On the first day, the first lesson began.
As expected, Juan wanted Baimu to battle him using Milotic.
"Give it everything you've got and defeat my Milotic."
He stood on the platform reserved for the Gym Leader. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried across the arena. "An excellent Trainer must be like water. Whatever 'container' they encounter, they must change shape and respond appropriately.
"Whether through a dazzling artistic performance or an ingenious strategy, show me your limits."
"Milu!"
Juan's Milotic flicked its long tail, lightly patting the water. Sparkles seemed to dance around it, leaving Shiny Milotic staring in a daze.
"Those are just glints from the splashing water! Don't let them fool you. Your scales have a more gorgeous effect built right in!"
Baimu snapped his fingers several times before the fool beside him came to his senses.
What was a magnificent Shiny Milotic, a great golden-scaled, blue-finned serpent, doing getting lost in another Milotic's beauty?
Weren't his golden scales prettier in the sunlight than a few little splashes?
Come on! Keep it together!
After reminding Shiny Milotic, Baimu looked toward Juan. Juan smiled and opened a hand toward him, inviting him to make the first move.
That unhurried confidence made Baimu nervous for the first time in ages.
He licked his lips without thinking.
He had grown used to evenly matched battles, or even battles where his higher-level Pokémon overwhelmed lower-level ones. Returning to the old days of fighting above his level felt strange.
Shiny Milotic had only just reached level fifty-one, while Juan's Milotic was his trump card. The gap between them had to be at least twenty levels.
That was before accounting for all the Effort Values Juan's Milotic had built up over time.
Perhaps it was his imagination, but Juan seemed particularly focused