The dust had yet to settle when Alakazam's Aura Sphere tore through the air, trailing a pale blue tail as it thundered toward Krookodile's back.
The powerful energy fluctuations of the Aura Sphere immediately caught Xinhai's attention.
Although Xinhai had kept part of his attention on Alakazam after seeing it take Dragon Pulse head-on, Espeon being hit had inevitably drawn his focus away for a moment.
However, the instant Alakazam unleashed Aura Sphere, the concentrated Fighting-type energy immediately put him on guard.
Xinhai's gaze swiftly followed Aura Sphere's trajectory—the target was not Gardevoir, but Krookodile.
Realizing this, Xinhai did not hesitate for even a moment. His voice immediately exploded through the command area.
"Krookodile, Protect!"
Krookodile, which had been gathering strength while warily guarding against a sneak attack from Espeon, reacted to its trainer's order faster than it could think.
Its dark red eyes sharpened beneath its sunglasses as it used the techniques of Tai Chi to alter the flow of energy within its body.
The Rock-type energy that had originally been gathered inside its body for an attack was forcibly drawn in and rapidly converted, changing from earthy yellow Rock-type energy into milky-white Normal-type energy.
This wasted some energy, but converting energy was several times faster than gathering it anew.
Krookodile crossed its claws before itself, and a cocoon-shaped pale green energy barrier rapidly spread between them at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Bzzzz—!!"
Aura Sphere slammed solidly into Protect's Barrier.
The instant the pale blue energy ball came into contact with the pale green shield, it did not explode immediately. Instead, it was compressed—the watermelon-sized sphere was squeezed and distorted by the Barrier's resistance, changing from a sphere into a flattened oval.
Then came the explosion.
"Boom!!!"
Compressed to its limit, Aura Sphere suddenly detonated. Pale