Chapter 674: Champion Dawu Acts

Baimu's peripheral vision tracked Hua Yue.

The surrounding audience seats suddenly erupted in unrestrained clamor.

He quickly turned his head and immediately saw the sea of fire unleashed by the Super Tyranitar being covered by an astonishingly cold, pale frost.

Wisps of frigid mist resembled thick, white fireproof cloth; wherever it passed, the flames vanished, loud cracking sounds erupted, and countless grotesque ice spikes burst from the ground!

In an instant.

The vast battlefield sprouted a dazzling, brilliant forest of ice crystals, reflecting the blinding sunlight so intensely that spectators could not gaze upon it with their naked eyes.

Many let out fresh cries of astonishment.

The Super Tyranitar ascended into the sky to evade the bone-chilling cold, and as it searched for its opponent, glittering cold light pierced its eyes—it instinctively turned its gaze away.

Even Shi Yuan Zhi, as a human trainer, could not escape this reaction.

"Oh no!"

Between the large and small ice spikes, the Super Glaceon had been waiting for this moment, responding to Queen Boni's command by spinning like a top, icy-blue cross-shaped stars swirling around it as it charged toward the Super Tyranitar in midair!

【Ice Skin: Ultimate Impact】!

Though it lacked the apocalyptic aura of Ice Skin: Ultimate Explosion, its power was no less formidable—anyone watching would think the Super Tyranitar had little chance of surviving this move.

Yet the old fox still outwits the young.

Impaired vision did not mean it could not use moves; Shi Yuan Zhi seemed to have anticipated Queen Boni's attack and ordered the Super Tyranitar to spin in place, whipping up a vortex of hot wind—

Baimu recognized this move well; Shi Yuan Zhi had once tried using it to break through the dual defenses of a Super Gyarados after it had charged up.

Clearly, in the hands of the veteran King, many moves could not only alter their contact or non-contact nature but also grant them defensive properties.

Ice Skin Impact collided with the swirling hot wind; cold and hot air mixed and alternated, twisting the air itself before erupting in a violent explosion!

Boom!

The shockwave hurled both Pokémon in opposite directions, even flinging them beyond the battlefield's boundaries.

Then, under the tense and eager gaze of the audience, both quickly dashed back onto the field, vanishing into swirling smoke until the wind naturally cleared—only then did people see the shattered, spike-like ice crystals scattered across the ground.

And the Super Glaceon, pinned beneath the Super Tyranitar, its massive jaws dislocated yet clamped onto its wing, its head poised to unleash a torrent of flame.

Sharpness flashed in its gaze.

A chill suddenly crept into Baimu's mind; the familiar strangeness made his lips twitch, then he exclaimed in surprise, "Queen Boni wouldn't dare—"

Before he finished speaking, a cataclysmic Super Explosion engulfed the entire arena, a torrent of freezing energy surging toward the audience seats, forcing the protective barrier to activate.

This Ice Skin: Ultimate Explosion was clearly stronger than the one against Super Absol!

For a moment, Baimu wondered if the Super Glaceon had somehow burst its limits.

But to suddenly burst its limits at the moment of mutual destruction…

That's just psychologically cruel.

Of course, what truly stunned Baimu was that Queen Boni, knowing she had no Pokémon left to send out, still chose to use Explosion.

Why?

Though the hope was slim, striving for that one fleeting chance of victory was the true essence of being a trainer.

Baimu had always believed this.

The countless scenes he'd seen in animations had made him deeply confident in this belief.

Thus, Queen Boni's actions truly confused him—could this King have some other intention?

It seemed to confirm his suspicion.

Beside him, Fu Rong rested one hand under her chin and spoke calmly:

"Strange, isn't it? But this is her personal battling style. When faced with a truly unwinnable situation, she doesn't gamble on that final sliver of possibility—she ends it with Explosion.

'A fiery heart beneath a cold exterior'—the 'fiery' part isn't merely stubborn resistance in battle, but the unwavering belief that she will win next time—this is what she told me."

A pragmatist?

Baimu thought—if he hadn't learned this beforehand, he'd likely find battles that rely too much on hot-blooded passion and bonds utterly irrational.

One should trust the body and will forged through years of training.

But then again—

He turned to Fu Rong, opened his mouth, and whispered, "But as far as I know, Queen Boni…"

"Has never defeated Grandpa Yuan Zhi."

