Chapter 533: The Power of Intimidation

Porygon2 knew its base strength couldn't keep up with the first echelon.

Therefore, until it grew stronger, it resolved to serve as the perfect support, leveraging its many varied moves.

But can a support that can't even take care of itself truly be called a good support!?

Although the command from the trainer to not dodge was what got it entangled by the tentacles, Porygon2 still took full responsibility for failing to break free in time.

Especially upon noticing Lanturn had become critically endangered in an extremely short time.

"Pory!

Return!

Return!

The rod-shaped Porygon2 rushed toward Lanturn at top speed.

Baimu also clenched his fist and shouted with equal tension, "Lanturn, quick use—"

However.

"Toxicroach, pull Ludicolo back!"

Faced with a Lanturn whose stamina was in extremely poor condition, and which—even with Light Screen up—could very well lose its ability to battle after being hit, Mi Ke Li's choice was actually to fall back and defend.

The Toxicroach at the edge of the field abruptly pulled the Ludicolo on the float over to its side.

"Eh? Why?"

Miss Liuqi was quite puzzled.

Adam, however, said: "This is to not give Lanturn the chance to actively run into them. If Mi Ke Li had chosen to attack, then what would be waiting for Ludicolo is 【Destiny Bond】. And even if the attacker wasn't Lanturn, it would still actively rush forward."

As his words fell.

Seeing Mi Ke Li's smiling face in the distance, Baimu frowned and changed his command, "Sleep! Porygon2, transform and carry it!"

If this dragged on any longer, Lanturn would be taken down by the Leech Seed and poison.

"Sang…"

Lanturn shot Mi Ke Li a resentful glance. It could have clocked out with the glorious record of taking down one and a half of the opponent's Pokémon, so why did you have to be so clever?

So infuriating for a coral!

Its candle-like eyes vanished as it fell into slumber, and waves of pale green light continuously rippled across its body surface.

The 【Sleep】 status brought on by 【Rest】 replaced the 【Poison】 status, and successfully restored its stamina to the maximum limit of what could be recovered.

Although it couldn't shake off the Leech Seed, for the short term there was no need to worry about it collapsing from it.

In an ordinary battle, this move would be worthy of being called a "reversal."

"Tch."

Baimu clicked his tongue lightly.

As expected of a trainer who could become Champion—neither as reckless as ordinary people nor so easily taken in.

And seeing that Mi Ke Li and his two Pokémon hadn't taken the bait, the unusual expression on Porygon2 immediately vanished. It was indeed very unwilling, but it wouldn't show it that obviously.

It was merely a means to lure Mi Ke Li into a trap.

Sometimes, acting is also a very important part of battle. Once an opponent is desperate for victory and loses their calm judgment, showing even a hint of impatience and eagerness will cause great misdirection to the opponent.

Unfortunately…

"Pory!"

Porygon2 plunged into the water, sending up a large splash.

Poof!

Once the splash settled.

Porygon2 had already risen in altitude with the sleeping Lanturn on its back, looking down from above at the Toxicroach and Ludicolo in the pool.

The former was afflicted by the curse, losing stamina every moment, and had no moves like Recover to quickly restore stamina…

Nothing to worry about.

What had to be taken down quickly was Ludicolo. This guy's lost stamina would be replenished by the Leech Seed, and it would be far from pleasant if this dragged on until Trick Room ended.

While Porygon2's speed was faster than both of theirs, seize the opportunity.

"Substitute!"

Baimu decisively played the trump card that Porygon2 had been diligently practicing recently but had never shown in an official battle.

【Substitute】!

"Pory!"

Pale green bands of light, like data streams, flew out from Porygon2's body surface, gradually forming a circular entity of equal proportion.

"Hm?"

Mi Ke Li looked at the new Porygon2. The intuition belonging to a powerful trainer told him that something wasn't quite right—

"Teleport!"

Whoosh!

The new Porygon2 abruptly vanished into mid-air.

Mi Ke Li was stunned for a moment, then fiercely waved his hand and shouted, "Water Ring! Icy Wind!"

"Puff puff—"

Toxicroach spat out bubbles, churning the pool water and stirring up pale blue water rings.

Ludicolo opened its flat duckbill, just about to unleash Icy Wind, when a beam of pale green light composed of multiple halos suddenly descended from the sky.

Boom!

"Rong pa!"

Water mist exploded upward, mixed within it were Ludicolo's startled cries.

The pale-blue water ring around Tentacruel suddenly swept outward in every direction, like surging tides, yet failed to hit any target.

The next instant.

"Thunderbolt."

Boom!

