Chapter 771: Gragio

"Gengar!"

Gengar swung the paper in its hand and chased after All All Baimu, who had been called outside by Bisharp.

But it was no longer needed.

The world is really small.

He looked at the cold, stoic guy nearby, his right eye hidden by golden hair, and sighed again.

Gragio, nicknamed Big Brother-in-Law.

A major male supporting character in Pokémon Sun/Moon.

He has a beloved younger sister, Lillie, and a mother, Lusamine, equally adored by some but highly controversial…

And a father, Mo En, currently missing and nearly a background figure.

Why say "currently"?

Because All All Baimu roughly knew where Gragio's father was right now.

Besides, if he wished, he could summon Mo En back through sketching, taking no more than five minutes.

Of course.

But rushing over now to say, "I can help you find your dad," would make him look insane—Gragio currently believes his father is dead.

I'll wait until I get to know him better.

"Gengar!"

The shiny Gengar burst out of the house, leapt into the air, spun 180 degrees, and landed before All All Baimu, sticking out its bright red tongue.

A slip of paper was stuck to it.

Challenge… letter?

All All Baimu read every word on the paper, then glanced at Gragio's eccentric, over-the-top goth outfit far away, and couldn't help smiling.

Of course.

He's twelve or thirteen—what's wrong with being otaku?

Nothing at all.

He shooed Gengar back to eat, exchanged a glance with Bisharp and Steelix, then walked alone toward Gragio, who waited silently.

Waves crashed against the shore; the teenager stood with an air of sternness.

"Sorry, I'm still having breakfast."

All All Baimu extended an invitation: "Mind if I join you?"

Gragio refused without hesitation: "I can wait until you're done."

"Alright, please wait."

Seeing his refusal, All All Baimu said nothing and turned back to the wooden house to finish eating.

If I'm not mistaken…

Gragio is training outside to grow stronger, his ultimate goal being to protect his sister Lillie.

And regarding finding his father or husband, even without All All Baimu's help, Gragio and his family would find Mo En in a year.

In the year since Ash arrived in Alola…

Gragio and his sister Lillie had both grown immensely, gradually maturing from childishness, and reconciled with their mother Lusamine, whom they'd misunderstood due to petty people.

More importantly…

The anime version of Lusamine and the game version are completely different characters.

Though she studies Ultra Beasts, she isn't that deranged, and never froze Pokémon alive to display them like exhibits.

She's a loving mother.

Therefore, this family can save itself.

All All Baimu had no interest in interfering in others' lives; he did good deeds only when they gave him moral satisfaction—that is, spiritual fulfillment.

After pondering for half a bowl of rice, he decided to let the Lusamine family's situation unfold on its own.

Just as he'd never actively intervened in the anime's plot.

Moments later.

All All Baimu returned to the beach: "Sorry for the wait."

Gragio and his two Pokémon still stood exactly where they were, posture unchanged.

He said: "The battle rules are two-on-two singles, with free Pokémon switches—any issues?"

"Two-on-two?"

All All Baimu followed Gragio's gaze to Bisharp and Steelix standing before the wooden house, his expression turning slightly odd.

"What's the problem?" The otaku boy frowned.

"None."

All All Baimu put his prepared Poké Balls back in his pocket and waved to Steelix and Bisharp: "Come here!"

"Grrr!"

"Haaah!"

Two metallic titans rumbled forward.

The beach shook as if a train had passed over it.

"…."

Gragio's expression turned serious; even from afar, Steelix looked enormous—up close, it felt like gazing at a colossal sky-reaching tree.

Seeing Gragio's fixed gaze on Steelix, All All Baimu suddenly realized something and said:

"It's just big—it's not a Dominant Pokémon."

Dominant Pokémon are usually many times larger than normal, and in the anime, they never display their Dominant aura unless in battle.

"Hmm."

Gragio gave a slight nod, then shouted: "Go! Moonlight Eevee!"

"Bule!"

Moonlight Eevee ran forward fearlessly, looking up at Steelix.

It might not even be as big as Steelix's tail tip, but in the Pokémon world, size isn't everything.

Even a Poké Ball-sized Pikachu can easily send a Pokémon dozens of times larger than itself flying with a single Iron Tail.

All All Baimu lightly patted the thick, horizontal steel bone beside him: "Yours."

"Hrrr~"

Steelix responded, gliding forward until it reached the designated battle area.

To be honest…

Gragio wasn't weak—but only just barely.

