Chapter 362:
Milotic ultimately agreed.
Hayashi Kaede also breathed a sigh of relief. As a trainer, he naturally wanted his Pokémon to be more active, not just staying in the reservoir all day watering the orchard trees.
This was a good opportunity.
The field change completed. The announcer, riding his Aegislash in the sky, looked down at the two standing at the water's edge and declared the start of the match.
"The match begins! Both contestants, please release your first Pokémon simultaneously!"
As his voice fell, their calls to summon their Pokémon came almost at the same time.
"Come on out, Milotic!"
"Go, Glaceon!"
"Milotic~..."
"Glaceon~!"
Red light flashed, and a long, beautiful and massive figure instantly dove into the lake water.
On the opposite side was a Glaceon with ice-blue fur all over and two long ribbon-like tails.
Its eyes were bright, and its body was somewhat petite, seemingly mirroring its trainer—age increases but not height.
Kaede looked at Milotic.
[Pokémon: Milotic]
[Gender: Female]
[Type: Water]
[Individual Values: ...]
[Ability: Marvel Scale]
[Potential: Gold]
[Level: 62-65]
[Moves: Water Gun, Water Pulse, Tackle, Disarming Voice, Aqua Ring, Twister, Dragon Tail, Recover, Safeguard, Muddy Water, Hydro Pump...]
[Friendship: 100]
[Happiness Value: 50 (Yearning, Anticipation, Fear...)]
Although Milotic spent its days watering, its level wasn't actually low.
And judging from its Happiness Value, it seemed somewhat expectantant about this match?
Kaede nodded silently to himself.
It seemed Milotic wasn't actually afraid of battling.
He then looked at the opposing Glaceon.
[Pokémon: Glaceon]
[Gender: Female]
[Type: Ice]
[Ability: Ice Body]
[Potential: Red]
[Individual Values: HP (14) Attack (25) Sp. Atk (31) Defense (31) Sp. Def (20) Speed (18)]
[Level: 63-64]
[Moves: Sand Attack, Harden, Ice Fang, Acrobatics, U-turn, Night Slash...]
In terms of level, the two Pokémon were similar.
In terms of type, neither had an advantage over the other.
So, this match probably wouldn't repeat the situation from last time.
"Another new Pokémon?"
Watching the Milotic that disappeared into the water the moment it appeared, a flash of admiration crossed Sally's eyes.
From the previous two matches, Hayashi Kaede had already used seven Pokémon.
Among these seven, except for Meowscarada, whose strength wasn't exceptionally outstanding, the other six were all among the top contenders in this Pokémon League Conference.
And now, he had produced yet another Milotic.
Although it was only a glimpse when it appeared, she could see that this Milotic was not only more beautiful than the one in the first match but also significantly larger.
The announcer was also shocked.
He exclaimed, "Milotic? Milotic!"
"Another Milotic has appeared! This rare and beautiful Pokémon has appeared once again on the Pokémon League Conference stage! Contestant Hayashi Kaede still has powerful Pokémon to field; it's hard to imagine how many Pokémon he has raised!"
The Pokémon League Conference battlefield was vast, almost the size of several soccer fields.
The ceiling above was made of a single pane of transparent glass.
It was a sunny day today, the blue sky reflected on the water's surface, turning it a deep azure.
Within this azure water, a milky-white figure swiftly darted through.
"Togekiss, I'm counting on you! Take me up."
For water-surface combat, with Milotic hidden beneath, it was hard for a trainer on the flat surface to see Milotic's position across such a large body of water.
So, right at the start of the match, Saki summoned a flying-type Pokémon.
It carried her up into the sky.
Hayashi Kaede, however, remained motionless, staying in his spot.
No one found this surprising.
Because in yesterday's League public education, it had been confirmed that Hayashi Kaede possessed Aura.
Glaceon stood on a wooden plank, watching the calm, unrippled water surface with a grave expression.
