Chapter 237: Rock Technique

Seeming to sense her Pokémon's nervousness, Du Juan immediately called out to soothe it.

"Don't be afraid! Use Roll and charge in!"

"Gogon!"

Upon hearing its trainer's voice, Graveler's courage suddenly swelled. The confidence of being a Gym Leader's Pokémon returned to its body, and it pressed both pairs of arms against itself, rolling forward amid a rumbling sound.

At the same time.

The Steelix in the sky twisted its body, its bronze-cast eyes sweeping toward the rumbling of the Roll, and its tail lit up with gleaming silver light.

"Iron Tail!"

Whoosh!

The sound of the tail slicing through the air as it swung was nearly a roar, like a whip moving at such extreme speed that only an afterimage remained, streaking straight toward the rolling Graveler.

"Use Rock to jump up!"

Du Juan shouted. The rolling Graveler, without the slightest hesitation, slammed into a massive boulder — but rather than shattering it, it used the rock's curve to launch itself straight into the sky!

Boom!

The jagged rock was smashed apart by the pursuing Iron Tail, and countless fragments scattered in all directions while kicking up a cloud of smoke.

"Heavy Slam!"

"Fire Punch!"

All Baimu and Du Juan issued their commands in unison.

Steelix howled as it twisted its body, and a layer of silver light suddenly appeared, flowing like metallic flames.

"Roar!"

It let out a thunderous bellow and charged at the Graveler, which had used its Roll to fly even higher. Its four massive horizontal steel bones spun like a windmill, and the sudden propulsive force made it resemble a roaring, rushing train as it burst forward.

Facing Steelix's ferocious assault, the Graveler, incredibly, halted its Roll mid-air on its own. It raised its thicker pair of arms and clasped them together tightly, and as raging flames ignited upon them, it slammed down viciously at the onrushing Steelix!

The two collided with a tremendous crash!

Peng!

A thunderous explosion, and the soaring firelight mixed with smoke rapidly spread outward in all directions!

The two trainers immediately shielded their faces with their arms to keep the dust from blowing into their eyes, and only lowered them once the dust had somewhat settled to look at the field.

They suddenly saw that on the field, Graveler had already landed on the ground, surrounded by rocks, struggling slightly as it propped itself up.

Steelix looked down at Graveler from mid-air, a scorched burn mark on its forehead, yet its expression remained calm, with no sign of heavier breathing at all.

Clearly, even a super-effective move had not done it much damage.

Du Juan understood at a glance that this was due to the level gap — this Steelix possessed strength far beyond the second Badge. Could All Baimu be a trainer from another region?

Speculation rose in her mind, and she also knew that Graveler had only endured thanks to its Sturdy Ability. She shouted: "Get close to it! Use Explosion!"

"Gogon!"

Graveler cried out in response without a moment's hesitation, rolling toward Steelix. A brilliant, dazzling incandescent white light lit up on its body surface, and an astonishing wave of energy was brewing.

All Baimu's expression was solemn but not nervous; he had long since seen through Du Juan's strategy and called out loudly: "Use the one you practiced back home! Sand Tomb!"

"Roar!"

Steelix let out a low, muffled bellow, and its four horizontal steel bones began to spin. The quicksand on the ground, as if drawn to it, kept flying up into the sky, swirling around its body as the steel bones roared in their rotation.

In an instant.

A rumbling, unending sand tornado took shape, and at the very moment the incandescent white light on Graveler's body erupted, it suddenly contracted, forming a shield of sand and earth!

The blinding light, along with the trembling of the ground, illuminated the entire battlefield, and the terrifying shockwave kicked up rubble and dust into a visible wall of air that spread outward in all directions.

Fortunately, Graveler's level wasn't very high, so the shockwave's power wasn't especially strong — it only stirred the hem of All Baimu's clothes.

Thick smoke covered the entire battlefield, only to be blown away moments later by a gust of wind.

