Chapter 1182: Abomasnow and Dog

"Mo~"

Pecharunt was about to cry.

It had never been a Pokémon good at fighting, otherwise it wouldn't have gone to collect the Loyal Three to help itself.

Even if its memory was initialized now, this point still hadn't changed.

High level? Indeed very high.

Resistant to hits? Indeed resistant to hits.

But its adaptability to battle was almost zero; it would never fight if it could run, never do it itself if it could have a lackey do it, and never resist if it could fool people by pretending to be pitiful.

It expressed "I am very weak" to the extreme.

This was Pecharunt, the Subjugation Pokémon whose specialty was making 【Chain Mochi】

Now that All Baimu is preparing to send it out to battle, it is practically going to be the death of it.

"Mochi~ Mochi~"

Pecharunt flies around All Baimu, hoping he will have a change of heart.

All Baimu comforts it: "It's fine, it'll only hurt a little; you'll get used to it after a while."

Pecharunt: "..."

What kind of talk is that! What kind of talk is that!

Must we fight? Can we reconcile?

It gazes at All Baimu with teary eyes, attempting to awaken the little conscience the latter has left.

All Baimu makes a gesture of encouragement with a heart of stone.

You can consider not fighting in the future, but you must fight in this Champion League!

If Pecharunt isn't taught a lesson, it will definitely do things detrimental to unity in the future.

As the saying goes, a child not taught... pfft, a Pokémon not taught is the Trainer's fault.

If he lets Pecharunt's behavior run wild, he will surely reap the bitter fruit one day!

Although he advocates for his Pokémon to retain their nature, when a part of that nature is harmful to this big family and to itself, it must be corrected.

Just like Scream Tail's loud voice that it has no idea how to restrain.

"Mochi~~"

The rotten peach shrinks into its shell in despair, simply because its Trainer's attitude is too firm to be questioned.

The Pokémon partners inside the Poké Balls feel immense heartache and are determined to end the match with their own strength, not giving their boss a chance to enter the field.

That's right!

They are very strong! They are just weaker than All Baimu's Pokémon!

Over the past few days, the cooperative strengthening training with Hydreigon has boosted the partners' confidence, viewing all other Trainers' Pokémon as mere weaklings.

The match below is in full swing.

With him, the League Champion, setting a bad example, the Orre Elite Four have all begun to attempt multiple Mega Evolutions.

But can that be the same?

All Baimu's Pokémon can rely on simulation rewards to level up and invest more time into exploring Mega Evolution; how could their Pokémon possibly do the same?

"As expected, it's lacking a bit."

He keenly perceives that this group of Pokémon is slightly unfamiliar with their new power.

However, there is no doubt that they have all displayed power surpassing their original forms and have not held "themselves" back.

Were they inspired by the situation at the Elite Four tournament?

All Baimu lazily turns his head, resting his chin on the back of his fist.

The autistic Pecharunt is ignored until the first match ends, when it is finally picked up.

"Mochi?"

It quietly opens a crack to peek outside.

Unfortunately, it is mealtime.

Pecharunt desperately turns its grief and indignation into appetite, like a child scolded by parents before a meal, chewing rice with tears in its eyes, looking as pitiful as can be.

Wally can't quite eat anymore, "All Baimu... did you scold it?"

"Don't mind it, let it cry."

All Baimu is very calm.

The old hand Shanren is also misled by him, unable to help but say: "Mind your influence, you're the Champion now! If someone films this, they'll think you're abusing your Pokémon!"

"Mochi Mochi!"

Pecharunt nods vigorously in agreement, shouting internally—

'It's not thinking, he is preparing to abuse it, damn it!'

All Baimu chuckles, "It's just pretending to be pitiful; this little thing has a very wicked heart."

"Wicked heart?"

Wally examines this strange Pokémon, "It should be Poison-type, right?"

When Professor Oak categorized all Pokémon by type, he found that the vast majority of Pokémon capable of learning a large number of Poison-type moves independently have appearances in dark purple, dark blue, dark green, and other dull color schemes.

Thus, he came up with some classification laws.

All Baimu says: "That's right, the poison of a wicked heart."

"... Do you have a grudge against it?" Shanren doesn't understand why his good friend always uses such harsh language to mock his own Pokémon.

He clearly wasn't like this before.

"It's the one that had a grudge against me before!"

*Snap! *

All Baimu flicks the forehead of the confused Pecharunt; a Pokémon that lived in the countryside doesn't understand modern idioms.

Especially when someone speaks ill of it, there is no hostility in the tone.

How could a generally uncultured Pokémon tell?

Pecharunt covers its head in pain, "Mochi~!"

It complains softly, finishes the last bite of rice, and collapses powerlessly on the dining table.

