Chapter 703: Desert Hunter

Actually, one-on-one street battles are far more common…

All Baimu very much wanted to tell Zhengyi that, but three-on-three reveals a trainer's skill far better than one-on-one, so naturally he couldn't have asked for more.

"Then let's make it three-on-three."

Seeming to notice they were about to battle, some passersby gathered around with keen interest.

The stall owner from earlier also stood among the crowd, holding his phone up high and aimed at the two in the field, his face alight with excitement.

This is All Baimu!

The hero who, for two days running, the City Hall had celebrated for winning the League Conference, bringing glory to the Ore Region and drawing a flood of outsiders in — the strongest trainer of the younger generation!

Every afternoon, the Silicon Beryllium Central Plaza played highlights from the final tournament of the Colour Leisure Conference, and this time slot was usually when the plaza was at its most crowded.

However.

Had nobody recognized him?

The stall owner looked around and found that the gathered crowd was all talking about Zhengyi, none of them yet realizing that the young trainer standing opposite was All Baimu.

Although he hadn't recognized him at first either, that didn't stop him now from wanting to stand up for him.

Was everyone blind?

That was the man the Mayor of Dinice had praised as an "uncarved jade"!

"…"

He opened his mouth, but in the end didn't go shouting it out, worried he might disturb the two trainers' battle or bring them unnecessary trouble.

Inside the field.

All Baimu had no idea he'd nearly been swarmed the way Bartras had. He held up the Poké Balls he'd already chosen and looked across at Zhengyi, who could hardly wait to send out his Pokémon.

"Go! Show him what you've got!"

Bang!

A flash of Bai Guang.

A Cacturne — a hybrid of scarecrow and cactus — appeared, half-kneeling.

It slowly straightened up, its golden pupils within pitch-black eyes fixed intently on All Baimu, radiating an oddly eerie, spine-chilling aura.

This Pokémon… had probably "tasted blood."

All Baimu frowned slightly. He was fairly sharp in this regard — back when Iron Town had just been liberated, he'd seen plenty of Pokémon that had taken lives and been stained by blood.

Most of them resembled Zhengyi's Cacturne —

Cold-eyed, striking straight for an opponent's vital points.

Like a hunter about to begin the chase.

He tossed forward the Poké Ball he'd already chosen: "I'm counting on you."

Bang!

"Happy~"

Blissey landed, its rounded egg-shaped body and gentle smile bringing a sense of peace to the heart — truly worthy of the name "healing angel" among happy Pokémon.

The watching crowd grew noisier and noisier at the sight of it.

Blissey is far rarer than Chansey, requiring a perfect meeting of hearts with its trainer to evolve. It was extremely rare in Silicon Beryllium City, generally only seen around Pokémon Centers.

And the reason the crowd was stirring was that, in their memories, there was indeed a young man who owned a Blissey, one who'd been showing up frequently at the Central Plaza these past few months.

Without a doubt.

They had finally connected the young man standing across from Zhengyi with the strongest trainer of the younger generation that the City Hall had been issuing public notices about day after day.

That All Baimu was back!

And he'd come to Silicon Beryllium City!

Many people pulled out their phones to call friends over, and the stall owner snickered, feeling oddly proud.

And inside the field.

Neither the trainers nor their Pokémon were affected by the outside world.

Blissey's gaze met Cacturne's, showing not the slightest hint of fear — instead, a faint trace of pity.

Back when the temporary Pokémon Center had been set up in Iron Town, during the month it spent learning alongside the Nurse Joys, it had seen goodness knows how many Pokémon like Cacturne.

They often couldn't sleep at night, frequently waking from nightmares and then listless for a long time after.

In more severe cases, they'd developed terrible stress disorders and had to rely on medication to get through daily life — so pitiful that anyone who saw them couldn't help but sigh.

However.

Soon, the wing-like fluffy fur sensors around Blissey's body told it that Cacturne's mental state was actually quite good — in fact, it was showing great excitement, the positive kind.

That let it quietly breathe a sigh of relief.

If Cacturne had been suffering from a hidden mental affliction, the kind-hearted Blissey truly couldn't bear to bully such a Pokémon, and would rather ask its trainer to switch it out.

Just at that moment.

"The opponent's attacking! Reflect!"

"Sandstorm!"

The two voices crossing each other snapped Blissey back to attention.

It looked ahead and saw Cacturne across the way stride forward in a sudden charge, sand and dust as thick as a water bucket swirling up beneath its feet and rushing toward it!

"Happy!"

Blissey swiftly raised up a multicolored energy wall, and at that very moment the gathered sand converged into a single column and came crashing in — the brown-yellow grit and gale slammed into it and exploded on the spot!

Boom!

It was sent flying on the spot, and the gathered sand spread across the entire field, turning into ordinary sandstorm weather.

A short gasp rose from the onlookers, but nobody paid it any mind — every gaze was locked tight on the Blissey that had been sent flying.

