Ayana wanted to express her confidence in her Pokémon.
But seeing Baimu's expression, and then looking at the sleeping Machamp, it wasn't hard to guess that they had different understandings of confidence.
She fell silent.
The arena trainers were equally silent. Kendall, as the deputy of Ying Yuan, was so strong that even the leader of Quicksand Team in the past had to give some respect.
Yet their Pokémon couldn't last a single round.
The terrifying gap left them feeling lost.
How could this be!
Only the foreign trainers were excited, looking with admiration at the Altered-color Milotic towering over the Machamp. Such a powerful Pokémon is rare even in mainstream regions.
There's one in Pyrite Town.
They had never heard of it before!
They couldn't help but ask the arena crowd about the trainer's name and background.
When they heard the name Baimu, someone exclaimed.
"It's him! The one who dropped out of the Hoenn Champion Alliance but won the tournament against Four Heavenly Kings Drake!"
"Huh? Beat Genji? The Dragon Celestial King of Hoenn? You must be joking!"
"No joke! Don't you read Poké Blogger!"
The foreign trainers were talking amongst themselves, making the arena trainers' expressions strange.
Baimu's fame outside is no secret, and Ying Ma has long shared various stories wanting to learn from him and travel.
But seeing these outsiders' excitement, the so-called double victory and defeating one of the Four Heavenly Kings seemed even greater than they thought.
Alliance tournament... Four Heavenly Kings...
These unfamiliar terms made it hard for the crowd to judge their true significance.
Inside the arena.
The Altered-color Milotic looked towards its trainer. A considerable time had passed since the last command, free attack?
Baimu shook his head and spoke to Kendall, who had given up issuing commands:
"Mr. Kendall, the battle isn't over, why not try calling your Pokémon?"
Kendall frowned and said, "Because I think in the destined to lose situation, even if I wake up Machamp, it won't make any difference. Milotic has the power to knock it out in one hit; the gap is too big."
"The gap is too big..."
He silently gazed at Milotic, then looked at the sleeping Machamp on the ground, nodded slightly, and said, "Alright, then this second match is over. Shall we continue with the third match?"
Hearing this, Kendall hesitated. The gap between both sides was evident now, and the arena trainers must have realized the power Baimu possessed.
Continuing doesn't seem worthwhile.
However, before he could refuse, Baimu suddenly said, "For the third match, I'll borrow one of Ying Ma's Pokémon to battle you; do you mind?"
Huh!?
Kendall was stunned, and the surrounding trainers looked at Baimu with astonishment, Ayana and Ying Yuan were puzzled, and Ying Ma was dumbstruck.
"Eh? Eh!!"
"Can I borrow your Pokémon?" Baimu turned and asked.
Ying Ma responded with uncertainty, "You can, but are you going to use my Pokémon to battle Kendall? Temporarily borrow?"
"Yes, since Mr. Kendall believes there's a significant gap between my Pokémon and his, then for the third match, why not send out one around the same level." He nodded.
Ying Ma quickly said, "But my Pokémon aren't as—"
"It's okay if they're slightly weaker; some things can be compensated for by other factors. How about it, Mr. Kendall?"
Baimu turned to seek Kendall's opinion.
The opponent was silent for a moment and said, "Are you serious? It's hard to fully utilize a borrowed Pokémon's power."
"That's why I need half an hour... no, fifteen minutes of integration time." Baimu smiled modestly.
The arena trainers clamored to urge Kendall to agree. They indeed acknowledged Baimu's strength, but to borrow a Pokémon for battle.
And one of Ying Ma's Pokémon that had never beaten Kendall.
It's simply outrageous!
They eagerly hoped to see Baimu crash from arrogance and mock the smug guy.
Kendall quietly looked at Ying Yuan, who, after a brief hesitation, nodded secretly, then agreed.
So.
Baimu withdrew Milotic and headed to the adjacent field with Ying Ma.
The other people didn't disperse, only part of them surrounded Kendall, secretly glancing their way, while another part gathered around Ying Yuan to chat.
Ayana followed over, whispering, "Want to use my Pokémon instead?"
"Hey hey! Are you implying my Pokémon aren't as strong as yours?" Ying Ma, with sharp ears, looked a bit displeased.
He immensely admired Baimu, so he was humble, but Ayana, who had never made much impact during her Quicksand Team's Rainbow Team tenure, he didn't take seriously.
Ayana ignored him.
"No, Ying Ma's Pokémon are known to them, which provides more convincing evidence. If I use your Pokémon, they might secretly think this is a trick, that I've long since trained your Pokémon."
Baimu smiled and replied, "Moreover, my choice to borrow a Pokémon is mainly to highlight one of the most important aspects of Pokémon battles — strategy."
Strategy?
Ying Ma and Ayana understood the meaning of the term, but couldn't envision what Baimu meant by strategy.
"All my Pokémon are here, feel free to choose one."
He held several Pokeballs, thought briefly, and took out another one, throwing them forward together.
Bang bang bang—
Seven beams of white light descended, transforming into various sized Pokémon.