Chapter 654: Spirits of the Desert

Stunning reversal!

The confused Cradily not only endured but retaliated with Meteor Mash against Salamence.

The sudden turn of events left countless onlookers from Starfall Village in awe.

Immediately after, admiration for Genji rose in their hearts.

No wonder he's one of the Elite Four of Xiang Xiang Fengyuan!

Using Endure and Meteor Mash while confused—with such seamless timing the opponent couldn't react—how immense must that willpower be?

Even as they praised, they couldn't help but glance anxiously at All All Baimu; for a Trainer, nothing is more crushing than being one step from victory only to suffer a devastating counterattack.

Surprisingly, All All Baimu's face held little despair.

He glanced at Cradily, still struggling to rise, then turned his gaze to Salamence, lying on its back, smoke curling from its body.

"... Ah!"

Zhenya, the referee, snapped out of his daze and hurried toward Salamence, raising his left hand and calling out: "Sala—"

"Wait!"

A deep, aged voice rang out—clearly from Genji, his face stern and cold.

Both the people of Starfall Village and Zhenya were puzzled, when suddenly another voice sounded:

"Yuxi."

In an instant.

Countless white feathers materialized in midair, drifting slowly onto Salamence's body; each feather that touched its skin turned green, spreading light to heal every wound.

Another reversal!

Zhenya froze in shock; the people of Starfall Village erupted in uproar.

They quickly turned back to Cradily—but it remained unable to rise, clearly with almost no fighting capacity left—

After all, it had only held on through Endure and sheer willpower; the confusion had not yet faded.

In contrast, Salamence, as feather after feather fell, gradually regained its strength, lifting itself back into the air, its three massive heads snarling with fury.

The next moment.

"Hyper Voice!"

"Roar—!!"

A thunderous roar erupted; a massive dark-purple energy wave blasted from Salamence's central head, striking Cradily—now a stationary target—with lightning speed.

Boom!

Dust swallowed it whole, then quickly dispersed.

The volleyball-shaped Cradily lay in a shallow crater, its front eyes replaced by black circles.

"Cradily is unable to battle! Salamence wins!"

As Zhenya announced the result, he kept glancing at Genji and All All Baimu, fearing either might shout "Wait!" again—luckily, no further reversal occurred.

Salamence panted heavily; by its nature, it would have roared triumphantly.

But after battling Cradily to this point, its elemental energy and spirit were exhausted, and Yuxi could only partially offset the true toll of this fight.

Genji lifted his hat's brim, revealing cloudy yet commanding eyes, recalled Cradily, and said:

"Admirable judgment. Your Pokémon's ability and willpower are exceptional. Most importantly... All All Baimu, did you see through my true intention from the start?"

"Just call me All All Baimu. I merely turned your strategy against you—and had full confidence in Salamence."

All All Baimu shook his head, speaking loud enough for Genji to hear: "Besides, isn't your own strategy the same?"

The people of Starfall Village were baffled, yet saw Genji nod in agreement.

"Trusting your Pokémon's strength is a Trainer's duty. I'm glad you've upheld this principle from beginning to end."

The final clash between Cradily and Salamence hinged entirely on willpower: whichever side could not withstand the opponent's assault would lose.

At the critical moment, the confused Cradily used Endure and Meteor Mash through sheer will; Salamence, relying on its will and relatively better condition, endured Meteor Mash and launched its counterattack.

From Genji's perspective:

Even if Endure had absorbed some of the damage, the third wave of Meteor Mash and Dragon Rush had still pushed Cradily into a perilous state—so he set a trap, trusting Cradily's willpower, and executed the final counterstrike.

All All Baimu had no foresight, but he had previously made clear he always viewed Genji at the highest possible standard.

What did "highest standard" mean?

Ignoring negative status and residual HP, locking in health and using an ultra-powerful move to instantly knock out an opponent clearly in better condition—

The proof was clear: he was right.

Genji's Cradily truly was that absurd a Pokémon.

Of course, even if he'd been wrong, Dragon Pulse could've finished off the confused Cradily...

Relatively speaking:

Salamence did have a slight edge over Cradily.

After all, Salamence, a flying unit, fought a ground unit; a ranged, high-damage mobile unit versus a ground-based, high-damage unit limited to "narrow" evasion.

