Larvitar's Aerial Tactics

"Loo!!"

Baltoy bathed in the blazing sun, its whole body seeming to catch fire. Invisible flames roared around it, then became a beam of scorching light that swept straight down toward the sandstorm.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Everything in Solar Beam's path vanished. The desert sun boosted this Grass-type move every bit as much as the desert boosted the Sandstorm Move.

In that respect, the battlefield favored Larvitar and Baltoy equally.

Bonds, huh.

Dian watched Michael coughing across the field, his expression complicated.

He felt that kind of passion was something he lacked. No—perhaps it was simply how differently Trainers responded to opponents with different styles.

"Dig."

Dian did not shout like Michael. He spoke calmly, as though he were describing something rather than giving an order.

He knew Larvitar would make the same choice he had in mind. It was not a Psychic power like Telepathy, but an understanding—or trust—that was hard to put into words.

He trusted Larvitar to choose that move, and Larvitar trusted him to give the order. That was all.

Above them, Baltoy kept using Solar Beam to clear the sandstorm, stopping only after it had forcibly dispersed the last of it.

"Phew—"

Michael let out a long breath. Looking at the field, clear once more, he broke into a smile. "Good!"

The sandy ground appeared empty. He guessed his opponent's Pokémon had hidden beneath it.

That was no problem. After all, he had become a Treasure Hunter because his Baltoy could sense treasures buried under the sand.

Baltoy slowly descended to a height of over ten meters and stopped there. Then it began drifting erratically through the air, as though it were lost.

But Michael, who had spent so much time with Baltoy, knew it had already sensed its opponent's position. Its aimless movements were