Chapter 378: The Slaughter Begins!
"What did you say?"
Zayne's smile froze. He thought his ears were playing tricks on him. His pride, the 6-1 victory, was nothing in Basalt's eyes? Basalt was disappointed in his performance?
Sweeping without losses is something anyone with hands can do?
Is he serious?
It wasn't just Zayne; all the candidates present were incredulous. Basalt might be a genius, but geniuses need time to grow! He had only been a trainer for two years max. Could a super genius really just skyrocket and crush a bunch of quasi-Pro trainers like them?
Moreover, in this assessment match, aside from using moves like U-turn, each trainer only had three chances to switch Pokémon. Even by grinding, one could surely take down at least one Pokémon, right? Not to mention moves like Self-Destruct, Explosion, and Perish Song, which were hard to defend against.
Even Zayne had only hoped for a flawless victory; he wasn't 100% confident. But Basalt saying it out loud was like planting a flag. If he failed, the humiliation would be immense.
"Damn, I've seen arrogant people, but never this arrogant! I thought Basalt was low-key and pragmatic, but turns out he brags without drafting a script."
"He's probably too outstanding among his peers, blinded by flowers and applause."
"Exactly! His genius is only relative to his peers. We aren't his peers or classmates. I was exploring the wilderness when he was still wearing open-crotch pants!"
The candidates looked at Basalt with mockery. Even the evaluators shook their heads slightly.
But Basalt didn't care. This was exactly the effect he wanted. The greater the contrast, the more famous he would become!
Zayne secretly regretted not being matched against Basalt, and Basalt felt the same. Crushing a nameless nobody wasn't nearly as exciting as crushing a genius from Saffron U. Especially someone like Zayne, whose father was famous. That would be headline news for sure.
"Candidates 5 and 6, please take the field."
Soon, the second match concluded, and the referee called the next pair.
Basalt stretched and walked onto the field.
"Crap, I'm matched against Basalt? Just my luck!" Candidate 5's face turned pale, looking like he'd lost a parent. Although he didn't believe Basalt could sweep him without losses, for Basalt to say such things meant he must have significant strength. Honestly, he felt he was destined to lose! The only question was how badly.
"I want to see just how skilled you really are!" Zayne crossed his arms, his face dark.
"Go, Weavile!"
"Go, Excadrill!"
Both trainers took their positions and released their starting Pokémon.
"Weavile, huh? Not a bad opponent!" Basalt raised an eyebrow, a smile on his lips.
Then let the slaughter begin!
"Wow? A Shiny Excadrill? That's quite rare."
"Hey, did you notice? This Excadrill seems much larger than normal ones. And its fur stands straight like steel needles. It must have been fed rare metal ores; its defense must be amazing."
Compared to the standard Weavile, Excadrill's appearance was impressive, causing quite a stir upon entry. Unfortunately, the schedule was tight, and the match began before anyone could praise it further.
"Weavile, Ice Shard!"
Candidate 5, Zhu Han, was a man nearing thirty, but his fighting spirit was high. Weavile's priority move, Ice Shard, had been honed to perfection. Combined with Weavile's high Attack, the power was explosive.
"Wide Guard!"
Basalt didn't panic. Excadrill had its defensive trump card.
Bang!
Sharp ice shards struck the rock wall, blasting out a significant chunk but failing to penetrate.
Zhu Han wasn't disappointed. Although he hadn't heavily damaged the opponent, forcing out their defensive move was a good start. But now, he needed to close the distance quickly. Otherwise, if Excadrill used Earthquake or other area-of-effect moves, Weavile wouldn't survive.
"Weavile, Double Team and surround it!"
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Countless afterimages appeared. An "army" of Weaviles quickly surrounded Excadrill, creating immense pressure.
But just then, the rock wall turned into sand, beginning to swirl wildly.
Shh-shh-shh...
In the blink of an eye, a sandstorm formed, engulfing the entire arena.
Under the sweeping sandstorm, Excadrill's fur danced in the wind, making faint clinking sounds. Excadrill stood motionless, watching the approaching real Weavile. Under the cover of sand, Weavile's true body couldn't hide from Excadrill.
Seeing the unmoved Excadrill, Weavile felt slighted. Blood rushed to its head, and its right claw glowed with a piercing light. Its pace quickened. With its super speed, once it was within ten meters, Excadrill wouldn't be able to dodge!
Weavile sneered, slashing its right claw viciously.
Fighting-type move, Brick Break!
"Dorong-ss!"
But just then, Excadrill moved.
Weavile was fast, but under the sandstorm, Excadrill was faster—significantly faster. Leaning slightly to avoid Weavile's claw, Excadrill's steel claw flashed with the same light, striking back violently.
Brick Break!
"Wea-vile!"
With a scream, Weavile was sent flying. When it landed, its eyes were spinning, unable to battle. With a 4x weakness to Fighting and fragile defenses, Weavile couldn't withstand the hit.
"So... so fast!" Zhu Han's eyes widened. He had never seen an Excadrill with that kind of speed.
"Sand Rush Ability?" Zayne frowned slightly. Excadrill's Ability was clearly highly developed to reach that level. Fast Pokémon were troublesome. Speed is the only thing that cannot be defeated.
But thinking of his Porygon2's Lock-On move, Zayne relaxed.
"Go, Donphan!"
Gritting his teeth, Zhu Han recalled Weavile and sent out his second Pokémon. Ground-type Donphan had a type advantage. Crucially, his Donphan had the Sand Veil Ability, so using the sandstorm to his advantage was necessary.
However, Zhu Han didn't launch an all-out attack immediately. Instead, he shouted, "Stealth Rock!" He was setting up.
Basalt smiled. I'll match you. "Excadrill, Stealth Rock!"
Both Pokémon summoned several large rocks to float around the field. But compared to Donphan's rocks, Excadrill's were visibly twice as large and more numerous. In this comparison, Donphan immediately fell behind, and Zhu Han's face turned grim.
"Donphan, Earth! Quake!" Zhu Han roared. He was going big. As an area-of-effect move, Earthquake was unavoidable. Die, Excadrill!
"Excadrill, Earthquake as well." Basalt shrugged. I'll continue to match you.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
The ground shook violently in succession. But clearly, the seismic waves generated by Excadrill were far stronger than Donphan's.
Donphan was crushed again.
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