Bang!!
In the basin already shrouded in sandstorm, a huge cloud of dust rose up again as the ground split open in layer upon layer of cracks.
The moment Aegislash hit the ground, unwillingness flashed in its eyes. It instantly switched into Blade Forme, turned into a shadow, and drilled into the swirling dust.
Clang clang clang—!!
Even harsher metallic impact and scraping sounds rang out. As Aegislash was sent flying backwards, the dust cloud that had filled the air vanished in an instant as if blown apart by an explosion.
Only to see—
At the spot where Steelix had fallen, a lump of silver-white metal was spinning at high speed on the spot.
Gyro Ball!
Aegislash had been blasted away by the massive force carried by Steelix's heavy body while trying to withstand that Gyro Ball.
With Steelix's slow speed, a Technique like "Gyro Ball," whose power grows the slower the user, could be brought to its absolute maximum.
"Tcha-koi!"
Togekiss slashed out two more "Air Slash" blades, but they were shattered the instant they made contact.
Beedrill also couldn't find any good angle to cut in for the moment.
Only Alakazam's "Mental Shock" could deal any meaningful damage to it.
But all it did was slow Steelix's spinning a bit, before it once again returned to its original speed.
Right now Steelix was like it had shrunk into a turtle shell, leaving everyone at a loss for what to do.
And then—
Steelix, having taken Alakazam's attack, no longer stayed spinning in place.
Electricity was still coiling around its body.
It actually started floating up slowly and charged toward the Pokémon.
Faced with this situation, no one could hard-brute it; all they could do was rely on their speed advantage to dodge.
This wasn't just a turtle shell, it was the kind of turtle shell where if you so much as touch it you get launched flying.
Way over the line.
Watching this scene, Natsuhiko also felt a throbbing headache.
This Steelix was very strong.
Even among Elite Candidate Level Pokémon, it should count as one of the sharper standouts.
Otherwise, there's no way it could have carved out a spot under the absolute dominance of those three Aggron.
But what gave him the biggest headache was still that Alakazam and Togekiss, the two Special Attack Type Pokémon, were somewhat lacking in raw power.
Mega, then?
Natsuhiko was already gripping the Keystone in his pocket.
As long as Alakazam Mega Evolved, with Super Hypno's power, it could deal enough damage.
"Sha!!"
But before Natsuhiko could make up his mind, Aegislash, which had been swatted away by Steelix, let out a disgruntled cry.
At this moment—
The arrogance and caution in its eyes flickered back and forth rapidly.
Clearly, the Attack Shield side was very displeased with Receiving Sword's current timid shrinking; it had just raised its shield and hadn't even had the chance to show off its Defense Power before being suppressed by Steelix's absolute strength and weight.
The two consciousnesses in this single Pokémon switched rapidly, struggling with each other inwardly.
Natsuhiko's eyes flashed.
He'd thought of a way.
"Aegislash, Gyro Ball."
At his words, Aegislash's expression flicker disappeared. Though it didn't know what Natsuhiko was planning—going head-to-head?
Using Gym Leader Level strength to hard-brawl a Elite Candidate Level?
With its speed only slightly faster than Steelix's, even if the two Pokémon were on the same level, it probably still wouldn't be a match.
But Natsuhiko's orders were not something Aegislash needed to hesitate over.
"Make sure it's the opposite direction from Steelix."
Right after that—
A smaller metal spinning top appeared.
The airflow driven by the two Pokémon's spinning raised two tornadoes in the sandstorm, one large and one small.
They collided and ground against each other.
But clearly, in this kind of clash, Steelix still held the absolute upper hand.
"Alakazam."
Natsuhiko called softly, and their thoughts linked together via psychic power.
Alakazam understood what Natsuhiko wanted.
The spoon in its hand was thrown, landing right beneath Steelix, then fixed in place by psychic power.
Psychic energy surged over Alakazam's body.
In an instant, its position swapped with Aegislash's.
At the same time—
A pitch-black transparent Barrier spread outward in all directions with Alakazam at the center.
Illusion Space!
The "Illusion Space" it had learned after training with Oranguru for so long was finally being used in an actual battle for the first time.
In that instant—
Steelix's speed became the fastest among all Pokémon.
This inversion directly reduced Steelix's "Gyro Ball" power to its lowest.
And Aegislash, which had swapped positions with Alakazam, was now precisely above Steelix.
"Hudi!"
Alakazam's movements didn't pause at all, flowing like water.
Gravity!
Centered on the spoon it had thrown earlier, an enormous Gravity field pressed straight upward, enveloping both Steelix and Aegislash.
The two Pokémon, the two "Gyro Ball," dropped vertically.
Metal against metal, spin against counter-spin, clashed head-on for the first time.
Clang clang clang—!!
With ceaseless spinning, under the ear-piercing, tooth-aching scrape of metal on metal, sparks flew wildly in all directions.
But it was obvious—
Even with the aid of "Illusion Space," Aegislash's "Gyro Ball" still wasn't Steelix's match. Its spinning speed was visibly slowing to the naked eye.
However—
Metallic sheen flared once more over Aegislash's body.
Body Lightening!
It reduced its own weight, thereby boosting its speed.
But inside "Illusion Space," boosting speed was the same as slowing down, and that slowing of speed only made "Gyro Ball" even more powerful.
Milky-white air currents began swirling around it.
That was Beedrill's "Tailwind"!
It produced the same effect as "Body Lightening."
Two boosts, two reductions, plus Gravity's aid, gave the Aegislash above the advantage.
Its "Gyro Ball" actually managed to reach a stalemate with Steelix's.