Chapter 626: Thunder on a Rainy Day

"A Fiery Blast of monumental proportions! Not even the rain can dim the brilliance of the flames!"

The commentator cried, unable to contain his excitement: "The first Pokémon to lose the ability to battle in the semifinals has once again been taken down by Baimu and his Pokémon partner!"

Crash!

A wave of applause surged toward the heavens; the spectators could barely hide their excitement, cheering on the roaring Hydreigon.

Pokémon battles should be hard-hitting and head-on to be thrilling!

Back-and-forth contests of status moves were only exciting to those who really knew the craft; ordinary battle fans still preferred to watch straightforward, no-nonsense combat.

This was also the main reason most Trainers' Pokémon had a pile of attacking moves and barely any status moves.

Inside the field.

Leon's already-dark face grew even darker.

To have a chance of defeating Hydreigon, he had deliberately sent out Scizor early, never expecting the opponent to deliberately bait him into attacking with stat boosts, then seize the chance to counter and end the battle at close range.

Too confident!

He couldn't understand why Baimu was so certain Hydreigon could not only withstand Scizor's attacks, but even catch it in time.

If Scizor hadn't been grabbed, wouldn't that have been a free hit for nothing?

Leon felt that he and his Pokémon might have been looked down on.

Good, good, good.

So that's how you want to play it!

He indignantly pulled out a Poké Ball to recall Scizor, and in the same motion tossed out a Dive Ball.

"Don't let that guy look down on us! Go!"

Pop!

A flash of white light.

A Kabutops with a horseshoe-crab-shaped head and a pair of scythes appeared.

The commentator shouted: "Leon has sent out Kabutops! This is a Fossil Pokémon that once lived in ancient times!"

"Kabuto!"

It vigorously rubbed its scythes together; the gleaming blades clashed and sent bright sparks flying, sending a chill down one's spine.

Hydreigon's response to this was a fierce Dragon Pulse!

Roar!

Indigo, crimson, and azure dragon flames converged in the void, and a savage energy-dragon roared as it charged toward Kabutops!

However, just like Scizor before it, this one's reflexes were absurdly fast, leaping high to dodge before the Dragon Pulse could land.

Boom!

Smoke billowed up.

The descending Kabutops plunged into a patch of grass, looking up provocatively at the Hydreigon in the sky.

"Kabuto!"

Secret weapon?

Baimu's brow lifted slightly; there was no record of Kabutops in the data Porygon2 had collected.

He hadn't expected Leon to have something hidden up his sleeve.

Its Ability was, as expected, Swift Swim; a speed-boosted Kabutops was indeed a very fitting physical attacker for a rain team.

However.

How much longer could this weather condition last?

He glanced at the rain clouds above, which seemed on the verge of breaking apart, and quickly commanded: "Taunt!"

Even if it was hard to predict when the rain would end, he absolutely could not give Kabutops a chance to manually set up rain later.

Leon refused to be outdone: "Show it your top speed with Water Pulse!"

"Shaaaa!"

Hydreigon gazed down from on high at the Kabutops in the grass, which was posturing provocatively at it; its savage expression swiftly transformed into an indescribable contempt.

It even revealed a slightly twisted smile, written through and through with mockery.

Three heads, three faces—super doubled!

One had to admit this silly dragon had far more talent for Taunt than Mawile; Baimu could clearly sense the shock and fury rising in that Fossil Pokémon's triangular eyes.

"Kabuto!"

Kabutops roared and swung its scythes, its slender frame vanishing on the spot!

Crash!

The weeds on both sides flew up together with a pillar of water; by the time the spray and grass blades fell, the once-lush patch of grass was left with only a short stretch of bare stalks, looking just like a wheat field after the harvest.

"Shaaaa…"

Hydreigon did not climb higher like it had against Scizor last time, but instead chose to stay where it was and close its eyes.

Rather than vision, which could easily be misled by an opponent's speed, it trusted more in its innate specialty—

Smell!

The rain went pitter-patter, drenching the earth and grass and giving off a strange scent.

But none of it could mask Kabutops's unique smell—that peculiar scent with a hint of salty brininess, a bit like the sea.

Suddenly.

All of its eyes opened at once, and it snapped its head upward as quick as lightning, plainly seeing Kabutops wrapped in azure water like a cannonball.

This guy was actually planning to launch its attack from even higher up!

"Dragon Dive!"

"Roaaar!"

The Three-Headed Dragon let out a thunderous roar, dragon-type energy surging violently, instantly coiling around its body and manifesting into a terrifying energy-formed three-headed dragon!

The two collided with a deafening crash!

Boom!

A ring of white, mist-like shockwave exploded in midair above the arena, spreading in an instant to the spectator stands and tousling countless onlookers' hair, drawing waves of startled cries.

