Steven and Wallace understood very well the helplessness that Lance felt at that moment because they had tried too. The two of them had fought against this tactic before. It was profoundly uncomfortable! Steven's Rock-type Pokémon and Wallace's Water-type Pokémon had behaved in a similar, utterly stifled manner when they encountered a Florges. But the Kingdra felt particularly aggrieved because it had been completely outmaneuvered. Let's not even mention the Dragon-type being restrained by the Fairy-type, but now its Water-based skills had no effect! Its Sniper ability was also rendered useless by the Misty Terrain, and its Special Attack had been lowered. After two powerful moves were used, the Florges, who had not made any active defense, did not even tremble.

"In that case! Kingdra, use Ice Beam!" Lance could only choose an Ice-type skill. As the person who knows Dragon-type Pokémon best, and to avoid being too powerless during Dragon-type mirror matches, it was essential to master several Ice-type moves. But by the time the Ice Beam was successfully condensed, the Florges had already changed its attribute from Grass-type back to Fairy-type via its Ability. The next moment, as the freezing beam was emitted, the Florges's Moonblast once again shone upon the Kingdra. A searing, burning pain erupted across its body. Simultaneously, the Ice Beam struck the Florges, but it left no frozen residue behind because of another effect of the Misty Terrain: Pokémon on the ground are protected from status conditions and confusion.

"Florges, use Wish!" At this moment, a smile appeared on Aoki's lips. If an opponent had no type advantage against Florges, or could not overpower it with sheer, overwhelming force, then they had to be prepared to be slowly worn down. This was especially true for male Pokémon. The Florges had a pious smile on its face as it waved its hands, and a ray of divine, restorative light shone upon its body. The Wish skill was released. After a short period of time, half or even more of the Pokémon's health would be restored. This was another recovery skill in Florges's arsenal, combined with the lingering, persistent healing effect of the Grassy Terrain. All one could say was... it was a deeply frustrating and disheartening strategy to face.

At this time, Lance was staring wide-eyed at the Florges who was making its Wish, and for a moment, he was at a complete loss, unsure what command to even give. But Aoki would not show any mercy at this pivotal moment. He instructed the Florges to use the power of the moon once again! When the Moonblast shone upon the Kingdra for the third time, its stamina could no longer hold on. Its eyes rolled back into its head, and it fell to the ground, defeated. It was unclear whether this was solely due to the Florges's relentless attacks or if the sheer psychological toll of the Florges's tactics had made it sick. In any case, the winner of this match was Aoki!

Although the victory was somewhat unconventional—after all, when previous challengers fought against Steven and the others, the Pokémon they used were all at the pseudo-Champion level, but when it was Aoki's turn, he used a high-tier King-level Pokémon—a win was still a win. Besides, there didn't seem to be much glory in a pseudo-Champion level Pokémon beating a King-level one. The battle between the Florges and the Kingdra could be considered a battle on a more comparable level. It was just that the Kingdra was restrained far too severely by the Florges in every conceivable way.

"Florges, let the Kingdra benefit from the Grassy Terrain once," Aoki communicated via Telepathy and said to the Florges with a smile. At this moment, Lance had a thoroughly constipated, pained expression on his face. There was a complex, almost betrayed look in his eyes as he stared at Aoki. How could anyone devise such a profoundly irritating and disruptive tactic? Was this someone sent by Arceus specifically to counter him? But he didn't know that he hadn't even encountered the real person who was destined to counter him yet.

The Kingdra's strength gradually recovered from the terrain's effect and it woke up. It looked at the Florges and didn't know what to express for a moment, a mixture of physical pain and tactical humiliation.

"Brother Aoki is so awesome!" At this time, the first person to rush over from the sidelines was Ash. After hearing the explanation of the names and underlying principles of Aoki's tactics, Ash had completely become Aoki's little fan. Although Gary was not as impressed by the flamboyant name of this tactic, he could not hide the spark of admiration and respect in his eyes when he looked at Aoki. Aoki had left an incredibly deep impression on the two young boys. At this time, Ash and Gary should be around six or seven years old; it would be a long time before they could set out on their journeys and become Trainers. Aoki smiled and ruffled Ash and Gary's hair. Not everyone could so easily touch the heads of these two future legends. His hands felt almost consecrated by the act. Considering the future identities of these two individuals, he should indeed be considered blessed for having touched their heads with his own hands.

Steven and Wallace walked up to Lance and patted his shoulders with deep, heartfelt sympathy. Lance and the other two men made meaningful eye contact, a silent conversation passing between them. Who came up with this kind of tactic? He did. Have you ever felt so disgusted and frustrated in a battle? Yes! More than once! It's amazing that you can persist through it, and more than once at that. We truly admire your fortitude. No, no, no, you are the one who faces the most disgust and frustration. We still have some modicum of resistance, some counterplay. The shared sentiment was enough to make one want to vomit. In this way, another member was added to the growing ranks of those united in their resistance against Aoki's seemingly brainless but brutally effective tactics. The power of this informal organization was steadily growing.

Lance reluctantly returned his Kingdra, which had recovered somewhat, to its Poké Ball and said, "Your tactics are really..." He was too exhausted, too mentally drained, to even finish the complaint.

Aoki also just smiled without saying anything in response. In truth, it was not as overwhelmingly disgusting as Lance imagined. It was just that the specific Pokémon he had sent out, the Kingdra, was perfectly countered and dismantled by the Florges. If he had simply switched to a different Pokémon, it wouldn't have been nearly as difficult. For example, the Charizard or the Aerodactyl used earlier would have been much easier opponents for the Florges to handle.

Professor Oak also came over, patted Aoki on the shoulder and said with an encouraging smile, "Good tactics. If possible, I hope you can consider promoting the strategic principles behind this tactic." Upon hearing this, Aoki remained thoughtfully silent, but the others were utterly speechless, their faces a mixture of horror and disbelief. Aoki immediately changed the subject, "Let's go, let's go. I heard that the League Restaurant has some very delicious instant noodles on the menu today. Let's go try them."

"Instant noodles? I must try them!" Sure enough, after the topic shifted to instant noodles, Professor Oak suddenly lost all interest in continuing his conversation with Aoki about tactical promotion.

Steven, Lance, and Wallace also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This tactic was utterly unacceptable for competitive play! Absolutely not! However, a dangerous, calculating glint appeared in the eyes of the three men. What other Pokémon could potentially imitate this Florges's fighting method? Did they need to travel to the Kalos region to capture a Florges of their own as a tactical countermeasure and backup? For a moment, the inner thoughts of the several seasoned Trainers were incredibly active, already plotting and planning.

Aoki was also thinking to himself, though not about the Florges's tactics specifically. This tactic was just something he had come up with somewhat by accident. He was actually thinking about the upcoming King Challenge. Since Koga was also participating, would Team Rocket get involved? If Team Rocket also inserted themselves into the situation, wouldn't it become unstable for Lance to officially take over the position as a member of the Elite Four? However, the League now had little suspicion regarding Koga's identity and allegiance. If possible, Aoki actually wanted to make contact with Koga himself. He needed to ascertain whether the previous time he had been framed was an unintentional consequence of a larger plot or a deliberate, targeted action against him. If it was deliberate, Aoki would have to be vigilant at all times against someone possessing such formidable skill in assassination and subterfuge. Even his Gengar might not be able to fully guarantee his personal safety against a threat of that nature.