Chapter 218: Even a Pseudo-Legendary Must Kneel
"Dro-lisk!"
Staring at the energy orbs scattering from the sky, Excadrill plunged its claws deep into the ground. The Rock-type energy inside its body erupted violently.
Rumble!
The ground trembled slightly, and the earth flowed like water, forming a massive defensive shield around Excadrill. It then instantly hardened, becoming incredibly tough.
Rock-type move, Wide Guard!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The energy orbs rained down, blasting crater after crater into the ground. Smoke and dust filled the field, obscuring everyone's vision.
But inside its rock shield, Excadrill was perfectly steady, completely unfazed by the attack.
Normally, Excadrill's next move would be to dig underground and wait for a chance to counter-attack.
But its opponent, Gabite, was also a Ground-type. Its ability to sense ground vibrations was likely not much worse than Excadrill's, so Excadrill didn't dare take the risk.
Finally, the Draco Meteor ended.
A breeze blew past. Although the Wide Guard shield was scarred and battered, it had not been broken.
"Dro-lisk!"
After confirming the danger had passed, Excadrill dispersed the rock shield and stared down its opponent.
At that exact moment, Gabite was also staring at Excadrill. Their four eyes met, and the smell of gunpowder in the air instantly thickened.
"Rii~"
Just then, a cold sneer appeared on Gabite's face.
Its expression suddenly became incredibly dark and terrifying, enough to send a chill down the spine of anyone who saw it.
Vzzt!
Caught completely off guard, a dim light flashed over Excadrill's body.
"It's Scary Face!"
Someone recognized the move Gabite had just used—a debuffing move that drastically lowers the opponent's Speed.
"It's developed Scary Face to this level? That was completely effortless, with no warning at all!"
Basalt was shocked, his expression changing slightly.
Generally, because stat-buffing and debuffing moves are so powerful, they are also quite difficult to execute.
But Basalt had barely even seen Shane's Gabite channel its energy; the move was completed in an instant.
This move had truly caught Basalt off guard.
"Heh, it fell for it!"
Opposite Basalt, a smile touched Shane's lips.
This Scary Face was an Egg Move for his Gabite. It knew the move from birth, and only after extensive development had it reached its current level.
Unless you knew about it in advance, it was almost impossible to dodge. It was one of Gabite's signature moves.
"Now... even if you use Sandstorm, the most you can do is restore Excadrill's speed to normal. If you don't... it'll be even worse!"
Shane's eyes narrowed.
The next second, a violent sandstorm kicked up on the battlefield.
"Here it comes, Excadrill's Sandstorm!"
"What a pity! Excadrill was hit by Scary Face. We won't get to see its extreme speed this time."
Sshh-ssh-ssh...
Yellow sand filled the sky and the wind howled. The crowd felt as if they had been transported to a desert.
"Excadrill, Metal Claw!" Basalt launched his counter-attack.
"Gabite, meet it with Dual Chop!" Shane was not to be outdone.
"Dro-lisk!"
"Rii~"
As Ground-type Pokémon, neither's vision was affected by the sandstorm. Their eyes locked, and they charged.
CLANG!
Steel claws and dragon claws collided. A dull thud echoed out, drowned by the piercing shriek of the storm.
But in terms of raw strength, the pseudo-legendary's pre-evolution, Gabite, was clearly no match for the fully-evolved Excadrill.
A huge repulsive force sent Gabite stumbling backward.
"Now, Iron Head!" Basalt yelled, pressing the advantage.
"Dro-lisk!"
Steel-type energy surged in Excadrill's body, instantly gathering on the steel cap on its head as it lunged forward.
But strangely, the Gabite that had been right in front of it suddenly vanished.
Excadrill had only hit an afterimage.
"Double Team?"
Basalt's brow furrowed, but he immediately shook his head. "No! It must be the Sand Veil Ability."
A simple Double Team move could never have escaped Excadrill's senses.
The only other option was Sand Veil. The answer was obvious.
Basalt glanced at Shane. "So, this was all part of his plan? First, use Scary Face to debuff Excadrill's speed, forcing me to use Sandstorm. But as soon as the Sandstorm starts, his own Pokémon's power is massively boosted."
"A little interesting, huh?" A smile appeared on Basalt's face.
Pressure.
At this moment, he finally felt a long-absent sense of pressure.
These university students were really something else.
"Rii~"
From within the sandstorm, the invisible Gabite appeared again. Its claws shimmered as if it were wielding two sharp knives, and it slashed viciously at Excadrill.
If Excadrill used its speed to achieve ghost-like movements in the sandstorm...
...then Gabite didn't even need to move fast to achieve the same effect.
When the sand hit its body, it not only made no sound, but it also caused the color of its skin to change subtly, as if it were wearing a camouflage cloak.
On top of that, as a Ground-type, its control over its ground-based movements was also perfect.
With these two factors combined, Gabite was truly like a phantom, flickering in and out of existence, making it extremely difficult to track.
...Unless it chose to approach.
"Metal Claw!"
Excadrill swung its steel claws, once again knocking the opponent back.
