"Smog!"
Rex murmured.
He knew trouble was brewing. Combusken was enveloped in the toxic smog, not only obstructing its vision but also posing a risk of poisoning.
"Combusken, use Fire Spin to surround yourself."
Following Rex's command, a whirlwind of fire shot up, forming a massive fiery tornado. The surrounding purple toxic smog was sucked into the rotating fire vortex and burned away, clearing the battlefield.
When Magcargo's figure emerged, a rock formed in front of it, then shot towards the fire vortex.
The rock, formed by Magcargo's Ancient Power, broke through the fire vortex and struck Combusken hard, sending it flying.
As Combusken staggered to its feet, Rex noticed its face was unusually discolored, a sickly purple from the smog's effect, indicating it was poisoned.
"Combusken, can you still fight?" Rex asked.
Despite its poor condition, Combusken displayed a determined expression and used Flame Charge to rush at Magcargo, responding to its trainer's query with action.
Seeing Combusken's strong fighting spirit, Flannery abandoned her plan to have Magcargo hold back. She knew the best response was to fight with full effort.
"Magcargo, use Earth Power!"
Magcargo gathered a powerful force and then released it as a vibration wave toward Combusken.
Before the wave could hit, Combusken pushed off the ground, leaping towards Magcargo, evading the Earth Power attack.
As Combusken descended towards Magcargo, it knew it couldn't dodge, so it countered with a Flamethrower.
Although fire-type moves weren't very effective against Combusken, Magcargo intended to use the force of the flames to knock it back.
Unexpectedly, Combusken charged through the Flamethrower's fiery column and continued its assault on Magcargo.
Combusken targeted the spot it had previously hit with Double Kick, attacking again and using the recoil to distance itself from Magcargo.
The repeated Double Kick attacks on the same spot caused Magcargo significant pain and damage.
"Magcargo, use Recover!"
Following Flannery's command, Magcargo began to glow with a white light, rapidly healing its injuries, recovering most of the damage in no time.
Meanwhile, Combusken, affected by the poison, continued to lose strength and its condition worsened.
"Alright, Combusken, that's enough. You've lost!" Rex called out.
Seeing Combusken about to attack again, Rex stopped it. In the current situation, where fire-type attacks weren't decisive, Combusken had no advantage. The recent Double Kick was its last opportunity.
After Magcargo used Recover to heal, Combusken stood no chance of winning.
Though reluctant, Combusken stopped, understanding that its trainer's judgment was correct. If it could increase its power a bit more, the battle outcome could be different.
"Ah, Chimchar, stop pulling my hair!"
Rex grabbed the Chimchar that had jumped onto his head and rubbed his head.
During Combusken's battle with Magcargo, Chimchar was equally excited, eager to join the fight. Every time the battle heated up, Chimchar would jump around on Rex's head, and when Rex made Combusken concede, Chimchar tugged his hair.
Clearly, Chimchar was also dissatisfied, empathizing with Combusken and feeling as if it had lost the battle too.
"Combusken, you did great. Don't be discouraged. Keep working hard, and you'll defeat any opponent!"
Rex walked over to the dejected Combusken, patted its head, and encouraged it.
"Comb!" Combusken lifted its head, the confusion in its eyes replaced by unwavering determination.
This resilience was what Rex admired about Combusken. Although it could feel disappointed and upset by a loss, it quickly recovered and used setbacks as motivation to improve.
Rex then used an antidote to cure Combusken's poisoning and had Victreebel use Grassy Terrain to help it recover from its injuries.
"Rex, your Combusken is amazing, both in battle awareness and mindset," Flannery remarked as she approached and patted Combusken.
For Flannery, who loved fire-type Pokémon, Combusken's rapid growth was impressive, in terms of both battle awareness and inner strength, a testament to Rex's excellent training.
She believed that once Combusken evolved into Blaziken, her Magcargo would have a hard time winning. Hence, Flannery knew she and Magcargo needed to train even harder.
"Don't get cocky, Combusken. You still have a long way to go!" Rex teased as Combusken basked in Flannery's praise.
After the battle, Rex noticed that Flannery and Magcargo's spirits had lifted significantly, shaking off their earlier despondency. For someone as energetic as Flannery, today's setback would only trouble her for a few days before she bounced back.
The two stayed in the training ground until late at night before retiring to their rooms. Rex fell asleep minutes after lying down.
"Flannery, thanks for everything. I hope you'll visit my place sometime!" Rex said the next morning after breakfast.
"Sure, I'll visit your farm when I get the chance. Take care on your way back!" Flannery waved goodbye.
After bidding farewell, Rex flew back to Rex Farm on Swellow. His visit to Lavaridge Town had been fruitful, solving the sales issues for Revival Herbs and Energy Roots and receiving seeds from Grandpa Mike.
Unlike his previous stinginess, Grandpa Mike gave Rex dozens of Revival Herb seeds and over a hundred Energy Root seeds this time.
With these seeds, Rex could expand his herb farming, bringing considerable yearly income to Rex Farm.
Chimchar's arrival seemed incidental, but Rex cherished the little monkey, who also loved clinging to him.
The return journey was uneventful, and Rex arrived at Rex Farm by noon.
At that time, only Karen was at the farm. Yuli and Yui had gone to visit the orphanage in town and wouldn't return until the evening.