The Combusken stood up from the ground, frowned, looked at the target board, and pondered the problem with this attack.
Xinhai recalled the details he had just witnessed and thought, "The reason why Rock Smash lowers the opponent's defense is because the burst of Fighting type energy upon contact with the opponent breaks through their defense, thus reducing their defensive capabilities."
However, this burst of power also generated a significant reaction force, affecting the stability of the Combusken's body and causing the skill to fail.
However, he didn't tell Combusken these things right away, since Combusken, as the user of the skill, must have perceived things more clearly than he had seen them.
The Combusken, standing firmly in front of the target again, was not discouraged; instead, its sharp eyes became even more focused.
It stared at the target in front of it, replaying the moment of its failure in its mind. The recoil from the Rock Smash skill had disrupted the rhythm of its continuous power.
"Hah!" (Again!) The Combusken growled and got back into position. This time, it had a new idea.
This time, it decided to reduce the amount of Fighting type energy in its first leg, attempting to concentrate Fighting type energy without pursuing a burst of power at the extreme moment as before.
"Hah Mo--"
The Combusken bent its legs slightly again, focused intently, and kicked out with its right leg as quickly as ever!
This time, however, the movements seemed less ferocious and devastating, and more deliberately restrained.
"Thump!" The sound of hitting the bullseye was noticeably duller and less powerful than before. The numbers on the display screen jumped: "57".
The power of this attack was only about half of its normal strength. However, at the very moment the attack hit, the Combusken's eyes lit up! The recoil had indeed been reduced!
Although the body was still affected by the reaction force, the center of gravity did not shift backward completely out of control as it had last time.
Although some reaction forces still affect it, they are no longer enough to interfere with its balance and the basis for generating power.
Combusken seized the opportunity, its left leg suddenly tensing like a spring, and kicked out swiftly with its left leg covered in Fighting type energy.
"Bang!" Another crisp sound rang out, and the numbers on the display screen jumped again: "67".
The Combusken, after kicking out its second leg, fell to the ground again, but this time it quickly stood up with shining eyes, excitedly looking at the two numbers on the screen.
After a brief moment of joy, it frowned as it looked at the power displayed on the screen, clearly feeling that the power was too weak, and that it had fallen to the ground again, making it impossible to truly fight the enemy.
Xinhai approached with a smile, his voice steady yet encouraging, "You've done very well, Combusken! Two Rock Smash, delivered in a smooth motion! This proves that this approach has its merits!"
He pointed to the remaining numbers on the display screen. "But don't get too excited. Your two attacks weren't just a matter of reduced power. While you were lowering your energy, it also meant that the probability of triggering the additional conditions for Rock Smash sharding was also reduced."
"The original probability of triggering the Rock Smash skill was 50%, but the combined probability of your two attacks is probably less than 50%, so it still needs improvement."
The Combusken nodded in agreement as it listened to Xinhai's words.
It also had this suspicion, but if it didn't reduce the concentration of Fighting type energy, it wouldn't be able to launch a second attack, and it wouldn't even be able to stabilize its body after the first attack, let alone fight in actual combat.
Originally, it and Xinhai's idea was to use the Ability of Double Kick to quickly strike the same part, combined with the Rock Smash skill, to deal high damage and have a high probability of triggering the guard-breaking effect twice in a row.
This is the true value of combining the Double Kick with the Rock Smash skill.
Xinhai's gaze deepened, and he continued, "We need to practice this skill more, but what you need more right now are some special techniques."
"What trick?" The Combusken immediately raised its head, its eyes full of eagerness.
Xinhai did not answer directly. Instead, he took a few steps back and slowly stood still in front of the Combusken.
He stood with his legs slightly apart and his knees slightly bent, his body relaxed yet exuding a peculiar sense of composure, his hands hanging naturally at his sides with his palms slightly open.
His entire demeanor instantly became calm and reserved, completely different from the usually gentle Xinhai.