As a battle-hardened Pokémon, during fights, they don't just listen to their trainer's commands; they also react accordingly when they hear the opponent trainer's commands.
But this time, the opponent's trainer possessed Aura. That meant Milotic's attack could come at any moment.
"Milotic, Surf!"
The water surface was calm, followed by Kaede's composed command.
Almost simultaneously, Sally, atop Togekiss in the sky, also issued an order.
"Glaceon, ahead! Use Ice Beam!"
The calm water surface suddenly seemed to surge with colossal waves, meters, tens of meters high, all mobilized by Milotic, who rode the crest of the wave, within a single second.
It pressed down towards Glaceon.
But for Pokémon battles at this level, even one second was enough time to react.
Glaceon gathered an Ice Beam in the air, then swiftly fired it at the wave directly facing it.
The wave crest froze. As the surged wave froze, the waves to Glaceon's left and right rapidly subsided, falling around it, shattering the neatly arranged wooden planks nearby.
The Ice Beam then chased Milotic within the wave, forcing it upwards towards the top of the crest, even trying to drive it out of the water to land a hit.
Kaede raised an eyebrow; this Glaceon's combat skill was unexpectedly strong.
Just from one move, its intent was clear.
Freeze the most direct part of the wave to protect itself, then press from below, forcing Milotic to swim upwards. A Milotic forced into the air, if not proficient in using Psychic, would become a sitting duck.
However, Kaede didn't panic. He stared intently at the wave's position and, as Milotic was about to swim out of the Surf's range, commanded, "Milotic, jump out of the water! Use Aqua Tail!"
Splash...
The sound of leaving the water was as crisp and loud as entering it, accompanying Milotic's figure leaping into the air.
The Ice Beam from Glaceon below followed closely behind.
But as Milotic broke the surface and soared skyward, just as the Ice Beam froze the very top of the surf and tried to pursue further, Milotic suddenly whipped its tail. Icy-blue light gleamed on its tail as it struck the frozen wave hard.
Boom!
With a loud shattering sound, the risen frozen wave broke like glass...
The shattered ice fragments scattered like white foam, sprinkling all around, incidentally propelling Milotic even higher. Its full, elongated body was exposed to all the spectators at this moment.
Sunlight poured down. The shattered ice particles, under the sunlight, emitted colorful lights.
They reflected off Milotic's slender, willow-like form, making its colorful scales sparkle and shine brilliantly, creating a momentarily breathtaking beauty.
"So beautiful..." someone couldn't help but murmur, watching this scene.
"Is this a trainer battle? Isn't this more like a Contest?" someone else widened their eyes.
Even the most professional commentator was stunned, forgetting to commentate at this highly performative moment.
Meanwhile, Milotic's gaze fell upon the Glaceon below, its clear red pupils filled with seriousness.
It had been a long time since its last battle.
It had almost forgotten what battling felt like, only remembering that in the last battle, it just used one move, and the opponent fell.
This made Milotic always think that battling was dangerous, both for other Pokémon and for itself.
Back then, it had finally managed to stay by Hayashi Kaede's side, no longer needing to scavenge for food in rock crevices every day like before.
When it couldn't find food, it could only stay by the riverbank, quietly watching the shore, waiting for the sound of that whistle.
But on that day, it heard Hayashi Kaede say, "Do you want to come home with me?"
The happiness of that moment made its head spin.
That's why, after its first battle, Milotic became afraid of battling.
It was afraid it wouldn't wake up after a battle.
Because it had sometimes seen such scenes in the wild.
Fortunately, later, the Sky Challenge gradually became popular, and Meowscarada's training never had any issues, which gave Milotic some courage.
The scattered light and fragments momentarily stunned both Glaceon and Sally. In mid-air, they temporarily lost sight of Milotic's figure.
And it was this moment of distraction that allowed the leaping Milotic to adjust its posture in time.
"Use Scald!"
