Chapter 636

"Such terrifying metallic sound! Is Bonsly enraged by the Dual Axe Dragon!"

The commentator gripped the microphone and shouted.

Ohhh!

Every spectator in the arena was stirred to fever pitch by Bonsly's roar, wildly waving their rally sticks and banners.

They stared in excitement at the metallic behemoth on the giant screen, spewing white mist with majestic might, unleashing their shouts and screams without restraint.

"Go! Bonsly!"

"One sweep, three down!"

"That thing is its last Pokémon! Show your strength and defeat it!"

The vast majority of the audience had already sided with Baimu—or rather, Super Bonsly—and media outlets from every fighting circuit aimed their long lenses and short cameras at them, clicking incessantly.

A finalist being crushed by the opponent was rare enough in the Saffron Conference to be considered extraordinary.

Who was the last trainer with overwhelming power?

Ordinary people might not know, but Hoenn's battle enthusiasts knew perfectly well.

Dawu!

Ke Li!

These two were the most brilliant Pokémon trainers of Hoenn in this century, and the only pair to have successively inherited the championship title.

Hence, they were jokingly called—"The Twin Sovereigns of the Championship Throne."

Could another be joining them now?

Journalists recalled rumors that Baimu had once lived in the Sootopolis Gym and even served as its Gym Leader, and their minds immediately made the connection.

Yet unlike the excited spectators,

Alice in the arena remained eerily calm, releasing a radiant golden glow from her palm as her Dragon Heart activated:

"Don't be intimidated, Dual Axe Dragon! Our attacks can't be useless! Hold on, and we'll win!"

"Ooooh~!"

Dual Axe Dragon roared back, its two claws sinking deep into the soil.

After three rounds of battle, the grass field had been utterly transformed; the once waist-high grasses were reduced to scattered clumps, exposing the soft, dark earth beneath.

Combined with the rain, the entire field had become indistinguishable from a swamp.

Heavy weight… swamp…

Alice's gaze swept across the battlefield, and a sudden insight flashed in her mind.

"Earthquake!"

The moment she gave the order, Super Bonsly leapt high into the air, its entire body engulfed in boiling azure dragon flame, diving down like a ferocious dragon locking onto its prey!

Explosive dash—

"Dragon Dive!"

Boom!

The air along its path was crushed and seared by the colossal mass, emitting a deep, thunderous roar like a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier.

Alice remained utterly unfazed: "Perfect!"

"Oh!"

Dual Axe Dragon tilted its head and roared, then as Super Bonsly drew near, it slammed its right leg down with crushing force!

In an instant,

Boom!

A deafening explosion shook the battlefield violently, as a dark tide of mud surged upward into the sky.

Countless shards of stone and filthy grass clippings sprayed everywhere, swept by the colliding waves of ochre and silver energy like a vast, blinding cloud obscuring the heavens.

The defense systems along the trainer and spectator stands activated automatically, stones striking them with a patter like heavy rain.

Smoke engulfed everything.

The aerial Rotom assigned to filming was forced out of the arena by the chaotic winds, barely regaining stability, its four propellers whirring furiously to disperse the dust within the field.

Such was the power of a natural disaster!

Spectators, accustomed to the violent explosions of clashing moves, felt only excitement and anticipation, screaming wildly even as their voices grew hoarse.

Their cries rose and fell like immense tidal waves, making the entire arena tremble.

Outside the arena,

the lake surrounding the main hall churned violently, drawing frequent glances from the crowd beyond.

The atmosphere had reached its absolute peak!

The commentator could no longer contain his emotion, shouting continuously: "Another intense clash! Both Pokémon have shown their offensive might! What's the outcome?"

In fact,

many had already assumed Dual Axe Dragon was about to collapse.

After Super Bonsly had swiftly defeated Alice's two Dragon-type Pokémon, everyone had full confidence in its offensive power.

Though Dual Axe Dragon under Dragon Heart had initially seemed extraordinary, it had just failed to even pierce Super Bonsly's defense.

How could it fight?

No matter how you looked at it, there was no way to win!

But when the scene inside the arena was revealed, nearly everyone's expression turned to shock.

Where Dual Axe Dragon had stood now yawned a massive, deep crater, with torrents of rainwater cascading down its sloped sides, mixing with mud into thick sludge.

At the bottom of the crater,

the two Pokémon were entangled in the thick sludge.

One beast, its entire body taut with muscle, strained to swing its head, trying to slash its opponent with its twin axes and break free, while the other lowered its head, using its horns to block, steadily pressing it into the mud.

The muddy water around them kept surging into the pit, soon rising to waist height, yet neither noticed.

