Chapter 536: I Am Elegance

Inside the stadium.

Mega Bosscorola's roaring declaration of war set everyone's blood ablaze.

But as a Trainer, Baimu was perfectly calm.

He knew full well that a Mega Feraligatr in the rain was a Pokémon that could only be described as terrifying.

Not only did it boast high Attack and high Speed, but its physical Defense, special Defense, and even Stamina far exceeded the baseline for an ordinary Pokémon, and on top of that its weaknesses immunized one type and resisted four, leaving only Grass-type moves able to deal super-effective damage to it.

One could say that aside from its Ability being dependent on rain, Mega Feraligatr had few truly fatal flaws, and its respectable Special Attack meant even moves like Hydro Pump and Muddy Water carried extraordinary power in its hands.

Take just the Aqua Tail it had used moments ago.

A careful count showed it had received the rain's Water-type power boost, the Swift Swim Ability's boost, and the extra acceleration from the air sacs expelling gas as it swung its fist.

These special air-sac structures were precisely why it was called—"Nature's Divine Warrior."

It might have looked as though Mega Bosscorola took that hit with ease, but in Baimu's team, it was really the only one that could have taken it.

Swap in any other Pokémon and it would very likely have been taken out in one shot!

Without question.

This was a 【one-hit KO】! A 【high-speed one-hit KO】, no less!

Wallace's Champion-level mastery could be said to be on full display through Mega Feraligatr—brute-force aesthetics achieving an entirely different flavor of elegance.

However.

He was surely feeling quite helpless right now, wasn't he?

Because Mega Feraligatr had run into the worst possible matchup of its life—"the absolute wall of bronze and iron."

"Hss…"

Baimu drew a breath of cool air through his mouth, steadied the fluctuations of his consciousness, and through the intangible Heart Link, jointly controlled the vast, abyss-like energy within Mega Bosscorola's body.

Now.

Their mastery over Mega Evolution had entered an entirely new realm.

From the initial stage of suppressing the energy to prevent rampage, they had progressed to properly controlling, channeling, and utilizing it.

This accomplishment greatly enhanced Mega Bosscorola's all-around strength, and turned defeating an opponent like Mega Feraligatr from impossible to possible.

Baimu gazed up at Mega Feraligatr streaking across the sky under Mega Bosscorola's Flash Cannon, a countermeasure already forming in his mind.

At the same moment, Wallace issued his command.

"Earth Power!"

Mega Feraligatr, using the air sacs on its body to jet itself through the air, abruptly adjusted its direction mid-flight, and its muscular, swollen right fist slammed into the ground with a thunderous crash as its body plummeted.

Boom!

Amid the heavy impact, a crack rapidly spread forward across the ground.

Just as Mega Feraligatr raised its head, Mega Bosscorola—somehow already enveloped in multiple silver rings—charged toward it with an unstoppable momentum like a meteor!

Explosive lunge—

"Heavy Slam!"

Crash!

Earth Power, erupting like the radiance of a volcanic blast, shattered the ground as it surged upward, yet could only graze the tip of Mega Bosscorola's tail.

The latter's mountain-like, seemingly ponderous body displaying such absurd speed truly astonished every person and Pokémon inside and outside the stadium.

In the blink of an eye.

"Hold it!"

Wallace's voice, like a thunderclap, snapped Mega Feraligatr back to attention; it raised both fists and used its solid arms to forcibly take the full brunt of Mega Bosscorola's silver-charged charge!

Bang!

Like the trembling toll of a colossal bell.

The silver light exploded into smoke, but was quickly washed clean away by the rain.

"Raaargh!

Mega Feraligatr gripped Mega Bosscorola's sharp, elongated horns in a death-hold, veins crisscrossing its forehead bulging as it bellowed, its feet forced to skid backward and carve out a deep, long furrow in the ground!

The two colossal beasts had unmistakably entered the purest phase of a test of strength.

A pure display of power!

"What boldness—and what exquisite timing!"

Wallace couldn't help but praise aloud.

Compared to close-range moves that were so fast they blurred thanks to the acceleration, ranged moves required a certain amount of time to reach their point of impact, thus creating an "opening."

Normally a ranged move would definitely be faster, but once you factored in Swift Swim and the jet-propelled acceleration, that was no longer necessarily true.

Across the field.

Baimu's brows knit tightly.

He had deliberately waited for Mega Feraligatr to attack before letting Mega Bosscorola strike; otherwise, given the former's mobility, it would have been very hard to land a hit normally without catching it off guard.

This approach was extremely risky—it was tantamount to handing the initiative over to the opponent.

Yet what astonished him was that a frontal charge from a body weighing over six hundred kilograms had been stopped by Mega Feraligatr just that easily, even though this fellow's weight also far exceeded that of its peers…

"Push it back!"

