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"Battle records show that Cynthia's second most commonly used Pokémon are Togekiss and Gastrodon," Mai said, holding her phone and flipping through Cynthia's previous Battle records again.
"If it were me, I wouldn't use either of those," Luther said, sliding his finger across Mai's phone screen, stopping at the very bottom on a Pokémon with an extremely low appearance rate, "This might be Cynthia's top choice."
"Why?" Mai asked, tilting her head in confusion.
Luther sighed and reminded her, "Take a closer look at the venue."
Lucian recalled Espeon and sent Girafarig back out while Cynthia casually tossed out her Poké Ball.
Under Mai's watchful gaze, a captivating Milotic appeared on the Rock-Type venue.
Luther had called it exactly right— Milotic was taking over from Spiritomb as the second Pokémon.
But Mai's confusion only grew; the Rock Type venue was clearly unfavorable for Milotic's movement, and the bumpy, battered Battle venue didn't seem advantageous for Cynthia at all. Luther had said to pay attention to the venue, but Mai couldn't see how this venue tied into Milotic's appearance.
"Facade." Lucian ordered Girafarig to launch an attack.
This was a Move that doubled damage when the user was under a negative status effect.
Sure enough, Lucian had anticipated Spiritomb's powerful disruption Ability from the First Move; Girafarig's Facade Move was a clear sign of how well he'd read Cynthia's Battle strategy.
"Aqua Ring."
A thin layer of water floated around Milotic's body, gently enveloping her.
Just as Luther had predicted, Milotic had no intention of clashing head-on with Girafarig in a life-or-death struggle; Cynthia's strategy was all about being frustrating and enduring.
The release of Aqua Ring was a signal— Cynthia planned to drag things out with Girafarig; after all, you're burned, so I'm in no rush.
Girafarig charged forward with lightning speed, slamming hard into the motionless Milotic as she released her Move; Milotic let out a wail, her body sliding across the stone-strewn venue.
But after taking Facade head-on, Milotic rubbed the impacted spot with her tail and stood up quickly as if nothing had happened.
Luther covered his forehead; just watching Milotic's performance told him how much of a headache this would be for Lucian. If Spiritomb was a sapper— gathering intel, playing dirty, setting traps—Milotic was much simpler: a pure tank.
"Blizzard…" Cynthia commanded Milotic in a lazy tone.
"Girafarig, jump to avoid it," Lucian hurriedly instructed Girafarig to shift its Battle position; after the Facade attack, Girafarig and Milotic were too close.
But as Girafarig leaped backward into the air, Cynthia flashed a Confidence smile.
Luther couldn't help but let out a wry chuckle for Lucian's sake—what goes around comes around, indeed.
"Blizzard, aim at the Battle venue!"
A biting cold wind mixed with snowflakes swept across the Rock Type Battle venue; the uneven, pitted ground was covered in a thick layer of ice, and the entire Battle venue within Milotic's radius turned into a snowy wonderland.
Just looking at the power of this Blizzard showed how terrifying Cynthia's trained Pokémon were… truly the undisputed top trainer of Sinnoh.
Girafarig's active area was still the Rock Type venue, while Milotic's was now ice; it seemed like a fifty-fifty split, but after Milotic unleashed another Blizzard, the situation grew increasingly hostile for Girafarig.
Lucian had Girafarig use Facade and Shadow Ball to break the ice covering the ground, but the effect was minimal; Milotic could turn a huge area into Icy Terrain with a single Move, while Girafarig… could at best crack a little ice.
Watching Milotic glide swiftly and comfortably across the ice, then seeing Girafarig stumble awkwardly as its hooves slipped, Mai finally understood what Luther meant by "pay attention to the venue."
Togekiss's Ability to alter the Battle venue wasn't as strong as Milotic's, and Gastrodon didn't have Milotic's combination of endurance and durability.
Under Lucian's direction, Girafarig struggled to control its body, stomping forcefully on the ice and charging toward Milotic with imposing momentum once more.
Milotic, sliding on the ice as happily as if she were back in water, paid no heed; under Cynthia's command to "get close," she abandoned dodging entirely and rushed headlong toward Girafarig.
Girafarig, running at high speed, left cracks in the ice with every step, building immense power on the slippery surface, its target locked on Milotic.
Milotic showed no fear, boldly raising her sleek body with an air of "Who's afraid of who," ready to meet Girafarig's charge.
This utterly illogical move made everyone gasp for Milotic; Luther already sensed that this Milotic was a complete tank, sacrificing Move power for maximum dual resistances, but even a monster like that shouldn't be stubborn enough to eat Facade head-on.
Girafarig reared up on its hind legs, neighing as it lowered its body, aiming to deal Milotic a devastating blow.
At the critical moment, Cynthia finally gave an order: "Milotic, get down, then slide under Girafarig's hooves."
In an instant, Milotic's towering form dropped low to the ice, slithering like a snake; with a flick of her tail, she used the slick surface to slip right between Girafarig's landing hooves.
