After receiving Lucas's answer, Mustard nimbly performed several backflips and stood on the battlefield.
It really is you! Master Roshi!
He won't hit me with a Kamehameha later, will he?!
At this moment, Mustard maintained a squinting smile, quietly waiting for Lucas to take the field.
Damn it, I shouldn't have tried to look so cool—my back hurts so much—
Lucas put on the shoes Gothitelle handed him and walked onto the battlefield.
Lucas looked at the old man before him who liked giving people nicknames and playing video games, appearing like a mischievous child. He looked smiley on the outside, but his strength was absolutely no joke; the pressure he exerted on Lucas right now was extremely intense.
Lucas took a deep breath and exhaled a thick Mist.
This should be the first time battling a Trainer above the Elite level, right? Although the opponent is a retired Champion and this is a guided battle, he should go easy on me, right?
Mustard buffered for a moment and then spoke: "Little Lucus, how about we have a 3v3?"
Lucas: ————
What on earth is 'Little Lucus'?!
He really is an old man who loves giving nicknames!
Lucas nodded solemnly, "I'll follow your lead, senior."
Mustard: "My first Pokémon is Mienshao."
As soon as Mustard finished speaking, Mienshao nimbly hopped onto the battlefield.
Feeling the battle-hardened Aura radiating from the opponent, Lucas looked at his Pokémon.
"Lilli."
Lucas had originally intended to send Gengar out, but Lilligant signaled to him.
Lucas nodded, "Then I'll leave it to you, Lilligant."
Lilligant elegantly entered the field and performed a graceful curtsy toward Mustard and Mienshao.
Mustard was stunned for a moment, then he and Mienshao clasped their hands together to return the salute.
"That really is a beautiful Lilligant, Little Lucus. You've raised it well."
Mustard said with a smile; he noticed that all of Lucas's Pokémon were exceptionally well-trained.
"Shall the battle begin then?"
Just as Lucas nodded, he saw Mustard's gaze become sharp.
"Fake Out."
Mienshao quickly closed in on Lilligant, his palms blurring as they struck Lilligant's body.
Lilligant frowned, remembering some unpleasant things, and her body began to tremble.
"Got a bit of a fright, didn't you? Little Lucus, but my offensive won't stop there."
Ignoring Mustard's voice, Lucas said to Lilligant: "Bide your time."
Hearing Lucas's words, Lilligant endured her fear and gathered energy into the petals on her head.
"Charging while flinching? Solar Beam?"
Mustard made a decisive call, "Acrobatics."
Mienshao quickly approached Lilligant again, then leapt high and kicked down.
This old man plays so dirty.
Lucas complained inwardly.
"Now, dodge it."
Lilligant broke out of her flinch and exploded with speed even faster than Mienshao to dodge the Acrobatics.
"Stun Spore."
"Taunt."
Mienshao extended an index finger and beckoned. Lilligant was furious, but the Stun Spore was still scattered, hitting Mienshao and leaving him paralyzed.
Even Taunt is coming out—
As expected of Mustard; under his command, Mienshao's attacks were relentless, connecting with incredible speed and decisiveness.
Mustard was stunned for a moment when he saw his combo interrupted.
"Little Lucus, you're something else. Was that Sunny Day you were charging while flinching? I thought you were charging Solar Beam."
Mustard was somewhat surprised as he felt the sunlight become bright.
It was the first time he had seen Sunny Day used like this. So the energy for Sunny Day could also be charged? You really do learn something new every day.
One should know that a flinching Pokémon shouldn't be able to act, yet Lilligant was gathering the energy needed for Sunny Day in that state.
If she had been charging Solar Beam just now, he could have finished Lilligant off with another move after Acrobatics dealt heavy damage.
It won't be easy now. If I'm not mistaken, Lilligant must have the Chlorophyll Ability. Her speed is now much faster than Mienshao's, which is why that Stun Spore hit earlier.
But that's more like it, Lucas.
Mustard was getting more and more excited.
Will Mienshao use U-turn?
Lucas was concentrating with all his might. The pressure Mustard gave him was too strong; he hadn't felt this even when facing Hunter J.
"Acrobatics."
"Solar Beam!"
A massive beam of energy headed straight for Mienshao. Mienshao flipped several times in the air to find an opening and raised his fist high.
Lilligant gritted her teeth and forcibly twisted the direction of the Solar Beam. Mienshao looked startled and quickly dodged, shielding his chest with his arms.
Although he dodged the direct hit of Solar Beam, he was still struck by the move's residual force, leaving his arms scorched black.
