Chapter 1409: Breaking the Shield Horn Drill

For Alice, the situation had reached its most critical stage.

After two consecutive high-intensity battles, her team had lost two key members, and facing Zhulan, truly every step allowed not the slightest mistake.

In the Dragon's Den of the Union region, many of her supporters were deeply worried.

Changpu clenched her fists tightly, murmuring softly: "Alice... you can definitely do it..."

In the small room, Wan Long no longer continued writing her novel, hands clasped tight praying for Alice; in the living room, Yueju repeatedly tossed and caught a coin, silent; Jiadeliya's gaze was calm like lake water, no one knew what she was thinking.

Only Lianwu had her arms crossed, shouting at the TV: "Decisive! Brave! Just don't hesitate, Alice!"

The match venue.

"Hiss..."

Alice took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled it, recalling her fainted Double-Axe Battle Dragon, and said gently: "Thank you for trying so hard."

Although the outcome she had imagined was not achieved, this was not the Double-Axe Battle Dragon's fault.

It was that they were not mature enough compared to Zhulan.

But precisely because of that, it could ignite fighting spirit, right?

"Until the very last moment, never give up! Right! Drilbur!" Alice shouted, throwing the Poké Ball.

Bang!

Light flashed.

Accompanying Alice's determined shout, a short yet stout body landed heavily, claws capable of digging through steel plates raised high, responding to its Trainer's words, "Dril!"

Leave it to me!

In the sunlight, Drilbur's sharp, drill-like metal horn pointed straight forward, its body covered in brownish-black short fur tensed with muscle, claws reflecting the light shining brightly.

It proudly lifted its head, gazing into the distance at the Pokémon the elegant lady opposite had sent out first.

"Bori~~!"

The pure white and plump giant bird let out a clear cry.

Zhulan smiled faintly: "Alice, is this your final choice?"

The sound amplified by the arena's devices reached the girl's ears, and she shouted back without yielding: "That's right!"

The host gripped the microphone and shouted: "Sky and land! The third match of the first round of the Eight Masters Elimination Tournament! The battle has reached its most tense and thrilling juncture!!"

The time to decide victory or defeat has arrived!

The audience seats reverberated with excited cheers and shouts, anticipating the final victory to be claimed by one of the two sides.

The battle began in silent tacit understanding.

Zhulan waved her hand and shouted: "Togekiss! Use Heat Wave!"

Togekiss spread its wings abruptly, a gale wrapped in fierce flames erupting with a boom!

Whoosh!

Orange-red heat waves intertwined with rolling fire streams into a rotating storm, high temperatures distorting the surrounding air, scattered rocks on the ground baked red by the passing scorching current, fine gravel quickly carbonizing in the heat wave.

This violent firestorm swept from behind it to the front, like a massive overturning wave, its range so vast it could be said there was nowhere to dodge in a short time, directly enveloping the Drilbur on the ground from above!

Before the scorching air current even neared, it had already made the steel keratin layer on its body surface flare with a wave of burning heat, forcing it to narrow its eyes.

In turn, Alice's command came swiftly.

"Dig!"

"Dril!"

Drilbur's front claws suddenly clawed at the ground, the already shattered earth becoming as soft as soil under its sharp claws, sinking underground in the blink of an eye, brushing past the howling heat wave.

Under the filming of the drone Rotom, its action was just like in a blockbuster movie, the few most critical seconds where the protagonist dodges after a bomb explodes — that thrilling!

Rumble!

The heat wave carrying flames slammed heavily behind it, the shattered ground instantly scorched and exploding into fragments, charred traces spreading over a large area, smoke and dust billowing up, yet unable to harm the Drilbur continuously advancing underground in the slightest.

Relying on its mastery of the terrain, and its innate advantage of knowing how to dig tunnels, it traveled rapidly.

In just a few short breaths, Drilbur had already reached directly beneath Togekiss, unhesitatingly bursting up from the ground, its dual claws and the steel needle atop its head merging into a sharp drill, spiraling as it stabbed at Togekiss!

Ground-type moves certainly cannot damage Flying-type Pokémon, but this guy's spiraling upward impact force is enough to knock its opponent unconscious and drag it to the ground.

Togekiss naturally understood its intention too, and the moment it detected the ground breaking, it nimbly sidestepped to avoid.

Zhulan still not satisfied: "Extreme Speed!"

"Bori!"

The plump giant bird turned into a streak of pale white light, its speed instantly reaching the extreme, allowing onlookers to catch only its afterimage.

Drilbur, its thrust missing, flew upward, and disintegrated in mid-air, catching sight of Togekiss which had already pulled away distance from it.

Alice shouted: "Iron Head!"

