The Pokémon world had a rule that Arceus might have laid down at the very dawn of creation-
Pokémon had two "lives."
After taking fatal damage, Pokémon would enter a self-protective state of "fainting," commonly called a "near-death state," rather than actually dying.
As long as no one did anything as vile as finishing them off, their lives would not be in danger, and they could even recover completely after a battle.
That was the moral foundation that allowed Pokémon battles to become popular worldwide.
But there were exceptions to every rule.
When the gap in strength between two Pokémon was simply too vast-for example, if Rayquaza used Dragon Ascent on a Bug Catcher's Caterpie-
Even by the rules of the Pokémon world, that Caterpie would be dead beyond all doubt.
Even a casual burst of energy would be enough to blast Caterpie to dust. Ten thousand revival tokens wouldn't bring it back.
In both the anime and the games, there were cases of Pokémon suffering injuries in battle that could not be healed.
Like the Mabosstiff Arven wanted to save by finding herba mystica.
That was exactly the sort of danger Skeledirge had just faced.
A Pokémon's insides were far more fragile than its tough exterior.
If Xia Chi had ordered Floragato to keep the vines clamped tight and let that Fire Blast explode inside Skeledirge-
He undoubtedly would have won the battle, but the damage Skeledirge suffered would likely have been unimaginable.
It might not have left permanent damage, but Xia Chi hadn't dared take that risk.
It was just an ordinary friendly battle. He didn't want Nemona's Skeledirge to suffer an injury that might affect its future.
So, at the last moment, he had told Floragato to release the vines, allowing Fire Blast to explode outside Skeledirge's