"A geyser, huh? In other words, those strange stone formations on the ground were created by minerals deposited over countless years by the geysers here. No wonder the temperature is so high. The magma layer beneath the surface must be very close to the ground. Fighting in a place like this, where I'm unfamiliar with the terrain, naturally puts me at a disadvantage."
After hearing Mr. Moore's explanation, Sato's expression immediately changed. Looking at the numerous strange stone mounds ahead of him—each about half a meter tall—he began to think deeply.
There was another issue as well.
The temperature here was even higher than the desert at noon, causing moisture to evaporate extremely quickly.
In this kind of environment, Pokémon that weren't accustomed to such conditions would lose stamina at an alarming rate.
What troubled Sato the most was that his Water-type Pokémon were at a tremendous disadvantage here. For a moment, he felt as though he had returned to battling in the daytime desert with Water-types.
"Hehehe~ Young man, let me tell you something. The eruption times of the geysers here are completely unpredictable. Even an old man like me, who has lived here for many years, has no idea which stone mound will erupt next."
"However, remember one thing. When you feel slight tremors in the ground, that means a geyser is about to erupt. Don't say I didn't warn you."
"Alright, release your Pokémon. This will be a three-on-three battle."
Mr. Moore was an experienced veteran who immediately understood why Sato's expression had become unpleasant. He straightforwardly revealed everything he knew about the geysers.
"I see. Thank you for the guidance, sir. Then you'll be my lead. Come out, Kadabra!"
Sato respectfully thanked Mr. Moore before immediately releasing Kadabra.
The next second, a beam of white light shot from the opened PokeBall in his hand and into the air.
A Kadabra, noticeably more robust than an ordinary one, appeared overhead.
At the same time, as it opened its eyes glowing with blue light, five transparent blue spheres the size of goose eggs appeared one after another and began orbiting around its body.
Powerful waves of psychic energy continuously emanated from these blue spheres.
"What an exceptionally gifted Kadabra. Such incredible control over psychic power. It's already able to condense excess psychic energy into external spheres for storage."
"Looks like defeating it won't be easy."
"Kid, it seems you're a Psychic as well—and quite a talented one."
Mr. Moore's eyes widened noticeably at the sight of Kadabra. Then he shifted his gaze toward Sato and chuckled.
Mr. Moore had weathered countless storms in his life and had battled Psychics more times than he could count.
Since Psychics became exceptionally powerful later in their careers, the Elite Four ranking competitions had never lacked formidable Psychic participants.
There had even been several occasions when he had nearly lost to such gifted individuals.
As a result, he knew a great deal about Psychics.
The five psychic spheres orbiting Kadabra were actually an extremely sophisticated psychic technique known as Mind Condensation Spheres.
As the name implied, they were formed by highly compressing psychic power into spherical forms.
These spheres acted as reserve psychic energy batteries. Whenever a Psychic-type Pokémon's mental reserves fell below a certain threshold, the spheres would automatically return to its psychic sea and replenish its psychic power.
However, such an advanced technique was far beyond the reach of ordinary Psychic-type Pokémon.
To master it required an extremely advanced psychic manual.
Although Psychic-type Pokémon generally possessed extraordinary intelligence, the creation of all kinds of incredible psychic techniques ultimately depended on human Psychics.
When it came to creativity, humans were unmatched.
Top-tier Psychics were every bit as intelligent as Psychic-type Pokémon, while vastly surpassing them in innovation. This was also one of the reasons so many Psychic-type Pokémon willingly followed Psychics.
Therefore, Mr. Moore was absolutely certain that this young Kadabra had not mastered such an advanced technique on its own.
Someone must have taught it.
And who could teach a naturally proud Psychic-type Pokémon such techniques?
Naturally, only a Psychic whom it truly acknowledged.
From that alone, Mr. Moore could already make a fairly accurate guess regarding Sato's true identity.
"In that case, it's your turn. Come out and battle, Talonflame!"
A few seconds later, Mr. Moore made his decision.
His expression turned serious as he swiftly took out a PokeBall and tossed it into the air.
The next instant, a beam of white light burst from the ball and transformed into a blazing rocket that shot skyward.
"SKREEEE—!"
Accompanied by a piercing cry and a shower of scattered sparks, a majestic Talonflame appeared before everyone.
Blue flames still wrapped around its body as it circled high above.
Its sharp eyes looked down upon Kadabra like a predator staring at prey.
An untamed, arrogant wildness naturally radiated from its body.
"This Talonflame is overflowing with wild instincts. It was probably raised in the wild for years. Level 47—not much higher than Kadabra's Level 43."
"As expected of the Fire-type Elite Four member. His judgment is impeccable. He isn't using overwhelming strength to bully the weak."
Sato looked up at the powerful Talonflame circling overhead.
A blue glow flashed through his eyes as he used the system to scan its data, silently praising Mr. Moore.
"I'll be the referee! Both sides have sent out their Pokémon. The battle begins now!"
Standing nearby, Flannery eagerly volunteered as referee and immediately signaled the start of the match.
"Talonflame, rush in! Use Double Team followed by Flame Charge!"
The moment Flannery finished speaking, Mr. Moore shouted his command in a powerful voice.
"SKREEEE—!"
Talonflame cried out once more.
Then, accompanied by over a dozen fiery duplicates, it dove downward like a flock of hunting hawks, imposing and awe-inspiring.
The effects of Flame Charge continuously increased Talonflame's speed with every passing moment.
As it descended, more and more duplicates were created.
In the blink of an eye, countless Talonflame images filled the sky above Kadabra, blotting out the sunlight.
Through telepathy, Kadabra received Sato's warning.
It naturally understood that all these duplicates were mere distractions and that only one was the real Talonflame.
But what gave it a headache was Talonflame's incredible speed.
Although Kadabra's psychic power could accurately identify the real body, it could not properly lock onto it.
While Kadabra was secretly growing anxious, Talonflame and its swarm of duplicates had already descended upon it.
The flock seemed ready to tear Kadabra apart.
Fortunately, Kadabra used Teleport at the last moment and easily avoided the attack.
However, although Talonflame's first strike missed, its speed did not decrease in the slightest.
As though it had foreseen Kadabra's destination, it immediately led its remaining duplicates toward Kadabra's new position.
"Excellent! Finish it with Flare Blitz!"
Seeing this, Mr. Moore was overjoyed.
He knew Talonflame had located Kadabra's reappearance point purely through its powerful beastly instincts.
It was a golden opportunity.
He immediately ordered Talonflame to end the battle in a single strike.
Upon hearing the command, the blue flames covering Talonflame's body erupted violently.
Its speed more than doubled in an instant.
Transforming into a gigantic blue firebird, it shot toward Kadabra like lightning.
Kadabra had only just used Teleport.
Even if it wanted to forcibly use additional psychic power to perform another Teleport, it would still need roughly a second to do so.
But Talonflame's seemingly prophetic pursuit left it with no such opportunity.
In an instant, the situation reversed completely.
Kadabra was in extreme danger.