"Hm?"
When Moore saw the state Milotic had entered, his pupils shrank slightly. However, he quickly understood what was happening and muttered softly to himself,
'A Flame Orb…'
The thought only flashed through his mind for an instant before he immediately issued a command.
"Blaziken, start with Focus Energy! Then go and test Milotic's capabilities!"
"Ha-cha!"
Blaziken nodded heavily toward Moore. It took a deep breath as the aura throughout its entire body began to gather and condense.
During the process of focusing its energy, the muscles in its legs seemed to swell once more. Their outlines became even clearer, brimming with explosive power.
Theo, however, appeared completely indifferent to this. He calmly spoke to Milotic,
"Milotic, use the number two tactic we practiced before."
"Milo~"
Milotic gently nodded.
In the next moment, countless strands of soft blue light shimmered around its body.
Immediately afterward, streams of water formed like ribbons, circling gracefully around Milotic. They floated and swayed gently, creating a scene of breathtaking beauty.
This was the move Aqua Ring, which could continuously restore stamina and offset the gradual health loss caused by the burn effect of the Flame Orb.
At the exact moment Aqua Ring was completed, Blaziken had already finished using Focus Energy.
A sharp glint flashed in its eyes as its powerful leg muscles suddenly kicked off the ground.
Bang!
The solid battlefield surface was actually stamped into a shallow pit.
Using the powerful recoil force, Blaziken's figure shot forward like a streak of red lightning, breaking through the boundary where rain and sunlight met.
It charged straight toward Milotic at incredible speed.
Above them, the rain summoned by Milotic and the sunlight maintained by Blaziken clashed violently.
Where the sunny and rainy conditions overlapped, a chaotic zone formed.
At the same time, flames suddenly ignited along Blaziken's claws, wrists, and legs, instantly evaporating the rainwater on the ground into white mist.
"Flamethrower!"
Moore's command followed immediately.
Blaziken opened its mouth, releasing a blazing stream of fire that surged forward with a roaring sound, heading straight for Milotic.
Facing the oncoming flames, Milotic remained exceptionally calm.
It simply flicked its golden tail fin lightly, and a powerful surge of water erupted from behind it, instantly transforming into a massive wave.
This was Surf.
Crash!
The flames spewed by Blaziken were instantly swallowed and extinguished by the roaring wave.
Not even a single spark remained.
But this was only the beginning.
At the very moment the wave was about to engulf Blaziken, the muscles in its legs seemed to swell yet again.
Relying on the momentum generated by its astonishing speed, it forcefully shattered the incoming wave and instantly appeared right in front of Milotic.
"Fire Punch, Blaze Kick!"
A sharp light flashed in Moore's eyes.
Blaziken's right fist was engulfed in blazing flames as it smashed forward with scorching heat, aiming directly at Milotic.
At the same time, the flames on its legs intensified even further, preparing to unleash a chained combination attack in one continuous motion to break through Milotic's defenses.
Suddenly!
At the exact moment Blaziken's Fire Punch struck Milotic, a dense cloud of black mist erupted around Milotic's body.
This was the move Haze.
The instant Blaziken's fist made contact with the black mist, it felt as though all the strength in its body had been drained away.
Its originally fierce momentum came to a sudden halt, and its entire state weakened noticeably.
At the same time, the red glow on Milotic's scales faded away.
"Ha-cha?"
Blaziken let out a confused cry.
It could clearly feel that the speed advantage it had accumulated from its Speed Boost ability had completely vanished the moment it touched the black mist.
The Blaze Kick it had prepared as a follow up was forcibly interrupted.
Meanwhile, after taking Blaziken's attack, Milotic appeared to have suffered almost no damage.
Milotic naturally had resistance against Fire type moves, and Fire Punch was a close range attack. Combined with the earlier activation of its Marvel Scale ability, which had greatly increased its Defense, the blow did not have much effect at all.
"Now, Surf!"
Theo seized the opportunity and gave the command immediately.
Milotic swung its tail fin once again, summoning another massive wave that surged forward and forced Blaziken backward.
As the two Pokémon pulled apart once more, the weather above them became clearly visible again.
On Milotic's side, heavy rain continued to pour relentlessly, while above Blaziken remained a patch of clear sky.
The boundary between the two weather conditions had become somewhat blurred from their clash, yet they still stubbornly opposed each other.
Moore stared intently at Milotic. A look of realization appeared on his face before he let out a soft sigh.
"So that's how it is… it seems my guess was correct. Your Milotic really does know a move that clears stat boosts."
Haze: A black mist rises and resets the stat changes of all Pokémon currently in battle back to their original state.
At that moment, the scales on Milotic's body began to glow red once more, emitting that special radiant light.
The streams of water forming the Aqua Ring around it flowed back into its body, continuously restoring its stamina.
Seeing this, Moore's expression grew serious, and his voice became firm.
"Blaziken, remember our training.
Spin your body and use Swords Dance.
Attack while spinning, use the airflow to blow away Milotic's black mist. Do not let that smoke touch you!"
"Ha-cha!"
Blaziken nodded again, its leg muscles swelling once more, filled with unyielding fighting spirit.
In the next second, Blaziken's body began to spin rapidly, transforming into a red spinning top.
As it rotated, its aura surged continuously. This was Swords Dance boosting its attack power.
At that very moment, Milotic, standing within the rain, suddenly emitted a burst of white light.
When the light faded, there were now two identical Milotic on the battlefield.
One was positioned in the front, gracefully swaying its tail fin as if deliberately drawing Blaziken's attention.
The other remained behind, quietly floating in place.
This was Substitute.
At the same time, the Aqua Ring around the rear Milotic expanded dramatically and surged with energy, channeling a steady flow of restorative power into its body.
"Damn it!"
Moore could not help but curse under his breath, and for the first time, a trace of helplessness appeared on his face.
Rain Dance, Aqua Ring, Haze, Substitute…
Theo's tactical execution was almost identical to the strategy that Wallace's Milotic had used when battling him years ago.
Earlier, the reason Moore had tried to provoke Theo into using Tyrantrum against Blaziken was precisely because he had been worried about this kind of situation.
And now, his guess had come true.
At this moment, Blaziken's spinning speed continued to increase, and the airflow around its body grew stronger and stronger.
Like a blazing spinning top, it charged forward with a piercing roar that seemed to tear through the air, rushing straight toward the Milotic in front.
Above, the sunny and rainy weather clashed violently once more.
In an instant, the battlefield was once again swallowed by a chaotic zone, filled with dense white water vapor.
Under the powerful airflow generated by Blaziken's high speed rotation, the black mist released by Milotic was indeed blown away, unable to approach Blaziken.
Step by step, Blaziken was closing the distance toward Milotic.
(End of Chapter)