Frenzied thunder serpents twisted and danced as they shot up from the bottom of the pool, caging Tentacruel and Tianhe in a prison-like embrace; the searing electric current evaporated great clouds of mist while dealing ample damage to the two Pokémon.

Their bodies twitched and writhed beneath the water.

In the stands, Miss Liuqi's eyes went wide. "Eh? How—?"

"A Substitute that can use moves…"

Adam's expression turned solemn.

As the Gym Leader, he knew perfectly well that once a Substitute could also use moves—even if it only had a quarter of the original's stamina—it would play a decisive role in the battle.

More importantly, All Baimu was gradually seizing the rhythm of the fight.

On the field.

The surprise on Mi Ke Li's face turned to admiration as he said, "That was a strike I truly didn't see coming. A pity its offensive power is still lacking…

"Sludge Wave! Use Drain Punch on the Porygon-Z in the sky!"

Just as he said, the Porygon-Z clone did not inherit the original's move variations; once the Thunderbolt's damage spread, it failed to achieve a double knockout.

This also had something to do with Porygon-Z's level being too low.

Meanwhile, Tentacruel, having recovered from the electric shock, swiftly spewed out a great mass of poison, dyeing nearly half the pool a deep purple in an instant.

Tianhe beside it leapt up, using its companion's head as a springboard to launch itself into the sky; its fist glowed a deep reddish-brown, as though scorched by flame.

"Texture Two!"

All Baimu's command came a beat too late—the two Porygon-Z were not slow.

The Porygon-Z at the bottom of the pool took on a steel-like appearance, while the Porygon-Z in the sky carrying Sunflora was shrouded in a layer of black mist, like a ghost.

Both moves, each with their own blind spots, naturally missed.

Tianhe in particular passed straight through the Porygon-Z and Sunflora, not even hitting a "rock" like before.

Without a doubt.

The last time Tianhe had managed to strike Sunflora's true body was because the latter had deliberately taken the hit to keep the Porygon-Z below from being hurt.

The pale-green motes of light absorbed from them also proved that the Porygon-Z and Sunflora in the sky were not phantoms.

"A type-changing move?"

Mi Ke Li reacted quickly—after all, Tentacruel's Mirror Coat had a similar effect. What surprised him was that Porygon-Z's original and its clone could simultaneously unleash moves and produce different transformations.

And also…

All Baimu's precise judgment of how much damage Curse could inflict within a given time.

"Poof…"

Tentacruel silently floated to the surface; its once steel-whip-like tentacles hung limp, its eyes had become black spirals—clearly fainted.

"Tentacruel is unable to battle!"

The old butler's voice rang out.

Chance!

All Baimu's eyes and those of the two Porygon-Z flashed. In a doubles match, when either side switches, it inevitably shifts part of one's attention to the newly entered Pokémon.

The window would not be long, but as long as they seized it—

They could take the opponent down in one strike!

"Double-Edge! Signal Beam!"

He shouted, and the Porygon-Z in the water and the one in midair responded in unison, attacking the exhausted Tianhe on the float from two directions.

Pale-green beams tore through water and air, shrieking sharply.

The earlier Signal Beam and Thunderbolt had not been wasted; even though Tianhe had Leech Seed to restore stamina, it could not possibly recover that much in such a short time.

That thing was already exhausted, and with Trick Room still up, dodging was not so easy.

Would it try its luck with Synthesis?

All Baimu looked toward Mi Ke Li across the field, only to see that he had already thrown his Poké Ball; the flashing Bai Guang formed a massive, swirling silhouette before Tianhe.

Peng Peng!

Amid a terrifying roar, the Signal Beam struck true; thick white smoke billowed out, yet failed to so much as shake the colossal form of Gyarados.

The creature stood like a towering wall shielding Tianhe on the float; its ferocious appearance made the two Porygon-Z staring at it tremble involuntarily.

Intimidate ability!

"Roar—!"

Gyarados bellowed at the sky; the howl echoing across the field and its sheer intimidation made All Baimu's eardrums ache. As he instinctively raised his hand, his heart gave an inexplicable lurch.

Not good.

Something bad was about to happen!

His eyes went wide, and he then saw Gyarados suddenly swing its massive tail!

Whomp!

A muffled, thunderous crash rang through the air.

Pale-blue currents of water coiled around Gyarados's tail, hanging like an inverted waterfall in the rain, and swept toward the Porygon-Z in the sky with a shockingly tremendous display of force!

"Aqua Tail!"

"Roar—"

The Porygon-Z, cowed by the roar that triggered Intimidate, failed for a moment to dodge or counter.

All Baimu clenched his teeth hard.

Self-regeneration?

No, there's no time—I've got to gamble—

"Discharge!

