"Core…?"
Wang Tao froze for a moment before laboriously setting Larvitar down on the ground.
Just that brief moment of carrying it had been enough to make both of his arms ache, despite the strength he possessed as an Awakened!
This little guy was as heavy as a giant counterweight. No wonder it had to eat an entire mountain before it could evolve…
"Exactly. Larvitar's final evolutionary form… is the core of a Sandstorm team!"
There was a hint of emotion in Su Bai's voice.
To be honest, he had never expected Wang Tao to be the first person to form a proper team system.
And not just any team, either—it was a Sandstorm team, one of the most powerful team archetypes in practically every generation!
"As a pseudo-legendary, Tyranitar possesses incredibly powerful defensive capabilities, along with terrifying physical strength capable of changing the terrain itself."
"Your Tyranitar is far more powerful than Hippopotas, even though they both have the Sand Stream Ability…"
"Once the sandstorm begins to rage, Pokémon without the appropriate typing will continuously suffer from the storm. They'll already be at a disadvantage from the start."
"And the Pokémon you currently have… can all practically take a bath in a sandstorm…"
Su Bai's words immediately made everyone look at Wang Tao with envy.
Strictly speaking, there wasn't much synergy between their Pokémon. Or rather, their Pokémon simply weren't the kind that naturally complemented one another.
A naturally cohesive team like a Sandstorm team was an entirely different matter. Once used properly, its strength was far more than a simple one-plus-one-equals-two!
At this moment, however, Wang Tao displayed a level of shrewdness that was completely at odds with his appearance.
He didn't let Su Bai's words send him into a frenzy. Instead, he raised a perfectly reasonable objection.
"Wait… If they both have Sand Stream…"
He pointed at Hippopotas, which was staring blankly at Larvitar and trying to get closer, only to be repeatedly rejected.
"Hippopotas has Sand Stream too! Doesn't that make their roles redundant?"
"You're actually thinking things through."
Su Bai smiled and shook his head.
"But Hippopotas and Tyranitar won't conflict with each other."
"First of all, Hippopotas is purely a tank that stands at the front. This Pokémon isn't particularly impressive when it comes to offense."
"Tyranitar, on the other hand, is different. While it serves as the team's engine, its Attack is also among the highest of all Pokémon, giving it enough offensive power to threaten practically anything."
"After all, this is a pseudo-legendary…"
Su Bai crouched down and easily stopped the dissatisfied Larvitar, which was still determined to return to the counter and have another three hundred rounds with the desk.
"Your team is basically confirmed to be a Sandstorm team now. From here on, when you build the rest of your team, you should look for Pokémon that fit this system."
"As for exactly which Pokémon you should choose… that's something you'll have to figure out yourself. For example, Rock-type Pokémon receive a significant boost to their Defense while caught in a sandstorm."
"And generally speaking, a Sandstorm team needs two weather setters."
"In battles between Pokémon, as long as the difference in strength between the two sides isn't too great, they can overwrite each other's weather effects."
Moves and Abilities such as Sand Stream and Rain Dance carried the power of rules.
And since they were governed by rules, they could naturally come into conflict with one another.
In the games, the weather effect activated later would simply overwrite the previous one.
Reality, however, wasn't quite that simple.
For example, Hippowdon's Sand Stream would never be able to overwrite Articuno's snow if the latter was overwhelmingly stronger.
The difference in strength introduced countless uncertainties into the collision between these rules.
Su Bai stroked his chin, deliberately choosing his words to guide the fatty into thinking for himself.
In fact, it wasn't just Wang Tao. The other Trainers were also staring intently at Su Bai.
He had once served as a guest professor at Haicheng No. 1 High School, and anyone who had attended his classes knew one thing very well.
Whenever Professor Su Bai assumed this posture, whatever he was about to teach was bound to be important!
"Hippowdon, the evolution of Hippopotas, can generally be used to probe the opponent."
"When the opponent uses another weather effect to overwrite Sand Stream, you can have Tyranitar come in afterward and take over."
"You can even have these two little guys activate Sand Stream at the same time, creating conditions that are even more favorable for your Pokémon."
"And when facing a powerful enemy, you can also coordinate with Zhang Qun's Gible and launch a joint attack."
"Anyway… congratulations. You've found the soul of your team!"
Su Bai patted his best friend on the shoulder, his voice carrying a trace of emotion.
Among the Awakened, this fatty was nothing more than an average talent. In this apocalyptic world, he would most likely have ended up as a disposable soldier—someone who could die at any moment.
Yet among Trainers… thanks to decent luck and his habit of thinking things through, he had become the first person to build a proper weather team.
Life really was unpredictable…
"I never would've guessed it! I never would've guessed it! You, the fatty who used to be at the bottom of the class, actually became this amazing!"
"And a pseudo-legendary at that! I'm so jealous I could die!"
Liu Yunlan laughed as she gave Wang Tao a hard slap on the back.
Though judging by her voice, she didn't sound jealous in the slightest.
The others were the same, offering their congratulations one after another.
Wang Tao might have been a shameless pain in the neck most of the time, but anyone who remembered the incident where he had wanted to use Voltorb to cover their retreat would know that he was actually a very loyal friend.
Someone like that would naturally have plenty of friends.
And so, a whole mess of hands came flying down onto Wang Tao's head and shoulders, completely burying him beneath them.
Of course, Wang Tao's obnoxious personality had clearly offended a few people along the way…
"Hey, hey, hey! Who just kicked me?!"
"Wait, don't pull my face!"
"Stop it, or I'm seriously going to get angry!"
Watching the Trainers laugh and fool around, Su Bai simply smiled and shook his head without trying to stop them.
After all, judging by their ages, these guys had only recently become adults themselves.
A little youthful energy was perfectly normal!
"Speaking of being at the bottom of the class…"
Su Bai glanced at Pei Jingguo, who had remained outside the commotion.
"You, the Sword of Haicheng, seem pretty calm about all this."
The guy really did look as though some ancient monster had possessed the body of a young man.
How could someone so young possibly be this composed?
"I'm not interested in whether I'm first or not."
Pei Jingguo smiled as he watched his companions fool around.
"But I'm very interested in the reward for first place!"
Seeing the burning determination in Pei Jingguo's eyes, Su Bai froze slightly.
"Looks like you're not quite as calm as I thought!"
Su Bai burst out laughing.
"But that makes sense. After all, Wang Tao, who ranked second, already managed to draw a pseudo-legendary…"
"No matter what you draw, it's not going to be worse than a pseudo-legendary!"
Come to think of it, Pei Jingguo was a swordsman.
If he didn't possess the desire to compete with others and constantly strive to surpass himself, how could he have continued improving all this time?
He simply hadn't made it obvious.
If he truly didn't care about anything, he wouldn't have worked this hard and pushed himself all the way to first place!
Pawniard and Honedge were indeed powerful, but the main reason Pei Jingguo had managed to claim first place was because Pei Jingguo himself was already an exceptionally strong Trainer!
"You must be getting impatient too…"
Su Bai took out the Pokédex and was just about to hand it to him when he suddenly remembered something.
"As the champion, you don't just have one chance to draw a Pokémon. You also have one chance to enter the Secret Realm Trial."
"Which one do you want to choose first?"