Chapter 356: The Final Quasi-God

"Duckbill Flame Beast has lost its ability to fight; Twin-Head Tyrannosaurus wins!"

Two moves to defeat the Duckbill Flame Beast.

This one was far more fragile than expected, so much so that there wasn't even time to unleash more techniques.

It was clear that Yasha had carefully raised this Pokémon — its reaction speed and attack power were both excellent.

Unfortunately, the Twin-Head Tyrannosaurus's offensive today was extremely fierce.

A Pokémon burning with fighting spirit can perfectly unleash its usual strength, or even surpass it, so even though its Special Attack had been lowered by Meteor Swarm, Baimu would not switch it out.

Moreover.

He, like the Twin-Head Tyrannosaurus, felt that a certain moment was about to arrive.

In the distance.

Yasha recalled the Duckbill Flame Beast while laughing: "I underestimated you — no wonder Sennri-san rates you so highly. Looks like I'll have to get a little serious too! Go, Magu!"

She, who held Sennri in great reverence, threw the Poké Ball forward.

Bang!

Bai Guang landed on the ground, transforming into a Magma Slime carrying a grey sandstone snail shell on its back, its bright yellow eyes just like two lightbulbs—

Yasha's ace Pokémon, Magcargo — once a Slugma, it had been named Magu to distinguish it from another Slugma, and it had successfully evolved during the encounter with Satoshi and his group.

Clearly, just as she herself had said, she was getting serious.

"Earth Power!"

Baimu immediately issued the command, unwilling to waste this brief window created by the switch.

"Hee-ugh!" "Hee-ugh!"

Sensing the Magcargo's powerful aura, the Twin-Head Tyrannosaurus also raised its vigilance to the fullest, its front paws heavy striking the ground and shaking out an irregular crack.

Rumble—

The earth trembled violently, and the crack quickly spread to the Magcargo's front.

"Shadow Clone!"

The switch caused Yasha's command to lag by a beat, but the Magcargo's reaction speed was extremely fast — it even moved the instant the command left her mouth, as if it had already anticipated its trainer's intention.

It was seen actively charging toward the spot where the Earth Power was spreading, and at the instant the ground burst open with a roar, it flickered into countless afterimages.

Boom!

Baimu and the Twin-Head Tyrannosaurus only felt their vision blur, and within the smoke-shrouded field, over a dozen identical Magcargo appeared in various places.

Only one of them — the Magcargo caught by the Earth Power — shattered into fragments and vanished.

He frowned slightly. "Dark Pulse!"

"Hee-ugh!" "Hee-ugh!"

Two overlapping black-ringed purple beams shot from the Twin-Head Tyrannosaurus's two heads, like energy rays capable of destroying everything, sweeping across everything before it as its heads swayed.

Boom boom boom!

The Magcargo's many afterimages crumbled like smoke, the thick dust billowing like endlessly rolling clouds.

But when the rays struck one of them, Yasha's shout suddenly rang out.

"Light Screen!"

A translucent glass wall abruptly materialized before the Magcargo, deflecting the vast majority of the fierce Dark Pulse, with only a small portion landing on its magma-like body.

Boom!

The "magma" was blasted open, leaving the Magcargo's body as if a portion had been torn away — pain flashed across its face — but the missing part quickly filled back in.

This Pokémon is practically like an elemental being from a Western fantasy work — only by striking the core can it be destroyed.

"Long-range moves won't work, huh…"

Baimu muttered softly. As expected of a Gym Leader's ace Pokémon — by normal in-game logic, a Magcargo four-times weak to Ground should have had its fate sealed the moment the Twin-Head Tyrannosaurus made its move.

Who would have thought that not only had it not been taken down, but the situation on his own side had become quite awkward.

Close combat?

According to known intelligence, Yasha's Magcargo has the Flame Body ability — close combat would be equivalent to deliberately letting the Twin-Head Tyrannosaurus fall into a burn, or gambling that his luck wasn't that bad.

He looked at the Twin-Head Tyrannosaurus before him — heads slightly lowered, four claws sunk deep into the earth, two faint panting sounds coming from it — and did not impatiently give the next command.

