Chapter 1222: Champion's Responsibility

Finally here!

Third one!

"Baimu's final choice is... Big Mouth Baby!"

Wow!

The crowd was bustling.

The appearance of Big Mouth Baby instantly ignited the entire venue, after all, it is the most popular Pokémon in Baimu's team—

No doubt about it!

Its massive online traffic has led many who first learned of Baimu to mistakenly believe Big Mouth Baby is his ace.

Only upon deeper understanding did they discover that behind it stands a metallic giant beast, Bossgodora.

But no matter what, the Young Lady's high popularity is undeniable.

With its dual Steel and Fairy typing, it is also an excellent choice against Mega Gardevoir.

Not to mention the Steel typing's advantage, it also resists Fairy and Psychic types, greatly reducing the latter's power at most.

Plus, its defense is hardly excellent...

Karuni's face tightened, "Finally appeared, huh!"

"Sss!"

Mega Gardevoir's brow was filled with sternness.

Perhaps thinking this way is disrespectful to Happiny, but she truly believes that in this battle, the true strong opponent Mega Gardevoir needs to face is the third one—

That is, the Big Mouth Baby currently on the field!

"Magical Flame!"

"Sss!"

Mega Gardevoir raised her hand and drew a circle in front of her; a ring of fire instantly formed, then erupted with a torrent of fire pillars!

Boom!

The air exploded, heat waves surged toward Big Mouth Baby!

"Chido~"

The latter's agile posture began to dance, its whole body radiating brilliant light.

Here it comes!

Karuni's pupils constricted, Mega Gardevoir on high alert, the audience cheered excitedly, countless people watching on TV wore expressions of anticipation.

Patyra shouted loudly: "The final moment is coming! The battle has fully entered the white-hot stage! Baimu uses—huh?"

When the light faded, Big Mouth Baby unexpectedly maintained its original posture.

Rumble!

A crimson fire pillar shattered the air and came forth, yet it was dodged by its strange dance steps, only a small portion of the heat wave could scorch it as it spun and danced.

Orange light currents appeared.

Patyra suddenly realized, "It's charging up! Not Mega Evolution!"

The light radiating around it was clearly the simultaneous boost to Sp. Def【Charge】, not the Mega Evolution everyone expected.

"..."

Karuni inexplicably felt deceived.

Why won't it hand over the system?

Many who thought Big Mouth Baby would Mega Evolve now had question marks floating in their minds.

According to Baimu's battle habits, he usually orders his Pokémon to Mega Evolve as soon as they appear.

Unless...

He never intended to give the system to Big Mouth Baby!

Whoosh!

A huge fire pillar swept across half the field, rolling heat waves continuously assaulted Big Mouth Baby, which lightly leapt and dodged, as if dancing in the fire like a sprite.

So agile!

After a moment's thought, Karuni ordered in her mind: "Psychic Terrain!"

"Sss~"

Mega Gardevoir's eyes glowed blue, pink-purple light beneath her feet rippled like water waves, spreading instantly to cover the entire field.

Faint light illuminated the field, overlaying it with a strange pink-purple filter, making the two Pokémon seem as if they were in some other dimension.

Although long battle experience told Karuni that using【Taunt】would have been best just now, Happiny's performance was fresh in her mind.

Intuition made her dismiss that thought.

As for Seal...

Karuni knew that compared to Happiny, Mega Gardevoir and Big Mouth Baby have very low skill overlap.

Better to guard against【Pursuit】.

Big Mouth Baby's delayed first strike could possibly break through her own Pokémon.

Furthermore, Psychic Terrain also helps boost the power of Psychic-type moves, allowing Mega Gardevoir's Psychic-type output when attacking Big Mouth Baby to recover to its proper level.

While she was setting that up on her side.

Big Mouth Baby wasn't idle either.

"Chido~"

It used Charge again!

Seeing this, Karuni no longer doubted Baimu's purpose; Patyra also said: "Second Charge! These two status moves—were they prepared for Happiny?"

Correct!

"Pass the baton."

Baimu spoke up and gave the order.

Calyoni urgently shouted: "Strange Light! Interrupt it!"

Although letting Big Mouth Baby leave the field would be more advantageous for our side, the Movie Queen clearly could not allow Baimu to get what he wanted.

Better to stubbornly retain a difficult-to-handle opponent, forcing Baimu to surrender Super Evolution, than to face the unknown; the terror of information disparity far outweighs that of a powerful opponent.

