Chapter 628: Rainy Day Long Wang

"Baimu suddenly switched Pokémon?"

The commentator let out a soft exclamation of surprise—Three-Head Hydreigon had been in such good condition, why switch it out?

Many of the audience felt the same confusion.

Only Baimu's familiar fans and Brock and the others understood clearly—the switch was simply to give Pokémon that hadn't appeared yet, or hadn't appeared in a long time, a chance to show themselves.

It had nothing much to do with tactics or strategy.

"There are very few Trainers who can afford to be willful on the Conference stage—Baimu's behavior could be called one of a kind."

Brock's face showed a helpless expression, his words drawing nods of agreement from those around him.

He had traveled with Ash through so many regions, and had himself journeyed through many regions, weathering all kinds of storms—what Baimu's performance reminded him of was Tobias of the Lily of the Valley Conference.

Of course, Tobias had been even more outrageous.

That guy, apart from being forced to send out a second Latios when battling Ash, had carried the entire Conference with just Darkrai until the end.

Far more ruthless than Baimu.

Even though the skill level of the participants at every Conference varied, Tobias's feat could still be called rare in all the world.

Inside the arena.

The Pokémon switch had already been completed.

"Guuoo~"

Aggron stood atop the Shi Zhu that connected to the bottom of the water, its body size filling up an entire circular platform just right.

The rain curtain came pouring down, instantly dampening its bright silver and dark grey armor.

The commentator shouted: "Aggron! Trainer Baimu has sent out this Pokémon again, but the environment doesn't seem particularly favorable for it—has Trainer Baimu prepared some kind of strategy?"

"…"

Leon stared blankly at the Aggron, whose presence was as heavy as a mountain range, and felt an inexplicable surge of anger rising in his heart.

Rain. And a Water field, to boot.

And he sent out a Pokémon weak to Water?

He had no idea he was facing Baimu's strongest ace Pokémon—in his mind, the one that could Mega Evolve and also possessed the Flying type, Mawile, was the one that was completely impossible to fight and should be despaired at the sight of.

Aggron's previous performances had indeed been outstanding, but this was a rainy day and a Water field!

Did he really think that no matter what Pokémon he sent out, he could take him down?

So infuriating!

Leon gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, fury burning fiercely in his chest—unlike the sudden confidence from before, what now filled his heart was anger.

People always seek a reason for their own behavior.

When all four of his Pokémon had been knocked out without being able to do anything to the opponent, Leon realized he simply could not fight Baimu.

But he didn't want to completely lose his fighting spirit and have the referee declare the match over, so his subconscious automatically found him a suitable reason to hope for.

Successfully letting the match continue.

And influenced by this belief, he now had no other desire—only the single thought of defeating Aggron head-on!

"Go, Seadra! Show your opponent this is your stage!"

Bang!

A flash of Bai Guang.

Seadra, sapphire-blue all over, shaped like a seahorse but with a pair of dragon horns, its mouthparts tubular like a sniper rifle, made its appearance.

"Duo!"

It flew into the pool along with the flickering Bai Guang, then floated most of its body to the water's surface, letting out a muffled cry.

Baimu's eyes flashed.

As expected, it appeared—most likely Leon's ace Dragon Pokémon.

Setting aside Legendary and Mythical Pokémon, among Rain team attackers, Seadra was absolutely a tyrant on the Special Attack end.

The excellent Water-Dragon type combination and the Swift Swim ability meant that even though its Special Attack base stats weren't particularly outstanding, it still occupied a very high usage rate.

Leon, as a Trainer specializing in Rain strategies, naturally wouldn't be unaware of Seadra's worth.

In fact, in the data Porygon2 had collected, Seadra was also the Pokémon with the best record and strongest strength on his entire team.

Ace versus ace?

The corners of Baimu's mouth lifted slightly as he waved his hand and gave the order.

"A greeting gift—Dragon Pulse!"

"Roar!"

Aggron suddenly took a deep breath, as if trying to compress all the surrounding oxygen into its lungs, its head tilting back as its chest slowly swelled.

The next instant.

It opened wide its jaws that could bite through steel plates, and with all its might spewed the accumulated indigo and azure twin-colored dragon flames toward Seadra!

Roar!!

A piercing, shrill whistle cut through the air.

A massive fiery dragon took shape almost the instant the flames were spewed, roaring and spreading its wings as it surged forward.

Wherever it passed, the water churned, and the rain curtain seemed to evaporate into a skyful of pale white mist. In the blink of an eye, it had already flown across more than half the field!

But Seadra was no pushover either.

Its cheeks puffed out high as it stared straight at the incoming fiery dragon and brazenly blasted out a thick azure water column!

Pshhh—

The azure water column collided with the fiery dragon!

