Chapter 434: The Battle of Petalburg

Now.

Anyone who follows the Hoenn Showcase to any degree has inevitably heard the name Baimu.

A three-time participant and three-time winner, he has earned Master Mi Ke Li's praise multiple times on the strength of match recordings alone, and his highlight reels remain top picks on countless video sites to this day.

All of which explains why the TV station staff were so astonished. A couple of them were even his fans!

The director watched Baimu, seated in the challenger's box with an expression of cool composure, and felt a secret thrill of excitement.

He'd only come out to shoot a routine short feature, and yet he'd happened to land a real big fish!

Once editing was done, cutting a small clip for the preview would surely send it trending that very night!

And inside the venue.

The battle was about to begin.

Yet Naqi suddenly dropped into a half-kneel, earnestly folding her hands across her chest, and declared in a clear voice:

"Great sky above, grant me wings, grant me the mighty power that no gale can topple. Then, guide us through the boundless blue world!"

A prayer?

Baimu didn't quite understand what she was doing, but in his peripheral vision he caught the TV crew filming her with great excitement, while Shota in the audience was equally thrilled.

Faintly, he seemed to hear the staff below chatting.

"Young Lady Naqi's Sky Prayer never gets old."

"Right—that's why they call her the 'Bird Pokémon Trainer Who Soars the World'!"

Sky Prayer?

It was probably some sort of personal ritual, like a pre-battle declaration.

As far as Baimu knew, Naqi possessed no Psychic abilities whatsoever; her gift lay in reading the flow of the wind, using it to quicken her Pokémon's flight speed and conserve their stamina.

The equivalent of all her Pokémon permanently carrying a Tailwind effect.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Naqi rose, her whole person radiant as the prayer words ended, a confident, faint smile lighting her face, her bearing upright as a green pine. "I've read your file—every Gym Leader has nothing but praise for you. That's quite rare."

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Though several cameras were locked on her face, she ignored them as if it were second nature, her gaze falling squarely on Baimu opposite.

The director, hearing her words, excitedly ordered the cameramen to give each of them a close-up.

The rising star of the Showcase circuit, Baimu, also possessed extraordinary talent in actual battling?

Cutting this Gym battle into the broadcast would definitely send the ratings soaring!

Wonderful, simply wonderful!

Unfortunately, Baimu clearly had little interest in making conversation, and merely nodded casually at the compliment.

"…You flatter me."

"Mm, in that case…"

Seeing his response, Naqi said no more and decisively threw her Poké Ball forward.

"Go! Pelipper!"

Poof!

Light flashed.

"Pelipper!"

A Pelipper appeared, its yellow beak occupying two-thirds of its body, and a rumble immediately rolled across the sky; the bright, sunny day was swiftly veiled by a thin layer of clouds.

A fine, drizzling rain drifted down.

The Drizzle Ability!

Chansey, just emerging happily from its Poké Ball, felt the coolness wash over it, its face brimming with fighting spirit.

"Happy~"

The cow-hair-fine rain quickly left countless droplets across its fluffy outer body, forming thin, wet streaks.

Referee Sega swiftly raised the green and red flags and bellowed:

"Begin!"

"Pelipper! Dive!"

"Gravity!"

Naqi and Baimu issued their commands at nearly the same instant, and the two Pokémon reacted accordingly.

Pelipper moved first; master of the wind, it streaked toward Chansey from the sky with impossibly smooth motion—its wings barely flapping, yet its speed was astonishingly fast.

But the next instant.

An invisible force took form as a field, pressing down on it like a Gaoshan falling from the heavens, slamming it from the air to the ground!

"Pelipper!"

The grounded Pelipper cried out in pain—Gravity was nothing short of a nightmare move for bird Pokémon; once it took effect, it stole away the great majority of their mobility.

Naqi's face showed a flicker of surprise.

"You even know Gravity? Not bad!"

She was in no way flustered; she extended one index finger as if feeling for something, and murmured, "Today's wind is so gentle~ Surf!"

"Pelipper!"

Unable to fly, Pelipper swiftly adjusted its state, and as if completely unaffected, its eyes suddenly sharpened. Beneath it, a surge of aquamarine water swelled, lifting it high like a fountain before crashing it back down!

Poof!

A towering aquamarine wave rose up, and under the rain's blessing, it surged mightily toward Chansey!

