Chapter 1145

The horizon began to yellow.

After nearly a full day of battle, the onlooking crowd felt somewhat fatigued, even though Dragon's Hometown had offered them hot tea and snacks to relieve their weariness.

But their emotions were soon stirred.

Because the two who entered the field were the strongest trainers from the United Region and the Oure Region, symbolizing absolute strength—Champions!

"A Champion battle!"

"Just being able to see a Champion battle up close—even if I were seriously injured, it would be worth it!"

"How extravagant… but what you said isn't wrong."

"These past two years, Champion battles seem to be increasing—remember at the start of the year, Ah Du and Champion Dan Di fought, and it's said the World Championships will also launch a larger-scale Champion battle!"

"Really? How many Champions are participating now?"

"Is Miss Zhulan here? I'm her superfan!"

"Me too!"

"Karulu Karulu! I'm her movie fan!"

The onlooking trainers chattered away, quickly shifting from admiration of the Champions' strength to affection for their personal charm.

The scene was utterly harmonious.

The atmosphere between Baimu and Elise was also quite harmonious.

"It's been almost a year since we last battled, right? This time I won't lose to you again!"

"Bring it on—if you lose, don't cry."

"I—I won't cry! I'm not a little kid anymore! Hmph! Really annoying!"

The young lady pouted cutely.

Perhaps because she had always been seen as a child, she was particularly sensitive about this and often teased Satoshi about it.

As a result, the two frequently argued.

And Baimu's teasing now naturally triggered her rebellious psychology, boosting her fighting spirit—she threw the ball to avenge her past shame!

After all, the two had battled more than once, tracing back to their first meeting in the desert, and later meeting again in the finals of the Johto Festival.

They were more than worthy of the title of 【Rival】 commonly seen in the Pokémon world.

Elise wanted to defeat her former strong foe, and Baimu wanted to use her as a stepping stone to advance to the higher ball class—both had great ideals and bright futures!

"Wele! Pokémon World Championship certifies this Super Ball Class battle! Battle participants—Elise of Dragon's Hometown vs. Baimu of Huang Tie Town!"

The voice of the aerial Rotom echoed across the skies above Dragon's Hometown, officially opening this Champion battle.

Even many who weren't particularly interested in Pokémon battles, upon hearing, unconsciously gathered here, and the crowd from all sides instantly became denser.

Dragon's Hometown had to dispatch personnel to maintain the venue environment, to avoid disturbing the players.

At the same time, they also worried about causing harm to the spectators.

After a brief commotion.

The match proceeded smoothly, with both sides releasing their Pokémon.

"Gengga!"

The Shiny Gengar reappeared, gazing sharply into the distance at the Dragon-headed Ground Rat.

Ghost-Poison striking Steel—another day of full-type disadvantage, and this time the trainer said they weren't preparing to give it the Mega slot.

Though Gengar was displeased, it also knew it had to sustain its combat power when unable to Mega Evolve.

Otherwise, given the intense competition for the Mega slot within the team, it might not be able to participate in crucial matches, contributing to the trainer and team—or perhaps just putting on a big show.

Come on!

Fight without Mega Evolution!

Gengar's fighting spirit soared, while the Dragon-headed Ground Rat remained emotionally steady, as befitting its seasoned nature.

Once, it had lost to a Happiny, but now it was long since transformed.

"Dorulu!"

It growled low, its claws—sharp enough to tear steel plates—raised, countless translucent longswords appearing around it, swirling in rotation.

【Sword Dance】!

Seeing this, Gengar refused to yield, using Trick to boost its own Special Attack.

Both sides' offensive capabilities greatly increased, indeed appearing ready to clash head-on.

It seemed just as said online.

Between the strong, only fierce assault and even fiercer assault!

Only trainers lacking strength would use moves to restrict the opponent's changes, to compensate for insufficient offense.

Is that truly the case?

The trainers held infinite expectations for the clash between these two new Champions.

"Drill Rush!"

"Aura Sphere."

Commands given in sync, the Dragon-headed Ground Rat leapt high, its arms and head spike converging into a spiraling drill, surrounded by earth-yellow light as it launched a fierce assault!

Whoosh!

Air currents swirled, and in the blink of an eye it arrived before Gengar, piercing the azure energy wave it had released!

Bang!

Smoke billowed forth and quickly dissipated.

Because the Dragon-headed Ground Rat spun backward, dispersing the smoke from the energy explosion.

"Dorulu…"

The mole rat spat out a mouthful of turbid air, its power not as strong as it had imagined.

Is it because it hasn't undergone super evolution?

Then use it quickly!

It cast a phase of expectant gaze upon the Gengar, but the latter, not fulfilling its wish, had its plump paws swirl and conjure wisp after wisp of ghostly purple flame, spinning them into a fire ring that shot forward at high speed!

