The attacks of the two Blaziken collided head-on in midair.
"Boom!!!"
Crimson flames and dark red Fighting energy compressed, tore at each other, and exploded at the point of contact, becoming a massive vortex of energy that spread in all directions.
The shockwave sent both Pokémon flying back. After each rolled once across the ground, they steadied themselves.
The two Blaziken quickly rose to their feet, their gazes clashing in the air as scorching residual energy and the burnt stench of flames filled the arena.
The battle that followed was a fierce, deadlocked exchange.
Brawly's Blaziken was more experienced, with almost no pauses between transitions from one move to the next.
In close combat, it displayed extraordinary skill—fists, legs, knees, elbows; every part of its body could become a weapon at the right moment. Combined with the speed boost from Flame Charge and the explosive force of Flare Blitz, it was like a finely tuned fighting machine, its offensive never-ending.
Xinhai's Blaziken, meanwhile, displayed a different quality in its response.
Its counters were swifter, every move clean and decisive, never wasting an ounce of strength.
Its body moved rapidly across the field, charging forward one moment and retreating the next, sidestepping at times and leaping at others, like a crimson Pokémon dancing amid flames.
The close-quarters battle between the two Blaziken continued for nearly ten minutes.
Punch for kick, attack for attack, brilliant bursts of sparks periodically erupted at the center of the field, scattering embers as waves of heat rolled outward.
In the end, Brawly's Blaziken ended the battle with a more powerful chained kick—its left leg delivered a fierce side kick, then retracted smoothly after Xinhai's Blaziken blocked it, while its right leg immediately struck from another angle, accurately hitting Xinhai's Blaziken in the abdomen.
Xinhai's Blaziken was