The sandstorm continued to rage endlessly as Tyranitar roared at the top of its lungs, its whole body cloaked in dark energy as it charged fiercely toward Rhyperior.
"Rock Wrecker!" Blue's expression turned serious as he shouted his command to Rhyperior.
Payback—when used after the opponent has moved, its power would increase exponentially.
Rhyperior let out a low growl and raised both arms. A rich, earthy-colored glow radiated from the hollow in its palms.
Rock Wrecker!
However, before Rhyperior could launch its Rock Wrecker, Tyranitar had already charged in and reached its opponent. It's dark-glowing claws slammed heavily into Rhyperior's chest.
Rhyperior roared in pain as its massive body was knocked backward.
"Ice Punch!" "Iron Tail!"
Almost simultaneously, Lucas and Blue issued new commands.
Tyranitar's claws shimmered with freezing energy, while Rhyperior's massive tail, like a flail, lit up with a metallic sheen.
Ice Punch landed directly on Rhyperior's head, while Iron Tail struck Tyranitar's waist.
Rhyperior's head was instantly covered in frost, and its massive body crashed to the ground. Tyranitar was forced back two steps from the impact.
"It's clearly falling behind now," said Will as he pushed up his glasses, analyzing the situation. The battle was intense, but it was obvious that Rhyperior was increasingly at a disadvantage.
Though Blue was making a great effort to command Rhyperior's counterattacks, Tyranitar still had it completely suppressed.
"And it's not just that," Giovanni chuckled lightly. The offensive had only just begun—as he knew from experience, Lucas's battle style was always merciless once he gained the upper hand. He never let an opportunity slip: strike hard when your opponent is down!
At this moment on the battlefield:
"Tyranitar, Earthquake!"
Seeing Rhyperior knocked to the ground, Lucas didn't hesitate in giving his next command.
Not giving Rhyperior a single moment to recover.
"TYRANNN!" Tyranitar roared loudly, stabilizing its posture. It raised its right foot and then slammed it down.
Earthquake!
Boom!
The entire battlefield trembled violently. Invisible shockwaves rippled out and surged toward Rhyperior.
"Rhyperior!" Blue exclaimed in alarm, hurriedly shouting to his Pokémon.
Rhyperior raised its frost-covered head. That Ice Punch had landed heavily—its mind was still ringing. The lingering cold from the punch caused intense pain throughout its body.
But upon hearing Blue's voice, Rhyperior gritted its teeth, slamming its right arm hard into the ground.
Earthquake!
The two Earthquakes collided violently. The battlefield roared with shaking ground and clashing shockwaves that soon neutralized each other.
Blue let out a faint breath of relief. If Rhyperior had taken that Earthquake head-on, it might not have been able to get back up.
But then—
"Hydro Pump!"
Blue's pupils contracted.
Tyranitar let out a loud roar. Azure energy gathered in its mouth. The next second, under everyone's stunned gaze, a massive column of water shot out, blasting the already weakened Rhyperior.
Hydro Pump hit squarely. Water splashed everywhere as the powerful force launched Rhyperior backward, slamming it hard into a wall.
"Rhyperior is unable to battle. Tyranitar wins."
Will jogged over to check on Rhyperior, pushed his glasses up again, and calmly announced the result.
Blue frowned slightly and raised his Poké Ball to recall Rhyperior.
Tyranitar… used Hydro Pump?
Blue looked at Lucas with a subtle mix of suspicion and admiration. That was clever.
"So sneaky~ Lucas saved that Water-type move for this moment? Earthquake was just a decoy, wasn't it?"
Karen leaned back in her seat, arms crossed, clicking her tongue in admiration.
As expected of Lucas—he was downright devious.
"Well, it is a Tyranitar, after all. Known for its brutality and ferocity. But that Hydro Pump was really well played."
Will shook his head. Tyranitar's fierce, monstrous appearance and its reputation as a pseudo-legendary known for overwhelming power gave the sudden Hydro Pump an almost absurd effectiveness.
A Pokémon four times weak to Water like Rhyperior, already in poor condition, was knocked out instantly. How could it not be effective?
Marnie: "..."
"If it knew a Water-type move, why not use it from the start?" Blue asked curiously as he took out his second Poké Ball, seemingly unconcerned about losing the first round.
The path of a strong Trainer was always filled with obstacles—facing setbacks and challenges was just part of the journey. Though proud, Blue wasn't blindly arrogant.
He could accept defeat, even if he didn't enjoy the taste.
"Tyranitar's Special Attack isn't exactly outstanding, so I don't want to lose focus on what it does best," Lucas replied with a calm smile.
In truth, Tyranitar's Special Attack wasn't weak—it just wasn't exceptional either.
With a base stat of 95 in Special Attack, it was better than most Pokémon.
It was fine for surprise moves, but building a Special Tyranitar? He wasn't crazy.
Fortunately, this wasn't a game with the four-move limit—otherwise, he wouldn't have taught it Hydro Pump at all.