Its egg-shaped body let it roll an extremely long distance after landing, only stopping just before it nearly crossed the boundary.

"Happy."

Blissey quickly got back up. The densely concentrated sandstorm hadn't been able to inflict much notable damage on it, but Cacnea, hidden within the wind and sand, seized the chance to launch another fierce assault.

"Seed Machine Gun!"

"Cacnea!"

The five holes on its face were like the muzzles of a machine gun, golden light bullets raining down crazily toward Blissey, the whistling sound of cutting wind ringing out nonstop!

In the blink of an eye—

A glowing blue spherical barrier abruptly materialized in front of Blissey. The golden light bullets all flew toward it, yet couldn't shake it in the slightest, only stirring up layer upon layer of ripples on its surface.

It held up the barrier and walked out of the field's boundary line, arriving where the sandstorm was raging.

It was Zhengyi's first time seeing a Pokémon that could move while techniques clashed and energy churned violently. Clicking his tongue in praise, he was about to continue giving orders when he suddenly noticed a blue light flare in Blissey's eyes.

All Baimu spoke up: "Telekinesis."

"Fall back! Shadow Clone!"

He shouted hurriedly. The lightning-quick Cacnea instantly split into dozens, its real body and fakes all hiding within the wind and sand, and thanks to its Sand Veil trait they appeared hazy and indistinct, like an illusory mirage.

Combined with Cacnea's icy gaze, it looked especially eerie.

Unable to pinpoint the target with the naked eye, Blissey's psychic power landed on empty air, and from the outside it looked as though it were just standing there foolishly, not moving at all.

Zhengyi laughed heartily: "How about that, young Mr. Baimu? I've carefully studied your Blissey! Gravity, Telekinesis for control, dual-wall defense, all those tricks… the old-fashioned methods don't work on my Pokémon anymore!"

The thoroughly puzzled onlookers finally understood, and gazed admiringly at Zhengyi and the numerous Cacnea in the wind and sand.

Mr. Zhengyi truly lives up to his reputation as a long-established trainer—

Before they could finish praising him, several Cacnea within the howling sandstorm abruptly flew into the air. Most of them dissolved into smoke, leaving only one, its surface clinging to a hazy blue light, struggling desperately yet unable to return to the ground.

"You seem to have misunderstood something."

All Baimu looked calmly at the stunned Zhengyi and continued giving orders: "Dazzling Gleam!"

"Happy!"

The blue light in Blissey's eyes dimmed, and immediately an astonishing burst of colorful light flared from its body. The intense glare forced the onlookers to either raise their hands to shield themselves or look away, and then it transformed into ten thousand light spears that stabbed toward the nearby Cacnea!

Wherever the light spears passed, the raging wind and sand retreated, and Cacnea's false Shadow Clones crumbled inch by inch, unable to hold on for even a moment.

Zhengyi's shout came rapid and urgent:

"Spiky Shield!"

The dark-green spines all over the Cacnea suspended in the air began to glow, but just as they were about to form an emerald-green spiky shield, the light spears that had already arrived at its body smashed through it!

Boom!

Smoke curled around.

"Cacnea!"

A searing pain made it let out a low, involuntary groan.

Blissey certainly isn't a Psychic-type Pokémon, but its past experiences and long-term training of its spiritual power using psychic meditation techniques made it no inferior to an ordinary Psychic-type Pokémon.

Can't find it? Then just manipulate everything within the rough range the trainer judges!

And this was clearly beyond Zhengyi's expectations. In his specialized training against All Baimu's Pokémon, this kind of situation had never come up.

He took a deep breath to calm himself and shouted: "Use Payback to break the psychic power on your body!"

Hmm?

All Baimu's brow rose slightly.

The essence of Telekinesis is spiritual power that clings to the opponent's body surface for an extended time—this isn't some unfathomable secret; anyone with a deep understanding of Pokémon battle knowledge would surely know it.

But knowing it and breaking it are two entirely different matters.

Using type energy that counters Psychic-types to break it sounds simple, but doing it is like Ash's Hawlucha using Cross Chop to slice through Aromatisse's Dazzling Gleam and Trick Room—

One part relies on a flash of inspiration, the remaining nine parts are entirely up to fate.

Of course, judging from Zhengyi's confident display just now, he might very well have already mastered this technique.

Unfortunately, whether he's mastered it or not, I can't let you use it so smoothly.

All Baimu: "Thunder Wave!"

Blissey stepped forward with little mincing steps, its tiny short hands rubbing together and pulling out a bolt of lightning like stretching noodles, which it suddenly shot toward the Cacnea whose spines were emanating a dark glow!

Crackle!

In the blink of an eye the current had already surged into Cacnea's body. The sudden numbness nearly caused Payback to be forcibly interrupted mid-release, just like Spiky Shield had been.

"Cacnea!"

Its eyes went wide, and as the dark light transformed into long spines it endured the numbness and spun its body!

