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Chapter 159: The Birth of a New Champion
🕑 Added 2025-08-25 14:55:22 +0000 UTCChapter 159: The Birth of a New Champion
Basalt's momentary doubt vanished as quickly as it appeared. On the battlefield, Excadrill's assault didn't pause for a second; in fact, it grew even more ferocious. Its attacks came in waves, each one stronger than the last, giving Gardevoir no room to breathe.
"Rock Slide!"
"Drill Run!"
"Rock Tomb!"
Basalt rattled off a series of commands, ordering Excadrill into a frenzy. So, your Gardevoir is good at dodging? Fine. I'll just use moves that cover the entire field.
First, a Rock Slide rained down, making it impossible for Gardevoir to dodge completely. It was forced to expend its psychic energy to defend itself. Then, in the split second Gardevoir was occupied, Excadrill seized the opportunity to launch a powerful Drill Run.
But Gardevoir's psychic power was immense. Multitasking was no problem for it. Even as it deflected the falling rocks, it was still tracking Excadrill's every move. So, just as the impossibly fast Excadrill was about to connect, Gardevoir vanished with another Teleport.
However, in the Sandstorm, every grain of sand was an extension of Excadrill's senses. Between the swirling sand in the air and the vibrations in the ground, it knew every corner of the battlefield like the back of its hand. The moment Gardevoir reappeared, Excadrill would know.
"Exca?" But when it did sense Gardevoir's location, it was surprised. According to the information from the sand, Gardevoir hadn't fled. It had reappeared... directly behind Excadrill.
"Now!" Iris's lips curved into a smile. Everything was going according to plan.
After such a relentless series of attacks, Excadrill's energy had to be running low. In the brief moment between its attacks, when it was most vulnerable, she would strike with all her might. But first, she had to neutralize its incredible speed.
"Telekinesis!" Iris shouted.
"Garde~" From behind Excadrill, Gardevoir let out a soft cry. It placed its hand on Excadrill's back, and a wave of Psychic-type energy washed over it.
Vwoom!
A faint glow enveloped Excadrill's body, then vanished.
"Excaaa!" Excadrill tried to turn and swat Gardevoir away with its steel claws, but it suddenly found its body floating uncontrollably into the air, as if it were an astronaut in space. Caught off guard, unable to touch the ground to push off or even turn its body, Excadrill was completely helpless.
"Gardevoir, full power... Psyshock!" Iris's face was flushed with exertion, her eyes burning with determination. This was it. Victory or defeat, all in this one move.
"Crap!" The moment Basalt heard the word "Psyshock," his blood ran cold.
Psyshock. A Psychic-type move that manifested psychic power as a physical force, dealing physical damage to the opponent.
Lowering Excadrill's defense with Screech, then hitting it with Psyshock. Suddenly, Iris's entire strategy made perfect sense.
"But manifesting psychic power as a physical force requires an incredible level of refinement. How can an intermediate-tier Gardevoir do that?" Basalt gritted his teeth in disbelief.
Psyshock's power was only mid-to-high tier, but its difficulty was higher than even most high-tier moves. It was a technique that even many advanced-tier Psychic Pokémon couldn't master.
But Iris was the daughter of a Gym Leader. Her starter Pokémon, Gardevoir, was a prodigy that had received the best training money could buy. Pushing itself to the absolute limit, it could manage a single Psyshock. But only one. This was why Iris had said she only had one chance.
Floating in the air, a helpless target, Excadrill could only watch as the materialized psychic power, a spear of pure mental energy, slammed into its chest.
BOOM!
A dull thud, followed by an explosion that filled the arena with smoke. The raging Sandstorm faltered, its range shrinking, its intensity weakening. In an instant, the mighty storm had been reduced to a mere dust devil.
"Excadrill!" Basalt yelled, his head spinning. He couldn't believe a battle he had been so sure of winning had come to this. One wrong move, and the entire game was lost.
"So that was her trump card," the League President mused from the VIP box. "Using Telekinesis to make her opponent float. A clever tactic. It's easy to be caught off guard by that the first time."
"Excadrill's defense isn't that high to begin with, and it was sharply lowered," the Chancellor sighed, watching the dying Sandstorm. "It seems the girl has won."
But the moment he finished speaking, the Sandstorm suddenly roared back to life. At the same time, a deep, powerful cry echoed through the stadium.
"EXCAAAAADRILL!"
Excadrill's roar was a defiant challenge. The Sandstorm flared, instantly blowing away the smoke from the explosion.
"What?"
"Excadrill is still standing?"
The ten thousand spectators in the stadium stared in disbelief. There, in the center of the field, clutching its chest and panting heavily, covered in wounds, stood Excadrill. Its eyes were locked on Gardevoir.
"How is that possible?" Iris felt an invisible hand clench around her heart, making it hard to breathe. "With Excadrill's defense and stamina, how could it have survived that...?"
Not just Iris, but even the VIPs in the box were stunned. It just didn't seem scientifically possible.
But they didn't know about the Smooth Rock Crystal that had become a part of Excadrill, giving it far greater durability and stamina than a normal Pokémon. And the Feathersteel used in its evolution had not only made it lighter, but also significantly tougher. It was the combination of these two factors that had allowed it to survive.
But even so, it had been a close call. Excadrill was on its last legs, a testament to the power of Gardevoir's final attack.
Gardevoir wasn't in much better shape. It was panting heavily, its body swaying. The Sandstorm had drained most of its stamina, and the series of Teleports, combined with the all-out Psyshock, had left its psychic energy almost completely depleted.
"Excaaaadrill!" o(▼皿▼メ;)o
Though both Pokémon were exhausted, in terms of sheer fighting spirit, Excadrill was the clear winner. Its eyes were filled with a fierce, savage light. With all its remaining strength, it began to slowly, deliberately walk towards Gardevoir.
Gardevoir, on the other hand, had a flicker of fear in its eyes.
"What is that Excadrill doing? It looks so fierce!"
"But also... so cool! I love it!"
"Me too! I love Excadrill, and I love its trainer!"
The crowd buzzed with excitement, captivated by Excadrill's defiant advance.
One step. Two steps. Three...
Dragging its weary body, Excadrill finally stood before Gardevoir. Gardevoir foresaw the danger and tried to muster a psychic attack, but its mind was empty. The effort sent a splitting headache through its skull.
Then, under the gaze of ten thousand pairs of eyes, Excadrill, who only came up to Gardevoir's shoulder, glared at it fiercely, then raised its steel claw and weakly slapped it across the face.
SMACK!
Gardevoir stumbled back and fell to the ground, three bright red claw marks on its cheek.
Excadrill looked down at the fallen Pokémon and spat on the ground. You thought you were so tough, huh? Look at you now.
"This..." Basalt's mouth twitched. Breaking News: Sandstorm Sovereign Slaps Psychic Queen! A trashy news headline immediately popped into his head.
Gardevoir tried to get up, but it couldn't. Its eyes spun into swirls, and it fainted.
"Gardevoir is unable to battle! The winner is... Basalt!" the referee quickly announced, waving his flags.
"And we have a winner!" the announcer's voice boomed. "The Rookie of the Year has been decided! Let's give a huge round of applause to the new champion of the Jiangnan region, from Metro City, Basalt and his Excadrill!"
ROAR!
The stadium erupted in a deafening wave of applause and cheers.
Ignoring the pain in its body, Excadrill raised its steel claws, puffed out its chest, and basked in the adoration of the crowd.
"Excaaaadrill!" (▼へ▼メ)
I, the Sandstorm Sovereign... am still invincible!
