Chapter 612: The Protagonist Makes His Entrance

The Cailun Tournament, in principle, does not discriminate by background.

As long as one is not wanted, not part of any criminal organization, and has not committed any major crime, the tournament's administrative office will permit participation.

Even the Hoenn Four Heavenly Kings' Flower Moon was a delinquent youth in his younger days.

Therefore, encountering a weirdo like Yamei who provokes for no reason does not surprise Baimu.

Ruffians, after all.

They're all the same wherever you go.

They love nothing more and are best at nothing more than making trouble out of nothing and stirring up chaos.

In essence, not long ago he himself was the leader of a gang of ruffians, so he knows very well that dealing with someone like Yamei requires more than words.

It requires "fists"!

"Now beginning the Round of Thirty-Two advancement match between Contestant Baimu and Contestant Yamei!" The referee raised two flags of strikingly different colors, looking at the two.

Unable to hold back any longer, Yamei threw a Poké Ball.

She shouted loudly: "Let that guy understand what real manliness is! Go! Houndoom!"

Bang!

"Aoooo!"

A piercing wolf howl rang out as a long-haired Houndoom with a black back and grey belly landed, restlessly pawing at the fresh green grass beneath its claws, its blood-red beast pupils brimming with fighting spirit.

Whoa!

The Ruffian Gang's signature Pokémon!

Even though Baimu had long known about Yamei's team, seeing this particularly familiar Pokémon still filled him with countless feelings.

Really.

Can you villains stop clinging to Houndoom?

It's starting to create a stereotype!

"I wasn't planning to bully you, but since you like provoking so much..." he tossed the Poké Ball in his hand, "Time to make your entrance, male lead!"

Bang!

Bai Guang flickered.

A Bastiodon clad in silver armor like a heavy tank made its appearance, its composed temperament making it look just like an immovable mountain.

The opposing Houndoom, upon seeing its enemy appear, had the whites around its beast pupils immediately stained by a deep crimson, while a dark purple light flowed across its body surface.

It bared its sharp fangs, and a continuous, blood-curdling low growl emanated from its throat.

"Grrrr—"

Many spectators were startled by Houndoom's ferocious appearance on the screen; those in the know understood it was unleashing its Ability 【Intimidate】.

They looked over at the opposing Bastiodon, then uttered voices of uncertainty:

"Huh?"

Why is there no reaction?

Clearly Houndoom's Intimidate had even scared them as onlookers, yet Bastiodon, as the direct target, merely calmly flicked its tail.

It even had the mood to lower its head and glance at the grass on the ground.

Not even the blue light indicating a stat drop appeared.

"Because it's used to it."

Baimu could see the confusion on the faces of the reporters closest around him, and chuckled softly.

Apart from that group in Iron Town who hung out with him, no one knew just how many Houndoom he and Bastiodon had seen, fought, and led.

When the Quicksand Gang swallowed the Ruffian Gang, a large batch of the Ruffian Gang's original members came under his command, among whom the underlings with Pokémon being Poochyena and Houndoom numbered over a hundred!

Such a large group of Poochyena and Houndoom gathered together, wailing and howling day after day.

How could Bastiodon not be used to it?

Moreover, Yamei's Houndoom only looks fierce; in terms of temperament, it simply cannot compare to those Houndoom in the Ruffian Gang that seemed to have hyena bloodlines and were exceptionally ferocious.

But even those blood-stained fellows, upon encountering Bastiodon, could only whine and show their bellies, wagging their tails and begging for mercy.

Back then, Bastiodon wasn't as composed as it is now!

And Yamei, seeing that Intimidate had no effect, said in disbelief:

"How is that possible!"

Unlike in the games, the Intimidate Ability does not mean that as long as a Pokémon unleashes it, the opponent will definitely have its Attack lowered as a result.

It must successfully trigger only when the opposing Pokémon is genuinely stimulated by the Houndoom in some way—startled, intimidated, retreating, or even enraged.

Just like Ash's Dusk Form Lycanroc being stimulated by Intimidate during its first battle with Gladion's Krookodile, yet being completely unaffected the second time.

Yamei, as a trainer of Houndoom, naturally understood this point as well.

What she truly could not accept was that, up until now, only Flower Moon—her idol's Pokémon—had been completely immune to Houndoom's Intimidate.

But that Four Heavenly Kings member is strong, so it's only natural!

What gives you, Baimu, a guy who still has the leisure to dress up his Pokémon right before the match starts, the right!

Yamei was so angry she gnashed her teeth, yet had to admit the other party indeed had real strength; after all, the results of the previous matches were clearly laid out before her eyes.

