Chapter 634: Those Who Touch Ink Are Stained Black

Rest room.

The organizers thoughtfully arranged two separate rooms.

Baimu lightly brushed off the sand clinging to his body and splashed some water on his face.

"Haah…"

The halftime break was only five minutes, so he sat down on a bench and began resting with his eyes closed.

The finals had gone smoothly.

From Porygon2's "Double Team," Onix's Sandstorm, to Blissey taking a risky Horn Drill head-on, finishing the battle with a copycat counter.

Not too many unexpected situations had arisen.

If he had to say, the final bout against Excadrill was quite thrilling—the fellow launched all sorts of attacks as smokescreens, even chucking Focus Blasts to kick up dust and obscure vision.

In reality, betting everything on a one-hit kill.

It reminded him of his old battle against Yamatsuka.

No wonder everyone loves aggressive tactics, only to end up passively pushing themselves and their Pokémon to the limit.

No destruction, no creation?

Unfortunately, destruction without creation is far more common.

Take himself losing to Yamatsuka back then, and Alice losing to him just now.

Scenes like Ash successfully triggering Blaze on Infernape and pulling off a clutch low-HP victory over Paul are genuinely rare.

But.

Would Alice give up just because of one failed challenge?

Obviously not.

If she did, she wouldn't be Alice.

Baimu rubbed his face, opened a Poké Ball, and called out Porygon2.

"Run the simulation one more time."

"Pory~"

Porygon2 acknowledged and dove into the phone to begin simulating the second half of the match.

With its processor, it could extrapolate Alice's likely choices and possible tactics from known intel—extremely valuable as a reference.

You could call it a kind of talent unique to it.

Baimu stared at the lines of text popping up on his phone, lost in thought.

Before the match, based on Alice's recent performances and future achievements, he'd guessed she possessed strength roughly on par with an ordinary Elite Four member.

But judging from the first half…did she still fall a bit short?

At the very least, her levels weren't up to par.

In the speculations of major online media and battle fans across the web, Elite Four Pokémon are at least level 65, and the better ones exceeding level 70 is perfectly normal.

Take veterans like Agatha, Shi Yuan Zhi, and Karen, or top-tier Elite Four talents like Flint and Caitlin—having ace Pokémon over level 75 is hardly unusual.

The above inferences aren't confirmed fact.

But since many of the media outlets releasing the data are authorities in the battling world, and the Elite Four haven't stepped forward to refute them, the industry has basically accepted these inferences as default.

Baimu and Porygon2 discussed it again.

They figured Alice's Pokémon should be hovering around levels 60 to 65, with Excadrill, Dragonite, and Haxorus possibly a bit higher.

Of course, levels don't represent everything.

Base stats converted from training and battle—various additional stat values—also affect a Pokémon's combat power.

Moreover, examples of the weak defeating the strong are commonplace in the anime; level is just one of the conditions for predicting the relative strength of two sides before they actually fight, via electronic cricket-battles.

Getting Pokémon to unleash power beyond the constraints of level and stats.

Has always been something trainers worldwide love to talk about and aspire to.

Baimu naturally agreed with this point, and didn't have level anxiety himself.

Don't look at how the team's levels currently vary widely—Bastiodon at its strongest can reach the Elite Four's peak, while Corsola and Gengar at their weakest haven't even touched the threshold.

But he had the simulator's cheat on him.

Given enough time, a few more orange-talent simulations, dual-orange-talent simulations, or even better talent simulations, and sooner or later he'd surpass every trainer in the anime world on paper.

Not long after.

The simulation was complete.

Baimu glanced at the little time remaining, pulled out a Poké Ball, and said:

"Time for the protagonist to make his entrance."

The Poké Ball wobbled slightly.

——

Main venue.

The spectator stands were a cacophony.

Dawn and Piplup split a whole glowing rice ball, then gulped down a big mouthful of water before calming down.

"Pippa…"

"Is the second half starting soon?"

She asked the people beside her.

Brock nodded, took the teapot from Mitsumi who quietly thanked him: "Half a minute left, Baimu and the others should be coming out."

Half a minute.

Miss Liuqi heard this and set down the comb she'd been running through her Altaria's silky feathers, looking toward the field.

They didn't go to the rest room, mainly worried about disturbing Baimu and Alice's rest; the finals' pace was far tighter than the previous matches, and these five minutes would be important mental recovery time.

"Alice, you have to do your best! You'll be fine for sure!"

Xiaoguang secretly cheered her on.

She had known Alice for a long time already — back then Xiaozhi was traveling with Alice and Tierno in the Unova region, and she had followed Cynthia to Ripple Town to prepare for the Junior Cup, and had even lost to her.

She hadn't expected that after such a long time, they would meet again in the Hoenn region — it really had to be said, what a coincidence.

