Chapter 633: Excadrill and Steelix

"Dragonite is unable to battle! Contestant Alice still has four Pokémon remaining!"

The commentator's shout rang out clear and loud.

On the big screen, the icon belonging to Dragonite next to Alice's portrait dimmed; counting upward, the icon for Archeops dimmed along with it, and only Garchomp remained lit.

The audience's cheers never ceased.

Combined with the victorious roar of the giant Steelix on the field, the competition atmosphere at the venue was absolutely electric, exceptionally stirring.

Discussion volume online surged. This edition of the Hoenn Conference had already been promoted very effectively, and with Porygon2 and Steelix's astonishing performances, more and more battle enthusiasts came to follow along.

Among them were no shortage of Baimu and Alice's acquaintances.

For instance, Ash and Pikachu, who had returned to Pallet Town; Citron, Eureka, and Viola — who happened to be traveling in Kalos — at the Hau'oli Gym; the Dragon Lady and Iris in the Village of Dragons; the Elder and young dragon-tamers in Meteor Falls; and even the currently-working-to-pay-off-debt Team Rocket trio, and so on…

Besides these, there was no need to mention those who had long been paying attention.

As a regional-level conference, the attention it received had already far surpassed that level.

Even a region's Champion League might not be this heated.

Clips of the two battling were made into animated images and spread across blogs; many people, through liking the posts, became aware of the existence of Hoenn Champion Dawu and Contest Master Mi Ke Li.

Hoenn region's Gym Leaders emerged one after another; even the Elite Four's Queen Boni and Lucian all posted comments.

The popularity surged once again.

Less than ten minutes after the match began, trending terms related to the two had already climbed into the world's top five; above them were only major technological breakthroughs, Champion Dan Di's All-Star consecutive championship plus new endorsement, and Sabrina's new movie promotion, and so on.

The focus of the entire world!

Jaco and the Hoenn League Conference Bureau also realized the situation had exceeded their control; the former became aware he had bitten off more than he could chew.

Where did this kid Baimu, out less than a year, get to know so many famous people?

He now only hoped that the future Champion he had pinned his hopes on, Ohre, could withstand this level of attention; if he capsized, the backlash from public opinion would be terrifying.

But if he could endure it…

The whole world would see Baimu's existence!

Of course.

The storm online did not overly affect the two battling on-site nor the audience focused on watching the match.

The current score was 2:0, Alice at a great disadvantage.

"Alice…"

Dawn watched worriedly at the brown-skinned girl whose face she could not make out on the field.

Before the finals began, both sides had displayed strength far surpassing other contestants, but did this mean the two were evenly matched?

The answer was no.

Even among the strong, there were higher and lower.

From the start of the match until now, the record on the big screen illustrated this point well; Baimu had suppressed Alice just as he had suppressed other contestants.

The ever-shifting Porygon2, the Steelix commanding the sandstorm — each was extraordinarily powerful.

Brock sighed, "How times have changed."

He still remembered the first time he saw the giant Steelix, when it hadn't even mastered the most basic Bind move.

Now it had not only mastered Bind, but even Counter Shield completely; its manipulation of the sandstorm left him, a Rock-type Gym Leader, in utter awe.

He really wanted Jiro to see it too.

Recalling his younger brother who had replaced him as Gym Leader, Brock couldn't help but smile.

Volkner's eyes went blank, his mind ceaselessly fantasizing about his own Pokémon battling Steelix, gradually losing himself.

Miss Liuqi furiously scrolled through blogs, using her alt account to like every comment praising Baimu, and to dislike and report every critical comment, her fingers dancing nimbly.

On the field.

The tailwind ceased.

The sandstorm had long since dissipated after Steelix voluntarily released it.

Currently, the only field effect remaining was Trick Room, but it likely wouldn't last much longer either.

Alice recalled her fainted Dragonite, saying in a low voice, "Dragonite, you did your best. Rest easy."

She looked at the giant Steelix, her fists clenching.

"Grr…"

Having sent out three Pokémon in a row and all three falling behind, how could she fail to see that Baimu's strength surpassed her own? While she had grown in the process of searching for Rayquaza, he had progressed at an even faster pace.

The gap was so obvious!

And at this stage, the chances left to her were already few.

Even if she sent out Garchomp again, the sandstorms of the two could not be spoken of in the same breath; it would only hasten the mid-match break.

Thinking back carefully.

Alice felt she had far too many distracting thoughts; clearly, beyond carrying through the will to fight and battling hard until the last moment, any further idle thinking was useless.

Charge forward bravely, advance with no retreat!

"At a moment like this, I should still leave it to you—"

She threw a Poké Ball to send out her fourth Pokémon; across from her, Baimu actually recalled Steelix as well, and in turn released a new Pokémon.

The audience was all taken aback.

Bang bang!

The sharp-eyed Excadrill and the smiling Blissey each landed on the sand.

Because the previous few rounds of combat had mostly taken place in the air, and the two shallow craters Porygon2 had smashed out had been buried by Steelix's sandstorm, the field was actually still fairly level.

