Chapter 859: Water·Lurigana

Passageway.

All All Baimu and Shiny Gengar hurried to the venue under the staff's guidance.

He said: "So urgent?"

"Sorry~ There are simply too many waiting contestants; your opponent has already arrived." The man in Malocome Group attire bowed hastily, his face plastered with a professional apology smile.

The number of participants exceeded the organizers' expectations—match after match, no time was given to chat with opponents after battle; the next round's two contestants were already in position.

It nearly made Gengar too late to return the Scyther to that Leavanny.

Losing that thing would be a nightmare!

More regretfully, because he kept tapping the match button too fast, he assumed the long queue ahead would take time to clear—never expecting instant matching, with the arena already assigned.

He missed a golden chance to interact with the V-browed Swanna.

What a pity…

All All Baimu really liked Leavanny; he specifically added one to his team when playing Sword and Shield, and during camping trips, staring at its bright eyes and thick V-shaped eyebrows, he found it hilariously cute.

Arriving with the staff before the Water Arena.

A roar of noise flooded his ears—young men and women raised signs, uniformly dressed in blue-and-white attire, shouting chaotically.

"Lurigana!"

"Lurin!"

"Lurin, look over here! Aaaah—!!"

Who the hell used 【High Pitch】 on their Loudred?!

All All Baimu quickly covered his ears; Gengar fled like a refugee into his shadow—he'd never encountered such extreme fans during the Grand Festival.

Lurigana?

Oh.

That Galar Water-type Gym Leader.

Memories of Lurigana flooded his mind—she was one of GF's designated adorable icons in Sword and Shield, wildly popular in both the real world and the Pokémon world.

But for different reasons…

All All Baimu squeezed through the narrow path forcibly opened by staff, now slowly closing again, finally entering the arena.

"Phew~"

Fighting a battle really isn't easy.

He looked around—the stands were, of course, packed; most clothing bore traces of blue, and banners, signs, cheer outfits, and neon glow sticks were everywhere.

On the left side of the arena stood a slender, graceful, beautiful girl, arms crossed, waiting.

Lurigana, the Gym Leader known as "Tidal Surge," also a magazine model, enjoyed immense popularity.

All All Baimu's impression of her came mainly from the short film "Dawn Wings"; he didn't care about the plot—he cared about Lurigana's voice actress, Amamiya Amane.

Because the idiot goddess Akuya was so deeply ingrained, hearing her speak in the short film made it hard to keep a straight face.

Would the anime's voice line match the short film's?

It was genuinely curious.

There should be interviews with her online—after the match, he'd check a couple.

He stepped onto his designated spot, gazing at the tall, striking black-skinned girl opposite him, and nodded politely.

"…."

Lurigana blinked slightly, then nodded back.

Aerial Rotom appeared, loudly announcing the tier, contestants' names, and battle rules.

At the same moment.

The commentator enthusiastically opened his mic to introduce both competitors' current rankings.

Lurigana—Rank 936.

Due to her dual roles as model and Gym Leader, she barely competed in World Championships, hence her current Ultra Ball rank—unlike other Gym Leaders who'd climbed to Master Ball tier.

Honestly,

had it not been for Olivia's invitation and the statement that it was Chairman Lutz's wish, and her agent's advice to climb the rankings to avoid being too low, she wouldn't have come to the Battle Festival at all.

Her work was simply too busy.

Right now, she only wanted a quick battle to return and rest.

The Water Arena commentator clearly had far better professionalism than the Grass Arena one—he never openly or subtly favored one side or belittled the other; he'd mention Lurigana three times before slipping in a single word about All All Baimu.

But that was understandable.

The audience here all wanted to hear about Lurigana; they had zero interest in the unknown All All Baimu.

A celebrity Trainer, after all.

Naturally draws more attention, especially since this was precisely Lutz's strategy.

One hand attracts traffic with Gigantamax features; the other cultivates diehard fans through superstar effects in competitive battles—both working in tandem to expand and strengthen, reviving past glory!

"I wish Shanren could see this."

He surveyed the stands, all cheering wildly for Lurigana, as if he were inside her home Water Zhou Gym.

Of course,

the Battle Festival stands were smaller than a Gym's.

Galar's Gym buildings resembled top-tier football stadiums, capable of holding tens of thousands. The thought of tens of thousands cheering for Lurigana made him silently mourn for every Gym challenger.

