Leaf observed Magnezone in silence for a moment and sighed. Ash was impressive. He knew her Magnezone was a problem for two of his Pokémon and that he had to get rid of it immediately. And how? By taking it down in a single blow with a fast and powerful Pokémon. Mega Lopunny was a clear example of that.
Leaf smiled, because this was only the beginning. There was still a lot of battle left!
"This isn't over! The battle is just starting now!" Leaf smiled.
Leaf didn't waste time. After returning Magnezone to its Poké Ball and thanking it for the great battle it had put up, she took out her next Poké Ball. This time it was going to be different.
"Milotic, I choose you!" Leaf said.
Leaf threw the Poké Ball with force and it opened in the air, revealing a flash of white light that hit the ground and formed a very familiar silhouette: Milotic. Milotic appeared on the field with quiet elegance, gliding smoothly over the terrain while observing its opponent without the slightest hurry. It didn't impose like the previous ones, but there was something in its presence that conveyed absolute stability, as if it were a fixed point in the middle of chaos.
"NEW POKÉMON FROM PARTICIPANT LEAF!" Bob shouted.
"MILOTIC IS HER NEXT POKÉMON! A POKÉMON THAT IS NOT ONLY VERY DEFENSIVE BUT ALSO A VERY GOOD ATTACKER! THIS TIME PARTICIPANT ASH MIGHT HAVE SOME PROBLEMS!" Carl added.
"PLUS THAT MILOTIC HAS ALREADY PROVEN TO BE AN EXTREMELY POWERFUL POKÉMON IN PREVIOUS BATTLES! PARTICIPANT ASH WILL HAVE TO WORK HARD IF HE WANTS TO DEFEAT IT!" Bob said.
Ash looked at Milotic very attentively. In his memories, Milotic was an extremely defensive Pokémon with access to moves like Scald or Recover — two very annoying moves that made Milotic a very difficult Pokémon to take down. Luckily, this wasn't a video game and besides him, no one else could equip items to their Pokémon, otherwise this battle would become twice as difficult as it already was.
The good thing was that Ash still had the advantage. Milotic was a very defensive Pokémon, yes, but not very fast. In fact, it was incomparably slow compared to his now Mega Evolved Lopunny. Lopunny's speed was undoubtedly a great advantage for him and a clear disadvantage for Milotic.
"Lopunny, use High Jump Kick!" Ash ordered.
The move was immediate. It disappeared from its position and reappeared in front of Milotic, delivering a direct kick with brutal speed.
"Milotic, use Coil!" Leaf responded.
Milotic's body tensed at the exact moment of impact. The blow was powerful and pushed it back several meters, but it didn't break its stance. It absorbed the damage by reinforcing its resistance and remained firm.
Ash looked at Leaf attentively. So far, not many trainers had opted to use moves that strengthened their Pokémon's stats or status moves. However, Leaf wasn't like that. Her Pokémon's moves weren't just offensive, but also very interesting ones.
"Lopunny, pressure with Thunder Punch!" Ash ordered.
The next attack came without giving any margin. The electricity-charged fist hit Milotic's side, provoking a clearer reaction this time and forcing it to arch its body slightly.
"GOOD STRATEGY CHANGE FROM PARTICIPANT ASH!" Bob shouted.
"HE'S LOOKING FOR EFFECTIVE DAMAGE TO OVERCOME MILOTIC'S DEFENSE!" Carl added.
Leaf had already adjusted the pace.
"Milotic, use Scald!" she ordered.
The jet of boiling water shot out quickly.
"Dodge it, Lopunny!" Ash responded.
The dodge was fast, but not perfect. The heat of the attack grazed its body enough to start taking its toll. It wasn't a direct hit, but it was constant pressure that limited its margin of movement.
The exchange continued. Lopunny entered and exited range with speed, chaining physical blows while Milotic resisted, reinforced its body with Coil, and responded with Scald at increasingly better calculated moments. Neither fully dominated, but the wear was starting to show on both.
The battle was balancing out. The battle would have ended long ago if it weren't for that Milotic's incredible resistance.
"Lopunny, finish this with High Jump Kick!" Ash ordered.
The move was more direct than the previous ones, with almost no room for correction. A clear bet to close the matchup.
Leaf had already seen it. No, she had been waiting for this opportunity the whole time.
"Milotic, use Protect!" Leaf ordered.
The barrier appeared at the exact moment.
The impact against the protection was dry and brutal. The rebound was immediate, sending Lopunny flying backward without control. When it landed, the recoil damage became evident. Its body took time to respond and its breathing became irregular, clearly showing the cost of the mistake.
"Shit!" Ash cursed.
The rhythm of the battle broke at that instant.
Leaf didn't hesitate.
"Milotic, use Scald!" she ordered.
"Dodge it!" Ash exclaimed.
Lopunny tried to get up, but it wasn't fast enough. The jet hit it squarely, pushing it several meters while steam covered its figure. When the attack ended, its body lay motionless on the ground.