"Happy~"

Happiness Egg's expression didn't change. At some unknown point, countless sharp glowing rocks had condensed in front of it, and they flew outward like floating cannons before mysteriously vanishing.

【Stealth Rock】.

When the wave arrived, it stood in place and let the tide wash over it, a flicker of pain crossing its face before vanishing.

But that was all.

For a top-tier special wall like it, Pelipper's Rain Dance Surf was merely respectable in power — far from enough to wound it to the bone.

Naoki watched and couldn't help but praise:

"Truly outstanding durability, and these complex status moves — raised remarkably well!"

All Baimu still didn't reply, only issuing commands.

"Soft-Boiled."

"Happy!"

Happiness Egg immediately placed its small hand before the egg in its belly. A Bai Guang shone from the round egg, then transformed into green light that covered its entire body.

The injuries and stamina drain from the surf vanished in an instant.

It looked toward the distant Pelipper, grounded by gravity, and noticed the latter had somehow gotten extremely close — apparently using the residual water left by the surf to move quickly.

"Hurricane!"

The instant Naoki's command fell, Pelipper's oddly shaped wings slammed down hard!

Boom!

A silver-white gale became a visible blade of air that came hurtling toward it!

"Protect!"

All Baimu shouted at the top of his voice. A honeycomb-shaped round light barrier appeared before Happiness Egg, and the blades of air slammed into it repeatedly, making it shake wildly, looking as though it might shatter at any moment.

But in the end, the light barrier held firm.

Naoki's expression became rather interesting at this point.

"Protect, huh… This Pokémon really is proficient in all sorts of status moves!"

She had to admit that although her side held the initiative, repeated attacks failing to land was a heavy blow to both her and Pelipper.

So Happiness Egg was this troublesome a Pokémon?

The TV station staff outside the field discussed among themselves. It wasn't their first time producing a Gym Leader special feature — even people who knew nothing about Pokémon battles at first had, through long exposure, picked up at least a little.

Besides, even if they didn't understand battling, they could tell from Naoki's expression that the situation on the field wasn't ideal.

And what surprised them even more —

All Baimu had absolutely no intention of having Happiness Egg counterattack. Once the clash between Hurricane and Protect ended, he decisively recalled it into its Poké Ball and sent out his second Pokémon.

"He's switching already?!"

Shota said in disbelief.

Anyone could see the situation clearly favored All Baimu's side — why suddenly switch Pokémon?

Naoki narrowed her eyes slightly.

Jingle~

Amid the crisp chime of bells, Mawile landed on the waterlogged battlefield.

It glanced disdainfully at its feet.

"Water Pulse!"

"Dodge to the right!"

Two commands rang out simultaneously. A turquoise water column shot from Pelipper's mouth, piercing the air toward Mawile. The latter nimbly leapt, moving three or four body-lengths to the side like a phantom.

The Water Pulse missed and splattered onto the ground with a plop, turning into a puddle of muddy water.

"Such light, agile movements!"

The director praised instinctively. Faint squeals came from the staff beside him — clearly, as a mainstay of the Contest scene and the reason for its fame, Mawile also had its fans.

And Naoki hadn't expected Mawile to react that quickly either. All Baimu had given her another big surprise.

But the next second —

Her expression changed drastically.

She only heard a light Peng De, followed immediately by All Baimu's command.

"Thunder Punch!"

When Naoki looked back at Mawile on the field, she found it had already vanished without a trace, leaving only the splash from its toes after its sudden burst of force.

Then —

Her eyes suddenly blurred. She saw a flash of Lei Guang beneath, lightning blooming into bright yellow light forming a chain that stretched across nearly half the field, emitting a thunderous roar that made eardrums tremble. The falling rain itself quivered wildly in that brilliance.

And the vanished Mawile had suddenly appeared right in front of Pelipper.

The latter's pupils instantly dilated.

"Dodge it!"

Naoki shouted loudly, but alas, giving the order at this point was already too late.

Zizz-boom!

Mawile's fist slammed into its lower jaw. The crackling current spread like a living thing across Pelipper's entire body, and intense paralysis and pain surged into its heart!

Peng!

A ring of milky-white energy burst open. Pelipper was sent flying as though it had been volleyed like a soccer ball, and the spot where it had just stood exploded with a layer of white smoke that enveloped Mawile.

The tremendous sound and ghost-like speed left everyone around utterly stunned.

Beneath the overcast sky —

As the smoke on the field slowly dispersed.