The commentator cried out: "The Twin-Axe Dragon and Bonsly are locked in fierce close combat!"

The Twin-Axe Dragon actually held its ground!

Just this alone amazed many spectators.

Alice's supporters rejoiced wildly and cheered even louder for the Twin-Axe Dragon, hoping to see a stunning reversal.

Inside the arena.

Baimu frowned slightly; he wasn't sure if this was the effect of the Dragon Heart—the Twin-Axe Dragon had indeed become far more resilient.

Alice remained expressionless and gave the same command as the former.

"Brute Force!"

"Oh—"

"Grrr—"

Both monstrous beasts immediately glowed with brown-red light, their arm muscles bulging as they surged forward, low growls rumbling from their throats!

But in raw power, even Alice's full-strength Super Swampert couldn't match Super Bonsly—let alone the Twin-Axe Dragon, now being overwhelmingly suppressed?

Super Bonsly's massive body sank sharply, its feet and tail barely touching something solid, allowing it to temporarily stabilize in the mud.

As the saying goes, power originates from the "ground"—it only needed a point of leverage…

…to win!

"Grrrr!!"

Super Bonsly roared upward, unleashing explosive force that surged through the Twin-Axe Dragon, instantly stripping it of all resistance.

Boom!

The Twin-Axe Dragon's entire body was slammed into the mud, splattering mud everywhere.

Unexpectedly, the opponent suddenly plunged downward on its own initiative, using its immense strength to burrow straight into the mud, while its tightly gripped claws loosened.

It moved like a nimble fish, slipping behind Super Bonsly and leaping high off the pit's edge!

Whoosh!

The Twin-Axe Dragon successfully jumped out of the pit!

"Now! Dragon Pulse!"

Alice shouted the order.

"Oh!"

It turned and spat Dragon Flame downward at Super Bonsly, pressing down on the latter as it raised its head.

Super Bonsly tried to leap out, but the soil beneath its feet, shattered by its earlier exertion, had dissolved into sludge under water seepage.

For now, it couldn't leap out at all.

"Grrr…"

It looked straight up at the descending energy dragon, its pale blue eyes calm as a still well.

Boom!

Dragon Flame erupted!

"Dragon Pulse hits! Super Bonsly appears trapped in the pit's mud!" the commentator declared loudly, watching the smoke swirling in the pit.

What's going on?

Is this a reversal?

Many spectators looked stunned, yet some battle enthusiasts frowned tightly.

The situation had grown complicated.

The earlier Dragon Dive could have easily killed the Twin-Axe Dragon—yet it had unexpectedly turned into this.

If it had no effect, the Twin-Axe Dragon's exhaustion on its face wasn't faked.

But if it did have an effect…

Why would Super Bonsly be so easily trapped in the mud? Had its previous two battles left it weakened?

That might explain it—since the second half began, it hadn't taken many direct hits, but the cumulative damage was substantial, especially from absorbing the Twin-Axe Dragon's Axe Smash.

Could it really have suffered no damage at all?

Unlikely.

Whether damage was done and whether pain was shown were two different things.

The outcome of this battle might need reevaluation.

Many turned to the front-row media professionals, hoping to see their predictions on the battle's direction—only to find none of them had changed expression.

In the stands, Xiao Guang clenched her fists tightly, watching the arena with serious eyes.

Why did she favor Alice?

One reason was their prior acquaintance; another was her awareness of Baimu's strength.

As a former opponent in the Beauty Contest, she knew better than anyone that Baimu's battle talent far surpassed his showmanship!

Therefore, in the Battle Round, he couldn't lose to anyone—and wouldn't lose to anyone!

"Here it comes!"

Xiao Gang said grimly.

Inside the arena.

As the Twin-Axe Dragon gazed into the smoky pit, ready to dodge Super Bonsly's special attacks, Alice's sixth sense suddenly screamed a warning.

She shouted urgently: "Get out of the way!"

The next moment.

The ground collapsed with a thunderous crash!

Boom!

Amidst the deafening roar, a vast expanse of muddy earth shattered; the Double-axe Dragon, lacking flight ability, reacted swiftly, but the collapse was too widespread.

Even with its Dragon Dance boosting its speed, it failed to escape in time and plunged into a terrifying, bottomless mud pit!

Caught off-guard by sudden weightlessness, it was instantly submerged by the swamp.

"Oh!"

The Double-axe Dragon burst its head out of the sludge, forcibly stabilizing its body against the swirling vortex, and gazed down to the pit's bottom—there, the Super Bisharp stood, torrents of yellow sand erupting from countless Kong Dong across its body.

