When a giant elephant with exaggerated tusks appeared in his line of sight and charged wildly through the desert...
Even though he had mentally prepared himself, Aiden was still startled by Great Tusk' robust physique and instinctively furrowed his brows.
Great Tusk, a Paradox Pokémon, seemed to have a certain kinship with Donphan from its appearance.
As a ferocious being from ancient times, the violent aura it exuded was enough to terrify weaker Pokémon.
Forget humans; even the wild Pokémon that ruled parts of the desert likely fled with their groups upon seeing it. That's why they hadn't encountered many other Pokémon in the desert along the way.
In fact, Aiden immediately noticed that the notoriously headstrong Braviary had no choice but to wisely avoid its sharp edge, fleeing its range of activity.
This thing seemed much larger than he imagined?
Aiden frowned tightly, roughly measuring its height with his gaze.
At least five or six meters tall—almost twice as large as the three-meter height recorded in the game's Pokédex.
However, it seemed these large Pokémon generally had their sizes halved in the Pokédex, especially Legendary Pokémon...
Where does this wild Pokédex come from? Does Game Freak even know Pokémon, filling in data randomly!
"It seems the rumored Pokémon really exists and has appeared before our eyes."
Steven quickly revealed an excited smile, gracefully flipping off Miraidon after it stopped, looking at the charging Great Tusk not far away.
"Nowadays, no Pokémon can grow to such a size, not even fossil Pokémon are this exaggerated..."
Being a straightforward man whose fetish is rocks, Steven always held the simple aesthetic belief that bigger is better, more is beautiful.
Now, with such a colossal creature appearing before him, his curiosity was quickly piqued.
Aiden didn't reply, just glanced at Steven.
Meanwhile, thinking:
Great Tusk' type is Ground + Fighting, which already hits one of Steven's favorites. If it were Ground + Steel like Iron Treads, wouldn't he be completely mesmerized?
Unfortunately, this trip might not encounter it...
"Gao?"
The Miraidon under Aiden also squinted, watching the charging Great Tusk in the distance.
It felt familiar.
In fact, these beings called "Paradox Species" by humans were not unfamiliar to Miraidon.
Previously, when following the two doctors into Area Zero, whether from the past or future, all Pokémon had to endure its beatings to cooperate with the doctors for data collection.
Among the ancient Pokémon, these creatures named Great Tusk were among the most stubborn ones, only surrendering if defeated honorably.
Not only was its electric field energy completely ineffective against it, but carelessly released moves could also cause devastating damage to the lab, making it quite troublesome to handle.
As for another future creature that looked very similar to it, it was even harder to fight, able to mooch off its electrical energy to empower itself...
Without the help of the couple working with the two doctors, it might not have been able to handle that future Pokémon called "Iron Treads" by humans.
Looking back now, he really fought some tough battles in the lab back then.
"Gao..."
Miraidon sighed, interrupting its thoughts.
What was the use of recalling these now? It couldn't return to Area Zero, let alone defeat that unbeatable existence inside...
So, it decided to continue slacking off.
Miraidon quickly turned around, nudging Aiden's hem with its head after landing.
The meaning was obvious.
Aiden knew this guy's nature, running faster than anyone else when there was a battle, so he quickly took out a Poké Ball and recalled Miraidon.
The irritable Great Tusk quickly circled around the desert, and when it made a quick turn while drifting, it soon discovered Aiden and Steven.
"Teacher Azure, get ready."
Upon noticing them, Steven had already prepared for battle, taking out a Poké Ball and squinting at Aiden.
Aiden immediately understood.
Fighting this unknown power, obviously far surpassing regular Pokémon, clearly didn't need to adhere to any fair 1v1 battle rules. The best option was to resolve it quickly before it escaped.
To deal with Great Tusk, Aiden's best choice was naturally—
"Ogerpon, I'll leave it to you!"
With a "pop—" sound from the Poké Ball, Ogerpon, currently Aiden's strongest fighter, made a dazzling entrance.
"Pon?!"
Noticing the Great Tusk observing them nearby, Ogerpon quickly showed a shocked expression.
Th-there's actually such a big Pokémon?
Scared, Ogerpon instinctively pulled out its Ivy Cudgel from behind its cloak, quickly calming down and revealing a determined look.
My big stick is not useless!
Unsurprisingly, Steven chose Metagross as his main force.
"Metagross!"