Changing its posture, Milotic high in the air now seemed to fly beneath the sunlight, bathed in warm, gentle rays.
But what it spat out was scalding hot water, steaming with heat.
The spewing column of water finally snapped Sally out of her daze. Looking at the almost overwhelming Scald, her face changed. She quickly glanced around Glaceon and realized that, due to the aftermath of the earlier Surf, the surrounding planks were mostly shattered.
There was no place to land.
Helplessly, she could only command, "Jump into the water!"
With such a large body of water, no matter how powerful Milotic's Scald was, entering the water would dilute and neutralize its effect.
But this was precisely the moment Kaede was waiting for.
The previous Surf and the current Scald were both maneuvers to force Glaceon into the water.
Because only in the water could it truly be considered Milotic's domain.
"Follow it! Use Wrap!"
Scald led the way, with Milotic closely following. Despite its over-eight-meter length and full figure, it moved as nimbly as a spirit snake.
The moment it plunged into the water, it quickly located the Glaceon that had fallen in and was trying to form an ice platform nearby to get back on land.
Just as Glaceon was about to complete the final step and jump onto the ice, at the last moment, Milotic's tail caught up, directly pulling it in and coiling its body around it.
The sound of skin tightening against skin.
Glaceon let out a pained cry.
"Ice Beam!"
The huge disparity in size brought a huge disparity in strength. Glaceon simply couldn't break free from Milotic's bind.
Clearly, Sally knew this outcome. So, upon seeing Glaceon caught, she immediately ordered.
Struggling against the damage from the bind, Glaceon could only aim roughly at Milotic's body and release the Ice Beam.
Watching the beam about to hit it, a flicker of hesitation passed through Milotic's eyes.
It didn't know what kind of injury such an attack would inflict.
Because this attack looked stronger than any it had seen during its Feebas days.
It even had the subconscious thought to let go and dodge.
"Milotic..."
"Don't be afraid, it's not that scary."
But Kaede's Aura voice sounded in its ear.
On one side was its body's instinct, on the other was Kaede's command.
Milotic didn't hesitate at all, directly choosing Kaede's command.
Its body tightened further. Glaceon's Ice Beam also landed on its body.
Milotic's whole body tensed, then it relaxed.
Because the Ice Beam hitting it didn't seem to hurt that much after all?
The Ice Beam continued, but Glaceon's expression grew worse.
"Drag it deeper into the water!" Kaede's command continued.
Milotic understood immediately and quickly moved the battle towards deeper waters.
This made things even worse for Glaceon. The cold water slapped chaotically against its face.
Its Ice Beam couldn't aim properly at Milotic anymore.
Finally, after some time, Milotic, excitedly dragging the dizzy-eyed Glaceon, swiftly swam back to Kaede's side. It moved so fast that even Sally flying on Togekiss, chasing after it with a Poké Ball, couldn't successfully recall Glaceon.
Kaede was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened. "It's already unable to battle. Why are you bringing it to me? I can't catch it..."
This was a match, not a wild battle. You can't catch defeated Pokémon...
This move left the large audience above utterly confused.
They had just witnessed Milotic's dreamlike performance, so cool it seemed unlike any earthly Pokémon.
But now, bringing the defeated Glaceon to its trainer was like a child showing off its prize and asking its trainer for candy.
"Milotic~?"
Milotic suddenly understood.
It had been so overjoyed at winning the battle that it forgot this was a match venue.
It placed Glaceon on its back, then submerged its head in the water, blowing two bubbles, as if apologizing to Kaede, or perhaps feeling embarrassed and blushing, too shy to show itself.
"Uh... it seems Contestant Hayashi Kaede's Milotic might be new to official battles, resulting in some... puzzling actions. However, Glaceon is unable to battle. Contestant Sally, please decide if you wish to change the field?"
Despite commentating on so many matches, this was the first time he'd seen such a scene, but the announcer quickly steered the situation back on track.
Though in the audience, some were already holding their stomachs laughing.