【Ghost Fire!】

The mole rat felt a bit disappointed.

"Sandstorm!"

"Boom boom!"

The wind howled, a sparse version of the thug crocodile's sandstorm appearing far weaker.

The crowd bustled, and soon they saw the mole rat dive underground at extreme speed, causing the nearby Gengar to lunge at empty air.

"Eh ga!?"

It hastily hurled the ghost fire into the burrow in disbelief, trying to strike the opponent's body before it burrowed deep underground.

Still, it was one step too late.

What incredible speed!

It was Sand Spit!

Any trainer with vast knowledge reserves would naturally understand the reason.

Baimu wasn't too surprised either—Alyssa's champion strength certainly didn't fall from the sky, and as her first Pokémon, the mole rat's power was nearly on par with a champion's ace.

Its role equated to that of his own three pillars.

And it's only natural that Gengar, without super evolution, would be inferior to the mole rat.

But even a slight difference has its own fighting style!

"Shadow Clone."

"Eh ga!"

Gengar's body trembled, suddenly splitting into countless phantom copies; beneath its original position, the soil erupted as the mole rat's drill-form head burst upward!

Bang!

Sand and stone flew, the "Gengar" dissipating.

Alyssa furrowed her brow, "A fake? Or just not fast enough?"

As everyone knows, the Shadow Clone skill mixes the real body among the clones; as long as speed is sufficient, attacking during the opponent's release allows one to strike first.

But it doesn't matter.

Sandstorm will reveal her true form!

Alyssa scanned the sky filled with Gengar, suddenly locking onto one, "Straight Drill!"

"Boom boom!"

The mole rat shot skyward, spinning rapidly straight toward the opponent indicated by the trainer.

The Gengar, having its true form exposed, was greatly startled but not overly panicked; it immediately gathered its clones and adopted the "Calabash Brothers Saving Grandfather" tactic.

"Eh ga! Eh ga!"

The sky rang with Gengar's noisy cries; after many afterimages coalesced and then scattered, they successfully caused the mole rat to strike another phantom again.

Alyssa lightly bit her silver teeth, "Escaped again? So hard to pin down! No wonder it excels at change as a Ghost-type!"

Over the past year, she had honed excellent observational skills, enabling her to easily see through how Gengar's clones in the sandstorm are pierced by gravel while the real body is not.

Even if Gengar and its clones are constantly moving, intertwining in a dazzling dance, they still cannot escape her eyes.

Only regrettable, the great opportunity was not seized.

Gengar's aerial advantage meant that even with Sand Spit's aid, the mole rat still needed time to break free from gravity's pull to reach the designated point.

This barely perceptible moment was skillfully exploited by Gengar——

What a troublesome Pokémon!

Though Gengar had lost the Levitate trait, its flying ability remained.

Yet it still found it hard to catch the mole rat.

After the latter's move missed, its speed seemed undiminished; Gengar had just raised its hand when it saw the mole rat dive into the ground.

"Eh ga……"

The chubby fellow could barely laugh anymore.

It felt for the first time being hit by a boomerang; previously using dimensional traversal to toy with opponents, now the opponent used digging to toy with it.

Is there no way to stop it?

There is!

Taking advantage of the clones not yet scattered by the sandstorm, it exchanged glances with the trainer, swiftly gathering the clones to lure Alyssa and the mole rat.

The opponent indeed fell for it!

"Now! Pierce them!"

"Boom boom!"

Bang!

The ground shattered, the mole rat spiraled skyward, earth-yellow light piercing countless afterimages, flying straight to Gengar's face——

Clang!

A translucent blue light shield blocked this fierce straight drill.

The mole rat blinked in surprise, then watched helplessly as Gengar burrowed into its body.

Alyssa's face changed drastically, "Not good! Make the mole rat spit it out!"

How to spit it out?

This guy's like jelly — slurped right into its belly, can't spit it out!

The Dragon-Head Mole crashed to the ground, straining to mobilize the muscles in its body, but ever since the opponent entered its body, it was as if they had vanished, giving it no unusual sensation at all.

What on earth is Gengar planning to do?

Alice looked at Baimu, a bit unable to figure out the opponent's tactics.

The Dragon-Head Mole wasn't hit by Will-O-Wisp; hiding in its belly to stall for time is meaningless, right?

"——Rapid Spin! Throw it out! I don't believe it can withstand your rotation speed!"

"Doduo!"

The Dragon-Head Mole once more shifted into drill form, spinning rapidly against the ground, rotating until it stirred up a sandstorm around its body, forming a gigantic sand tornado!

The terrifying centrifugal force left many surrounding spectators short of breath, and the Gengar inside the Dragon-Head Mole wasn't faring well either.

