Under the relentless assault of scorching flames, the purple glow of Espeon's Psychic fluctuated violently, like a lamp about to be snuffed out in a storm.
Solrock immediately stepped forward, placing its body in front of Espeon while gathering Psychic power to form a defensive Barrier before itself.
Espeon immediately abandoned its attack and instead focused all its strength on supporting Solrock, barely withstanding this wave of fiery retaliation.
But Xinhai's offensive was far from over.
"Blaziken, Mirror Move!" he ordered decisively. "Together with Krookodile, double-fire Dark Pulse!"
"Blazi!"
Blaziken's claws shot upward as dark brown Dark-type energy gathered and compressed in its palms, forming two fist-sized spheres of rippling energy.
Its movements were not as smooth as Krookodile's—after all, Dark-type energy was not its own Type—but the experience accumulated through countless training sessions had already allowed it to use this move proficiently.
Krookodile opened its massive jaws again. This time, rather than releasing widespread malicious interference, it concentrated all its energy into a single beam.
The deep brown Dark-type energy compressed to its limit in its throat before blasting out.
Two Dark Pulses shot forth with a roar, one from the left and one from the right, striking toward Solrock and Espeon from two different angles.
The deep brown beams left two distorted trails of light through the air, carrying an instinctively unsettling malice. Like tentacles reaching out from an abyss, they clawed viciously at their prey.
Faced with these two Dark-type attacks, Espeon did not dare let down its guard in the slightest.
The instant the Dark Pulses rushed in, its purple eyes flared brightly. A translucent pale-purple Light Screen rapidly unfolded before it and Solrock like an enormous shield.
Immediately afterward, Protect's emerald-green barrier rose behind the Light Screen, creating a layered defense.
"Bzzzz!!!"
The two Dark