A full-power continuous offensive was, for the overly excited Twin-Head Tyrannosaurus, like frequent hundred-meter sprints with no rest in between.

Even though it was in peak condition right now, it couldn't help but fall into a brief moment of fatigue.

It was clear that the Twin-Head Tyrannosaurus was very anxious now, desperately craving a victory to stimulate its mind and body.

But as its trainer, Baimu had to stay calm — even though his fists were clenched so tight his fingernails were nearly digging into his palms, he did not force it to attack again.

Opportunities do indeed usually need to be seized actively, but that doesn't mean the occasional wait serves no purpose.

Mindless offense is not bravery, but recklessness.

On the other side.

Yasha saw not a trace of impatience on Baimu's face, and could not help but show a look of admiration.

Drawing back the fist to strike better — the earlier victory had not brought arrogance, and the current predicament had not caused discouragement. Such an excellent trainer was rare in her relatively short career as a Gym Leader.

"Sandstorm!"

She gave the command first.

Having gained a brief respite, the Magcargo withdrew into its shell and rapidly spun in place, with countless visible grains of sand surging out like a storm!

Rumble rumble rumble—

The entire field was gradually covered by the swirling yellow sandstorm.

Under the sandstorm weather, the Magcargo's Special Defense was boosted — combined with the Light Screen and the Twin-Head Tyrannosaurus's lowered Special Attack, this back-and-forth was enough to seal away the latter's formidable Special Attack power.

So in this situation, will you switch? Or choose to reveal the Twin-Head Tyrannosaurus's other abilities?

Yasha quickly got the answer she wanted.

Or rather, the opportunity Baimu had been waiting for arrived on its own within just a few seconds.

"Roar!"

The Twin-Headed Tyrant took a deep breath, both heads simultaneously bellowing at the spinning Magcargo. An ear-splitting white wave of sound rolled forward, scattering every grain of sand the gust reached!

Unable to dodge while spinning, the latter's body abruptly transformed into a streak of Bai Guang and flew into the Poké Ball at Yasha's waist.

Then.

The next Pokémon was forced to appear early.

"Magu!"

The Slugma-like Numel landed on the field. Yasha instinctively reached for her waist — although Numel Meige had originally been the Pokémon she planned to release first.

But after realizing Baimu was no easy opponent, her last Pokémon had been meant to be her ace, Coalossal.

Helplessly, because she hadn't swapped out the originally planned Pokémon in time, the Twin-Headed Tyrant's Roar had unexpectedly drawn it out instead.

The sudden situation made her heart jolt.

Not far away, Baimu broke into a broad smile. Hiding the new move gained from leveling up until now — there was no doubt it was all for this moment.

Because.

In the known intel, Numel Meige's Ability was—

【Magma Armor】!

"Dragon Rush!"

"Hyuu!" "Hyuu!"

The Twin-Headed Tyrant roared and charged forward, letting the漫天 yellow sand batter its body without pause. Blue light flared atop both heads, swiftly wrapping around its entire form.

In an instant.

A roaring, two-headed energy dragon took shape, radiating a terrifying aura as it surged toward Numel!

The latter, having taken the field with no preparation, was momentarily cowed by that horrifying presence, a hint of fear showing on its face. Fortunately, Yasha's shout rang out in time.

"Use Overheat!"

As the two-headed energy dragon closed in, the magma on Numel's body churned violently. Blazing white light gathered in its mouth, forming a terrifying high-temperature heat stream that blasted forward, warping the surrounding air, and slammed into the energy dragon with a thunderous crash!

Boom—!

An earth-shaking explosion accompanied by a blinding white flash. A translucent shockwave rippled out in all directions, scattering the swirling yellow sand entirely. It also made Baimu and Yasha instinctively raise their hands to shield themselves. The former's hem fluttered and billowed wildly, nearly turning into a cloak.

A massive plume of black smoke formed a small mushroom cloud, rising slowly at the center of the field, swallowing everything visible around it.

At the judges' stand.

The experienced Mula stood in place, completely unaffected by the smoke.

He was extremely satisfied with both sides' performance.

A Pokémon's reaction largely determines its rapport with its Trainer — whether it was Magcargo's timely Shadow Sneak and Light Screen, the Twin-Headed Tyrant seizing the opportunity the moment it appeared, or Numel's response at the final critical moment.

