On the seventh day of special training, after arranging Fraxure and the others' training, Xinhai brought his partners to the Main Training Ground as usual.
Today's opponent was Instructor Sasaki. Standing across the field with a thoughtful smile at the corner of his mouth, he said, "Xinhai, we won't be fighting by the usual rules today. Go all out. I want to see just how much you've improved these past few days."
Xinhai was slightly taken aback, then nodded and took his place in the command area, his fingers resting on the Poké Balls at his waist.
"Alright."
Six versus six. No holding back.
Blaziken was the first to take the field, facing Instructor Sasaki's Ursaring. The Pokémon was as massive as ever, its grayish-brown fur accentuating the heavy sense of power in its muscles.
Blaziken did not dare let its guard down. It opened with Flame Charge followed by Quick Attack, accelerating twice as its crimson figure became a streak of drawn-out fire, leaving several intersecting afterimages across the field.
When Ursaring's Hammer Arm came crashing down from the left, Blaziken evaded with a sideways slide that nearly skimmed the ground, while its right leg, wreathed in crimson flames, kicked toward Ursaring's waist.
Instructor Sasaki's Ursaring reacted swiftly, tightening its abdomen to withstand the Blaze Kick head-on while flipping its right paw toward Blaziken's head.
But Blaziken had only used seventy percent of its strength. The instant its foot struck Ursaring, it used the force to pull into a Closing Form, leaning backward with the motion as the palm strike that would have landed on its head swept past its feathers.
Immediately afterward, its left leg sprang upward from below and struck the inside of Ursaring's wrist solidly.
Ursaring refused to be outdone. Its transitions between attack and defense