Impossible!

She absolutely would not acknowledge that Baimu could stand shoulder to shoulder with Lord Flower Moon!

"Match start!"

Following the referee's command, Yamei impatiently gave her order, "Dark Pulse!"

She would defeat this detestable guy, and tell him that the League Tournament isn't something you can win all the way just by dressing your Pokémon up prettily!

"Grrr!"

The Houndoom barked once, its muscular hind legs suddenly powering forward in a leap, its head dipping slightly as its sharp fangs spread wide, countless pitch-black ring-shaped energies gathering in its mouth into a churning, spinning mass.

It abruptly threw back its head!

Whoosh!

A deep-purple beam of ring-shaped energy shot across most of the field and struck Aggron's belly!

Boom!

Amid the violent explosion, dust and smoke billowed up.

The commentator shouted: "Dark Pulse lands first! Aggron didn't dodge! It took Houndoom's attack head-on!"

The audience, eager for All Baimu's brilliant performance, grew restless.

Why didn't it dodge?

Is the Pokémon too slow to evade, so it chose to tank the hit and counterattack?

Yamei's face lit up with delight—Aggron was indeed as big and clumsy and heavy as it looked; Houndoom's swift attack was something it simply couldn't dodge!

As long as she employed Mobile Corps Commander tactics, the final victory would surely be hers!

When the gunpowder smoke cleared.

Aggron's towering, unmoving figure was revealed before everyone; it hadn't launched any counterattack, merely showing a playful expression and curling a claw at Houndoom.

"Gurr~"

It was clearly a provocation.

And on its belly, where the Dark Pulse had struck, there was only a small mark resembling what a lighter leaves on scorched metal—as if it could be wiped away with a hand.

What an arrogant display!

The commentator shouted: "No effect! Dark Pulse did nothing at all! Aggron never left its original spot! What terrifying special defense!"

Just as he said.

As the giant screen displayed an overhead view of Aggron, all the spectators noticed the grass around it was perfectly intact, with not even a single trace of being trampled.

This meant that from the moment it appeared, it had stood in place the entire time without moving!

Even when Houndoom's Dark Pulse came at it!

What is "immovable as a mountain"?

This is "immovable as a mountain"!

The spectator stands on all four sides erupted.

Some wore looks of awe, some wondered why Aggron wasn't counterattacking, and others were eager to see how All Baimu would carry the battle forward.

"Whine…"

The provoked Houndoom didn't lose its head; it slowly halted its advance, no longer closing in, displaying an unexpectedly calm demeanor as it warily observed its unscathed opponent nearby.

Incredible as it seemed, it had caught a whiff of some unknown danger.

Compared to that.

Its trainer, Yamei, had lost her composure.

"Impossible that it had no effect!"

She shouted in disbelief and fury: "Houndoom, don't be fooled by this guy's appearance! Dark Pulse definitely worked! Use Snarl again!"

"Ao!"

Houndoom charged forward once more, a blood-red glow coating its front claws.

Although it sensed something unusual about its opponent, its trainer's command and judgment came first—it trusted its trainer!

In no time at all.

It reached Aggron's front, didn't strike out with its claws directly, but instead, facing those azure eyes, suddenly dropped low and pushed off with its hind legs.

Swish!

In an instant, Houndoom cut a turn and came to Aggron's flank, trying to avoid the front and attack from the side.

But as its gaze darted back and forth, it couldn't find a suitable spot to strike—every part of the body looked exceptionally hard…

Time waits for no one.

Snarl had to be unleashed while the opponent was still feeling the invasive energy of Dark Pulse, in order to trigger the power-boosting effect.

With it already hard to tell whether Aggron was bluffing or truly fine, how could Houndoom dare hesitate—it lunged straight at the former's shoulder blade!

The claws slashed!

Boom!

The blood-red glow warped, the energy boiled, and then exploded violently!

Houndoom struck once and immediately retreated, pulling back at least four or five meters, then watched the smoke-shrouded Aggron with caution.

The audience stared just as intently at the field and the screen.

A moment later.

The smoke fully dispersed.

"Gurr…"

Aggron turned its head, calmly regarding the increasingly panicked Houndoom; its eyes were full of a lofty, amused smile, as if watching a little dog playfully scrapping with it.

And this time, the strike point—the shoulder blade—didn't even leave a mark from the energy explosion.

The commentator's voice rose with passion: "Still no effect! Aggron has displayed terrifyingly formidable defense! Houndoom's offense is completely useless!"

Wah!

Cheers erupted from among the audience.

Powerful!

Undeniably powerful!

