Chapter 625: Rainy Day Brothers

The next day.

The semifinals venue.

Many spectators, carrying various merchandise of Bidoof and other Pokémon, filed into the venue chatting and laughing.

The Ever Grande Conference, through round after round of fierce selection, was gradually drawing to a close.

Yet this did nothing to dampen the audience's enthusiasm; on the contrary, the intense battles only made them look forward all the more to the next pair of competitors' performance.

And looking over the entire Ever Grande Conference, the most dazzling person was none other than Baimu.

Powerful strength combined with organized, planned publicity had allowed this trainer, who only a few months earlier had been known within a small circle, to leap into becoming a red-hot figure in the eyes of countless ambitious people across the regions.

One could say—

The more people knew of Baimu, the more people knew of the Orea region, and vice versa.

The two had been temporarily bound together under Shannelle's planning.

Thus, less than five minutes after the main venue opened its gates—

The four-sided seating that could hold eighty thousand people was already packed with eager spectators; a single glance revealed a sea of humanity, a particularly stunning sight.

At the same time—

Not only the full main venue, but also beyond the stadium, on television, and online, countless spectators awaited the match's start.

The combined viewership once broke the Ever Grande Conference's ratings record of the past thirty years, and the online click rate was likewise the highest in many years.

The staff of the Conference Secretariat were nearly delirious with joy, bursting into cheers and applause every time the figures broke through another milestone.

"We are witnessing a new chapter of history!"

The person in charge was thrilled to the extreme.

The commentators arrived at the broadcast booth early, picking up the profiles of both competitors and studying them carefully.

Commentary is extremely demanding on the eye; failing to judge which move a certain Pokémon used wasn't a big problem—at worst one could simply shut one's mouth—but if one made a wrong judgment and said it out loud, the problem would be serious.

Unlike the lively venue and the lively internet—

The preparation room at this moment was rather quiet.

Baimu sat alone on a bench, idly tossing a black Ultra Ball in his right hand, his gaze vacant, lost in thought.

A short distance away—

His opponent, Leon, was breathing unevenly, his heart pounding rapidly.

By all rights he was a trainer who had taken part in several Conferences; he shouldn't have been this nervous, but his opponent was a fellow whose fame and strength were both absurdly enormous, and the pressure was utterly different from before.

Throw in the towel?

No way!

He shook his head.

Throwing in the towel outright might as well kill him; the battle hadn't even started—how would anyone know the final result?

Leon strove to adjust his condition, to calm himself, to face the fierce fight that was about to come.

——

The spectator stands.

Ash gazed at the rising and falling silhouettes around him and exclaimed in awe, "So many people! There are even quite a few standing—can you watch without a seat ticket?"

"Maybe the stadium has some special arrangement?"

Paul silently compared it to the situation at the Silver Conference semifinals, then realized he couldn't recall at all how many people had been in the stands back then.

At that time he had been wholly focused on the match; how could he have cared how many people were in the stadium?

Brock folded his arms in thought and said, "Baimu's opponent Leon has taken part in three Conferences, and his results have improved each time. Moreover, the Pokémon in his team complement one another, possessing a fairly mature tactical system—not ordinary at all."

The teams of most trainers in the world are extremely scattered; their Pokémon basically each fight on their own, with no tactical strategy that links one to the next.

This is undoubtedly a sign of a trainer's immaturity.

But precisely because of this, those trainers who can make their team truly a team will stand out from the crowd and earn others' admiration.

"Tactical system?" Iris glanced at the data on her phone, couldn't help rubbing her arms, and complained, "How come every one of his Pokémon has Ice-type moves? I hate the cold!"

"Don't worry."

Miss Liuqi had already looked over Leon's profile and said with a smile, "I don't think this match will last very long."

This remark drew curious glances from the others.

"Why?"

"What's the problem with this Leon?"

Faced with Brock and the others' questions, Miss Liuqi simply smiled without answering, "You'll know once you keep watching… Oh! They're entering!"

In the corridor below—

The two competitors of the first semifinal walked out unhurriedly, each stepping up onto the stairs toward the trainer's platform.

Seeing this, the others said no more and quietly awaited the match's start.

Not long after—

The commentator's voice came through the broadcast.

"Welcome to the Ever Grande Conference Victory Tournament Semifinals! I will be your commentator for this match—pleased to be of service."

As he spoke—

A four-colored roulette appeared on the big screen, its bright light spinning round and round.

"Without further ado, let us see the battlefield for the first half of the match—"

Beep!

"The Grass Field!"

The battlefield on the high platform rumbled and shook, and a lush, verdant Grass Field rose up before the eyes of all the spectators, separating the two competitors.

The referee arrived, raised the flags in his left and right hands with meticulous care, and announced in a clear voice: "Coming up next is the semifinal of the Colorful Leisure Tournament! The contestants are Trainer Baimu from Yellow Iron Town! And Trainer Leon from Azure City!"