All of it was enough to prove the excellence of both as Trainers.

Especially his own granddaughter, Yasha.

At some point, she had fully put into practice the important things he had taught her — a Gym Leader's duty is not to win one or two battles, but to let challengers learn something new through battles without mercy.

To help other Trainers verify their strength, find where their gaps lie, and take them further.

That is what makes a qualified Gym Leader.

Therefore.

A Gym Leader is essentially a question-setter, creating all kinds of troublesome questions and waiting for Trainers to solve them.

At this moment, Yasha, having discovered that mid-level questions couldn't stump Baimu, decisively brought out her trump-card true question, striving to give her opponent a headache bad enough to make him scratch his ears and cheeks.

Even when the planned question was swapped out, she didn't panic — her reaction was extremely fast.

Entrusting the Gym to Yasha had indeed been the right choice.

The light gradually faded, the thunderous roar subsided.

The sandstorm, lacking follow-up power to sustain it, was also dispersed by the blast's shockwave.

Mula looked toward the challenger's seat and immediately saw Baimu seemingly waiting for something, his gaze empty and unfocused. Then suddenly he shouted at the top of his lungs: "Crunch!"

The old man gave a sudden start. Yasha in the distance, her view completely blocked, was equally stunned.

Calling out commands blindly without seeing the specific situation of one's own Pokémon and the opponent's — that was a very low-level mistake. Why would Baimu, who had performed outstandingly all along—

Could it be—!

They both looked toward the center of the field at once, and clearly saw two crimson lights flare within the smoke. Immediately, two explosions rang out in unison. The powerful shockwave of the whirlwind drove away the smoke, and also exposed the Numel, sent flying backward, before their eyes.

The Twin-Headed Tyrant, meanwhile, stood in the small crater created by the earlier energy impact, wisps of white steam continuously rising from its body, yet its condition was extremely good.

Mula looked at Baimu in utter astonishment.

How on earth had he known the Twin-Headed Tyrant hadn't been blown away by the explosion, and was right next to Numel, able to keep attacking?

Trust? A guess?

Or… was it the result of observation?

Compared to the doubtful Mula, Yasha's face was utterly solemn. She watched Numel hit the ground with a thud, and tried to give a command: "Recover—"

Unfortunately.

What lay before Yasha was a pair of spiral eyes on Numel; the command was swallowed back along with them.

Overheat, as her ultimate trump move, couldn't have been more fitting for the situation just now — yet it had failed to match the Twin-Headed Tyrant's Dragon Rush.

One had to remember that although Numel was admittedly inferior to Coalossal, it was still one of her main Pokémon!

Not only that, but after the clash it was still the Twin-Headed Tyrant that attacked first. Was it that she hadn't trusted Numel enough? Perhaps she should have given a command the moment the smoke spread, just like Baimu—

No. That's not right.

Pokémon battles can't be won by gambling.

"Magcargo is unable to battle, the winner is Doublade!"

Hearing her grandfather Mura's voice, Asha shook her head, recalled Magcargo, and looked toward All Baimu in the distance, asking: "Why did you command Doublade so decisively just now? Did you guess it wouldn't be defeated?"

"No, I heard it."

The latter gave her an answer that could be called unexpected.

"Heard it…"

"Yes. For me, as long as they haven't fallen, as long as they have a shred of stamina left, they are always crying out with a deafening roar, waiting for my response."

All Baimu said with a smile: "It was no different just now. The Doublade on the field told me that victory was within reach. The moment of metamorphosis had arrived."

"Metamorphosis!"

Asha's heart trembled. The moment her gaze shifted to Doublade, two roars that pierced the clouds suddenly rang out beside her ears.

"Hee-woo—!

"Hee-woo—!

On the field.

Under the gaze of the three, Doublade—whose mental state and energy had jointly broken through the critical point—was wrapped in a brilliant glowing blue light, countless fireflies swirling around it, triggering a startling transformation!

Just then.

Doublade's two separated heads began to fuse from the base, gradually merging into one. The fur on its face rapidly grew and stood on end, revealing a pair of crimson eyes.

