Aaron and the others arrived at the battle arena in Hidden Dragon Square.
Liora and Frost took their places on opposite sides of the field, facing each other from across the arena.
Blaze stood in the referee's position. He glanced at both sides, then raised his voice.
"This will be a Pokémon battle between Liora and Frost!"
"A match between the fourth and fifth ranked Trainers on the Hidden Dragon Rankings."
"This will be a two-on-two battle. The match ends when both Pokémon on one side are unable to battle."
He lifted one hand.
"Both sides, send out your first Pokémon!"
As soon as Blaze finished speaking, Liora and Frost threw their Luxury Balls at the same time.
"Come out, Goodra!"
"Come out, Alolan Ninetales!"
Two flashes of light appeared on the battlefield.
A Pokémon a little over two meters tall emerged on Liora's side. Its body was soft and rounded, pale purple with a hint of pink, and sticky fluid dripped from its skin.
It was the Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon, Goodra.
On Frost's side stood Alolan Ninetales, a graceful fox Pokémon with nine flowing tails and beautiful white-blue fur.
Aaron quietly used the System to check both Pokémon's information.
Both Goodra and Alolan Ninetales were at Gym (Early Stage).
But Liora's Goodra was a Dragon-type, while Frost's Alolan Ninetales was Ice/Fairy.
The matchup was brutal.
Even Ash, patron saint of winning bad matchups through sheer nerve, would probably shake his head at this one.
"This battle is going to be rough for Liora," Aaron said from the side.
Braveon nodded.
"Frost mainly trains Ice-type Pokémon, while Liora is from the Dragon Family. Most of her Pokémon are Dragon-types, so it's normal for her to be at a disadvantage against him."
...
On the battlefield, the match was about to begin.
The moment Alolan Ninetales appeared, dark clouds gathered above the arena, and hail began to fall.
Its Hidden Ability, Snow Warning.
Hail would continuously wear down any Pokémon that was not an Ice-type. For a Dragon-type like Goodra, trapped in a field controlled by an Ice-type opponent, the pressure was even worse.
"Goo..."
Goodra frowned as the hail struck its body, letting out an irritated growl.
Liora knew the situation was bad. If she let the hail keep falling, Goodra would only become more and more passive.
So she attacked first.
"Goodra, use Flamethrower!"
"Goodra!"
Goodra took a deep breath, then spat out a scorching stream of flames that blasted straight toward Alolan Ninetales.
If that Flamethrower landed, Ninetales would not enjoy it. Ice-types hated Fire, after all.
But Frost was not foolish enough to let Ninetales take the hit head-on.
"Ninetales, dodge! Then use Ice Beam!"
"Niiine!"
Alolan Ninetales let out a light, graceful cry. With a swift leap, it slipped away from the incoming flames.
Immediately after, an icy-blue beam shot from its mouth, cutting straight toward Goodra.
Goodra's body was not exactly built for agility. Meanwhile, under the hail, Ninetales moved with even more confidence, its Ice Beam coming fast and clean.
With the hail interfering as well, dodging would be difficult.
"Goodra, Protect!"
Liora reacted decisively.
"Goodra!"
A transparent energy shield lit up around Goodra's body.
BANG!
Ice Beam slammed into the barrier and exploded into scattered frost.
Goodra blocked the attack.
But Liora did not stop there.
"Goodra, close in and hit Ninetales with Iron Tail!"
Her battle style was just as aggressive as her personality. The moment Goodra blocked the Ice Beam, she launched a counterattack.
Her understanding of type matchups was good too.
Steel-type moves dealt devastating damage to Alolan Ninetales.
"Goodra!"
Silver-white light wrapped around Goodra's tail. It rushed forward, raised its thick tail, and smashed it down toward Ninetales.
"Ninetales, Double Team."
Frost gave the order without hesitation.
"Niiine!"
Alolan Ninetales cried softly, and several identical figures appeared around it at once.
Goodra's Iron Tail smashed into one of the copies.
The clones vanished.
But the real Ninetales had already dodged.
"Ninetales, Ice Shard."
Frost immediately seized the opening.
"Yip!"
A sharp shard of ice shot from Ninetales' mouth, flying toward Goodra at high speed.
"Goodra, dodge!"
Liora shouted quickly.
But Ice Shard was a priority move.
It was too fast.
Before Goodra could fully react, the ice struck its body.
"Goodra!"
Goodra let out a cry of pain and staggered back several steps.
Frost's Ninetales had already trained Ice Shard to Mastery level, greatly increasing its power. With STAB and type advantage stacked on top, the attack dealt real damage.
Frost's eyes flashed coldly.
"Finish it. Freeze-Dry."
"Haaa..."
Alolan Ninetales opened its mouth, and a wave of freezing air swept across the field toward Goodra.
A wide attack like this was difficult for Goodra to avoid.
Liora's expression changed.
"Goodra, hold on! Use Endure!"