Pokemon Battle System: I Reincarnated As A Charmander

Seeing Starmie use Recover naturally delighted Lian, as it would enhance his final combat rating. However, this was contingent on him winning the battle.

With Light Screen obstructing his path, half of Lian's Special Attack moves became ineffective, not to mention Starmie continuously using Recover.

Lian desperately wanted to employ an attacking move since he had already used Dragon Rage twice, doubling his attack ability value. If deployed now, such a move could have remarkable effects.

However, Kalia remained unaware of this advantage and would likely instruct him to continue using Dragon Rage or switch to Dragon Breath.

Dragon Breath was indeed a decent choice, but Lian couldn't be certain about Starmie's Ability. If it possessed Natural Cure, once paralyzed, swapping Sia's Gyarados back onto the field after capturing Starmie with a Poké Ball would instantly restore its health, rendering the paralysis strategy less impactful.

Nevertheless, forcing Sia to constantly switch Pokemon could still serve as an effective way to wear down her team.

At that moment, another wave generated by Dragon Rage pierced through the Light Screen again. Although the defensive strength of the Light Screen was gradually diminishing, it still significantly slowed the shockwave, allowing Starmie to evade Dragon Rage once more.

The Light Screen was indeed a challenging obstacle, causing Lian some frustration. He pondered whether changing the angle of his attack might help, but Starmie remained hidden behind the Light Screen, refusing to emerge. There seemed no way to bypass it.

Kalia slightly furrowed her brow and then altered her command, "Charmeleon, try using Dragon Breath."

She had observed that since the Extreme Speed Conference, Charmeleon's Dragon Breath consistently had a high chance of inducing Paralysis.

Now, Kalia wanted to see if Dragon Breath could bring any surprises, even if it didn't, it wouldn't matter much.

Regardless, during the duration of the Light Screen, any Special moves would have limited effect as Starmie could instantly recover its health with Recover.

Sia noticed Starmie successfully healing itself through Recover and promptly issued an attack order, "Starmie, wait for Charmeleon to use its move, then counter with Bubble Beam."

Bubble Beam was learned autonomously when Starmie was still a Staryu. After evolving into Starmie, it couldn't naturally acquire new moves; this is common among Pokemon requiring Evolution Stones for their transformation.

Lian swiftly unleashed Dragon Breath. If he could induce Paralysis on Starmie, it would significantly impact the battle's outcome.

Sia's command gave Lian a suspicion that this Starmie might possess the rare Analytic Ability, which enhances a move's power by analyzing its opponent.

Analysis requires time, and often during this process, the opponent would already execute their move. Hence, Sia instructed his Pokemon to wait for Lian's attack, clearly aiming to leverage the Analytic Ability's effect.

This suggested that this Starmie likely did not have the Natural Cure Ability; once paralyzed, it wouldn't be able to recover easily.

As Lian exhaled forcefully, the intense breath pierced through the air, heading straight towards Starmie behind the Light Screen. The secondary effects of Dragon Breath are independent of its base power, so the Light Screen couldn't prevent these additional effects.

Although the primary force was weakened, with minimal impact when reaching Starmie, if the Paralysis secondary effect triggered, it still had the potential to take effect.

As Dragon Breath struck Starmie, its analysis completed, though exactly how it analyzed was unclear. Subsequently, Starmie unleashed Bubble Beam.

Bubble Beam is classified as a beam-type move, emitting streams of colorful light from the central Ruby gem on Starmie. Filled with Water-type energy, these beams resembled vibrant bubbles heading directly towards Lian.

The Analytic Ability enhances a Pokemon's moves by 30% power. Considering Bubble Beam already has significant potency, combined with the boost from Analytic, Lian deemed it unwise to face the attack head-on and opted instead for evasive maneuvers.

Kalia's evasion training proved effective, gradually instilling in Lian the habit of attempting to dodge attacks first rather than countering with his own moves.

Countering with a move essentially wastes an offensive opportunity for defense; while it may succeed, there's also a risk of failure.

Lian preferred evasion over direct confrontation.

Bubble Beam swiftly approached, typical for beam-type moves. However, due to the Analytic Ability, Starmie's release was slightly delayed, allowing Lian enough time to unleash Dragon Breath and subsequently leap between stones to evade.

Lian's agile evasive maneuvers caused Bubble Beam to miss significantly, only striking a rock behind him. The impact splashed water onto Lian.

Successfully avoiding Bubble Beam felt exhilarating. He paused to assess Starmie's condition and noticed that the secondary effect of Dragon Breath did not occur.

This was expected, as it wasn't guaranteed; success couldn't be assured every time. However, at least Lian managed to dodge the attack, so it wasn't a loss.

Seeing Charmeleon evade Bubble Beam again left Sia frustrated. Couldn't he land a hit just once?

With one successful strike, this Charmeleon would surely be defeated!

As time passed, the Light Screen gradually thinned, its defensive effectiveness diminishing rapidly, appearing close to vanishing soon.

Kalia remained unfazed by the lack of paralysis from Dragon Breath, understanding it was always a matter of chance—success or failure were both possibilities.

"Charmeleon, continue dodging Starmie's moves and use Dragon Breath again."

As the Light Screen weakened further, Kalia decided to wait until it completely disappeared before unleashing Dragon Rage from Charmeleon. For now, she focused on evasive maneuvers and occasionally used Dragon Breath, hoping for luck.

Lian understood Kalia's strategy. With the Light Screen gradually thinning, its ability to weaken incoming moves diminished continuously. By delaying their attacks, they could time them precisely with the screen's disappearance.

"Starmie, use Bubble Beam."

Sia continued having Starmie employ Bubble Beam, as it was one of the more proficient moves the Pokémon had mastered. Although Starmie possessed Hydro Pump, a high-power move, it lacked proficiency with that technique, and the lengthy preparation time made it easier for opponents to evade.

A missed attack, no matter how powerful, is useless. With Light Screen and Recover at its disposal, Starmie remained temporarily invincible.

As another Bubble Beam approached, Lian skillfully dodged again. Since Starmie did not possess predictive abilities, there was no need for Lian to anticipate its moves; normal evasion sufficed to avoid the attack.

Clearly, Sia had not yet reached this level of strategy, and Kalia herself hadn't trained her Pokémon with such techniques either. This approach required advanced skills, as typical Pokémon have limited intelligence and rely solely on their proficiency to execute moves.

Time gradually ticked away.

Lian's luck seemed off; even the second Dragon Breath failed to induce Paralysis. This Starmie truly had absurd fortune.

Despite the lack of Paralysis from Dragon Breath, the Light Screen was now flickering intermittently, close to disappearing entirely.

"Charmeleon, use Dragon Rage!"

"Starmie, continue using Light Screen!"

Both Trainers issued their commands simultaneously, seizing the moment when the Light Screen was about to vanish—one preparing for an immediate attack, while the other aiming to renew the barrier.

However, Starmie had a better grasp of the timing, releasing its new Light Screen just as the previous one completely dissipated.

The interval between screens was less than a second, indicating that Sia had specifically trained for this seamless transition, achieving perfect synchronization with the Light Screen.

As a result, Lian's Dragon Rage attack successfully hit Starmie but delivered only half its potential damage, insufficient to surpass the recovery rate of Recover.

The battle reached a stalemate, with Kalia temporarily unable to find a breakthrough strategy. Meanwhile, Starmie's Bubble Beam consistently failed to land on Charmeleon.

However, given enough time, Bubble Beam would eventually connect. The situation was increasingly unfavorable for Kalia; she and Charmeleon couldn't afford any mistakes.