The red sand instantly replaced all the yellow sand; even if his Pokémon were Grass-type, they couldn't resist the sandstorm of the entire desert.
No matter how strong a Pokémon is, unless it's a being that has broken through the boundaries, it cannot contend with the environment of nature itself.
This is, after all, in the desert, Tyranitar's home turf. If he were so easily countered, then he wouldn't deserve to be called the Sandstorm King!
Who has ever seen a king suppressed by two equally strong Pokémon in his own territory?
Moreover, Aoki's Tyranitar is not an ordinary Tyranitar. To be honest, the energy of the Earth God Groudon flows within him, possessing the same energy as Groudon!
At first, Chocley didn't feel anything when he saw the color of the sand change, thinking it was just a trick of Tyranitar, so he continued his attack.
Tyranitar and Aggron had completed their Mega Evolution, their strength enhanced, but from their aura, they were still Champion-level Pokémon. Why should he worry when he had a type advantage?
But after the red sand appeared for a while, the temperature within the entire area enveloped by the red sand skyrocketed, and soon his face turned red.
If someone were to look from outside the desert at this moment, they would notice a streak of red appearing in the originally endless yellow desert, and this red area was growing larger and larger, somewhat like a virus, spreading at an extremely fast rate.
However, the red sand on the periphery was merely Tyranitar's casual act; his true concentrated target was within this area, as this was the main battlefield.
After Chocley felt something, his two Pokémon also sensed a difference.
The sand particles that originally felt nothing when hitting them now caused a stinging sensation, and some areas that were heavily impacted by the red sand even showed a scorched black color.
As Grass-type Pokémon, their perception of this energy was most obvious: it was Fire-type energy!
But by the time they all reacted, Mega Tyranitar's Red Sand Domain had already fully formed.
Aoki stepped forward, walking between Mega Tyranitar and Mega Aggron. Looking at the two massive Pokémon beside him, his nearly 1.8-meter height only reached their waists.
He patted the backs of the two Pokémon, feeling the special texture emanating from them. Mega Tyranitar's body was slightly rough at the moment, but he could feel the warmth radiating from within him.
Mega Aggron, however, was completely different; it was a chilling, cold, heavy metal texture.
After Mega Evolution, Aggron changed from its original Steel/Rock type to a pure Steel-type Pokémon, and its physical defense base stat, after Mega Evolution, increased from 180 to a high of 230.
In terms of base stats alone, only a very small number of Pokémon in the Pokémon world could potentially contend with its defense.
Moreover, Aoki's Aggron grew up eating diamonds, which further elevated its terrifying defense by another level.
"He looks down on you two! Go! Show him your strength!" Aoki said with a smile.
He had great confidence in these two monstrous Pokémon.
Aoki's words were simple, but they directly ignited the pride of Tyranitar and Aggron.
No one, not even the several Legendary-grade Pokémon Aoki had captured, dared to look down on them!
Because, to some extent, they too could become Legendary Pokémon!
"Ban!!!"
"Kuo!!!"
Mega Tyranitar and Mega Aggron exchanged glances, seeing the same message in each other's eyes.
Deal with them!
"Boom!"
Two massive fists collided above Aoki's head, producing a loud sound.
Aoki stood in the middle of the two Pokémon, looking like a tiny figure, but at this moment, with his arms crossed and a confident, slightly smiling expression on his face, he became iconic.
By the time Chocley reacted, Mega Aggron had already moved its heavy footsteps, charging towards Chocley with an earth-shattering momentum.
Moreover, around Mega Aggron, a large amount of debris and red sand permeated the air.
Stone Edge was held back. This was one of his current defenses, transforming an offensive skill into a defensive one, which relied on Aoki's continuous control over Aggron and Tyranitar's energy.
Just as he barely managed to adapt to the interference of the red sand, he felt a tremor. The charging Mega Aggron was like a moving armored tank.
Four thorny vines appeared as Aggron ran.
Grass Knot's effect is stronger on heavier Pokémon, but Tyranitar's red sand wasn't just for show; the reason it surrounded Aggron was to guard against the opponent's Grass Knot.
This Grass Knot was Gourgeist's move, while Torterra on the other side once again used Razor Leaf.
Boom—Boom—
Without any surprise, all the gigantic Razor Leaves were swatted away by Aggron as if he were swatting mosquitoes, and the remaining smaller Razor Leaf attacks had no effect on Aggron other than making a sound. In other words, they didn't break through his defense.
