As the saying goes,
the last straw that broke the camel's back.
But was the camel really crushed to death by the very last straw?
Of course not.
Or rather, not entirely.
What crushed the camel was the first straw, the second straw... all the way to the last.
It was a process of quantitative change leading to qualitative change.
Every straw on the camel's back had contributed to its death.
The same was true for Sceptile, which had exited Mega Evolution and been blasted to the ground by Dark Pulse.
From the moment it had been exposed to Incineroar's Evil Aura, its Mental Power, which maintained the manifested bond, had been constantly burning away in places it never noticed.
And Incineroar's attacks had kept piling onto that burning foundation, increasing the pressure again and again.
Until they became the final straw that broke Sceptile.
The reason for Sceptile's defeat was its complete ignorance of Evil Aura, enhanced by the Dread Plate and capable of burning Mental Power on an even deeper level.
When Sceptile was nearly unable to move, the equally battered and weakened Incineroar gathered Emotional Energy as fuel and used one final Explosion Blaze to completely empty Sceptile's stamina bar.
Beneath the soaring flames, Incineroar deactivated Magnetic Field Manipulation: Lava Overload.
After all, this thing only had no side effects when it was in good condition. Once it fell into critical condition, there was still a chance it would explode.
After all, Ho-Oh Institute's Sacred Fire fundamentally only strengthened Incineroar's own physique and vitality, along with the tiny bit of flame control granted by the Flame Plate Fragment controlled by Reshiram.
As the rumbling gradually faded, countless spectators stared at Sceptile lying on the ground, its body charred black, their faces still frozen in shock from the