As the referee gave the order, two red lights appeared simultaneously on the battlefield.
On Sato's side, the red light expanded to over three meters before dispersing with a boom, revealing a ferocious dark green behemoth… Tyranitar, a pseudo-legendary Pokémon!
And on Lolo's side, a striking Staraptor was already circling in the sky, keeping a close eye on every move of the grounded Tyranitar below.
As the regional bird of the Sinnoh Region, Staraptor was not uncommon, but among the entire Starly evolutionary line, those that fully evolved into Staraptor were rare.
Compared to the regional birds from other regions, Staraptor appeared more dashing and was also highly adept in mastering moves.
If it weren't for Pidgeot from the Kanto Region discovering Mega Evolution, the title of strongest regional bird would most likely have belonged to Staraptor.
But unfortunately… this time it had encountered Tyranitar!
The moment Tyranitar appeared, its three-meter-tall body instantly drew the attention of everyone present.
Back at Lake Verity, there had been no spectators, so this battle was actually Tyranitar's first appearance in the public eye.
"Battle... begin!" The referee's voice wasn't loud, but clear enough for both Sato and Lolo to hear.
"Staraptor, use Aerial Ace!"
"Tyranitar, brace yourself."
Sato issued the command boldly, with Tyranitar's full-body armor being the source of his confidence.
Staraptor was incredibly fast, darting through the air like a black lightning bolt. In the blink of an eye, it had already reached Tyranitar's rear.
Clang~
Aerial Ace struck, hitting Tyranitar's relatively vulnerable lower back. Clearly, this Staraptor had undergone specialized training and was skilled at targeting weaknesses.
But again… its opponent was none other than the pseudo-legendary Tyranitar!
A massive tail suddenly swept across. Staraptor didn't even have time to turn its head before being smacked aside by Tyranitar's tail.
"STAAAR!" Staraptor couldn't help but let out a pained cry. After barely regaining balance, it immediately flapped its wings and soared high.
At the same time, a sandstorm broke out across the battlefield, raging violently. In no time, the sky was filled with swirling yellow sand.
Ability: Sand Stream.
This was the first time Tyranitar had actively triggered its Sand Stream Ability in battle, and needless to say, the effect was overwhelming. Even Staraptor in the sky had to endure the constant erosion of the Sandstorm.
"Tyranitar, Stone Edge, attack." This was the first true offensive order to come from Sato.
Tyranitar raised its arms, and the sand within the storm began rapidly condensing. In a moment, hundreds of razor-sharp rock spikes the size of fists had materialized.
Then, with a forceful swing of its arms, all the rock spikes launched; rather than directly aiming at Staraptor, they followed the chaotic paths of the sandstorm, scattering toward the opposing side in complete disorder.
"Staraptor, use Agility to dodge!"
When Sato heard Lolo's command, he "gently" shook his head. These hundreds of rock spikes, condensed from sand, weren't something so easy to dodge…
Amidst the sand-filled sky, Staraptor displayed superb aerial skills, effortlessly performing complex maneuvers to evade the incoming barrage.
However, the number of rock spikes surrounding it grew by the second, making dodging increasingly rapid and difficult.
"STARAP!"
At last, a scream rang out. Staraptor suddenly halted midair in the sandstorm, it had clearly been struck by one of the rock spikes.
Immediately after, Staraptor began to fall back bit by bit, black feathers flying everywhere. The following rock spikes continued pursuing, delivering successive damage again and again.
"STARAPTOR, USE STEEL WING TO DEFEND!" Lolo shouted, hoping that his Pokémon could hear him; otherwise, this battle would be unwinnable.
Staraptor's willpower was indeed impressive. Within the sandstorm, two streaks of silver light suddenly appeared.
Steel Wing successfully activated!
Boom! Boom! Boom…
Flashes of silver shone continuously as many rock spikes were shattered by Steel Wing, returning to sand and merging back into the storm.
Seeing this, Tyranitar didn't stubbornly continue producing more spikes. Instead, it shifted part of its focus to the Sandstorm, intensifying its constant destructive force.
Sato and Tyranitar remained calm, simply waiting for Staraptor to launch an attack, then they would counter.
After all, within the Sandstorm, Staraptor's health/stamina was continuously being drained.
Tyranitar could afford the wait. Staraptor couldn't.
"Staraptor, we're going all in… use Close Combat!" Lolo gritted his teeth. This Tyranitar was tougher than diamond. An early attempt with Aerial Ace had not only failed to deal real damage, but got it swatted back with a tail strike.
Close range couldn't break through. Long range hadn't even started and already they were overwhelmed.
One Stone Edge scattered into hundreds of rock spikes, easily beating Staraptor into a powerless state.
Both were Ace level Pokémon, but the gap in strength between them was blatantly obvious.
So Lolo had made up his mind: having Staraptor consume as much of Tyranitar's stamina as possible was the only contribution it could now make.
As the diving Staraptor approached, Tyranitar's eyes flashed with genuine seriousness for the first time. Close Combat was a Fighting-type move… 4x effective against it.
Moreover, ever since learning the opponent might use Staraptor, both Tyranitar and Sato had been wary; not of normal attacks…
But of that absurd combo: Endeavor + Final Gambit.
"Tyranitar, counter freely."
Sato issued a cryptic command, but Tyranitar didn't hesitate.
With a sudden sweep of its arms, massive boulders the size of tires materialized around it, all hurled toward Staraptor.
Unlike the smaller, faster, and more scattered Stone Edge spikes, Rock Slide was much more forceful, though less flexible.
But at that moment, Staraptor was in free fall, greatly boosting its speed.
Plus, having already accepted its loss, it wasn't about to stop just because there were boulders in the way.
Tyranitar's sharp gaze tracked the diving Staraptor, perfectly repositioning the Rock Slide debris right along its path.
"Starap!"
A fierce glint flashed in Staraptor's eyes. It was known as the suicide bird, the iron-headed bird… what were a few rocks to it?
Wings spread wide, Staraptor charged straight into the Rock Slide. With Fighting-type energy from Close Combat, it shattered every boulder in its way.
Finally, as it reached Tyranitar, it had become a spent force.
Yet, an eerie light glimmered in its eyes, gazing at Tyranitar with a bizarre excitement.
A strange red light suddenly flickered across its body, and with it, Staraptor charged headlong toward Tyranitar, throwing caution to the wind…
It was Endeavor!
Tyranitar's alarm bells rang. Sato's premonition was coming true.
In that instant, it activated Protect without hesitation!
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250 PS=ExtraChap