Xiaosheng once told Qianli that Baimu is a very powerful Trainer.
Because of this piece of information, Qianli slightly increased the difficulty of the Gym challenge.
Looking at it now.
He still underestimated Baimu's abilities.
The Pokémon he prepared might have too much of a level gap compared to that Aggron, and when the level difference is too big, it's hard to execute certain tactics unless the opponent is willing to give a chance.
From the previous battle, it's clear that Baimu is not that foolish.
Realizing that Spinda could dodge attacks, he quickly switched from a smaller range move to a larger range one, then delivered the final blow the moment the enemy weakened.
The cooperation with Aggron was pretty good too.
Qianli's mind raced with thoughts, while he outwardly calmly recalled Spinda, "You did well, Spinda. My second Pokémon—Slakoth! I'm counting on you!"
Bam!
A flash of white light.
A sleepy, brownish-gray sloth lay on the ground, appearing in the field.
"Dig!"
Baimu had no intention of switching Pokémon, instantly issuing a command as soon as Slakoth touched the ground, and logged it in the Illustrated Guide.
"Roar!"
Aggron dug its claws into the earth, its massive body burrowing underground in an instant, leaving behind a dark gaping hole.
Seeing this, Qianli shouted, "Use Water Fluctuation on the hole!"
"Nuh-ma~"
Slakoth wobbled to its feet, yet was not slow in its move execution, quickly forming a sky-blue water ball in its palm, sending it flying into the hole left by Aggron.
The ground trembled slightly, as if something was moving below.
Qianli observed the ground closely; the scenes before him seemed to play out in slow motion.
As an excellent Trainer, even if his Pokémon's power was inferior to his opponent's, the experience accumulated from long-term battles allowed him to easily determine Aggron's path underground.
From certain subtle cues, he could even discern the opponent's Pokémon's moves—without hearing the opponent's command.
So, where would Aggron surface this time?
"Quicksand Hell!"
Hmm!?
Qianli looked up abruptly, watching as Water Fluctuation smoothly crashed into the hole Aggron dug, exploding with a bang, sending waves of water rushing in, some splashing out with a loud splash.
Simultaneously, the ground beneath Slakoth's feet violently shook, cracking into web-like fissures!
"Get out of there!"
Boom!
In an instant, the ground collapsed, and solid rocks turned into quicksand with visible speed, forming a massive pit that Slakoth, failing to escape in time, fell into, steadily sinking!
"Roar!"
Aggron emerged at the bottom of the Quicksand Hell, surrounded by much darker sand and stones compared to the outer edges, indicating Water Fluctuation had successfully hit its mark.
"Rock Lock!"
"Blizzard!"
Baimu and Qianli issued commands simultaneously.
Aggron roared, lifting the surrounding sand and stones, instantly forming massive rocks to hurl at Slakoth, which inhaled deeply and exhaled furiously, visibly pure white snowflowers with fierce gales surging towards the rocks!
Boom!
The massive rocks shattered, seemingly unable to withstand the fierce Blizzard's gale and icy chill.
Baimu's breath stuttered, only stabilizing once the rocks repressed again, and as Slakoth was successfully hit by Rock Lock, he relaxed significantly.
Bam!
Huge stones erupted, turning back into sand flowing away.
Slakoth was half-buried in the sand, lying flat on its back, eyes spinning.
"Roar!!"
Aggron let out a triumphant roar.
"Slakoth is unable to battle, Aggron wins!" Jin Zhi swiftly declared the result.
Qianli recalled Slakoth, praising, "Using Quicksand Hell to leave Slakoth no escape, that indeed is a commendable tactic. Your Aggron is also raised excellently. You don't often see such strong novice Trainers like you."
"You're too kind; your Slakoth was strong too."
Baimu responded sincerely.
In such a short instant, Slakoth's Blizzard had managed to suppress Aggron's Rock Lock!
Non-STAB moves, and a Blizzard used by its initial form...
If it hadn't appeared before his eyes, Baimu would doubt such a thing was possible; this Slakoth likely has heavily boosted Effort Values, reaching well over a thousand.
It's fortunate Aggron was resilient enough.
"Well then, my third Pokémon—Vigoroth! I'm counting on you!"
Qianli threw out a Pokeball.
Meanwhile, Baimu recalled Aggron from the massive sand pit too, sending out another Pokémon, "Nice job, Aggron. Let's get to work!"
Bam-bam!
Two Pokeballs opened with a crisp sound.
A flash of white light.
With a tuft of red hair on its head, bearing an exuberant expression, as if unable to stay still for even a moment, Vigoroth appeared in the field.
Nearby lay a milky-white round stone.
"That's—"
Qianli was momentarily stunned, unsure if that thing was a Pokémon.
But as a Gym Leader of the Hoenn Region, while not claiming an extensive knowledge base, he at least recognized most Pokémon, quickly recalling its name.
"A Galarian Corsola... I remember it's Ghost Attribute."
Despite recognizing it, he didn't have much battle memory with it either.
Qianli thought briefly, noticing Baimu hadn't attacked, said, "Since you're not making a move, I'll make the first move! Shadow Claw!"
"Yalu!"
Vigoroth barked, swiftly lunging towards Galarian Corsola, claws shrouded in a sinister violet glow, striking relentlessly!
Whoosh!
The force and speed were such that the air howled fiercely.
But just as Shadow Claw was about to hit Galarian Corsola, its hidden smoke-like tentacles suddenly spread, unfurling like fireworks, naturally embedding into Vigoroth.
Bam!
Shadow Claw struck, a cloud of smoke bursting forth.
Vigoroth quickly retreated, glaring at the still stone-like Galarian Corsola in the distance, its surface still smooth, with no damage from the attack visible.
"Yalu?"
No effect?
Vigoroth tried raising its paw for another strike, but its arm trembled inexplicably.
"This is... Absorption Power!"
Qianli saw at once why Vigoroth seemed 'weakened'.
"Curse."
After sapping Vigoroth's attack power, ensuring it couldn't one-shot Galarian Corsola, Baimu began his maneuver.
A pair of red lights shone from the front of Galarian Corsola.
Eerie, purple light exuded from its surface, suddenly rising into a shrieking ghost shadow lunging at Vigoroth.
"Dodge quickly!"
Qianli swung his arm, Vigoroth darted, expecting the shadow to dissolve, yet it dove directly into its shadow, vanishing.
The next moment.
Its shadow transformed into the ghost's form, starting to tear itself apart.
"Yalu!"
Vigoroth displayed a pained expression.