Charizard had fallen, and in the six-versus-four battle, Red had already lost three Pokémon.
At this point.
Red had only one Pokémon left.
As for Xia Yan, although he had not lost any Pokémon, Aegislash had theoretically almost completely lost its ability to battle.
Although Latios could still fight, it did not have much strength left either.
As for Infernape, still on the field, it had battled Red's Charizard for so long. Its fighting spirit remained high, but Xia Yan had seen the changes in its condition.
So.
Xia Yan did not have much fighting strength left either.
It was simply far better than Red's three Pokémon being decisively defeated.
And the match had reached its final, most critical moment.
"You worked hard, Charizard."
Red spoke sincerely and solemnly to the Poké Ball in his hand.
Then he looked sharply at Xia Yan. "Teacher Xia Yan, you really are strong."
More than merely strong.
Red knew very well that Xia Yan's strength was absolutely not limited to what he had shown so far.
What Xia Yan excelled at most was tactical planning in Pokémon battles and controlling the pace of battle.
However.
When battling him, Xia Yan had not made many tactical arrangements, nor had he used the pace of battle to suppress him. Instead, he had continuously engaged him in the most direct clashes and exchanges.
He had used the method he was theoretically least skilled at to battle Red using Red's greatest strength.
Using his own weakness to attack another's strength.
Red did not think Xia Yan was trying to use this method to strike at him.
Instead, he felt that Xia Yan wanted to teach him through this method.
To let him more clearly recognize his own shortcomings.
This was what a teacher was.
His teacher, Red's