However, both sides had short legs, causing them to sink into the sand up to their feet the moment they landed.

At first glance, it was rather comical.

"Trainer All Baimu has once again voluntarily switched Pokémon!" The commentator let out a soft exclamation. "Could this be some kind of special tactic?"

On the big screen, the icons belonging to the two Pokémon lit up.

The trainers' commands were issued simultaneously.

"Use Drill Run from underground!"

"Reflect."

"Happy!"

Blissey moved first, her little hand tracing a long rectangular shield of flowing light in front of her body; once the light shield took shape, it flickered for two seconds before vanishing without a trace.

At the same moment, Excadrill leaped up violently, its sharp claws raised high and combining with the metallic horn on its forehead to form a steel drill head bristling with cold light; a stream of yellowish-brown energy swirled around it, and with a bang it drilled straight into the ground.

Rumble rumble rumble—

The ground trembled madly.

"Dodge to the right!"

Blissey leapt aside at the first instant, narrowly dodging the Excadrill that burst out of the broken ground; this fellow's Dig speed was truly astonishing — a distance of several dozen meters was tunneled through in the blink of an eye.

Its species talent could only be called terrifying.

And having missed its strike, Excadrill kept its drill-head form and dove back underground.

Many spectators stared at this display in shock — not Dig, yet launching an attack from underground?

Is your Drill Run even legal?!

"Drill Run!"

But Alice paid no heed to any of that, determined to carry this technique — learned from the Panba Gym Leader, Master Kikuno — through to the end.

Bang!

The ground burst open once more with a great hole, and Blissey, under All Baimu's command, dodged the attack yet again.

"Happy!"

Its eyes lit up with blue light, but the hastily gathered psychic power failed to catch the Excadrill wrapped in yellowish-brown energy.

The moment it tried to close in, the psychic power was scattered by the Ground-type energy.

Moreover, this fellow was extremely sharp in its reactions — the moment Drill Run missed, it turned around and burrowed back into the earth, absolutely refusing to fight Blissey on the surface.

The commentator shouted: "Neither Blissey's attack nor Excadrill's attack managed to land on the other! Trainer Alice has adopted Mobile Corps Commander tactics!"

Worthy of being Alice's first Pokémon — its troublesome attributes were nearly maxed out.

But how long could Excadrill keep up this kind of attack?

Using moves consecutively would not only drain a great deal of stamina but also put its type-energy to the test.

"Dodge to the left!"

All Baimu decided to temporarily give up on counterattacking, focusing instead on observing the tremors in the ground to confirm where Excadrill would emerge, and giving Blissey the dodging commands.

He knew Alice was waiting for Blissey to show a flaw first.

Then he'd play along with the latter's wishes — see how long Excadrill could keep up this offensive, and just how much patience Alice truly had.

When a long attack yields no results, who would find it harder to endure hardly needed saying.

"Drill Run!"

Alice's thoughts were exactly as All Baimu had figured, but she didn't believe Blissey could dodge perfectly every single time — once Excadrill landed a hit, Blissey would naturally become like a collapsing dam, with more and more flaws appearing.

And so.

A war of attrition that could be called grueling for both Pokémon began.

Blissey spread its psychic power all around, vigilantly watching the ground's movements while nimbly dodging under its trainer's commands.

Excadrill launched attacks from every direction — straight below or at an oblique angle.

The whole point was to take the unconventional route.

Offense and defense traded four or five moves, yet the stalemate remained unbroken.

Many spectators broke out in a cold sweat from the tense situation, while others found it exceptionally boring and noisily clamored for something more exciting.

Just at this moment.

At the edge of the battlefield, blue light suddenly flared, revealing a massive cube that enveloped the field like a glass room — and with a sharp crack, it shattered.

Trick Room had ended!

Everyone perked up, knowing the battle would surely shift with Trick Room's end!

Sure enough.

Blissey, focused on dodging, faltered for a step — and Alice's eyes lit up.

The chance she'd been waiting for had come!

"Burst out! Use Aura Sphere!"

Alice shouted with all her might.

Bang!

Excadrill seized the chance to burst out from underground, not attacking the former but charging straight up into the sky, releasing its drill-head form.

"Dulu!"

It gave a muffled cry; its metallic claws spread wide, and a dazzling wave of azure energy that made the air tremble gathered between them.

All Baimu, unhurried, reached out toward Excadrill. "Telekinesis!"

Against Pokémon without the ability to fly, Telekinesis would be their nightmare — if he remembered correctly, the opponent didn't know Magnet Rise.

Having lost Trick Room's boost, Blissey's movements slowed just a touch.

"Happy!"

Its eyes lit up with blue light, and psychic power surged through the air.

The next moment.

The Aura Sphere finished charging, like a deep-blue fireball falling from the sky with a thunderous crash.

The Drilbur's free-fall motion halted; a mysterious blue light locked onto its body, forcing it to hang suspended in midair.

Boom!

The Blissey, unable to dodge, was hit squarely by the Aura Sphere!

