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"Indee~"
The smiling Indeedee landed lightly on the rainwater, casting a pure, innocent gaze at the menacing Seismitoad.
As it appeared, a subtle psychic energy rapidly spread outward from it as the center, quickly enveloping the entire field.
The life energy covering the field swiftly dissipated, and the terrain effect shifted from Grassy Terrain to Psychic Terrain.
"Seismitoad, attack with Liquidation!"
"Seismi!"
Leon didn't give Aiden much time to adjust.
With the rain triggering its Swift Swim ability, Seismitoad's speed was now so fast it had practically become a blue flash. The audience could barely keep up with its afterimage.
"Indeedee, tank its attack and lock onto it as best you can!"
Only when Seismitoad's water-wreathed fist gradually approached did Aiden, who had been slow to respond, finally speak up.
"Indeedee~"
Hearing the command from behind, the "croissant" horns on the female Indeedee's head immediately perked up high in accordance with its will.
As the storage units for Indeedee's psychic energy, the inconspicuous twin horns provided real-time feedback on its state of mind.
Clearly, it was very satisfied with Aiden's decisive command.
"Toad!!!"
In an instant, Seismitoad swung a heavy punch, intending to use its size advantage to crush the opponent in one blow.
But the female Indeedee was no pushover either.
Through a practiced crouch-and-cover maneuver, it actually managed to narrowly dodge Seismitoad's first punch aimed straight at its face.
As for Seismitoad's subsequent flurry of punches, they only barely hit it twice.
The struck Indeedee, carried by its body's momentum, rolled backward several meters, dodging the opponent's follow-up attacks in a very peculiar manner.
"Why does it feel like the moment that female Indeedee appeared, the genre shifted from a hot-blooded battle manga to a gag comedy—"
"Was this also within your calculations, Teacher Azure???"
"Don't rush, you'll soon see that this female Indeedee is no pushover either. All cute things are probably black-hearted once you cut them open!"
The spectator stands buzzed with discussion.
"Indee~"
On the battlefield, the female Indeedee, who had quickly scrambled to her feet, revealed a sinister smile.
Theoretically, the situation on the field should have been slightly in their favor—
But when Leon looked at that smile, so similar to Aiden's, alarm bells immediately went off in his heart, and a bad premonition arose.
"Now, Indeedee!"
"Use Skill Swap!"
"Mhmm~"
By the time Aiden spoke, Indeedee had already synchronously extended its hand. An invisible psychic energy formed a bridge, connecting it to Seismitoad.
Not good!
The reason Indeedee chose to passively take hits earlier was actually to use psychic power to lock onto the much faster Seismitoad?
"Seismitoad, dodge, quickly!"
Leon panicked, subconsciously wanting to command Seismitoad to dodge, but it was too late.
Two strange blue energies appeared on the surfaces of Indeedee and Seismitoad respectively, surging across the bridge to the other side. In the blink of an eye, the swap was complete.
"Deedee~"
Noticing Seismitoad's bewildered expression, the female Indeedee nodded in satisfaction, then gleefully stomped in a puddle of accumulated water beneath her feet.
Aiden also felt a lot more relaxed in his heart.
Due to the effect of Skill Swap, the Swift Swim ability that had given Seismitoad its explosive speed was now working for his side!
As for Indeedee's Psychic Surge ability that was traded over?
After triggering Psychic Terrain upon entry, it was practically useless. Even if traded to Seismitoad, it was essentially a blank slate.
This exchange was a guaranteed win with no losses!
"Indeedee, start running and use Perish Song!"
Aiden immediately added another command.
"Indeedee!"
Having stolen Seismitoad's ability, the female Indeedee broke into a sprint, her speed clearly more than a notch higher than before.
On the other hand, Seismitoad's reaction speed had slowed considerably. It could only watch blankly as the female Indeedee ran further and further away.
Under the sonic assault of Perish Song, its eyelids quickly grew heavier and heavier.
Through Meloetta's tireless tutelage, the female Indeedee was now adept at utilizing her voice.
Especially when it came to using Perish Song to inflict mental damage on opponents, she was exceptionally gifted.
Once Seismitoad lost its will to fight because of this, the score would instantly change to 3:0.
