Chapter 110: Rematch with Luna
Hearing Luna's choice, the happiest person in the room was Forrest. He had been sure she would pick him. But thanks to Basalt's "antics," he had dodged a bullet. His Heracross, a Fighting/Bug-type, had a 4x weakness to Flying. And from what he had seen of Luna's strength, he wasn't confident he could win.
"Good luck, Basalt!" Forrest said cheerfully, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Thanks a lot," Basalt replied glumly, walking slowly onto the field.
"Who do you guys think Basalt will send out? Drilbur or Bronzor?"
"Type-wise, Bronzor has the advantage. But in terms of pure strength, I think Drilbur is more likely."
"Definitely. Bronzor is still a bit too weak, and it hasn't been in training for long enough."
The crowd nodded in agreement. Bronzor's previous performance, aside from its surprising fire resistance, had been a thorough beatdown by Nosepass. Many of its abilities hadn't even been showcased. So, most people assumed it was much weaker than Drilbur.
"But Drilbur has a big disadvantage too. As a Ground-type, it will be half-dead after taking one Ice Shard."
"All the better! Basalt is a talented trainer with no character. He doesn't deserve to be in Group B."
"Exactly! If someone like him makes it onto the city team, who knows if he'll harass the female trainers from other cities at the provincial tournament?"
"Whoa, you think so? That would ruin our city's reputation."
"With his attitude... it's not impossible."
"Go, Luna! Crush that jerk Basalt!"
"Go, Luna! Crush that jerk Basalt!"
What had started as a small cheer had grown into a full-blown chant from the Group C members. Crush the jerk Basalt, for the good of Metro City's reputation!
On the battlefield, Basalt and Luna had just taken their positions when they heard the chants. Luna's mood brightened, while Basalt was completely bewildered.
"What did I do wrong?" he wondered, feeling wronged. If I have sinned, let the heavens punish me. What's with all the shouting?
At the side of the field, Mr. Leo's face was flushed with embarrassment. He had never imagined that a student he had such high hopes for would have... this kind of problem.
"Both trainers, please send out your Pokémon," the referee said.
Basalt and Luna shook their heads and threw their Poké Balls. Luna, as expected, sent out her Delibird. Basalt sent out Bronzor.
"Bronz..."
Bronzor floated into the air, its battle spirit burning as it faced the flapping Delibird. After its success at the club's tournament and a weekend of intense training, its confidence and strength had grown immensely.
"Both trainers, ready! Battle, begin!"
"Ice Shard!" Luna started with the same priority move.
"Bronzor, Calm Mind!"
To everyone's surprise, facing the incoming sharp shard of ice, Basalt chose to set up.
"Bronz..."
Bronzor closed its eyes, its mind becoming calm. But it was the calm before the storm, the quiet before a devastating punch.
BAM!
The Ice Shard hit, and Bronzor was knocked back, a thin layer of frost covering the front of its body.
"Now, Delibird, use Water Pulse!" Luna commanded, a look of delight on her face. Calm Mind was a powerful move, but it was slow. Ice wasn't very effective against Steel, but a Water-type move would deal normal damage. And Bronzor's HP wasn't that high.
Vwoom!
A large, grapefruit-sized ball of pulsating water formed and shot towards Bronzor like a cannonball. Just before it hit, it exploded into a massive wave.
"Bronz..."
But just then, Bronzor's Calm Mind was complete. It opened its eyes.
Vwoom!
A powerful wave of psychic energy erupted from it, forming an invisible shield. The crashing wave of water was like a tsunami hitting a cliff, unable to move it an inch.
"What's going on? The Water Pulse is being blocked!"
"It looks like Bronzor's psychic power."
"No, that's not a move. If it was, its eyes would be glowing."
The crowd was stunned. Bronzor had blocked the attack with its raw psychic power, without even using a move.
"That level of psychic power..." Not just the students, but even Mr. Chen and Mr. Leo were surprised. They had no idea Basalt's Bronzor was hiding this kind of strength.
With another surge of psychic power, the frost on its body vanished.
Luna gritted her teeth. This Bronzor was far stronger than she had imagined.
"Delibird, Icy Wind!" she commanded, not giving up.
"Gravity," Basalt said, a hint of resignation in his voice. He had wanted to go easy on her, but with Delibird's terrifying Ice-type power, if he held back, he might just lose. He had to use his ace in the hole.
Vwoom!
The magnetic field around Delibird instantly changed. Normally, Bronzor's Gravity could only reach about 1.7x. But now, boosted by Calm Mind, it could reach an intensity of at least 2.0x. Delibird, a penguin, was not a natural flier. It couldn't resist.
"Deli!"
Caught off guard, Delibird plummeted to the ground. Its Icy Wind, aimed at Bronzor, shot off into the distance. It landed in a heap, its tiny wings flapping uselessly, unable to take off.
Swoosh!
A multicolored beam of light shot from Bronzor's eyes.
Psybeam!
"Deli!" Delibird, struggling against the heavy gravity, managed to fire an Aurora Beam in response. But because of the gravity, the beam's trajectory was strangely bent.
BOOM!
The Aurora Beam missed, but the Psybeam hit its mark. An explosion of dust and sand filled the air.
Whirrr!
Bronzor followed up with a Gyro Ball, and the super-effective hit finally took Delibird out of the fight.
"Delibird is unable to battle! The winner is... Basalt!"
"Sigh... I told you not to pick me," Basalt said, shaking his head at the stunned Luna. "You should have listened to good advice."
☆☆☆
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you