Solar Beam

"Bal..."

Baltoy swayed, then came to a stop.

"Are you all right, Baltoy?"

Michael breathed a sigh of relief. "Be careful. If your opponent does that again, use Confusion to break free as quickly as you can."

"Bal."

Baltoy cried out and fixed its gaze on Larvitar.

Suddenly, Larvitar vanished from sight. At the same time, a Sandstorm whipped up around Baltoy, reducing visibility to almost nothing.

Michael noticed it too. This was clearly his opponent's doing.

"Baltoy, don't panic. Pay close attention to what's happening around you."

He watched intently as well, determined not to miss the slightest movement.

Dian nodded in satisfaction as Larvitar disappeared into the Sandstorm. It seemed Larvitar had fully mastered Sand Veil.

Its use of Ancient Power still needed work, though. If those stone pillars had formed spiraling spikes, perhaps the Sandstorm's rotational force could have helped them break through Baltoy's Confusion.

Likewise, if Larvitar could use Sandstorm and Ancient Power together, the result would be far more powerful than either move on its own.

But combining moves was no easy feat. Of the Pokémon Dian had trained, Misdreavus was still the most proficient at it.

The powerhouse beyond the usual standards didn't count, of course; Dian hadn't trained him. But Doublade must have passed his experience on to Misdreavus.

What Larvitar had just done wasn't truly a combination of moves. It had taken a shortcut: using Sandstorm first and keeping it going while it used Ancient Power.

That was different from the genuine move combinations used by Honedge and Gengar, the Pokémon of Ecruteak City's Gym Leader Morty.

Besides, combining moves of the same type was always easier than combining moves of different types.

Dian knew he had a long way to go. So did Larvitar.

But that was something to analyze after