After using Recover, Milotic's condition was as good as new, fully capable of fighting for another 300 rounds.
After much consideration, Wallace still gave up on letting Milotic engage in close combat to try triggering the Cute Charm Ability.
Because Tyranitar was basically a rock… Captivate had absolutely no effect on it!
"Milotic, Hydro Pump!"
"Tyranitar, Rock Slide."
The battlefield was heavily flooded. While Tyranitar could slide across the water to move, it wasn't exactly convenient.
Under Wallace's command, Milotic had already entered a full-blown bombardment mode.
It kept swimming rapidly around Tyranitar, continuously alternating between Hydro Pump and Blizzard, attacking at such a high frequency that Tyranitar had no chance to breathe.
Tyranitar responded with calm precision, manipulating nearby rocks of various sizes to block wave after wave of attacks. It even managed to sneak in a hit or two on Milotic now and then, though most of them missed.
--
"Dad, Dad! Why are Milotic and Tyranitar only using one or two moves over and over? Didn't you tell me that using a variety of moves can catch opponents off guard? Don't they know that?"
Up in the audience stands, a young shota tugged at his father's hand and asked the innocent question.
"Well..." The shota's father scratched his head. He was just an Elite Trainer himself and had come to the match with the goal of learning.
So asking him why… how could he possibly know what those two genius Trainers were thinking?
Just as the shota's father fell into awkward silence, a voice rang out beside them, gentle and compelling enough to make people instinctively listen.
"Little shot… one, alternating moves can indeed catch your opponent off guard, but each move has a different mechanism. Constantly switching them out can be very tiring for a Pokémon."
The boy and his father showed identical confused expressions… clearly cut from the same cloth.
"For example, if you do a math problem, then write a sentence, then read a Pokémon introduction passage, and then do something else right after, won't your brain get all scrambled?"
"Nope! I can read ten Pokémon passages… no, twenty… thirty and still not get tired!"
The little shota clearly missed the point and got distracted by the mention of Pokémon passages instead.
Pokémon passages were short readings compiled specifically for elementary students. Each one introduced different Pokémon in a short, fun, and easy-to-read style. They were the most popular subject for kids, hands down.
The person speaking could only chuckle helplessly and gave up trying to explain further.
Meanwhile, the shota's father appeared deep in thought. Just as he was about to ask a follow-up question, a wave of astonishment swept through the crowd.
"Dad, Dad! Milotic! It looks like it got hurt again!"
--
Back to the battlefield.
Once Milotic and Tyranitar entered a war of attrition, both sides started looking for every possible way to exhaust the other's stamina.
Before long, scratches from rocks began appearing all over Milotic's body, and Tyranitar's armor also glistened with moisture in many spots, having been grazed multiple times.
However, it was clear that Tyranitar had superior stamina and defense. The only reason Milotic dared to go for a drawn-out fight was thanks to the move Recover; and that was exactly the opportunity Sato was waiting for.
As the damage on Milotic accumulated, and it instinctively felt the need to use Recover again, its attack frequency subtly slowed, and its body began retreating without consciously realizing it.
During all this, Wallace gave no explicit commands, clearly trusting Milotic's ability to time things on its own.
After blocking another Hydro Pump from Milotic, Tyranitar suddenly noticed the opponent had already used the recoil from Hydro Pump to retreat rapidly and, while retreating, it had already begun using Recover.
"Tyranitar, Taunt!"
Sato shouted loudly, prompting Tyranitar to abandon Stone Edge and instead raise its middle claw at Milotic…
Recover was forcefully interrupted, and of course Milotic didn't take it well. For a moment, it could only stay rooted in place and endure the backlash.
Tyranitar seized the chance to use Rock Slide, launching a furious barrage straight at Milotic.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Rock Slide landed, and to everyone's shock, Milotic appeared to be blasted into pieces, shattering instantly into countless fragments!
"Protect!" Sato sensed something was wrong and quickly tried to intervene.
"Milo~"
But at that exact moment, Milotic's voice came from behind Tyranitar, along with a powerful, compressed Hydro Pump.
