It seemed that Du Juan noticed her Pokémon was a bit nervous and immediately spoke to comfort it.
"Don't be afraid! Rollout and charge forward!"
"Graveler!"
Upon hearing the Trainer's voice, Graveler suddenly felt emboldened. The confidence of being a Gym Leader's Pokémon returned to it. Its four arms pressed close to its body and it began rolling forward with a rumble.
Meanwhile.
Steelix twisted its body in the sky, its bronze-cast eyes glancing towards the rolling roar, its tail lighting up with a dazzling silver glow.
"Iron Tail!"
Whoosh!
The sound of the tail swishing through the air was almost deafening, akin to a supersonic whip leaving only a blur. It chased directly after the rolling Graveler.
"Jump up using a rock!"
Du Juan shouted, and Graveler, without hesitation, crashed into a boulder. Instead of shattering it, Graveler used its curve to propel itself skyward!
Boom!!
The boulder was shattered by the pursuing Iron Tail, sending a cloud of debris and smoke scattering into the air.
"Heavyweight Charge!"
"Flame Fist!"
Baimu and Du Juan commanded in unison.
Steelix roared, twisting its body. A silver halo suddenly appeared, rolling like a metallic blaze.
"Roar!"
It let out a thunderous roar, charging towards Graveler, which flew higher due to the Rollout. Four large steel bones spun like windmills, generating a sudden propulsion making it charge like a passing train.
Faced with Steelix's fierce attack, Graveler astonishingly stopped rolling mid-air. It raised its stronger pair of arms, which were ignited with flames, and smashed down hard toward the incoming Steelix!
Both collided with a loud crash!
Bam!!
A thunderous boom, with firelight mixed with smoke rapidly spreading outwards!
The two Trainers immediately shielded their faces with their arms to prevent dust from getting into their eyes, only lowering them when the dust settled a bit to look towards the battlefield.
In the battlefield, Graveler had already landed on the ground, surrounded by rocks, struggling to support its body.
In the air, Steelix gazed down at Graveler, with a burned scar on its forehead, yet its expression remained calm, with no sign of heavy breathing.
Even an attribute-countering move didn't seem to cause it much damage.
Du Juan realized it was due to a level difference; this Steelix possessed strength far beyond the second badge's level. Could Baimu be a Trainer from another region?
She speculated in her heart, knowing Graveler only held on due to its Sturdy ability, and shouted, "Get close to it! Use Big Explosion!"
"Graveler!"
Graveler responded with a shout, rolling towards Steelix without hesitation, emitting a brilliant white glow as it gathered a formidable energy wave.
Baimu remained stern-faced but not nervous, having already understood Du Juan's strategy, loudly said, "Use the thing you practiced when you went back! Quicksand Hell!"
"Roar!"
Steelix let out a deep growl as its four steel bones began to spin. The quicksand on the ground seemed attracted and continuously flew skyward, revolving around it as the bones spun with a whistle.
In an instant.
A roaring sandstorm tornado took shape, abruptly tightening into a sand and soil shield as Graveler's bright glow exploded!
The blinding light, accompanied by ground-shaking tremors, illuminated the entire battleground, with the fearsome shockwave sending debris and dust flying in a visible wall of air.
Fortunately, Graveler's level wasn't very high, so the power of the shockwave wasn't particularly strong, only ruffling Baimu's clothing.
Thick smoke covered the entire battlefield, soon dispersed by a gust of wind.
Baimu and Du Juan looked inside, first seeing the unharmed Steelix twisting its steel bones, and beneath it, Graveler, with spiral eyes and emitting a blue smoke.
Clearly, the Quicksand Hell Shield was used successfully, and the technique's origin was Ash Ketchum. Xiaogang learned it from Ash and taught Baimu.
Since obtaining that secret technique, nearly a week of relentless effort by Baimu and Steelix, plus diligent practice back in Pyrite Town over two days, finally paid off.
"Graveler is unable to battle, Steelix wins!" Aerial Rotom flew out to confirm the result.
"Beautiful maneuvering of moves!"
Du Juan praised, recalling Graveler with a raised hand, "To perfectly defend against Graveler's Big Explosion, your Steelix's control is outstanding."
"Your Graveler too; it's not easy to stop a Rollout move like that, is it?" Baimu quickly reciprocated with some business-like compliments to gain favor.
Sure enough.
Du Juan smiled softly upon hearing this, "You've worked hard, Graveler. Now, quickly show me the strength of your last Pokémon!"
She threw a Pokeball.
Bam!
A flash of white light.
A Pokémon resembling an Easter Island statue—Nosepass appeared on the battlefield.
Baimu swiftly switched out Steelix and sent out the long-awaited Mawile.
"Be careful! It can freely change direction!"
He shouted, noting that Du Juan's Nosepass could freely manipulate its magnetism, not needing to rotate to face other directions, free from being bound to always face north.
As his words fell, Mawile's surroundings naturally sparked with electric light, its feet gradually lifting off the ground.
Opposite, Du Juan's face showed intrigue.
Electromagnetic Levitation again? This move isn't easy to learn.
"Rock Seal!"
She slightly raised her hand, Nosepass stomped the ground with its right foot, and many stone pillars shot up around Mawile!
Fortunately, Baimu was well-versed with Du Juan's basic strategies through numerous videos, reminding just in time. As Du Juan spoke, he had already voiced, "Dodge upwards!"
Mawile quickly ascended, causing the Rock Seal to miss.
No doubt, Nosepass's use and execution speed differed significantly from Aggron, which Baimu was rather envious of and hoped to learn this technique.
"Use those rocks as a springboard! Iron Head!"
"Mawile!"
Mawile responded cutely, suddenly kicking back towards Nosepass under Du Juan's puzzled gaze!
Bam!
The risen rocks exploded with a bang, the explosive force turning Mawile into a blur, making it impossible for Nosepass to track it.
"Defend!"
Du Juan saw it clearly but had no choice but to command Nosepass to defend, lacking a way to share its vision.
Little did she know, Mawile intended to avoid a frontal assault, darting past Nosepass's side, aiming at Du Juan seated besides the Gym Leader!
The latter was startled until it twisted its body again, forcefully kicking a rock not far in front of her, exploding into shattered stones. She then realized Mawile intended to attack from the back!
"Iron Wall!"
Du Juan urged loudly, but Nosepass failed to respond, unable to use Iron Wall despite locking onto Mawile's position with its magnetic nose.
Thunk!
A sound akin to a bell tolling.
It was the sound of Mawile swinging its massive jaws to slam Nosepass into the ground!
"Frozen Fang—eh? Isn't it a Sturdy trait?"
Baimu intended to press the advantage, momentarily dazed seeing Nosepass's spiral eyes.
Aerial Rotom announced the result.
"Nosepass is unable to battle, Mawile wins, the victor of this Gym challenge is Baimu!"