Suddenly.

The spectator seats fell abruptly silent, then abruptly erupted in cheers and shouts.

Everyone looked over, and sure enough saw Baimu and Alice entering the field below in turn.

When the two each took the stage.

The second half of the finals began in due course.

Several Rotom drones aimed at the field, and the commentator's voice came through the broadcast.

"Welcome to the site of the Soothe Bell Conference Championship Finals! After five minutes of rest, the tense and thrilling second half is finally about to begin! Let's take a look at the second half's battlefield—"

Beep.

The grass symbol lit up on the big screen.

"A Grass field!"

Hum!

The lush green field slowly rose, the waist-high grass unchanged as always — this was the third time Baimu had battled on this field.

Yet he didn't have a single Grass-type Pokémon.

The referee raised his flag.

"Go!"

He threw out a Poké Ball and looked across; the girl Alice was indeed all steely resolve, clearly having made some kind of mental preparation.

Bang bang!

The Poké Ball opened.

"Guoh~"

Aggron landed, its silver-white armor glinting in the sunlight.

In the distant grass.

A dripping-wet Goodra, pale-blue fluid trailing from its body, let out a happy cry — it loved lush, plant-rich natural environments, and rain would be even better.

Baimu was silent; in Porygon2's simulations, this one's appearance rate was not low.

However.

Simulations could ultimately only serve as reference — he wasn't so foolish as to assume before the fight even started that the match would proceed in the direction the simulation predicted.

If that were the case, he might as well just call the simulation a script.

The referee confirmed everything was in order, waved his flag, and announced the start of the match.

"Come on, let's flip this card right now!"

He reached in and pulled out the Mega Stone tucked inside his collar; dazzling light, amid the gasps of countless spectators, swiftly enveloped Aggron.

The commentator shouted: "Aggron is Mega Evolving! After Mawile, Baimu has another Pokémon that possesses the power of Mega Evolution!"

Two heavy hitters Mega Evolving!

This was almost unheard of in the battling world; for many trainers, having a single Mega Evolution would be enough to study for a lifetime.

Who would have thought Baimu's team actually had two Pokémon capable of Mega Evolving.

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

Miss Liuqi was especially excited, the pom-poms in her hands shaking nonstop.

She had long since witnessed Aggron's strength — that was a monster-level defense that could fully tank a Mega Swampert's rainy heavy punches!

"Gu—hou—"

Amid thunderous roars.

Aggron's appearance changed amid the colored light.

In an instant.

It had transformed from a heavy tank into an impregnable silver-white fortress!

Whether the silver-white thick armor covering its whole body, or the multiple steel rings locking its massive tail, all let one feel the power of steel very directly!

The colored genetic pattern flashed past, and explosive energy turned into a shockwave that kicked up quite a bit of grass clippings and blew them in every direction.

"Roar—"

Baimu pressed down on the Mega Stone.

Unlike those trainers who were used to exchanging a move or two before Mega Evolving, he leaned more toward no small talk, no entanglement — straight to it.

So as not to be ambushed by some opponent.

Anyway, if anyone in the future tried to exchange a few moves with him before Mega Evolving, he definitely wouldn't be polite — he'd aim to take the opponent's Pokémon down during the probing phase!

Across the field.

Alice was a little surprised; she had assumed Baimu would save the power of Mega Evolution for Mawile, and had already prepared to deal with it.

She hadn't expected it to actually be Aggron!

But having witnessed Mega Evolution as far back as Meteor Village, she wouldn't underestimate the opponent; Aggron itself had already roused her wariness, and adding Mega Evolution on top of that…

"Be careful, Goodra! Don't be misled by the opponent's thick appearance!"

She shouted loudly: "Rain Dance!"

"Nyo~"

Goodra raised its head and let out a long cry. Above the heavens, vast sheets of grey-white rainclouds swiftly gathered, shrouding the afternoon sun.

Rain fell.

At the same time, the Mega Aggron walked slowly toward Goodra.

That's right.

It neither charged nor prepared any attack, simply strolling forward at a leisurely pace.

Its exaggerated weight made the ground tremble faintly with every step, and the raindrops that had landed on the grass leapt back up before falling again.

Elise blinked, not quite understanding what All Baimu meant by this.

"—Muddy Water!"

Whatever it means, attack first!

Goodra let out a whimper, its chubby body swelling and lifting into the air, with churning muddy water surging wildly beneath its feet!

"Noo!"

Boom!

It suddenly sank, and the muddy water blasted outward in every direction, forming a swirling, surging circular wave!

The slowly advancing Mega Aggron had nowhere to dodge and was struck head-on by Goodra's Muddy Water, its body instantly swallowed whole.

