Aoki was the first to give orders.

After receiving the order, a thin pink mist emanated from the Florges.

There was a significant amount of fairy-type energy mixed within it. The mist rapidly expanded and enveloped the entire battlefield, creating an area where dragon-type Pokémon would be severely suppressed; the power of all their dragon-type moves was reduced by half within this shimmering, enchanted haze.

"Is this the terrain effect most effective against dragon-type Pokémon? The effect is indeed terrifying," Lance observed, watching the misty field spread out as he sighed slightly in his heart. Although he and the Kingdra had not spent an exceedingly long time together, the bond between them was very good, and he could feel the profoundly uncomfortable sensation emanating from the Kingdra's body.

"Kingdra, move at high speed!" Although he lamented the fairy type's potent restraint over the dragon type, Lance did not panic at all and commanded the Kingdra to initiate the battle.

A slight curve appeared at the corner of Aoki's mouth. He closed his mouth and began to use Telepathy to command the battle, a method that allowed the Pokémon and the Trainer to have a better understanding of each other, enabling the Trainer's orders to be transmitted directly into the Pokémon's mind at the first possible moment. This was not the first time Florges and Aoki had fought in this coordinated way.

Lance's expression grew even more serious when he saw Aoki using Telepathy. Knowing that Aoki was using all his strength, he understood that if he couldn't bring out the full advantage of the Kingdra, today's battle would be in serious trouble.

The Kingdra began to run around the venue at high speed, its sleek body cutting through the mist as it tried to find a weakness in the Florges's defenses. This was its first time fighting against a Pokémon like Florges, so it was still a little difficult for it to bring out the characteristics of its Sniper ability effectively. But then it saw the Florges waving her hands gracefully, covering her body with a thin, shimmering layer of mysterious energy.

"Lucky Chant..." Lance saw the changes occurring with the Florges and correctly guessed the move that Aoki had asked her to use. He felt a slight headache coming on. The Lucky Chant was an auxiliary move with a very simple but devastating effect in this context: it reduced the possibility of the user being hit by a critical hit to an almost negligible minimum. In other words, the Sniper ability of the Kingdra was directly abolished. This was also the reason why Aoki had felt there was a strong possibility of victory when he first saw the information on this particular Kingdra; it was being restrained too severely.

"In that case, we can only attack head-on! Kingdra, Hydro Pump!" After receiving the order, the Kingdra stopped its useless wandering, as it could not find any obvious weaknesses on the Florges's body. It had glimpsed potential openings, but they vanished too quickly. This Kingstra, however, possessed quite good talent in both dragon and water-type energy. The powerful water-type move, Hydro Pump, was quickly condensed and completed, and a massive, high-pressure column of water sprayed directly from its mouth, targeting the Florges who stood calmly opposite him.

"Use Moonblast, and then use Camouflage to transform into the grass type!" Aoki issued his countermeasures the moment he saw the Kingdra condense the Hydro Pump. A brilliant beam of moonlight somehow pierced through the indoor arena, ignoring the fact that it was daytime, and under the stimulation of Florges's energy, shone directly upon the body of the Kingdra. For a moment, the dragon scales that seemed very sharp on the surface of its body gradually appeared to smolder and turn charred under the intense moonlight, as if they had touched some powerfully corrosive liquid. But at this moment, the Kingdra's Hydro Pump had already been unleashed.

"Trying to trade injury for injury?" This was the first thought that crossed Lance's mind. Even so, the Kingdra was not afraid at all. "Kingdra, bear with it! Rush up and use the Waterfall skill!" Lance gave the order immediately after the Kingdra's Hydro Pump was released.

The next second, a scene appeared that surprised him greatly. A flash of green light passed over the Florges's white flowers, directly transforming her attribute into the grass type. She was squarely hit by the Kingdra's Hydro Pump; although she was injured from the powerful blast of water, the damage was not serious due to her new grass-type resistance to water. "Grassy Terrain!" Aoki did not have the Florges deal with the incoming Waterfall attack directly, but instead had her use the Grassy Terrain skill. After transforming into a grass-type Pokémon, the Florges directly conjured a Grassy Terrain skill under her feet, and the effect was not much different from that of a normal grass-type Pokémon. Afterwards, tiny spots of crystal green light appeared on the Florges's body and merged into her, the terrain already beginning its restorative work.

The Kingdra did not hold back just because the Florges did not take a defensive stance. It roared excitedly and rushed forward, gathering all the residual water from its previous Hydro Pump across the field. Its body was swiftly wrapped in a massive, roaring cascade of water with sparkling white splashes. It quickly closed the distance to the Florges, and a huge, towering column of water shot up into the air as it prepared to crash down.

"Florges, use Captivate!" Aoki looked at the enormous, onrushing stream of water without any ripples of concern in his heart; he even felt like smiling. The Captivate skill could have a very good effect on Pokémon of the opposite sex, sharply reducing the opponent's Special Attack stat. And... coincidentally, except for a few moves, most of the Kingdra's most powerful moves were special attacks. However, this Waterfall was indeed a physical attack. The Florges endured the attack firmly, her form shuddering under the impact, her own physical strength reduced to less than half. One had to admit that Lance's training of the Kingdra was quite outstanding; both its physical fitness and its masterful control over water energy were remarkable. However, the Misty Terrain had crippled its dragon-type moves, and then the grass-type Florges was resistant to its water-type assaults; otherwise, no Pokémon would be so calm after taking two powerful attacks from the Kingdra without any dedicated defensive posture.

"Here it comes," Steven, who was sitting on the sidelines, said lightly.

Wallace and Phoebe on the side nodded in understanding, and when they looked toward Lance again, there was a hint of pity in their eyes.

"What's coming?" Ash, who was sitting behind them, asked immediately.

Those who were familiar with Aoki's battle style had roughly understood the situation developing on the field at this time, except for relative outsiders like Ash, Gary, and Misty.

Steven and Wallace glanced at Phoebe and gestured for her to speak. With their dignified status, they would never utter such a shameless name themselves. Phoebe, on the other hand, not only did not shy away from this, she even seemed to relish it. "This is Brother Aoki's favorite tactic! The Ultimate Invincibility: If You Can't Kill Me, I Can Wear You Down Tactic!"

Upon hearing this name, Steven and Wallace both turned their heads away in perfect unison, indicating that they had never heard of it and that it had absolutely nothing to do with them at all.

"Ultimate... Invincibility... What's behind it... you hit it?" Ash's eyes were shining, as if he had discovered an entirely new world of strategic possibilities.

Professor Oak, who was standing by, couldn't bear to watch it anymore and subtly moved to sit a little further away. Aoki was good in every regard, except for the naming convention... but, he supposed, it was a small price to pay for such effectiveness.

"The Ultimate Invincibility: If You Can't Kill Me, I Can Wear You Down Tactic!" Phoebe repeated it loudly and proudly once more, just in case anyone had missed it.

At this moment, Lance, who was fully concentrated on the battlefield, also heard this formidable and absurdly named tactic. He suddenly felt profoundly, deeply tired.