"Dril!"

Drilbur once again assumed drill form, and with no foothold whatsoever, twisted its body in mid-air purely by its own power, charging at the faraway Togekiss.

Zhulan shouted: "Aura Sphere!"

"Bori!"

In an instant, deep blue Fighting-type energy condensed before Togekiss, a massive Aura Sphere blasting forth.

The condensed energy sphere was extremely fast, precisely striking the spiraling Drilbur, the colliding energies exploding, the shockwave interrupting its motion.

Bang!

Drilbur fell to the ground.

"Hit it with Heat Wave again!" Zhulan pressed step by step.

Togekiss suddenly flapped its wings, rolling up a terrifying heat tide howling as it pressed toward Drilbur, as if to completely melt this Steel-type Pokémon into coke.

Whoosh!

A heat wave rolled in, and Drilbur's face tensed as it leaped up once more, turning into the shape of a drill bit.

Alice shouted, "High-speed rotation!"

It was evidently unwilling to hide underground again, bravely clashing head-on with the heat wave that countered it!

White light enveloped its figure; brilliant white radiance formed an airflow as it spun, colliding with the heat current and splitting it to the left and right. Amidst the surging heat, it was actually suspended in midair for a moment...

No!

It was advancing step by step!

Although the progress was extremely minute, anyone with eyes could see the distance between the two Pokemon shrinking.

It appeared the heat wave Togekiss released was being continuously neutralized.

Finally, the heat wave ceased, but Drilbur's high-speed rotation did not stop; it charged straight at Togekiss and slammed into its body!

Both fell to the ground.

The announcer cried out, "High-speed rotation hits! Togekiss has been grabbed by Drilbur!"

"Bori—"

Togekiss flapped its wings and retreated, but its wingtips were hooked by Drilbur's claws, causing the words on Zhulan's lips to change.

"Hold your ground!"

And Alice, as Zhulan anticipated, called, "Elongated Horn!"

Metallic luster coiled around the steel horn on Drilbur's head; with a sharp piercing momentum it thrust out fiercely, like a beam of bright silver light, colliding with a faint blue hemispherical energy barrier that instantly manifested on Togekiss.

Drilbur's single horn was knocked back by the recoil, and its claws broke free from where they were entangled with Togekiss; Alice's eyes couldn't help but grow deep.

"Godspeed!"

"Bori!"

Togekiss's figure turned into a blurred white shadow, once again pulling away distance from Drilbur.

As a Flying-type long-range attacker, it had no reason to engage in close-quarters combat with it; that would be a very unwise move.

Who knew that when it pulled away, Drilbur did not pursue closely, but instead turned its head to look at its Trainer.

"... I know."

Alice took a deep breath and said firmly, "Come!"

Her hands rested on the Crown atop her head, and a small, exquisite Key Stone emerged.

In Drilbur's left claw, a crystalline Mega Stone was likewise revealed.

The announcer exclaimed in surprise, "Mega Evolution! Is it Drilbur's Mega Evolution!?"

Without a doubt.

It was precisely the as-yet-unrevealed Mega Drilbur!

Dazzling evolution light instantly wrapped this Pokemon; the horn on its head became broader, longer, and sharper, the claws on both sides transformed into the shape of drill bits, its whole body resembling a precisely crafted crimson external-spiral alloy drill bit; metallic triangular plates grew on its chest and shoulders, and its muscle lines possessed even more explosive power.

"Doru!!"

Mega Drilbur let out a roar!

Hua!

The whole venue erupted in an uproar.

Everyone stared unblinkingly at the brand-new form of the Pokemon below; even Baimu couldn't help but sit up straight and let out a heavy sigh, "So ugly!"

Carola and Anxier, immersed in the shock of Mega Drilbur, instantly had their expressions collapse.

"No, you..."

"Uncle..."

Baimu awkwardly leaned back into the recliner, "Just telling the truth; who made it grow so disproportionate?"

This drill assembly is bigger than its main body once combined; it looks top-heavy.

He could only say the design was very good; just don't design another one next time.

So how strong is Mega Drilbur, and has its Ability undergone some kind of change?

That is a point worth looking forward to.

Under his gaze, Zhulan gave the order first, "Regardless, Aura Sphere!"

"Bori!"

Togekiss rapidly condensed a huge deep-blue light sphere, sending it spiraling toward Mega Drilbur.

Alice said confidently, "Let Miss Zhulan witness our power! Start spinning! Elongated Horn!!"

"Doru!!"

Mega Drilbur, like a combining robot, turned its whole body into a gigantic crimson drill bit; facing the incoming Aura Sphere, it straightforwardly spun at high speed and suddenly surged forward!