Boom!

A massive cloud of water mist suddenly exploded in midair, swirling with various shades of blue light, obscuring more than half the arena.

Leon's furious expression paused for a moment.

Baimu also showed a look of satisfaction.

This Dragon Pulse, at a glance, could nearly match the Dragon Pulses of the three prior Dragonites, but its actual power was certainly weaker—yet it was enough to stand up to Rain's Starmie's Water Pulse, proving much.

Add to that the Thunderbolt he'd used earlier…

Clearly.

After being personally trained by Mi Ke Li and Adam, Bonsly's innate low Special Attack had finally begun to bear fruit, not wasting its remarkably diverse pool of Special Attack moves.

You'd never see this in the game—what could a 60 Special Attack do, even with max EVs?

It couldn't even qualify as a decent landmine ambush.

But in the anime, even Pikachu and Eevee could dominate—so with effort, Bonsly's Special Attack could certainly grow to its full potential.

Now was the moment to test Bonsly's hard work!

"Water Pulse and Dragon Pulse triggered a massive explosion! Bonsly's move power is incredibly fierce! Even in unfavorable conditions, it refuses to back down!"

The commentator's passionate voice cut off as the mist dispersed.

In the watery arena, Bonsly on the circular platform had suddenly vanished—strangely so.

The audience gasped in surprise, then erupted into murmurs.

"Gone?"

"Bonsly disappeared! Probably switched back into its Poké Ball."

"Could it be in the water?"

"What nonsense! Bonsly is weak to Water! And how could it even swim underwater? Just sink to the bottom?"

"You're ignorant—it can learn Surf…"

The crowd buzzed with all kinds of speculation.

But Leon's face turned grim, for through Starmie, he saw that Bonsly had indeed sunk beneath the water—and was rapidly approaching him—

How is this possible!

Can Baimu's Bonsly swim? And dive?

No.

This wasn't the time to consider that.

"Use Water Spout to trap it!"

He gritted his teeth and gave the order, certain Bonsly couldn't stay underwater long—that Starmie's Water Spout might finally capture it.

Even if it was impossible, he had to try!

The opponent was preparing a sneak attack—could he just sit and wait?

"Duo!"

Starmie plunged decisively into the water.

Influenced by its trainer's emotions, it now burned with fury and determination; seeing Bonsly charge toward it with a flick of its tail, it swiftly spat a milky-white vortex from its long, gun-like snout!

Gulu gulu!

The water surged violently, amplified by the rain, its power terrifyingly immense, using a spiraling force to drag in Bonsly, whose bulk made evasion difficult.

Boom!

A deafening crash!

In the spectators' view, the center of the watery battlefield suddenly caved inward.

A vast, glowing blue whirlpool of turbulent water formed, emitting a terrifying rumbling vibration.

Look deeper.

Starmie, the user, rested at the very bottom of the vortex, head lowered, snout plunged into the water, controlling the vortex's spin.

Raindrops fell into it.

Bonsly's figure appeared in the middle of the whirlpool, spinning with the current—its exaggerated weight seemed unable to resist this powerful torque.

This alone revealed Starmie's terrifying strength under rain.

The commentator shouted: "Bonsly's underwater assault has failed! Trapped by Starmie's Water Spout—wait! It's not trapped! Bonsly is using the vortex's rotation to escape the depths!"

The outcry drew the audience's close attention to the battlefield.

They clearly saw Bonsly in the whirlpool adopting a swimming posture, its tail swinging rhythmically, spiraling upward at high speed toward the water's surface.

A trainer from a coastal town suddenly understood.

"It's surfing!"

"That's a perfect surfing stance! I even want to step on it!"

Exactly.

At this moment, Bonsly's posture matched the one Baimu had used on the shore of Fighting Town, when he stood on its back and both moved in perfect sync to meet the waves.

Later, at the Liuli Gym, repeated battles against Mikeli and Adam had also used this technique.

Leon's heart sank—he had a bad feeling.

"Lift your head! Use Water Pulse to attack!"

The words had barely left his lips.

Bonsly had already reached the top of the whirlpool—but instead of returning to the platform, it flipped its body like a swimmer and kicked hard against the cylindrical support beneath the platform!

Boom!

A sound rang out.

It had directly broken free from the vortex, leaping to face Starmie directly at the whirlpool's center and bottom.

The latter had been gathering a large amount of cyan-blue Water-type energy in its mouth, and the instant it spotted it, it sprayed the energy out without the slightest hesitation!

"Duo!"

Boom!

The ferocious water current shot straight up into the sky!

Who would have thought that Metagross seemed to have anticipated it long ago — its claws crossed before its body, a honeycomb-patterned spherical shield of light, and it took the sudden water column head-on!

