Volcarona's Bug Buzz made Lorze's ears ring uncomfortably. Conversely, Alder remained unruffled. Perhaps it was because he was used to it after partnering with Volcarona for a long time. The physique of the residents of the Pokémon world is truly something else... He still couldn't be too arrogant...
This was probably Volcarona's strongest strike. It was also attacking with the determination for a sure kill. But the effect of this strike compared to the previous one didn't seem to have much of an advantage in terms of the damage inflicted on Suicune.
Suicune, who had been meditating with her eyes closed all along, finally opened her eyes. The originally gentle, beautiful eyes now radiated a piercing murderous intent with incomparable firmness. This indubitably powerful aura made Volcarona visibly shudder.
Lorze was very happy: He knew Suicune could pull through. The barrier of Calm Mind... has already been completed!
The exasperated Volcarona lost its composure for a moment, continuously executing Bug Buzz to attack without any method. But the damage Suicune sustained was negligible. Her sturdy, beautiful body remained as unmoving as a towering city wall. She even took a rather forceful step forward, making the Volcarona in the air retreat backward somewhat fearfully.
Suicune's special bulk was inherently outstanding. Under the strengthening of Calm Mind, she was even more like a wall of bronze and iron (impenetrable). Volcarona's Bug Buzz could hardly harm her in the slightest.
"So she finished strengthening after all? Truly headache-inducing..."
Seeing that Suicune's Calm Mind was almost complete, Alder knew forcing a breakthrough would be fruitless, and turned to seek an alternative method—
"Since that's the case... then let's use Toxic!"
Volcarona's speed was quite a bit higher than Suicune's. Receiving the command, Volcarona tried hard to overcome the fear in its heart. Fluttering its wings, it stirred up the surrounding air, sweeping down wrapped in air currents. This not only increased its speed but also made the air currents a protection around its body!
Volcarona was inherently capable of using the move Hurricane, so Lorze wasn't surprised it used this kind of technique. Alder's Volcarona indeed had some real skills. It's just that wife Suicune's side had a bit of a strength suppression.
The swooping Volcarona merely touched Suicune like a dragonfly skimming the water, yet it pierced its toxin-laden mouthparts into Suicune's body. The purplish-blue color at the wound rapidly deteriorated; Suicune fell into a poisoned state!
Suicune's steps became somewhat heavy, and her vision somewhat blurry. Volcarona's toxin took effect very quickly. And previously, she had forcefully strengthened herself while enduring Leavanny's output. At this moment, her physical stamina was already somewhat lacking. A protracted battle was quite disadvantageous for Suicune.
"If I had known this, I should have used Toxic right from the start. I just didn't expect Suicune could actually withstand Volcarona's full-power attack without falling. But looking at it now, the outcome is probably..."
"The outcome is probably still an unknown variable. Suicune... Rest!"
"What!?"
Facing Volcarona's stormy offensive, Suicune actually, under Lorze's command, confidently lay on the ground and fell into a deep sleep. And the injuries on her body were recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye. The effect of the toxin was also diluted by the ample dormancy. As for why sleeping has a healing effect... Pokémon logic, don't ask!
In this way, all the previous output along with the Toxic completely failed. This hand of using Rest to recover basically declared the match killed... right?
"Relying on Rest to clear toxins and heal injuries, your preparations are indeed ample. Are you also planning to use Sleep Talk to gamble on moves? But such a tactic ultimately carries risks. If Sleep Talk doesn't roll an attacking move, it has no threat. Even if it rolls an attacking move... the accuracy while asleep can't be very high, right?"
Alder seemed to have found the key to victory again. He waved his hand with a face full of confidence: "Next is our turn. If you can use Calm Mind to strengthen, we can also use Quiver Dance to strengthen. Volcarona, take advantage of the opponent slacking off and sleeping to stimulate all your power! Quiver Dance!"
Seeing Volcarona fluttering its wings and dancing a mysterious dance, Lorze similarly couldn't let it sit there and strengthen. He absolutely had to restrict Volcarona. So he somewhat showily snapped his fingers—
"Next, Sleep Talk!"
"Woo-ru woo-ru roar roar..."
Suicune's low murmurs were indeed brewing something. But Alder and Volcarona wore completely fearless appearances: Don't tell me you can actually make this Sleep Talk turn the tables?
