Chapter 476: The Battle of Greenridge

The gym was eerily silent.

Miss Xiao Feng and Xiaonan had just weathered the absolute-power shockwave of "So you're the gym leader, huh?" from Mega Mawile, and though they sat across from each other in silence on the surface, they were actually communicating through glances.

【Say something! Weren't you always the one talking before?】

【I don't know what to say! When have we ever seen anyone this strong before?】

【How about we just skip it…】

【No way, that'd make us look so unprofessional! What if he looks down on our skill and files a complaint?】

【It probably wouldn't come to that…】

The two exchanged exaggerated winks and glances, completely unaware that Lei Yin, serving as referee at a distance, kept shooting them meaningful looks and occasionally clearing her throat as a reminder.

Meanwhile, All Baimu on the other side silently observed Mega Mawile's condition, noticing that it had lowered its head and was panting ceaselessly, unable to raise it for a long while, and the twin jaws at the back of its head remained drooped without any upward arc. He figured the limit had come a bit too quickly—its stamina had been depleted more than during the internal battle.

It probably couldn't hold out for more than a few minutes.

He looked at Miss Xiao Feng and Xiaonan across the way, but after a long while still hadn't heard any mid-battle commentary or new Pokémon.

Mega Mawile was about to enter cooldown, Trick Room was about to end—why weren't these two seizing the time to commentate and launch the next round? What were they waiting for?

Did they figure out that Mega Mawile hadn't fully mastered its power?

None of the four spoke, and all four were a little anxious.

The only one not anxious was Porygon-Z, spinning along with the planet overhead—it felt like it was riding a roller coaster, unexpectedly fun, and if it weren't in the middle of a gym battle it could play like this all day.

"Pory~"

It let out small exclamations of surprise as it rose and fell with the planet's rotation.

"Ahem!"

Lei Yin finally couldn't take it anymore and broke the silence with a very forceful cough.

All Baimu spoke first: "Excuse me, is something the matter…"

"No, no."

"It's just that it's been a long time since we've run into a challenger as outstanding as you, so we were a bit surprised… let's continue!"

Miss Xiao Feng and Xiaonan played off each other, hurrying down the steps that had been set up for them, quickly offering praise before sending out the two Pokémon they'd already decided on.

Bang bang!

Light flashed.

Two green-haired humanoid Pokémon landed on a flat patch of ground.

"Kirlia~"

"Rai!"

One had a delicate voice, the other a deep call—they were unmistakably Gardevoir and Gallade, the male-female pair of Psychic-type Pokémon.

The instant they appeared, the former fixed its gaze on Mega Mawile, its eyes lighting up blue, and its body suddenly swayed.

The Trace ability triggered!

Mighty Gardevoir enters the field!

Finally here.

All Baimu narrowed his eyes slightly. At this point Mega Mawile had at most one strike left in it, and Trick Room was about to end, but being able to take down Miss Xiao Feng and Xiaonan's ace Pokémon through coordination with Porygon-Z—calling it the MVP of this gym challenge wouldn't be an exaggeration.

One strike is one strike—maximize its effect!

As if it had heard its trainer's thoughts, Mega Mawile, whose head had been hanging low, suddenly raised its head, its eyes burning bright as flame, and its silver-bell-like cry rang with absolute resolve.

"Mawile!"

"Go! One last Play Rough!" All Baimu commanded in a deep voice, beating the two just-landed Pokémon to the punch.

Boom!

The ground trembled.

As Trick Room entered its final countdown, Mega Mawile vanished on the spot like a gust of wind—faster even than before, though it was unclear which Pokémon it had inherited that speed from.

Miss Xiao Feng and Xiaonan, ever on guard, shouted in unison: "Teleport!"

No matter which one Mega Mawile was targeting, dodging in time was definitely the right call—after all, even Solrock couldn't withstand a Protect, let alone Gardevoir and Gallade.

And almost at the very same instant they finished issuing their command—

Mega Mawile, swift as the wind, suddenly appeared, facing Gallade with its right fist clenched and wreathed in a blinding pink glow, as if unleashing another cross-star burst of brilliant radiance. The twin jaws at the back of its head parted slightly, and the energy it could no longer contain surged wildly outward, forming thick pink smoke and colorful stars that spun endlessly around it.

What a dazzling Play Rough!

Plant—

Punch!

The air let out a thunderous boom as if crushed by tremendous force, and Miss Xiao Feng and Xiaonan's expressions changed at the sound.

That move… who could take that?!

But the instant Mega Mawile's fist swung out, an extremely space-warping force whisked Gallade away in a flash, causing the heavy blow wreathed in cross-shaped pink stars to land on empty air.

Boom!

The sound rang like a bell!

A fierce milky-white shockwave swept sand and gravel forward amid thunderous rumbling, prompting Lei Yin, who was near Mega Mawile, to raise a hand to shield herself.