Weng!!

Its rotation speed was more than several times higher than before; the air itself emitted a sharp shriek because of it, rising like an impact drill, and in the blink of an eye it tore the type-suppressing Aura Sphere apart on the spot!

So easily! So simply!

"Dodge!"

Zhulan shouted, and Togekiss also dodged to the side even before her order, yet it was still drilled in the wing by Mega Drilbur with its fierce momentum and extreme speed.

Peng!

Silver light exploded.

Amidst the explosion Togekiss cried out in pain, its figure plummeting from the air.

Mega Drilbur pierced through and landed not far away, but it did not release its drill form; instead it directly drilled into the ground.

The entire arena began to tremble violently; Zhulan had no way to observe the opponent's location through the seismic source.

Her eyes flickered slightly, her right hand gripping a Poké Ball, thoughts racing in an instant.

In the end, the thought of switching turned into an order to attack.

"Fly up! When it appears, use Hyper Beam!"

"Pori!"

Pokebase responded, flying up again and reaching a high altitude, but the moment it left the ground, the Super Drilbur had already burst through the surface, flying straight at it.

Without hesitation, it spat a fireball at it; the fireball exploded the instant it flew out, turning into a giant fire character.

However.

The surging flames faced this drill charging straight into the sky, yet failed to shatter it in the slightest; instead, the flames were easily drilled apart by it!

Compared to the Drilbur that was suppressed earlier, this was practically two different Pokemon!

Zhulan shouted, "Protect!"

A pale blue protective barrier emerged once more, firmly shielding Pokebase in the high sky.

Facing the shield that had once blocked Slender Horn, Elise now showed not the slightest hesitation, her voice echoing across the entire arena: "Go! Our drill can pierce the heavens! Horn Drill!"

Horn Drill!?

Zhulan's face showed astonishment, and then she heard a roar coming from the giant drill; milky-white energy gathered into the spiral drill, continuing to pounce on Pokebase's Protect barrier with unstoppable momentum.

In this instant.

An unbelievable situation occurred for everyone.

No deadlock, no obstruction.

The high-speed rotating Horn Drill pierced the pale blue spherical barrier as easily as piercing thin paper, the spiral steel horn carrying devastating piercing power, striking Pokebase hard before it could dodge.

The sound of energy shattering and a giant impact exploded simultaneously!

"Pori—"

Buzz!!

Amidst the sharp shriek, Pokebase's wings were shaken into disarray by the Horn Drill's rotational force, its body forced upward to the curved steel pillar at the top, sparks scattering everywhere!

The announcer shouted, "Protect was torn to shreds! It seems it had no effect at all! Drilbur's drill broke through the barrier!"

Invisible Drill!?

In the waiting room, Baimu's eyelids twitched repeatedly; seeing the giant crimson drill descend together with Pokebase, he patted his thigh lightly and said, "Holy shit! How can there be such a cool Pokemon!"

Carney: "..."

An Xier: "..."

They sometimes really couldn't understand this person; face-changing isn't this fast, is it?

However, they were equally shocked by the Super Drilbur's performance, actually able to so easily turn the tide.

Carney sighed, "If the reveal had been a bit later..."

"She might have lost."

Baimu interrupted this defeated champion's words.

She wanted to flip the trump card later; maybe she could catch Zhulan's third Pokemon off guard like this.

But honestly, continuing to hold back Mega Evolution Elise would easily not even live to see the third Pokemon.

Carney smiled wryly, "That's true."

Bang bang!

The two Pokemon landed one after another; the Super Drilbur released its giant drill form, looking at the unconscious existence not far away.

【Horn Drill】, a Normal-type one-hit KO move; as long as the energy level is higher than the opponent's, there is a chance it will take effect!

Deng Pei entered the field, confirmed Pokebase's condition, raised his right hand high and shouted, "Pokebase is unable to battle! Drilbur wins!"

Wah!

Thunderous applause erupted throughout the venue!

The spectacle of Mega Evolution certainly isn't as eye-popping as Gigantamax, but the performance just now truly brought the audience a surprise; they couldn't help but wonder how the Super Drilbur drilled through Protect so easily.

Protect is not invincible; this is common knowledge.

But being blown apart by attribute energy and being directly pierced are two different situations.

That move just now, it was obvious Protect did not take effect!

?? ps: All-in Uncle Faction's guess! Failed, will come back and edit

? No choice, official info is too slow, can only guess what Uncle Faction says, an Ability that can pierce Protect.

? One theory is contact-type ignores Protect/Detect, basically a copy of Unseen Fist; another is drill-type ignores Protect/Detect, what's drill-type? Don't get it