The audience seats erupted in continuous applause.

Baimu and Leon, seeing the flags' signal, swiftly threw their Poké Balls.

"Go!"

"I leave it to you! Politoed!"

Bang bang!

Light flashed.

"Shaao!"

Hydreigon flapped its six wings, excitedly raised its head and let out a roar, its blood-dyed eyes brimming with soaring fighting spirit.

After waiting so long, it was finally its turn to battle!

This time, it wouldn't leave the field until it had torn through all six of the opponent's Pokémon!

Not far away.

The green-skinned Politoed blended perfectly with the surroundings. It warily gazed at the brazenly postured Hydreigon and let out a crisp cry.

"Croak~"

Above the field, wispy white clouds visibly condensed at great speed.

Many spectators looked up and were startled to see pattering rain pouring down from the rain clouds encircling the battlefield, gradually drenching the bodies of both Hydreigon and Politoed.

Ability: Drizzle.

Baimu looked at the trainer's bench, half of which was soaked, and his heart stirred slightly.

A weather team!

Without a doubt, Leon was a trainer who possessed a complete weather team system.

At the same time, the weather he specialized in was rain, and many of his Pokémon developed their strength around rainy conditions.

One could say this person's team configuration was the closest to that of a game player.

But regrettably, although Leon did have a relatively mature team, the individual strength of his Pokémon was far too "frail."

How much of Hydreigon's various rain-team tricks it could actually withstand was hard to say.

He could only hope it wouldn't be worse than Ilima.

While Baimu was pondering, the referee outside the field saw that both sides' Pokémon had appeared, and without hesitation, waved his flags.

"The match begins!"

Ding!

The urgent prompt tone was deafening.

The two gave decisive commands.

"Encore!"

"Dark Pulse!"

Just as Leon spoke first, Politoed also took the lead in launching its action.

Possessing extraordinary jumping power, it leaped with all its might, its green body instantly spanning over twenty meters across the field, greatly closing the distance to Hydreigon.

Smack!

It lightly pressed its palms together, and a special white energy surged forward!

Hydreigon focused entirely on offense without dodging, letting the white light envelop itself, and opened its three large mouths to condense three rings of black.

The next moment.

Countless dark orbs shot forth from within, rushing toward Politoed like a machine gun!

Boom boom boom boom!

The grass scattered and dust flew!

Politoed had just landed back on the ground and hadn't had time to dodge when the terrifying baptism of dark orbs like a torrential downpour descended, and it was completely swallowed up in the smoke.

"Politoed!"

Leon was panicked. He had originally guessed that Baimu would have Hydreigon start with a status move, so he had prepared to use Encore to lock down the latter.

Who could have thought it would open with an attacking move!

This rhythm is different from when you battled Ilima!

The smoke quickly dissipated under the drenching rain. Fortunately, Politoed's Special Defense was relatively excellent, and it was not defeated in one hit by Hydreigon.

But at this moment it was also listless in demeanor, squatting in the weeds panting heavily.

The commentator screamed hoarsely: "Dark Pulse is very effective! That strike looks like it did a lot of damage! Can Politoed still hold on!?"

"Come back quickly!"

Leon didn't wait for Hydreigon to launch its next attack, and impatiently pulled out a Poké Ball to recall Politoed, preventing it from being eliminated right there.

The second Poké Ball was thrown.

"I leave it to you! Scizor!"

Bang.

The entirely crimson Scizor landed in the grass. It raised its head trying to observe its opponent, only to be met face-on by Hydreigon opening its three large mouths and spraying countless dark orbs from three ripple-shaped black rings!

Swoosh swoosh swoosh!

A sky-full of Dark-type energy pellets tore through the air!

"Dodge backward!"

"Hasaa!"

Scizor's pupils focused. It suddenly flapped the insect wings on its back, producing an urgent buzzing, and bathed in the rain, it violently leaped backward.

Bang bang bang bang—

Only the sound of one explosion after another rang out, countless bits of grass flying about wildly, dust and smoke rising only to be washed clean by the rain.

Commentator: "What a fast reaction! All the Dark Pulses missed! Hydreigon is affected by Encore and can't use any other moves!"

"Scyher!"

Hydreigon looked somewhat surprised at Scyther, whose bug wings were flapping as it fell back — it had aimed ahead of time at the landing spot and struck after the fact.

Still didn't hit? Not a bad reaction!

All Baimu was equally surprised; although he had long known that Leon's Scyther had very fast reaction and burst speed, he hadn't expected it to perform even better than in the video data.

In such good form?

It could almost give Mawile a run for its money.

All Baimu waved his hand: "Again!"

Leon gave the order: "Agility! Get into the grass and dodge!"

He seemed very confident in Scyther's speed.

The latter did not disappoint him either — the half-translucent bug wings on its back flapped rapidly with a muffled hum, and it abruptly turned into a black shadow and vanished on the spot.