Its front claws slowly rose, two new heads quickly grew and took shape from the top, its body slowly floated up, its short tail rapidly lengthened, and its hind legs quickly degenerated into two tufts of fur.

The lone pair of wings on its back split into three pairs, flapping in order with its rising and falling motions.

The instant the transformation was complete.

The light exploded into countless fragments, scattering across Hydreigon's body like celebratory fireworks, sparkling brightly.

"Sharong!

A deep, resonant growl vibrated the air, reaching the ears of the three.

The evolution succeeded!

After countless twists and turns, the late-blooming Hydreigon finally welcomed its complete form!

Explosive, immense energy surged within its body. In its wild joy, it desperately needed a battle to test just how terrifying the power of its brand-new self truly was.

Intense confidence made Hydreigon unable to help but let out a roar toward Asha.

"Shar—"

It didn't finish its roar.

Because it felt a scorching gaze coming from behind. After turning slightly, it immediately saw its trainer looking at it with a smile.

Beyond joy, that smile also concealed some other meaning…

Not yet driven mad by power, Hydreigon quietly flew back a short distance, giving its trainer a signal that it was still clear-headed.

Then.

A red light recalled it into its Poké Ball.

Asha, still immersed in Hydreigon's evolution, was stunned. "You switched it out?"

"Yes. Most Pokémon can't properly grasp the power after evolving. Forcing them to continue fighting with brute force is easy. Unless necessary, I prefer to switch—let's continue the battle, Gym Leader Asha."

All Baimu released his Pokémon forward.

Poof!

White light flickered.

The long-awaited Blissey took the field.

At the referee's seat.

Mura's appreciation for All Baimu was almost undisguised. Outstanding people always demonstrate their excellence in every aspect. The fact that he didn't force his just-evolved Pokémon to fight hit exactly the right note for him.

Counting the decades of his career as a Gym Leader, challengers whose Pokémon evolved mid-battle or after battle were myriad. Setting aside whether there was room to switch, most challengers would be infected by the strong confidence brought by evolution and let their just-evolved Pokémon continue fighting.

Of course.

Those who won by relying on this confidence were not few, but those who lost were actually more numerous—the reason being exactly what All Baimu just said: fighting with brute force.

Evolution represents a brand-new body. Unless the pre- and post-evolution forms are nearly identical, Pokémon definitely need time to adapt.

Under this premise, there are many Pokémon that can adapt quickly, and even more that cannot.

Therefore Mura more strongly agreed with All Baimu's approach: unless absolutely necessary, he would definitely switch out a newly evolved Pokémon. This also reflects respect for the Gym Challenge.

And compared to her grandfather.

Asha was a little disappointed. She had never battled a Pokémon like Hydreigon and was extremely curious about it. Unfortunately, All Baimu chose the more cautious method of battling.

"Go! Mag!"

She understood the Gym Challenge had to continue, so she sent out the Magcargo that had just been roared off the field.

"Psychic!"

All Baimu issued the command first.

Blissey raised its small hands, its eyes covered in blue light. The invisible psychic power spread out and quickly locked onto Magcargo's body, forcibly levitating it off the ground.

Asha frowned slightly and shouted: "Smokescreen!"

A large amount of blazing thick smoke poured out from within Magcargo's shell, rapidly spreading toward Blissey, attempting to block its and All Baimu's line of sight while dealing damage.

Unfortunately, the latter was not afraid of this move at all.

"Psybeam!"

"Happy!"

The blue light in Blissey's eyes intensified. A pair of invisible large hands stirred the air, pushing the spreading blazing thick smoke aside from both sides, revealing a wide path with a direct line of sight to Magcargo.

A transparent wall of light materialized, blocking out the invisible portion of psychic power, but the portion that remained still caused heavy damage to its mind!

"Magu!"

Magcargo let out a muffled grunt.

And Blissey's extremely stable psychic force made Yasha's heart tremble.

"Such powerful psychic power!"

When elemental energies collide, they will most often explode like a bomb, so getting them to disperse the blazing smoke so steadily is no simple task.

In that case.

"Hit yourself with Smack Down!"

Yasha's second command was issued, and a brilliant golden orb of light suddenly appeared above Magcargo's head and began to fall.