For a second, the stadium fell completely silent.
A soft light began to envelop it as the energy of the Mega Evolution dissipated. The pink flashes slowly disappeared and its form returned to normal, the glow of the Mega Bracelet fading at the same time.
The referee raised his hand.
"Lopunny is unable to continue!" he declared.
"WHAT A RESPONSE FROM PARTICIPANT LEAF!" Bob shouted.
"SHE PUNISHED A SINGLE MISTAKE AND REGAINED CONTROL OF THE BATTLE!" Carl added.
Ash kept his gaze fixed on the field, thinking about what he had done wrong. In reality, his strategy wasn't entirely bad. It was just that Leaf had been looking for an opportunity the whole time, knowing that if Lopunny missed the attack, it would leave it quite damaged, taking advantage of that opportunity to weaken it. It wasn't a problem, but he had spent his Mega Evolution trump card too soon and that was going to cause problems since Leaf hadn't used her Mega Evolution yet.
Milotic remained standing on the field, somewhat damaged from the exchange, but ready to fight. It still hadn't given up.
Ash didn't hesitate. He may have already lost his Mega Evolution, but this wasn't lost. In fact, he still had his strongest Pokémon left.
"Return, Lopunny!" Ash said.
Lopunny disappeared in a red beam of light and returned to its Poké Ball.
"You did great. Too bad I wasn't up to the task," Ash sighed.
Then he looked at the battlefield with a serious gaze, put away Lopunny's Poké Ball, and took out another. He already had his next Pokémon in mind — a Pokémon that would give him victory against Milotic without problems, and that Pokémon was…
"Floette, I choose you!" he said.
From the flash of silver light, Floette appeared on the field floating gently, descending slowly while the flower it held glowed with a faint but constant light. Its presence wasn't overwhelming at first glance, but there was something about it that immediately changed the atmosphere because despite its small figure, even Milotic couldn't help but get nervous, as if it sensed something.
"NEW POKÉMON FROM PARTICIPANT ASH!" Bob shouted.
"AND PAY ATTENTION, BECAUSE THIS FLOETTE HAS ALREADY PROVEN TO BE A REAL BEAST IN THIS POKÉMON LEAGUE!" Carl added.
"THAT'S RIGHT! POKÉMON THAT COMES OUT, POKÉMON THAT DEFEATS!" Bob nodded.
"AND LET'S REMEMBER THAT SO FAR IT HAS NEVER BEEN DEFEATED, BEING ONE OF THE FEW POKÉMON OF PARTICIPANT ASH THAT HAS NEVER FALLEN IN BATTLE!" Carl added.
Leaf observed it intently. There was no doubt. That was the most dangerous Pokémon on Ash's team. She had previously witnessed all the battles Ash had fought with it, and indeed, this was undoubtedly his greatest threat. In fact, ever since she saw it, she had been thinking of numerous countermeasures to weaken it. She had come up with some ideas that might work, but in such a short time she couldn't devise a strategy that was guaranteed to work, so she could only try her luck. Luckily for her, she had already imagined this matchup. Leaf already knew that one of her most resistant Pokémon against this Floette was Milotic… and she had devised some strategies, not yet perfected, but that she would have to risk trying. Unfortunately, her Milotic had just come out victorious from a battle against Lopunny, which under normal circumstances would have been positive, but in this case it wasn't because that battle had left her Milotic exhausted. Still, she wasn't going to give up without a fight.
"Milotic, use Scald!" Leaf ordered.
The jet of boiling water shot out quickly, seeking to hit before Floette could act.
"Floette, dodge!" Ash responded.
The movement was clean. Floette shifted barely a few centimeters in the air, avoiding the attack with almost insulting naturalness. There was no tension in its movement. There was no visible effort.
That said it all.
Leaf understood it in that same instant.
That matchup was no longer balanced.
"Milotic, use Ice Beam!" she ordered, seeking one last alternative.
The freezing beam shot out with precision.
"Floette, end this with Light of Ruin!" Ash ordered.
The flower shone with overwhelming intensity and the pink energy beam shot forward with devastating power. Leaf reacted in that same instant, knowing she couldn't stop it directly.
"Alakazam, use Psychic! Deflect it!" she shouted. (Note: Leaf sent Alakazam in the original text.)
Psychic energy projected forward trying to intercept the attack, stop it, and deflect its trajectory, even if only slightly. For a few seconds, both forces clashed in the air and the beam's advance slowed slightly while Alakazam tensed all its power to redirect it.
But the difference in power was too great. The pressure gave way, the control broke, and Psychic collapsed, leaving the path clear.
Light of Ruin advanced unopposed and hit squarely.
The explosion shook the field violently and, when the light dissipated, Alakazam fell to the ground unable to get up.
The referee raised his hand.
"Alakazam is unable to continue!" he declared.
"IMPRESSIVE!" Bob shouted.
"EVEN WITH LIGHT SCREEN ACTIVE, IT COULDN'T WITHSTAND THAT ATTACK!" Carl added.