Solar Beam can turn ninety degrees?! And you call this Solar Beam?!
Mienshao had a look of questioning his own life, while Mustard was also surprised by the power of Lilligant's move.
"I see, an all-out offensive?"
Mustard muttered to himself.
Inside the dojo, Leon and the others were chatting when they suddenly heard a loud bang. Leon stood up instantly.
"What happened?"
Sonia asked.
"Judging by the sound, it seems Master is in a battle."
"Who could be battling him?"
Raihan asked with a frown.
He and Leon then exchanged a glance, nodded, and quickly walked out.
Sonia, not understanding, followed behind them.
Arriving at the battlefield, Leon and the others saw Mienshao charging toward a Lilligant while clutching an Aura Sphere.
And that Lilligant was also charging toward Mienshao, holding a basketball-sized Energy Ball.
The Aura Sphere and Energy Ball collided, producing a booming sound and a powerful airwave that instantly blew away the surrounding dust.
Leon and the others saw Mienshao fly backward, rolling several times on the ground before stabilizing himself. He stood in front of Mustard, his body covered in wounds.
Lilligant wasn't doing much better, though she was in better shape than Mienshao. She had only slid back a distance; her small dress was somewhat torn, and her delicate face was bruised.
A large crater had appeared in the middle of the field.
"This is—"
Leon was shocked to see Lilligant, whose move power had vaguely overwhelmed Mienshao's.
Could Lucas also be a Champion-level Trainer?
Raihan, however, frowned and watched the battle closely.
Leon felt something tugging at his cape. He turned to see Sonia and asked what was wrong.
"Why do I feel like Lucas is vaguely overwhelming Mustard?"
Leon nodded. From the current situation, it did seem that Lucas had a slight upper hand.
Watching Lilligant, who was even faster than Mienshao, Raihan suddenly spoke: "It's Sunny Day."
Leon was stunned for a moment, then understood Raihan's point. As a Trainer proficient in weather tactics who had also battled Mustard, Raihan knew that Mustard wouldn't normally let someone set up weather so easily. Moreover, manually setting weather in a battle is rare because it leaves one vulnerable to being taken down. So why was Sunny Day active on the field?
Did Lucas have a Pokémon with the Drought Ability? Raihan glanced at Lucas's Pokémon; none of them had the Drought Ability.
Could Mustard be holding back?
Feeling the sunlight in the sky weaken, Lucas sighed.
The Sunny Day had been stalled out.
"Little Lucus, have you ever seen Dynamax?"
Lucas shook his head; he hadn't seen a Dynamaxed Pokémon with his own eyes yet.
Mustard suddenly laughed, "In that case, let me show you."
Mustard fiddled with the Dynamax Band on his wrist, then recalled Mienshao into its Poké Ball. The power of the Dynamax Band began to transfer to the Poké Ball, which started to grow. Then, Mustard threw the giant Poké Ball out.
A red light flashed, and a Dynamaxed Mienshao appeared on the field.
"Gen gengar—"
Wow, it's huge!
There's not much change with Dynamax; it's just a bit tankier.
"Lucas, come! Show me the greatest destructive power you and Lilligant possess!"
Mustard suddenly shouted loudly.
Lucas was stunned, but he finally understood why Mustard chose to Dynamax.
He had seen that Lilligant followed a pure offensive style, discarding all defense; offense was the best defense.
Among the Pokémon at the Breeding House, even Gengar's small frame was tankier than Lilligant's.
If Mustard continued with high-speed attacks, Lilligant certainly wouldn't last two rounds without Sunny Day. Lucas had been thinking about switching, but then Mustard Dynamaxed Mienshao.
I knew it, he's definitely holding back in this guided battle.
Lucas smiled and lightly flicked the ring on his wrist.
"Lilligant, offer your greatest strength to me."
Lucas said softly.
Lilligant began to perform a magnificent dance in coordination with Lucas.
"This is—"
Sonia didn't understand why Lucas and Lilligant would start dancing in the middle of a battle.
"This is the Z-Move from the Alola region."
Leon explained.
"Z-Move?"
Raihan chimed in: "A Z-Move uses the Z-Ring on his wrist to react with the z-crystal carried by the Pokémon. Through the dance, the Aura of the Trainer and the Pokémon are synchronized, evolving the move into a much more powerful one."
"Similar to a G-Max Move."
Leon added.
Sonia suddenly understood.
"But the dance is really beautiful—"
Sonia said.