Since it cannot resist, it has to accept it silently.

Of course.

Protesting is inevitable.

This protest is so that there will be no need to protest in the future.

Unlike the Galarian Corsola that rejects fighting and likes to slack off, it purely hates being beaten.

Since when does a mastermind personally enter the field to fight!

All Baimu presses down on its body, making it roll back and forth on the table.

"Mochi~ Mochi~"

Pecharunt cooperatively makes a sound similar to "gurgle," which is undoubtedly a sign of fawning.

Wally and Shanren's expressions when looking at him are inevitably a bit strange.

A grudge?

It's more like love!

They have never seen a Pokémon that can be so friendly to an enemy, let alone cooperatively being toyed with.

It's over, the Champion has become a psychopath.

Shanren is considering finding a psychiatrist for All Baimu, seriously suspecting that the pressure of the World Championships was too much for him, which is why he has become what he is today.

Wally stares at his friend's face, a look of worry flashing across his handsome features.

All Baimu laughs, not caring about their opinions.

Anyway, everything he said was the truth.

Looking at it now, amnesia is a good thing for both him and Pecharunt; after all, the death of the old couple was largely related to him and Ogerpon.

If they hadn't defeated Pecharunt, causing the toxic mochi to lose its effect, the old couple might not have woken up and subsequently lived in sorrow.

If this little thing had a more extreme personality, when it woke up, the two sides would probably have been in a life-or-death situation.

It just so happens that Pecharunt inexplicably lost its memory after sleeping for hundreds of years.

This allowed the relationship between the two sides to ease.

All Baimu narrows his eyes; should he use the Gnosis on it?

Looking at Pecharunt's defenseless appearance, even if he used the Gnosis, it should be fine...

*Tsk. *

The more one relies on luck, the easier it is for problems to arise.

He gives up.

There is plenty of time; there is no need to get an answer in a short period.

——

The first day of the Champion League ends quickly.

Wally and Bartlas successfully advance to the next round, competing for the chance to challenge All Baimu.

That's right.

The first-generation Orre protagonist, Lei Ou, lost, defeated by Wally.

"Great, great."

All Baimu is full of praise for his performance, "The progress is visible to the naked eye! Stronger than last time!"

During the Elite Four tournament, Wally won seven matches and lost one; the one he lost was to Lei Ou.

Now he has regained his footing.

Wally is a bit shy, but firmly says: "I won't just look at your back forever!"

"Then you have to beat Bartlas first."

All Baimu recalls the battle from the morning and says: "His Salamence is not ordinary."

Bartlas has newly mastered the Mega Evolution of Salamence, and his strength far exceeds that of the previous Mega Pinsir.

Of course, the Mega Pinsir at that time was a neutered version, so it's normal that it wasn't as good as the complete Mega Salamence.

And in his view, leaving aside Liu Ge, the strength gap between the various Orre Elite Four members is only neck and neck; there is no one who can pull off an absolute gap like he can.

This also means that either Wally or Bartlas could win.

"Don't worry! I will definitely win!"

Wally issues a declaration of victory; in his battle state, he is far from as weak as he usually is, "The only one who can battle you is me!"

The next day.

At the end of the morning's qualifying matches.

Mega Salamence roars as it descends from the sky, violently striking Garchomp's body.

*Boom—!! *

The entire arena shatters, and countless large and small plates rise up in an instant, like a flower of the earth suddenly blooming.

"Garchomp!"

Wally shouts urgently: "Get up quickly!"

The response to him is deathly silence.

The referee raises the flag in his hand, "Garchomp is unable to battle! Salamence wins! Wally has no more usable Pokémon; this match is over!"

"The outcome is decided! Master Bartlas wins!"

The commentator shouts excitedly.

Bartlas silently raises his thick, muscular arm, declaring his own victory.

This battle was truly arduous; even an old hand like him, who has been through hundreds of battles and remains calm in the face of gathering storms, cannot help but have an emotional outburst when confirming his own victory.

Wally hangs his head, his body trembling slightly.

Yesterday's oath is still fresh in his memory, and now it has all become a joke.

Looking back at the biggest cause of defeat in the whole match, it was Mega Gallade being taken away by Bartlas's Mismagius using Destiny Bond.

It directly caused him to lose his core combat power.

It must be said that when the strength of both sides is similar, Destiny Bond becomes the most cost-effective move.

Like Bartlas, using Destiny Bond to trade for the opponent's core output is a huge profit!

Comparable to Cynthia's Spiritomb trading for Ash's Pikachu!

"Learn from your mistakes."

All Baimu pats Wally on the shoulder comfortingly, "Remember to teach all your Pokémon Taunt in the future."