The latter can uphold willpower and clash head-on, while the former might lose in some inexplicable place.

At this moment she somewhat regretted using Psychic Terrain; otherwise, she could have relied on Shadow Sneak to strike faster.

The ban on priority moves applies to the entire field, not just the opponent.

Hum!

The chaotic light flashed brightly, yet could not stop Big Mouth Baby's Poké Ball from flying back into Baimu's palm.

Done for!

Bang!

Light flickered, Happiny reappeared, but unlike before.

At this time it inherited Big Mouth Baby's two charges, its pitiful physical defense greatly compensated, becoming a Super Tank version!

"Seal!"

"Light Wall."

Calyoni issued orders swiftly, and Baimu was no slower.

Both sides initiated simultaneously, but Happiny's completion speed was slightly faster, radiant light overflowing to form a solid bulwark.

The prohibited red energy markers appeared, shielding a large portion of moves.

But it no longer mattered.

"happy!"

I now lack nothing!

Happiny confidently raised its tiny hand, gazing at Super Gardevoir with eyes full of uplifted fighting spirit.

Its physical defense is actually merely a relative weakness, just like Boss Crodora's special attack, always being trained and strengthened.

Two charges suffice to raise its physical defense to a decent level.

Now, combined with Light Wall and super high HP, saying it's flawless poses no problem.

Previously, Super Gardevoir could inflict high damage because its output was fierce, fierce beyond what ordinary Pokémon should have, absolutely not because Happiny's physical defense lacked special training by Baimu.

But this advantage has just been compensated.

Calyoni's heart sank sharply.

The Ice Snow Dragon that alone knows 【Black Mist】 was defeated early, and Super Gardevoir has no move to lower the opponent's ability.

The situation is greatly unfavorable!

Parira excitedly said: "Baimu completed the exchange! Super Gardevoir resealed, yet cannot stop Happiny's Light Wall; it gained extraordinarily high defensive boost!"

Wah!

Thunderous applause!

After Calyoni tricked Baimu once, Baimu also tricked Calyoni once!

Courtesy demands reciprocity, retribution is not unpleasant!

"Come on, it's your turn to perform."

He pulled out a semi-transparent pearl, activated it before everyone's eyes, and as the pearl released brilliant radiance, he tossed it toward Happiny's head.

Hum~~

Amidst countless gazes of confusion or anticipation, Happiny was enveloped by crystal clusters sprouting from the ground.

Boom!

The next second the crystal clusters shattered, and the crystal-version Happiny with a diamond big crown on its head appeared!

"Psychic Impact!"

"Hiss!"

Countless throbbing pink-purple light orbs flew forth; the latter still shrank and dodged, posture agile as when Big Mouth Baby dodged magical flames.

"happy~"

It revealed a happy smile.

"Appeared! Baimu's chosen system in this match——Terastallization!"

Parira shouted loudly.

Participants from the Paldea region in the World Championships are relatively few, and those with Terastallization are even fewer.

Classifying Terastallization alongside Super Evolution, Z-Moves, and Gigantamax as mutually exclusive options, Baimu's repeated public use has greatly contributed to this rule.

Frankly speaking, this rule was established solely for him.

The audience wore curious expressions; Terastallization, as a newly developed system in recent years, has a mystery comparable to Z-Moves, and although its prevalence equals Gigantamax, the Galar region often holds large public tournaments.

Gigantamax has long ceased to be something hidden, instead becoming a tourist attraction.

In comparison, Terastallization, being the rarer one, naturally attracts more curious attention.

At the same time, many people began searching related materials to learn about Paldea.

Calyoni had prior knowledge.

She clearly knew what benefits Terastallization would bring to Happiny——

The Seal locked 【Destroyer Beam】, 【Boomburst】, and 【Rapid Spin】 and other general-attribute primary output moves.

Baimu still chose to hand over the Tai Jinghua, rather than have it use some Z-move that restrains Super Sana, so there must be something he relies on.

The situation is greatly unfavorable!

Karuni pursed her lips; this familiar feeling had last occurred when she fought Champion Dan Di.

The scene of her crushing defeat was vivid in her mind; Karuni struggled to adjust her emotions, but fortunately the champion's bearing allowed her to quickly calm down.

Yet she couldn't help but speculate—

Are these two people above "champion"?

"Sasu!"

Feeling the trainer's emotions surge like a tide, Super Sana looked at the Happiness Egg and instantly flared with rage.

