WHOOSH!
The scorching Heat Wave tore through the purple Light Screen. Most of its force was absorbed by the barrier, but enough heat still broke through to wash over Exeggutor.
A moment later, flames caught across its body.
"Exegguu—!"
Exeggutor cried out in pain.
It had been burned.
Heat Wave could inflict a burn, but the odds were not particularly high.
Maybe Charizard was finally taking out years of frustration on a Pokémon that actually had the Dragon type.
After all, Charizard looked more like a dragon than almost anything else in the Pokédex, yet somehow it was Fire/Flying. Meanwhile, the absurdly tall palm tree standing in front of it got to be part Dragon.
Maybe that ancient grudge really had helped the burn land.
"Tsk. Lucky bastard."
Asher shot Blaze an irritated glare.
Blaze only grinned. "Or maybe your Pokémon is just weak."
He pointed toward the battlefield.
"Charizard, finish it! Blazing Dragon Claw!"
"RRAAAH!"
Dragon-type energy surged around one of Charizard's claws. Flames immediately wrapped around it, fusing with the draconic power until the entire claw burned with a fierce reddish glow.
Charizard beat its wings and shot forward.
BOOM!
The burning claw tore through the air, aimed straight at Exeggutor.
"Dragon Hammer!"
Asher reacted immediately.
"Exegguu!"
Ignoring the pain from its burn, Exeggutor swung its enormous body forward as crimson Dragon-type energy surged around it.
Dragon Hammer was a powerful 90-power physical Dragon-type move closely associated with Exeggutor's Alolan form.
KRAKOOOM!
The two attacks collided head-on.
The impact shook the battlefield, but the struggle lasted only an instant.
"EXEGGUU—!"
Charizard's Blazing Dragon Claw tore through the opposing attack and ripped across Exeggutor's body, leaving a deep slash in its wake.
BOOM!
The towering Pokémon toppled over and crashed into the battlefield, throwing rubble and dust in every direction.
When the dust finally cleared, Exeggutor lay motionless with swirls in its eyes.
It was unable to battle.
"Exeggutor is unable to battle!" the referee announced, raising his flag. "Asher, send out your next Pokémon!"
Asher's face twisted as if he had swallowed something foul while he recalled his fallen partner.
Across the field, Blaze casually picked his nose.
"Asher, you seriously haven't learned anything, have you?"
He flicked his finger aside.
"You sent a burned Exeggutor into a physical clash with my Charizard. What exactly did you think was going to happen?"
Burn severely weakened a Pokémon's physical attacks. Trying to overpower Charizard with Dragon Hammer while suffering from one had been a terrible gamble from the start.
"Hmph. You've beaten one Pokémon. Don't start lecturing me."
Asher pulled out another Poké Ball.
"I'm taking you down with this one."
He threw it onto the field.
"Gyarados, come out!"
"GYAAAAR!"
A massive Gyarados burst onto the battlefield, its serpentine body stretching nearly six and a half meters from head to tail. It opened its enormous jaws and bellowed up at Charizard as if openly challenging it.
"RRAAAH!"
Charizard immediately roared back.
And there they were.
Two Pokémon that looked like dragons, acted like dragons, and somehow neither of them was actually Dragon-type.
The battle of the two fake dragons had officially begun.
"Gyarados, Dragon Dance!"
Asher moved first.
Blaze's grin returned.
"Heh. Charizard, we'll use Dragon Dance too."
"RAAH!"
"GYAR!"
Charizard wheeled through the air while Gyarados coiled and swayed across the battlefield, both moving to the strange rhythm of Dragon Dance as energy surged through their bodies.
For some inexplicable reason, the whole routine looked less like a majestic dance of dragons and more like two lunatics doing a chicken dance while dribbling invisible basketballs.
Truly majestic.
"Again! Dragon Dance!"
Asher had no intention of stopping at one boost.
Blaze's smile only widened.
"Same here. Charizard, one more time!"
Once again, the two fake dragons launched into their bizarre little dance.
By the time they stopped, both Gyarados and Charizard had raised their Attack and Speed by two stages.
The setup was over.
From here on, there would be no hiding behind more boosts. The next exchange would come down to which Pokémon could actually make better use of them.
And on paper, Gyarados had the advantage.
Water was super effective against Charizard.
Judging by the confidence returning to Asher's face, that was exactly what he was counting on.