Trick Room, whose countdown had ended, seemed to be affected as well and completely dissipated.

Miss Xiao Feng and Xiaonan couldn't help clicking their tongues in amazement once more—if that punch had landed—

Huh!?

Where's Gallade?

Miss Xiao Feng, as the trainer, was suddenly startled to find that only Gardevoir stood on the other side of the field, while Gallade, which should have been nearby, was nowhere to be seen.

"Tri Attack!"

All Baimu's shout made him instinctively look up, only then noticing that Gardevoir had been deeply embedded into a fiery-red planet, with the square cannon platform formed by Porygon-II aimed right at it.

In an instant.

Red, blue, and yellow lights each lit up within the cannon barrels, followed by three pillars of light in different colors firing toward Gardevoir!

Boom!

"Gardevoir!"

Miss Xiao Feng's cry was instantly drowned out by the explosion, and the Gardevoir attempting to rescue was forced back by the shockwave.

He never expected that the Mega Mawile's earlier playful scuffle hadn't missed — the fist swung upward due to its short stature caused it, at the very moment it teleported to the designated position, to be sent crashing heavily into the top of the field.

At that time, the aftershock of Mega Mawile's punch stirred up the sand, perfectly blinding his eyes and ears.

—Had all of this been anticipated by the other side!?

Miss Xiao Feng stared in shock at All Baimu in the distance. If earlier he had been thinking about how this strong this challenger was, now he was thinking about how terrifying this guy could possibly be.

The last time a similar sense of helplessness appeared was when he had battled Champion Dawu, who had rarely returned.

Never expected…

Miss Xiao Feng gazed at Gardevoir, which after the smoke cleared had been thoroughly knocked out by the three light pillars within the fiery-red planet, his feelings extremely complicated.

His twin sister Xiaonan, who was nearly telepathically linked with him, also sensed something, her face taut as she looked toward the Mega Mawile holding its punching pose.

The latter's deterrent power was too strong — she didn't even dare let Gardevoir casually make a move.

Two against one.

The opponent was still so powerful, taking down one Pokémon in just a single move.

What to do now?

Suddenly.

Colored light burst forth from Mega Mawile's body, and in an instant it returned to its original form and slowly fell backward.

Thud.

A bit of dust flew up.

Miss Xiao Feng and the other two were all stunned.

"Ga-Gardevoir and Mawile are unable to battle! The Gym Leader side has only one Pokémon left, while the challenger has three remaining!" Lei Yin hurriedly raised her flag and shouted.

Miss Xiao Feng and Xiaonan, however, were left somewhat baffled by the scene before them.

This didn't seem to have done any damage to Mega Mawile either — why did it suddenly collapse on its own? Could it be that the moves it just used all had recoil effects? Or perhaps using moves was especially exhausting?

Wait!

An opportunity has come!

Xiaonan was the first to come to her senses. Right now Gardevoir was on the field with full combat power, the Trick Room had already ended, and although Porygon-II hadn't been attacked, it had released so many moves and also clashed with Lunatone using Psychic — its condition must have declined.

And All Baimu needed a certain amount of time to switch Pokémon — if she seized this extremely brief window—

"Gardevoir! Jump up and use Psybeam!"

"Saana!"

Gardevoir leapt high, countless Season-move energy spheres — black on the inside, pink on the outside — materializing around it. Like rockets launching, they surged one after another toward the Porygon-II hiding atop the planet!

Of course, the latter, which already possessed considerable autonomy, couldn't possibly wait for its Trainer's command to move like other Pokémon — if it couldn't use moves, could it still not dodge?

【A novel app that has run stably for many years, comparable to the old version of the source-switching app used by bug-chasers — huanyuanapp.】

Therefore, upon seeing those energy spheres, Porygon-II immediately attempted to retreat to the far side of the planet.

Who would have thought those orbs would actually curve around the planet, like Swift with a "sure-hit" property, chasing after the retreating Porygon-II all the way.

"Pory!"

Hey hey hey!

Psychic-types really don't play fair!

All Baimu, who had just recalled Mawile into its ball, issued a command: "Stop! Use Texture 2!"

The retreating Porygon-II immediately halted, a ripple of water-like energy flowing across its surface, changing from red-and-blue to an ink-like black. Its eyes also shifted from round to triangular, appearing somewhat fierce and menacing — as if it had transformed from a docile toy duck into a vicious black duck.

The key point was that the pursuing Psybeam spheres, upon striking it, were directly absorbed.

Xiaonan, who had never seen 【Texture 2】 before, was quite dumbfounded.

Porygon-II was actually Dark-type!?

That seemed to be the only explanation. She couldn't help feeling regret in her heart — had she known, even without using Fairy-type moves, she wouldn't have launched pure energy attacks; switching methods, even without Miracle Eye, she could have used other means to eliminate the Dark-type's resistance to Psychic-type.

But it was too late!

"Good work."