"I see… Still, I have to admit, that was one strong Tyranitar," Blue raised an eyebrow.
No matter what, Tyranitar was fundamentally a Pokémon with outstanding physical attack.
That one-shot KO on Rhyperior—yes, Rhyperior had already taken a lot of damage, but if Tyranitar didn't have the power, even a Hydro Pump couldn't have been that effective.
This opponent… was even stronger than expected.
"But that just makes it all the more worthwhile to beat you! Gyarados, take the field!"
Blue grinned wide, excitement flickering in his eyes.
The Poké Ball flew out at high speed and burst open with a flash of white light. A massive Gyarados landed before Blue.
Its fierce eyes glared at Tyranitar, growling lowly. Tyranitar didn't back down, roaring right back.
"His Water-type ace is a Water/Flying Gyarados?"
Lucas examined the Gyarados. It was extremely well-trained.
Normal Gyarados were typically around six meters long, but this one looked to be at least seven.
Its physique was robust and powerful—clearly a brawler used to close combat.
And Gyarados was indeed a powerhouse among physical attackers.
However, in the trainer community, Gyarados was not usually the top choice as a Water-type ace. The reason lay in its typing.
Gyarados was a Water/Flying-type Pokémon—a combination that wasn't bad at all and actually provided decent resistances.
But the fatal flaw was its 4x weakness to Electric.
That alone would be bad enough, but to make matters worse, Gyarados' Flying-type was basically useless!
Why? Because Gyarados couldn't fly.
That's right—in the eyes of the public, Gyarados lacked flight capability. It only learned two Flying-type moves: Bounce (basically a fancy Splash) and Hurricane, a powerful special Flying-type move.
But with Gyarados' weak Special Attack, what use was Hurricane?
So, Flying-type might as well not exist for it. Yet the 4x Electric weakness stayed.
And because Gyarados couldn't fly, no one bothered training it in that area, and over time, Gyarados truly lost its ability to fly.
Lucas, however, knew the truth: Gyarados could fly.
It probably forgot due to its evolution from Magikarp or because its species lived so long in the ocean. Their natural flying ability had atrophied.
Combined with everyone's belief that Gyarados couldn't fly, no one ever trained it to—so it never regained the ability.
"Gyarados, Dragon Dance!"
Blue didn't waste time and gave the order.
Gyarados let out a low growl, its massive body dancing in a mysterious, ancient pattern.
Dragon Dance—boosting both Attack and Speed!
"You're not the only one who knows Dragon Dance, Tyranitar."
Lucas's mouth curved into a smile.
Tyranitar also began a strange, rhythmic dance—Dragon Dance!
"Surf!"
Blue frowned slightly. Tyranitar knows Dragon Dance too?
But there was no time to think about that. What mattered now was defeating Tyranitar!
Gyarados roared, raising its head high. Azure energy overflowed from its body.
The sound of crashing waves echoed clearly—then, a massive tidal wave rose from the ground, carrying Gyarados as it surged toward Tyranitar.
"Earthquake!"
Lucas gave the command without hesitation.
Tyranitar raised its foot and slammed it down. The ground shook violently as shockwaves spread out.
Under the terrifying tremors, the tidal wave lost its balance and collapsed. Water poured down, soaking the battlefield and clearing away the lingering sandstorm.
"Using Surf to clear the sandstorm—not a bad idea," Giovanni praised with a faint smile.
Gyarados wasn't known for Special Attacks, so Surf wouldn't be too powerful.
But the idea was sound. Tyranitar, being 2x weak to Water, couldn't afford to take the hit head-on. And more importantly, the Surf washed away the sandstorm.
"Unlike Rhyperior, Gyarados can't ignore the sandstorm. Fighting Tyranitar in that environment would be a huge disadvantage," Karen added.
The sand would constantly batter Gyarados' body and obscure its vision—how could it fight at full strength?
"Gyarados, Aqua Tail!"
With the battlefield now visible, Gyarados began falling back to the ground—but Earthquake was still rumbling across it.
Blue shouted a command, clearly prepared for this.
Gyarados' tail glowed with flowing water. Using the force of its descent, it swung the tail fiercely at Tyranitar.
"Stone Edge!"
Lucas chuckled. He had anticipated this.
Tyranitar roared, raising both arms as countless sharp stones formed in front of it.
Stone Edge took shape and launched at Gyarados.
Only two types were super effective against Gyarados: Electric and Rock.
In this case, Tyranitar countered Gyarados perfectly—but likewise, its Water weakness made it vulnerable too.
"TYRANNN!"
Tyranitar's roar echoed like thunder as sharp stones rained down on Gyarados.
But Gyarados' Aqua Tail smashed down with tremendous force, breaking through the incoming Stone Edge like it was nothing.
Stone Edge couldn't stop Gyarados!
"Thunder Punch."
Lucas's smile widened.
(End of Chapter)