The moment it appeared, the super-brained Metagross already understood the current situation, clashing its fists to produce a metallic sound and roaring towards the distant Great Tusk.
The combination of Ogerpon and Metagross was full of numerical beauty.
If I had brought an Ogerpon to start the game, I would have absolutely become the god of battle on Ten Mile Slope, cutting from Small Key Town straight to Area Zero!
However, their opponent was also very powerful.
"Roar—!"
Seemingly viewing Metagross's roar as a provocation, the originally distant-watching Great Tusk' eyes suddenly turned redder, responding with a low growl.
At the same time, its strong hind legs began to rub against the ground, seemingly gathering energy for the next charge.
"Ogerpon, be careful, switch to the Wellspring Mask first."
Aiden quickly reminded.
Because Ogerpon itself was Grass-type, under normal circumstances, it preferred to carry the Grass Mask that matched its own type.
Unless instructed beforehand, Aiden usually commanded Ogerpon to change masks before the battle based on the opponent.
After switching to the Wellspring Mask, Ogerpon temporarily gained the ability to control water flow, and its Ivy Cudgel became wrapped in swirling water.
"Oh? A Pokémon that can change attributes?"
Steven raised an eyebrow. He had never seen Aiden's Pokémon before, only witnessing its dominant performance in Aiden's "Kitakami Travel vlog."
It seemed this Pokémon named Ogerpon was a rather special existence?
This world indeed had many unknown Pokémon waiting for humans to discover...
Facing the imminent battle, Steven naturally didn't have time to think much more.
Because just as they prepared, the opposing Great Tusk had finished charging, taking a few fierce steps and leaping into the air.
Simultaneously, its body rapidly curled up, its vulnerable abdomen protected by the steel-like skin on the outside of its trunk, gradually forming a wheel shape.
The speed provided by falling from the air allowed Great Tusk to roll on the wet desert surface.
Moreover, with each rotation, its feet forcefully pushed against the ground, significantly increasing its speed.
"Teacher Azure, be careful, it's rolling!"
Steven instinctively warned Aiden but paused when he glanced at him.
Under Aiden's command, Ogerpon had already stepped forward, inserting its Ivy Cudgel into the moist sand.
Due to the continuous conversion of Water-type energy by the Wellspring Mask, combined with the rain, the surrounding ground quickly became thoroughly wet, turning black.
"Steven, I remember Metagross can learn Ice Punch, right?"
After finishing preparations, Aiden suddenly turned to look at the dumbfounded Steven, showing an enigmatic smile.
Seeing Aiden's smile, Steven suddenly felt uneasy.
Here it comes, the expression Aiden makes when he pulls out something weird!
"Ice Punch?"
Steven muttered, quickly realizing what Aiden intended, his expression instantly becoming strange.
He seemed to understand what Aiden was planning.
But...
Isn't this a bit too outrageous?
Is Teacher Azure's battle style a bit too wild?
With the strength of my Metagross, even directly resisting this Rollout wouldn't be a problem, and we could attack head-on...
However, it seemed Teacher Azure had always been this style.
"Trust me, it's absolutely feasible!"
Under Aiden's urging, Steven reluctantly smiled.
"Then, Metagross, use Ice Punch on the ground!"
"Metagross!"
Metagross decisively punched the ground repeatedly, using the rapidly accumulating ice attribute energy in its hands to quickly lower the surface temperature, soon forming a large ice surface.
"Ogerpon, wait for the opportunity to use Ivy Cudgel!"
Aiden revealed a confident smile, quickly issuing commands.
Using such a classic move like Rollout in front of me, I must give you a lesson!
In reality, there were many tricks to counter such a no-turning-back move!
Due to the high-speed rolling, Great Tusk had no idea what Aiden's side was doing and continued charging along the predetermined route.
However, as it approached, its body suddenly touched the ice surface, stumbled, and due to excessive speed, flipped sideways, completely losing control of direction.
"Ogerpon, now!"
As Aiden spoke, Great Tusk' huge body swiftly slid across the ice toward Ogerpon due to inertia.
"Pon!"
Ogerpon emitted a loud cry, swinging its Ivy Cudgel with both hands and fiercely swinging it forward!
Ogerpon's strength was already absurd, plus the Water-type energy provided by the Wellspring Mask and the rain boost...
A fully powered Ivy Cudgel under double weakness not only shook Great Tusk' body but also made it emit a mournful howl immediately.
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