Boom!

The golden energy orb exploded, and amid the violent fluctuations, Magcargo — a flicker of pain crossing its face — was able to return to the ground.

Without a doubt.

This was not the first time in her years as a Gym Leader that she had encountered such a bizarre move, so breaking through Telekinesis was quite easy for her.

At the same time, Yasha waved again. "Recover!"

Red, purple, and pale pink lights mingled and shone from Magcargo's body surface, countless motes of light flying into it, rapidly replenishing its lost stamina.

But this command gave All Baimu an opening.

"Sing!"

"Happy~"

Blissey pressed its hands together before its body, and countless lively notes and sound waves spread forward together, flying all the way to Magcargo.

"Dodge it quick!"

Yasha was startled.

But just as Magcargo shifted to the side, a single note flew into its body.

It, which had been quite spirited, quickly became drowsy; its amber eyes drooped slightly, losing their liveliness, and its bead-like pupils curved into downward crescents.

It had clearly fallen into a state of sleep.

"Psychic!"

"Sleep Talk!"

All Baimu and Yasha issued commands at the same time.

The words had barely fallen.

The former was surprised that the latter still had a countermeasure in this situation, while Yasha was hoping Sleep Talk would produce a good move.

At that moment.

Just as Blissey released its psychic power at Magcargo, Magcargo — hearing its trainer's voice — writhed, and a deep brown ring of energy materialized around its body and was suddenly released!

【Power Gem】!

Blissey, which had just released its psychic power, found it hard to dodge and was forced to take the deep brown energy blast head-on, but its formidable Special Defense let it receive the blow with complete ease.

And it controlled Magcargo into flying up, then slammed it into the ground at the swift speed of a meteor striking the earth!

Boom!

The Psychic-type energy exploded, causing the sleeping Magcargo to show a pained expression.

But it did not wake up from this.

Yasha couldn't help clenching her teeth. "Wake up! Mag! Use Sleep Talk again!"

"Mimic!"

All Baimu pressed his advantage.

Blissey's eyes lit up with blue light once more, and a deep brown ring of energy materialized around its body just like Magcargo's earlier — but unlike the latter's aimless release, it all tilted onto Magcargo, which was opening its mouth to exhale a ring of white mist.

Boom!

A puff of smoke exploded, followed immediately by the shattering of a translucent wall of light.

The Light Screen's duration had ended.

"Magu!"

Magcargo, struck by Power Gem, let out another pained wail, its aura visibly weakening — but in the end it still did not wake, continuing to sleep soundly.

And Blissey, whose face had been shrouded by the white mist, for some reason looked weary, as if it too were about to fall asleep.

"Yawn, huh…"

All Baimu frowned slightly, never expecting Yasha and Magcargo to be so lucky at the last moment. "Pull back! Use Heal Bell!"

If they got too close, it would inevitably cause Magcargo to wake up as well.

But honestly, after being hit twice in a row.

This one wasn't far from waking up either…

As if confirming his thoughts.

Just as Blissey pulled back a certain distance and released Heal Bell, Magcargo, which had been sleeping for a long time, finally woke up.

Yasha couldn't wait to shout: "Recover—"

"Sweet Kiss!"

Just as Magcargo's body was enveloped in a kaleidoscope of light, a huge heart flew swiftly from Blissey's kiss and struck the former squarely on the forehead, instantly throwing it into confusion.

Recover was successfully interrupted.

"Final move, Psychic!"

"Get it together, Mag! Use Overheat!"

The overwhelming psychic force spread before the Magcargo, and a brilliant Bai Guang flared in the latter's mouth, as if searing flames were about to pour forth—

Suddenly.

A fierce wave of dizziness slammed into Magcargo's head.

The overheating was interrupted once more.

And it was forced to fly into the air, then slammed into the ground hard under Blissey's control!

Boom!

Smoke rose up.

Time seemed to freeze in that instant.

Neither side's trainer spoke, and Blissey made no move either.

A few seconds later, the unconscious Magcargo was revealed in a small crater.

Mura raised the flag in his hand.

"Magcargo is unable to battle! Blissey wins! The winner of this match is—the challenger!"