Clang! Boom! Crash!
The sounds of collision rang out continuously, showing how fierce the battle was.
Gabite attacked relentlessly with Dragon Claw, Dual Chop, Shadow Claw, Dragon Tail, and Fire Fang.
Excadrill parried and blocked with Metal Claw, Iron Head, and Slash. Although it held the upper hand, the frustrating part was that it couldn't widen its lead.
Gabite would retreat and vanish after a single blow, only to strike again when it found a new opening, like an assassin that was impossible to defend against.
Critically, this Gabite's close-combat skill was also very high, and Excadrill was struggling to find an opening.
"Basalt is in a tough spot now."
On the sidelines, a team member couldn't help but chuckle, then sighed. "But if these two weren't opponents, they'd make incredible partners. Sand Rush and Sand Veil... it's a perfect match. They're like two daggers in a sandstorm."
At this, all the team members smiled.
In the university league, besides 1v1s, there were also relay battles and team battles.
A good performance in the team battles could be just as impactful as a high ranking in the singles.
The main reason the team members returned to school to practice together was for these team battles.
"Excadrill, stop the Sandstorm!"
Basalt's calm voice suddenly rang out.
The moment he spoke, the raging sandstorm quickly died down.
In the blink of an eye, the battlefield was calm again.
"You don't want the Sandstorm anymore?" Shane laughed, his voice cold. "Fine! I'll start it! Gabite!"
"Rii~"
Across the field, Gabite's face showed its excitement. It dug its sharp claws into the ground, trying to kick up the sand.
But strangely, the sand on the ground seemed to completely ignore its call.
Except for a two- or three-meter radius around it, the rest of the sand didn't move an inch.
"This..."
Shane was floored, his eyes wide.
Kicking up sand required the specific move, Sandstorm.
But stopping sand required pure, raw control over the element.
Gabite had used the move Sandstorm, but the sandstorm had failed. This could only mean one thing: its control over the Rock-type (sand) was so much weaker than its opponent's that they weren't even in the same league.
But... the opponent was just an Excadrill! It wasn't a Rock-type, and it didn't have the Sand Stream Ability!
Why is its control over sand so high?!
Shane couldn't figure it out.
But Shane didn't have time to think, because Basalt was already counter-attacking.
"Earthquake!"
RUMBLE!
Excadrill leaped into the air and stomped down hard. The ground instantly began to shake violently, rolling like ocean waves.
"Gabite, use Earthquake too!"
Although Garchomp could fly, its pre-evolution Gabite could not.
Shane had no choice but to counter with an Earthquake of his own.
But in terms of attack power, Gabite was no match for Excadrill. A head-on clash was a losing battle.
Especially now, without Sand Veil to hide it, Gabite's position was crystal clear. Excadrill could focus all its energy on attacking that one spot.
Forced into a corner, Gabite could only use its ultimate move again.
"Outrage!" Shane roared.
Hearing this, the crowd was shocked once more.
"This Gabite not only knows Draco Meteor, but it also knows Outrage? Its talent for moves is just outstanding!"
It hadn't even fully evolved, but it had already learned all its ultimate moves. This was a true sign of talent.
"Wide Guard!"
Basalt's eyes narrowed as he responded.
The crowd was shocked yet again.
Wide Guard was a god-tier defensive move, but it had a very high energy cost. Using it repeatedly could easily cause it to fail.
But Basalt's Excadrill had already used it once at the start of the match, and had been fighting and controlling sand ever since.
Had its Rock-type energy already recovered?
The crowd was skeptical.
On the field, Gabite's aura surged. Its eyes turned blood-red as its reason faded, but its power climbed relentlessly.
It locked onto Excadrill, kicked off the ground, and shot forward like an arrow, slamming into Excadrill with all its strength.
BOOM!
At the last second, Wide Guard appeared again, successfully blocking the first hit of Outrage.
But against Outrage, the Wide Guard shield began to crack, a spiderweb of fissures spreading rapidly.
BOOM!
The second hit of Outrage landed.
The Wide Guard shield could no longer hold and shattered into countless pieces of rock.
"RII~"
Gabite roared, trying to unleash a third strike.
But unfortunately, its rank was still too low, and its internal Dragon-type energy was too weak. Two hits were its current limit.
At that moment, Gabite felt the world spin. Stars exploded in its vision, and it began to sway.
"Now, Hidden Power!" Basalt shouted.
A vivid, jade-green orb of energy suddenly appeared.
Compress. Gently push. Run away.
The three steps were executed in one go, as smooth as flowing water.
BOOM!
A violent explosion roared out. A small mushroom cloud rose up, and smoke filled the area.
Some of the freshmen standing too close had their hats blown off.
But their eyes were wide with undeniable shock.
The power of that explosion was far, far greater than they could have imagined.
An attack of that magnitude... that was the destructive power of a peak Advanced-rank Pokémon!
"Rii..."
The smoke cleared. The referee quickly made the call: "Gabite is unable to battle! The winner is... Basalt!"
☆☆☆
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you