Immediately after, dragon flames and smoke burst forth, shrouding everything!

The commentator shouted: "Water Pulse and Dragon Dive are clashing fiercely! At the critical moment, the Three-Headed Dragon caught sight of Kabutops's movement! What will the result be?"

His words fell.

The smoke was dispersed by the Three-Headed Dragon's wings; it still floated in the air, breathing slightly raggedly. The cold rain had long since soaked its fur, but it paid no heed.

Kabutops had fallen in the distance, half its body swallowed by the grass, kneeling on one knee with exhaustion written all over its face.

"Kabutops…"

"An even match! Both sides have expended a certain amount of stamina! Clearly this clash did not produce a decisive result!"

The commentator's words disappointed part of the audience, while kindling anticipation in another part.

Miss Liuqi stared at the field, not a trace of worry on her face.

She knew that no matter how fast Kabutops was, it could never outpace All Baimu's Pokémon, because the latter had once defeated the strongest water-type trainer!

Compared to Mi Ke Li in the Gym battle, who had held nothing back, Leon was far too lacking!

"Kabutops!"

As the one involved, Leon found it somewhat hard to believe.

One had to know that the rain's boost to Kabutops, besides speed, also included an increase in the power of water-type moves.

Add to that the fact that they had taken the initiative to attack, striking at the Three-Headed Dragon from above with full preparation against an unsuspecting foe—and in the end they had actually fallen into a disadvantage!?

What kind of joke was this!

Was his Pokémon really that strong?

All Baimu had no idea of the waves churning in his opponent's heart at this moment; he simply ordered the pursuit: "Meteor Beam!"

"Roaaar!"

The Three-Headed Dragon took a deep breath, high-energy fluctuations rapidly gathering in its chest and abdomen, and a clump of irregular energy manifested before everyone through its body.

"Get up! Use Water Pulse again! Give it your full speed!"

Leon shouted with all his might.

Hearing the command, Kabutops lowered its body slightly, its scythes folding like a pair of wings, and vanished with a whoosh!

Water splashed up!

Its entire body was cloaked in flowing water, like a bullet streaking across the field.

Since a head-on clash wouldn't work, then try attacking from behind—after all, it was faster!

But before Kabutops could get close to the Three-Headed Dragon and circle around its front, the latter had already finished nurturing its energy wave, raised its three heads, and without hesitation fired them into the sky!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Like a mortar firing!

Screee—

Accompanied by a piercing shriek, three dark-purple orbs of light tore through the rain-laden clouds and exploded high in the air, transforming into countless dark-purple meteors that rained down as if to annihilate the world, the thick rainclouds scattered in their wake.

The dense rain thinned out, and Kabutops's speed plummeted a notch!

Leon's expression changed drastically as he shouted: "Not good! Watch out and dodge!"

One of the advantages of a rain team was its unmatched speed, but that speed was also affected by the weather—once the rain stopped, the Pokémon's combat power would be greatly diminished.

"Kabutops!"

Kabutops looked up at the incoming dark-purple meteors, instinctively splitting its attention to dodge these extremely fast energy arrows.

However, the Three-Headed Dragon had deliberately used its three heads precisely to increase striking accuracy and improve move coverage.

So even though it had already devoted seventy percent of its focus to dodging, it was still inevitably struck by several scattered meteor arrows.

Boom!

The first meteor arrow shattered its outer water ring.

Boom!

The second meteor arrow blasted apart the middle layer of water film.

Boom!

The third meteor arrow exploded directly on Kabutops's slender back!

Having lost its balance, it tumbled into the grass, let out a muffled groan, and struggled to get back up.

The commentator shouted: "Meteor Beam hit! This looks very effective! Kabutops suffered heavy damage!"

"Kabutops, hold on! Use Waterfall and charge straight up!"

Seeing that the Three-Headed Dragon looked ready to dive down, Leon ordered without hesitation.

Compared to Water Pulse, Meteor Beam required far more energy to invoke; that guy definitely wouldn't be able to launch another move for a while.

As long as his side charged up first, the odds of winning were not small.

As long as Kabutops could get Waterfall off!

Under Leon's hopeful gaze, Kabutops revealed its twin scythes, bent its legs slightly, and then leaped violently!

Whoosh!

The rain had only lessened, not fully stopped; its Swift Swim could still be triggered by gathering more rainwater. With speed on its side, it absolutely could not lose to the Three-Headed Dragon!

"Kabutops!"

A torrent of azure water sprayed from beneath Kabutops's feet, driving its body upward.

But the instant it fully rose, Hydreigon charged straight at it!

"Roaaar!"

The creature used no moves at all, charging headlong into Kabutops as if launching a suicide attack.

The two collided violently.

Boom!

No one expected that from this collision, the water beneath Kabutops's feet would burst like a bubble, utterly failing to release more thrust to push Hydreigon back into the sky.