All Baimu and Du Juan looked inside, and at first glance saw Steelix, completely unscathed, twisting its horizontal steel bones. Beneath it lay Graveler, its eyes replaced by spirals, smoke rising from its entire body.

Clearly, the Sand Tomb shield had worked. The source of this technique's key points was Ash — Brock learned it from Ash, and then passed the usage tips on to All Baimu.

It had been just over a week since he received the secret teaching, and through the tireless efforts of All Baimu and Steelix, plus diligent practice over the past two days back in Iron Town, it had finally been mastered.

"Graveler is unable to battle! Steelix wins!" A Rotom Drone flew out to confirm the result.

"Beautiful technique and control!"

Du Juan praised aloud, raising her hand to recall Graveler. "To perfectly defend against Graveler's Explosion, your Steelix has excellent control."

"Your Graveler as well — normally, the move Roll can't just be stopped so easily, can it?" All Baimu hurriedly offered some mutual flattery to build rapport.

Sure enough.

Hearing this, Du Juan showed a faint smile. "Thank you for your hard work, Graveler. Then for your last Pokémon, please show me your full strength!"

She threw her Poké Ball.

Peng!

A flash of white light.

A boulder Pokémon resembling an Easter Island statue — Little Chaobei — appeared on the field.

All Baimu swiftly recalled Steelix and sent out the Mawile that had been waiting for a long time.

"Be careful! It can freely change direction!"

He shouted. The Little Chaobei Du Juan had bred could freely manipulate its own magnetism, able to face other directions without needing to spin, unbound by the law of always pointing north.

And as his words fell, sparks of electricity very naturally flickered around Mawile's body, and its feet gradually lifted off the ground.

Across from her, Du Juan couldn't help but show a look of surprise and admiration.

Magnet Rise again? That move isn't easy to learn.

"Rock Tomb!"

She slightly raised her hand. Little Chaobei lifted its right foot and suddenly stamped the ground, and numerous Shi Zhu immediately shot up around Mawile!

Fortunately, All Baimu had long since familiarized himself with Du Juan's basic patterns through numerous videos, so his warning came in time — the moment Du Juan spoke, he had already called out, "Dodge upward!"

Bibarel rapidly climbed in altitude, causing the rock enclosure to seal shut on empty air.

Without a doubt, Little Chaobei's method of use and release speed were completely different from those of Bastiodon — this was a technique All Baimu was quite envious of and hoped to learn.

"Use those rocks as stepping stones! Iron Head!"

"Biba!"

Bibarel responded in a delicate voice, and under Du Juan's bewildered gaze, kicked backward fiercely against Little Chaobei!

Boom!

The bulging rock exploded with a rumble, and the force of the instant burst turned Bibarel into a blurred afterimage — Little Chaobei had no way at all to track where it was.

"Hold your ground!"

Du Juan did see it clearly, but with no way to share the vision, she could only have Little Chaobei defend for the moment.

Who would have thought Bibarel had no intention of attacking from the front at all — it swept past Little Chaobei's side in flight and charged straight at Du Juan in the gym leader's seat!

The latter was startled by it, and only when Bibarel twisted its body and kicked fiercely once more at a rock not far in front of her, sending shattered stone flying in all directions, did she realize Bibarel meant to attack from behind!

"Iron Defense!"

Du Juan shouted the warning at the top of her lungs, but Little Chaobei simply couldn't react in time — even though it locked onto Bibarel's position with the magnet in its nose, it still failed to bring Iron Defense out successfully.

Dong!

A muffled crash like a bell being struck.

It was the sound of Bibarel swinging its large jaw and slamming Little Chaobei into the ground!

"Ice Fang — huh? Isn't it the Solid Rock ability?"

All Baimu had wanted to press the advantage, but upon seeing Little Chaobei's dazed, spiraled eyes, he was momentarily taken aback.

The empty-shot Rotom broadcast the result.

"Little Chaobei is unable to battle. Bibarel is the winner. The victor of this Gym Challenge is All Baimu!"