Although it was clear the Happiness Egg's smile held no malicious provocation, and it could not even produce provocation, for the current Super Sana, this smile was too dazzling.

Do you think you've already won?

Do you think it truly has no way out?

Feeling some emotions transmitted from the trainer, Super Sana felt utterly unwilling.

I don't want to lose!

I don't want to lose like this!

We agreed that after this match ends, I'll go study clothing design in depth!

Super Sana's eyes burned with anger; her calm mental power suddenly boiled, like a stormy sea, revealing its terrifying side.

The past is vividly before her eyes.

From meeting and getting to know each other, to understanding and accompanying each other.

The path they've walked so far has certainly not been a smooth road, but countless mountains symbolizing the Kalos trainer world.

Yet despite this, they still laughed to the end, claiming the highest throne.

If that was how it was before, then now even more so it should be!

We must win!

We must defeat the Happiness Egg and those Pokémon after it!

The first thing I hope to make for Karuni in my heart is a champion's cloak symbolizing master-level supremacy!

How could I, how could I just lose like this!

"Sasu—na—"

Hum!

A sapphire-blue light instantly enveloped Super Sana's entire body; the surrounding air began to twist, as if gripped by some force.

"Sana, you..."

Karuni widened her eyes; connected to Super Sana's mind, she naturally also knew what the latter was thinking.

Memories likewise washed over her mind; even though she knew she shouldn't wander off now, she still couldn't help recalling what she had once experienced.

Those hardships, pains, and unyielding beliefs!

They are called the original aspiration.

Having been champion for too long, Karuni is like a machine that sometimes runs, sometimes stops.

Even though it belongs to the high-end precision category, frequent idling still lets parts begin to rust.

Seems to have no use anymore?

Whenever Karuni won the Kalos Champion League again, she inevitably had similar thoughts.

Having been champion for over ten years, to speak frankly, she has begun to feel bored.

Like Zhilan thinking of abdicating, Karuni certainly hasn't prepared to step down, but her reason for persisting is not wanting to abandon her Four Elite Friends.

Yanjia, Duolasena, Zhimi, and... Paiqila.

The glory of the Kalos League is upheld by them; this is a heavy responsibility, not to be casually abandoned.

That would be too irresponsible, unless a successor is found.

Karuni inevitably has such thoughts.

Participating in the World Championships is, first, due to the organizer's invitation; second, to see if there's a trainer worth entrusting; third, curiosity about other regional champions' strength.

It went smoothly at first.

Just like past participations in the Champion League, with no pauses, she won all the way to master level.

Until she met that man.

Dan Di.

His strength made Karuni feel incredulous; the strongest world king?

This title is actually true, not something Galar fabricated to boost Dan Di's fame by force!

After Ahdu, Karuni became Dan Di's second sacrifice.

She lost.

And it sparked her fighting spirit; facing empty space before her, it seemed another climbable peak had appeared!

But as Karuni continued forward, Baimu appeared again.

He is like another peak, blocking her path toward Dan Di.

Originally...

Have I not yet reached the end?

She suddenly closed her eyes, ignoring Happiness Egg's hand-raising motion.

"Tai Jing explosion."

"happy!"

The Happiness Egg's small hands waved, and a brilliant white pillar of light roared forward, its brilliance even overwhelming the venue's lighting and the sun overhead, causing countless spectators to instinctively close their eyes.

Boom——!!

The tremendous sound shook the entire venue!

"Spiritual Focus."

The sudden command rang out—though the high-energy light pillar's friction with the air was deafening, it still clearly reached everyone's ears.

In the next instant.

The solar crystal explosion stalled.

Yes.

As if time had paused, it hung mid-flight, wrapped in a gleaming azure light, and came to an abrupt halt.

Pachyra exclaimed in surprise: "This is——"

Spiritual power had sealed off the solar crystal explosion!

The dazzling brilliance stung people's eyes so they could not open them; only a few spectators witnessed this soul-shaking sight.

The Super Gardevoir raised one hand, its entire body glowing with blue light like some kind of vapor, yet also like flames, burning and drifting.

"Hss——"

Its tone was low and deep, almost like a dual voice.

And this other sound came from behind, from Karulani.

Baimu: "... Did I get it wrong?"

Spiritual resonance!

At this not particularly dangerous crisis moment, Karulani and the Super Gardevoir's spiritual powers achieved perfect synchronization.

They merged into one, just like Ash and the Greninja, becoming a single entity!

An entity Baimu had dreamed of!

The thing he least wanted to see, ultimately still happened!