A red light flashed, and Graveler burst out of its Poké Ball, landing heavily on the rock battleground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Graveler was nearly one meter tall, a full head taller than Tyrunt. Its grey rock body was covered in indentations of varying depths, battle scars that exuded the ferocity of a seasoned fighter.
Four rocky arms extended from its spherical body; the two front arms were thick and short but densely muscled, while the two back arms were long and powerful, currently hanging loosely at its sides, glaring menacingly at Tyrunt.
"Graveler... second-tier main force!"
Lionel's brows furrowed slightly as he observed the battle scars covering Roxanne's Graveler and the Pokémon information from the system panel.
[Pokémon: Graveler]
[Attribute: Rock, Ground]
[Category: Rock Pokémon]
[Ability: Sturdy (When its HP is full, it will not be knocked out in one hit, even if it takes a move, and one-hit KO moves have no effect.)]
[Skills: Defense Curl, Rock Polish, Rollout, Stomping Tantrum, Rock Throw, Smack Down, Self-Destruct, Stealth Rock, Rock Blast, Earthquake...]
Tyrunt, unafraid of Graveler's imposing physique, let out a low growl and proactively approached Graveler.
Its body, enhanced by Dragon Dance, was full of power, each step on the ground producing a dull thud. Its amber eyes burned with fighting spirit—the lingering might from its victory over Lileep was still present, and it wanted to press its advantage.
"Close-quarters combat? Just as I wished!" Roxanne's lips curved into a confident, determined smile: "Graveler, charge! Use Rollout!"
The moment the command fell, Graveler let out a muffled roar, its thick four limbs slightly bent, and its four arms wrapped tightly around itself. Its massive body instantly curled into a perfectly round rock giant ball.
Its grey rocky body, covered in rough textures, shot out like a cannonball, with a wind-splitting sound, charging fiercely towards Tyrunt.
The ground along its path trembled slightly from the impact.
"Tyrunt, be careful and dodge! Counter with Dragon Tail!" Lionel's gaze was fixed on the battlefield, quickly giving a command, his voice urgent but steady.
Seeing Graveler's charge close at hand, Tyrunt reacted extremely quickly, nimbly twisting its body sideways, barely avoiding the powerful collision.
Using the momentum of its turn, its thick Dragon Tail, like a fully charged whip, swung out rapidly with a whistling sound, fiercely striking Graveler's rolling body.
"Bang—"
A muffled thud exploded on the battlefield, making the ground slightly numb.
Graveler's Rollout paused, its massive body swayed, but it merely swayed!
Only a shallow white mark was left on its steel-like rock shell; this amount of damage was negligible for its formidable defense.
"Such strong defense!"
Gasps of surprise immediately rose from the audience, one after another.
At the same time, just as Tyrunt's Dragon Tail made contact with Graveler, Graveler quickly leveraged the momentum to unfurl its body, exiting its rolling state.
With its back to Tyrunt, the two long arms above its body suddenly tensed, like steel whips poised to strike, and then swung backward with thunderous force!
With a crisp "crack," two hard rock arms slammed heavily onto Tyrunt's back.
The little guy let out a pained yelp, its body reeling as if struck by a heavy hammer, stumbling back several steps, the red glow of its Dragon Dance fading somewhat.
"This is getting tricky." Lionel's heart sank.
Tyrunt's breathing was already somewhat ragged. Unlike in games, buffing skills in the real world weren't without cost; the attack and speed boosts from Dragon Dance were draining Tyrunt's stamina even faster.
Its stamina had already been somewhat depleted in the previous battle with Lileep, and now it was even worse.
"Tyrunt, use Ice Fang! Increase the cold output, aim for Graveler's arm joints, try to freeze it and restrict its movements!"
Aside from Dragon Tail, Ice Fang was Tyrunt's most familiar offensive move. Since Dragon Tail couldn't break through Graveler's defense, Lionel could only pin his hopes on Ice Fang's freezing assault.
Tyrunt let out a defiant growl from its throat, its amber eyes suddenly sharp. Ignoring the lingering pain in its back, it pushed off with its feet and lunged at Graveler.
It opened its mouth, the hoarfrost on its teeth denser than before, aiming directly for the gap where Graveler's arms connected to its torso—that was a relatively weaker part of its rocky body.
"Block it!" Roxanne's command was concise and powerful.
Graveler's front short arms quickly crossed, like two sturdy shields, tightly protecting its joints.
Tyrunt's Ice Fang bit hard onto the short arm. With a "crunch," ice spread across the rock surface, and Graveler showed some pain. The type advantage of Ice still caused it a certain amount of damage.