Munchlax stayed where it was, its smoke-wreathed fist still clenched, head bowed as it caught its breath — its rain-soaked figure looked almost terrifying.

And the Pelipper that had been sent flying had, without question, crashed onto its back, both eyes covered in spirals.

"Pelipper is unable to battle — Munchlax wins!"

Sega announced the result of the fallen Pokémon without a moment's delay.

Only then did gasps of amazement ripple across the vast arena, and the gazes of the TV station staff converged on Munchlax, brimming with every kind of expression.

Shota's eyes went wide, and he clapped a hand over his mouth to keep himself from shouting out loud.

How could he ever have imagined that the All Baimu he'd faced yesterday afternoon was this strong? He'd assumed Happiny was the latter's most powerful Pokémon — he hadn't expected there to be an even stronger Munchlax!

What a dazzlingly fast punch!

That kind of explosive speed was rare even in far more official tournaments — one could say Munchlax had conquered everyone present with that single, shockingly powerful punch.

All Baimu's Contest fans were beside themselves with excitement; in fact, ever since the second round of the Contest, some had already suspected Munchlax's combat ability was no joke — perhaps even stronger than an ordinary Trainer's.

It just had never been proven.

Now Munchlax's feat of taking out Pelipper in a single blow had confirmed beyond doubt that its combat power was extraordinary.

The director felt a surge of excitement, but also a touch of regret — this was, after all, Naoki's personal interview documentary, so he couldn't give All Baimu and Munchlax too much screen time.

What a shame!

If he could, he'd really love to do a personal feature on All Baimu — he had a feeling it would be especially popular.

Naoki, on the other side of the stands, couldn't help but sigh as well:

"Truly admirable explosive power! Even I would have had a hard time reacting in time — no wonder people rate you so highly. Wonderful!"

"You're too kind."

All Baimu replied modestly.

Naoki smiled charmingly. "But I have to warn you — the battle's outcome has only just begun! The Eterna Gym Badge won't be handed over to you that easily!"

"All right!"

"Go! Skarmory!"

She hurled the Poké Ball sharply toward the ground.

Bang!

Bai Guang flickered.

A Skarmory nearly three meters tall dropped into midair, then, pulled down by gravity, was forced to fold its wings and land — its somewhat heavy body splashing up droplets of mud and water.

"Kreeee!"

The giant Skarmory let out a hoarse cry.

Immediately after.

Sharp stones materialized one after another in the air around it, detonating like grenades and sending up plumes of smoke.

The Stealth Rocks Happiny had laid down had triggered.

Yet the explosions were not accompanied by the Skarmory's cry — most of the rock bursts had failed to inflict a satisfying amount of damage, at least not enough to make the Skarmory feel any sharp pain.

Just as expected.

When the smoke cleared, the giant Skarmory's metal shell had only acquired a few scorch marks.

"Double Team."

All Baimu's voice rang out.

"Munchlax~"

Munchlax responded, its small frame trembling violently as it split into countless flickering afterimages, confusing the giant Skarmory's and Naoki's eyes alike.

Naoki's gaze swept across the swarm of Munchlax.

Until the Gravity effect wore off, the wind-reading ability Naoki commanded was reduced to a fraction of its usual power, and her Pokémon's strength would be greatly diminished — but clearly, this wasn't the first time she'd run into a situation like this.

"Spread your wings! Brave Bird — smash them apart!"

She shouted.

Then the giant Skarmory spread its metal pinions just as she'd said, its sharp talons striding forward, and charged toward Munchlax at a pace that was neither fast nor slow.

Sky-blue flames ignited across its body and quickly spread to cover it whole, transforming it into a Xiong Xiong-burning steel firebird that resolutely slammed into the mass of Munchlax afterimages.

Roar—

The air shuddered with its charge.

"Thunder Punch!"

All Baimu's voice sent the swarm of Munchlax illusions rushing at the giant Skarmory from every direction — once again exploding into motion, their figures vanished on the spot, crossing an immense distance at blinding speed.

"Kreeee!"

The giant Skarmory let out an earsplitting cry, tapped the ground with a single talon, and abruptly whipped its massive metal wings to spin in place — looking for all the world like a giant blue flame top.

All that could be heard was a continuous series of detonations in the air, as one after another Munchlax illusion was batted apart by its wings!

Peng Peng Peng Peng——!!