"Long time no see," Fletcher said with a slight smile as he and Basalt faced each other across the battlefield. He had a certain amount of admiration for Basalt; his Drilbur's Drill Run had been impressive. But that was as far as it went. Even with Drilbur, he didn't think Basalt could defeat him. He had only shown a fraction of his Nosepass's true strength last time.
"Yeah, long time no see. Sorry to trouble you again," Basalt said, scratching his head with a sheepish grin. He felt a little bad, always challenging Fletcher. But that was the nature of the training camp. It was a place of constant competition.
"Go, Nosepass."
"Let's go, Drilbur."
At the referee's signal, they both sent out their Pokémon.
"Who do you guys think will win this one?" Skye asked, walking over to stand with Yao and Waylon.
"It will probably last two or three minutes," Yao said, shaking his head. "Nosepass has a diverse moveset, but many of its harassing moves are useless against Drilbur, and its attack power is a bit lacking." Nosepass's strengths were its defenses; its attack and speed were clear weaknesses. It was a Pokémon best suited for a defensive, counter-attacking style.
Skye nodded and then looked at Waylon, but he remained silent, his arms crossed. She sighed. Waylon was a man of few words. But she did see a flicker of interest in his eyes.
"So, he is interested in this match after all," she thought.
"Both trainers, ready! Battle, begin!"
"Rock Tomb!" Fletcher was the first to attack.
"Nose~" Nosepass raised its arms, and several large rocks formed in the air and shot towards Drilbur.
"Counter with Rock Tomb." Drilbur was not afraid of a rock-type showdown. Rocks that were a full three times more powerful than Nosepass's appeared and met them in mid-air.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The sound of the rocks colliding was deafening. In terms of sheer power, Nosepass's Rock Tomb was no match for Drilbur's. Its rocks were smaller and fewer in number, and they were quickly shattered.
Swoosh!
Drilbur's final, hidden rock broke through the barrage and shot towards its opponent.
Fletcher wasn't surprised. In fact, a sly grin appeared on his face. He had never intended to defeat Drilbur with Rock Tomb. His real goal was to buy time for Nosepass to set up its gravity field.
"Gravity!" he shouted.
Nosepass raised its hands again, and an invisible magnetic field suddenly appeared.
Thud!
Under the influence of the gravity, the rock that had been hurtling towards Nosepass suddenly changed its trajectory and fell to the ground ten meters away, not even touching it. Drilbur, on the other hand, stumbled as if a massive weight had been dropped on its shoulders.
"There it is, Nosepass's Gravity," Forrest said, shaking his head. He could tell, even from the sidelines, that it was a 1.8x field. Fletcher wasn't holding back.
"Drilburr!"
In the gravity field, Drilbur struggled, its movements labored. But it pushed through, trying to close the distance to Nosepass. Unfortunately, with its speed cut in half, it was a slow and painful process.
"Looks like it's over," the B-group members sighed. Without its incredible speed, Drilbur was like a tiger without its claws and teeth. And since Nosepass knew Bulldoze, Drilbur couldn't even use Dig. With its key moves neutralized and its stamina draining rapidly, how could it possibly win?
Unless... Drilbur had another hidden trump card, or it could somehow overcome the effects of Gravity.
And just then, something unexpected happened.
When Drilbur was just ten meters from Nosepass, which was preparing another Rock Tomb, its slow, labored movements suddenly became a blur of speed. It spun its body, entering its drill form, and shot towards Nosepass, ready to pierce it through.
"What's going on? Was Drilbur really holding back?" the crowd gasped.
Forrest's jaw dropped. He knew how difficult it was to fight against Gravity. His own Heracross had been training for so long and could only just adapt to 1.6x. He hadn't even dared to try 1.8x. But how long had Basalt's Drilbur been training against Gravity? He was the one who had told him about it, wasn't he?
"Is it really possible to do that in just one week?" Forrest felt like crying. Is my Heracross not working hard enough?
On the battlefield, the spinning Drilbur was unstoppable, easily breaking through Nosepass's Rock Tomb. A smile appeared on Basalt's face. After being nourished by the Smooth Rock, Drilbur's constitution was no longer just "strong"; it was monstrous. Combined with its incredible willpower and ability to endure hardship, its training had been exceptionally effective.
Of course, it wasn't that Drilbur could move freely under 1.8x gravity. But a short, explosive burst was still possible. And so, it had turned the tables, using Nosepass's own move against it to launch a surprise attack.
"Nosepass!" Fletcher shouted, his heart filled with shame. He had been too careless. He hadn't seen that Drilbur was acting.
BOOM!
Drilbur's Drill Run slammed into Nosepass's face, the force of the impact pushing it back more than a meter and carving a deep trench in the ground.
"Nose~" Nosepass cried out in pain, clutching its nose. The attack had hit its magnetic nose, a weak spot. Fortunately, its defense was incredible, and its nose was extremely hard, so it wasn't broken.
"Pass~" But even so, it was enraged. It had been a long time since anyone besides the other A-group members had injured it. It gritted its teeth through the pain, its right fist glowing with a blinding light
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