Chapter 186: My Friends are Here
VWOOM!
Just then, a white shield materialized around the Magcargo, blocking the Earthquake. It was Protect.
"It even knows Protect?" Basalt's eyes widened. It was a god-tier defensive move, and incredibly difficult to learn.
He was beginning to re-evaluate the girl. She was clearly more than just a common thug.
"Excaaa!" Excadrill zipped over to Basalt's side and sliced through the Ariados's silk, freeing him.
"Excadrill, you're the best!" Basalt said, giving his partner a grateful hug.
"Exca?" Excadrill glanced at the girl and flexed its steel claws, as if to say, What should we do with her?
"We can't do anything," Basalt sighed. "We're not allowed to harm another person." The girl's surprise attack had been dangerous, but it hadn't actually hurt him.
The girl just laughed. But before she could say anything, Basalt's hand shot out and flicked her hard on the forehead.
She stared at him, her eyes wide with shock. "I'm pretty sure that's within the acceptable limits," Basalt said with a grin. "I saw you hit me a few times, and my guardian didn't show up."
"You... I'm going to kill you!" the girl shrieked, her face red with rage. "Get him!"
"Get me?" Basalt was confused. Bronzor's psychic senses covered a hundred-meter radius. There was no one else around.
"In the ground? No, Excadrill would have sensed them."
"Something's coming! It's fast—" Bronzor's telepathic voice suddenly cut off.
THWACK! THWACK!
Two dull thuds, and a blur shot past Basalt. Bronzor shuddered and fell to the ground, its eye spinning. This time, it was really knocked out.
"What was that?" Basalt stared in disbelief. It had been too fast for the naked eye to see, too fast for even Bronzor to react.
The blur then shot towards Excadrill. "Excadrill, look out!"
But Excadrill's reaction time was far superior to Basalt's. A massive rock shield erupted from the ground just in time to block the attack.
BAM! BAM!
The blur slammed into the Wide Guard, nearly shattering it. Now, Basalt could finally see it clearly. It was a yellow and black, cicada-like Pokémon with two pairs of wings.
A Ninjask.
"No wonder it's so fast," Basalt breathed. With a base speed of 160 and the Speed Boost ability, its incredible velocity was... actually pretty reasonable.
"Tough shell," the girl sneered. "But it won't last long."
But the next moment, her smile froze. The rocks from the Wide Guard and the previous Rock Slide suddenly disintegrated into fine particles, and a massive Sandstorm erupted, engulfing the battlefield.
The sand pelted the Magcargo, but as a Rock-type, its Special Defense was boosted. The Ninjask, however, with its paper-thin defenses, began to take heavy damage. The sand also buffeted its delicate wings, drastically reducing its speed.
"How can a Sandstorm at this level be so strong?" the girl gasped, a flicker of curiosity in her eyes. "Who is this guy?"
"Flamethrower! Fury Cutter!" she commanded.
But Basalt was a step ahead. "Drill Run!" he yelled, targeting the Magcargo.
WHIRRR!
Excadrill shot forward, ignoring the Ninjask's weak Fury Cutter and plowing straight through the Flamethrower. Its spinning body deflected the flames, and it slammed into the Magcargo. Even with Iron Defense, the four-times super-effective, point-blank attack was too much. The Magcargo was knocked out instantly.
"How is its attack power so high?" the girl stared in shock. Her ace Pokémon had been one-shotted. She knew it was time to retreat.
"Thinking of leaving so soon?" Basalt sneered, reaching out to grab her.
THWIP!
A strand of white silk shot out and wrapped around his hand. It was the Ariados. It hadn't been knocked out after all.
"Playing dead isn't a trick only your Bronzor knows," the girl said with a grin. She leaped onto the Ariados's back and they scurried up a tree, disappearing into the canopy.
The Ninjask, meanwhile, kept Excadrill busy, its speed now on par with Excadrill's in the sand. After a minute, its health nearly depleted, it too flew off, creating enough of a diversion for the girl to make her escape.
"At least she didn't get away with the ore," Basalt muttered, picking up his bag. The whole fight had been pointless. They had both lost a Pokémon and gained nothing.
He rushed over to Bronzor and gave it a Potion. A few moments later, it slowly woke up, its energy depleted.
"What was that Pokémon?" it asked, its voice weak.
"A Ninjask."
"Are they gone?"
"Yeah. Excadrill drove them off."
"Good," it said, a hint of embarrassment in its tone. It had been taken down, and Excadrill had had to save the day. The gap between them was widening.
"I have to make it to the Evolution Festival," Bronzor said, its voice filled with a new resolve. It wobbled as it floated into the air. "Let's keep going."
"Are you sure you're okay? You should rest in your Poké Ball."
"No. Without me, the wild Pokémon won't be so friendly. We'll be fighting every five minutes."
As if on cue, the sounds of rustling in the bushes grew louder. A Vileplume, a Venomoth, and a Primeape had been drawn by the commotion.
"But your condition..."
"Don't worry. I'm fine. Besides," Bronzor said, a smile in its voice, "my friends are here."
"Friends?"
"Stantler~"
Just then, two large, brown deer with circular horns and a black orb between them emerged from the woods. They walked over to Bronzor and licked it affectionately.
"Stantler!" Basalt's eyes widened in recognition.
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