Chapter 502: A Desperate Small Victory

"So you finally noticed?"

Seeing Xiaosheng fall silent with furrowed brows, his face full of thought, Baimu guessed the other might have seen through Porygon2's 【Texture】.

In that case.

He waved his hand: "Strange Waves!"

"Pah—

!"

Porygon2's voice at this moment was like metallic reverberation, electricity flashing in its eyes, rings of crackling lightning overlapping into a long cage that shot toward the Eelektross hovering in midair!

Hum—

The instant the reverberation reached the bystanders' ears, the dazzling lightning rings had already arrived before Eelektross.

The unique swift effect of long-range Electric-type moves was displayed to perfection at this moment.

Xiaosheng barely came to his senses and called out urgently: "Dodge it quick!"

"Gwoo!"

Yet Eelektross, though an Electric-type Pokémon with the ability to fly, was oddly sluggish in agility, and only dodged a small portion of the lightning rings, with most of the rest sinking into its body.

Eelektross let out a muffled groan, and streams of blue descending light appeared all over its body.

Its Special Attack had been sharply lowered.

"Pull yourself together! Thunderbolt!"

Xiaosheng shouted under May's worried gaze; he wanted to verify whether his guess was correct.

However.

Baimu gave no opening.

"Come back."

He swiftly recalled Porygon2 into his phone, then tossed out a Poké Ball with a backhand throw. "It's up to you."

Pop.

White light flashed.

A milky-white round stone, smooth as jade, landed on the grass; blood-red eyes lit up like torches, and from the black hollows on its four sides emerged coral horns as ethereal as smoke.

The corners of its mouth drooped, its face full of displeasure.

"Saaa…"

"Gwoo!"

Eelektross in midair, its whole body crackling with electricity, let out a loud howl and suddenly blasted a roaring Thunderbolt toward Corsola!

Boom!

Thunder roared, the current precisely striking the slow-moving Galarian Corsola; the sudden dazzling light far outshone the surrounding streetlamps, and many onlookers instinctively looked away.

Those with sharper eyes noticed that Corsola still wore its sorrowful expression, completely unmoved.

May opened her mouth slightly and quickly pulled out her Pokédex to scan it.

"It really is…"

She looked at the Pokédex entry; the scan result told her that this Pokémon, which looked very much like Corsola yet was particularly eerie, was indeed Corsola.

It was just that it came from the Galar region, and had become Ghost-type.

Poof!

Dust rose up, then was blown away by the night wind.

Corsola hovered slightly, fine currents of electricity still flickering across its body, but that was all.

"It's Corsola!"

Disappointment and excitement mingled in Xiaosheng's heart.

He still remembered everything from their first meeting—how Corsola, as the Pokémon Baimu had happened to catch after Xiaosheng accidentally fell into the sea and was rescued by him, had left a deep impression on him ever since.

And the scene just now made Xiaosheng understand all the more that Baimu had raised it to be extraordinarily powerful.

Though he felt a little regret at not having fully seen through Porygon2's secret, battling Corsola made him overjoyed.

"Crunch!"

Xiaosheng pointed swiftly at Corsola.

Though Eelektross's Special Attack had been lowered by Strange Waves, its physical Attack was equally outstanding—it was a Pokémon rarely born suited to wielding both blades, so to speak.

Of course, its weakness was obvious too—

Slow speed.

"Gwoo!"

Eelektross swooped in, charging straight at Corsola; before its ring-shaped red mouth, a grey-black energy gathered and transformed into a vicious set of energy fangs!

"Protect."

Baimu's face was calm.

Eelektross lunged right up to Corsola, which faced those vicious energy fangs head-on, unhurriedly raising a spherical honeycomb-patterned shield of light.

Poof!

Dark-type energy collided with Protect, and the explosion's smoke covered them both.

Eelektross finished its attack and prepared to retreat, but where in the world would things be that easy—come and go as it pleased?

Baimu commanded: "Will-O-Wisp!"

In an instant.

The smoke dispersed amid numerous rising ghostly-purple flames, which spun around above Corsola's head, so fast they nearly formed a ring of fire.

"Saaa!"

The Sunflora poured out all its overtime fury in one go!

"Use Water Tail to smash them!"

Xiaosheng quickly followed up with the command.

The retreating Mamoowth King's tail rapidly coiled up a stream of glowing blue water, and with a whip-like lash it smacked away the incoming ghostly purple fireballs!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With every Will-O-Wisp it hit, a puff of steam-like white mist burst open in midair; they quickly gathered into one single mass that completely shrouded the Mamoowth King's figure.

Xiaosheng was just about to breathe a sigh of relief at the sight when a flicker of orange-red firelight suddenly flashed through the white mist.

"Mamoowth King!"

