Exeggutor threw a large number of Leech Seeds at Blaziken's feet. The seeds landed, took root, and instantly sprouted into a tangled mass of vines seeking to sap its energy. Blaziken's entire body was suddenly engulfed in powerful, life-giving flames, resisting the Leech Seeds' erosive grasp, but because of this concentrated effort, its agile movements slowed noticeably, allowing the pursuing Alolan Marowak to finally block its path.
Aoki's gaze sharpened, analyzing the shifting battlefield. In this complex battle against the opponent, his Blaziken's role was absolutely crucial. Both the Grass-type Exeggutor and the Ice-type Jynx were matchups where Blaziken could shine and secure an advantage. Florges, sensing the predicament, saw the white petals on its head tremble slightly as it summoned a soft, purple mist that slowly and deliberately enveloped the entire area. Visibility was already poor and hazy due to Tyranitar's relentless Sandstorm, and now it became even more blurred and dreamlike under the effect of the Misty Terrain. This new terrain condition left the Grass- and Dragon-type Alolan Exeggutor half-crippled, its draconic powers muffled.
Seeing their teammate in danger, Aoki's other idle and mobile Pokémon rushed to support Blaziken. Blaziken itself also realized that it had inadvertently entered the opponent's encirclement. If it chose to retreat, it would run directly into the waiting Gardevoir and Alolan Marowak, but if it advanced, there was only the now-vulnerable Exeggutor to face. Its decisive retreating steps faltered for only a moment before it recommitted, charging with renewed vigor towards the towering Exeggutor.
Noticing Blaziken's sudden and determined movement, the man in the silver-gray coat chuckled in mild exasperation. The colorful Alolan Muk beside him obediently flung its hand, which was adorned with sharp Poison-type crystals, towards the sky. Instantly, a large amount of vile, toxic sludge flew from its grasp, arcing through the dusty air to rain down upon Blaziken's direction of advance. A colorful lump of sludge landed on the ground with a sizzle, corroding a small but frighteningly deep and bottomless pit, emitting wisps of acrid white smoke and a foul odor that permeated the misty air. Blaziken was incredibly agile, its body a blur of motion as it dodged back and forth with practiced ease; not a single poisonous mud ball managed to hit its mark. However, this relentless evasion caused the speed it had painstakingly built up through its ability to slow down once more. The Alolan Marowak was now getting closer and closer to it, its bone club held ready.
Rumble— The ground trembled slightly, a subtle vibration that caused the advancing Alolan Marowak's steps to slow and stumble. Four thick vines erupted from the earth around it as Florges used Grass Knot again, seeking to entangle the spectral warrior. After quickly confirming the nature of the move, Alolan Marowak's bone club spun rapidly in its hand, creating a small, light-green fiery vortex of spectral flame that instantly burned all the surrounding vines to ashes, leaving only scorched earth. Still, Florges had successfully bought Blaziken a precious few seconds. Emboldened, Blaziken no longer bothered to dodge the remaining mud balls raining down from the sky, for Tyranitar's protective Sand Shield had already formed around it. The Sand Shield, composed of swirling sand and hard light crystals, had a surface of loose sand that was easily corroded away, but the brilliant, diamond-hard crystals created by Diancie beneath that sandy layer were not so easily eroded by the poison.
Seeing so many of Aoki's Pokémon working in concert to pave the way for Blaziken to approach Exeggutor, the man in the silver-gray coat laughed in genuine, if frustrated, exasperation. Did this Trainer really think that his Blaziken could create some kind of decisive advantage just by getting close to his Exeggutor? He mused that the Trainer must have forgotten a fundamental truth: Exeggutor's advantage in raw level and power was even greater than any type advantage it might hold. Even if its Dragon-type attribute was currently suppressed by the Misty Terrain, that didn't mean it had no other offensive capabilities or tricks to rely on. The Exeggutor's perpetually smiling face also changed, its expression hardening with focus. The Alolan Exeggutor's immense height reached nearly ten meters, with its long, flexible neck accounting for more than half of that stature. It suddenly bent its great neck down, using its heavy head as a powerful wooden hammer, and smashed straight down towards the approaching Blaziken with crushing force!
Blaziken tried to dodge to the side but felt its body seize up, unable to move freely, as if it were stuck in thick, invisible quicksand. Fine, nearly imperceptible psychic threads, densely packed like silk, surrounded it in a web of energy, restricting it firmly in place. The Gardevoir stood calmly behind Alolan Marowak, its eyes flashing with a dark, concentrated light; these powerful psychic threads originated from its formidable will. Aoki's Slowking was ultimately still weaker than this Gardevoir in terms of pure psychic strength, unable to fully restrict the Fairy-type Pokémon's actions, allowing it to break free momentarily and in turn use its power to restrict Blaziken. As the enormous wooden hammer descended, Blaziken straightened its body as much as the psychic bonds allowed, its eyes firm and showing no fear, only a burning resolve. It lowered its head, placing one hand on the fluff on its chest, and saw colorful, dazzling energy threads shoot out from the fluff, instantly enveloping its body in a cocoon of radiant light.