However, with the short arms blocking, Tyrunt's intention to freeze Graveler's joints was not realized.
At the same time, Graveler's long arms behind it rose again, slamming down with immense force towards Tyrunt's abdomen.
"Woo—"
Tyrunt was hit head-on, its body sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily against a rock and sending fragments flying.
It struggled to stand up, the red glow on its body completely dissipating, clearly having sustained a serious injury.
"Tyrunt!"
Lionel couldn't help but take a step forward.
The live stream's comments immediately became anxious—
"It's over! Graveler's defense is too insane!"
"Tyrunt's stamina can't keep up! Dragon Dance drains too much!"
"Quickly switch Pokémon! Don't push it!"
"…"
Graveler gave Tyrunt no respite, its muffled growl echoing through the battlefield.
The scattered rocks on the ground stirred in response, rapidly coalescing in front of its broad chest, eventually forming three half-human-sized giant rock spheres.
Its thick short arms steadily cradled one, while its two long, slender arms behind it each grasped another. The heavy stone spheres trembled slightly in its palms, ready to unleash the powerful Rock-type move—Rock Blast.
"Throw them!" Roxanne's command was crisp and decisive, without a hint of hesitation.
Graveler's arms suddenly exerted force, muscles bulging, as the three stone spheres whistled out like cannonballs, their flight speed several times faster than the rocks produced by Lileep's Ancient Power.
Sharp tearing sounds ripped through the air, and the stone spheres, with astonishing momentum, sealed off all of Tyrunt's dodging routes from three directions, leaving it nowhere to escape.
"Tyrunt, be careful! Dodge quickly!" Lionel urgently warned Tyrunt.
Tyrunt's pupils constricted, and it rolled swiftly to the left with all its might, barely dodging the first two whistling stone spheres.
But the third stone sphere was already closing in. It had no time to adjust its posture and could only quickly swing its thick Dragon Tail, its hard tailbone whistling as it fiercely struck the stone sphere.
"Bang—!"
A deafening roar erupted. Tyrunt's Dragon Tail struck the whistling stone sphere fiercely, but the impact, imbued with Graveler's immense power, instantly spread throughout its body via the hard tailbone.
The little guy's body sharply arched, trembling violently, its four limbs slightly weak, barely able to stand, a hint of undeniable fatigue flashing in its amber eyes.
"Tyrunt, come back!" Lionel's voice was tinged with distress as he quickly pulled out a Poké Ball. "You've done wonderfully. The rest of the battle, leave it to Feebas!"
Hearing its trainer's call, Tyrunt struggled to lift its head, its amber eyes locked onto Lionel. There was no hint of retreat, but rather a stubborn fire ignited within them.
It shook its dizzy head hard, a hoarse but exceptionally firm growl escaping its throat, as if stubbornly protesting, or perhaps declaring that it could still persevere.
Lionel looked into its eyes, understood Tyrunt's resolve, and clenched his fist:
"Alright! I understand, Tyrunt! Let's charge forward and use Ice Fang!"
"What a tenacious little guy."
Roxanne watched the battlefield, a trace of imperceptible approval flashing in her eyes, but her command held no mercy.
"Graveler, use Earthquake! End the battle!"
As the command fell, Graveler let out a muffled roar, its thick legs suddenly lifted, and its massive body instantly soared into the air, then stomped heavily onto the ground with immense force!
"Rumble—!"
The violent tremor exploded like a clap of thunder, and the entire Gym seemed to shake. The hard rock ground instantly cracked into hideous, spiderweb-like patterns, and gravel flew everywhere.
The shockwave, centered on Graveler, spread out like a tide, harshly impacting the already injured Tyrunt.
The little guy could no longer hold on. Its frail body was shaken into the air, tracing a brief arc before crashing heavily to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
It struggled to lift its head, but its eyelids were as heavy as lead, finally drooping powerlessly, completely losing consciousness.
"Tyrunt is unable to battle. Challenger, switch Pokémon!" The referee's voice rang out.
Lionel immediately pressed the Poké Ball's switch. A red light shot out, gently recalling the unconscious Tyrunt. He softly stroked the cool Poké Ball, murmuring:
"You worked hard, Tyrunt. Get some good rest."
Lionel then took a deep breath, slowly turned around, and his gaze fell upon the Inflatable Fish Tank beside him.
Feebas was waving its fins, its small head slightly raised, meeting Lionel's gaze directly. Its round eyes showed no fear, only resolute determination, already prepared for battle.