Light flared!

Many spectators instinctively looked away, but even more watched the violently shaking, trembling shield of light with bated breath.

Seadra's Hydro Pump was simply too fierce — the Protect seemed unable to hold on, about to shatter at any moment!

Leon clenched his fists, watching Metagross draw closer and closer to Seadra, well aware that once it got into close-quarters with All Baimu's Pokémon, dodging again would be difficult.

Please, just shatter it!

Unfortunately.

Even though the hovering Metagross was less than two meters from the lowest point of the Whirlpool, Protect just kept on trembling, showing no sign of breaking apart.

"Dodge, now!"

He could hold back no longer and shouted at the top of his lungs.

Seadra jolted violently, spat out the last trickle of water, and plunged into the nearby current without hesitation, trying to escape by relying on Swift Swim.

"Metal Sound."

All Baimu's gaze was calm.

Squeee—!!

The horns on Metagross lit up, and silvery ripples ignored the water as they surged toward the fleeing Seadra. The latter didn't manage to get far before being enveloped by the sound waves, freezing in place with an agonized look.

Boom!

The massive body of the metal beast was once again blown into the water, sending a pillar of spray shooting skyward.

But it paid no attention to that at all — instead it seized the chance to swing its thick, powerful tail, and in the final second before Metal Sound ended, it whipped Seadra right out of the water!

"Duo!"

Even though it hadn't used a move, the sheer force of Metagross's tail strike still gave its opponent the feeling that every bone in its body had been smashed.

Leon's pupils dilated and he roared, "Use Smokescreen!"

Too late.

Seadra had only just snapped out of its pain and realized it was in midair, instinctively spitting out a small puff of smoke, when Metagross in the water raised its head and opened its mouth, gathering a fearsome Dragon Breath into shape.

"Roar!!"

The roaring energy dragon charged straight down at the falling Seadra!

Boom!

Smoke and dust spread through the air.

The commentator shouted excitedly, "The offense and defense have switched! Dragon Pulse lands! With its Special Defense weakened by Metal Sound, can Seadra hold on!?"

Offense and defense switched.

In other words, the Seadra that had originally been below was now above, and the Metagross that had been above was now below.

The rhythm of the attack shifted into the latter's hands in an instant.

Under the rain, the smoke and dust dispersed quickly.

The spectators searched everywhere, and soon spotted the unconscious Seadra behind one of the circular platforms — half its body exposed above the water, its once-majestic eyes now swirled into spirals.

"Seadra is unable to battle! Metagross wins! Trainer Leon has one Pokémon remaining!"

The referee raised his flag and shouted.

Hearing this, Leon felt as though he had plunged into an icy cavern, his hands and feet going cold.

An—another loss.

The situation had clearly been so favorable just moments ago, yet in the blink of an eye it had been turned around by All Baimu's Metagross!

He dejectedly covered his head, his fighting spirit almost entirely gone, his mind a blank — he had absolutely no plan for how to fight the last match.

In fact.

Seadra had already been very strong and had tried very hard.

If Metagross hadn't, while riding the wave to leap into the air, been hit by a Hydro Pump fierce enough to make it instinctively raise its shield, the match would have ended even sooner.

Had it been even one second slower, what would have greeted it would have been Dragon Rush.

But the trouble was that Swift Swim was an Ability that comprehensively boosted Speed in the rain, forcing Metagross to take a roundabout approach.

Of course.

Taking a Hydro Pump head-on to trigger Metal Burst was also a viable tactic, but considering there was still another opponent, it didn't want to waste too much stamina.

Fighting an opponent weaker than itself required steadiness.

Metagross climbed back onto the circular platform, then suddenly raised its head to look at the sky, and saw the thick clouds slowly dispersing.

The rain was about to stop.

This time, just as All Baimu had expected, its duration had been greatly shortened because of the rain's intensity.

"Gurr~"

It casually flicked its tail.

On the other side.

Sensing that the weather was about to vanish, and with misfortune piling on misfortune, Leon's face went deathly pale. After recalling Seadra, his arm trembled and he was unable to send out his last Pokémon for a long time.

The referee noticed and called out, "Trainer Leon! It's time to send out your last Pokémon!"

There are three reminders — if the third reminder passes and you still haven't sent out a Pokémon, it will be ruled a loss of fighting spirit and the match will end.

This made Leon hurriedly throw out the last Poké Ball.

Bang!

"Long pa pa pa!"

A Ludicolo that looked like a golden pineapple leapt onto the platform.

It raised its head and suddenly saw the opposing Blastoise firing an ice-blue lightning bolt toward the Water field!

Crack!

Crack crack!

In an instant, the entire Water field transformed into an Ice field!