"T-that... what terrifying strength."
Seeing Machamp lying on the field, all the spectators swallowed.
Machamp, which possessed the Fighting type and was famous precisely for its strength, had been defeated in a single blow?
The strength of that Rhyperior completely surpassed everything people had imagined.
"Machamp can no longer continue battling, so the winner is... Leader Ethan."
Seeing that, the referee immediately raised the flag and announced the result with enthusiasm.
Being able to win the first battle so easily made everyone in Solaria Town let out a sigh of relief.
If the following opponents were at a level like that, then there was nothing to fear. Rhyperior could sweep the entire field by itself.
"Aside from its weight advantage, it seems that Rhyperior also has something strange in its force application technique."
In the stadium, some of the Trainers in training with sharper vision began stroking their chins, reflecting. The more they recalled the battle just now, the more they felt that something was strange.
"Next. Who's coming?"
Without paying attention to the increasingly grave faces of the Trainers in training for the World Championship, Ethan spoke with complete calm.
For him, the fact that Rhyperior had crushed Machamp in strength was nothing surprising.
Not even counting the fact that Rhyperior's base strength was already enormous, now, after having developed the Ability Rock Head and the Ability Solid Rock, Rhyperior could already master fairly well the force application method proper to the move Rock Wrecker.
In that battle, Rhyperior had only shown that force application technique of the move Rock Wrecker in a very simple way, and even so, it had completely suppressed Machamp, which was enough to demonstrate how powerful it was: a first-rate technique.
If Rhyperior had used it at full power, Machamp probably would have been crushed without remedy. But, after all, that battle was nothing more than a warm-up, so Ethan had not allowed it to go that far.
"As expected of senior Ethan: a Pokémon Professor. As for the development of moves, without a doubt he is also among the best."
Among the audience, there were quite a few students from Ironvale City Pokémon University, who at that moment looked at Ethan with absolute admiration.
"In addition, this Rhyperior was probably only warming up. Its true first-rate technique still hasn't even been shown."
"In the inter-university exchange tournament, Rhyperior already demonstrated terrifying strength. Now it has to be even stronger."
After saying that, those students turned their attention back toward Rhyperior on the field, vaguely feeling that its body seemed even darker and sturdier than before.
Even now, they still remembered Rhyperior's terrifying attack of the move Rock Wrecker, as well as that monstrous strength and speed that erupted in an instant, capable of crushing everything.
"Next. Who's coming?"
Seeing that none of the Trainers in training from the various Leagues went up onto the stage, Ethan spoke again.
In front of him, Rhyperior also struck the ground hard, making the earth tremble. The provocation was extremely clear.
"I'll go."
At that moment, a young man came out.
His skin was very white; at first glance, he should have been a Western Trainer in training.
"Rhyperior's strength is very great. Going head-on against it won't work. In that case, my Pokémon will be this."
The young man threw his Poké Ball, and Sceptile's figure appeared on the field.
"It's Sceptile. That type of Pokémon is especially good at speed."
"Using speed to counter that Rhyperior does seem like a good choice."
Seeing Sceptile on the field, the spectators began discussing it among themselves.
"Speed..."
"If this challenger is only thinking of depending on speed..."
Hearing the comments from the audience, the students of Ironvale City Pokémon University shook their heads.
Using speed to face Rhyperior was something that had already been attempted in the inter-university exchange tournament.
But the facts proved that, unless your speed surpassed that of an opponent of the same level by a great deal, you would not necessarily be faster than the instantaneous burst of speed that Rhyperior could unleash.
Boom!
Just as those students finished speaking, a rumble was suddenly heard.
In an instant, Rhyperior unleashed an absolutely terrifying speed, crashed directly into Sceptile, and embedded it into the protective wall.
Seeing that, Sceptile's Trainer looked blankly at his Pokémon embedded in the barrier, completely motionless from astonishment.
He knew better than anyone the speed of his Sceptile, but even so, it had not been able to dodge Rhyperior's attack. The explosive speed that Rhyperior had unleashed in that instant was simply frightening!
Defeat in a single blow.
Rhyperior displayed all of its strength in an absolute manner.
The battle had barely begun, but the entire stadium became much quieter.
Although this time a great many Trainers in training from different Leagues had come, the vast majority were, in essence, at the same level as Sanada Ichiro.
And when Rhyperior showed that terrifying strength, it directly intimidated all the challengers present.
Although they had not yet gone up onto the field to battle, their confidence had already been shattered by Rhyperior's overwhelming power. In terms of momentum, they had already lost part of the battle.
"Well, he really is an interesting guy. At first, I only came to watch the show, but now even I'm starting to feel like fighting."
Among the audience, a young man wearing a cap raised his head and looked at Ethan with interest.
The two previous challengers, although they had already gone up to battle, clearly had not found their own path yet. But that Rhyperior was different.
The force application technique it had shown against Machamp, as well as that terrifying sudden eruption of strength, proved that Rhyperior mastered an extremely powerful technique. And that was precisely a sign of having found its own path.
"Since no one else is going up, then I'll go."
After sitting there for a while and seeing that no one else went up onto the stage, that young man stood up.
As soon as he stood, a confident smile appeared on his face, and a special presence began to emanate from his body.
"That is... Tristan Cole, from the Bravaria League!"
When that young man went up onto the stage, some of the Trainers in training present recognized him.
According to what those same Trainers said, Tristan had participated in several world-level international exchanges and had obtained very good results.
If strength were classified according to placement in tournaments, then Tristan would belong to the second half of the Elite Tournament group.
"It seems that an opponent a little stronger has finally arrived."
Perceiving the change in atmosphere in the stadium, Ethan smiled.
In front of him, Rhyperior was also swinging its tail again and again. The two previous opponents had truly been far too weak; it hoped the next one, at least, could endure the beating better.
"Then, let's begin."
After Ethan and Tristan exchanged the ritual greeting before the battle, Tristan directly released his Pokémon.
At that moment, a Pokémon appeared on the field with an orange body, a kind of yellow ring hanging from its neck and extending toward its back, blue fins on the backs of its hands, two black stripes beside its mouth, and a water-drop-shaped pattern on its belly.
(End of chapter)