmortar was using Flare Blitz. For Ash to still choose to have Monferno use Flame Charge—how was that different from suicide?
Even if the flames surrounding Monferno looked incredibly fierce, the difference in level between the two sides was an insurmountable wall. Did Ash truly believe that relying solely on the Blaze Ability could allow Monferno to overcome such a massive level difference?
The two streams of scorching red flame rapidly approached each other. Just before they were about to collide, Monferno shifted its body, tapped the ground, and brushed past Magmortar. Because it was wrapped in Flame Charge, Monferno was not scorched by the Flare Blitz flames.
This dodge caught Magmortar off guard, but it quickly reacted, immediately detonating the power of Flare Blitz, just like the first attack.
The reason Paul had Magmortar use Flare Blitz was to ensure Magmortar accurately hit Monferno. No matter how good Monferno's movement technique was, it couldn't possibly dodge Magmortar's exploding Flare Blitz at such close range.
This was practically treating Flare Blitz like a Self-Destruct move.
The Flare Blitz explosion spread out, but Monferno's Speed was further enhanced by Flame Charge. Furthermore, Monferno, having prepared in advance, condensed all the flame power behind itself. Consequently, the Flare Blitz explosion not only failed to damage Monferno but even propelled it to a greater distance.
"Now! Flamethrower!" Ash had clearly anticipated this situation. As Monferno was being blown away by the blast wave, his command followed immediately.
That's right. From the beginning, he had no intention of letting Monferno clash head-on with Magmortar. He certainly wouldn't attempt such a suicidal action, even if Monferno had activated the Super Blazefire Ability.
Therefore, Ash planned to win using speed. The Super Blazefire Ability only increased Monferno's fire power; while it did provide some limited enhancement to its physical strength and speed, the effect was relatively limited.
Compared to the comprehensive enhancement provided by Ash's Aura, there was still a gap. Thus, Ash intended to boost Monferno's Speed, giving it room to maneuver against Magmortar.
Currently, Monferno had not only successfully evaded the opponent's damage but also gained a speed boost and managed to turn around and blast the opponent with a stream of fire—a true case of killing three birds with one stone!
Monferno puffed out its cheeks and then fiercely spat out a stream of scorching flame. The temperature of the flame was not even lower than Magmar's, though there was still a gap in terms of raw energy compared to Magmortar—a gap that even the Super Blazefire Ability struggled to close.
"Boom!!" The flame hit Magmortar squarely. Since Magmortar had just detonated Flare Blitz, it had no defenses up, and the damage from the Flamethrower was fully inflicted upon it without reservation.
"Flamethrower." Having been outmaneuvered by Monferno, Paul showed no emotion and calmly instructed Magmortar to continue using moves. Magmortar turned its body. While taking the opponent's Flamethrower, it showed no sign of pain, aiming its two cannons at Monferno.
"Stop Flamethrower, use Flame Charge!"
"Scary Face." As Paul's voice fell, the expression on Magmortar's face became terrifying, and a strange energy emanated from it. Monferno, which was using Flame Charge, met Magmortar's gaze, and its rushing footsteps instantly halted.
Scary Face is a move that can drastically lower the opponent's Speed. Moreover, the instant the opponent meets the Scary Face, they will pause momentarily due to fear, just like Monferno now.
Magmortar seized the opportunity, aimed its two cannons at Monferno, and two pillars of fire erupted, striking Monferno directly in the face!
By the time Monferno recovered its senses, the Flamethrower was already upon it.
"Boom!!" The scorching flames engulfed Monferno. The flashing firelight reflected on Ash's and Paul's faces. The latter remained expressionless, while Ash's expression was grave, mixed with a hint of pain.
The flames gradually dissipated, and Monferno's figure reappeared before the crowd. At this moment, it looked even more miserable than before; there was not a single intact spot on its body, which was entirely blackened.
Despite being a Fire-type Pokémon, to be damaged by fire to such an extent demonstrated the ferocity of the opponent's flames.
The good news was that Monferno still hadn't lost its ability to battle. The bad news was that, judging by Monferno's current condition, it likely didn't even have the strength to lift a hand. Standing up was already its limit.
"A butterfly cannot fly across the ocean, and who can blame it? Monferno has stood its ground until now, and its performance is already enough for the audience to cheer and applaud it, but sadly, this is Monferno's limit!" The host's impassioned voice rang out, already sealing Monferno's fate with his words.
He was a professional host who had overseen countless matches. In this situation, there was absolutely no possibility of Monferno turning the tables. In his professional opinion, the conclusion could be drawn now.
With stamina flickering like a candle in the wind and a strength gap of two major levels compared to its opponent, there was no way to stage a comeback, no matter how one looked at it, even if its Trainer was Ash, the synonym for miracles.
"Give it the final blow." Paul squinted slightly, and a certain emotion seemed to flicker in his eyes, but he still decisively commanded Magmortar to deliver the finishing strike to Monferno.
"Monferno, turn the flames into power! Make that fire completely your own!!" While everyone else felt despair over Monferno's situation, Ash showed no thought of giving up. His voice remained just as impassioned.
His words left everyone baffled. What did he mean by turning flames into power? Had Monferno not yet fully utilized all of its strength?
The next second, the previously silent Monferno suddenly lifted its head. Its eyes seemed to burn with raging flames. Simultaneously, small sparks began to flicker on its body, and eventually, those scattered flames turned into a towering blaze that engulfed the entire arena!!
The dazzling red light made everyone unable to open their eyes. Paul's brow furrowed tightly. Monferno possessed this kind of power, too? Was its strength truly inexhaustible?
When the firelight faded, a figure completely different from Monferno stood on the field. It was Monferno in a new form—no, it should now be called Infernape!