Girafarig was in trouble; a full-force strike would've let it offload some of that power through Milotic's soft body if it had hit, but now it was just Damage Output against the ice, and the massive recoil sent Girafarig stumbling and crashing to the ground.
"Giga Impact."
Luther felt Cynthia had a special fondness for Giga Impact; in the anime, Garchomp used it often, and now Milotic was getting in on it too.
Taking advantage of the moment, Milotic's body glowed as she dragged herself across the ice, her immense power shattering the Blizzard-frozen ground.
Girafarig, sprawled on the ice, locked eyes with Milotic, who was speeding toward it, ice shards flying; Lucian knew Girafarig had no chance to dodge.
"Thunder."
A glint of sharpness flashed in Girafarig's eyes; it lightly adjusted its position with its front hooves, then charged up.
Thunder needed no prediction— Giga Impact's straight path made it easy for Girafarig; a dazzling arc leaped through the air, a thick bolt of lightning striking Giga Impact dead center.
Giga Impact wasn't invincible, but Milotic took Thunder's damage without flinching, crashing into the inescapable Girafarig.
Girafarig's body tumbled across the ice, the thick layer cracking along the way as ice shards flew.
When Girafarig finally came to a stop, the Referee raised a flag.
"Girafarig has lost its battle Ability."
Though Thunder hit Milotic, Lucian's good Luck didn't hold— Milotic wasn't paralyzed, nor did it show any signs of Stamina depletion.
The only silver lining was that, under Giga Impact's drawback, Milotic couldn't move next, guaranteeing a hit from Lucian's next Pokémon.
Espeon stepped up again, tasked with turning the tide, but it wasn't in good shape— panting heavily, and in the close-up, its sleek fur was drenched in sweat.
Lucian glanced at Espeon's condition and sighed, "Shadow Ball."
Espeon stood still on the slippery ice and used Shadow Ball, landing a clean hit on Milotic's face.
The accumulated damage on Milotic showed results; Milotic lowered her head, her expression no longer relaxed.
Yet Aqua Ring's continuous healing hadn't ended; as the mist nourished her, Milotic's body emitted a faint glow, and her wounds began to fade.
"Recover."
Luther started praying for Lucian; he figured Lucian's high spirits were probably running low, and even if they weren't, a few more Recover commands from Cynthia would likely make him sick.
Though Luther wanted to say Blizzard paired with Giga Impact was a problematic move set, he felt he had no Qualification to judge… the Champion used it this way, and it still unreasonably secured an advantage— how do you even compete?
Espeon stepped onto the ice damaged by Girafarig, leaping between chunks of broken ice.
Girafarig's gift was this shattered ice it had broken alongside Milotic, giving Espeon room to leverage its speed.
"Blizzard."
That was assuming Cynthia didn't use Blizzard, but obviously, that wasn't happening…
If you're going to reshape the venue, do it thoroughly; this Blizzard was fiercer than the previous ones, the bone-chilling cold spreading outward from Milotic.
Espeon's usable area shrank again; her movement slowed, and she needed more time to think about where to land.
Slipping and stumbling alternated, but Espeon pressed on, expending Stamina to stagger through the wind and snow.
Blizzard had become a massive barrier for Milotic; with the snowstorm obscuring visibility, Lucian could no longer see Milotic— only Espeon, with its sharp Perception, knew her exact position.
This was her time to shine; Lucian placed his trust in Espeon.
As Espeon plunged deeper into the blizzard, Cynthia, Lucian, and the live audience all temporarily lost control of the Battle.
The director above the Battle venue switched the feed, projecting it onto the big screen.
Espeon burst out of the snow-sealed area that Milotic had created, reaching her side.
Milotic's extreme Mobility on the ice let her dodge Shadow Ball with S-shaped movements, while her Blizzard couldn't hit Espeon skating across the ice.
Cynthia and Lucian's eyes locked onto the director's feed, shouting Command after Command to Milotic and Espeon.
Milotic took a Psychic hit, crashing through Blizzard-frozen stones along the way, landing battered and bruised.
Espeon stood on the ice, head lowered, eyes dim, breathing rapidly, and drenched in sweat despite the frigid surface.
Luther finally saw where Spiritomb's lingering effects came into play; though Espeon could indeed use Psychic repeatedly to control venue debris against Spiritomb, it undeniably burned through massive amounts of Stamina and focus.
Pressure's effect was constant; one or two hits weren't a big deal, but as attacks on Spiritomb grew frequent, even with Spiritomb standing there taking hits, it was an invisible drain on Espeon.
That drain on Espeon was now on full display; weakened by Parting Shot's dual stat drop, Espeon relied on raw Strength to slug it out with the ultra-tanky Milotic, but what might ultimately defeat Espeon wasn't accumulated damage— it was Stamina.
Milotic used Espeon's breather to heal with Aqua Ring's final Move duration, then, under Cynthia's Command, used Recover again.
Luther felt despair; he didn't know if Lucian felt it too… Milotic wasn't quite full health, but she was lively again.
(End of Chapter)