If it were an ordinary Trainer commanding, Suicune's Rest-Sleep Talk tactic might only act like drawing a lottery prize, relying entirely on the Pokémon's instinct to perform. But Lorze brought into play his advantage as an Esper, utilizing the telekinesis of the mental domain to issue commands to Suicune's subconscious!
This sounds simple to say, but it also requires considerable tacit understanding and trust between the Trainer and the Pokémon, otherwise the tactic cannot be executed. But the bond on Lorze and his Pokémon is what they lack the least. They are husband and wives who deeply love each other, soulmates who unconditionally trust each other!
Seeing Volcarona waving its wings and dancing Quiver Dance again, the tightly-eyed Suicune actually, without any vision whatsoever, forcefully kicked off the ground and pounced towards Volcarona, startling Volcarona and Alder into a moment of distraction!
But a Champion truly lives up to being a Champion. Volcarona's reaction far exceeded ordinary Pokémon, immediately flapping its wings and flying high, making Suicune miss.
But Suicune's offensive didn't stop there. The next incomparably precise Hydro Pump spat out from her mouth, pointing straight at Volcarona!
"Oh no, Volcarona... dodge quickly!"
Under the strengthening of Calm Mind, this water column was thicker and fiercer than an ordinary Hydro Pump. Moreover, the speed of the launch fundamentally left no room for reaction. As swift as Volcarona was, it failed to dodge at the first instance, naturally unable to completely escape unscathed.
Even though Alder's command was very timely, Volcarona's wing was still injured by the Hydro Pump brushing past it. It slowly fluttered and fell to the ground, just like those leaves falling from the treetops due to the battle.
Its proud wings injured and wet, Volcarona could no longer fly wantonly in the air like before. It could only barely hover at a low altitude.
Remaining silent until speaking, and then astonishing everyone. Her previous enduring of pressure failed to display Suicune's true strength. Just a slight move made Alder see her powerful dominance and oppressive feeling...
At this point, this Champion of the Unova League broke a sweat: Clearly employing the Rest-Sleep Talk tactic, but why are her actions as if she were wide awake?
He shifted his gaze to Lorze again. Alder had a premonition that right now, Lorze was Suicune's "eyes". This is a battle of mutual cooperation between Trainer and Pokémon!
Hiss, truly troublesome...
But Suicune's attack didn't stop there. In fact, the move she used next was what truly killed the match. Alder completely despaired.
"Surf——!"
As Suicune raised her head and roared, monstrous giant waves rose from the flat ground and supported her. And Suicune valiantly and heroically stood at the crest of the tide several meters high. Stepping on the giant waves beneath her feet, she swept towards Volcarona. She actually triggered a miniature tsunami in Pinwheel Forest!
Volcarona naturally couldn't hold on against Suicune's attack. Even if it deployed a Protect barrier, it was to no avail. The overwhelming power directly destroyed the seemingly sturdy defensive wall. Volcarona was also washed by the giant wave until it fainted with swirly eyes... As for Alder, he gritted his teeth and hugged a thick, sturdy large tree, barely maintaining his footing without being washed away by the giant wave.
The commotion here also startled the surrounding bird Pokémon into flapping their wings and flying away one after another. Suicune's destructive power no longer needed to be described with words.
The third match, a total victory for Lorze.
The sparring between Alder and Lorze had concluded. The final score settled at three to two. Although he was almost easily defeated by Lorze, Alder didn't request a tiebreaker; that would make him seem a bit too much like a sore loser.
If the previous battles displayed exquisite offensive rhythm, then the battle against Alder was a steady and solid defensive battle—a turtle iron-bucket formation (impenetrable defense)! Today... is the victory of the veteran stall player!
With the hand dealt, Lorze would of course choose the fighting style more suitable for the girls. Of course, no matter what type of fighting style it is, he can use it with ease. This is not difficult for a veteran Pokémon fan, especially a competitive player.
And the dramatic scene was that, just a few seconds after the battle ended, the Sleeping Suicune groggily opened her sleepy eyes. Under the influence of waking-up grumpiness, she let out dissatisfied purrs. Like a cute large cat, she raised her paw and rubbed her eyes.
"Woo-ru woo-ru, why does my body feel even more sore and tired after a sleep-ru? What are we doing now..."
Looking at Suicune's blank face, her eyes had also become much clearer. It seems the state of Calm Mind has also ended.
Shaking her head and looking around, Suicune seemed to just remember they were still in the middle of a battle: "Ah! I seemed to be helping Hubby fight!"