Leon and Raihan looked at each other. A Z-Move dance is beautiful?!
They had seen them before, but never one like Lucas's. Normally, isn't a Z-Move dance supposed to be like that seaweed dance? Why was theirs so magnificent?
As the dance ended, a brilliant light erupted from Lucas's ring.
"Lilligant, Bloom Doom!"
Lilligant stood upon the earth, her arms spread wide.
Mustard, Leon, and Raihan looked around to find the entire area covered in flowers—whether it was the battlefield, the nearby stone-paved paths, or even the beach.
No, the entire Isle of Armor was covered in flowers.
Mienshao: ?! You call this a Z-Move?!
Mustard: ???
It seems I've played around too much.
Lucas looked at Lilligant. Her spread arms were now slowly closing together. The energy Celebi had shared with her now erupted completely, covering the surrounding area in flowers. Lilligant was like the Queen of these flowers, her voice cold and clear.
(Queen of Flowers)
"Lilli!"
Lucas seemed to hear two crisp sounds—
A multicolored sphere of light gathered between Lilligant's closed hands, which she then threw at the Dynamaxed Mienshao.
The Dynamaxed Mienshao gulped.
"Focus Blast!!!"
Mienshao threw a Focus Blast to collide with Lilligant's sphere of light.
"Charizard!"
"Duraludon!"
Leon and Raihan immediately sent out their aces. Then Leon spun around, his cape fluttering as he blocked Sonia.
Lucas turned his head immediately.
"Mama Goth!!!"
He found that Gothitelle was already floating in the air, an eerie purple light surging wildly from her eyes.
(Mama Goth in imagination)
(The real Mama Goth)
Terrifying psychic power swept through the area, desperately compressing the energy from the collision and explosion together.
"Gothitelle!!!"
Gengar!!!
Gengar grinned and dove into the psychic space Gothitelle had created, holding up a massive Dark Void to absorb all that chaotic energy.
"Gen gengar—"
It's—it's going to blow!
Lucas: Σ(ǒǒ|)/
Gengar anxiously held the Dark Void, running back and forth on the ground.
"Gen gengar"
Where do I throw it, where do I throw it?
"Throw it into the sea."
Leon pointed toward the ocean.
Gengar nodded, floated into the air, and carried the Dark Void to a deserted part of the sea, then tossed it with both hands.
Off you go.
Boom!
Powerful energy erupted from the Dark Void, creating a massive Splash in the sea.
Gyarados on the sea surface: ???
Mustard looked at the unconscious Mienshao lying on the ground and fell into silence.
Gothitelle slowly floated down and stood on the ground.
"Goth."
It seems you didn't end up exhausted this time.
Dash came to Gothitelle's side and said.
Gothitelle recalled; it seemed so.
Lucas heard their conversation and stood aside, not daring to speak.
He certainly couldn't say those times she was exhausted were because she followed him out to face those Pokémon.
Palkia, Dialga, Regigigas—
She was drained every time, but her psychic power reserves increased after each instance.
"Good work, Lilligant."
Lucas squatted down and patted Lilligant's small head.
Lilligant smiled weakly, and Lucas recalled her into her Poké Ball.
"Get some good rest, Lilligant."
"Little Lucus, you did well. But looking at the situation, it seems the next two battles can't proceed."
Mustard walked to Lucas's side with his hands behind his back.
Lucas glanced at the battlefield, which was destroyed beyond recognition, with a huge crater in the middle.
"Then let's stop here."
Lucas said decisively.
The pressure was too great. Even though Mustard was intentionally holding back, Lucas's current strength was still not enough.
Furthermore, the wind-up for a Z-Move is too long. A clever Trainer could easily interrupt it, such as an opponent who excels at high-speed offenses.
Z-Moves currently don't have the invincibility frames of Mega Evolution.
"That was a wonderful battle."
Leon walked over, clapping and looking at Lucas with a smile: "Lucas, I didn't expect you to actually be able to defeat Master."
Lucas: ?!
Did I defeat Mustard?
Mustard squinted his eyes and didn't deny it.
Gengar floated over, saw the battle was over, and regretfully swallowed the mega stone on his tongue.
"Gen gengar"
What a shame.
"By the way, shouldn't we do something about this field? If Mistress Honey finds out—"
Leon: !
Mustard: !!
Raihan: !!!
Lucas: ?!
"How about this, I'll cover the repair costs. After all, it was caused by Lilligant."
After a brief delay, a large sum of money was deducted from Lucas's account.
Lucas's heart went cold.
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