Yuga and the others changed into suitable beach attire and, led by Robert, arrived at the beach. Upon noticing the crowd, Robert suggested, "Let me take you to a less crowded spot, a place only I know about where there's hardly anyone."
Following Robert's lead, Yuga's group crossed several rocky shores to reach a secluded beach devoid of other tourists.
"This is where I train with my Pokémon every day. It's not crowded. You should come here if you want to play by the seaside in the future."
Listening to Robert's words, Yuga stepped onto the soft sand and surveyed the surroundings.
In the distance, there was a not-so-high cliff covered in lush green trees. Wingulls were busy preening their feathers in their nests on the cliffs.
The beach area was quite spacious, and now and then, a Crawdaunt or a Corphish would climb out of the water with an air of pride. A Shellder was by the water's edge, happily spitting water, while a gentle breeze ruffled the sea's surface, causing layer upon layer of azure waves to wash up on the shore.
During the time Yuga spent observing the surroundings, the others had already begun playing joyfully.
Suzuki Koen was building sandcastles with her son Dian and Strawberry. Dots of sand covered their faces, but they couldn't stop laughing.
Linoone using its claws to dig a sand pit, and the amassed sand was already larger than its own body. After finding a seashell in the sand, it carefully stashed it away, clearly valuing it.
With her Swablu on her head, Luna pulled a somewhat reluctant Rand to the water's edge, happily splashing through the waves. Behind them, Psyduck, with its vacant expression, was doing who knows what. But Blitzle and Luna, in a somewhat synchronized manner, were stamping on the splashes of water, breaking them into mist.
Hiding behind a sand dune, Windy was sitting alone in a daze, indifferent to the smiles around him. But eventually, he was forcefully thrown into the water by Luna, almost like a doll.
Seeing everyone having fun, Yuga released his Pokémon from their Poké Balls.
"Everyone, come out!"
As four red lights flashed, the figures of Florges, Absol, Vivillon, and Chimecho appeared on the beach.
This time, Yuga didn't bring out Great Flygon. On one hand, there needed to be someone in charge at home, and on the other, as a Ground-type Pokémon, Flygon wasn't particularly fond of the beach.
Seeing Yuga's Pokémon out, Robert greeted them alongside his own Pokémon and said to Yuga, "It's been a while. Your Pokémon have gotten stronger."
Proudly, Yuga replied, "Of course, we can't stay stagnant."
Without hesitation, Robert took out his own Poké Balls and threw them, saying, "Let me show you my Pokémon as well."
With Robert's actions, Baltoy, Chimecho, and Cinccino appeared on the beach, but there was also a new face among them.
This must be the Pokémon Robert mentioned earlier, the new addition.
"Milotic!"
Lifting its slender neck, this Pokémon softly called towards the sky. Yuga felt a magical power that soothed his heart emanating from it.
The Pokémon also spotted Yuga at this moment, shaking its fan-shaped tail and letting out a friendly call, a way of greeting Yuga.
"So, this is your newly obtained Pokémon, a Milotic," Yuga said, walking up to the Milotic and patting its chin. He greeted it warmly, "Hello there, Milotic. I'm Yuga, Robert's friend."
The relatively large Milotic lowered its head, gently rubbing its forehead against Yuga's, expressing its friendliness. At the same time, Milotic's data appeared in Yuga's mind.
...
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Type: Water
Ability: Cute Charm
Potential: Indigo
Level: 32
Moves: Aqua Ring, Water Gun, Refresh, Captivate, Water Pulse, Dragon Tail, Recover, Ice Beam.
...
Seeing the information about this Milotic, Yuga couldn't help but suspect that Robert might be the real one with the "golden finger." While he, after all this time, only had a Vivillon as the Indigo-potential member of his team, Robert had obtained a rare and valuable Milotic, a Pokémon that could be considered on par with pseudo-legendary Pokémon.
Milotic was already a rare sight, and a Indigo-potential Milotic was even rarer. Encountering one of these was probably no less difficult than encountering a Legendary Pokémon.
No one knows the qualifications of Legendary Pokémon, but it's known that among regular Pokémon, Indigo is the highest potential, while those with purple potential have only existed in legends.
Yuga had seen Mr. Moore's Pokémon and his Pokémon breeding base at Mt. Chimey. The highest-potential Pokémon he had there were only green. This shows just how rare Indigo-potential Pokémon are, let alone a Milotic.
Owning a Milotic like this is basically equivalent to reaching the pinnacle of life. No wonder he was able to effortlessly outshine Drew and others, becoming the champion of the Grand Festival in the Pokémon Contest.
"How lucky," Yuga said, his tone full of envy.
Hearing Yuga's words, Robert smiled and said, "Your Pokémon are pretty good too."
"That's a given!" While Yuga was envious of Robert's Milotic, he didn't think his own Pokémon were lacking. He believed that one day, his Pokémon would also shine brightly.
"How about a Pokémon battle between us? I'll use Milotic!" Robert suddenly proposed to Yuga.
Yuga rolled his eyes silently. You just want to show off your Milotic, don't you?
However, in the face of Robert's challenge, Yuga had no reason to back down. So, he agreed without hesitation, "Sure, who's afraid of who!"
Instantly, the two of them set up their positions on the beach!
"Florges, you're up!" Yuga's Florges excelled at using Grass-type moves, giving her an advantage against Robert's Water-type Milotic.
Deciding on their opponents, Florges and Milotic appeared, facing each other on the beach.
"Florges, set up Grassy Terrain!" Yuga took the initiative, giving Florges the command.
Although the beach wasn't the ideal place for Grassy Terrain, Florges quickly turned the sand beneath her into a vibrant green using her familiarity with the move. Blades of grass, formed from Grass-type energy, stubbornly grew on the sand.
"Milotic, use Water Gun!"
With the creation of Grassy Terrain, Robert realized he was a step behind and immediately commanded Milotic to attack.
Milotic truly lived up to its training as a coordinator's Pokémon. The Indigo Water Gun twirled and shot towards Florges, gleaming brightly in the sunlight. The droplets of water it scattered along the way resembled pearls.
"Florges, block it with Vine Whip!"
Seeing the Grassy Terrain, Robert knew he was slightly slow. He immediately ordered Milotic to attack.
Florges's two vines suddenly merged in the air, forming a barrier that blocked Milotic's Water Gun.
"Florges, use Safeguard!"
Upon hearing Yuga's command, Florges was surrounded by a green glow. Under the Grassy Terrain, she used Safeguard, changing her type from Fairy to Grass.
Seeing Florges's type change, Robert promptly commanded Milotic to use the Ice-type move, Ice Beam.
"Florges, Magical Leaf!"
With the boost from her type advantage, Florges's Magical Leaf became even more formidable. Swiftly colliding with Milotic's Ice Beam, the two moves clashed.
In the end, the result was that the Magical Leaves were frozen into ice chunks and fell from the air.