Rumble—
Just as their moves were unleashed, a faint rumbling sound appeared beneath Chocley's feet.
Chocley's reaction this time was quite fast; sensing the anomaly, he jumped onto Torterra's back at the fastest speed, tightly gripping the large tree on its back.
As soon as he jumped onto Torterra's back, three massive stone pillars shot up into the sky.
Precipice Blades!
The reason Chocley was able to react was entirely due to his strong sense of self-preservation; at the slightest change, he was ready to jump onto Torterra's back.
He had reacted from the moment the Red Sand Hell began.
Although this attack allowed him to dodge a fatal blow, he escaped death but still had to endure a living hell.
Mega Tyranitar's Precipice Blades skill, apart from being slightly less powerful than Groudon's Precipice Blades, was otherwise identical in appearance and additional effects. It could be said to possess eighty percent of the true Precipice Blades' power!
Therefore, without any warning, the attack from the ground successfully hit Chocley's two Pokémon, who were only focused on escaping.
Boom!!! Boom!!!
The massive roars directly sent Gourgeist and Torterra flying!
Torterra was slow in movement and couldn't dodge because he was waiting for Chocley to jump onto his back, while Gourgeist had used Ingrain. To truly make Ingrain effective in the desert, he had intentionally deepened his roots, but he hadn't expected such an outcome.
Good opportunity!
Mega Aggron seized the opportunity created by Tyranitar, accelerating its forward speed once again, and the Stone Edge attacks surrounding him instantly scattered!
Aoki had already prepared a second move the moment he commanded Tyranitar to use Precipice Blades.
A Poké Ball was swiftly thrown from his hand.
The probing was over; he wouldn't risk his life. Since the opponent was skilled in multi-Pokémon battles, he just needed to summon all his Pokémon and defeat them. At the very least, he had to catch the opponent when their guard was down and they were most caught off guard, to take out a few Pokémon.
Blaziken, upon emerging from the Poké Ball, immediately understood its mission. With sharp eyes, it charged silently towards Torterra. As it ran, a large amount of colorful light enveloped Blaziken.
Triple Mega Evolution!
Aoki frowned, holding another Key Stone in his hand, connecting it to the Mega Stone on Blaziken.
Telepathic communication and the exchange of will during Mega Evolution allowed Blaziken to clearly feel Aoki's determination!
Blaziken!
Right from the start, it used Mega Evolution, followed by Swords Dance, and consciously activated its Speed Boost ability.
The stronger a Pokémon is, coupled with regular training and practice, the more it can control its abilities to a certain extent.
For example, Tyranitar's Sand Stream.
Therefore, with conscious training, Blaziken's Speed Boost ability could also be controlled to a certain extent.
As soon as the colorful light of Mega Evolution on Mega Blaziken dissipated, a large amount of crimson-gold flames erupted from it. Its black feet moved on the red sand, leaving behind footprints imbued with golden flames.
Directly using its ultimate move, Sacred Fire!
Halfway through its run, it leaped up, instantly soaring into the air, all its flames converging on its legs.
Black feathers mixed with crimson-gold flames, giving it an exceptionally sacred appearance!
Just as Mega Aggron was about to reach Gourgeist, Mega Blaziken's Blaze Kick, coming from behind and above, was already descending onto Torterra from the air!
Boom!!!
However, before Mega Blaziken's Sacred Blaze Kick slammed into Torterra, a figure, looking very disheveled, rolled out from the overturned Torterra, using psychic power to escape the range of Blaziken's attack at the fastest speed.
This person was Chocley, who had been repeatedly seized by Aoki due to his overconfidence!
Aoki narrowed his eyes as he watched this scene, but he didn't make Blaziken change its target. He still kicked Torterra hard.
Dust flew everywhere, and some of the red sand, already under Tyranitar's control, directly melted and evaporated under Blaziken's attack.
On the other side, Aggron, a step behind Blaziken, also charged in front of the just-standing Gourgeist. If he hadn't continuously used Stone Edge as a distraction while running, Gourgeist would have long since turned over and escaped.
Without Blaziken's explosive attack style, Mega Aggron's attack output was of the sustained type.
Ignoring all of Gourgeist's attacks, as all attacks on him barely broke his defense and had little effective impact.
Mega Aggron grabbed Gourgeist's arm. For other Pokémon, those terrifyingly deadly spikes looked like a joke to Aggron.
No matter how hard, how sharp, or how much poison they contained, did they have anything to do with Aggron?