All Baimu's gaze shifted away from Porygon-II as he softly comforted the Mawile in its ball.

Although in reality it hadn't fainted, it truly had lost the ability to battle — it couldn't possibly fight another round against Gardevoir with the Huge Power ability.

As for Miss Xiao Feng's guesses… they really were just a lucky accident. He had been fully convinced Mega Mawile would definitely land its hit, never expecting this little interlude to occur, forcing Porygon-II to finish the job.

Originally, what the latter needed to do was suppress Gardevoir.

Whatever — leave the rest to the teammates.

He threw a Poké Ball forward.

Poof!

Light flashed.

A milky-white raw stone covered in holes appeared on the field, rolling forward several meters.

Although Xiaonan didn't recognize the true form of a Galarian Corsola, she understood that the chances remaining for her and Gardevoir were few — whatever this thing was.

Just go for it!

"Dazzling Gleam!"

Hugging the mindset that every extra hit counted as a bargain, she had Gardevoir unleash the most extreme light it could muster!

In an instant.

The blazing intense light illuminated the entire battlefield; Gardevoir nearly transformed into a sun too blinding to look at directly, and as its white dress fluttered, fairy energy became beams of incandescent white tinged with rainbow hues—silent yet carrying an annihilating presence—as they shot toward Lileep and Porygon2, the exaggerated attack range even spilling outside the field!

But there was one thing.

The sound effect of Dazzling Gleam wasn't strong enough; the piercing shriek only propagated at the moment of activation, so it couldn't cover Baimu's commands.

"Mirror Coat! Shadow Ball!"

Once the intense light dimmed, Miss Xiao Feng and Xiaonan immediately saw a transparent wall shimmering like rippling water appear in front of that milky-white original stone—no, that strange Pokémon resembling Lileep—flickering as if light were brewing within it.

Meanwhile, Porygon2, still hiding on the planet's surface, was giving off wisps of green smoke; before its exaggerated square cannon barrel, a pitch-black sphere of light larger than its own body was brewing, with chaotic Ghost-type energy turning into vapor coiling around the surface of the dark orb—terrifyingly ominous.

Its eyes lit up.

Aim complete—fire!

Boom!

The massive Shadow Ball hurtled toward Gardevoir!

"Quick, dodge to the right rear!"

Xiaonan let out a sharp cry.

Gardevoir tapped the ground with one foot and flashed backward without hesitation, just barely grazing past that enormous Shadow Ball—but escaping the first didn't mean escaping the fifteenth.

The instant the Shadow Ball abruptly exploded, Lileep's Mirror Coat also activated!

Light no less blinding than before transformed into a square pillar of light, scraping the ground as it thundered toward the cornered Gardevoir to deliver a focused strike!

Boom—!

The piercing shriek was like an electric drill boring into one's eardrums!

Gardevoir was swallowed by white light in an instant, taking the full brunt of Mirror Coat's power squarely—successfully letting Lileep shove all the damage it had eaten right back into the former's mouth.

On the planet.

The exhausted Porygon2 relaxed along with it; these past days it had pestered Lileep to practice the accuracy of various moves nonstop, and it hadn't been for nothing!

Should it need a coup de grâce?

It jumped straight down from the planet, because the thing was rotating away, which wasn't good for launching a second attack.

Sure enough.

When the smoke cleared, Gardevoir's figure—swaying but refusing to fall—was quite a sight; its Dazzling Gleam had dealt no small amount of damage to Lileep, so after taking the full double damage of Mirror Coat, it was also nearly done for.

Clearly just a little bit short.

"Gardevoir, quick, use Life Dew—"

"Discharge!"

Two voices rang out at the same time, and the one that ultimately struck first was undoubtedly Porygon2, whose condition was slightly better.

Although it had also been hit by Dazzling Gleam, first of all it was farther from Gardevoir, and at the time the planet's rotation had just happened to be turning it to the back where Dazzling Gleam couldn't reach.

That blocked nearly a quarter of the damage for it.

And when a Pokémon's stamina is on the brink, no matter how fast its move speed, it will be affected—so Gardevoir, this Pokémon stronger than Porygon2 in every aspect by a notch, could only watch helplessly as the latter unleashed wild thunder.

Rumble rumble—

Lightning raced outward from Porygon2 as the center; the terrifying electric current struck Gardevoir's body, covering it in a blinding yellow light, and in the blink of an eye its whole body trembled to the point of nearly contorting.

Lileep, utterly spineless, reverted to its original stone form and rolled toward a lower spot on the terrain.

And Xiaonan, seeing this scene, bit her lower lip but could do nothing.

Several seconds later.

Porygon2's Discharge ended.

Gardevoir ended too; with multiple scorch marks across its body, it collapsed with a clatter.

"Gardevoir is unable to battle; Porygon2 and Lileep are victorious! The final winner is challenger Baimu!" Lei Yin quickly announced the result of this Gym battle.