"Grrrr—!!"

Sand and rain mingled.

After being violently churned by the Quicksand Hell, it had successfully forged a vortex swamp capable of driving every land-based Pokémon to despair!

"Get out fast!"

Alice grew anxious, but the swamp's suction was too strong; the Double-axe Dragon, weakened by prior brute-force use, could not break free.

Even more astonishing was this:

As the Super Bisharp spewed more sand, a dark brown sandstorm began forming above the vortex swamp.

It swept up everything in the arena, leaving the Double-axe Dragon with no escape—neither up nor down!

Boom—boom—boom—

【Heaven and Earth Quicksand Hell】!

Can't drown the Super Gyarados, but can't drown you?!

The Super Bisharp recalled again the strongest opponent it had ever faced—it had enjoyed battling Mi Ke Li's Pokémon too much.

And Alice's Pokémon had disappointed it terribly in the finals; it couldn't help but instinctively reuse its old trick.

The proof was clear:

The Double-axe Dragon could not withstand it at all.

"End it. The final strike."

Baimu gazed far off at Alice, watching her close her eyes as golden light glowed in her palm—he would no longer give her a chance to activate Dragon Heart again.

He pointed at the Double-axe Dragon.

"Iron Hoof Beam!"

Let this new move be your farewell!

At the very bottom of the vortex swamp, the Super Bisharp glowed with astonishing silver light and electricity; the surrounding sludge trembled violently, as if trying to flee.

Hum—

A piercing sound rose, identical to the roar of a reactor powering up.

When it opened its pitch-black maw, all the brilliant silver light surged into it; the air rippled in concentric circles from the terrifying disturbance, just like a sonic boom ring.

Alice's scalp prickled; the Double-axe Dragon's Dragon Heart state was forcibly broken.

She gritted her teeth, shouting: "Double-axe Dragon! Give everything to the final move! Dragon Pulse!!"

"Oh!"

The Double-axe Dragon knew the final moment had come; its mouth blazed with furious dragonfire, staring straight down at the silver light below that seemed ready to destroy the world, and unleashed it with all its might!

At the same instant:

The Super Bisharp's Steel-type energy fully converged; the massive energy wave collapsed abruptly into the size of a fist, then exploded into multiple dazzling silver rings, firing a colossal silver beam capable of engulfing the entire vortex swamp!

Boom—!!

Heaven and earth overturned!

The Double-axe Dragon's Dragon Pulse was instantly swallowed by the beam, and it too was completely submerged; the brilliant light pierced the sky, punching straight through the arena's overcast clouds and reaching the higher heavens!

This strike seemed ready to tear the sky apart!

The entire arena shuddered throughout the impact; all perimeter defense systems activated. The audience covered their ears in unison, unable to endure the low-frequency vibrations of the Steel-type energy.

They were like someone scratching glass with a pen—no real physical damage, but a direct assault on the soul.

Who knew how long it lasted?

The silver light finally dimmed.

Boom!

All that remained on the field was a rolling cloud of smoke.

The audience watched the arena with lingering dread; none had expected the Super Bisharp to possess such a terrifying move—compared to it, even the standard ultimate move—Ultimate Impact—seemed weak.

High above:

The aerial Rotom, which had nearly been struck by the Iron Hoof Beam, muttered curses under its breath; seeing its companions fly toward the arena, it grumbled and plunged in.

Its propellers spun rapidly, dispersing the smoke.

As the haze began to clear, the crowd's noise gradually faded; countless spectators stared at the giant screen or the arena itself, waiting in tense silence for the result.

Xiao Gang and the others felt the same; Xiao Guang clasped her hands together, pressing them to her forehead as if in prayer.

The commentator swallowed hard.

Seconds later:

The smoke cleared.

The grass had vanished entirely, leaving only a massive "vortex" exposed before everyone's eyes.

The mud had hardened at some point; the Double-axe Dragon lay on its back at the edge, its eyes replaced by black circles.

And from the very bottom—crack, crack—

A Super Bonsly climbed out and walked slowly to the edge of the pit, then tilted its head and roared!

"Gurrrr——！！"

"Biiii!!"

"Double Axe Dragon is unable to battle! Bonsly wins! Therefore, the champion of this match is—Baimu of Huetie Town!"

The referee raised a red flag and pointed outward.

The commentator could no longer hold back, shouting wildly: "The outcome is decided! After an intense full-team battle! The winner of the Hoenn League's Caiyou Tournament is revealed! It is—Baimu!"

At this moment.

The cheers from the audience seats seemed ready to shatter the heavens!