He sensed something was wrong and called out loudly to his Pokémon.

"Gwoo—"

The white mist drifted apart; the Mamoowth King, wrapped in firelight, flipped painfully in midair—clearly its Water Tail had failed to shatter all nine Will-O-Wisps, and it had still taken the hit.

And now it had both its Special Attack lowered by that bizarre electric wave and its physical Attack lowered by the burn status; it was already no different from a useless eel.

Unless it suddenly pulled off some miracle of self-healing its status conditions without using a move, attacking Sunflora was no different from giving it a scrape.

—Xiaosheng wanted to switch.

But All Baimu didn't want to let him switch.

"Whirlpool!"

"Come back, Mamoowth King!"

Sunflora struck first; above the smoke-like antennae on its brow, a stream of glowing blue water spun and swelled, and in an instant transformed into a massive tidal vortex that surged toward the Mamoowth King with a terrifying rumble!

Whoosh!

In the muffled gust of wind, the red beam shot from the Poké Ball in Xiaosheng's hand was actually blocked by the Whirlpool, and the Mamoowth King, trying to dodge, failed to evade and was trapped within, suffering the agony of the tide's assault.

"Time to end this. Double Trouble."

All Baimu raised his hand.

Sunflora's blood-red eyes were covered by a layer of purple-red light, and a bizarre eyeball shrouded in black mist abruptly materialized above its head, continuously releasing waves of ghostly purple light forward.

"Break free, quick!" Xiaosheng shouted upward.

But the force of the tide was simply not something the burned Mamoowth King could resist; no matter how it struggled, the immense suction and twisting force within still held it firmly captive.

The eerie light waves drew near.

Hmm—

The spray parted under the surging energy, exposing the Mamoowth King trapped within, and the ghostly purple light swiftly began to corrode its body.

"Gwoo!

"

It let out a pained groan.

"Hm? Didn't finish it off? That Special Defense is something."

All Baimu was a little surprised—Whirlpool plus burn plus Double Trouble, a triple combo, still hadn't taken it down. "Does it have—"

The words were left unfinished.

The Whirlpool suddenly exploded with a boom, and amid the spray flying everywhere, the Mamoowth King crashed to the ground like a kite with its string cut.

Its whole body drenched, its eyes replaced by spirals.

Well, spoke too soon.

All Baimu exchanged a glance with the Sunflora that had turned its head on the lawn, pretending not to notice its intense "I want to clock out" gaze, thinking to himself that this guy really should take the damage-stacking route rather than burst-output.

When power's lacking, special effects make up for it.

In the distance.

Xiaosheng, face full of dejection, recalled the Mamoowth King. "Good work, Mamoowth King."

He had wanted to show All Baimu the fruits of his travels in the Unova region, but as things stood, there was almost no difference from that battle aboard the Love Goddess Milotic all those days ago!

Between the two of them, there was still a bottomless chasm.

"Continue?"

All Baimu's voice drifted over from afar.

Xiaosheng took a deep breath, glanced at his sister Xiaoyao beside him who was subtly cheering him on, and declared loudly: "Of course we continue! I haven't lost yet! Go, my partner!"

The Poké Ball was thrown.

Poof!

A flash of light.

A clam-like Pokémon landed—short and flat, covered all over in spikes, with three vines sprouting from its head and metal spiky balls attached.

"Nado!"

A muffled, booming cry reached All Baimu and Sunflora's ears.

All "new" Pokémon?

He looked at Xiaosheng with some surprise; he had expected the latter to send out his evolved Banette and Gardevoir, but instead he had chosen from start to finish only Pokémon caught in the Unova region…

This habit must have been picked up from that guy Ash, right?

"Fine, fine, clock out then. Good work."

All Baimu took out a Poké Ball helplessly; he had originally wanted to use this one's type advantage to take on Gardevoir and Banette.

"Sora!"

Sunflora's spirit lifted; the corners of its mouth turned upward, and the whole Pokémon was radiant!

Clock out, clock out!

Working overtime and all that, it's just too painful~

The Sunflora inside the Poké Ball's red light could hardly hide its good mood; it caught a glimpse of its trainer's mouth twitching at the corner and pretended it hadn't seen anything.

And after recalling Sunflora.

All Baimu thought for a second, then tossed a Poké Ball.

Bang!

"Sha-sao!

"

White light appeared together with a high-pitched roar; once the radiance faded, the utterly wild Hydreigon appeared before Xiaosheng and all the onlookers.

As its three pairs of wings flapped slowly, its pitch-black form looked rather terrifying against the night.

"Hydreigon! The single-headed dragon evolved!"

Xiaosheng still remembered Sunflora, so naturally he hadn't forgotten the single-headed dragon that used to follow All Baimu around.

