"Waaah! Roselia, don't worry! Your sacrifice definitely won't be in vain! I and the others will always remember you!"
Roselia, now inside its PokeBall: "…"
"Mr. Liam! Your strength really is just as incredible as I imagined! But I'm not going to give up so easily either. My next Pokémon is this one! Go, Riolu!"
"Rio!"
Cynthia quickly sent out her second Pokémon—the lively little Riolu.
"Riolu! Charge in and use Sky Uppercut!"
"Rio!"
At Cynthia's command, the small Riolu immediately charged toward Volcarona!
Liam also reacted quickly.
"Volcarona, use Fiery Dance!"
"Volca~"
At Liam's command, Volcarona quickly began dancing through the air. Its three pairs of wings burst into flames, and then several thick serpents of fire shot rapidly from its fiery wings, twisting and surging toward Riolu!
"Riolu! Use Detect to dodge the attack! Then Quick Attack!"
"Rio!"
Seeing the tongues of flame sweeping toward it, Riolu's eyes flashed. Its small body immediately began weaving rapidly between the flames. After successfully dodging every fiery strike, Riolu suddenly transformed into a streak of white light!
In the blink of an eye, it had rushed beneath Volcarona!
Bang!!
"Volca~~"
Riolu's Quick Attack struck Volcarona squarely. The impact forced Volcarona backward as it cried out in pain.
"Yes! It hit! Great job, Riolu! Now use—huh?"
Cynthia happily shouted after seeing her attack connect.
But before she could finish—
"Whoosh!!"
"Rio!!"
A burst of flames suddenly erupted from Riolu's body, completely engulfing it!
The flames only burned fiercely for an instant before disappearing again, revealing Riolu's body, which was now somewhat blackened.
"Oh no! It's burned! Riolu, come back!"
Seeing that Riolu had been afflicted with a burn, Cynthia immediately recalled it into its PokeBall despite her earlier excitement.
"That was a good decision. Riolu relies more heavily on physical attacks, and once a Pokémon is burned, its physical Attack drops considerably. Continuing to let Riolu fight would only cause it to take unnecessary damage. Knowing when to recall your Pokémon is also something a competent Trainer needs to understand."
After these two battles, Liam's spirits had finally picked up again. Seeing Cynthia recall Riolu, he gave her an approving compliment.
Hearing Liam's words, Cynthia quickly nodded.
"I'll remember those words! And now—go, Togekiss!"
"Togeki~"
As she spoke, Cynthia sent out Togekiss. The white Togekiss spread its wings and immediately took to the sky, circling continuously while keeping a vigilant eye on the Volcarona hovering before Liam.
"Togekiss has the Flying type, so it has quite an advantage against my Volcarona. But you said it yourself earlier—if you can't overcome even this little bit of type disadvantage, then what kind of Champion would you be? Volcarona!"
"Volca~"
"Use Quiver Dance!"
"Whoo~~"
At Liam's command, Volcarona quickly danced through the air in an elegant pattern. As it performed Quiver Dance, its stats rapidly increased!
"Togekiss! Attack now! Use Extreme Speed!"
"Togeki!"
After Togetic evolves into Togekiss, it learns Extreme Speed. Without a doubt, this was an extremely powerful move.
Togekiss used Extreme Speed and instantly transformed into a streak of white light in midair.
The next moment, Togekiss slammed violently into Volcarona!
Boom!
Togekiss drove its head directly into Volcarona's body, and at the instant of impact, it smashed Volcarona into the ground!
"It's certainly fast! But the power seems a little lacking!"
Although Togekiss was incredibly fast when using Extreme Speed, it was naturally not particularly strong in terms of physical Attack. Thus, even after taking the attack head-on, Volcarona still had plenty of strength left to continue fighting!
"Volcarona! Use Fiery Dance to trap it!"
"Volca!!"
With a cry from Volcarona, the Pokémon that had been pinned against the ground by Togekiss suddenly beat its wings with tremendous force!
As its wings moved, six streams of flame rapidly swept out from them!
"Dodge it, Togekiss! Fly back into the sky!"
"Togeki!"
But just as the Fiery Dance was about to take shape, Togekiss immediately released Volcarona upon hearing the command. It spread its wings and flew into the sky!
"You can't escape! Chase after it, Volcarona! Use Fiery Dance!"
"Volca!"
Seeing Togekiss evade the attack, Liam immediately ordered Volcarona to pursue it and launch another assault!
Volcarona beat its wings powerfully, kicking up a cloud of dust as it shot from the ground. The next moment, its entire body was enveloped in flames.
Volcarona's speed was actually much greater than Togekiss's when Togekiss wasn't using Extreme Speed. During the aerial pursuit, Volcarona quickly caught up with it.
And just as Volcarona caught up—
"Volca!!"
The Fiery Dance that had been building up for some time was unleashed!
Numerous pillar-like tongues of flame swept outward like the tentacles of an octopus!
But just as Togekiss was about to be struck by the flames—
"Watch out, Togekiss! Turn around and use Hyper Voice!"
Togekiss abruptly turned around, facing the countless flames rushing toward it head-on.
It quickly took a deep breath. Its already somewhat plump body seemed to swell even further.
And then—
"Togeeee~kiss!!"
As Togekiss opened its mouth, a deafening roar suddenly spread through the sky!
The powerful sound waves were so intense that they could actually be seen with the naked eye, rolling outward in wave after wave.
The flames released by Volcarona's Fiery Dance were completely destroyed the moment they approached, shattered by the successive waves of sound!
"Great job, Togekiss! Now use Aura Sphere!"
"Togeki!"
Cynthia immediately launched her counterattack!
Togekiss stopped using Hyper Voice and rapidly condensed an Aura Sphere roughly the size of a soccer ball in front of its head.
The next instant, Togekiss fired the Aura Sphere toward the Volcarona in the sky!
However, the flames on Volcarona's wings had yet to dissipate. Its entire body was enveloped in a red glow.
As that red light appeared, the flames burning across Volcarona's body suddenly became much more intense!
"Oh? The stat-boosting effect of Fiery Dance activated? Excellent! Volcarona! Take advantage of it and use Heat Wave!"
"Volca~~"
Fiery Dance was Volcarona's signature move. After being used, it had a 50% chance of raising the user's Special Attack.
And Volcarona had already used Quiver Dance once, raising its Special Attack by one stage. Now Fiery Dance had raised its Special Attack by another stage.
Therefore—
The instant Volcarona heard Liam's command and flapped its wings to unleash Heat Wave, the entire sky was suddenly engulfed by a blazing red storm!
The Aura Sphere fired by Togekiss was crushed apart the instant it entered the fiery storm.
And in the very next moment, Togekiss itself was swallowed by the flames!