"Seismitoad, chase after it and keep suppressing it with Liquidation!"
Leon had no other moves at this point. He could only use his commands to forcefully make it focus.
He had no choice. He didn't dare switch again, because no matter who came in, they would likely have to endure the female Indeedee's "piercing demonic voice."
Rather than making the remaining Pokémon on his team share this pressure, it was better to sacrifice Seismitoad, letting it play its final role and try to deal with this troublesome creature.
The female Indeedee looked like she had no combat power, but when actually facing her, she was just as troublesome as Aiden's other Pokémon.
In just this short while, she was already making his scalp tingle.
"Seismitoad—"
Leon's command quickly took effect.
Seismitoad, which had started to become despondent, forced itself to perk up. After taking a fierce step forward, it charged through the female Indeedee's hypnotic sound waves.
But now, a second problem arose—
With the shift in speed dynamics, Seismitoad was now the one being completely outpaced.
"Indee~"
The female Indeedee, nimbly roaming ahead, even had the leisure to glance back at her opponent with a gaze full of mockery.
Even without understanding Pokémon speech, Leon seemed to be able to grasp her meaning—
You can't catch me, do you believe it?
"Seismitoad, use Hydro Pump!"
Left with no choice, Leon could only change his command again.
This time, the effect was slightly better.
Seismitoad, having stopped, gathered all its strength and spewed a highly compressed Hydro Pump, firing straight toward the female Indeedee.
However— "Protect!"
"Dee~"
When Aiden spoke, the female Indeedee also stopped. She turned around and spread her arms, quickly condensing a transparent barrier that directly blocked Seismitoad's attack.
"Seis—"
Seismitoad, whose eyes had long since become blurry, seemed to let out a sigh. Then, its body deflated like a balloon, its originally bulging muscles appearing to shrink.
If it continued to stay on the field and endure the female Indeedee's Perish Song, it would likely not be long before it completely lost its will to fight.
Leon's features were already starting to contort.
Just as the rumors say—
Battling a serious Aiden, regardless of the outcome, will definitely leave you fuming!
"Come back, Seismitoad!"
With no other options, he had to make this choice, preserving his already stretched-thin combat-ready forces as much as possible.
At this moment, even the Galar locals who were most biased toward Leon could somewhat sense that the situation was the exact opposite of what they had anticipated.
"What's going on? That never-before-defeated Mr. Leon is actually being suppressed?"
"Who can keep up with Teacher Azure's tactical shifts? One second he's brawling with you head-on, and the next, bam—a super underhanded female Indeedee is smacking you in the face—"
In the stands, Cynthia heard the discussions behind her and looked with a smile at Caitlin, who was wearing a lace-trimmed hat beside her.
"It seems Aiden is only one step away from the championship."
Caitlin looked up, met Cynthia's gaze for a moment, then somewhat jealously pursed her lips.
"There's still the most troublesome one left to deal with."
"Leon still has a Gigantamax Charizard. He has to take it down to win this match."
"Don't you believe in Aiden?"
Cynthia didn't follow up on her words, directly asking a counter-question that left Caitlin speechless.
A few seconds later, she just snorted softly, turning her head away and muttering, "I just don't want to see that smug guy win!"
The noisy voices in the stands made Leon, standing at the edge of the field, feel a complex mix of emotions.
Before the battle began, he had indeed considered the possibility of losing to Aiden, even preparing himself mentally to cast off the burden of being the "Strongest Champion" from then on.
However, now that he was actually experiencing such a one-sided situation—
He suddenly discovered that he felt much more relaxed instead. He no longer needed to worry about so many things.
Right now, there was only one thing left to do—properly enjoy this rare challenge!
Before the score was locked, anything could happen on this highest-spec arena.
This was the charm of Pokémon battles!
"Go, Charizard!"
Leon no longer hesitated, decisively throwing the deeply significant Poké Ball in his hand.
As a partner who had fought alongside him since his debut, he absolutely believed in Charizard's strength at all times.
This time was no exception!
"Roar—!!!"
Charizard, appearing under the red light, let out a roar. The surging flames in its mouth rolled out several dancing tongues of fire in the air.
