Milotic finally agreed.
Lin Feng let out a small breath of relief. As a trainer, he naturally hoped his Pokémon would stay active and engaged, not spend their days lounging in the reservoir or watering fruit trees in the plantation.
This was a good opportunity.
The field was set. Li Bing rode on his Shield Sword monster, hovering in the air as he looked down at the two trainers standing beside the lake.
"Battle start! Both sides, release your first Pokémon at the same time!"
As his voice faded, both trainers issued their commands almost simultaneously.
"Go, Milotic!"
"Come out, Glaceon!"
A flash of red light.
A long, elegant, beautiful figure instantly slipped into the lake.
On the opposite side stood a Glaceon, its body covered in ice blue fur, two long ribbons hanging around its neck.
Its eyes were bright, its frame slightly petite, much like its trainer, seemingly destined to grow only older, not taller.
Lin Feng looked at Milotic.
Pokémon: Milotic
Gender: Female
Type: Water
Ability: Marvel Scale
Potential: Gold
Strength: Level 62 to 65
Moves: Water Gun, Water Pulse, Tackle, Disarming Voice, Aqua Ring, Twister, Dragon Tail, Recover, Protect, Muddy Water, Hydro Pump…
Affection: 100
Happiness: 50 (anticipation, expectation, fear…)
Although Milotic usually spent its days watering flowers, its energy level was not low at all.
From its happiness stat, it actually seemed… looking forward to this battle?
Lin Feng nodded slightly.
It looked like Milotic was not afraid of fighting after all.
Then he turned his attention to the Glaceon on the opposite side.
Pokémon: Glaceon
Gender: Female
Type: Ice
Ability: Ice Body
Potential: Crimson
Individual Values: HP (14), Attack (25), Special Attack (31), Defense (31), Special Defense (20), Speed (18)
Strength: Level 63 to 64
In terms of energy level, the two Pokémon were roughly equal.
As for typing, neither had a clear advantage since Water was strong against Ice.
So this battle would not end like the previous one.
It was another completely new matchup.
A new Pokémon?
Seeing Milotic dive into the water immediately after appearing, a hint of admiration flashed in Sally's eyes.
From the previous two matches, Lin Feng had already used seven Pokémon.
Among those seven…
Aside from the less impressive Meowscarada, the other six were top-tier Pokémon in this Zenith Tournament.
And now, there was even a Milotic.
Although she only caught a brief glimpse when it first appeared, she could tell this Milotic was not only more beautiful than the one in the earlier match, but also significantly larger.
Li Bing was also slightly stunned.
He exclaimed, "Milotic? Another Milotic!"
"Another extremely rare and beautiful Pokémon has appeared on the Zenith Tournament stage! Participant Lin Feng still has more Pokémon to send out. Just how many does he have? It's almost unimaginable!"
The tournament arena was massive, almost the size of several football fields combined.
Above it, the ceiling was made of a single sheet of transparent glass.
It was a bright, sunny day. The blue sky reflected on the water surface, turning the entire lake into a deep sapphire hue.
In this vast blue water, a pale white figure moved swiftly beneath the surface.
"Please, Togekiss! Take me into the sky!"
On a battlefield of water, Milotic could easily hide beneath the surface. In such a wide arena, it was extremely difficult for a trainer to track movements from above the flat water.
So at the start of the match, Sally immediately sent out a Pokémon that looked like a small aircraft.
She let it carry her into the sky.
Meanwhile, Lin Feng stood still, expression calm.
No one was surprised by that.
Because yesterday's league broadcast had already confirmed that Lin Feng possessed Aura abilities.
Glaceon stood on a floating platform, gazing at the calm water surface with a solemn expression.
As a battle-hardened Pokémon, it not only followed its trainer's commands, but also reacted to the opponent's intentions.
But this time, the opponent's trainer had Aura abilities, meaning Milotic's attacks could come from anywhere at any time.
"Milotic, Surf!"
The water surface trembled at Lin Feng's calm command.
Almost at the same time, Sally also gave her order from above.
"Glaceon, move forward! Use Ice Beam!"
The calm water instantly erupted into towering waves, several meters high, then tens of meters high, all stirred up by Milotic in a single second as it surged forward along the crest.
It rushed toward Glaceon.
But in battles of this level, even a single second was enough to react.
Glaceon condensed an Ice Beam midair and fired it forward.
The wave froze instantly.
The waves on both sides collapsed rapidly, crashing down and shattering the floating platforms beneath.
The Ice Beam chased Milotic into the wave, forcing it upward toward the crest, trying to drive it out of the water before hitting it.
Lin Feng raised a brow.
This Glaceon was stronger than expected.
That single move already showed its intent clearly.
Freeze the wave to protect itself, then force Milotic out of the water. Once airborne, Milotic would become an easy target.
However, Lin Feng remained calm.
He watched the wave's position closely.