Cradily couldn't soar into the sky or hover like Pikachu.

Its mobility relied entirely on rolling.

Yet even so, Salamence could only win by closing in—and luckily, it endured one Meteor Mash at the last moment.

Dragon Rage?

Cradily's Dragon Rage was nearly spent; its spin stability had greatly weakened, and breaking through Endure had already been difficult.

Even knocking Salamence down was achieved only because All All Baimu deliberately ordered it.

This made it clear: to reduce Salamence to near-death with a single Meteor Mash... it was hard to believe Cradily was still unevolved.

But thanks to this:

Yuxi wasn't in Cradily's move pool—if it had been, this battle would've dragged on!

"Come back!"

All All Baimu recalled the exhausted Salamence. "You did wonderfully."

Pokémon battles don't need too many miracles; steady, solid play can still win—but unquestionably, the next battle is the real showdown.

As expected:

Cradily's strength likely ranked near the lower end of Genji's main team.

"All All Baimu, from that battle, it's clear you haven't been blinded by victory as I feared. You're even better than I imagined—but I hope to see even more of your brilliance."

Genji casually tossed a Poké Ball. "Come out! Sandile!"

Boom!

White light burst forth, transforming into a dragon with emerald-green scales and red hemispheres covering its eyes.

"Lai-oh!"

Its sleek, graceful form, paired with its strange cry, radiated fierce determination; its wings fluttered gently, stirring up sandstorms.

This was a Pokémon capable of crossing ten-thousand-foot waves and breaking through violent storms!

"So cool!"

"No matter how many times I see it, it's absolutely stunning—I wish I could raise a Sandile like this~"

Dragon Trainers' eyes gleamed; for people of Xiang Xiang Fengyuan, the most familiar Dragon Pokémon were still Milotic, Sandile, and Dragonite.

Sandile was also the most common Dragon Pokémon in Starfall Village.

Thus, Xiang Xiang Fengyuan Dragon Trainers could instantly judge whether these Pokémon were beautiful in form, robust in build, and powerful in strength.

Genji's Sandile made countless Dragon Trainers present yearn for it.

On the other side:

All All Baimu took a deep breath and released his previous Pokémon, Dragapult. "Your turn."

"Luo-tuo..."

The shy dragon squinted its triangular eyes; compared to Cradily, this Sandile's presence was far more terrifying.

But whether it could win or not? Only battle would tell.

"Sandstorm!"

"Dragon Swords Dance!"

Both commands were given; the two Dragon Pokémon moved in unison.

Dragapult seemed slightly faster than Sandile; its slender body spiraled through the air, a crimson misty aura flashing briefly.

Sandile lifted its long serpentine neck and let out a piercing hiss: "Lai-oh~!"

Hum—

Its wing membranes vibrated at high frequency; visible yellow-brown sandstorms erupted beneath it, spreading like towering walls in all directions!

Surrounding Starfall villagers raised their arms to shield against the blowing sand, and faint, ethereal singing suddenly filled their ears.

It sounded as if someone were singing within the sandstorm.

The villagers knew the song came from Sandile's wings; when they vibrated rapidly, the sand rubbed against them, producing a sound like a woman's singing.

That's why they were often called the Spirits of the Desert.

The Pokédex classified them as mysterious Pokémon.

"Such a dense sandstorm!"

One Dragon Trainer gasped.

Most Trainers, to maintain visibility, controlled the scale of Sandstorm even when using it, enhancing their own sight.

But Genji did not do that.

The sandstorm inside the arena had thickened to the point where the two Pokémon were nearly invisible shadows; from afar, it looked like a solid wall of earth.

How can one observe the opponent's Pokémon and detect their subtle movements?

Why?

The old man Aoyagi chuckled and answered the confused young Dragon Tamers beside him: "Genji's observational skills were honed in the raging seas—whether storm or thunderstorm, none could shake his judgment of battle. How much less could this minor sandstorm?"

So that's how it is!

The young Dragon Tamers suddenly understood, gazing toward Genji with awe.

So sailing is this powerful?

It not only strengthens willpower and physique, but also sharpens a Trainer's observation and judgment!

And inside the arena.

Dracovish immediately vanished upon realizing it could no longer clearly see its opponent's position.