Even under the rain, its imposing presence didn't diminish in the slightest.
"I should remind you, the rain hasn't ended yet, you know?"
Leon's choice this time genuinely caught Aiden off guard, so much so that he scratched his head and chose to proactively remind his opponent.
"No need. I have absolute confidence in Charizard."
Leon revealed a confident smile and pointed a finger at Aiden.
"Next, Charizard and I will win together!"
"Roar—!"
Not only did Leon absolutely trust his partner, but the imposing Charizard followed up with a warning roar, flapping its wings and sending a gust of wind that slapped directly against Aiden.
As long as he was in Galar, as long as he was with Charizard—
He would never admit defeat!
Seeing this, Aiden nodded, then looked up at the sky.
Although a light rain was still falling, the dark clouds swirling above the stadium had noticeably thinned.
It would likely clear up soon and return to normal weather.
Seismitoad probably wasn't holding a Damp Rock; the rain's duration was slightly shorter than he had anticipated.
"You've already done well enough. Come back for now, Indeedee."
So after thinking for a moment, Aiden decided to simply switch out the female Indeedee.
After pressing the button to recall Indeedee, Aiden looked at Leon, who was quietly waiting for him not far away, and responded with a friendly smile.
"I don't have the habit of taking advantage of others, especially when facing a respectable opponent."
"So, I'm going to go all out next!"
"That's more than fine."
Leon smiled and nodded, simply crossing his arms and quietly waiting for his next choice.
Aiden didn't hesitate at all. After taking a Poké Ball from his pocket, he immediately threw it forward.
"Go, Miraidon!"
"Kaa-roar!"
Miraidon, rarely standing on the battlefield, had discarded its usual lazy expression today. Upon entry, its mechanical pupils locked firmly onto the opponent, displaying a look full of fighting spirit.
"Why did Teacher Azure pull out another Pokémon he's never used before!"
"He actually has used it. On the Paldea Champion's Path, this guy stumped quite a few students—"
"But, Miraidon can actually get serious?"
In the Paldea section of the stands, seeing this technology-styled "future Cyclizar" once again, many of Teacher Azure's loyal stream viewers became excited.
"It seems like it should be your killer move reserved for the finals?"
Leon said with a smile, but Aiden shook his head in denial.
"No, it's the killer move specifically for you."
"Only after getting past you do I need to consider my opponent in the finals."
"I see—"
Leon remained noncommittal, shrugging his shoulders.
In the next second, he suddenly swung his right hand, the cape behind him fluttering in the wind along with his movement.
"Then, I should get serious too!"
"For me, this is the final battle!"
"Charizard!"
"Roar—!"
Leon's imposing shout immediately received a response from his partner.
He smiled, took out another specially made Poké Ball, and after returning Charizard into the ball, raised his hand to the sky in his signature pose.
"Let's use our Gigantamax to strike the opponent head-on!"
Dark red light points and a purple aura quietly released from underground. The white Poké Ball, having absorbed this Dynamax energy, rapidly expanded until it was more than ten times its original size.
A purple vortex appeared in the sky, symbolizing the rapid gathering of Dynamax energy, transforming into the power that would allow Pokémon to take on a brand-new form.
Aiden smiled without saying a word, silently taking out an identical white Poké Ball.
"Then, I should get serious on my end too!"
Another flash of purple-red light passed, and the newly sent-out Miraidon was immediately recalled by Aiden.
The audience instantly erupted—
"No way, Teacher Azure actually dares to play with Dynamax in the knockout rounds! I think he only tried it once during the preliminaries, right?"
"Just believe in Teacher Azure. What if he's actually a genius who can casually use all four battle formats!"
"So it's Leon, huh? Let Teacher Azure teach you Dynamax!"
The live atmosphere grew increasingly fervent.
When the Dynamax energy reached its peak, the first Poké Ball thrown out shattered on cue.
"Roar!"
A thirty-meter-tall Gigantamax Charizard, covered in flames, transformed into a colossal beast, landing in the center of Wyndon Stadium.
On the other side, a slightly smaller but equally imposing Dynamax Miraidon also immediately took the stage.
As their gazes met, the blazing sparks instantly ignited the audience's passion.
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