The viewers in the livestream were completely confused by what Theo and Milotic were doing.
"What is this supposed to mean? Strategy No. 3? Why is Milotic not dodging?"
"Solar Beam is a Grass type ultimate move. It counters Water types. If Milotic tanks it head on, it will definitely be heavily injured!"
"Is it relying on Aqua Ring to recover? But that small amount of healing cannot possibly keep up, right?"
It was not just the audience who did not understand. Even Winona could not figure out Theo's intention.
"What is it trying to do?"
Winona frowned tightly. Looking at the completely motionless Milotic, a sense of unease gradually rose in her heart.
But Togekiss's Solar Beam was already fully charged. The arrow was on the string and had to be released. She could only grit her teeth and shout:
"Fire!"
A massive emerald green beam burst from Togekiss's mouth. Its edges were lined with golden light, like a laser, shooting straight toward Milotic within the rainstorm.
The beam roared into the curtain of rain. As the green light tore through, all the raindrops along its path were instantly vaporized, turning into large plumes of white mist. The momentum was terrifying.
However
Just as the beam was about to reach Milotic
"Miloo~!"
With a low cry from Milotic, a square, transparent barrier like glass suddenly appeared behind its body.
"It is Mirror Coat!" Winona's expression changed drastically as she shouted, "Togekiss, stop now!"
But it was already too late.
Although Togekiss immediately closed its mouth and forcibly cut off the energy output upon hearing the command, more than half of the already formed Solar Beam still slammed into Milotic.
"Milo!"
Milotic let out a pained cry. Its creamy white body showed scorched marks, clearly having suffered heavy damage from the super effective Grass type attack.
At the same time, however, the transparent barrier behind Milotic seemed to have absorbed the impact of the Solar Beam. Its color gradually shifted from clear to emerald green.
Even after the Solar Beam's assault ended, the color on the barrier continued to change.
From its initial green, it slowly deepened, becoming darker and heavier, until it turned into a deep, almost ink like green.
It was as if it contained doubled, violent energy, waiting for a single moment to erupt.
Bang!
In an instant, the barrier shattered.
Before anyone in the audience could react, a beam even darker than the original Solar Beam shot out from the broken fragments like lightning, reflecting straight back toward Togekiss.
"Tog—!"
Togekiss had no time to react. It was struck head on by the dark green beam and fell from the sky like a plane out of control.
It flapped its wings desperately, struggling for a long time before finally stabilizing itself, barely avoiding crashing to the ground.
But its once snow white feathers were now scorched black, and its aura had clearly weakened.
This move Milotic used was the Psychic type move Mirror Coat.
Mirror Coat creates a special reflective barrier. After taking a special attack, it reflects the damage back at double power.
The Technical Machine for Mirror Coat had been obtained by Theo during a reward draw after Metagross first participated in a Contest.
Unfortunately, the move was not suitable for Metagross, which could not learn it. Milotic, however, was perfectly capable of learning it.
So Theo immediately decided to teach Mirror Coat to Milotic.
Coincidentally, among the enhancement potions Milotic had used, in addition to special attack boosters, there were also stamina enhancement potions specifically meant to improve its endurance.
Combined with the fact that Milotic already knew multiple recovery moves, it was the perfect partner for a technique like Mirror Coat, which required taking damage before reflecting it.
This was the Strategy No. 3 Theo had custom built for Milotic
Trading damage for damage, returning it with double force
At this moment, although Milotic was heavily injured, the Aqua Ring surrounding its body had transformed into gentle blue ribbons of water, continuously flowing into it and delivering healing energy.
At the same time, Milotic let out a soft chant, activating Life Dew.
Tiny, pure droplets of water formed around it and gradually merged into its body.
With the dual healing effects of Aqua Ring and Life Dew working together, Milotic's injuries rapidly began to recover.
The scorched scales on its body regained their luster at a visible speed, and its previously weakened aura quickly stabilized and rose again.
Only then did the audience finally realize what had just happened.
"What the hell was that? Reflecting damage?!"
"Did not the Gym Leader say it? That was Mirror Coat."
"I know, but I have never seen the streamer's Milotic use this move before. It has not battled for so long, and the moment it comes out, it gives such a huge surprise!"
"The streamer is too cunning. He deliberately let Milotic stand still and take the hit just to reflect the damage back at Togekiss."
Winona had no time to think about anything else. Looking at Togekiss with concern, she quickly issued her command.
"Togekiss, use Roost to recover!"
Just like the shiny Swellow earlier, Togekiss's feathers dimmed slightly before white feather phantoms appeared around its body.
As those feathers merged into it, Togekiss's injuries gradually healed, and its scorched feathers slowly returned to their pristine white.
Winona looked at Theo with a complicated expression, her voice carrying a hint of bitterness.
"I did not expect you to have something like this hidden. Even that person's Milotic does not know this move. It is hard to believe that you are still a rookie trainer who has only been raising Pokémon for a little over a year.
Genius, truly a genius. I was called a Flying type prodigy since I was young, yet why… why am I so much worse than coordinators like you?
You are clearly coordinators. Why are you even stronger than us trainers who specialize in battles?"
Seeing Winona's somewhat pained expression, Theo felt a ripple in his heart. A trace of sympathy rose within him, and he hurriedly tried to change the subject.
"It is because… because I am a psychic. If I were not a psychic, I definitely would not be your opponent, Gym Leader Winona."
Hearing her words, Theo gradually pieced together the thoughts hidden deep within her heart and understood her feelings.
Although Winona appeared cold and elegant on the surface, she was actually very competitive. Just from her goal of becoming a regional Champion like Cynthia, it was clear.
If she had once traveled together with Steven and Wallace, then whether it was friendship or something more, for someone as competitive as her, those memories were probably not warm ones.
Instead, they were heavy, unspoken pressures that weighed deeply on her heart.
(End of Chapter)