"What's going on?" The Combusken looked at Xinhai's strange posture with confusion, completely unable to understand what it had to do with its weak Rock Smash ability.
"Come on," Xinhai said with an encouraging smile, beckoning to the Combusken. "No need for skills, just use your most basic attack and come at me."
"What?!" (Attack you?!) The Combusken was startled and immediately shook its head, its eyes full of worry and disapproval.
It was absolutely unacceptable for its trainer to attack it, even though it knew that Xinhai was very strong.
It hadn't forgotten that Xinhai had scored higher than itself on the Power Tester, and that Xinhai often made strange movements when he was idle, much like the movements of Fighting type on TV.
Xinhai noticed Combusken's concerns and explained gently but firmly, "Don't worry, Combusken. This is just part of the training, just like when you fight against the target. I'm letting you attack so you can feel the technique."
Seeing the pure trust and encouragement in Xinhai's eyes, the hesitation in Combusken's heart was gradually suppressed.
"Hah!" (I understand!) The Combusken's eyes regained their sharpness and focus.
Seeing Xinhai's firm and calm gaze, it no longer hesitated. It clenched its right paw into a fist, lunged forward, and with a whooshing sound, delivered a swift straight punch straight to Xinhai's chest!
It deliberately chose to use its hands, rather than its more powerful and familiar legs, and subconsciously held back some of its strength to ensure that it wouldn't cause too much damage if it couldn't stop.
Just as the Combusken's fist was about to touch Xinhai, he moved!
His movements appeared unhurried and natural, yet they were incredibly swift.
He shifted his upper body slightly to the left and back, and at the same time, his left hand, which had been hanging down, deftly landed on the Combusken's wrist like a nimble snake, gently pulling it to the side along with the force of its punch.
"Huh?!"
The Combusken felt as if its arm was being swept away by a gentle stream of water and thrown out, taking itself with it.
Not only did its accumulated power miss completely, but it was also pulled along by Xinhai's gentle force, causing its entire body to stagger forward a step!
Combusken: (⊙_⊙)?!!
It was completely bewildered! What was going on?
"Did you feel it?" Xinhai's voice rang out at the right time. He maintained his calm and composed posture, as if he had just brushed away a fallen leaf.
"Your strength is great, but too forceful and reckless. Just like when you used Rock Smash, you unleashed your full power without holding back. But the more you do that, the greater the reaction force becomes, causing you to lose control of this power, which I easily neutralized."
The Combusken steadied itself, looking at Xinhai with surprise and uncertainty, then looked down at its fist. The strange feeling of being taken away had shocked it.
"This is a technique in Tai Chi called ' Force Unloading '," Xinhai said, while gesturing for the Combusken to attack again. "The core of Tai Chi lies in 'not resisting, not opposing,' guiding the opponent's force, neutralizing it, preventing it from fully erupting on you, and turning it into your own."
This time, Combusken didn't hesitate or hold back. With a strong desire to explore, it threw another punch, faster and more powerful.
"This technique uses the waist as an axis to drive the limbs and coordinate the whole body. The movements are mainly in arcs, which deflect external forces and achieve the effect of overcoming hardness with softness."
Xinhai once again used various Tai Chi techniques to deflect each of Combusken's fierce attacks, while also explaining and demonstrating all the Tai Chi techniques to Combusken.
During this time, the Combusken's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and each punch it threw was accompanied by greater focus as it observed Xinhai's every move.
Finally, after Xinhai taught all the techniques of Tai Chi to Combusken, he used the opponent's force against him to push Li Zhuang Ji back to his original position and said, "This is Tai Chi, Combusken, and it excels at using softness to overcome hardness and borrowing the opponent's force to strike back."
"What you need to do is use these Tai Chi techniques to neutralize the reaction force of the Rock Smash skill, and even use that reaction force to deliver an even stronger blow."
The Combusken stood still, looking down at its arm, trying to recall the feeling of being pushed away by "using someone else's strength against them".