Only, that little fellow from back then seemed to have changed its temperament entirely; if he'd encountered such a ferociously vicious Pokémon in the wild, he'd probably have turned tail and run without a second thought.

It seemed his own small achievements were nothing worth looking at in front of Brother All Baimu.

And he'd been so proud, thinking the newly raised Pokémon would definitely give Brother All Baimu a huge shock.

Now it seemed.

The one getting a huge shock was himself.

Xiaosheng thought this, and as he looked at Hydreigon, a fighting spirit actually rose in his gaze.

Losing a battle doesn't matter; what matters is having the courage to keep challenging after a loss!

This was one of the life truths that the trainer he admired—Ash—had taught him through his own actions!

"Ferrothorn! Pin Missile!"

He shouted.

The Ferrothorn in front of him raised its vine-shaped claws and fired a volley of emerald-green needles like rays of light straight at Hydreigon!

Puff puff puff puff—

The needles locked onto most of the space around Hydreigon as they flew, so no matter which way it dodged, at least one would hit it.

Such targeted technique was clearly the result of serious practice.

"Protect."

All Baimu raised his hand.

The instant his words fell, a spherical honeycomb-shaped barrier of light sprang up in front of Hydreigon.

Recently he'd rarely let this fellow take part in properly weighted official battles, but the tacit understanding between them had been continuously cultivated and hadn't been abandoned with the birth of the God Heart.

Although Hydreigon didn't have a Mega Evolution, the two of them had long reached the point where, before the words he was about to say even left his mouth, Hydreigon already knew what he was thinking—faster than telepathy.

Without a doubt, this was a direct manifestation of their bond.

Peng peng peng—

The needles struck the barrier one after another, and the explosive energy actually made it tremble slightly.

"Not bad power, for a move that's not its own type, the performance is this good."

All Baimu looked at Ferrothorn with approval, glanced at the growing crowd of onlookers around them, and said regretfully: "But, let's end it here.

"Nasty Plot, Dark Pulse."

"Sha-sao."

Hydreigon suddenly raised its head; gazing at the sky under the moonlight, it looked as if it were praying.

Dark light flowed.

Immediately, orange-red updrafts from its boosted stats washed over its body, raising its already terrifying aura another notch.

The opposing Ferrothorn began to panic; Xiaosheng also knew things looked bad and shouted.

"Gyro Ball! Ram into it!"

"Na-do!"

Ferrothorn mustered its courage and spun on the spot, transforming in the space of a breath into a massive bright-silver bullet that charged toward the immovably standing Hydreigon.

Its speed was originally extremely slow, but boosted by the Gyro Ball's spin, it actually burst forth with a speed that couldn't be underestimated!

But.

It only had to advance halfway, and the eerie, evil-dragon-like Hydreigon lowered its head in the night; its chest suddenly swelled, as if it had taken a huge gulp of air in an instant.

The next moment.

Three terrifying black shockwaves like storms grazed the grass, shaking the air and kicking up large amounts of grass clippings and dust, charging with destructive force toward the Ferrothorn that had become a metal bullet!

Boom—!

!

The deafening explosion continued to echo in the ears of the surrounding onlookers; May stared blankly at the scene, and Xiaosheng, who faced the black shockwave head-on, trembled even more!

What terrifying power!

In their minds they flashed through the trainers they'd encountered and seen during their journey with Ash, and found that those who could bring the same destructive power numbered no more than five!

So this was the strength All Baimu showed when he got serious!

Xiaosheng watched the Ferrothorn swallowed by the shockwave, shouting nonstop in hopes it could hold on, but he himself knew the odds weren't great.

Ferrothorn's durability was strong, but even strength has its limits; the attack Hydreigon had just unleashed clearly exceeded what it could withstand.

After a short while.

Hydreigon's three heads stopped spewing shockwaves; it slowly closed its mouths, its crimson eyes gazing at the smoke-shrouded grass that looked as if a typhoon had plowed through it, and two puffs of white smoke snorted out from its nostrils.

"Sha-sao…"

Without a doubt.

Xiaoyao and Xiaosheng's guesses were correct.

Ditto 2 was ever-changing, wielding the fearsome power of a first-strike kill, but in essence it had yet to fully catch up to the "first tier" of the hierarchy.

As a Pokémon bold enough to challenge Metagross for the Ace position.

Hydreigon was the foremost force under All Baimu's command.

Speaking of raw output, before Mawile had mastered the power of Mega Evolution, it was the one with the most terrifying destructive power; after comprehending 【Trickery】, its destructive power rose to a level that left ordinary folk in despair.

The smoke and dust slowly dispersed.

Ferrothorn stopped before a shallow crater, its eyes covered by black spirals, with an expanse of undamaged grass behind it.

Clearly, the Dark-type energy had not passed through its body to land behind it.