At this stage, he was probably around top-four League Championship level; with Z-Moves, maybe a bit stronger, but utterly incomparable to Steelix.

Not to mention the other big boss.

All All Baimu had originally planned to battle him with Gengar—but he'd fixated on Steelix and Bisharp…

Slow down a bit.

Gragio's mindset at this stage should still be fine.

As All All Baimu pondered, the otaku boy suddenly raised his right hand to cover half his face—he always made small gestures when giving orders.

"Moonlight Eevee! Quick Attack!"

"Bule!"

Moonlight Eevee growled, pushed off with its hind legs, and shot forward as a streak of white light toward Steelix!

Whoosh!

Sand flew up!

All All Baimu's vision blurred as Moonlight Eevee, wreathed in white light, closed in like lightning.

But it didn't strike Steelix—instead, it leapt upward, using the slowly rotating horizontal steel bone as a stepping platform, executing three consecutive jumps to reach the sky above Steelix's head!

"Dark Pulse!"

Gragio struck a pose reminiscent of a Kamen Rider transformation.

"Bule!"

Moonlight Eevee flipped its body, its golden halo glowing brightly; rings of seven-colored light spread outward, and countless black spheres wrapped in violet energy surged wildly toward Steelix!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thick fog rolled up!

The move landed successfully.

But Gragio's face showed little joy.

Not only because All All Baimu had let Moonlight Eevee attack without giving any commands—but also because Steelix had made zero defensive movements the entire time.

Why?

In the instant he wondered, as Moonlight Eevee began to fall, a flash of silver shot through the smoke!

All All Baimu: "Iron Tail."

Whirr!

A thick, massive, cone-shaped metal tail tore through the dust, looming above it like a falling celestial hammer, crashing down!

Boom!

The Moon Eevee slammed into the ground like a spiked volleyball, exploding a cloud of sand and gravel!

"Bule!"

The sudden assault made Gragio's eyes widen.

The smoke cleared.

The Steelix's head, untouched by a single speck of dust, hung low.

It gazed at the Moon Eevee lying in the sand, its eyes cold and emotionless.

"Agile movement may look impressive, but letting a Pokémon without aerial mobility hover freely is reckless—"

All All Baimu spoke instinctively, then suddenly realized this wasn't Huang Tie Arena's training class—he fell silent, then muttered apologetically:

"Sorry."

To a sensitive, moody teenager like him,

those words could be read as a kind warning—or as condescending lecturing.

"No, you're right."

Gragio was clearly the humble type; he openly admitted his tactical error and added, "But my Moon Eevee won't go down so easily!"

"Bule!"

The Moon Eevee staggered to its feet from the sand, responding to its Trainer with a cry.

It was a Pokémon whose defensive power and endurance vastly exceeded its size—a trade-off for sacrificing offensive capability, granting it the resilience to withstand attacks that seemed unstoppable.

All All Baimu recalled how it had later endured an Alolan Six Tail's Ice Z-move without a scratch at a major tournament.

Gragio covered his face again with his right hand.

"Moon Eevee! Strange Light!"

"Bule!"

The Moon Eevee tilted its head upward and howled, summoning bizarrely colored orbs around its body, launching them like baseballs struck by a bat toward the Steelix.

But—

This time, All All Baimu did not stay silent.

He said: "Dragon Breath."

"Roar!!"

The Steelix opened its massive black maw—large enough to swallow a compact car—and unleashed an endless torrent of brilliant blue energy!

The two attacks collided.

The Strange Light orbs dissolved in an instant.

Sensing danger, the Moon Eevee tried to dodge sideways—but it had underestimated the range of Dragon Breath.

Boom—!!

A vast stretch of the designated battlefield beach was engulfed by the energy wave; roaring dragon flames churned, hurling sand and dust that forced Gragio to raise his arms in defense.

He slammed his hands downward, as if breaking free from chains, and roared: "Moon Eevee! Counter!"

A dark shadow shot forward through the raging energy.

In an instant—

The Moon Eevee, still wreathed in blue flames, burst from the Dragon Breath's radius; crimson light spilled from its forehead, swirling around its body like a dark red bullet!

It aimed straight for the joints between the Steelix's bones and charged—

Clang!

"Blocked!?"

Gragio stared in shock as the Steelix's massive tail blocked the Moon Eevee—he hadn't even seen how it reacted!

"Bule!"

The Moon Eevee's momentum spent, it was forced back onto the sand.

Exhausted nearly to collapse, it staggered, barely keeping its balance.

