Peter smiled faintly.
"A battle against Ilima…? Of course, no problem! Trainers have rules too—when your eyes meet, you battle!"
Ilima bowed politely.
"Then please allow me to learn from you."
A short while later, the group arrived at the academy's battle field.
Professor Kukui clapped his hands loudly while gathering the students.
"Alright everyone, come over here! Next up is a friendly match between Professor Peter from Johto and Ilima! Watch carefully, okay~?"
"Yay! It's Ilima!"
"Hurry up, Kiawe, you're too slow!"
A tan-skinned girl with green hair wearing an apron-style romper waved excitedly toward a dark-skinned red-haired boy nearby.
With a single glance, Peter recognized two future members of the original Alola cast.
The cheerful little cook Mallow
and the fiery musclehead Kiawe.
Both would later become trial captains of Akala Island specializing in Grass- and Fire-types respectively.
Kukui stepped onto the referee's platform.
"Then I'll serve as referee! Battle format is one-on-one! Both sides, send out your Pokémon!"
At his command, Peter and Ilima threw their Poké Balls simultaneously.
Ilima: "Go, Eevee!"
Peter: "Indeedee, I'll leave this one to you!"
Eevee ♂ Lv.45
vs
Indeedee ♀ Lv.48
Two adorable Pokémon appeared on the battlefield, instantly drawing excited cheers from the students.
"That Pokémon is sooo cute! I've never seen it before!"
Rotom floated out helpfully.
"Indeedee, the Emotion Pokémon! A highly intelligent Psychic-type Pokémon that excels at caring for others and strongly dislikes conflict, Rotom~!"
"Ohhh…" Kukui rubbed his chin in admiration. "So that's the newest Rotom Phone released by the League? Pretty impressive!"
Peter also released his own Eevee from its Poké Ball.
"Watch this battle carefully, alright~?"
"Eevee~!"
The little fox climbed onto his shoulder, staring intently at Ilima's Eevee across the field.
"So Professor Peter also has an Eevee…" Ilima said emotionally before looking toward his partner. "Then let's perform our best in front of our fellow Eevee!"
"Eevee!"
Kukui raised his arm.
"Battle… START!"
"Against a Psychic-type…" Ilima immediately made his move. "Eevee, use Quick Attack to close the distance!"
"Indeedee, Fake Out!"
"Dee~!"
Indeedee stepped forward, an energy-coated palm already appearing in front of Eevee.
"Dangerous! Eevee, chain Quick Attacks to dodge!"
"Eevee!"
Eevee tapped the ground repeatedly, its body tracing a zigzag streak of white light as it narrowly avoided the incoming slap.
Peter smiled.
"Beautiful movement… but how will you deal with this?"
His expression sharpened instantly.
"Expanding Force!"
"Dee~"
Indeedee gave a soft cry.
At her feet, a Psychic Terrain rapidly expanded outward.
Before Eevee could fully recover its footing, a psychic sigil appeared beneath it.
The next second—
BOOM!!!
A massive psychic eruption exploded skyward, launching Eevee several meters into the air.
"Ugh…"
Eevee crashed heavily to the ground, covered in injuries.
Hala narrowed his eyes.
"What incredible power… This Indeedee's psychic talent is extraordinary."
"Yeah…" Kukui nodded. "But I wonder whether Ilima plans to use that move…"
On the battlefield, Eevee slowly climbed back to its feet.
"Are you alright, Eevee?" Ilima asked.
"Eevee!"
"Good… Then let's show Professor Peter our full power!"
A confident smile appeared on Ilima's face.
He crossed his fists before his chest.
On his wrist, the white Z-Ring suddenly erupted with golden light.
"It's coming!" Peter's eyes gleamed brightly.
Whitney blinked curiously.
"This is…?"
Rotom immediately explained:
"This is a Z-Move, Rotom! By using a Z-Ring, trainers can draw out the power inside Z-Crystals to massively enhance a Pokémon's moves, Rotom~!"
As Rotom spoke, Ilima lowered his crossed arms.
Eevee leapt gracefully onto the top of his head and inhaled deeply.
"Eeeeeeveeeeeee—!!!"
A strange ring of light burst outward from Eevee's body.
The sky suddenly darkened.
Dust storms rose from the streets in the distance.
And then—
Eight figures appeared simultaneously.
Vaporeon
Jolteon
Flareon
Espeon
Umbreon
Leafeon
Glaceon
Sylveon
"Everyone… lend your strength to my Eevee!"
Ilima thrust his hands outward dramatically.
"Extreme Evoboost!!!"
Brilliant nine-colored light burst from the Z-Ring into Eevee's body.
The eight evolutions transformed into streams of differently colored energy, simultaneously pouring their power into the glowing Eevee.
In an instant—
Radiance exploded across the battlefield!
Extreme Evoboost—
Eevee's exclusive Z-Move.
By equipping the Eevee Z-Crystal, all eight Eeveelutions could be summoned to grant their power simultaneously, transforming the move Last Resort into a special Z-Move that sharply raised every single stat by two stages.
"So this is… Extreme Evoboost…"
Even Peter's eyes became slightly dazed.
Suddenly…
the embarrassing dance motions required for Z-Moves didn't seem so unacceptable anymore.
After all, Z-Moves required trainers to perform synchronized poses to properly release their power.
The stance Ilima used earlier was exactly that.
"Woooow… it's so beautiful…"
The students gasped in amazement.
On Peter's shoulder, his own Eevee stared at the scene with sparkling eyes full of longing.
Peter gently tapped its nose.
"If you like it… then let's work hard and achieve it ourselves someday, okay?"
"Eevee~!"
"Alright, Professor Peter!" Ilima declared confidently. "Let's continue this battle!"
With all stats raised by two stages—
that meant every attribute had effectively doubled.
This was no simple increase.
"Sure," Peter replied calmly. "But… this Z-Move is activated through Last Resort, right?"
"Hm?"
Ilima froze slightly.
At that exact moment, Peter's command rang out:
"Indeedee, Psych Up!"
Psych Up—
A move that copied the opponent's stat changes onto the user.
Ilima's expression changed immediately.
"Not good! Eevee, Quick Attack and interrupt her!"
Eevee instantly charged forward wrapped in white light.
"Dee~"
Indeedee closed her eyes peacefully.
Her body glowed softly as multiple stat boost effects erupted around her one after another.
Then—
just before Quick Attack could land—
she calmly stepped aside.
Within Psychic Terrain, priority moves were detected and automatically avoided!
Ilima had panicked so much that he'd completely forgotten the terrain effect.
Kukui sighed while shaking his head.
"Ilima got too anxious there…"
"Compared to him, Peter's move selection is simply more efficient."
The moment Kukui finished speaking—
Indeedee unleashed Stored Power.
A massive pillar of psychic energy exploded skyward.
Eevee collapsed instantly.
"Eevee is unable to battle! The winner is Peter and Indeedee!"
[Ding! Indeedee leveled up to Lv.49!]
Peter smiled faintly.
He fed Indeedee a Rare Candy before recalling her.
Battles at this level…
were simply far too easy for him now.