"Flip it over!"

He and Wallace shouted at the same instant, their goals almost identical.

After all, when two giant Pokémon entered a test of strength, whoever managed to send the other flying or flip it over would dictate the momentum of the rest of the battle—and momentum was the key factor that determined how much of their strength a Pokémon could bring out, and whether it could stand until the very last moment!

"Grrroar—"

The instant the words fell, Mega Bosscorola abruptly lowered its body, blasting great plumes of white smoke from its nostrils, like a rhinoceros about to charge.

"Luguo!?"

This move caused the skewed force of the Mega Swampert to collapse, and just as it prepared to exert force a second time, the Mega Aggron let out a thunderous roar and, following the trajectory of the opponent's exertion, violently side-stepped and burst forward!

Hoo!

The Mega Swampert was instantly sent flying!

The strength contest was won!

"Gu hou!"

The Mega Aggron raised its head and let out a victorious howl, its momentum greatly enhanced, its condition so excellent it filled Baimu with joy.

Miss Liuqi in the spectator seats was equally thrilled, and had Adam not been beside her, she would most likely have already cheered loudly for it.

"Quicksand Hell!"

He waved his hand and gave the order; the Mega Aggron violently stepped forward.

Peng!

In an instant.

The ground split open with countless savage deep fissures, then collapsed with a roar into a terrifying sand pit, and immediately large amounts of yellow sand surged out from every pore on its body.

Under its manipulation, the sand spun at high speed through the rain, stirring up the rubble in the sand pit to form a horrifying yellow sandstorm!

Boom—

【Heaven Above and Earth Below Quicksand Hell】!

This move Baimu had relied on to survive in Iron Town had, through subsequent training, become quite mature; both its spread range and the storm's twisting force were already extraordinary.

The key was.

It should be able to affect the Mega Swampert's mobility!

He looked up at the Mega Swampert in midair, dodging the sandstorm by jet propulsion, and seeing it suddenly plummet halfway through its flight, he excitedly clenched his fist.

It worked!

The Mega Swampert's air sacs, to function normally, must absorb air and compress it.

And the sand from Quicksand Hell could effectively "dirty" the air sacs, mixing in during inhalation and affecting the jet propulsion during exhalation!

Of course, the air sacs, which already had a sediment-filtering function, would not be ruined by such a minor issue.

This thing, in the Swampert stage, was simply a "filter" existing to let it breathe smoothly in murky water; Baimu just wanted to return it to its original purpose.

Not to use it to fly around like a fly.

As a Ground-type Pokémon, wouldn't it be better to just move on the ground properly?

"Elegant!"

Mi Ke Li praised it once more; years as a gorgeous contest judge and Gym Leader had made him instinctively react when witnessing brilliant performances.

He also had to admit that Baimu's move was very impressive.

Within it lay Baimu's on-the-spot response methods, as well as his understanding of Pokémon like Swampert.

When a Trainer and a Pokémon grow strong together.

A captivating chemical reaction is born from it; Mi Ke Li was deeply moved by it, and this emotion traveled along the mental link to the Mega Swampert that had fallen into the pool.

That's right.

The opponent was a powerful rival worthy of their all-out effort!

The splashing water could not conceal those eyes, extremely calm yet brimming with a hint of a smile.

Baimu and the Mega Aggron, who glimpsed this scene faintly through the wind-blown sand and slanting rain, felt their hearts tremble.

What qualities would a Champion's Pokémon possess?

The most direct point.

No matter what crisis it falls into, it can maintain sufficient calm and strictly execute the Trainer's commands—

Then reverse the situation in one fell swoop!

"Earthquake!"

"Luguo!

Dong—!

A deafening explosion!

As the Mega Swampert's fists slammed heavily into the water's surface, an earthen-yellow shockwave instantly swept up what little pool water remained, turning it into a massive wave that surged toward Quicksand Hell!

Boom!

The giant wave collided with Quicksand Hell; the latter was instantly defeated as if melted, and the continuously spinning sand pit on the ground was buried by the large amount of muddy water, turning into a mud pit.

The air on the field became fresh once more.

The dark clouds tirelessly poured down rain; the original pool had become no different from a puddle, and the Mega Swampert stood within it, bathing in the rain, the air sacs on its back and arms swelling slightly as wisps of muddy water flowed out from them.

Self-cleaning.

Very important, and very simple.

"Luguo…"

"…"

Baimu's expression was very solemn; the Mega Swampert's mobility was an important factor capable of influencing the shift in the battle.

Don't look at how the Mega Aggron possessed techniques like explosive leaping; if the former was determined to dodge, hitting it normally would be quite difficult.

At present, his choice was undoubtedly only one path.

Before the rain ended, counter as usual; when the rain ended, launch a counterattack in one go.

