Chapter 265: Silver Light Exploding Clouds

Fighting Iron Fist on equal footing with a body four times weaker in physical combat.

Even if his level might have the advantage, it was still not a good choice.

But All Baimu had his own plan.

"Curse!"

"Roar!"

Bouffalant watched Iron Fist with a tiger's gaze, letting out a muffled roar as black mist rose from its body.

When 【Curse】 is used by a non-Ghost-type Pokémon, it produces a different effect. When Galarian Corsola uses it, it continuously drains the opponent's stamina at the cost of its own; when Bouffalant uses it, it lowers Speed and raises Attack and Defense.

The reason for this effect lies in a Japanese pun — 【Noroi】 can be read as either "Curse" or "Lax." It corresponds perfectly to its two different effects.

At the same time.

"Force Palm!"

Tōju shouted, fist clenched.

Iron Fist took heavy steps, trembling with each one as it closed in on Bouffalant, a bright brown-red glow appearing on its fan-like large hands.

But how could All Baimu let the opponent get that close?

"Fall back! Use Sand Tomb!"

"Roar!"

Bouffalant, wreathed in black energy, retreated several steps, struggling to put distance between itself and Iron Fist. Its silver-gleaming claws slammed the ground hard, and with a crisp crack, a fissure appeared and rapidly spread toward Iron Fist's feet.

"Dodge to the right!" Tōju hurriedly shouted.

Iron Fist suddenly rolled to the side, and the ground where it had been standing collapsed with a thunderous boom, forming a terrifying funnel-shaped sand pit.

If it had fallen in, given Iron Fist's weight, it would most likely have been very hard to climb back out.

Tōju was well aware of this, so he absolutely could not let Bouffalant keep creating more sand pits and destroying the footing beneath them.

"Use Force Palm in succession!"

"Yah-ma!"

Iron Fist let out a great roar, raised both hands, and slammed them forward with force. A palm-shaped shock wave immediately flew forward, followed by a second, then a third!

Under its continuous strikes, countless shock waves came one after another!

However, All Baimu and Bouffalant had already anticipated its plan. The moment Iron Fist raised its hands, Bouffalant dug underground, dodging those shock waves one after another.

When the shock waves hit the ground, the dust kicked up formed a natural obstruction, affecting Tōju's visual judgment of Bouffalant's range.

"Don't panic, close your eyes and feel with your feet, listen carefully with your ears! Just like listening to the tide!"

"Yah-ma!"

Iron Fist responded while closing its eyes to feel the direction of the ground's vibrations, listening for sounds to locate Bouffalant.

And while speaking, Tōju also closed his eyes.

The one man and one Pokémon seemed to fall into a state of intense spiritual concentration.

Unfortunately, All Baimu was already familiar with their routine.

"Rock Tomb!"

"Roar!"

Bouffalant emerged from the sand pit, and Iron Fist took the opportunity to open its eyes and strike fiercely toward the direction it had heard!

"That's it!" Tōju's excited voice rang out.

Whoo!

A brown-red shock wave surged forward, and at the same time countless giant rocks rose from the ground. But instead of trapping Iron Fist between them as usual, they specifically struck the soles of its feet!

Boom! Boom!

Two explosive sounds.

One was the crisp crack of the shock wave grazing Bouffalant's twin horns and missing its target; the other was the trembling thud of Iron Fist, its soles struck from below, involuntarily collapsing.

"It missed!"

Tōju's face was full of disbelief at having been deceived. He stared at Bouffalant in the sand pit, his breathing growing a little uneven.

Although All Baimu was well aware that Tōju closed his eyes to achieve a spiritual resonance with Iron Fist, giving up visual observation inevitably came with a price.

"Dig!"

Bouffalant dug underground once more, and while Iron Fist was getting up, it burst through the ground beneath its feet and charged out!

Boom!

Tōju hurriedly shouted: "Grab it!"

