Aoki, along with his Tyranitar and the rest of his Pokémon team, began to sweep across the entire chaotic battlefield, their coordinated assault turning the tide of the conflict. More and more besieged League members were liberated by his timely interventions. Under the command of the first three Trainers he had freed, these liberated individuals would first guide their injured Pokémon to Aoki's Florges for rapid recovery and status restoration, before immediately rejoining the fray with renewed vigor.
As the intense battle dragged on, even the mighty Tyranitar and its companions began to show signs of exhaustion and accumulating injuries. However, with the consistent and invaluable support provided by Diancie and Magearna, the team managed to maintain its endurance, ensuring they retained sufficient offensive and aggressive capabilities to continue their press. "Sandstorm Aoki!" and similar shouts of relief and recognition grew more and more frequent across the cavern. League members who felt the familiar grit of the sandstorm brushing against them would feel a surge of hope, their faces brightening with joy as they fought with even greater ferocity, secure in the knowledge that Florges was there to provide healing support.
Conversely, the opposing forces of Team Magma and Team Aqua began to hesitate, their morale dipping with every swirling gust of sand. Any member from either team who foolishly entered the raging sandstorm's area of effect never emerged standing, swiftly defeated by the coordinated onslaught within. This was a direct result of Aoki's calculated strategy; he deliberately avoided the most powerful adversaries for the moment and instead targeted the cadre-level members who were locked in stalemates with the League's own Elite Four-level Trainers. His goal was simple and tactically sound: these targets were relatively easier to deal with, and by eliminating them, he could free up the largest number of powerful League Trainers, which in turn had the greatest impact on the overall battle between the rank-and-file soldiers.
However, Aoki's disruptive actions could not go unnoticed forever, and they soon attracted the sharp, angry attention of both Maxie and Archie. Archie, locked in his own desperate struggle, currently had no solution; holding back the formidable Elite Four member Drake required him to exert every ounce of his strength, leaving him utterly unable to be distracted. But Drake's heart had calmed down considerably upon seeing Aoki's impact, and he now fought with more composure and ease, a confident smile even appearing on his face as he felt the scales of victory tipping. Archie had no choice but to watch, frustrated.
Maxie, however, could not wait any longer. If this continued, the combined forces of Team Magma and Team Aqua would eventually be completely annihilated because of this one disruptive Trainer. He had originally believed that as long as he could personally hold back Norman, victory would inevitably belong to them. But now, seeing his plans unravel, he had no choice but to consider unleashing his full, reserved power. Yet, if he were to do so, did Norman, his seasoned opponent, not possess a similar, untapped level of strength? Norman's two Slaking had not yet unleashed their full, terrifying combat potential.
Noticing Maxie's agitated movements and the shift in his intent, Norman smiled slightly, a glint of pride in his eyes. "Aoki truly did well. Now this old man can rest assured. But as seniors, we can't afford to drag our feet and be shown up! Er Mao, time to get to work!" Er Mao was the affectionate nickname for the second Slaking Norman had trained, the one he considered a semi-finished product compared to his strongest, dubbed Da Mao. It must be said that Norman's naming ability and Aoki's were on a similar, uniquely straightforward level.
"Hek—" The Slaking, who had been lazily lying on the ground feigning sleep, slowly stood up with a dramatically reluctant expression upon hearing Norman's command. It clapped its large hands together with a dull thud. It was time again not to be lazy, how utterly troublesome! "Hek!!!" Its hands suddenly clenched into massive fists, pounding its chest twice with resonant thuds, and it let out a furious, earth-shaking roar! A Slaking momentarily freed from the shackles of its Truant ability, its laziness suppressed by its Trainer's bond and will—just ask any opponent if they were afraid! It directly lunged forward, grabbing one of Maxie's Charizard by the head, and in Maxie's horrified gaze, it physically lifted the fiery dragon into the air with brute force!
On the other side of the cavern, Steven, who was still entangled in a fierce battle with Blaise, also knew that Aoki's appearance and the liberation of the Trainers meant that the Aqua Admin Shelly had been decisively dealt with. "I really have been surpassed without even realizing it," Steven laughed loudly, a mix of shock and admiration in his voice, "but we can't just give up now!! It's the final battle! Metagross!" he shouted to his gleaming, shiny Metagross.