The absolute might of an opponent whose defense could not be breached!

"Hiss—"

Yamei widened her eyes and drew a sharp breath. She didn't want to believe that Aggron could completely ignore Herdier's attacks, but facts spoke louder than words.

Two aggressive offensive attempts with no effect — if this didn't prove something, she was truly a fool.

She had to send out a Pokémon with stronger attack power!

She immediately shouted: "Herdier, come back!"

One drawback of an oversized field was that the Poké Ball's recall beam sometimes couldn't reach that far; she had to have her Pokémon retreat to her own half of the field first.

"Aoo~"

Herdier turned tail and ran without hesitation. Unlike a trainer who only swapped out when forced, it had truly been intimidated by the momentum Aggron had been building up.

From the moment the first Dark Pulse ended, the opponent's aura had grown heavier and heavier.

The pressure made it nearly impossible to breathe!

However.

Herdier hadn't noticed that, in the instant it turned to flee, a silver shimmer had flashed across Aggron's surface — like liquid metal flowing slowly over it.

Yamei did see it, but assumed All Baimu wanted to use the swap window to set up a boost.

The next instant.

"Body Press."

Boom!

A deafening explosion rang out, sending grass and dirt flying.

Under the gaze of everyone present, the massive Aggron surged forward as if gravity did not exist!

A crimson energy stream transformed into an aura-like halo wreathing its body, making it look like a meteor streaking across the field as it crashed into the fleeing Herdier!

Explosive lunge!

"Gurrr!"

Boom—!!

The earth shook and the mountains trembled!

Countless chunks of dark soil, rubble, and gravel, mixed with a pitifully small amount of grass clippings, shot straight into the sky; a great many of them flew outward in all directions along with the explosion and its terrifying shockwave!

Cries of alarm rose from the spectator stands. Many people either ducked or stood up trying to dodge the flying dirt and sand, only to be met by a massive honeycomb-shaped light barrier that materialized at the very front, completely blocking the incoming debris outside.

The arena's defense module!

The audience relaxed — as long as they wouldn't be caught in the blast, all was well.

But when they looked at the situation on the field, they couldn't help but freeze in shock.

In the field where wisps of smoke drifted, the flat green grass on Yamei's half had vanished, replaced by an irregular deep crater.

Aggron stood within it, one claw gripping the unconscious Herdier, white vapor puffing from between its gleaming sharp steel teeth under the sunlight.

The commentator's voice, tinged with disbelief, rang out: "Body Press lands directly! The effect is astonishing! Herdier has lost its ability to battle! The combination of Iron Defense and Body Press is devastatingly powerful!"

The referee also raised his flag, signaling Herdier's exit from the field.

The spectator stands fell silent.

Then.

A thunderous cheer erupted, shaking the skies!

In Pokémon battles, beyond the deep bond between trainer and Pokémon, what captivated the audience most was the destructive power of moves!

As long as their own safety was assured, the more staggering the move's destructive power, the more they loved it!

Aggron's Body Press had thoroughly satisfied their eyes.

"Gurrr."

It walked slowly out of the crater, its gaze still perfectly calm, and casually tossed Herdier at Yamei's feet.

As if to say—

"Next one."

"Guh…"

The latter swallowed hard, her heart pounding furiously, and turned her head to avoid Aggron's gaze.

Terrifying!

Far too terrifying!

Whether it was the sudden, unanticipated attack or the apocalyptic power of the move, it left Yamei — who a second ago had still been scheming — utterly shaken.

She hadn't even managed to recall Herdier in time!

All Baimu had surely picked the perfect moment, waiting until now to launch his attack!

She understood this was a silent show of force from her opponent, its meaning all too clear — no trash talk, just raw strength to shut her up!

"…"

Yamei gently bit her tongue, forcing herself to break free from this fear.

No, she wouldn't let him have his way!

She recalled Herdier into its ball, drew out the next Poké Ball, and with a shout, threw it out.

"I'm counting on you! Clauncher!"

Yamei's mind kept echoing some of Hanazawa's famous sayings, and she hurriedly recalled her reasons for resenting All Baimu to reinforce her resolve.

At this point, how could she not understand that her opponent's strength far surpassed her own? But if she didn't do this, she truly wouldn't even have the courage to keep battling…

Forfeit?

That would be an insult to herself and to her idol, Hanazawa my lord.

Grit your teeth and endure—you have to hold out until the very end!

"Hiss!"

The giant lobster with a five-pointed star on its head landed, raised its head to stare straight into Blastoise's gleaming blue eyes without backing down an inch, like a reckless red-hot hothead.