"Dril!!"
Excadrill glared at Empoleon, who had just prevented it from burrowing back underground. It had never seen a Pokémon like Empoleon before, but after their brief exchange, it had already gotten a sense of Empoleon's strength. A trace of mockery flashed through Excadrill's narrow eyes.
"Empo!!"
Empoleon also caught the contempt in Excadrill's gaze. Instantly, its anger began to rise.
"Dril!!"
The two sides remained locked in a standoff for only a brief moment.
The next instant, Excadrill transformed into a spinning drill once again, rotating at high speed as it charged straight at Empoleon!
"Empoleon! Block it again with Metal Claw! Then use Fury Attack!"
"Empoleon!"
At Liam's command, Empoleon's wings were once again enveloped in a metallic sheen. Stepping forward powerfully, Empoleon swung its steel claws and slammed head-on into the incoming Excadrill!
"Empo! Empoleon!!"
This time, however, the clash of strength favored Excadrill.
Having boosted its Attack with its previous move, Excadrill spun like a gigantic drill against Empoleon's wings, forcing Empoleon backward and pinning it in place. Empoleon's feet slowly sank into the grassy ground beneath it.
The violent grinding of steel against steel sent showers of sparks flying in every direction.
"Empo!!"
The blazing sparks continuously struck Empoleon's face. Heated white-hot by the intense friction, they should have been painful—but Empoleon paid them no attention whatsoever, its sharp eyes remaining fixed on Excadrill.
Although Empoleon was being overwhelmed at the moment, giving up had never been part of its nature.
The harder an opponent suppressed it...
...the fiercer its counterattack would become.
"Empo!!"
Just like now!
The moment Excadrill's attack finished and the spinning of its drill slowed ever so slightly, Empoleon exploded with all of its strength. With a furious roar, it heaved Excadrill into the air once again!
This time, Empoleon didn't wait for Excadrill to land.
It crossed its wings before itself as white light flowed over them.
Then Empoleon lunged forward!
It caught up to Excadrill before it could touch the ground, its wings flashing in a blur as they unleashed a relentless storm of slashes.
Meanwhile, Liam hurried over to N, casually reaching into the pit and pulling the mud-covered boy out.
Seeing that N was merely dirty and hadn't suffered any real injuries, Liam finally relaxed.
On the other side...
"Empo!!"
With one final roar from Empoleon, Excadrill was blasted away by the last strike of Fury Attack, its somewhat bulky body crashing heavily into a patch of tall grass.
However, the thick grass cushioned the impact, so Excadrill wasn't seriously hurt by the fall.
After rolling through the grass a few times, it slowly climbed back to its feet.
"Dril!!"
The savage look in Excadrill's eyes only intensified.
It was likely the leader of this area, accustomed to dominating everything around it. Now that it had been beaten back by a foreign Pokémon, its pride had been deeply wounded.
With another furious roar, the steel horn atop Excadrill's head suddenly shone with brilliant white light.
Then it charged straight toward Empoleon!
"Hm? Be careful, Empoleon! That's Horn Drill! Don't let it hit you! Dodge!"
"Empo!!"
Horn Drill—a one-hit knockout move with terrifying power.
If Empoleon were struck directly, the battle would be over instantly.
So Liam had no intention of letting Empoleon meet it head-on.
Upon hearing the command, Empoleon immediately dodged to one side.
While Horn Drill was devastating, its greatest weakness was its poor accuracy.
As long as it missed...
It wasn't much of a threat.
"Dril!!"
But just as Empoleon sidestepped the attack...
The Excadrill that had rushed past suddenly curled its lips into a crafty grin.
The next moment—
"Dril!!"
The glow around its horn vanished instantly.
At the same time, Excadrill raised both massive claws high before smashing them violently into the ground!
In an instant, the entire field began shaking violently!
Centered on Excadrill, huge sections of earth and turf flipped over like waves.
"Empo!!"
The Earthquake came far too suddenly.
Having only just dodged Horn Drill, Empoleon was completely unprepared.
Its footing gave way as the ground shook, sending it crashing onto its back.
Immediately afterward, enormous chunks of dirt and sod buried Empoleon beneath them.
"Dril! Dril! DRIL!!"
Watching Empoleon disappear beneath the overturned earth, Excadrill raised both arms high and cheered triumphantly.
Just then—
"Cough... cough... Wow, this guy's way too violent. N, you're alright, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I'm fine! Where's Purrloin?"
"Meow~"
Since they had been near the edge of the Earthquake, Liam and N hadn't been affected much.
"Dril? Dril!"
Their conversation immediately drew Excadrill's attention.
Convinced it had already defeated its opponent, the smug Excadrill scraped its steel claws together with a sneer and slowly walked toward Liam and N.
But after only taking two steps—
Liam suddenly raised a hand.
"Hey, you violent guy. What are you planning to do? Going to attack us?"
"That wouldn't be a very good idea."
"Your battle with my partner isn't over yet."
"And besides... don't you know one simple rule?"
Liam spoke with a teasing smile.
"Dril?"
Excadrill froze in confusion.
"Heh... The rule is this—"
"Never listen to a single word your enemy says!"
BOOM!!
The instant Liam finished speaking, powerful column of water suddenly erupted beneath Excadrill's feet!
The tremendous force blasted it straight into the sky!
Immediately afterward—
"EMPO!!"
A thunderous roar came from the nearby mound of earth.
The next moment, another tremendous water column exploded through the dirt!
Wrapped in surging water, Empoleon's dark-blue body shot skyward like a missile, rapidly catching up to Excadrill.
"EMPO!!"
In the blink of an eye, Empoleon soared above Excadrill.
Looking down from overhead, it let out another roar.
The torrent surrounding its body suddenly expanded violently!
An enormous waterfall crashed down from the sky, engulfing Excadrill before smashing it back toward the ground!
BOOM!!
The roaring cascade slammed into the grasslands with an earth-shaking impact.
"Empoleon!"
Once the waterfall had completely crashed down, Empoleon controlled the water jets surrounding its body and descended safely back to the ground.
Then—
"Dri...l..."
As the massive volume of water quickly soaked into the earth, Excadrill lay sprawled across the grass with spiraling eyes.
Its belly had swollen into a round ball from swallowing so much water.
It was completely unable to move.
Only then did Liam calmly walk over.
"Go, PokeBall!"