The surging Fighting-type energy, like a detonated bomb, shook the earth with a tremendous roar, and the billowing dust instantly swallowed up an entire section of the surrounding field.

Although it was inherently a physical-attack-oriented Pokémon, the special-attack capability Drilbur displayed at this moment was extraordinarily powerful.

Clearly, for the elite trainers in the anime, training Pokémon that were originally unsuited to special or physical attacks was basic practice.

This also happened to prove why All Baimu was able to bring Bastiodon's special attack up to a usable level.

The commentator shouted: "The Aura Sphere hit! That strike was super effective! But Telekinesis also successfully took hold of Drilbur!"

Inside the field.

Alice didn't pause, throwing a punch as she shouted: "Now! Horn Drill! One-hit KO!"

"Drule!"

Drilbur transformed once more into a massive drill, then began spinning on its own without any point of leverage, with milky-white airflow swirling at high speed, producing a muffled howling wind!

It actually used this to become a tornado, propelling itself toward the dust cloud!

This strike.

Would decide the outcome!

Drilbur roared furiously, scattering the flying sand and gravel, exposing the situation within to everyone—

Blissey was completely unharmed!

It even stood in place as if it had been waiting for a long time, staring straight at the charging Drilbur, with not a trace of fear on its face.

In an instant.

The two collided!

But the expected explosion never came; Blissey reached out and forcibly held back Drilbur's spinning drill, with sparks flying at the point of contact like electric welding!

Zzzt—

Many spectators cried out in unison.

Alice, her fists clenched, was likewise frozen in place.

Only All Baimu remained expressionless throughout, until the drill-form Drilbur completely stopped spinning and floated suspended under the influence of Telekinesis.

"Copycat!"

He issued the command.

"Drilbur, use High-Speed Spin!" Alice's expression changed drastically, and she swiftly waved her hand to give the order.

Unfortunately, Blissey, striking later, moved faster; its body surface lit up with Bai Guang, then its right hand clenched into a fist, with milky-white airflow clinging to it, transforming into a whistling miniature drill!

Blissey, smiling cheerfully, delivered its fist forward. "Happy!"

Hmm!!

The crackling roar of electric welding rang out once more!

Drilbur had no time to counterattack nor to break out of its drill state, forced to spin wildly under the airflow of Blissey's fist.

Unlike a controllable self-spin, the rotation of the milky-white airflow was extremely unstable and grew faster and faster!

The yellow sand on both sides of the field could be seen whistling up into the sky, dust rolling and obscuring the field; even the No-Proof Rotom that tried to rush in to film was blown back out by the flying sand.

The commentator shouted: "Drilbur's one-hit KO failed! Instead, Blissey used a one-hit KO move against it! What will the result be!?"

The one-hit KO move 【Horn Drill】 has several situations where it is guaranteed to fail—

Zero type effectiveness, the user's level being lower than the opponent's, and the Sturdy ability.

The first and third were clearly impossible for Blissey, so the remaining possibility could only be the second.

Its level was higher than Drilbur's!

Countless spectators stared intently at the spark-spewing dust cloud until it settled back to calm.

A moment later.

The dust was scattered by the wind.

The two Pokémon on the field were revealed.

Blissey stood; Drilbur lay on the ground.

Bee—

"Drilbur is unable to battle! Blissey wins! Trainer Alice has lost three Pokémon! Five-minute halftime break!"

The referee raised his flag high, his voice broadcast to everyone's ears.

A thunderous cheer immediately rang out.

Alice looked at the fallen Drilbur, the ponytails on either side of her head drooping limply.

"It failed… and Aura Sphere doesn't seem to have done much either…"

She looked toward All Baimu across from her, her expression incomparably complex.

On the other side.

All Baimu recalled Blissey.

He had actually already roughly guessed Alice's plan during the stalemate, and was all the more certain when, after waiting for Trick Room to end, she hadn't prepared a switch.

A one-hit KO.

This girl really has a heavy gambler's streak—do or die; her aggressive playstyle is consistent with her personality.

Later, after becoming the Unova Champion, she used the same gamble to defeat Caitlin's Musharna at the Eight Masters tournament.

Originally, his Drillbur had absolutely no way to deal with a Sealeo.

Of course.

Baimu had also taken a small gamble, betting that Alice's Drillbur had a lower energy level than Blissey.

Levels are really hard to judge, unless he gets the other party's Poké Ball and registers it in his Pokédex to check.

Relying on performance alone really makes it hard to tell who is higher and who is lower.

Or letting Porygon2 go directly into the other party's phone to look is also feasible...

But that kind of behavior is too underhanded, so he naturally wouldn't let Porygon2 do that, unless Alice is a villain who must be taken down.

As for Drillbur's Aura Sphere.

The power is passable.

But Blissey's Special Defense does not permit any questioning — its already exaggerated HP combined with its excellent Special Defense makes it enough to become a monster that even those Pokémon specializing in Special Attack have to look up to.

A mere Aura Sphere from a Drillbur.

You'd have to switch to Mega Lucario to hit it properly!