Zzzt—

Countless silver serpents shot out from Porygon2's body. Its sharp eyes twisted its body to dodge, but the next instant, it was sent flying by Gyarados's waterfall-like massive tail slamming into it.

Boom!

An earsplitting crash—Porygon2 spun like a comet and slammed into the spectator stands' wall. The tremendous force blasted the wall open, forming a spiderweb of cracks.

And the Porygon2 embedded within… lost its ability to battle.

The other Porygon2 underwater vanished in a puff of smoke, gone without a trace.

"Porygon2 is unable to battle!"

The old butler's voice snapped Miss Liuqi, who had been somewhat dazed, back to her senses.

"Wh-what a fast reversal! Why was Porygon2 moving so slowly just now? Trick Room clearly hadn't ended!"

"Because it was suppressed by Gyarados's presence."

Adam's tone was unhurried. "A weak Pokémon will sometimes be unable to move before a strong one, and the Intimidate ability makes this even more pronounced.

"Baimu's Porygon2… is it called Porygon2? It probably hasn't been raised by him for very long, and hasn't been in enough battles. Its flexible computational ability is decent, but its pressure resistance isn't great."

Strong Pokémon often possess an aura ordinary Pokémon lack, and for a strong Trainer, putting that aura to use in battle is also a major element.

Porygon2's issue isn't serious—going forward, it just needs more pressure-resistance training… probably fought too many smooth, easygoing battles.

In Pokémon training, sometimes taking a beating is also a very important part.

"Ah—what a shame, the first round could have been finished already."

Miss Liuqi felt sorry for Baimu below and said: "At this rate, the first round might be lost to Uncle."

"No."

Adam shook his head. "The first round is already over. Look—where is Lanturn?"

Hearing this, Miss Liuqi instinctively looked toward where Porygon2 was for Lanturn, but found nothing—until the old butler Sebastian's voice rang out again.

"Ludicolo is unable to battle! The Gym Leader's side has lost! The second round will now begin! Please both sides swap Trainer positions!"

"Eh?"

Miss Liuqi looked in surprise at the float where Ludicolo stood, and immediately saw that on the float surrounded and guarded by Gyarados, Ludicolo had fallen forward, and on its head, at some unknown moment, sat a grey-white round stone wrapped in vines.

And Gyarados glared at that stone with particular fury.

"Grand-Uncle! What on earth just happened?!" Miss Liuqi whipped her head toward Adam.

Adam replied: "When Gyarados attacked Porygon2, it quietly dropped Lanturn from its back, and the Thunder it released at the end also caused Gyarados some paralysis, leaving it unable to keep an eye on Ludicolo.

"As for Lanturn, it should have woken up when Tentacruel lost the ability to battle, and after being dropped by Porygon2, it immediately used Night Shade on Ludicolo—Ludicolo couldn't block it."

Miss Liuqi listened, dumbfounded, and couldn't help asking as she looked at the round stone: "Was all of this a strategy Baimu had planned from the very start?"

"It should be… but whether by chance or by design, the fact that Mi Ke Li has fallen behind remains indisputable."

Adam had to admit—Baimu's talent in Pokémon Contests was truly outstanding.

But…

His talent in battle was equally moving!

Even though the Pokémon Mi Ke Li used weren't his championship roster, as Gym Pokémon raised by a former Champion, they were still incomparably stronger than those of any other Gym.

The fact that Baimu could suppress Mi Ke Li proved a great deal.

"Seventeen years old… what a waste."

Adam sighed deeply.

If he could travel through time, he swore he would absolutely run back to before Baimu had started raising Pokémon, and take the latter under his wing to train seriously.

That way, he might have gained a disciple no inferior to Mi Ke Li—one who could even surpass Mi Ke Li in the future.

The heartache of missing a limited-edition rare gacha banner once again filled Adam with sorrow.

And down on the field.

Baimu and Mi Ke Li each recalled their Pokémon and switched positions, and the battle field changed from a large pool to a special field combining land and water.

"Good work. Battling a strong Trainer really does pay off—you'll be even more perfect from here on."

He comforted Porygon2.

Just as Adam had thought, Porygon2 truly hadn't been in many disadvantageous battles. Even against its "nemesis" Rotom, the latter's pressure hadn't been all that high.

And there were indeed one or two fierce Pokémon in the team, but Porygon2 knew their temperaments well, and couldn't muster much fear.

The small loss suffered at Gyarados's hands today would surely become a stepping stone to further growth.

"You rest well too. I'll try not to make you work overtime again."

Baimu patted another Poké Ball.

To be fair.

In this first round, all the kills were taken by Lanturn. Porygon2's output clearly wasn't low, yet for various reasons it was forced to play the supporting role.