Arena atmosphere undoubtedly affected Trainers and Pokémon.

Especially when most spectators cheered for one side—tens of thousands shouting could shake the heavens, terrifying the hearts of challengers and their Pokémon.

"Both sides, send out your first Pokémon!"

Aerial Rotom's voice snapped All All Baimu back to focus.

He said: "Go."

"Geh~ Gaa!"

Gengar burst from the shadow.

Its chubby body stretched like a rubber band, elongating until the crowd gasped—then it cackled, severing its lower half from the shadow, plopping back into its true form, hovering midair.

"Hehehehe~"

As if completing a grand magic act, it bowed to the stunned audience and even to Lurigana across the field.

Hmph!

Everyone, look at me!

Gengar had long resented spectators who only shouted for others; it deliberately put on a show, successfully silencing the cheers.

Lurigana burst out laughing.

The commentator, equally stunned by Gengar's antics, chuckled awkwardly: "All All Baimu's Gengar is full of energy! Now, let's see what Pokémon Lurigana has sent out!"

In the large pool,

a Pokémon resembling a fearsome sea-wolf fish, its body marked with bone-like patterns and a tail fin split into four propeller-like blades, darted nimbly through the water.

Haxorus, the Piercing Pokémon.

It had a jutting lower jaw, eyes starkly black-and-white, looking slightly dim-witted—but Gengar knew this one was no pushover.

Its propeller tail granted it incredible burst speed.

But in water terrain…

Diiii!

The whistle blew!

"Water Gun!"

Splash!

The command and the thunderous spray of water erupted simultaneously—the previously silent Haxorus shot forward like a launched arrow, exploding from the water's surface straight at Gengar!

Too fast!

So fast it nearly reminded Gengar of Regieleki from last night—thankfully, only nearly.

Because it reacted in time.

"Geh—"

Gengar swiftly tilted its head upward, narrowly avoiding the incoming Haxorus; the swirling blue water streaked across its face, leaving a wet trail down its center.

The commentator shouted: "Lightning-fast Water Gun! Haxorus's signature move!"

That scared the hell out of it!

It turned, heart pounding, watching Haxorus, still propelled by inertia, sharply recoil backward, tracing a perfect pseudo-circle in midair before plunging back into the pool with a splash.

Swish-swish-swish—

Water droplets fell, revealing countless white bubbles.

The faster you move, the harder it is to turn—Haxorus, having failed its surprise attack, wasn't foolish enough to make a wide turn and charge straight into Gengar's face, now prepared.

Real battle experience!

No wonder she's a Galar Gym Leader!

All All Baimu was satisfied—he'd fought too many noobs and wild Pokémon lately; he'd almost forgotten what a real, formidable Trainer looked like.

"Sludge Wave!"

He quickly gave the command, revoking Gengar's autonomous attack permission.

"Hehehehe!"

Gengar grinned as it rolled a ball in front of itself; a deep purple sludge quickly formed, then exploded with a sharp crack, unleashing a vast, toxic tide!

BOOM!

Water surged! The shimmering surface was instantly swallowed by foul, stinking purple-black sludge, turning the pool into a swamp and completely obscuring the shape of Mudkip.

The audience gasped in shock.

If the pool is now a toxic swamp, won't Mudkip's Water Gun easily soak it in poison and induce a status condition?

But Lusamine remained calm.

"Tidal Spin! Send it back!"

BOOM!

The bottom of the toxic pool violently trembled; the toxic liquid was gathered by Mudkip's blurring speed into a massive purple vortex, which now threatened to rise from the water's surface!

Not a bad idea.

But it's too slow to form—nowhere near the instant water spouts of a Shiny Milotic.

All All Baimu said: "Psychic Strength."

"Gengar!"

Gengar's eyes glowed blue.

A powerful psychic wave crushed down on the rising purple vortex, effortlessly forcing the toxic tidal spin back into the pool—without effort.

No matter how fast Mudkip moves underwater, it has limits; the indirect energy of its spinning vortex is inefficient compared to the direct force of Psychic Strength.

So even as a same-typed move, it had no chance of winning.

Besides, Gengar's Special Attack stat is already overwhelming.

THUD!

The tidal spin collapsed.

The sludge that had floated on the surface, now shaken, mixed instantly with the clean water, indistinguishable from it.