Fu Rong seemed to know what he was going to say, speaking with an objective tone: "Queen Boni most admires Grandpa's methods of raising Pokémon—this is evident from her coming to Hoenn, an environment unsuitable for Ice-types…

She always believes her Pokémon lack training, needing stronger bodies and willpower, which is why she can never overcome Grandpa Yuan Zhi in this regard."

Behind them, Hua Yue leaned back, her head resting on her crossed hands:

"Among the four of us, Queen Boni has the highest talent—this is acknowledged even by Champion Dawu and Mi Ke Li. But over the past two years, she's clearly hit a plateau; her strength hasn't improved much."

If her strength hasn't improved much, how did she beat you?

Baimu's strange stare made Hua Yue's temple twitch; she clenched her fist, teeth gritted: "Kid! Want me to teach you how to respect your seniors?"

"No offense intended."

He raised his hand slightly, signaling his innocence.

Fu Rong laughed heartily, unable to contain herself—scenes like this were rarely seen; among the Hoenn Four Kings, one was cold and serious, the other highly respected, making jokes impossible.

Neither of them could ever be "lively."

Inside the arena.

The smoke cleared.

The Super Glaceon's final Explosion had failed to knock out the Super Tyranitar—because Shi Yuan Zhi had ordered it to use Roost first.

Roost not only restored HP but also removed its Flying-type status.

In other words, the purely Dragon-type Super Tyranitar, through this recovery move, had literally healed itself back to life despite being in direct contact with the Explosion.

Not a few spectators were shocked by this.

The effect of Ice Skin Explosion was glaringly obvious to everyone—even a Pokémon with fourfold Ice resistance might not survive to the end.

Super Flygon actually pulled it off!

Does this mean Shi Yuan Zhi has a chance to defeat Champion Dawu—

Almost every Champion League had spectators thinking this; Baimu and others in the special seats heard the roaring discussions around them and turned their eyes together toward Champion Dawu, who calmly rose from his throne.

Whether he can win will be known tomorrow.

——

A long morning passed without any unexpected incidents.

The following afternoon.

The Hoenn Champion League reached its climax.

It was said that, thanks to Baimu, the domestic and overseas viewership ratings for the Hoenn Champion League had surged dramatically compared to last year.

They even reached the highest record in nearly a decade.

The broadcast network and Champion League planning staff went wild with joy, their hearts filled with an unprecedented sense of accomplishment.

Too bad most of them weren't part of the League Congress planning team—if they had been, they could have rejoiced twice.

"Here it comes—the Champion Defense Match."

Baimu watched as Champion Dawu slowly descended the steps; the Champion League final was also called the Champion Defense Match, the most crucial battle determining whether the regional Champion could hold onto his position.

A top-tier event for the Hoenn region.

Therefore,

The organizers had specifically arranged for Dawu to enter early and sit on the Champion's throne, waiting until all spectators had taken their seats and the Four Guardians, Shi Yuan Zhi, appeared—only then would he descend slowly, like an emperor personally leading his army.

Never mind anything else—just the grand symphony echoing throughout the arena fully elevated the Champion's stature.

Come on!

Champion Dawu, third in total points among the future Eight Masters!

Let me see for myself how you perform in the Champion League!

Baimu adjusted his seating position with keen interest, ensuring he wouldn't lose focus during the match; the camera standing beside him silently powered on, and Multivolt II adjusted its focus to lock onto the two below.

Hum!

A whistle sounded.

Both sides sent out their Pokémon.

Unlike ordinary trainers, Dawu opened with his trump card—his Shiny Metagross entering the field.

Shi Yuan Zhi chose a Double-Edge Dragon, its jaws clutching a blood-red axe blade.

Both Pokémon charged at each other from the start; one's massive metallic arm, like a siege hammer, glowed with brilliant ice light, while the other's claws and twin axes were wrapped in eerie purple-black energy.

The first clash.

Metagross blocked one of Double-Edge Dragon's claws head-on, swinging its icy-metallic arm to smash the opponent's head—but the blade was halted by a sharp, black-purple beam.

Clang!

The metallic clash rang out especially loud.

Double-Edge Dragon skillfully rolled backward—not to evade, but to reposition for a second, powerful assault on Metagross!

Zing!

The powerful blood-red axe blade slashed down hard on Metagross!

But the metallic clang of impact never followed—because the X-shaped crossbar on Metagross's face had changed from gold to pale blue.

It signified that it was now channeling psychic power.

The next instant.

Double-Edge Dragon was flung ten meters sideways; fortunately, Metagross's Psychic Lock didn't hold, allowing Double-Edge Dragon to land with acrobatic precision.

