"All right, Lian, let's get away from the altar first."
Irida pulled Lian back in a hurry, leaving the frontal battlefield to Ash and Cynthia.
Just as the two of them withdrew from the combat zone, Kleavor lowered its head and started eating the food on the altar.
If this had been a month ago, after finishing its favorite food, Kleavor might have calmed down for a while.
But now, it only paused for a few seconds.
The next moment, Kleavor suddenly raised its head, its body turning directly toward Ash and Cynthia.
The golden light covering it blocked out its expression.
But the two could still clearly feel that the raging King had already marked them as targets.
"Ash." Cynthia took the Ancient Pokeball from her waist. "Typhlosion just went through a battle, its injuries haven't fully healed yet."
"Samurott will be in charge of the main offensive this time. You support from the side."
"Got it!"
Ash and Cynthia threw out their Pokeballs at the same time.
Two streaks of white light fell to the center of the Grandtree Arena.
The Hisuian Typhlosion, with purple-red flames burning around its neck, appeared in front of Ash.
The Hisuian Samurott also landed beside Cynthia, its dark-purple shell and deep-blue body radiating intense fighting spirit.
Pikachu still stayed by Ash's side. They needed to first use these two newly evolved Pokemon to gauge the true strength of the raging King.
If anything unexpected happened, having Pikachu step in would still be in time.
"Sorry, Kleavor." Cynthia slowly raised her hand, a hint of apology in her voice. "To help you regain your senses, we'll have to defeat you first."
"Samurott, use Razor Shell!"
Samurott drew a water-blue blade of light from the dark-purple shell at its side.
Water flowed rapidly along the blade, finally gathering into a sharp, curved edge.
Then Samurott's hind legs suddenly exploded with force, its body flashing across the open ground before the altar, the water-blue Razor Shell chopping straight toward Kleavor.
"Roar!"
Kleavor let out an angry roar.
Its golden-coated arms swung in unison, the two massive stone axes clamping in toward Samurott from both sides.
"Clang!"
The water-blue blade of light collided head-on with the twin rock axes.
A tremendous metallic crash echoed through the Grandtree Arena, and the shock of the impact rippled rapidly outward.
The ground beneath Samurott's feet split backward on the spot.
Its body was forced to retreat repeatedly under Kleavor's power.
Just from that very first frontal clash, Samurott was already at a disadvantage in raw strength.
That was enough for the two of them to see Kleavor's true level: Gym Beginner Level.
Its strength was fairly good, but… Typhlosion and Samurott could still handle it!
"Typhlosion, use Flamethrower!" Ash immediately had Typhlosion launch a side attack.
Dim purple-red flames surged from Typhlosion's mouth, carried by scorching air currents straight toward Kleavor.
Although Kleavor had lost its reason, its battle instincts were still intact.
"Roar!"
The axes in its hands flared with power at the same time, knocking Samurott flying.
The next instant, Kleavor pulled its arms in and its massive body suddenly spun.
The fierce airflow created by its rapid rotation spread outward in a rush.
The surging purple-red flames were sliced straight down the middle by the axe blades, then blown aside by the spinning gusts.
The fire fell onto the open ground around them, leaving several charred marks.
Ash's expression grew much more serious; in this first exchange, neither Samurott nor Typhlosion had managed to seize the advantage.
"Worthy of a King amplified by Golden Power."
"The strength it's showing now already surpasses Irida's Espeon by quite a bit."
A month ago, Mai had said that the leaders of the Diamond Clan and Pearl Clan both had the ability to defeat the King of the Obsidian Fieldlands.
But after another month, Kleavor's strength had clearly continued to grow.
This rate of growth was obviously abnormal; the cause could only be the golden radiance covering its body.
"By the power scale we use, it should currently be at Gym Beginner Level." Cynthia quickly analyzed the clash just now.
"Its strength clearly surpasses Samurott's, and its reaction Speed is very high. That spin that scattered Flamethrower should be one of its Moves."
"That Move will continuously drain its power. It's impossible for it to keep using it forever."
"And there's one more thing." Cynthia watched Kleavor's slightly crouched posture. "Its body may be huge, but its movement Speed is definitely not slow."
Just one collision had already allowed Cynthia to judge Kleavor's rough level of power.
Kleavor has Bug Type and Rock Attribute.
Fire Attribute Moves can restrain Bug Type, but their advantage is neutralized by Rock Attribute.
Typhlosion's Flamethrower can't establish clear attribute suppression against it.
By comparison, Samurott with its Water Attribute is the true main attacker in this battle.
"Sis." Ash quickly understood Cynthia's assessment. "You have Samurott look for an opening."
"I'll be responsible for forcing Kleavor to expose a flaw!"
A streak of blue light flashed in Ash's chestnut eyes.
Aura Power flowed rapidly along the link between him and Typhlosion, pushing Typhlosion's already fierce aura even higher.
Ash didn't let Aura Power fully erupt.
Irida, Lian, Adaman and the others were still watching nearby.
He only needed to raise Typhlosion's strength a bit to create chances for Samurott to attack.
"Typhlosion, use Smoke!"
"Roar!"
Typhlosion puffed out its cheeks, and thick black smoke poured rapidly from its mouth.
In just a few seconds, the dense smoke completely shrouded the area around the altar.
Kleavor lost track of Typhlosion and Samurott's positions.
The King within the smoke let out a furious roar.