"According to the plan!" Drake roared.
He jumped onto Salamence and charged towards Archie.
As Salamence rushed towards Archie, Matt, the most loyal and simple-minded of them, also charged at Drake.
Meanwhile, Aoki led Tyranitar towards Shelly, who appeared the weakest and had the least presence among the three Team Aqua executives.
Seeing Aoki's Tyranitar, Shelly's expression drastically changed. She threw out two Poké Balls, summoning her Walrein and Ludicolo.
Caught off guard, Tyranitar's fists, infused with dense Dark-type energy, directly slammed into Walrein and Ludicolo's faces.
Bang—Bang—
Against such overwhelming power, these two Pokémon couldn't put up a successful resistance and were both sent flying.
However, as they were sent flying, Aoki waved his right hand, and a portal to another dimension appeared behind Shelly. The two Pokémon, under Tyranitar's attack, flew backward into the alternate space.
Shelly didn't pay much attention and entered the alternate space with them.
Aoki and Tyranitar followed closely behind.
As Aoki was about to enter the alternate space, he glanced at Courtney, who stood by, looking somewhat stunned.
Courtney immediately understood Aoki's meaning, gritted her teeth, and stepped into the alternate space, after which the portal closed.
Shelly, who had entered the alternate space first, was already poised for battle, all six of her Pokémon summoned.
Walrein, Ludicolo, Sharpedo, Quagsire, Pelipper, and finally, Cloyster.
All six Water-type Pokémon appeared. Except for Ludicolo, which barely reached the quasi-Champion level, the rest of the Pokémon were at the Senior Elite Four level.
Moreover, the core of her team was very obvious, straightforward, and practical.
It was a rain team centered around Pelipper's Drizzle ability. The strongest offensive output came from Ludicolo, a Water/Grass type with the Swift Swim ability. Quagsire, a Water/Ground type, defended against Electric-type Pokémon. Walrein and Cloyster, both Water/Ice types, could pose a considerable threat to Grass-type Pokémon, which are super effective against Water types.
This could already be considered a decent single-core team. Combined with the basic strength of her Pokémon, at the same level and single-core tier, it was almost an optimal setup.
Aoki had also analyzed and calculated his own rain team: Politoed with Drizzle, Mega Swampert with Swift Swim and Electric-type resistance, Ludicolo with Swift Swim and Grass-type resistance, and other Pokémon that could be changed according to the opponent's Pokémon.
It had to be said that her strategy was similar to his. From this perspective, the inconspicuous Shelly was indeed a rather capable Team Aqua executive.
It began to rain in the alternate space, and as time passed, the rain grew heavier.
Shelly stood at the edge of the alternate space opposite Aoki, watching him coldly, but she didn't initiate an attack immediately.
At some point, a dagger appeared in Shelly's hand. She twirled it skillfully and said, "Isn't this the Sandstorm Elite Four who just became one of the Four Heavenly Kings? While I admit your strength is good, do you think you can survive our combined attack?"
As she spoke, she glanced at Courtney, who was standing beside her strongest Pokémon, Walrein.
Aoki smiled faintly as he unclipped Poké Balls one by one from his belt. He glanced at Courtney standing nearby, then at the confident Shelly across from him, and summoned his Pokémon.
Tyranitar, Blaziken, Slowking, Florges, Aggron, and Gengar. He didn't summon any more Pokémon; this setup was sufficient.
"A rain team is good. It seems you also know that only weather can counter weather. It's a pity your Pelipper is only at the Senior Elite Four level," Aoki said, shaking his head with a smile.
Hearing this, Shelly's eyes narrowed slightly. "Although my Pelipper is only at the Senior Elite Four level, your Tyranitar has just reached the Senior Elite Four level. Moreover, I seized the rain first! With the type disadvantage, your Tyranitar's sandstorm cannot appear again!"
After speaking, she looked at the unmoving Courtney beside her and couldn't help but shout, "Courtney, what are you spacing out for? We're just one step away from success; we can't mess up now."
But her words didn't cause any change in Courtney's expression. She merely crossed her arms, lowered her head, as if deep in thought.
Aoki also glanced at Courtney standing to the side, and the smile on his face widened. "Indeed, in terms of type, rain is disadvantageous to sandstorms, but that also depends on whose sandstorm it is!
And... who told you that my sandstorm core hasn't reached the quasi-Champion level?
Tyranitar, Slowking! Sandstorm Domain!"
At Aoki's command, a large amount of sand and rocks appeared around Tyranitar's body, swirling around it and completely enveloping it. If it wished, the sandstorm could start flying at any moment. However, the alternate space was extremely humid at this time, and rain was falling incessantly, making it much harder for Tyranitar to control the sand than usual.
Seeing Tyranitar summon such a large amount of sand so easily, Shelly's expression suddenly changed, and she sharply commanded, "Pelipper, full power Drizzle!
Walrein, Ludicolo, Sharpedo, Quagsire, Cloyster! All of you create water currents! I want to see how his Tyranitar will make the sand fly?!"
The humidity within the entire space increased once more.
This was a battle of weather. As long as Tyranitar's sandstorm could be suppressed, Shelly believed her chances of winning were high, relying solely on Slowking's psychic abilities.
After all, Tyranitar, Aggron, and Blaziken were all weak to Water-type Pokémon.
Aoki actually found himself admiring Shelly a little. Although she wasn't very noticeable and was quite small, her Ideas was very clear: to suppress Tyranitar's sandstorm.
However, Aoki pulled a Key Stone from his pocket. "Tyranitar, we can't let others look down on us. Mega Evolve!"
As Aoki injected his will into the Key Stone, activating communication with the Mega Stone on Tyranitar, and achieving a shared mind with Tyranitar, Tyranitar Mega Evolved.
Mega Tyranitar!
Shelly and Courtney, who stood silently to the side, stared blankly at Tyranitar, whose form had changed, looking even more mighty and imposing.
The scene they were witnessing now was beyond their comprehension.
"This is..." Shelly said, looking at the even more ferocious-looking Tyranitar.
The sand around Mega Tyranitar's body slowly began to swirl. Even though the environment within the space was extremely humid at the moment, Mega Tyranitar could still make the sand dance.
No matter how hard Pelipper tried, the current rain simply couldn't suppress Tyranitar's sandstorm.
"This is just the beginning, Gengar!" Aoki shouted.
Gengar immediately understood, its eyes flashing with black light, mimicking Mega Tyranitar's Sand Stream ability.
Instantly, sand also began to swirl around Gengar.
Dual Sandstorm!!
Gengar had already reached the quasi-Champion level at this point!
The sand finally began to become unstoppable.