Witnessing the shift in Milotic's demeanor, Dewgong sensed something had fundamentally changed. It watched the Tender Pokémon vigilantly, guarding against its inevitable next attack.
Ryosuke also recognized they couldn't afford delays, fearing Dewgong would ultimately fall to Milotic's mounting aggression.
He immediately commanded Dewgong to deploy weather tactics.
"Dewgong, change the plan—use Hail directly! Transform the entire Ice venue into our domain!" Ryosuke shouted with renewed determination.
Frigid energy gradually radiated from Dewgong's body, spreading throughout the arena. Within everyone's astonished view, hailstones materialized from thin air across the Ice venue, pelting every corner with frozen precipitation.
"An incredible development! Contestant Ryosuke's Dewgong has activated Hail, blanketing the entire Ice venue! The arena now experiences continuous falling hail. Although these particles can't inflict substantial damage individually, they're sufficient to affect Milotic's battle condition!" the announcer explained enthusiastically.
Milotic inevitably suffered minor damage from the relentless hail bombardment. The Tender Pokémon frowned in obvious displeasure, irritably using its tail to shatter descending hailstones. Yet despite its efforts, the continuous barrage gradually drained its stamina.
Unlike Milotic's increasingly frustrated situation, Dewgong appeared exceptionally comfortable. The condensed hail particles striking its body not only failed to inflict damage but also actually elicited joyful expressions—clearly, Dewgong's stamina was steadily recovering.
"Impressive—a Dewgong with a hidden ability," Red observed with mild surprise, not expecting Dewgong to possess Ice Body, an ability quite rare in both the Kanto and Johto regions.
Witnessing Milotic continuously injured by the falling hail, Red immediately issued a counter-command. "Milotic, use Aqua Ring to restore your stamina!"
Upon hearing Red's directive, Milotic manipulated surrounding water currents, creating a protective aqueous veil that enveloped its body.
With Aqua Ring's blessing, Milotic's wounds began healing through the restorative water barrier, gradually recovering stamina and offsetting Hail weather's damaging effects.
Unlike Hail weather's time limitation, Aqua Ring would continuously support Milotic until it left the battlefield.
"Dewgong, use Ice Shard!"
Following Ryosuke's command, Dewgong created an ice block and propelled it swiftly toward Milotic with its powerful tail.
"Aqua Tail."
Milotic's tail became enveloped in torrential water as it swung laterally, shattering a nearby ice pillar completely. The fragmented ice not only blocked the incoming Ice Shard assault but also struck Dewgong's body with the scattered debris.
Although the ice fragments couldn't deal effective damage to the Ice-type, they provided Milotic sufficient opportunity to prepare its next offensive.
"Such incredible force!" Ryosuke exclaimed in shock, not expecting Milotic's Aqua Tail to obliterate the thick ice pillar in a single devastating strike.
Dewgong appeared equally stunned as its trainer by Milotic's overwhelming Aqua Tail display, clearly fearing a direct hit from such devastating power.
Aqua Tail's exceptional force was further enhanced by Milotic's Adaptability ability, which amplified same-type move effectiveness.
"Truly extraordinary—the Milotic raised by Lord Red! That Aqua Tail strike absolutely shocked every spectator present!" the announcer declared passionately.
Observing both Ryosuke and Dewgong frozen momentarily in surprise, Red shook his head with mild exasperation. At such a critical juncture, both trainer and Pokémon had allowed themselves to become distracted, granting Milotic ample opportunity to capitalize.
Red commanded decisively, "Milotic, use Twister."
Before Dewgong could formulate a response, Milotic suddenly swung its tail to generate a violent tornado. The vortex's powerful suction pulled Dewgong forward uncontrollably, slowly drawing it into the twister's absorption radius.
"No! Dewgong, counterattack quickly!" Ryosuke shouted desperately, not anticipating Milotic's assault would be so immediate and decisive.
Originally, Ryosuke had planned to leverage Hail weather to continuously drain Milotic's stamina through attrition warfare, never expecting Aqua Ring would completely offset this strategy, maintaining Milotic in optimal condition.
Absorbed into the tornado, Dewgong inevitably panicked. In its distress, the Sea Lion Pokémon frantically attempted to release Ice Beam to disrupt Milotic's Twister but was coincidentally struck in the head by ice fragments also caught within the vortex, interrupting Ice Beam's execution.
Witnessing this unfavorable development, Ryosuke clenched his fists anxiously, momentarily unable to formulate effective countermeasures for the deteriorating situation.
"Dewgong, quickly use Ice Shard!"
With limited options, Ryosuke commanded Dewgong to release disruptive moves to interfere with Milotic's assault, but Red preemptively issued his own directive first.
"Milotic, aim for Dewgong's eyes and use Hypnosis," Red stated calmly, denying Ryosuke and Dewgong any opportunity for meaningful counterattack.
"What?! This Water-type can actually learn Hypnosis?!" Ryosuke exclaimed incredulously.
He didn't possess detailed knowledge of Milotic's complete movepool, only understanding it was Water-type—never expecting it could also execute the Psychic-type move Hypnosis.
Milotic, positioned before Dewgong, suddenly emanated mysterious psychic energy. Dewgong gazed directly into Milotic's eyes, discovering spiral patterns seemingly displayed within—the continuously rotating spirals induced overwhelming drowsiness, making it uncontrollably succumb to sleep.
Within moments, the increasingly drowsy Dewgong comfortably settled onto the ice surface, completely ignoring Ryosuke's urgent, desperate shouts, taking an impromptu nap.
"An unfortunate development! Dewgong, which was preparing to counterattack, has drowsily collapsed onto the ice under Milotic's Hypnosis influence, completely disregarding contestant Ryosuke's frantic calls! It appears Dewgong has lost all opportunity to defeat Milotic now," the announcer explained with barely contained excitement.
"Strange—from my understanding, Milotic doesn't naturally learn Hypnosis, does it?" Leaf questioned thoughtfully. Although her Pokédex lacked Hoenn region data, she possessed a solid grasp of such fundamental theoretical knowledge.