The commentator shouted: "Sludge Wave has dissolved! Now every second Mudkip stays in the pool, it risks poisoning! How will Lusamine respond!"

The crowd erupted.

Has Lusamine fallen on the defensive? Already?

This is only a few turns!

Everyone turned to Lusamine, frowning tightly—then saw her pull out a Poké Ball and recall Mudkip from the water.

"Come out, Pelipper!"

POP!

"Peh!"

The ever-reliable rainy-day hand—Pelipper appeared; the clear sky darkened instantly, and fine drizzle began to fall.

All All Baimu smiled faintly.

This is…

A perfect draw!

"Thunder!"

"Tailwind—what?!"

Seeing the lightning crackling over Gengar, Lusamine paled and shouted: "Protect! Dive into the pool!"

She didn't care if diving would poison it—Pelipper, quadruple-weak to Electric, had less than a fifty percent chance of surviving a direct Thunder!

But fate had handed Gengar the perfect opening—how could it miss?

Bathed in lightning, it raised both arms; thunder roared in the clouds, and countless bolts converged in an instant into a lightning dragon racing toward the falling Pelipper!

BOOM—!!!

Blinding white light flooded the entire arena; countless spectators clapped hands over ears and shut their eyes, shrinking into balls from primal fear of lightning.

When vision returned,

they looked down—and saw Pelipper, charred black, floating on the water, its bright eyes now swirling voids.

"Peh…"

It coughed out a puff of black smoke.

The aerial Rotom announced coldly: "Pelipper is unable to battle! Lusamine's remaining Pokémon: one."

Lusamine bit her lower lip. Without foresight, she never guessed Gengar knew Thunder.

This was pure, unexpected first-encounter knockout.

Helpless defeat.

The commentator exclaimed: "A sudden Thunder—did All All Baimu anticipate Lusamine might send out Pelipper and deliberately hold back Thunder until now? Or was it just incredible luck?"

The crowd murmured.

Though many were Lusamine's fan-models, plenty were battle fans too—and they knew exactly what level of Trainer Lusamine was.

To be crushed like this proves All All Baimu from Huang Tie Town is incredibly strong!

Clap-clap-clap—

Applause rose from the stands, a symphony for the victor, Gengar.

"Gengar~"

Gengar grinned, sticking out its bright red tongue.

It had only barely won against Mudkip—if Mudkip had ignored the toxic sludge and kept using Water Gun, its absurd speed might have had a chance to defeat it.

After all, it's fragile.

But as a Water-type Gym Leader, Lusamine fixated too much on Sludge Wave's "trap" of contaminating the pool, surrendering her early initiative immediately, then suffered a crushing blow after switching Pokémon due to her ignorance of Gengar's capabilities.

Therefore,

Lusamine's luck today was terrible.

"Please! Mudkip!"

She knew it well—luckily, Mudkip, back in the water, was not yet poisoned.

It had not yet faced Gengar directly—and still looked energetic.

Even more…

Its condition had improved!

"Thunder! Hit yourself!"

"Water Gun!"

All All Baimu and Lusamine shouted in unison.

CRASH!

Mudkip burst from the water; its ability, Swift Swim, doubled its speed in the rain—so fast now even Gengar couldn't track it.

But it didn't need to see—

Just summon lightning to strike itself!

No matter how fast Mudkip is, can it outpace lightning?!

The answer was no.

Mudkip, bullet-fast, slammed into Gengar's chest—while the falling lightning dragon swallowed both in an instant!

BOOM—!!

Blinding white light returned!

But this time, everyone clearly saw Mudkip driving Gengar straight forward, like a streaking meteor—the shriek of air friction drowned by thunder.

When sight returned, everyone frantically searched for the two Pokémon.

They found Gengar "nailed" into the shattered wall by Mudkip's sharp chin—both Pokémon' states unclear.

The crowd held its breath.

Then—

Gengar struggled to pry off Mudkip from its chest, wobbling back into the arena.

"Geng—ar!"

It threw its head back, spewing thick clouds of black smoke—as if it swallowed a firecracker—yet still forced a laugh.

The aerial Rotom glanced at the lifeless fish among the rubble and announced loudly: "Mudkip is unable to battle! Gengar wins! The winner of this battle is All All Baimu!"

WHOOSH!

Applause thundered!