Chapter 409: Prankster
Just as Shao Weidong was bewildered, Bronzong activated Bansho Ten'in (Universal Pull) again. The floating Magnezone in mid-air once more flew uncontrollably towards Bronzong.
"Again! What on earth is this?" Shao Weidong was utterly baffled.
However, baffled or not, he still had his battle instincts. Since Magnezone couldn't break free, he might as well meet the attack head-on.
So he shouted, "Magnezone, Volt Tackle!"
"Zone~"
Instantly, Magnezone surged with Electric-type energy, covering its body and turning into a lightning ball, accelerating towards Bronzong.
You want me to come over? Fine, I'll grant your wish!
"Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)!" Basalt's lips curled up slightly.
Shao Weidong's reaction was within his expectations. Just as ordinary people couldn't imagine gravity being reversed, someone threatened by gravitational pull for the first time likely wouldn't consider repulsive force.
"Broonz~"
Bronzong's psychic power surged and suddenly erupted!
Boom! Crack!
In an instant, Magnezone was hit by a terrifying repulsive force. Not only could it not advance another inch, but its body was also uncontrollably pushed back at high speed.
With this sudden change, Magnezone's balance was abruptly broken, and the Volt Tackle naturally dissipated.
Basalt wouldn't miss this golden opportunity and quickly ordered, "Psychic!"
Terrifying psychic energy hit Magnezone, causing a violent explosion on its body. However, Magnezone's resistances and defenses were excellent, so it wouldn't be defeated quickly.
Even so, Shao Weidong was terrified. Using a Steel-type Pokémon against Bronzong was definitely a wrong choice.
"Magnezone, Volt Switch!"
Volt Switch, a move that allows the user to switch out with a backup Pokémon immediately after attacking. Moreover, this switch doesn't count towards the trainer's active substitution limit.
A golden electric bolt shot out from Magnezone, rapidly striking Bronzong. Meanwhile, Magnezone itself turned into a stream of light, flying towards the Pokéball in Shao Weidong's hand.
"Bansho Ten'in!" Basalt shouted.
In games, moves like Volt Switch and U-turn can 100% break free from traps like Ingrain, Bind, Shadow Tag, Arena Trap, and Magnet Pull. But in reality, it depends on the relative strength of the Pokémon involved. Generally speaking, under the premise of equal rank, the switching party has the advantage.
However, after Bronzong's psychic power was enhanced by Celebi's essence, its intensity, flexibility, and stealth far exceeded its rank. Whether Magnezone could escape was truly uncertain.
Bronzong's eyes erupted with brilliant light, and psychic power surged out madly, instantly constructing a super-strong horizontal gravitational magnetic field acting on Magnezone, preventing it from breaking away.
"Zone~"
Magnezone looked pained, struggling desperately against the magnetic field's restraint. But in the end, the red light on its body dissipated, and it failed to complete the switch as intended.
"How strong is Bronzong's magnetic force? Even Volt Switch is useless?" Shao Weidong was dumbfounded.
It couldn't win the fight, and it couldn't run away. After being thoroughly thrashed, Magnezone finally fell unwillingly.
On the Saints Club side, everyone was numb. This plot felt a bit familiar! Could it be another delightful "1v3 sweep" show coming up?
Especially Jiang Jun, whose mouth twitched uncontrollably. With Basalt's level, the higher-ups intended for him to be a substitute? What pig brains!
Conversely, everyone in the Jinchuan Club was bewildered and finding it hard to accept. Their heads were buzzing! It must be known that although Shao Weidong was a rookie, his strength was evident to all. The strength he displayed during sparring matches was enough to rank him in the top three of the entire club.
There was no way around it; his Magnezone's magnetic field effect was simply too buggy! Who would have thought that now, he would be thrashed by an even younger rookie!
"Don't panic, everyone. Weidong still has a trump card that hasn't appeared yet. Once it's out, he should be able to turn the tide easily." The Jinchuan head coach forced himself to calm down and encouraged everyone. Hearing this, everyone's hearts settled back into their chests.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Shao Weidong released his last Pokémon.
It was a Pokémon with a deep purple body, very small in stature. It had gem-like eyes resembling sapphires, and gems on its chest and back.
"Sableye? Truly worthy of a major mining city!" Basalt raised an eyebrow.
As far as Basalt knew, Sableye preferred to lurk quietly in the dark corners of caves, building dwellings there. Hiding in the darkness, it used its sharp claws to dig horizontal tunnels in caves, finding raw gemstones and crunching them with its thick teeth. In the process of eating gems, its eyes turned into gems. The components contained in the stones crystallized on the surface of its body, forming infinitely varied patterns.
People also feared it, believing that when its eyes emitted an eerie glow in the dark, it would steal human souls. Rumor had it that Sableye in Europe and America loved eating Carbink and would chase them everywhere in underground caves. However, Sableye in China obviously didn't have this luck, as China wasn't Carbink's native habitat.
