Almost simultaneously with the formation of the Sandstorm, Manectric's Thunderbolt erupted.
A thick silver lightning bolt, like an angry whip from a god, struck down from its golden mane, tearing through the air with a "crack" and a loud roar.
But as soon as this violent current touched Manectric's body, it was completely absorbed by its "Lightning Rod" ability.
The electric light around Manectric suddenly intensified, its golden mane stood even straighter, its special attack was significantly boosted, and even its eyes became sharper.
"Now! Swift!"
Wattson seized the opportunity to give the command.
Manectric opened its mouth and spewed out countless dazzling golden star-like projectiles.
These star-like projectiles, trailing like a meteor shower, accurately shot towards the center of the Sandstorm, attempting to penetrate the yellow sand and Lock-On Tyrantrum's position.
However, as soon as these stars entered the Sandstorm's range, they were shattered by the violently swirling sand, and the golden specks of light flashed in the yellow sand before disappearing completely.
The Sandstorm not only obscured vision but also formed a natural barrier, intercepting all long-range attacks, as if building an indestructible sand fortress for Tyrantrum.
"Now! Tyrantrum, Earthquake!"
Lionel's voice pierced through the roar of the Sandstorm, clearly reaching Tyrantrum's ears.
"Roar—!"
Tyrantrum suddenly lifted its thick hind leg, muscles bulging, and stomped heavily on the ground with immense force!
"Rumble—!!"
A violent tremor instantly swept across the entire arena, and the defensive energy barrier around the battleground rippled as if it would shatter at any moment.
The yellow sand in the Sandstorm swayed wildly with the undulations of the ground, forming twisted sand waves, like a boiling golden ocean.
Manectric, already covered by the Sandstorm and with difficulty seeing, had no time to react before it was sent flying by this terrifying seismic force, its body arcing through the air before crashing heavily to the ground, letting out a pained groan.
Even more astonishing, while unleashing Earthquake, Tyrantrum managed to multitask.
This was a skill it had painstakingly developed while training in the desert, battling Feebas with Sandstorm and Rain Dance.
Using its subtle perception of the surrounding environment within the Sandstorm, it precisely locked onto Manectric's landing spot, and with a thought, countless massive rocks suddenly flew out from the Sandstorm!
"Rock Slide!"
These angular rocks, propelled by the Sandstorm, flew with sharp whistling sounds, like cannonballs, smashing towards Manectric's location.
Manectric, having just recovered from the Earthquake, hadn't even had time to stand firm before it was engulfed by the dense rocks, unable to dodge, only able to watch as the shadows overhead grew larger.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Several dull thuds exploded continuously within the Sandstorm, accompanied by Manectric's final wails, a sound filled with helplessness and pain.
Lionel raised his hand and waved: "Sandstorm, stop."
Tyrantrum let out a low growl, and the swirling Sandstorm quickly subsided like soldiers receiving orders, the golden sand gradually settling back to the ground, revealing the clear battlefield.
Tyrantrum still stood proudly in the center of the arena, its amber eyes fixed on its opponent.
A few grains of sand clung to its deep red scales, but they did not diminish its majesty in the slightest.
Opposite it, Manectric lay on its back, its body covered in wounds from the rocks, its golden mane drooping listlessly, its eyes rolled back, having completely lost its ability to battle.
The entire arena fell into a brief silence.
Everyone was so stunned by this overwhelming victory that they couldn't speak.
From the formation of the Sandstorm to Manectric's collapse, it was only a matter of a dozen seconds, the process clean and decisive, without any hesitation.
It was a complete one-sided crushing, like a meticulously choreographed performance.
Walter's hand, holding the microphone, trembled slightly, and it took him a while to find his voice, which was filled with unconcealed excitement: "Man-Manectric is unable to battle! Tyrantrum wins! Therefore, the victor of this Gym challenge is the challenger Lionel!"
"Oh—!!"
The audience erupted in a thunderous cheer, applause, whistles, and shouts of approval intertwined, almost tearing off the roof.
"So cool! Is this what Tyrunt evolves into? It's ridiculously strong!"
A boy excitedly waved his fist.
"Sandstorm plus Earthquake plus Rock Slide, a combo that took it out directly! It gave me goosebumps!"