Splash~
Hydro Pump struck Tyranitar's back, but it immediately forced up a Protect barrier to block the remaining damage.
Sato glanced at the standing water across the battlefield and realized that during Milotic's movement, it had made direct contact with the puddles multiple times.
Setting something up during a move exchange -right in Tyranitar and Sato's blind spot- wouldn't have been difficult.
Sato had been fixated on finding an opening in Milotic's Recover pattern, unaware that the opponent had already planted a new threat!
Because Taunt can't be blocked by Substitute, Milotic still couldn't use Recover, but that didn't mean it couldn't take other actions.
Milotic began charging up an even more powerful Hydro Pump, yet it held the energy in and stayed quietly beside Tyranitar.
The moment the Protect shield faded, a highly compressed Hydro Pump struck Tyranitar directly in its relatively vulnerable neck area.
"Payback!" Sato's voice was filled with determination, and that conviction reached Tyranitar's ears.
"TAAAAR!"
Tyranitar's roar echoed across the field. It swung its tail down hard onto the ground and used the recoil force to push through the Hydro Pump, forcibly closing the distance to Milotic.
Payback, when powered up by waiting for the opponent to move first, doubles in power!
With Tyranitar's roar as its backdrop, Payback slammed viciously into Milotic's fragile abdomen, sending it flying in one brutal hit!
Boom!
Tyranitar suddenly dropped to one knee, gasping for breath, its eyes narrowed as it stared across at Milotic.
It knew the opponent could use that disgusting move Recover, and it desperately wanted to land one more hit.
But Tyranitar had just taken one and a half Hydro Pumps, especially the compressed one at the end, which caused significant damage.
A wave of exhaustion crept in. Tyranitar didn't want to collapse; it gasped for air with all its might, while trying to absorb what little Rock-type energy it could from the ground.
On the other side, Milotic -after being blasted back by Tyranitar- rolled several times before crashing into a massive rock, where it barely managed to stop.
Tyranitar's counterattack had completely caught both Milotic and Wallace off guard. The Dark-type Payback nearly knocked Milotic out cold from pain, and its health/stamina was practically zero.
What Wallace didn't know was that Tyranitar had consumed countless rare items over the years, energies had built up inside its body, just waiting to be unlocked.
The compressed Hydro Pump might've wiped out Tyranitar's last bit of stamina, but its bond with Sato ran deep.
That unwavering "Payback!" was Sato's absolute trust in Tyranitar… and also the key reason Tyranitar pushed past its limits for a counterstrike.
---
In a daze, Milotic seemed to see Wallace gently shaking his head at it.
"…You did great. Come back now."
'Yeah… I've done everything I could. But the opponent was just too strong. Even if I beat Tyranitar, there were still two more to face… and Recover isn't unlimited.'
Milotic could feel its spirit and body nearing total exhaustion. It thought… 'maybe if I just fall asleep here, everything will be over.'
But just as Milotic was about to lose consciousness, it clearly saw the disappointment in Wallace's eyes.
Memories surged through its mind. Milotic suddenly recalled the day when it was still a Feebas, being excitedly embraced by Wallace.
"Feebas, I'll make you the most beautiful and powerful Pokémon in the world!"
Most beautiful? That, it had more or less achieved.
But the strongest?
Milotic's eyes suddenly flew open. Its bright eyes locked with Wallace's once more.
In that moment, they both seemed to understand each other's thoughts. Wallace wanted to win, but didn't want Milotic to push itself too hard.
But Milotic… it wanted to win too. And more than that, it wanted to win for its Trainer, Wallace!
On the battlefield, just as the referee was about to announce the final result, Milotic suddenly jolted upright like it had come back from the dead.
Then, under the stunned gazes of everyone present, Milotic's aura began surging wildly.
"This is…"
Sato swallowed hard and whispered, "Did it… just break through?"
The next second, Milotic floated straight into the air. Its pink tendrils fluttered in the wind, and its brilliant eyes burned with battle spirit.
Its aura had unmistakably reached…
Elite Four level!
--
Chapter 740: Elite Four Milotic