Engaging in direct combat with Hariyama despite having a quadruple weakness to Fighting.
Even if there might be an advantage in level, it's still not a wise choice.
But Baimu has his own plans.
"Curse!"
"Roar!"
Aggron glared intently at Hariyama, letting out a deep roar, as black mist rose from its body.
When a non-Ghost-type Pokémon uses Curse, it has a different effect. When Galarian Corsola uses it, it sacrifices its own endurance to continually drain the opponent's; when Aggron uses it, it decreases its speed while increasing its physical attack and defense.
The reason for this effect lies in the Japanese name "のろい", which can mean either "curse" or "sluggish", correlating perfectly with its dual effects.
Meanwhile,
"Fierce Push!"
Fujishu shouted with clenched fists.
Hariyama moved with heavy steps toward Aggron, each step shuddering, while a bright reddish-brown light shone from its fan-like hands.
Baimu was not about to let them close in so easily.
"Fall back! Use Quicksand Hell!"
"Roar!"
Surrounded by dark mist, Aggron stepped back several times, striving to maintain distance from Hariyama. Its shiny claws pounded the ground, causing a crack that swiftly crept towards Hariyama's feet with a sharp snapping sound.
"Dodge to the right!" Fujishu yelled urgently.
Hariyama rolled sideways just in time, avoiding the ground beneath its previous position, which suddenly collapsed into a terrifying sandpit like a funnel.
If it fell in, it would be difficult for Hariyama to climb out due to its weight.
Fujishu understood this well and couldn't allow Aggron to create more sandpits, destroying their footing.
"Use Emitting Force continuously!"
"Yama!"
Hariyama roared and clapped its hands forward, sending a palm-shaped shock wave forward, followed by a second, a third!
Under its continuous slaps, countless shockwaves rose in succession!
However, Baimu and Aggron had already anticipated their intentions. When Hariyama raised its hands, Aggron dug underground, dodging the oncoming shockwaves.
The shockwaves hit the ground, kicking up dust that served as a natural interference, affecting Fujishu's vision of where Aggron was.
"Don't panic, close your eyes and feel with your feet, listen carefully with your ears! Listen like you would to waves!"
"Yama!"
Hariyama responded while closing its eyes, feeling the vibrations of the ground, listening for Aggron's movements.
Fujishu too closed his eyes as he spoke.
Man and Pokémon seemed to be in intense mental focus.
Unfortunately, Baimu was already familiar with their routine.
"Rock Seal!"
"Roar!"
Aggron emerged from the sandpit. Hariyama opened its eyes, attacking towards the sound it heard!
"That's it!" Fujishu shouted excitedly.
Whoosh!
A reddish-brown shockwave surged forward as countless boulders rose from the ground. Instead of trapping Hariyama as usual, they specifically struck the soles of its feet!
Bang! Bang!
Two explosive sounds.
The first was from the shockwave grazing past Aggron's horns, missing its target, and the second from Hariyama collapsing from the pain, unable to maintain its stance.
"It missed!"
Fujishu's face was full of disbelief from being deceived. He looked at Aggron in the pit, his breathing a bit irregular.
Although Baimu knew that Fujishu closed his eyes to achieve mental synchronization with Hariyama, giving up visual observation came at a cost.
"Digging!"
Aggron burrowed underground again, breaking the ground beneath Hariyama as it tried to stand, emerging suddenly!
Bang!
Fujishu shouted in haste, "Grab it!"
"Yama—"
At over 200 kilograms, Hariyama was nearly launched into the air by Aggron, but it withstood the pain, grabbing onto Aggron's horns to force its feet back to the ground.
With its excellent fighting capabilities, it instinctively wrapped its arms around Aggron's head.
"Powerful Takedown!"
Fujishu's command was urgent, as the opportunity was rare for Hariyama to finally touch Aggron.
Yet Baimu's command was just as swift, shouting, "Steady! It can't exert force! Use Kick Down!"
"Roar!"
Aggron let out a deep roar, standing firm as if rooted to the ground, while a flash of pain crossed Hariyama's face, unable to throw it as smoothly as expected.
Undoubtedly, the pain from earlier hindered it from exerting proper strength.
For large and heavy Pokémon like Hariyama, their relatively small feet can be a weakness as they bear the full weight of the body.
Since Hariyama couldn't attack smoothly, it was Aggron's turn.
Its tail suddenly curled and wrapped around Hariyama's ankle, its leg as firm as stone, exerting a powerful force!
Thud!
Hariyama's massive body collapsed with a heavy thud, thrown into disarray.
"Yama!"
The pain forced a cry out of it.
The Kick Down move, originally reserved for future Fighting-type Pokémon battles, turned out to be very useful when Baimu decided to use it during the Gym challenge.
"Stay strong! It's not over yet! We must ride out this wave! True Qi Bullet!"
Fujishu refused to admit defeat easily, and Hariyama didn't want to lose to Aggron either. Without getting up, it brought its fan-like hands together to form a bright blue energy sphere.
"Charge forward! Metal Explosion!"
Baimu responded immediately.
At such close range and given Aggron's reduced speed from Curse, dodging was nearly impossible, so countering with a move was the best option.
Besides, with the battle developing to this point, Baimu wouldn't let it dodge even if it could!
"Guh-roar!"
Aggron, with complete trust in its Trainer, glowed with metallic luster, charging forward before the True Qi Bullet could fire!
BOOM----!!
A deafening explosion, the True Qi Bullet, like an unstable bomb, detonated, sending visible shockwaves and dust sweeping in all directions.
Baimu and Fujishu raised their hands to shield against the sand and wind. After several seconds, as the dust settled, they glanced toward the battlefield.
The latter believed Aggron would find it hard to withstand the True Qi Bullet at such close range, but seeing the smile on Baimu's face made him uncertain.
The incidents with the Galarian Corsola were still fresh in his mind, making him wary of jumping to conclusions.
His suspicions seemed confirmed.
The dust cleared to reveal Aggron suppressing Hariyama, its shiny head now blackened by the explosion, but its bright blue eyes were exceptionally vivid.
In its massive, sharp-toothed mouth, a bright silver projectile was already formed.
"Solid Trait?"
"Wrong! It's perseverance! Fire!"
Baimu loudly refuted Fujishu's guess, launching the final blow to defeat Hariyama.
Aggron let out a roar!
"Roar----!!"
The brilliant light of Metal Explosion, Hariyama's terrified expression, and Fujishu's awestruck demeanor froze in that moment, captured in the rising silver mushroom cloud that reflected in Xiaoren's eyes.
She shivered slightly, thrilled and excited by the battle.
So,
As the dust settled.
"Hariyama is unable to continue battling, Aggron wins!! The winner is Challenger Baimu!!"