Chapter 156: Sandstorm vs. Rain Dance
"Let the battle begin!"
At the referee's command, the first match of the Regional Tournament semi-finals officially kicked off to the roar of the expectant crowd.
"Pelipper, Hydro Pump!"
Orville took the offensive immediately. Even though he didn't think an Excadrill, newly evolved or not, could win the weather war, he was a cautious trainer. When a lion hunts a rabbit, it uses its full strength. To be safe and to secure a quick victory, he was determined not to give Excadrill a single opening to set up its Sandstorm. And the best way to do that was with a relentless assault.
Forcing an opponent onto the defensive is half the battle, he thought. Eventually, they'll slip up.
FWOOSH!
A massive column of water, a dozen centimeters thick, shot from Pelipper's beak, hurtling towards the Excadrill on the ground. In the rain, the power of Water-type moves was boosted to another level. A high-tier move like Hydro Pump, amplified by the rain, was devastatingly powerful. It could probably shatter a Rock Tomb with ease.
"Excadrill, dodge it!" Basalt commanded, his voice calm and unhurried.
Thanks to the Feathersteel used in its evolution, Excadrill's body was nearly half the weight of a normal one, granting it a significant speed boost. Even without its Sand Rush ability, it was incredibly fast. Dodging a long-range Hydro Pump was not difficult.
"It's that fast even in its normal state?" Orville gasped in disbelief.
After Basalt's battle with Brennan, Excadrill's Sand Rush ability was no secret. But Orville had assumed its speed was entirely dependent on its ability. He had never imagined its base speed would be this high.
"Surf!" he commanded, changing tactics. If a single-target attack wouldn't work, he'd use a wide-ranging one.
The Pelipper in the air created a massive ball of water and slammed it into the ground. A huge, powerful wave surged across the entire field.
WHIRRR!
Excadrill had faced Surf countless times before; its response was instinctual. Though this wave was larger than any it had seen, its own power had also grown exponentially. It transformed into a drill and easily pierced through the wave, emerging on the other side completely dry.
But this was all within Orville's expectations. He had never intended for Surf to defeat Excadrill. His real goal was to soak the entire field, making it difficult for Excadrill to kick up a Sandstorm. As long as it couldn't change the weather, victory was his.
"Rock Slide!"
Just as Orville was feeling confident, Basalt finally launched his counterattack. A massive amount of Rock-type energy surged from Excadrill, blanketing the sky.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
In an instant, countless sharp rocks rained down from above the Pelipper with incredible speed and power.
"Such a wide range... and that power..." Orville's face changed. The rocks from this Rock Slide were massive, and they covered nearly the entire field with terrifying density. With its size and speed, Pelipper had no way to dodge.
Gritting his teeth, Orville yelled the one word he had hoped to save: "Protect!"
It was the trump card he had been saving for the finals, a move to catch his opponent off guard at a critical moment. But against this Rock Slide, he had no other choice.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The rocks slammed into Pelipper but were blocked by a shimmering white barrier. The powerful projectiles only caused ripples on the shield's surface, unable to break through. But the sheer power of the attack left a deep impression on Orville. He had underestimated this Excadrill.
"Icy Wind!"
WHOOSH!
A frigid wind, laced with snowflakes, blasted from under Pelipper's wings towards Excadrill. But Excadrill was too fast to be hit. The attack instead struck the rain-soaked ground, instantly freezing it over.
"Trying to use the slippery ice to limit Excadrill's movement?" Basalt thought, seeing through his opponent's plan. But he wasn't about to let that happen.
"Earthquake!"
At Basalt's command, a wave of Ground-type energy erupted from Excadrill, shattering the newly formed sheet of ice. Not only that, but the powerful tremor also loosened the packed earth of the battlefield, breaking it up into fine particles. Basalt was subtly preparing the field for his Sandstorm.
After a series of exchanges, Pelipper, despite its weather advantage, had failed to convert it into a battlefield advantage.
"Excaaa~" On the ground, Excadrill looked up at its opponent, a smirk on its face.