Rrrrrrip—

A strange tearing sound, followed by the hazy blue light bursting apart into scattered specks of light—Telekinesis had truly been broken by Cacnea.

Impressive!

All Baimu praised Zhengyi sincerely; even in the wider world, trainers capable of this weren't common.

Unfortunately, the Pokémon's overall strength was a bit lacking.

"Cacnea."

Cacnea landed steadily, and Zhengyi breathed a sigh of relief along with it.

To counter All Baimu's Pokémon he had done a great deal of tedious practice. If unexpected situations like that just now appeared again, he could only choose to switch.

Fortunately…

Where's Blissey!?

He suddenly realized that Blissey had inexplicably vanished from the field swept by flying sand, and immediately understood that the other side had most likely used Minimize.

"It got smaller! Look at the ground!"

"Nosi!"

Mengge Cactus's gaze dropped to the ground, and a flash of blue light suddenly darted across its eyes, followed by a strange sensation.

Zhengyi watched Mengge Cactus's form shift from hazy and illusory to solid within the dust, and blurted out: "It's a Ability Swap!"

The onlookers outside the field were full of confusion.

Their battle knowledge was insufficient to let them understand the many changes happening inside the field—did it seem like Mengge Cactus, which had just been gaining the upper hand, was being toyed with by Happiny?

"Spore!"

Zhengyi shouted. He had already given up trying to find the Happiny that had gained the Sand Veil ability in its shrunken state—amid the dust swirling around the field, no matter how he searched, he most likely wouldn't be able to find it.

Better to adopt another tactic!

Mengge Cactus's whole body lit up with Bai Guang, and a large amount of pure white, drifting, cotton-like objects fluttered out in all directions. At the same time, carried by the sandstorm, they flew even farther, nearly enveloping most of the field.

Yet the very next moment after the cotton spores finished spreading, it stumbled as if tripped by something and suddenly fell backward, then its body began moving of its own accord.

"Nosi!"

Zhengyi was greatly alarmed, his gaze dropping to Mengge Cactus's heels.

He clearly saw the palm-sized Happiny tensing its little face, and with a strength utterly disproportionate to its size, it spun Mengge Cactus around like a giant windmill!

"Use Needle Arm to stop it!"

He hurriedly gave the order, but Happiny moved with astonishing speed—after two great swings it immediately let go, hurling it sideways!

Boom!

Mengge Cactus crashed heavily to the ground, the cotton spores scattered around clinging all over its body, its face contorted in agony!

Zhengyi called out urgently: "Get up, Mengge Cactus! Use Seed Machine Gun!"

"Nosi—"

Mengge Cactus struggled to its feet, just about to act when fine, dense electric currents suddenly began jumping across its body; the intense numbness forced it to half-kneel.

Not good!

"Dodge, quick!"

Zhengyi, deeply uneasy, instinctively pulled out a Poké Ball—but it was already too late.

All Baimu waved his hand: "Flamethrower!"

"Happy!"

Happiny was seen returning to its original size, placing its hands beside its mouth like someone blowing on a stove, puffing out its cheeks—"Hoo—"

A blazing, towering inferno surged forth!

Mengge Cactus, its mobility restored, threw itself desperately to the side, trying to evade the flames, but the area they covered was too vast—it only dodged half of them.

Its lower body was swallowed by the flames.

"Nosi!"

Mengge Cactus was in agony. It had thought that was the end of it, but who could have guessed that the cotton spores clinging all over its body became kindling, allowing the Xiong Xiongliehuo to rapidly spread upward and engulf it completely!

Fwoosh!

"Nosi—!!"

Mengge Cactus's scream was especially shrill.

Zhengyi also shouted anxiously: "Roll! Roll to put out the fire!"

The watching crowd looked on in horror.

"Happy…"

Happiny blew out the last little puff of flame, and looking at Mengge Cactus rolling all over the ground, its face showed a guilty look. As All Baimu's kitchen helper, it often dealt with fire, so much so that one day it had inexplicably learned Flamethrower.

But because its tactics generally followed a path of restriction, support, and stacking, it very rarely needed to use Flamethrower, so it hadn't really put much effort into practicing it.

It hadn't expected the power to actually be greater than when it had first learned it!

It startled even itself.

And when the pitch-black Mengge Cactus stopped rolling, the fellow still tried to stand up and continue fighting, but the moment it propped up its upper body, it lost its strength and collapsed.

Happiny hurriedly initiated a remote injury assessment.

Upon discovering that Mengge Cactus only had a lot of dust on its surface along with residue from the burned cotton spores, and patches of burn marks that made it look pitch-black, but had not actually suffered any terribly serious damage, it let out a small sigh of relief.

"No major problem."

Zhengyi, who understood Mengge Cactus's condition, also relaxed, and with a sigh recalled Mengge Cactus.

He said to All Baimu in the distance: "Did you use a Fire-type move because you had your eye on the cotton spores?"

"More or less."

All Baimu replied: "You should send out your second one."