The moment Milotic was about to exit the Surf range, he gave the command.
"Milotic, jump out of the water and use Aqua Tail!"
A crisp splash echoed as Milotic burst from the water.
At the same time, the trailing Ice Beam followed closely behind.
But just as Milotic leapt upward, its tail suddenly glowed with a cold blue light.
It swung down hard onto the frozen wave.
CRACK!
A sharp, glass-like shattering sound echoed.
The rising ice wave shattered like glass.
Fragments scattered like white foam, lifting Milotic even higher into the air.
Sunlight poured down, and the shattered ice sparkled in rainbow colors.
Milotic's elegant, willow-like body was fully exposed to the audience.
Its shimmering scales glowed brilliantly, breathtakingly beautiful in that moment.
"It's… so beautiful…" someone murmured unconsciously.
"Is this really a Pokémon battle? It feels like a Pokémon Contest…" someone else said, wide-eyed.
Even the commentator Li Bing was momentarily stunned, forgetting to speak.
Milotic's gaze then locked onto Glaceon below, its clear red eyes calm and focused.
It had not battled in a long time.
It had almost forgotten what fighting felt like. The only thing it remembered was that in its previous battle, a single move had ended everything.
Because of that, Milotic had always believed battles were dangerous, not only for other Pokémon, but for itself as well.
Back then, it had been able to stay beside Lin Feng, no longer forced to survive in rocky crevices or search for food alone.
When it could not find anything, it would simply wait by the riverbank until the whistle sounded.
And then that day came.
"Do you want to come home with me?"
That single sentence had made its world spin.
Because of that happiness, it had become afraid of battle.
Afraid that it might never wake up again afterward.
Fortunately, as time passed, Sky Challenge battles became more common, and Meowscarada's training caused no harm, slowly giving Milotic courage again.
The scattered light and shattered ice briefly blinded Glaceon and Sally, preventing them from locating Milotic in the air.
That brief opening was all Milotic needed.
"Scald!"
Spinning in midair, Milotic felt sunlight wash over its eyes.
But what it released was boiling, steaming water.
The scorching stream poured downward.
Sally finally snapped back to reality. Looking at the incoming attack, her expression changed instantly.
She quickly scanned the surroundings and realized all nearby platforms had been destroyed by Surf.
There was nowhere to land.
Helpless, she shouted, "Jump into the water!"
The vast lake meant that no matter how strong Scald was, entering the water would neutralize its effect.
But this was exactly what Lin Feng had been waiting for.
Surf and Scald were both set-ups to force Glaceon into the water.
Once it entered, the battlefield truly belonged to Milotic.
"Do it. Use Wrap!"
Even though Milotic was over eight meters long, its movements were as agile as a serpent.
It dived straight after Glaceon, which had just entered the water and was trying to form ice beneath itself to climb back up.
But Milotic arrived first.
Its tail wrapped around Glaceon and pulled it in tightly.
A painful cry echoed underwater.
"Use Ice Beam!"
The huge difference in size meant Glaceon could not break free.
Sally knew this too, so she immediately ordered an attack.
Enduring the pain, Glaceon fired Ice Beam at close range.
Milotic hesitated for a moment.
It could feel the danger.
The attack looked far stronger than anything it had ever seen before.
Its instinct told it to release and dodge.
"Milotic, don't be afraid. It's not that scary."
Lin Feng's Aura voice echoed in its mind.
Instinct versus command.
Milotic chose Lin Feng without hesitation.
It tightened its body.
The Ice Beam struck.
For a moment, Milotic stiffened.
Then it relaxed.
It was not as painful as expected.
The beam continued firing, but Glaceon's expression grew worse.
"Drag it deeper into the water!"
Milotic obeyed instantly, pulling the battlefield further down.
Glaceon was suffering now. Cold water slammed against its body, disrupting its Ice Beam completely.
Soon, Milotic dragged the dizzy Glaceon toward Lin Feng at high speed.
So fast that Sally, still riding Togekiss in the air, could not even recall Glaceon in time.
Lin Feng froze.
Then he raised his voice.
"Hey, it's already fainted. Why are you bringing it over to me? I can't catch it."
This is a match, not a wild battle. You can't capture knocked-out Pokémon.
The entire audience fell silent for a second.
Then the stadium exploded in laughter.
Milotic tilted its head slightly, as if realizing its mistake.
It had been too excited about winning and forgotten where it was.
It gently placed Glaceon down, then dipped its head into the water, blowing a few bubbles as if apologizing.
Li Bing quickly recovered his professionalism.
"Ah… it seems Participant Lin Feng's Milotic is participating in its first real battle. It appears to have performed some… unusual actions, but Glaceon has indeed lost its ability to battle. Please decide whether to change the field, Participant Sally."
Even for a seasoned commentator, this was a first.
But the crowd was already laughing uncontrollably in the stands.
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