"Pelipp~" In the air, Pelipper frowned. It could feel another energy source actively suppressing its own, preventing the rain from intensifying. The drizzle wasn't getting stronger; in fact, it seemed to be getting weaker.
When Pelipper realized this, it was shocked. It meant that Excadrill's Sandstorm ability was stronger than its own Drizzle. If it hadn't had the initial advantage of its ability activating first, it would have lost the weather war from the start.
"Peliiipp!" Unwilling to accept this, Pelipper launched another Surf, desperate to soak the ground again and prevent the Sandstorm from rising.
"Rock Tomb!" But Basalt wasn't about to let that happen. He had worked hard for this small advantage and wasn't about to give it up.
RUMBLE!
Twenty chunks of rock shot into the air and formed a solid wall, completely blocking the incoming wave.
"Oh my goodness! Is that really Rock Tomb?" the announcer, exclaimed in amazement. "He formed it into a wall! Just how strong is this Excadrill's control over its Rock-type energy?" As the host of the regionals, he had seen his fair share of battles, but he had never seen a trainer at this level with such incredible energy manipulation. And Excadrill wasn't even a Rock-type.
"Hurricane!" Orville's eyes narrowed. The plan to soak the ground further had failed, but the field was still wet from the earlier attacks. The water must have seeped deep into the soil. With the ground saturated, even if Excadrill tried to dig, it would be vulnerable to Water-type attacks. This was his trump card against digging Pokémon.
WHOOSH!
With a powerful flap of its wings, Pelipper summoned a violent cyclone that swept towards Excadrill. There was nowhere to run; the Hurricane covered the entire field.
"Is it going to dig?" Orville thought with a smirk. If it did, his Pelipper's next move would be to fire a Hydro Pump straight into the hole.
But as the Hurricane closed in, Basalt just smiled. He looked at the field, littered with rocks from the earlier Rock Slide and Rock Tomb. Orville had underestimated him.
"Wide Guard!" Basalt roared.
RUMBLE!
Excadrill crossed its claws, and a shield of rock materialized around it, blocking the Hurricane. The violent wind blades scraped against the shield, sending dust flying, but they couldn't break through.
"Wide Guard?" Orville frowned, confused. Why would he use a defensive move now?
The next moment, he saw something he would never forget.
As the Hurricane dissipated, the rock shield from Wide Guard, along with all the other rocks scattered across the field, simultaneously shattered into fine grains of sand.
Shhh-shhh-shhh...
The sand, under the control of some unseen force, began to rise into the air. As it did, the raindrops grew smaller and smaller, until they stopped completely.
The rain had turned into a Sandstorm.
"Finally," Basalt thought with a smile, immensely grateful to Master Martel. Back at the mine, he had asked the Master for advice on how to win the weather war, especially against the unfavorable matchup of Rain. The Master's advice was simple: don't rely on the terrain. Create your own. The rocks formed by Rock-type moves were made of the same energy as the sand in a Sandstorm. And more importantly, the rocks would protect the dry ground underneath from the rain.
And now, the trap had been sprung.
The stadium fell silent. The sudden, unexpected appearance of the Sandstorm had caught everyone off guard. Orville was completely dumbfounded.
"Pelipp~" In the air, Pelipper was terrified. The biting sand ate away at its health. It couldn't beat Excadrill in the rain. How was it supposed to fight in a Sandstorm?
The moment the weather changed, the match was over.
In the Sandstorm, Excadrill's speed was boosted even further, and it moved like a phantom. Its attacks were faster too. A relentless barrage of Rock Slides and Rock Tombs rained down on the Pelipper, who was powerless to stop them.
"Pelipper, Aqua Ring!" Orville made a last-ditch effort to heal his Pokémon. But the healing couldn't keep up with the damage.
"Pelipper is unable to battle! The winner is... Basalt!"
With the referee's final call, the first semi-final match was over. The biggest dark horse of the tournament, Basalt, was moving on to the finals.
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