It was like a fruit thrown into a juicer, dirty laundry in a washing machine — its brains were about to be spun out!

But the price was worth it.

"Gah!" It abruptly drilled out of the Dragon-Head Mole's body, its form thin as a sheet of paper, then whirled wildly through the air like newspaper caught in the sandstorm.

As miserable as miserable could be.

However, just as the Dragon-Head Mole stopped spinning, preparing to launch an attack, Gengar struck first with a move.

"Once more."

"Gah—urk……"

Gengar's cheeks bulged, forcibly suppressing the urge to vomit, wildly applauding the Dragon-Head Mole.

A look of "You did good, you did really great."

Golden light suddenly shot toward the Dragon-Head Mole, forcing it, as it tried to use Straight Drill, to switch back to Rapid Spin, piercing through Gengar's body——

Normal-type move hitting Ghost-type, absolutely no effect!

Alice's eyes widened, "So that's what it was waiting for!"

The onlookers likewise erupted in clamor; this time the Dragon-Head Mole's situation was bad!

"Focus Blast!"

"Gah~ga!"

Deep blue radiance gathered between Gengar's claws, blasting toward the plummeting Dragon-Head Mole like a wave!

Seeing this, the Dragon-Head Mole's rotation speed didn't decrease but increased!

Hum!

Gusts of wind rose in succession, followed immediately by an earth-shattering explosion as the two energies collided!

Boom!

Massive smoke and dust shook the sky, spreading a brown-gray cloud that obscured both Pokemon.

The next second.

The Dragon-Head Mole, released from drill state, plummeted to the ground with a dull thud that made one's heart ache.

It really was in so much pain it collapsed to its knees.

"Doduo……"

"Return!"

Alice reacted quickly, or rather she had already intended to swap, not giving Baimu any chance to seize an opening.

Red light shot out, and the Gengar that had fired Mean Look a step earlier recalled the Dragon-Head Mole.

All-around major buff.

Baimu couldn't help but look at Alice with new eyes.

Compared to a year ago, she seemed like a different trainer — whether her Pokemon's strength, or her own judgment and observation, all ranked among the top of all trainers encountered in recent years!

Just a pity she doesn't have a System.

He felt it necessary to recommend to Alice that she go to Blueberry Academy and get a Tera Orb.

Mega Evolution, Gigantamax, whatever — fine if she doesn't have them.

Blueberry Academy's Tera Orbs are a ready-made good thing in the Unova region, how could she miss out?

As for whether buffing the opponent might backfire.

Baimu could only say if he lost to her because she gained a support, then why bother aiming for World Champion?

Without this much confidence, what kind of Champion would he be!

"Go! Dragonite!"

Alice called out, "Let Baimu see the you after metamorphosis!"

Bang!

White light flashed.

"Ohwo——!!"

A ferocious Dragonite appeared on the field.

Unlike the traditional chubby, harmless-looking demeanor that didn't seem very aggressive, Alice's Dragonite was practically a genetic mutation.

Of course, it was very similar to Hydreigon.

——Making up for Alice's regret of never having raised a Hydreigon?

Gengar swiftly closed in, blue light gathering between its claws and firing forward as a pale blue bolt of lightning!

"Ice Beam!"

"Owo!"

Kairyu flapped its wings and flew, dodging this move with super-speed that formed afterimages.

It was unmistakably the powerful 【Godspeed】!

Gengar froze for a moment, it looked at Alice, then turned its head to look at the Trainer, "Gengar?"

Is it battling against the twins?

I remember the previous Alice wasn't this strong!

Baimu shouted: "Dazzling Gleam!"

"Gengar!"

Upon hearing this, Gengar unhesitatingly made its body release intense pink beams of light, successfully forcing back Kairyu which had approached at some unknown time.

Getting distracted while battling it?

Having pulled enough distance so that Dazzling Gleam couldn't harm it, Kairyu wore a full face of ferocity.

"Hurricane!"

"Ooh!"

Kairyu flapped its wings, countless visible gales rapidly converged inside the field, forming a terrifying tornado covering the entire arena in the blink of an eye.

The onlooking crowd was forced to squint by the wind and sand, raising their hands to block.

Gengar's small frame was likewise easily sucked in, fortunately its reaction was quite fast, releasing powerful Dazzling Gleam once more.

Forcing Kairyu mixed in the gale to retreat again.

"Ooh..."

Kairyu was quite apprehensive.

It knew very well how much damage Gengar's enhanced Dazzling Gleam could inflict on it.

Is there any way to prevent the opponent from using this move?

Or perhaps...

Reduce the damage?

Kairyu and Alice locked eyes, a decision already made in its heart.

(End of Chapter)