"Kek!!!" Hearing Steven's spirited cry, Metagross roared back in response, and with its roar, a brilliant flash of its unique coloration erupted from its body—the active triggering of a Shiny Pokémon's unique potential, a Shiny Awakening! Metagross's body swelled and gleamed even brighter, and now facing Blaise's Torkoal and its searing Flamethrower attack, it stood its ground without any intention of retreating. After the Shiny Awakening, its resistance to Fire-type moves was even more outstanding, the flames washing over its hardened body with diminished effect.
With Aoki's impactful appearance acting as a catalyst, many of the League's key battlers began to unleash their full, reserved strength, dramatically accelerating the progress of the battle and pushing towards a conclusion. The remaining cadres of Team Magma and Team Aqua, desperate to stop the bleeding, quickly came up with a countermeasure. Previously, the Elite Four members Phoebe and Wallace had each been holding back two official Elite Four-level cadres. Now, the enemy forces each sent one of their cadres away from those fights, and these two freed cadres combined their efforts specifically to deal with Aoki, hoping to slow his rampage.
But this tactical shift left Phoebe and Wallace with only one opponent each to contend with. Did the enemy truly think their strength was so much weaker than Aoki's? Just moments before, while facing two opponents simultaneously, Phoebe and Wallace had merely adopted a patient, defensive stance, biding their time. Now that one person had withdrawn from each of their battles, could they still not deal with the remaining one? Although Phoebe and Wallace might have been slightly weaker than Aoki was at this very moment—when Aoki wasn't even unleashing all of his trump cards—the gap wasn't actually very large at all. Therefore, the two Elite Four members immediately changed their states, shifting from staunch defense to fierce, overwhelming offense. For a moment, the cadres of Team Magma and Team Aqua must have thought they had swapped opponents entirely, as Phoebe's Ghost-types and Wallace's Water-types suddenly became ferocious and unrelenting.
However, the two official Elite Four members sent to intercept Aoki were indeed strong, and their coordinated assault truly managed to slow Aoki's previously unstoppable pace. The three of them engaged in a fierce, swirling battle within the confines of the howling sandstorm, their powerful Pokémon clashing repeatedly. By this point, Aoki himself was no longer in a particular hurry. He had achieved his primary objective; enough people had been liberated to secure a stable advantage for the League side. Now, maintaining a stalemate for a period of time was actually beneficial, as it gave the League researchers, including Dr. Solace, the precious time they needed to locate the hidden Indigo Orb and the Red Orb.
Anyway, the scales of victory were now decisively tipping towards the League. It was better to take advantage of having two strong opponents to properly train and temper his current team of Pokémon. Tyranitar, Aggron, Blaziken, the later-appearing Swampert, as well as the supporting Diancie and Magearna, were all valuable participants in this high-stakes training session. His Slowking and Drapion had already solidified their power at the senior Elite Four level, so Aoki strategically held them back from this particular fight, preserving them as a final reserve.
The entire cave's original chaos thus returned to a new, tense form of balance, though one heavily weighted in the League's favor. However, it was clearly felt by all that after Aoki's appearance and the liberation of a significant group of Trainers, the morale of the Alliance side had received an immense and undeniable boost. Coupled with the continuous, wide-area healing provided by Florges's Grassy Terrain, it made the League Trainers and their Pokémon fight with even greater ferocity and determination.
While there were originally Nurse Joy and their Chansey who could provide expert treatment for injuries and status conditions, their numbers were inherently limited, and they all performed single-target healing, not excelling in the kind of group healing the situation sometimes demanded. Compared to Florges, their single-target healing ability was undoubtedly stronger, so all Pokémon that were critically injured or near fainting were prioritized and sent to them, while the rest of the Pokémon with moderate injuries were efficiently directed to Florges's restorative field. Team Magma and Team Aqua also had their own medical personnel, of course. However, their healing capabilities and resources were far inferior to the more professional and well-equipped Nurse Joy, and they had absolutely no one who could compare to the sheer area-of-effect healing throughput of Aoki's Florges.
Florges had, after all, been promoted to the senior Elite Four level through intense training and battle, and having served as Aoki's primary support and healer for so long, she was more familiar and skilled with the Grassy Terrain move than any of her other techniques. Her healing output now was absolutely unmatched on the entire battlefield. Not only that, but Florges also carried Miracle Seeds produced and enhanced on Aoki's private island, making her Grass-type moves even more potent and enduring. She also carried many of Aoki's special, high-nutrient Pokeblocks, so she didn't have to worry about her own energy consumption during the prolonged engagement. Her continuous, widespread healing made her simply a mobile blood bank.