Unfortunately, before he could take a closer look, Adam's command came again.
"Let it go, Self-Rebirth."
"Milu!"
Upon hearing this, Adam's Milotic quickly broke free from the Tight Binding state, and as it distanced itself from its opponent, a golden healing glow illuminated its surface.
In the sky above the battlefield.
The dark clouds slowly dispersed, no longer pouring rain, and the long-lasting rainy weather finally came to an end.
"Milotic, pull yourself together!"
Baimu called out loudly to encourage the altered-color Milotic, which, though finally catching a breath, was still in a daze.
The combination of Tight Binding and Itching might not have caused much physical damage, but it left the latter exhausted, allowing Adam's Milotic time to recover.
The advantage they had painstakingly gained slipped back into the opponent's hands once more.
The altered-color Milotic was both physically and mentally exhausted and somewhat flustered.
Unlike Aggron, it didn't yet have a resonant understanding with its Trainer. With its combat experience always being insufficient, it was inevitably anxious when encountering obstacles after its first burst of strength.
"Don't be afraid! We still have plenty of opportunities!"
Baimu shouted to calm the altered-color Milotic, refraining from rushing into an attack, even though he wanted to interrupt the opponent's Self-Rebirth.
The Water Flow Ring continued to heal its injuries, restoring its energy, so despite showing signs of near defeat earlier, the altered-color Milotic's condition was actually not that bad.
The Awakened Power might have been in vain, but the Aggressive boost in Special Attack made it likely to seriously injure the opponent again!
Hearing the Trainer's voice, the altered-color Milotic gradually calmed down.
Considering itself somewhat foolish, it largely abandoned most autonomous actions, primarily relying on commands for making various judgments...whatever the Trainer said, that was it.
The two once again turned their gaze towards Adam's recovering Milotic, realizing that its condition after taking the Awakened Power was far from as relaxed as Adam claimed. Otherwise, it wouldn't be taking such a long time to recover.
Seeing the battle seemingly returning to its initial state, Baimu's eyes sharpened.
"Use Blizzard to freeze the water surface in front of you!"
Starting over is also an opportunity!
"Milu!"
The altered-color Milotic took a deep breath and suddenly exhaled a howling gale mixed with snowflakes, instantly freezing the waves along its path into blocks of ice with crisp cracking sounds.
Compared to the previous Frozen Beam that failed to leave any ice, the Blizzard, enhanced by the Special Attack, had freezing efficiency that was visibly noticeable.
Of course.
This time, the focus was different from before. Having gained experience, Baimu clearly understood that by first freezing the central section of the pool, it was enough to hinder the rapid formation of Tide Spin.
Being slightly off could make a huge difference!
Whoosh—
With the sound of fierce howling winds, the Blizzard roared towards Milotic, whose golden glow was barely subsiding.
"An interesting idea, but unfortunately, my specialties are never just one."
Adam smiled and said, "Water Flow Ring."
As the words fell.
An azure water ring emerged around Milotic. Unlike the multilayered rings of the altered-color Milotic, it was just a single ring—but extraordinarily thick!
Boom!!
With a sound like a flood breaching a dike, the water ring, akin to a water column, instantly swelled and clashed with the oncoming Blizzard!
Crack, crack, crack—
The continuous freezing sound resembled dozens of bags of chips being crushed simultaneously. The surface of the water ring was quickly transformed into ice crystals by the Blizzard, but as it swelled and expanded non-stop, none of the ice crystals remained intact.
In an instant.
The water ring, carrying chunks of ice of various sizes, reached the altered-color Milotic, as the Blizzard failed to block its path of expansion.
"Milu!"
The altered-color Milotic widened its eyes, unable to evade.
Bang!!
The water exploded! Ice shards flew!
The altered-color Milotic was forced backward, sinking into the water.
Ice particles brushed its face, bringing a sting, but Baimu paid it no mind as he focused on the water ring gradually dispersing, with a hint of excitement in his eyes.
Baimu had seen a Milotic use this unique method of Water Flow Ring in an animation, which even inspired the altered-color Milotic to learn this technique, yet it never managed to master it, only able to bully little ones.
It was far from reaching the level demonstrated by Adam's Milotic—
For a non-attacking move like Water Flow Ring to break through Blizzard so effortlessly was unimaginable.
There's so much to learn!