On the large screen, Dawu smiled faintly; this Champion was usually courteous and unassuming, but during battle, the aura of his intense confidence could make opponents slowly begin to doubt themselves.

And the foundation of that confidence was undoubtedly Dawu's extraordinary strength.

He withdrew Metagross.

His trump card's appearance seemed merely to stir the atmosphere and let the audience feel his strength as Champion.

Baimu understood this was likely Dawu's habit.

In all recorded video footage online, Metagross always appeared first and withdrew last.

In its place came Armaldo.

Double-Edge Dragon launched another surprise assault; even though Armaldo was a flying-type, its powerful leg muscles still allowed it to leap and make contact.

So—

The audience gasped as Double-Edge Dragon leapt high, as if springs were beneath its feet, chasing Armaldo; between its blade-like cheeks, electric sparks flashed, forming a pale blue lightning orb.

Armaldo looked down at its charging opponent—not dodging, but advancing head-on.

The two drew extremely close—

Electric discharge!

Zzzt—!!

Armaldo, struck by the lightning, convulsed uncontrollably; in that instant, its entire silver-gray exoskeleton turned bright blue—until a loud boom echoed, and both Pokémon fell together to the ground.

But just before impact, Armaldo suddenly flapped its wings and soared back into the air.

"Gaa!"

It let out a threatening cry.

Double-Edge Dragon, having landed, opened its mouth to roar back—only for purple saliva to spray out, and a purple glow to appear on its face.

It's poisoned!

The Armored Bird sacrificed taking one electric wave to coat the Double-Axe Dragon with lethal venom.

Back in the air, it silently scattered invisible rocks, pre-ambushing Shi Yuan Zhi with countless sharp, glowing white stones.

When Shi Yuan Zhi sent out the Desert Dragonfly.

The sharp stones, having been invisible for barely two seconds, immediately sprang up around it and exploded with a loud bang, like grenades.

Countless shards of rock struck the Desert Dragonfly, leaving faint marks on its body.

As a Ground-type, it resisted Rock-type moves; the invisible rocks had little special effect on it.

This time.

The Desert Dragonfly no longer used its old trick, the Sand Tornado, because the Armored Bird had Steel and Flying types—Sand Tornado barely worked at all.

It directly spat out massive gouts of blazing flame, employing the purest form of type-supremacy violence.

Yet the Armored Bird still didn't dodge; a pale blue spherical light shield perfectly blocked the flames before it, while it pulled away a considerable distance from the Desert Dragonfly and rapidly beat its metal wings!

Whoosh!

A gale surged forth, buffeting the pursuing Desert Dragonfly and throwing it off-balance, then inexplicably pulled it back into the ball at Shi Yuan Zhi's waist.

Another ball opened in one smooth motion.

The Volleyball Shell Dragon was forced to appear; unlike the Desert Dragonfly, it didn't resist Rock-type, but its decent defense meant it showed no special reaction to the invisible rocks' explosions.

It looked up at the Armored Bird in the sky, summoning massive boulders to land before it, blocking the next strange gust of wind.

The wind-blast failed.

The Armored Bird decisively charged toward the Shell Dragon hiding behind the boulders; dazzling metallic luster surfaced on its wings, and its hard wings easily shattered the rocks.

Boom!

In the instant the rocks exploded, the Shell Dragon spat out searing flame, engulfing the Armored Bird that had smashed through them!

Deliberately walking into the trap!?

Baimu was stunned—why would it be so unwise to let the Armored Bird engage in close combat? Doesn't it have even one ranged attack?

Soon.

The answer revealed itself.

Where the flames had cleared, there was no trace of the Armored Bird—it reappeared on the opposite side, sprinting on two legs to reach the Shell Dragon's rear!

The audience was utterly astonished.

On the giant screen, a rapid aerial shot from Rotom's footage appeared—

Facing the Shell Dragon's flame blast, the Armored Bird descending from above adjusted its metal wings and directly plummeted to the ground.

This allowed the flame, erupting at a thirty-degree angle, to narrowly miss it, leaving it completely unharmed.

How was that move even possible?

Baimu racked his brain but couldn't fathom how the Armored Bird in the footage had suddenly bent its body at a sharp angle, keeping its raised tail at head height while rapidly pressing its lower body against the ground.

The surreal image, comparable to Pikachu's prolonged hover, haunted him for a long time.

Those hollow iron wings—silver outside, red inside?

It could only be that.

The Armored Bird, having circled wide, ignited with brilliant blue flame and slammed into the Shell Dragon's back, launching it straight forward!

Brave Bird Assault!