Tyranitar's appearance instantly stunned everyone present.
Endless yellow sand erupted into the air, sweeping across the entire Viridian Gym in an instant.
Its cold gaze radiated absolute confidence.
The Desert Emperor had descended once more.
"Tyranitar?"
Rather than being frightened, Giovanni's interest was clearly piqued.
As the Gym Leader of the Viridian Gym, and secretly the man behind Team Rocket, Giovanni possessed insight far beyond that of ordinary Trainers.
The moment Tyranitar entered the field, Giovanni knew something was different.
This Pokémon was not normal.
His instincts screamed that Tyranitar contained boundless power, power capable of destroying everything in its path.
Such strength didn't intimidate Giovanni.
It excited him.
He stood up from his seat, smiling as he looked down at Tyranitar on the battlefield.
The Earth itself was about to move.
"Go, Rhyhorn!"
Giovanni's voice was no longer calm, it carried unmistakable excitement.
Sam didn't dare be careless.
Even though Giovanni had sent out a Rhyhorn that hadn't even evolved yet, Sam immediately activated the Eye of Exploration.
When the system's data appeared, Sam sucked in a sharp breath.
[Pokémon]: Rhyhorn
[Type]: Ground / Rock
[Strength]: Low Elite
[Potential]: Elite
Giovanni hadn't held back at all.
The moment the battle began, he had already sent out an Elite-level Pokémon.
After confirming that both sides were ready, the referee announced the start of the match.
Giovanni, fully aware of his opponent's strength, wasted no time.
"Rhyhorn, use Take Down!"
According to the Pokédex, Rhyhorn might be simple-minded, but its raw strength was terrifying, strong enough to smash buildings apart with sheer impact.
Sam hadn't fully believed that description before.
But watching Giovanni's Rhyhorn charge forward, he realized it wasn't an exaggeration.
The charging Rhyhorn was more terrifying than a heavy tank.
A massive body accelerating forward at full speed, just imagining the impact was enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Sam didn't believe Tyranitar's defense was stronger than a high-rise building.
Fortunately, Tyranitar didn't need to face it head-on.
Sam had already prepared his response.
"Tyranitar," Sam said calmly, raising his hand,
"Turn the ground in front of you into a sea of sand."
"What?!"
Giovanni's pupils contracted.
Turn solid earth into sand?
Was that something Tyranitar could even do?
If Sam could hear Giovanni's thoughts, he would have told him plainly,
Tyranitar couldn't.
But Shukaku could.
Upon receiving the command, Tyranitar did something that stunned both Giovanni and Rhyhorn.
It closed its eyes.
This almost taunting behavior instantly enraged Rhyhorn.
With its simple mind and powerful body, Rhyhorn's aggression skyrocketed. It wanted nothing more than to crush the enemy in front of it.
Giovanni didn't stop it.
He was just as curious to see what Sam and Tyranitar were planning.
Show me, Giovanni thought.
This was the first time Tyranitar had fully unleashed Shukaku's power.
Sand gathered behind it, condensing into a massive tail.
Power flooded its body.
At that moment, Tyranitar felt omnipotent, like a god standing upon the earth.
It raised its right foot,
and stomped down.
The impossible happened.
The battlefield transformed instantly.
Solid ground turned into flowing sand in the blink of an eye.
The charging Rhyhorn lost all footing and was swallowed by the sandstorm.
The very strength it relied on became meaningless.
In the quicksand, power turned into a curse.
The harder Rhyhorn struggled, the deeper it sank.
Within seconds, everything except its head was buried.
"Return, Rhyhorn."
There was no need to continue.
Giovanni could clearly see that Rhyhorn had no chance of winning. He decisively recalled it, ending the battle.
The referee reacted quickly.
"Rhyhorn has lost the ability to battle! Tyranitar wins! The victor of this challenge is the challenger, Sam!"
Rather than being displeased by his loss, Giovanni looked genuinely satisfied.
He gazed at Tyranitar with admiration.
"An excellent Pokémon," Giovanni said.
"And an extremely novel training method. I concede this match willingly."
"Thank you, Gym Leader Giovanni," Sam replied respectfully.
Despite his victory, Sam showed no arrogance.
He knew very well that Giovanni's true strength went far beyond this.
If Giovanni hadn't been caught off guard by Tyranitar's unique power, the outcome wouldn't have been so one-sided.
Still,
The fact that Giovanni had raised a Rhyhorn to the Elite level alone was proof of how terrifying his true ability was.
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