Instead, Hydreigon's charge sent both Pokémon crashing to the ground, tumbling and tangling with each other relentlessly.

The commentator shouted excitedly, "Close-quarters combat! Is Hydreigon about to show off its overwhelming physical pressure again?"

Leon's pupils dilated; the familiar scene made him cry out, "No! Push it away! Kabutops, use Metal Sound to disrupt it!"

"Earth Power!" All Baimu commanded without hesitation.

Hydreigon, locked in close combat with Kabutops, had all six eyes blazing crimson as its tail slammed hard into the ground.

Thud!

The ground split, the cracks spreading all the way to a nearby spot.

Hydreigon's three heads each bit down on a part of Kabutops, straining to hurl it that way!

"Crack—"

Kabutops didn't notice anything wrong; after being flung, it adjusted its posture with the momentum, opened its mouth, and looked ready to launch another fierce assault.

Until a brilliant golden-yellow appeared before its eyes.

BOOM——!!

The tremendous Ground-type energy shattered the earth, pouring down onto Kabutops like a volcanic eruption and completely swallowing it.

"A devastating hit! Hydreigon's physical suppression is unstoppable! Kabutops was thrown right into the blast radius of Earth Power!"

The commentator shouted.

The smoke cleared.

Kabutops was seen with half its head stuck in a crater, both eyes replaced by black swirls.

"Kabutops is unable to battle! Hydreigon wins!" the referee waved his flag.

Ding!

The circle belonging to Kabutops beside Leon's avatar dimmed, which made his mental state increasingly shattered; losing twice in the same way was simply too great a blow to him.

He looked at the panting Hydreigon, then glanced up at the dispersing rain clouds, seething with frustration.

This Pokémon had used so many moves from start to finish, many of them at full power—how could its energy reserves still not be exhausted?

Only now feeling a little tired?

The rain is already over!

Everyone here is a tournament participant—why is the gap so huge?!

Leon refused to believe he couldn't even take down one of All Baimu's Pokémon; he swiftly recalled Kabutops and, after a moment's hesitation, threw out his next Poké Ball.

"I'm counting on you! Politoed!"

Bang!

"Croak~"

Politoed landed; although it had taken Hydreigon's Dark Pulse at the start, its condition was still fairly healthy.

The rain clouds in the sky, which had been about to disperse, gathered once more.

A fine drizzle began to soak the grassy field again.

Seeing Leon send out a new Pokémon, All Baimu ordered without hesitation: "Roost!"

The tournament rules state that during the interval between an opponent's Pokémon losing the ability to battle and the switch, commanding one's Pokémon to use moves is not allowed.

Likewise.

The opponent also cannot delay the switch, or it will be deemed a loss of fighting spirit and ruled a forfeit.

"Perish Song!"

Leon shouted loudly.

He was certain Hydreigon wouldn't leave the field before taking down a third Pokémon, so trying Perish Song to take a gamble still had a good chance!

Of course.

Even if All Baimu chose to switch, he could also choose to switch—either way, he definitely wouldn't lose out.

Leon was determined to gamble.

"Croak~ croak croak~"

As Hydreigon landed in the damp grass, enjoying the feathers raining from the sky that restored its stamina, Politoed also began singing an eerie song.

Dark notes pulsed and burrowed into Hydreigon's body.

Both Pokémon on the field entered a countdown.

Sing Perish Song?

All Baimu's brow rose slightly; this was the first time he'd seen a trainer use Perish Song in a singles match.

Is this meant to force a switch?

He couldn't quite figure out Leon's thinking—after all, not a single one of his six Pokémon had fainted, so singing Perish Song was pointless except for wasting energy.

"You want to see my next one? Then as you wish."

All Baimu pulled out a Poké Ball; once Hydreigon finished using Roost, he recalled it and, in the same motion, threw out another.

Seeing this, the commentator shouted, "Perish Song took effect! This forced Trainer All Baimu to switch Pokémon! What Pokémon will he bring out?"

Bang!

Bai Guang flickered.

"Gugyi~"

Blissey entered the field, crushing a large swath of grass beneath it, the waterlogged muddy soil causing its massive body to sink slightly.

Raindrops fell upon the steel armor, reflecting a captivating halo of light.

Baimu pointed at the opposing Poliwrath that Leon was about to swap out. "Thunder!"

Boom!

The bursting lightning transformed into a roaring dragon of thunder, crashing down from the rain clouds and streaking straight toward Poliwrath's position — the charge time far faster than a normal Thunder!

【Rain】 boosts Thunder's accuracy—

In other words, it shortens Thunder's charge process!

In an instant.

The green enough to serve as camouflage Poliwrath vanished within the roaring thunder!

Leon held a Poké Ball in his hand, his expression stunned.