At this point, both of their Pokémon had been summoned.
Aoki: Tyranitar, Aggron, Blaziken, Florges, Gengar, Slowking
Steven : Metagross, Aggron, Aerodactyl, Archon, Claydol, Steelix
From the lineup, Steven had a slight advantage, because one of Aoki's core tactics was clearly Sandstorm Tyranitar, but it was ineffective against all of Steven's Pokémon.
"The match begins!"
With the referee's order, the match officially began!
Aoki activated his telepathy and commanded his Pokémon to begin their actions.
As Tyranitar took a step forward, sand from all corners transformed into sand snakes that crawled out and coiled around Tyranitar.
At the same time, pieces of pebbles of different shapes appeared out of thin air around Tyranitar and Aggron, and then these pebbles suddenly trembled and turned into powder, merging into the sand snakes and swirling around Tyranitar.
This operation more than doubled the speed at which the sand and gravel appeared.
Yellow sand swirled and danced in the air, instantly engulfing the entire battle arena, turning it into a desert.
Seeing this, the League staff beside the arena sprang into action, activating protective barriers to isolate the spectators from the sandstorm.
Even so, witnessing the rapid and powerful sandstorm, the spectators' adrenaline surged, and cheers erupted.
Fortunately, the League had anticipated this situation and immediately activated special devices, allowing the spectators to see clearly even through the dense sandstorm.
As Tyranitar's sandstorm raged, Slowking's eyes emitted a surge of psychic energy, and psychic energy spread around his body, drawing out thin threads that shot towards different corners of Tyranitar's sandstorm.
With each psychic foundation stone in place, Slowking's psychic powers surged forth like a tidal wave, one after another.
An impenetrable psychic network was instantly erected.
Standing opposite him, Steven's expression grew increasingly serious. Using the psychic powers of Metagross and Claydol, he too could see the arena created by Tyranitar and Slowking, and sensed the danger it carried.
Aoki's Sandstorm Domain!
Revealed to everyone for the first time.
*Swoosh—
swoosh—swoosh—*
The sound of chair legs scraping against the floor echoed from the stands.
No one sitting here watching the match was weak, nor was anyone with limited vision.
That's why they were so excited. Besides Genji, even Adams and Grandpa Mujin stood up, their faces filled with shock and disbelief!
"This is...when did this kid..." Adams was somewhat excited. For a regional league president to be so astonished, something extraordinary must have happened.
Adams glared at Genji beside him, observing his calm and composed demeanor, which even carried a hint of smugness.
But Adams's eyes spoke volumes: if Genji didn't speak, he was about to make a move.
"Ahem," Genji coughed lightly, pulling the astonished crowd back to their senses.
"That's right, a dual-core lineup. Everyone here has been in the League for quite some time, so you all know what a dual-core lineup represents.
Although Aoki's dual-core lineup isn't fully formed, it has the foundation of a dual-core system, and its strength is already more than twice that of a single-core lineup!"
Genji's smugness deepened. "When this kid came to me to hone my tactics, I didn't take it seriously. I thought I could easily handle it, but he suddenly pulled out a dual-core lineup, almost causing me to lose. I only managed to defeat him after taking it a little more seriously.
However, at that time, his dual-core lineup was only being used in actual combat for the first time. After ten days of training, although it's still far from its limit, it's much stronger than before.
I guarantee that if Huayue or Bonnie were to use only a single core in a battle, they might not necessarily be able to beat Aoki now."
Hearing Genji's words, Huayue and Bonnie hesitated slightly but didn't refute him.
Moreover, everyone present was a veteran of the League, having studied Pokémon battles for countless years. When their Pokémon strength stagnated, they began researching lineup combinations and multi-core combat modes.
A dual-core lineup isn't actually that exaggerated; many of them can achieve it, and some can even manage three or four cores.
What shocked them was that Aoki, at his age and with such strength, had reached the dual-core level.
"Actually..."
Genji spoke again, slightly hesitant, but still said, "Actually... although Aoki's dual-core hasn't reached its limit yet, he has already found the threshold of a three-core, even... you could say he's already stepped one foot into the three-core threshold..."
"What?!" Zuvuki Mujin couldn't stand it anymore.
Is this blatant boasting?
"You'll see..." Genji gestured with his lips.
Everyone forcibly suppressed their shock and looked towards the arena.
Tyranitar and Slowking's Sandstorm Domain took shape, but this wasn't the end. Gengar looked at Tyranitar, its eyes flashing with a dark light, and used Tyranitar's Sandstorm ability.
Then, another incredibly powerful Sandstorm appeared, carrying dense, lingering Rock-type energy.
Double Sandstorm!!
Then, a glint of light flashed in Gengar's eyes again, mimicking Blaziken's Speed Boost ability.
Gengar was already fast, and with the Speed Boost ability, its speed would only increase further. This speed was a strong counter to the relatively slow speeds of Steven's Pokémon.
Florges used her Camouflage, and Blaziken used Swords Dance.
While Aoki was directing his Pokémon to set up the terrain and advantages, Steven wasn't just watching.
Although he was surprised by the combination of Tyranitar's Sandstorm and Slowking's psychic power, Steven wasn't completely unprepared.
Metagross, Aggron, and Steelix, three Steel-type Pokémon, let the fine sand hit their bodies, making a crisp "clinking" sound, forming a triangular formation.
Metagross hovered in the air, Aggron stood on the ground, and Steelix was able to cover both the air and the ground simultaneously.
Aerodactyl hovered around Metagross, Claydol's psychic powers synergized with Metagross's, and Ancient Armor stood at the back, performing a unique dance similar to Blaziken's.
The Sword Dance stacks were accumulating.
Steven's core team was Metagross, but how far this core could go depended on his performance in battle. With
the initial setup complete, the official battle between Aoki and Steven began!
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Third update! Requesting monthly votes!
(End of Chapter)