"There's no way to fight against this type advantage; Manectric didn't even touch Tyrantrum once from start to finish, completely helpless!"
The barrage of comments in the live stream erupted like a volcano, refreshing so fast they almost merged into a single white light:
[Holy crap! Is this the legendary dimensionality reduction attack? Manectric didn't even have a chance to react!]
[Tyrunt is too fierce after evolving! This explosive power, instantly annihilated Manectric!]
[I declare that from today on, I am Tyrantrum's number one fan! This physique, this dominance, I love it, I love it!]
[The streamer's command was too decisive! Sandstorm to block vision, Earthquake followed by Rock Slide, a clean one-shot!]
Wattson stared blankly at the fallen Manectric in the arena, then shook his head with a wry smile, pulling out a Poké Ball to recall it: "You worked hard, old friend."
He looked up at Lionel, his eyes showing no resentment, only full admiration: "Remarkable, truly remarkable."
"Your Tyrantrum, in terms of both strength and battle awareness, far exceeded my expectations. This electric badge is well-deserved."
Wattson pulled out a badge engraved with a lightning bolt pattern from his pocket.
The badge's main body was silver-white, and the lightning pattern was bright blue, cool to the touch, as if still carrying a faint electric current.
He handed the badge to Lionel: "Take it, you've earned it."
Lionel took the electric badge, his fingertips tracing the patterns on it, and politely said to Wattson: "It was just luck; the type advantage mostly played a part."
Lionel knew that if Tyrantrum's Rock/Dragon typing hadn't perfectly countered Manectric's Electric typing, this battle would not have been so easy.
Wattson laughed heartily: "A win is a win, why so much talk of luck? Type advantage is also part of strength, not to mention your Tyrantrum's battle awareness far surpasses that of ordinary Pokémon; that's real skill."
At this moment, the spectators on the sidelines could no longer hold back, many of them holding up their phones and crowding around, cautiously asking if they could take a photo with Tyrantrum.
"No problem, it's very gentle."
Lionel smiled and nodded in agreement.
Tyrantrum seemed to enjoy being the center of attention, unlike Beldum, which was easily shy.
It puffed out its chest, proudly straightened its body, its deep red scales gleaming under the lights, deliberately striking a majestic pose.
From time to time, it would shake the "crown" on its head or lift its thick hind leg, drawing cheers from the crowd.
It allowed everyone to come closer for photos, and when a girl with a ponytail cautiously asked, "Can I touch it?" it even lowered its head and gently rubbed its head against her body.
"Oh my god! It actually let me touch it! So well-behaved!"
The girl jumped up excitedly, her camera shutter clicking non-stop.
"This feel, the scales are hard, it's so cool!"
A boy, touching Tyrantrum's flank, was full of excitement.
"Look at the close-up I took, those eyes, absolutely dashing! I declare that from today on, I am Tyrantrum's die-hard fan!"
Wattson watched this harmonious scene from the side, his eyes filled with satisfaction.
Meanwhile, the audience in the live stream had already turned into jealous "lemon spirits," with a barrage of "envy, jealousy, and hate" lamentations:
[I really want to touch Tyrantrum's scales too! They must feel great!]
[Jealousy makes me unrecognizable! Why am I not in Mauville City! This is a huge loss!]
[It's truly amazing, I really love Tyrantrum, majestic and dominant yet well-behaved, I adore it!]
[Did anyone notice Beldum in the corner? It's secretly rolling its eyes behind Lionel, seems to be jealous, so cute, haha!]
Beldum was indeed a little jealous.
It floated on Lionel's shoulder, rubbing its cool metal head back and forth.
Its red eyes glared at the people cheering around Tyrantrum, emitting a rapid "ding ding ding ding" collision sound from its mouth.
As if saying, "I'm also very strong; I just defeated Magnemite, why aren't you looking at me?"
Lionel felt the movement on his shoulder, and seeing Beldum's jealous expression, he was amused. He reached out and scooped the little guy into his arms, gently rubbing its silvery-white head with his fingertips: "Don't be mad, I'll take you to play something more fun later, I promise it'll be more interesting than taking pictures."
Only then did Beldum calm down, though it still huffily bumped Lionel's chest with its head, making a soft "ding" sound, as if reluctantly accepting the promise.
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