Rustling sounds mixed with the rain came from the grass all over the field.

"Scyher!"

Hydreigon raised its head and roared, each of its three heads facing a different direction, spreading out the Dark Pulses that had originally been aimed at one spot.

Bang bang bang—

The large-area covering of black light orbs was like a machine-gun sweep, constantly blasting the waist-high weeds to pieces and sending the wet earth beneath them flying.

Even though Scyther moved swiftly, it couldn't help being hit in the back by the indiscriminate scatter shots.

Bang!

"Hazaa!"

It let out a muffled grunt and was forced to reveal its position.

Leon had originally planned to counterattack when Hydreigon grew weary, yet the one to show its hand first was his side!

All Baimu pointed at where Scyther was. "Right there! Unleash Dark Pulse at full power!"

The fourth Dark Pulse — and the last.

Hydreigon swiftly swiveled the orientation of its three heads, the three rings of black light before its mouths abruptly enlarging, and Dark-type energy surged out like cannon shells!

"Protect!"

Leon shouted anxiously.

Boom boom boom!

The grass was subjected to a devastating storm of light orbs!

The commentator's voice rose high: "The successive Dark Pulses are fierce and swift! The long, unbroken assault has exposed a gap in Scyther's defense! Can it withstand this ferocious attack!?"

Gun smoke rolled.

The rain kept falling without any sign of stopping.

Leon watched the field in trepidation, until he saw Scyther standing unharmed in the grass, a glowing blue spherical light shield propped up in front of it, and he let out a great sigh of relief.

It held!

"Hazaa!"

Scyther waved both its sickles, the light shield before it dissipating along with them; its condition was fine, only its breathing slightly disordered.

"It blocked it! Dark Pulse failed to break through Protect!"

The commentator's shout made All Baimu frown.

Protect actually didn't get broken through.

This Scyther is no ordinary one — no wonder it's a mainstay of Leon's rain team. As expected, it won't be that easy to take down.

His thoughts turned, and he shouted: "Trick!"

"Scyher!"

A strange, eerie light surfaced in Hydreigon's blood-red eyes.

Leon's eyes lit up:

"Now! Scyther, use Bullet Punch!"

Bang!

A muffled sound came from the field, as if a fighter jet at supersonic speed had blasted open a ring of sonic boom clouds.

All Baimu and Hydreigon only felt their vision suddenly blur, grass bits shooting skyward, and Scyther's trace inexplicably vanished from sight!

What terrifying instantaneous explosive power!

An orange-red light rose from beneath Hydreigon; it abruptly flapped its wings, trying to climb to a height Scyther couldn't reach.

In an instant.

Shimmering silver light actually appeared before it — Scyther violently swung its great sickle down at its head!

Bang!

Steel-type energy exploded!

The two Pokémon crashed to the ground along with the billowing smoke.

The commentator shouted with all his might: "Too fast! Dazzling speed! Scyther is just like a red-armored warrior drawing his blade on a rainy night!"

Leon was overjoyed — at last he'd turned one back!

All Baimu, on the other hand, was silent.

Be reasonable.

In terms of explosive speed, the Scizor at this moment had already surpassed the Mawile.

But what surprised him even more was that the other side had actually managed to chase down to the front of the Hydreigon.

One had to know that although the Scizor of the animated world was not completely incapable of flight as the Pokédex described, it was basically impossible for it to fly high.

Even the one that taught the Scolipede flying techniques could only soar freely by relying on the strong air currents of the valley.

Leon's one… by jumping?

The weeds had blocked his line of sight, so he simply couldn't see clearly.

Of course.

The specific reason actually didn't matter.

All Baimu ignored the smoke that had yet to disperse and ordered: "Flamethrower!"

Whoosh!

A gust of wind blew.

The dust quickly scattered, and the situation on the field came into everyone's view.

"Ah!"

Everyone let out a gasp.

Because the Hydreigon struck by the Bullet Punch had somehow pinned the Scizor beneath it, the heads on the left and right biting its arms, forcibly pressing it into the grass!

Leon's smile instantly stiffened.

"Scizor! Break free quickly! Use Bug Bite!"

"Hasa!"

The Scizor struggled desperately, its twin pincers glowing with an emerald light, but it was no use at all.

It could only watch helplessly as the Hydreigon right in front of it opened its mouth wide and sprayed a Flamethrower-shaped blaze onto its body.

The flames swallowed its field of vision.

"Ha—"

Boom!

Blazing fire shot up into the sky!

A large amount of water vapor spread out along with the shockwave, and the Hydreigon's figure broke through the water mist and retreated.

"Shasao!"

It rapidly flapped its wings, and the mist gathered in front also dispersed along with it.

In a smoking crater, the heavily charred Scizor lay on its back, its eyes covered by black rings.

Rain-day Flamethrower—

One-hit KO!

"Scizor is unable to battle! Hydreigon wins!"

"Shasao!!"

The Hydreigon raised its head and roared!