Chapter 47: Challenge

The rays of sunlight seeped through the cracks in the rocks, illuminating the moss-covered cave.

Master Shozo and Darren followed for the tracks of the Whismurs, at the end they came into a cave venturing inside.

It was Darren's intention to battle the Exploud, even though he knew their strength was formidable and he had little chance of winning. He had some theories in his head that he wanted to put to the test.

Inside the cave, the curious Whismurs watched Darren and Master Shozo. After a moment, the Exploud emerged from the depths of the cave.

It was larger than the average sized Exploud, with a big mouth and a purple body riddled with hollows that allowed it to emit sound waves like a whistle.

"Hello again, Exploud," Darren said with a smile. "Will you battle me?"

Darren could sense the imposing aura emanating from the Exploud, something that most ordinary and domesticated Pokemon didn't possess.

"As an exchange, we will handle the situation with the Digletts, and you can live here in peace," Master Shozo said.

"Oh?" The red pupils of the Exploud fixed on Darren, and it opened its mouth, occupying most of its body, and emitted a wave of sound that stirred up the surrounding air.

"Agreed?" Darren asked.

The Exploud nodded and roared once more, causing the Whismurs to retreat. Then it pointed its hand toward the outside.

"I understand," Darren followed the Exploud, and they walked out of the cave to a relatively open area, free from dangerous rocks and mountains, ideal for an all-out battle.

"The rule is one on one," Darren said.

"I will send out my Beautifly," he threw out the Pokéball, and a Beautifly appeared, waving its brightly colored patterned wings, full of battle spirit.

The Beautifly looked docile, but that was only with familiar people. His Beautifly was naturally combatitive, full of battle anticipation, and it would attack fiercely if provoked. Without a trainer's guidance, this trait would be even more evident in the wild.

Master Shozo stood on the side, acting as an audience member, curious as to why Darren wanted to battle the powerful Exploud.

This Exploud was very strong, almost unbeatable for Darren and Beautifly.

…

On the ground ahead, stood the formidable Exploud

Facing him was the Beautifly circling in the air above Darren who was clenching his fists, eyes full of anticipation.

"Let's start! Beautifly, we'll attack first and give the opponent a greeting with Silver Wind!"

The wind started to pick up. The wind Beautifly created was more like a sandstorm, with sporadic white spots that made it look murky. It attacked the opponent with scales mixed into the wind, and as Silver Wind was displayed, Beautifly's movements became even more agile.

However, the Exploud didn't even consider dodging. It howled, emitting a loud sound that caused ripples to form in front of its mouth and stirred up the surrounding air. The Silver Wind that was sweeping forward was completely blown away by this massive sound!

"This is the proper use of sound." Darren's eyes lit up.

It was no wonder that this Exploud, a Pokemon that could cause an earthquake with a mere shout, perfectly demonstrated the power of sound.

"Not enough, Beautifly, fly back into the air and use Air Slash!"

"Guu~"

Beautifly's movements were quick. In the complex airflow all around , Beautifly seemed unaffected and perfectly utilized the surrounding environment, not wasting any energy or time, and made the most coordinated movements.

One... two... three... Beautifly released a total of nine Air Slashes from high in the air. They were like swords falling from the sky, aimed directly at the weak points of Exploud.

"What will it do? Rely on sound again?" Darren carefully watched the Exploud's movements until its feet stomped on the ground, and its tail and palms struck the incoming Air Slashes with force, using momentum to strike back!

"Bang~"

"Bang~"

"Bang~"

Exploud countered the Air Slashes with a blast, creating a cloud of dust that momentarily startled Darren. "Beautifly, seize the opportunity! Use Electroweb now!"

"Sizzle~"

"Sizzle~"

Beautifly's body trembled, and the silk it spit out formed a sea of silk threads with a golden glow that flickered continuously. With a crackling sound, the sea of silk threads finally merged into a golden web that pounced on the remaining dust.

Did it hit?

Darren watched nervously as the huge purple body of Exploud reappeared in the now-clear field.

At this point, the Exploud's body was covered with a layer of golden web, and electricity was constantly coursing through it, stinging its nerves.

"Okay, how are you going to solve this? Beautifly's silk is not easy to break," Darren said.

Beautifly's silk was tough and benefited from a diet and training regimen. Unless a sharp weapon was used, it would be difficult to break free from the web formed by the amalgamation of silk threads. Darren had experimented with just a few strands of silk, which had made a Poochyena, a Pokemon known for its bite, helpless and unable to regain its freedom even with the use of its teeth, requiring a long time to recover.

"Ohh—!!"

"Ohh—!!"

In response to Darren's call, there was a deafening scream. Not only from Exploud's mouth, but his whole body, every orifice on his body vibrated. The sound gathered together, like the sound of an explosion, creating an even more astonishing destructive power!

Boomburst !

Darren's eyes narrowed as he held his breath. Next, he saw the sight he had been waiting for —

Electroweb, a structure formed by interweaving resilient silk with paralyzing electric currents. This complex structure formed a large, intact net that was difficult to break. If hit by this move, it would definitely make most Pokemon suffer.

However, countless sound waves, like explosions, emanated from Exploud's mouth and all of his orifices. With Exploud at the center, the ground around him began to violently shake. Even Darren had to cover his ears and his head was ringing, struggling to withstand the impact of this huge move.

The Electroweb that Beautifly was so proud of and had spent a long time practicing this powerful move on... was directly shattered under the sound waves!

The carriers of the electric current, those silk threads, instantly turned into powder from the inside out. The Electroweb wrapped around Exploud disappeared in an instant!

Even Master Shozo was surprised to see this scene.

Beautifly, the primary target of Boomburst, was blown away into the air and let out a scream before slowly falling back down to the ground.

Darren knew that he and Beautifly had lost.

However, Exploud's fighting style made Darren excited!

"Did you see it clearly?" Darren retrieved Beautifly and took out some medicine. He said to Swablu, who was watching with Master Shozo.

Swablu's cried, surprised, even with his current mastery of his voice that he was proud of, was far behind that of Exploud's.

Long howls, noisy, loud, Boomburst... judging on utilizing sound-based moves. This Exploud's combat style almost matched the ideas Darren had for Swablu.

"Thank you for your hard work, Beautifly. And thank you, Exploud."

Having dealt with the Digletts, Darren was supposed to head to the Crown Academy. However, prior to doing so, he felt content knowing that he had confirmed his own ideas. On the way back, he expressed his gratitude to Master Shozo. Shozo did not ask why Darren challenged Exploud. Everyone has their own path, and Darren's path also requires him to explore it himself.