The silly and cute female beast hurriedly entered a state of high alert. But... she drew her sword and looked around, feeling completely lost. Where did the enemy go?
Suicune's foolishly cute actions after waking up were all seen by Lorze. As a result, he also couldn't hold it back and burst out laughing with a "pfft".
The drawback of the move Rest is truly too big. In the game, it can be specifically quantified as not waking up for two turns. But in reality, how could it be so simple... Then it's not just lacking defense during the sleeping period; even after waking up from sleep, there is more or less a feeling of sluggishness.
Take Suicune for example. This appearance of hers is clearly being confused from sleep. In this short while of not being fully awake, her combat power is equal to zero!
Depending on the individual habits of the Pokémon, the aftereffects of waking up from sleep are also different for each. After all, they are also living beings, not precisely operating machines. This conversely made Lorze like them even more.
"Suicune baby is finally awake. The battle has already ended. Look at the surroundings, this is aaall done by Suicune baby oh~"
Looking at the surroundings that looked like a flood had passed through, a complete mess, Suicune aggrievedly scratched her head: Did I do all this? I don't have any impression of it at all.
"Anyway... we've already won. Our cooperation was still very flawless. Sleeping Wifey is also very amazing!"
Suicune very proudly nodded: No wonder I always felt a mysterious power controlling me after falling asleep just now. And after waking up, we had already won? Hubby is truly amazing, hoho!
The excited Suicune directly tackled Lorze and became intimately affectionate with her beloved husband. The latter was also tickled by her hair rubbing against him: "Oh hehe, don't rub anymore, hehe!"
On the other side, Alder silently recalled Volcarona. His arrival also made Lorze and Suicune stop their intimate behavior: Shameful things have to wait until there are no outsiders present to do.
"A loss is a loss. I have no excuses to make. Being able to see such an outstanding young person makes my heart feel much more at ease."
Lorze thought of Alder's words from before, so he once again brought up the matter of Team Plasma to Alder. This time he should be able to weigh his words more carefully, right?
"In short... Lord Alder, I have already proven myself with strength. Please believe me, my words are not without foundation. Anyway, since you are currently touring Unova right now, why not personally inspect the underground of the League Headquarters? There's no harm in going to take a look anyway. I believe your thoughts will be different after that."
Although Alder still didn't understand why Lorze was obsessed with the underground of the League, he appreciated strong people, especially a young strong person like Lorze. After all, Alder considered himself an old man in his twilight years, so he held great expectations for these future pillars.
Precisely because of this, the weight of Lorze's words became a few points heavier to Alder. He had already planned to follow Lorze's suggestion and properly investigate the underground situation of the League Headquarters.
Hopefully... this young man won't betray his trust.
"Alright, since you insist so much, then I will go take a look. Truly can't understand you young people... This meeting was still very fruitful for me. Looking forward to our next meeting, haha!"
"Wait a moment, Mr. Alder!"
Before Alder left, Lorze informed him of his contact information. Although Alder knew absolutely nothing about electronic products and the like, having it is always better than not having it, right? What if he wants to contact him after discovering Team Plasma's castle?
This way everything was handled perfectly. Alder also grabbed Braviary's talons and flew towards the north. This direction... could he truly be going to find the League underground? Truly astonishing execution ability.
Alder, flying in the air, looked down at the lush Pinwheel Forest with a complex expression. He was somewhat in a trance, still somewhat minding the sparring session just now.
Although victory and defeat are common occurrences for a soldier, for him to actually be defeated by an unknown young lad, to say he had no sense of frustration at all would be a lie.
Moreover, he couldn't even find an excuse for self-comfort for this defeat: Except for that newly trained Leavanny, he was completely crushed by Lorze throughout the entire duel. Alder also didn't dare say he lost to Lorze because he didn't go all out; that would be purely deceiving oneself and others.
This young man's strength... truly far exceeded his expectations...
Besides the battle itself, he also firmly informed him of matters regarding Team Plasma. Even though he hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes yet, right now Alder was infinitely close to believing Lorze.
Just who is this guy exactly? Is he truly just a Trainer traveling in Unova? Alder was somewhat suspicious.
But on second thought, at least Lorze was a very nice young man. With no clues right now, he decided not to delve deeply into his identity for the time being. Better to properly search and see what exactly is hidden beneath the Unova League...