The commentator shouted: "Muddy Water connects! Aggron walked right into the Muddy Water! Is this some kind of strategy from Trainer All Baimu?"

The words had barely fallen.

A scene that made countless spectators cry out in shock unfolded.

Within the Muddy Water, the Mega Aggron was still advancing, seemingly completely unaffected by the surging mud tide, while a layer of silver light shimmered across its body.

With every step it took toward Goodra, this light grew brighter.

Elise's sixth sense suddenly flared, and she shouted: "Goodra, use everything you've got! Don't let it get close to you!"

She had a bad premonition.

And when only five meters remained between them, the silver glow had completely enveloped the Mega Aggron, like a shining star.

A high-energy tremor that made even the air tremble with fear radiated from within.

"Noo…"

Goodra was startled and couldn't help retreating a step.

The next instant.

The silver light exploded!

Boom!

Just like a stun grenade hitting its target.

The entire battlefield trembled violently as if about to sink. The mud tide was instantly vaporized by the brilliant silver light, and billowing dust mixed with patches of weeds and soil blasted outward in every direction!

The shockwave rippled out, flattening the grass across most of the field, and the grass closer by had its roots completely exposed!

"Goodra!"

Elise couldn't help shouting out.

She hadn't expected All Baimu to deliver such a grand gift right at the start of the match!

The commentator couldn't help shouting either: "Muddy Water's power wasn't enough! Goodra has been swallowed by the shining silver light! Aggron's Metal Burst is terrifyingly powerful!"

Countless spectators voiced their agreement.

Judging by the move's effect, it didn't just amplify Muddy Water's damage and send it back—saying the destructive power had multiplied tenfold would have plenty of believers.

Inside the field.

The hazy dust dispersed under the rain's tireless downpour.

In a massive shallow crater, Goodra's entire body was steaming, with energy-burn marks visible across many parts of its body.

It panted heavily, its stamina severely drained.

"Noo…"

Fortunately, the rain was still falling, and the drops landing on its body brought it considerable relief.

And not far from it, the Mega Aggron's silvery-white armor remained as bright as ever, as if it had never taken the Muddy Water's impact at all.

Elise felt the situation was dire and shouted: "Power Whip! Grab Aggron's arms!"

"Noo!"

Goodra responded, lowering its head as its two horns shot toward the Mega Aggron like lightning, seizing both its arms and locking its joints.

A green glow enveloped its horns.

Elise was about to open her mouth and tell Goodra to use Absorb to recover stamina, when the opposing Mega Aggron opened its bottomless, pitch-black maw.

Blazing dragon fire erupted!

"Gwooo!"

Accompanied by its roar, the energy dragon charged straight at Goodra's front. With its horns currently bound to its opponent, the latter had no way to dodge and took the hit head-on!

Bang!

Smoke billowed!

Goodra let out a wail, "Noo—"

But as a being with top-tier special defense, it did not fall from that alone.

The Mega Aggron's attack had not yet stopped.

Feeling the long horns gripping its two arms go limp, the Mega Aggron unhesitatingly raised its massive tail and slammed it into the ground.

Thud!

A crack spread from beneath it to beneath Goodra, and in an instant terrifying energy surged wildly up from the fissured earth!

Boom—!

A tangerine blaze erupted like a volcano, swallowing Goodra whole.

"Hold on! Hold on, Goodra!"

All Baimuice screamed at the top of her lungs.

But when the boiling Ground-type energy rose up as dust and smoke, then dispersed under the rain, Goodra still couldn't hold out.

Its feelers slipped from Mega Aggron's arm, and it crashed heavily to the ground.

"Grr—"

Mega Aggron growled low, like a giant construction vehicle rumbling forward on its engine.

The referee blew his whistle.

Beep!

"Goodra is unable to battle! Aggron wins!"

Less than five minutes into the match, and the first Pokémon unable to battle in the second half had already appeared!

The commentator shouted at the top of his lungs: "An easy win! The Mega-Evolved Aggron is unmatched, defeating Goodra with the bearing of an absolute powerhouse! I feel like I've been transported to the Hoenn League Championship!"

Wah!

The stands erupted into a frenzy of cheering for Aggron, and countless people immediately turned to the vendors, scrambling to buy Mega Aggron commemorative badges and merchandise.

At this very moment.

All Baimu's ace, under the gaze of thousands, had revealed its edge!

However…

'See? I told you Earth Power was enough!'

Facing Mega Aggron's sideways glance and smug wink, All Baimu kept his eyes on his own nose and his nose on his heart.

Pretending he hadn't seen a thing.

Of course he knew Earth Power had stronger, flashier presentation, while Cannon was powerful but its attack pattern was too samey and not cool enough.

Has this guy been picking up bad habits from Hydreigon lately?

Hmph.

He who lies with the dogs shall rise with fleas!