Baimu had to be grateful that the Mega Aggron was a durable Pokémon; otherwise, even continuing to stall for time would be a luxury. How many of a Mega Swampert's moves could an ordinary Pokémon take?

Clearly, Mi Ke Li had also seen through his thoughts.

The former champion asked in a clear voice:

"Baimu, what do you think elegance is?"

"... Composed and generous, confident and unwavering."

Baimu fell silent for several seconds, then answered the other's question.

Though he wasn't quite sure why Mi Ke Li wasn't seizing the time to attack, the rain wouldn't pause just because they'd started chatting, and talking more had its benefits.

"Bravo~!"

Mi Ke Li lightly applauded, then shook his head and said: "Too bad that answer is too vague. Do you know mine?"

"... Not sure."

"I, am elegance itself!"

In Baimu's stunned expression, he lightly tapped his own chest and smiled serenely: "Beauty and wisdom are painted by me, water's illusion pairs with my elegance. And most importantly—"

"What I say, what I do — all is elegance!"

Mi Ke Li raised both hands high as if in prayer, his tone lofty as if singing, his handsome, extraordinary face full of self-admiration.

Influenced by him, Mega Swampert likewise raised its head high.

A madman?

No.

This was Mi Ke Li's self-realization after surveying his life.

"..."

Baimu's brow furrowed; in his heart he felt no joy at having stalled for time, but rather a sense of crisis that the boss was about to enter its second phase.

Soon his premonition was confirmed.

"Hydro Pump."

Mi Ke Li gave the order just like at the very beginning.

But.

Something was different.

"Careful—"

Whoosh...

Boom!

Like a needle stabbing into his eardrum, the sudden explosive sound made Baimu's vision shake violently.

The pale-blue water burst apart like particles of light, vanishing into the air.

"Grrroar!"

Mega Aggron's low growl reached his ears, tinged with a hint of pain.

His eyes locked on, and he suddenly saw Mega Swampert once again at Mega Aggron's front, still in the same punching stance as the very beginning.

A blue Ability-weakening air current suddenly appeared.

"Avalanche!"

Baimu's shout pulled Mega Aggron back from its pain; it fiercely stretched out a claw toward Mega Swampert and threw its head back to roar.

In an instant.

A small cluster of dark clouds gathered above the latter's head.

Mega Swampert withdrew, but Mega Aggron seized its forearm; as it struggled free, countless massive chunks of ice came crashing down like a rainstorm.

Thud thud thud—

The explosive sounds continued without end.

But halfway through the barrage, Mega Swampert had already torn free of Mega Aggron's claws, and under its unwilling gaze flashed to the rear.

【Avalanche】, when used after being hit, deals double damage.

But a non-STAB, non-super-effective move, even with doubled damage, was still a drop in the bucket toward taking down Mega Swampert.

And the unfortunate thing was that Mega Swampert's attack this time was very effective, successfully dropping the defensive boost that Iron Defense had granted.

Not only that.

This time Mega Swampert's strike had landed on Mega Aggron's belly, and the irregular small dents newly appeared on that steel armor proved its attack was extraordinary.

"Want to know how to make water more penetrating and destructive? Simple — raise the water pressure."

Mi Ke Li said with a smile full to bursting.

His words made Baimu look at Mega Swampert's right fist, and he suddenly saw a thin trickle of water seeping from the base of the three air bladders on its right arm.

"For Mega Swampert, air isn't the only thing it can use to erupt and accelerate."

It had swapped air for water?

No wonder the jet sound just now was so strange.

If only it had been a little slower, he might have been able to react; regrettably, Mega Swampert's attack speed was too fast for the eye to follow!

As for what Mi Ke Li had said...

Baimu couldn't figure out what swapping the air-jet for a water-jet had to do with raising water pressure anyway — after reincarnating he was half-illiterate, and before reincarnating he'd long since returned his knowledge to his teachers back in university.

The point was, the water in Mega Swampert's air bladders had most likely been collected by Mi Ke Li during his self-declaration.

As expected, a champion was no fool.

Occasionally he'd employ some special little tricks.

So just when he thought he could stall out the rain, the other side had actually been stalling time as well, and had prepared to launch a ferocious attack.

"Did you feel it, big monster?"

Baimu slowly undid the buttons at his chest.

"Grrr."

The Mega Bosskidora also panted as it answered him.

Since setting out on his journey, it had been a long time since he'd felt this way.

This feeling of a massive boulder pressing down on his head, of having to rack his brain and use every means at his disposal to fight, every single step like walking a tightrope!

"Let's go win this victory together!"

He flung out his arm, and his jacket flew behind him like a cape.

Mega Bosskidora clenched both claws into fists and slammed them hard together in front of its chest as its tail whipped down to the ground.

Boom!

"Grrr!"