"Mega Evolve, Blaziken!" It turned out that at this critical moment, Aoki had timely taken out and activated Blaziken's Mega Stone. Two of his Pokémon were now Mega Evolved simultaneously! Previously, Aoki could maintain this immense drain for only three minutes, but after such a long and arduous period of dedicated training and mental tempering, the duration he could sustain it for was significantly longer, now doubled to a full six minutes! The sudden, violent surge of Mega Evolution energy violently broke Gardevoir's psychic restraint on Blaziken, the raw power shattering the invisible threads. Now, for Aoki, the process of Mega Evolution was almost instantaneous. Mega Blaziken, reporting for duty!
The newly evolved Blaziken made a very unique and intricate foot movement, the special rotation and momentum brought by the Aerial Ace move allowing it to twist cleverly and precisely, avoiding Exeggutor's crashing wooden hammer by a hair's breadth! It used the opening to execute Swords Dance for the third time, its offensive power climbing to terrifying new heights. The four fiery ribbons on Mega Blaziken's wrists seemed to integrate into its body, vanishing from sight. Instantly, the flames all over its body surged violently in a brilliant display, then died down after the initial burst, all condensing densely onto its clenched fist. It was a crimson-gold Blaze Kick, fueled by a power akin to Sacred Fire! Using the momentum from the body rotation carried by Aerial Ace, it delivered a single, focused punch directly into Exeggutor's descending head.
Boom!!! A sound of immense impact echoed across the field. Exeggutor was sent flying backwards at an even faster speed than it had just slammed down, its massive body tumbling. One of the coconuts on its head had completely turned charred black and was visibly dented from the force of the blow. Mega Blaziken's feet moved again, its steps a blur, even faster than before. Its Speed Boost ability had now pushed its speed to the absolute extreme. Seizing the fleeting opportunity, it executed Swords Dance for a fourth time, its aura of power becoming almost palpable.
The Alolan Marowak finally seized its own opportunity and closed in behind Blaziken. As a fellow fire-wielding Pokémon, Alolan Marowak felt on an instinctual level that the unique flames radiating from Blaziken posed a fatal, primordial threat to it. Its own flames were Yin fire, primarily characterized by a cold corrosion and a scorching of the spirit, but Blaziken's flames, having been tempered and blessed by the legendary Ho-Oh's energy, were transforming towards a pure, life-giving fire. Life fire and death fire were inherently opposing forces, so not only did Alolan Marowak feel profoundly threatened by Blaziken's flames, but Blaziken also felt a deep, natural aversion towards the chilling flames of Alolan Marowak. The pale, ghostly flames on Alolan Marowak's bone club spread again, completely enveloping the entire bone club in a shroud of eerie light. Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh— The bone club spun rapidly in Alolan Marowak's hand, creating a growing, light-green fiery vortex. Under Tyranitar's conscious control, the surrounding sand that rushed forward to block the vortex was completely melted and corroded away by the intense, spinning death fire. Alolan Marowak knelt on one hand on the ground, spinning the bone club with the other, placing it behind its back, leaning its body forward, and assuming a low, aggressive stance ready to charge at any moment, its eyes flashing with a cold, merciless light from within their sockets.
Blaziken showed no fear, its own fiery eyes meeting Marowak's gaze. It remembered Aoki's strategy—to break through this encirclement, the key was not to defeat Alolan Marowak, but to press the attack on the more vulnerable Exeggutor. "Marowak!!" Alolan Marowak roared, a hollow, haunting sound. It pushed off powerfully with both feet, gripping the flaming bone club with both hands, and swung it in a mighty, horizontal smash towards Blaziken. Mega Blaziken was not to be outdone, leaping up into the air and meeting the attack with its right leg, which was now enveloped in its own concentrated, life-imbued flames.
Bang!!! The Blaze Kick and the spinning bone club collided in a shower of sparks. This was not only a test of physical strength but also a direct, elemental comparison of their opposing flames. Boom!!! A dense, visible wave of heat and force erupted outwards from the point of collision, pushing back the surrounding sand and mist. Ultimately, Mega Blaziken's purified flames gained the upper hand, and all the ghostly flames on Alolan Marowak's bone club were violently extinguished, leaving only smoldering embers. Yet, Blaziken did not press its advantage after gaining this slight edge. Instead, it expertly used the recoil force from Alolan Marowak's powerful bone club strike to perform a graceful backflip, change direction mid-air, and continue its primary mission: charging towards the recovering Exeggutor. Aoki could only maintain the incredibly taxing dual Mega Evolution for six minutes. Every second counted. Blaziken could not afford to act impulsively and spend that precious time in a protracted duel over whose flames were stronger with Alolan Marowak