Baimu suppressed the joy in his heart, scanning the ice-filled pool, and upon spotting a shadow swiftly gliding beneath the central ice surface, he immediately shouted, "Awakened Power!"
"Hmm?"
Adam's gaze fell on his own exotic Milotic under his sight, and he smiled lightly, saying, "Indeed, a resilient child. But I've seen what I wanted to see, let's end it here, Tornado."
Underwater.
"Milo!"
The exotic Milotic, surrounded by several bright yellow spheres of light, charged towards Adam's Milotic, with flickering Thunderbolts shooting towards its lower body!
Crackle—
The current instantly illuminated the slightly dim underwater area but didn't hit as the exotic Milotic expected. They were all blocked by the swirling blue currents formed by the Whirlpool, while the opponent was at the center of this water vortex.
Water Spout!?
The exotic Milotic stared blankly at the opponent soaring into the sky alongside the Water Spout, suspended above the pool like a Rayquaza riding on clouds, winding and overlooking everything.
It hurriedly chased after, as the moment its head broke the water surface, the trainer's shout rang in its ears.
"Quickly dive back into the water and use Mirror Reflection!"
"Dragon's Pulse!"
Incredible energy gathered swiftly in Adam's Milotic's mouth; it mercilessly blasted it towards the exotic Milotic that had just surfaced!
Roar!!
The boiling energy plummeted like a frenzied giant blue dragon, ferociously clawing and roaring!
The exotic Milotic's body shimmered with a colorful light, shining bright and smooth like glass, already completely submerged back into the water.
Boom——!!
A deafening explosion shook the arena; a column of water soared skyward!
The surging Dragon Attribute energy exploded like a high explosive bullet, blowing up half the pool area.
The domed ceiling was violently struck by the raging water, rumbling madly, while scattered splashes flew like a torrential rain, soaking Baimu's half-dry clothes in an instant.
He had to remind himself, this is the true power of Adam's Milotic.
In light of all that had happened earlier.
Baimu understood that Adam, the seemingly semi-retired former Gym Leader, had the capabilities to assume the position among the Hoenn Four Heavenly Kings, and even among the world's Four Heavenly Kings, he would be an exceptional contender.
Unfortunately, the alliance hadn't extended an invitation for him to succeed as one of the Four Heavenly Kings, meaning Adam's accomplishments in training are limited to a top Gym Leader.
Power and achievement are two different things.
The duration of this battle stretched on, mainly because Adam was somewhat holding back to witness the exotic Milotic's limits firsthand, only unveiling his full strength at the end, putting a definitive end to this match.
Water droplets sparsely fell from the ceiling.
In the half-drained pool, the two Milotics distanced themselves, gazing at each other.
Soon after.
The exotic Milotic faintly swayed its head like a drunken person and then collapsed weakly into the water, splashing a bit while panting heavily.
The Pokémon cheering from outside the field showed expressions of regret.
"...I lost, Teacher."
Baimu lowered his head in resignation and retrieved the exotic Milotic back into its Pokeball, "You did well, rest up now."
"Hmm."
Adam smiled as he descended from the high platform.
His Milotic also swam to the edge of the pool, following him to where Baimu stood after jumping down from the platform.
"You surprised me, Baimu."
Adam spoke softly, "Even though I've continually elevated my estimation of you, your performance far exceeded my expectations. Honestly, battling with you has truly delighted me."
"However..."
He looked at Baimu, whose expression bore a hint of confusion, and with a mix of admiration and a sigh said, "Regrettably, you're already a remarkably mature and excellent Trainer."
"Uh... huh?"
Baimu was baffled.
How could such a positive term sound like a criticism?
"You've only been a Trainer for less than a year, right?" Adam quietly asked.
Baimu thought for a bit and nodded, saying, "Yes."
"Too fast."
The middle-aged gentleman raised his hand to his forehead, lamenting, "How great it would have been to meet you sooner. Now, you've already forged an almost inseparable bond with Pokémon... I wanted to help you shape a new and complete vessel, but during the battle, I realized, you've already long possessed something so wonderful..."
Adam was looking at the Aggron as he spoke.
Baimu watched this, feeling puzzled at first, then understanding as his gaze met the equally puzzled Aggron's eyes.
"Exceptional bond!"
He quietly echoed Adam's words.