According to the draw, Aoki was the one to summon his Pokémon first.
Without hesitation, a Poké Ball appeared in his hand, which he lightly tossed up and down.
He said with a smile, "This is our first time showing off our skills. Do your best, go, Tyranitar!"
With that, he threw the Poké Ball, and a massive monster, standing at 3.2 meters tall and extremely robust, appeared on the field.
Tyranitar!!!
Tyranitar spread its arms and roared to the sky.
"Tyranitar!! It's Master Aoki's Tyranitar!!"
"Sandstorm Aoki, Sandstorm Tyranitar!!"
"Master Aoki's ace right off the bat!! Looks like we're in for an exciting battle!!"
"..."
When the Alliance promoted the battle between Aoki and Steven, Tyranitar was Aoki's representative Pokémon because Steven's representative was Shiny Metagross. The clash of two pseudo-legendaries made for a more captivating spectacle.
At this point, Aoki possessing a pseudo-legendary Pokémon no longer put him in danger. Instead, from others' perspectives, Aoki's current status required a pseudo-legendary Pokémon to truly complement it.
Steven wasn't surprised to see his Tyranitar.
Aoki's Tyranitar had fully matured. Its presence upon entering the field indicated it had already reached the strength of a Senior Elite Four member.
The speed of this power increase was incredibly fast.
Indeed, Tyranitar's level had reached 71, having gained another level through subsequent training and battles.
The other Pokémon had also gained levels to varying degrees, the only difference being the extent of the increase.
Steven flipped his hand, and two Poké Balls appeared, which he casually threw out.
A Level 74 Shiny Metagross and a Level 71 Aggron!
They were both old friends. Aoki didn't even need to think; Steven might change his other Pokémon, but these two would definitely not be swapped out.
The appearance of Shiny Metagross once again elicited loud cheers from the audience.
The showdown between Metagross and Tyranitar, two pseudo-legendary Pokémon, made the match even more exciting.
It was Aoki's turn to summon Pokémon again.
Two red lights flashed.
This time, it was Aoki's Aggron, which had just reached Level 70, and his Blaziken, also freshly at Level 70.
His second-tier Pokémon had finally caught up to the first-tier. Although there was still some level difference, they had all reached the same tier.
Aoki's Aggron appeared significantly taller than Steven's Aggron; there was a considerable size difference between the two Aggron.
Then Steven summoned a Level 73 Aerodactyl and a Level 70 Armaldo.
It was clear that Steven had not neglected the training of his Armaldo during this period.
All the Pokémon that appeared were powerhouses, looking very impressive.
However, a change occurred next, as Aoki summoned a Level 73 Florges and a Level 74 Gengar.
Steven had initially guessed that Aoki would use Tyranitar, and if he used Tyranitar, he would definitely employ his sandstorm team from Meteor Falls.
Steven himself primarily used Steel and Rock-type Pokémon, so Tyranitar's sandstorm wasn't a huge threat to him.
But the appearance of Florges and Gengar left Steven a bit puzzled.
Was Aoki not planning to use the sandstorm?
Initially, the first few summons from both sides had been predictable, but now, the strategies were starting to shift.
Steven hesitated for a moment, then threw out two Poké Balls, revealing a Level 70 Claydol and a... Level 73 Steelix!
Aoki could accept the appearance of Claydol, but he had never seen Steven use Onix or Steelix before. What in the world was up with suddenly summoning a Level 73 Steelix?
Referee, this kid is cheating!!
He used Aerodactyl in the Sinnoh Grand Festival, and now he's bringing out a Steelix. It's clearly not just a simple Pokémon of his, right?
The Stone family is impressive? Cheating!!
Absolutely cheating!!
Shameless!
Aoki's eye twitched, but he couldn't say anything.
The sudden appearance of the Level 73 Steelix was indeed a bit much.
Since things were like this, Aoki had nothing left to hide and summoned his final Pokémon, a Level 74 Slowking!
What should have been a round of counter-summoning turned into self-serving summons due to their mutual understanding, which ultimately didn't serve much purpose.
However, that final Steelix was truly excessive. The Stone family was relying on their family advantage to bully commoners!
In the stands.
"They've all reached the Senior Elite Four level. The growth rate of these two youngsters is truly astonishing. I just wonder how their tactical coordination is with such raw power," Adams said with a smile.
Wallace, sitting beside him, smiled without speaking.
When Aoki came to him for tactical training, he was already surprised by the growth rate of Aoki's Pokémon, but it was when Aoki revealed his prepared dual-core strategy that Wallace was truly astonished.
This kid, while fully dedicating himself to improving his Pokémon's strength, actually had time to ponder tactics. What kind of monster was he?
Therefore, he now had great confidence in Aoki.
Steven's strength was indeed formidable, and the Stone family's heritage was terrifying, but Aoki's talent and potential had been underestimated by everyone.
Looking at Wallace, who smiled without speaking, Adams also found it increasingly interesting.
Then Adams looked to the other side, at the equally smiling Grandpa Birch, "Your Stone family is being a bit of a bully, aren't you? How many resources did you invest in that Steelix?"
Grandpa Birch chuckled, "Speaking of which, using that Steelix was something Steven told me about suddenly a few months ago when he came home."
"When I asked him why, he gave me a long explanation and finally told me that it was Aoki who suggested he train Steelix."
"This young man, Aoki, has a truly terrifying understanding of Pokémon. Not only for the ones he uses himself, but he also has deep insights into Pokémon he doesn't use."
"From that day on, Steven began training Onix, initially planning to do it slowly."
"But this past month, to prepare for this battle, he invested a large amount of resources. I hope he can recover them quickly in the future."
Grandpa Birch didn't say how much was invested, but as a world-renowned Steel-type family, they certainly had unique training methods for Steel-type Pokémon, and those things were not convenient to disclose.
Adams and Wallace didn't say much either.
Family power is inherently part of a person's strength; no one would be foolish enough to say they couldn't rely on their family.
As long as you can utilize it, it's all your strength, no matter where it comes from.
"This young man Aoki has surprised you in more ways than just this. Today, you two should watch closely. Don't let your jaws drop later," Wallace suddenly said with a smile, his face filled with deep satisfaction.
Adams looked at Wallace in surprise. At this point, Wallace still had such strong confidence. Where did it come from?