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Luke pushed away from the bench, turning to face Asch and standing taller than he usually did as of late. "What the hell?! Are you trying to start a fight or something?" What kind of crap was he trying to pull, dropping a line like that after all his talk about how people who wanted to kill others were sick?

"Shut up! That's not the only way to fight!" In one fluid motion Luke pulled the luxury ball from his belt, releasing a teal Flareon that turned to regard him with confusion. Mieu could tell from his trainer's expression and stance, however, exactly what was going on, and the opponent they faced was a clue in himself. They hadn't really been in any real battles in a long time, but they trained often enough that the fire-type was feeling kind of confident. He bounded forward a few steps with a resolute cry, lowering his head in preparation to fight when his opponent appeared.

Luke caught the startled expression that Mieu took on upon seeing the Zorua's transformation and redirected the Flareon's attention, "It's just some trick. Don't let it psyche you out. Go in with Fire Spin!"

The fire-type, irritated by the cheeky display - and using his own appearance for it at that! - had no qualms against launching its assault, drawing on his element to producing an entrapping spiral of flame around his foe.

That was much less unnerving; Mieu's nerves settled as the Zorua revealed its true appearance, though the Faint Attack came suddenly and unexpectedly, bringing the Flareon to stagger backwards.

"Rebound out of it, Quick Attack!"

Mieu shook himself briefly before darting forward with all speed in counterattack.

Mieu bore the multiple hits of the Fury Swipes harshly. Real battles were harder than the practice matches he usually had against his teammates, but he was quickly falling back into the mindset he had acquired during their work in Hoenn's League, and he was smoothly readjusting.

Much the same could be said of Luke, who had taken the League challenge very seriously at the time of it and was gradually returning to a certain air of resolve he had acquired while facing the gyms. Something else he had learned in Hoenn was that offense was not always the best defense and that supporting moves were often just as important as those that dealt damage. If the Zorua had shaken off the Fire Spin attack, then they would just have to make it more effective, "Sunny Day!"

The Flareon hopped backwards as the Fury Swipes subsided, directing its attention to the blue sky. The sunlight harshened and the temperature rose, lending additional strength to the fire-type.

Mieu shuddered from the blow and staggered backwards to keep his footing; the successive attacks were beginning to take their toll, but he could still fight. The stage was set for his counter strike, after all. And Luke knew it as well, calling out the command, "Fire Spin!" The Flareon planted his feet firmly, summoning the flame attack once more, its force this time amplified by the harsh sunlight.

Luke clenched his hands in a tiny show of triumph at the Zorua's fall, but he kept his eyes on the battle. He wasn't even sure how many pokemon Asch had, so it was best not to get too carried away so early on. The next pokemon on the field was easily recognized as a Ponyta, a fire-type. It would be benefiting from the Sunny Day that Mieu had used to boost his own firepower - unless he did something to lessen the effect.

"Mieu, get out of there!" He raised the luxury ball to recall the Flareon, but not before the eeveelution, startled by the Ponyta's imposing appearance, failed to dodge the oncoming attacking, forced to the ground by the crushing blow. Frowning, Luke recalled the fainted pokemon; he had intended to let Mieu rest for the remainder of the match anyway, but that didn't mean he'd wanted him to be forced out of battle. His hand, on returning the luxury ball to his waist, plucked the premier ball next, "Leste, FeatherDance!" Hopefully the bird would still listen to him...

Leste indeed regarded the situation critically before acting, but she recognized their opponent as a dangerous person and saw something unnatural in the Ponyta she faced. For the time being, it seemed the battle at hand was more important than questioning her trainer's motives, and she complied with the command.