Who knew that within the sandstorm, it was like a surfboard parting waves—its rapid movement left two distinct, clear trails behind it.

When All All Baimu caught a glimpse of this, he thought Genji would likely see it too.

Even if Genji couldn't see it.

Sandshrew would surely see it—legend says the red membrane around its eyes protects against sand particles and expands visibility within sandstorms.

He shouted loudly: "Plan D! Light Screen!"

Instantly.

Dracovish emerged from the sandstorm; having anticipated the tactical use of invisibility in battle, they had prepared multiple contingency plans.

Being detected through weather conditions was also within their planned scenarios.

A semi-transparent glass wall appeared before it, ignoring the wind and sand as it rapidly faded.

"Russo!"

Pain flashed across its face; inside its launch ports, the Dracometeor siblings curled up tightly, daring not to show themselves.

The denser the sandstorm, the greater the continuous damage—and weather damage always accumulates silently, like sand forming a mountain. This battle must be a swift assault.

Delaying would be disastrous for it!

"Quicksand Hell!"

Genji raised his voice; his coat flapped violently in the wind and sand, revealing a lean but exceptionally sturdy frame.

Sandshrew flapped its wings at high frequency again, summoning countless grains of yellow sand under its control.

Boom—boom—boom—

Muffled thuds echoed through the air.

The sandstorm grew denser with another layer of sand, rapidly forming a colossal sand tornado stretching from earth to sky.

At this moment.

All All Baimu, standing on the Trainer's bench, could no longer see what was happening inside; his vision held only the sand tornado and a few blurred dark shapes.

"The sandstorm has intensified further! It's cutting off the Trainer's command influence!"

Everyone was stunned.

They never imagined Genji would use such an unusual tactic—could he possibly have X-ray vision, able to see through double layers of sand?

Impossible!

Genji remained silent. No matter how experienced he was, he was still human—this level of sandstorm couldn't even let sound penetrate, let alone reveal what was inside.

In truth, this was the special battlefield he had designed for Sandshrew and Dracovish.

If a Trainer's gaze and voice can become a Pokémon's strength, then when those are stripped away, how much combat power remains?

Genji eagerly awaited the answer Dracovish and All All Baimu would give him.

Inside the sand tornado.

Compared to the exaggerated spectacle outside, the center had thinned considerably, as the sandstorm was drawn away by Quicksand Hell—like the eye of a typhoon.

But this came at the cost of drastically reduced evasion space.

Dracovish glanced warily at the spinning wall of yellow sand behind it; skilled at covert observation, its judgment was sharp—it knew well that if sucked into this sand wall, how much chance would its frail body have left to counterattack?

Suddenly.

A prickling sensation came from its left side, accompanied by a faint hum in its ear.

"Hiiya!"

Dracometeor Sister screamed.

Without hesitation, it whipped its tail upward, soaring into the sky as a deep blue breath narrowly missed it, striking the sand wall and dissolving instantly.

It was Dragon Breath!

Though no Trainer had warned it, Dracovish's sensitivity to gaze was enough to detect precisely when Sandshrew launched its attack.

It rose high, looking down at Sandshrew below, locking its gaze, and without delay launched the two Dracometeors!

Puff! Puff!

White smoke and fire erupted from its rear; the two Dracometeors, wrapped in azure light, shrieked as they dove downward!

"Hiiya—!!"

"Ruo!"

Facing the Dragon Arrows head-on, Sandshrew showed no fear; its broad, wing-like limbs flapped again at high frequency, sending visible pale sonic waves upward.

But the Dracometeors reacted swiftly—just as Sandshrew flapped, they split left and right.

Predictive evasion—even though the sonic waves expanded at subsonic speed, they missed entirely; and Dracovish, having launched its siblings, had already begun moving.

Its Trainer had told it: Dragon Arrows must be dodged—staying still only makes you a target.

Whether or not it hits the opponent? That's up to the Dracometeor siblings!

So—

Combined with its already exceptional speed and the boost from Dragon Swords Dance, Dracovish shot along the sand wall at lightning speed, slipping beneath Sandshrew, its mouth slightly open as it prepared a blue dragon flame.

At the same time.

The two Dracometeors dove straight toward Sandshrew's wings, their gazes resolute like suicide squad members.

"Hiiya—"

"Russo—"

Triangle Attack!