"Grrr!"
The Galarian Linoone slammed its back hard against a giant rock, the intense pain from both sides almost making it faint right there.
At the same time.
A faint singing seemed to drift into the air.
Soon after, layers of pale pink tangible sound waves expanded from a shadowy spot, spreading rapidly and reaching them in the blink of an eye.
Not good!
"Use Uproar now!"
Jian's expression twisted dramatically.
"Awooo—!!"
Mightyena didn't hesitate, throwing its head back and letting out a long howl that could rattle eardrums, sending layers of white visible sound waves to shatter the incoming pink ones completely.
But the white waves didn't just disappear; instead, they spread further toward Aron and the Galarian Linoone, forcing painful expressions onto their faces.
Sing!
That Chansey can actually sing!
Jian's face darkened severely.
In Baimu's intelligence, there was the least information about Chansey, because it had never been sent out to battle, so the available moves weren't detailed.
It appeared that Mightyena broke through the Sing with Uproar, but actually, Chansey had stalled it; once Uproar is used, it can't switch to other moves for a short time.
It had to keep using it.
This also gave Aron a further opportunity to attack.
And.
Due to distance and positioning constraints, he couldn't use the Pokeball to recall the Galarian Linoone.
If he didn't want to abandon the Galarian Linoone, he and Mightyena had to move closer, to avoid a disconnect between Pokémon and Trainer.
Damn it!
"Iron Head!"
"Get up! Pounce!" Jian shouted upon hearing Baimu's command, forcing himself to move closer with Mightyena.
Even though the distance between them wasn't far, when he reached a spot to use the Pokeball to recall the Galarian Linoone, Aron was already charging forth with its head shining silver!
Boom!
A dull thud echoed.
Thick smoke billowed and quickly dispersed.
The two Pokémon flew backward.
At the critical moment, the Galarian Linoone managed to use Pounce.
But its movements were slower than Aron's, forced to parry, weakening its power and leaving it at a disadvantage in the clash.
Fortunately, the boulder it hit and shattered was right in front of Jian.
So even though it was rolling on the ground, kicking up a huge cloud of dust, it successfully closed the distance with its Trainer.
On the other side.
Aron's condition was still decent. Despite its fourfold weakness to Fighting and being in its first stage, it wasn't clumsy while holding the advantage.
It ground to a halt, leaving a mark in the dust-laden ground.
Its expression was quite calm, apparently not having expended much energy; it was merely unfortunate that the position of the collision let the Galarian Linoone "escape," which made it feel a bit regretful.
There was no doubt that Baimu gained the upper hand in this initial matchup, urgently needing to expand the victory to prevent Jian from pulling out any cards for a comeback.
However.
Just as he was about to issue an order, a pink Little Egg suddenly enlarged from the shadows, emitting a weak chirp.
"Lucky..."
It was the dust-covered Chansey returning to its original form.
It panted somewhat wearily, seemingly reaching its limit before reverting back.
The "Minimize" effect miraculously shrinks its originally large body, but the prolonged transformation is an intense mental and physical burden for a Pokémon.
Its appearance brought a gleam to Jian's eyes.
"Uproar!"
"Awooo—!!"
The sound wave attack from Mightyena contracted significantly from complete dispersion, focusing its power, prominently targeting the suddenly appearing Chansey.
"Use Softboiled! Aron, lend a hand!"
"Gu!"
Aron let out a responding low growl, suddenly jumping to knock Chansey behind a rock, simultaneously hiding behind another rock with its inertia.
Bang! Bang!
The rocks shattered into gravel and flying ash from the pale white sound waves, a dazzling light shone through the dust, forming a beautiful oval shape.
As the dust settled, Chansey had emerged from exhaustion, and Aron hadn't sustained much damage.
Unfortunately, Baimu missed the best opportunity for a chase as Mightyena's Uproar ended, the Galarian Linoone also attempting to regroup.
"Lucky..."
Chansey witnessed all this, unable to hide the guilt and gloom in its heart.
If it had held on a little longer, perhaps Baimu would have taken down the evidently villainous opponent at hand.
"It's not your fault, don't worry about it!"
Noticing its expression wasn't right from the corner of his eye, Baimu immediately spoke to soothe it. Though speaking too much could be risky, remaining silent might lead to worse consequences.
While the error during a critical moment was not entirely Chansey's fault, it was actually the Trainer's failure.
Baimu misjudged Chansey's endurance and combat adaptability. A competent Trainer isn't just someone who stands there shouting commands; there's more to consider than an ordinary person might think.
"Hang in there! Healing Fluctuation! Rock Lock!"
"Not a chance! Taunt! Missile Needle!"
Once again, the two issued commands almost simultaneously, but Jian's side more accurately reflected the synchronization between Pokémon and Trainer.
At first glance, the blurred content was already quite clear to companions who spent every day together.