"Yah-ma—"

Iron Fist's two-hundred-plus-kilogram body was nearly sent flying by Bouffalant. Fortunately, it endured the pain and grabbed Bouffalant's sharp horn at the first moment, allowing it to get its feet back on the ground right away.

Possessing excellent grappling ability, it instinctively wrapped its arm around Bouffalant's head.

"Seismic Toss!"

Tōju's command came in a rush — the opportunity was truly rare, Iron Fist had finally managed to make contact with Bouffalant.

But All Baimu's command came just as fast, shouting: "Hold steady! It can't exert force! Use Low Kick!"

"Roar!"

Bouffalant let out a muffled roar and stood firm as if rooted to the ground. Meanwhile, a flash of pain crossed Iron Fist's face — just as he had said, it failed to throw Bouffalant down.

Without a doubt, this was the lingering sting from having its soles struck, preventing the latter from exerting force normally.

For a Pokémon of Iron Fist's great weight and large size, its relatively small feet would absolutely be its weak point, because they had to serve as the support base bearing all of its weight.

And since Iron Fist couldn't attack properly, it was Bouffalant's turn.

Its tail suddenly curled, wrapping around the former's ankle, and together with its rock-solid, unwavering thighs, it exerted force violently!

Winter!

The Iron Palm Striker's massive body crashed down in a thunderous collapse, thoroughly dazed.

"Yaaa!"

The pain forced a cry from its mouth.

Originally, 【Topple】 had been something All Baimu wanted to save for a future Fighting-type Pokémon, but when planning the battle strategy he discovered it could be used in a Gym Challenge, and without hesitation gave it to Aggron — and right now it was proving immensely useful.

"Pull yourself together! It's not the final moment yet! We absolutely have to ride out this giant wave! Aura Sphere!"

How could Fujisugi possibly concede here, and how could Iron Palm Striker be willing to lose to Aggron just like that — without even hurrying to get up, its fan-like great hands gathered before its body, condensing into a glowing blue energy sphere.

"Ram through it! Metal Burst!"

All Baimu responded without a moment's delay.

At such close range, with Aggron's speed reduced by the curse, dodging was basically impossible, so clashing head-on with a move was the best option.

*High Above the Sky*

What's more, once the tactics had developed to this point, even if it could dodge All Baimu wouldn't have let it dodge!

"Guoh!"

Aggron maintained absolute trust in its Trainer; its whole body shimmered with a metallic sheen, and before the Aura Sphere could even be fired it charged forward on its own!

Boom—!

A deafening explosion — the Aura Sphere detonated like an unstable bomb, and the visible shockwave swept the dust on the ground outward in every direction.

Both All Baimu and Fujisugi raised their hands to shield against the dust and wind, and only after several full seconds, as the smoke quietly spread, did they peer toward the center of the field.

The latter thought Aggron should have had a hard time withstanding an Aura Sphere — especially one at such close range — but upon seeing the smile on the former's face, he couldn't be sure anymore.

The Galarian Corsola incident was still fresh in his mind; how could he dare to be certain?

As if confirming his guess.

As the smoke cleared, Aggron was pinning Iron Palm Striker down hard. Its once silver-gleaming head had been blasted black by the explosion, but its pair of deep-blue eyes shone with extraordinary brightness.

Within its massive jaws bristling with sharp fangs, a gleaming silver orb had already taken shape.

"Sturdy ability!?"

"Wrong! It endured through sheer willpower! Fire!"

All Baimu loudly denied Fujisugi's guess and launched the strike that would take Iron Palm Striker down for good.

Aggron let out a roar!

"Rooooar—!

The brilliant flash of Metal Burst, Iron Palm Striker's terrified expression, and Fujisugi's look of admiration were all frozen in this single moment, and as the silver mushroom cloud rose, they were reflected in Shinobu's eyes.

Her body trembled slightly, awed and thrilled by this battle.

And so.

When the dust settled.

"Iron Palm Striker is unable to battle! Aggron wins!

The victor is Challenger All Baimu!