Though Counter had landed, the damage dealt to the tail tip was nothing compared to striking the torso.

All All Baimu shook his head slightly: "End it. Rock Slide."

"Roar!"

The Steelix's thickest transverse bone spun rapidly; low rumbles rose from the ground, and sand surged upward, coalescing within moments into over a dozen jagged rocks glowing with white light.

It fixed its gaze on the Moon Eevee—and the rocks plummeted with thunderous force!

"Hold on! Dodge them with Quick Attack!"

Gragio clenched his fist and ordered.

The Moon Eevee gritted its teeth to dodge, its expression mirroring Gragio's own.

But in its current state, it could no longer perform the acrobatic maneuvers it had shown at the start; it barely evaded two rocks, then had no chance to avoid the third.

The rocks crashed and exploded!

Boom!

The Moon Eevee's battered body was flung high into the air with the shattered rocks, then slammed back down hard.

Watching from the sidelines, the Nightfall Lycanroc took a step forward, as if to rush in.

"Awooo..."

"Don't move!"

Gragio snapped.

The Lycanroc turned its head toward its Trainer, then slowly halted.

Undeniably,

the Moon Eevee, struck by Rock Slide, had lost all fighting capability. Gragio withdrew it into a Poké Ball.

"Good work, Moon Eevee. Now it's your turn, Nightfall Lycanroc."

He looked across at All All Baimu's faint smile and the Steelix, which had never moved from its spot, and took a deep breath.

Since beginning his journey,

he had never faced an opponent this strong—so strong it had shaken even his self-proclaimed unyielding spirit.

Who exactly was this person?

Gragio refused to believe someone with such power was unknown.

"No, this has nothing to do with the current battle."

He closed his eyes slightly, steadying his breath.

Seconds later,

Gragio opened his eyes and shouted: "Come out! Nightfall Lycanroc with the crimson gaze!"

"Awooo!"

The Nightfall Lycanroc leapt high and crashed down onto the battlefield.

It raised its head, bared its fangs at the Steelix, and growled a low, rumbling warning—like the roar of a heavy engine.

All All Baimu noticed Gragio rolling up his left sleeve, and his eyes brightened.

Was he about to use a Z-Move?

Clearly, he'd realized normal tactics couldn't defeat the Steelix and was preparing his trump card.

"Get ready."

He touched the Key Stone on his chest.

The Steelix rumbled in response: "Roar!"

He remembered how Xiaogang's Mega Steelix had once tanked Kachi's Infernape's 【Extreme Flame Burst】 without serious damage.

What type of Z-Move would Gragio use?

Rock Z?

Probably not.

All All Baimu studied Gragio's Z-Ring closely—the Crystal embedded in it appeared pale brown.

Pale brown… Ground Z? Fighting Z?

He saw Gragio and the Nightfall Lycanroc cross their arms; brilliant light erupted from the Z-Ring, and he leaned in, listening intently.

He heard—

"O Rock, bathed in the light of the Crimson Moon Crystal!"

Gragio raised his arms solemnly, stepped forward with his right foot, and swung his left fist high into the air, roaring: "Seal this world on its path to ruin!"

Rock Z!?

What was he thinking?

All All Baimu had no time to focus on Gragio's melodramatic words and gestures—he saw crimson light shoot from Gragio's body, flowing into the Nightfall Lycanroc's howling form, forming a glowing upward arrow.

He gripped his Key Stone tightly.

"Mega Evolution!"

"Roar!"

The Steelix's transverse bones spun, and the Mega Stone behind its head blazed with dazzling blue light!

In that instant—

An absurd light pollution descended upon the beach.

Gragio roared: "Heaven-Shattering, Earth-Splitting Rock Fall!!"

The Nighttime Rockruff leapt into the sky, and countless grains of sand surged toward it, forming an absurdly massive rock as huge as an island.

All All Baimu looked up and suddenly saw half the sky obscured by this terrifying boulder.

The Rockruff itself had shrunk to a tiny speck.

The visual effect was completely maxed out.

But logically, for a Rock-type Z-Move, Mega Steelix shouldn't even need to Mega evolve to withstand it…

Never mind.

Earlier, Ilma's Eevee's Normal Z-Move was indeed powerful; since it's already Mega evolved, boosting its Physical Defense can't hurt.

Mega Steelix looked up at the falling boulder, its cold eyes showing not a trace of fear.

"Awooo—!!"

The Nighttime Rockruff hurled it down with all its might.