In this world without limits on the number of moves, unless you can explode with power at every moment, many moves with tricky effects are quite important.

Regional Champions don't like using them, mainly because they haven't encountered opponents who require them to do so.

Plus... they can indeed explode with power at critical moments, awakening the power of bonds, which makes status moves look completely unnecessary at first glance.

The reality is obvious.

Wally is unhappy; this defeat is a bit of a blow to him.

In the past, he only had eyes for All Baimu, but now that he has lost to Bartlas, whom he had defeated before, his vision will certainly not remain narrow.

This is a good thing!

At least All Baimu thinks it's a good thing; as long as he doesn't shut himself off, he will definitely make progress.

"Adjust your mood and watch my match."

He laughs: "I'll show you something fresh today."

Wally raises his head blankly, "Fresh?"

The two of them often battle in private; what fresh things could there be?

——The answer is revealed soon.

When All Baimu and Bartlas look at each other from across the field and wait for the referee to finish reading the rules.

Two Poké Balls fly out.

*Bang bang! *

Light flashes.

A dog-man with black and green fur appears, looking at the Salamence not far away.

What kind of Pokémon is this?

Bartlas becomes vigilant.

"Roar!"

Salamence hisses and roars, triggering the Intimidate ability!

However, unexpectedly, Okidogi's ability is not lowered, and it even lights up with an orange-yellow glow.

The audience stands in surprise, sounds of astonishment constantly emerging.

Ability 【Guard Dog】, a new product of the ninth generation.

The effect is to ignore the opponent's Intimidate ability while boosting its own Attack!

But I remember Okidogi didn't have this ability before; the Pokédex finally detected three question marks, indicating it was an unrecorded ability.

For some reason, after they came to the modern era and changed Poké Balls, their abilities changed as well.

All Baimu boldly guesses it was caused by the loss of the toxic mochi supplement.

"Mega Evolution!"

Bartlas doesn't dare to hesitate; the unknown enemy has completely stimulated this newly promoted Elite Four member.

In an instant.

A brilliant light of evolution envelops Salamence's body.

All Baimu smiles: "Taunt."

"Woof!"

Okidogi sticks out its pale purple tongue, barks lowly at the Mega Salamence that has completed its transformation in an instant, and lifts its hind leg to pose as if it's going to urinate on it.

Mega Salamence immediately widens its eyes, "Roar——!!"

This kind of Pokémon's temper isn't exactly good to begin with, and now, being so "insulted" by Okidogi, it instantly explodes with rage.

Its figure is like a blood-colored crescent moon, rushing forward with lightning speed!

*Whoosh——*

The air continues to shriek!

Okidogi doesn't dodge or evade; its sturdy body is covered in brownish-red smoke, and at the same time, it visibly grows larger.

*Boom! *

A muffled sound like a beating drum!

Mega Salamence plunges into Okidogi's embrace, a terrifying impact and pale blue radiance erupting together, suddenly blasting out a large amount of smoke and hurricane!

【Aerilate】, converting all Normal-type moves into Flying-type!

Every move it makes summons the power of the wind!

"Double-Edge hits! This strike will be very——"

Before the commentator can finish, Okidogi, a three-meter-tall giant dog, suddenly breaks through the fog!

"Ice Punch!"

"Awoo~~"

It barks loudly with wild laughter, catching up to the retreating Mega Salamence under the stunned gaze of the crowd, its massive right fist shrinking back like a drawn bow.

*Hum! *

A shining ice-blue color gathers like a vortex, blooming with a brilliant radiance like a meteor!

"Hyper Beam!"

A light full of destructive aura flashes, but the giant fist overflowing with cold air whistles out first!

*Bang! *

The terrifying light hasn't even had a chance to be released before it suddenly shatters into particles filling the sky!

Because that frosty heavy punch, relying on a strange and tricky angle, hit Mega Salamence's lower jaw first, causing its mouth to close and its head to tilt upward!

*Click! *

*Whoosh——*

A short and powerful freezing sound rings out, followed by cold mist surging, obscuring everything.

When the mist clears, the crowd suddenly sees a lifelike giant ice shell in the center of the field.

Mega Salamence is located behind the shattered ice shell, its body covered in chilling white frost, its expression slightly stiff.

"Awoo?"

Okidogi looks at its own fist, then at its opponent.

Didn't kill it with one punch?

All Baimu speaks to answer its confusion: "You didn't hit it solidly; the other guy is much faster than you."

Hyper Beam ultimately blocked for Mega Salamence, allowing it to explode with faster speed to retreat the moment it was hit, successfully escaping before being frozen.

What a pity.

Okidogi is slightly disappointed.

Sweat drips from the temples of both Bartlas and Mega Salamence.

"Here it comes again... a swarm of monsters..."