Soon, the match resumed.
"Sableye, Nasty Plot!"
Unexpectedly, Shao Weidong chose to buff right at the start.
Nasty Plot, a Dark-type move that stimulates the brain with secret techniques, sharply raising the user's Special Attack. This is a buff move comparable to Swords Dance. Generally, buff moves take a considerable amount of time to execute, but surprisingly, Sableye's buff took very little time. Before Bronzong's "Bansho Ten'in" could even take effect, Sableye had completed the buff, its aura skyrocketing.
"Prankster Ability!" Basalt's gaze focused, and the smile on his face gradually faded.
Prankster, an ability that allows the user to use status moves with priority. If Bronzong hadn't set up Safeguard beforehand, blocking negative status moves, Basalt could predict that Sableye's first move would have been Confuse Ray, Flatter, or similar skills.
Just then, the magnetic field finally acted on Sableye. But Sableye was too light; even with the force increased several times, the impact on it was extremely limited.
"Ye~ah~"
Instead, Sableye let out a strange cry, turning into a black demonic shadow. In the blink of an eye, it ambushed Bronzong from behind, its sharp claws striking Bronzong's body and making it stumble.
After taking the hit, Bronzong began to spin violently, slamming into the Sableye beside it. However, Sableye seemed prepared, quickly condensing a black energy ball in its hand to meet Bronzong.
Ghost-type move, Shadow Ball!
Boom!
Bronzong couldn't dodge in time and was sent flying backward. Although Sableye's initial Special Attack wasn't high, it was very potent after the "Nasty Plot" boost, not to mention Shadow Ball was super effective against Bronzong.
Seeing Bronzong hurt and about to hit the ground, Basalt quickly communicated telepathically, "Bronzong, take advantage of the momentum and use Earthquake."
"Broonz~"
Bronzong understood. The moment its body touched the ground, the Ground-type energy within it exploded, causing the ground to shake violently. The earthquake wave was incredibly fast, and the Second Division arena wasn't large; caught off guard, it was extremely hard to avoid.
But Sableye was clearly no ordinary Pokémon. Possessing Prankster, it could complete status moves in an extremely short time. White light appeared as Sableye used Protect.
Then, Sableye turned into a shadow again, appearing behind Bronzong and striking with another claw. Being a Dark-type, Sableye could largely evade Bronzong's psychic detection, making it very difficult for Bronzong to sense.
"Really troublesome!" Basalt shook his head first, then said solemnly, "But, it's all over!"
"Bronzong, Skill Swap!" Basalt waved his hand.
Shao Weidong's biggest mistake was not using Taunt on Bronzong in advance. Otherwise, Bronzong might really have been defeated.
"What? Skill Swap?" Shao Weidong was shocked.
Skill Swap, a move that uses psychic power to swap Abilities between the user and the target. As far as Shao Weidong knew, this high-level status move was extremely difficult to learn. Even veteran players in the First Division rarely had Pokémon that could learn it. But now, Basalt's Bronzong had learned it?
Psychic power emerged, forming an energy bridge connecting Bronzong and the nearby Sableye. Dark-type Pokémon are immune to Psychic-type damage but not to the effects of Psychic-type status moves.
The next second, Bronzong felt its psychic power become unusually active. Conversely, Sableye followed in Aggron's footsteps, floating into mid-air, flailing in panic.
The Abilities of the two Pokémon had been swapped.
Although it lost the Levitate ability, Bronzong had "Reverse Gravity," so maintaining its float in mid-air was no problem, and it wouldn't fall to the ground.
"End it, Bronzong. Give Sableye a final Heavy Slam!"
With a cruel smile on its face, Bronzong slammed fiercely into the floating Sableye. Its flight generated rolling airwaves, blowing sand and stones across the field.
Boom!
After a loud explosion, Sableye's eyes spun, and it fell unconscious to the ground.
Basalt had once again achieved the feat of a 1v3 sweep!
"I was... swept 1v3?" Shao Weidong's eyes widened in disbelief.
At this moment, not just Shao Weidong, but even Jiang Jun and others from the Saints Club were bewildered because the reversal came too suddenly.
"Basalt's strength is probably already above mine!" Captain Li Di took a deep breath, sighing with emotion. According to the data from a month ago, Basalt's strength was far inferior to his, which was why Basalt was sent as a substitute. But in this month, the progress of Bronzong and Cradily, having absorbed and digested Celebi's essence, was simply too great. After all, it was a divine gift—a cheat for Gym Leader-level Pokémon. And there were four major ranks between Divine and Pro-level! It was simply the difference between the light of a firefly and the brightness of the moon!
Conversely, everyone in the Jinchuan Club gasped, finding it unbelievable. It wasn't until the referee made the ruling that everyone woke up from their daze.
Just as Basalt was preparing to leave the field, Shao Weidong unexpectedly ran over.
"Basalt, can I have a word with you?"
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