However, just from these two moves, it was actually hard to misguide Baimu, who had some understanding of Mightyena and Galarian Linoone and was clear about Jian's intentions.
In an instant.
Mightyena initiated with a chilling bark, the red light covering its body carried a magical force, guiding Chansey's gaze towards it, with two small paws nurturing a soft pink glow.
"Don't look!"
Baimu barely had time to advise, Mightyena's action was almost parallel to Jian's command, even somewhat predicting his instruction.
Undoubtedly, this was a display of their partner synergy.
When Chansey heard the sound, its movements stiffened, its gaze met the oddly expressed Mightyena, and a peculiar red light flew from the latter, rapidly entering its body.
Immediately.
Chansey noticed that the soft pink glow in its paws was gradually dimming.
"Lucky!"
It called out in panic.
At the same time, Aron stomped the ground forcefully, kicking up numerous stones of varying sizes in front of it, using Rock Attribute energy to shoot them out!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
The massive flying rocks whistled through the air!
"Ma-si!!"
The Galarian Linoone struggled, with a determined demeanor shooting out thick green light arrows from the short fur on its back, striking the rocks with precision.
The two acted like missiles and interceptors, continuously exploding with deafening blasts in mid-air, a dense smoke obscuring both sides' vision.
Seizing the opportunity.
Baimu decisively withdrew the panicked Chansey into its Pokeball.
When a Pokémon falls into a Taunt state, it temporarily cannot use Transformation Techniques, either finding a way to break free of the energy binding of the Taunt or returning to the Pokeball to dispel the energy.
He decisively chose the latter.
Soon, the dust from the explosion slowly dispersed again.
But what Baimu hadn't anticipated was that, for some reason, Jian was frantically feeding something to Mightyena and Galarian Linoone with a ferocious expression.
"You bastard, do you really think you've got the win in the bag?"
As soon as those words fell.
"Ugh..."
The eyes of Mightyena and Galarian Linoone were covered by something like a blood web, their mouths emitted a wailing-like low growl, and an eerily fierce aura erupted from them.
An unexpected trump card!
They're drugged!
Baimu's heart trembled, quickly releasing Chansey and said, "Healing Fluctuation! Rock Lock!"
"Tear them apart for me!"
Jian shouted through gritted teeth, "I spent a fortune on these, just let you have a good taste!"
"Awooo!"
"Ma-si!"
The two Pokémon, despite appearing manic, still obeyed orders and charged forward recklessly, smashing through incoming rocks headfirst, continuing without a hitch, such a fierce display truly scared Chansey in the back.
What made Baimu furrow his brows more was that Galarian Linoone, slightly slower, released a mysterious blue light while running.
Light of Evolution!
"Hahaha! I hit such a small probability! Heaven's helping me! Heaven intends for you to die here!"
Jian's face lit with ecstasy, eager to jump up and down on the spot.
As Chansey's Healing Fluctuation shone on Aron, Mightyena was already closing in, followed by the posture-changing Obstagoon, transforming from four-legged crawling to a two-legged run.
This guy's elbows, shoulders, and calves all grew a thick gray-white fur, the black striped fur from its head extended to its back, curling up like a wave.
"Gou-ma!"
Obstagoon, with those scarlet eyes, observed Aron and Chansey, seeing the latter just gather its Attribute energy, pounced without hesitation!
"Gu!"
Seeing this, Aron disregarded being locked on by Mightyena, quickly retreating to the defense and trying to block Obstagoon's pounce.
"Use Iron Head to counterattack! Chansey, use Minimize and dodge beside Aron!"
Baimu decisively moved closer to Aron's side.
This was not the time to worry about accidental injuries. If he stayed too far from his Pokémon, Mightyena or Obstagoon would surely pounce on him and bite his throat off as quickly as possible.
"Lucky!"
Chansey hurriedly leaned towards its teammates, its round body shrinking in a flash of blue light, narrowly avoiding Obstagoon's pounce.
Aron rushed to aid, its gleaming silver head slammed into Obstagoon sending it staggering backwards several steps, but as soon as it landed, it was struck by Mightyena's dark-light-emanating fierce claw.
Boom!
Aron hit the ground, creating a small pit.
Fortunately, Chansey's previous Healing Fluctuation had restored its stamina, allowing it to quickly rise, its condition not too degraded, its stamina quite sufficient.
However.
This time, Chansey's Minimize only lasted a few seconds before reverting to its original form.
Judging by its expression, its mental state obviously couldn't hold on.
Baimu, getting closer, attempted to stand behind Chansey and Aron but suddenly realized that Mightyena and Obstagoon had silently formed a crude encirclement.
Causing Chansey and Aron to gradually lose their retreat.
What exactly did Jian feed them?
Normally, these two Pokémon should have been down long ago, even with the 'sit-up' benefits of evolution, there's no way they would be unaffected after enduring so many moves.
For a moment.
Baimu's already racing heart sped up even more.