With one grab, all the spikes shattered. In Gourgeist's shocked expression, a fist the size of an iron pot, imbued with raging flames, directly smashed into its face.
The immense force was almost enough to knock him unconscious with a single punch.
Unfortunately, he could only regret his strong endurance, as he wasn't knocked out by a "simple" punch.
What awaited him next was a nightmarish series of attacks.
This time it was true Iron Fist. Mega Aggron directly sat on Gourgeist, and all of his attacks rained down on Gourgeist like a Pegasus Meteor Fist.
If Gourgeist wasn't a cactus Pokémon by nature, one might fear he would be turned into a vegetable by Aggron's blows.
On the other side, the battle ended simply and clearly. Torterra was enveloped by the crimson-gold flames condensed on Blaziken's leg. When all the crimson-gold flames dissipated, the spot where he lay sank three to four meters, and the sand beneath him completely evaporated. Only the sand at the very edge solidified into a transparent bowl-like shape.
However, this bowl was somewhat red from being burned, and Torterra within this bowl was scorched black. The tree on its back had completely disappeared, evaporated into the air.
What a… glass pot stewed old turtle!
It was clearly out of combat.
Thud—
After the attack, Blaziken slowly landed on the ground, still emitting white smoke from its high temperature, but at this moment, it had reverted from its Mega Evolved state.
Aoki could sustain double Mega Evolution for a considerable time, but triple Mega Evolution was still a heavy burden, best not used for extended periods if unnecessary.
However, Blaziken wasn't idle; it silently used Swords Dance in place, its eyes under its sword-like brows intently fixed on the gloomy-faced Chocley.
Aggron also quickly beat Gourgeist to the point where even his trainer might not recognize him. His entire body was flattened by a third, lying in the deep pit created by Mega Aggron's weight.
Clapping his hands with a look of satisfaction, Aggron slowly stood up from Gourgeist. Many tiny, broken cactus spines fell from the gaps in his palms and fists, all shattered, yet they had caused little damage to Aggron.
Aggron, slowly retreating to stand with Blaziken, experienced a surge of Mega Evolution energy and also ended his Mega Evolution.
It wasn't that Aoki couldn't maintain double Mega Evolution, but rather that during that satisfying barrage of attacks, Aggron successfully took a crucial step, just like Blaziken and Tyranitar, and was about to successfully enter the Champion level.
His aura fluctuated, rising and falling, which was a sign of an impending breakthrough.
Aoki sensed the signs on Aggron, and Chocley, opposite him, naturally sensed them too, his face growing even gloomier. How could he tolerate his Pokémon becoming stepping stones for another Pokémon?
Actually, his two Pokémon wouldn't have been defeated so quickly. Even though Tyranitar's Red Sand Domain had a significant impact on them, they still had a type advantage.
He was defeated by carelessness, not taking Mega Tyranitar and Mega Aggron seriously after they Mega Evolved.
Aoki's Mega Evolution and the Divine Cult's divine power infusion, those half-baked Mega Evolutions were vastly different. Those half-baked ones looked no different from true Mega Evolutions in appearance, but they were ultimately fakes. It was already remarkable that they looked the same; if their power increase was also the same, wouldn't the Divine Cult be invincible?
Jockley had witnessed this ability from Nightingale, so deep in his consciousness, he believed the two were the same, which is why BanGira and Aggron seized the opportunity.
There was too much he didn't know.
He didn't know why Mega Aggron could ignore Grass-type moves after Mega Evolving, or why its defense could be so terrifying.
He didn't know why BanGira could use Precipice Blades, an attack he had never seen before but was incredibly powerful.
He didn't know why Mega Blaziken's flames were so terrifying, defeating Torterra with just one kick.
It could only be said that Aoki had given him too much shock and surprise; if he had known earlier that Aoki's Pokémon possessed such abilities, he wouldn't have been so passive, nor would he have fallen into such a passive state so easily.
It couldn't be said that Aoki was wrong to command BanGira to attack the trainer directly, nor was Aoki wrong to suddenly summon Blaziken as a surprise attacker.
If he himself had encountered such a situation, he would have definitely seized the opportunity to attack.
It was just that Aoki had a greater advantage in information; this was the so-called 'knowing yourself and your enemy'.
At this moment, Jockley was suspended in mid-air by his powerful psychic abilities, with six Poké Balls floating around his body, ready to summon Pokémon for a counterattack at any moment.
That's why Aoki didn't let BanGira and Aggron attack together; he was guarding against Jockley's sudden attack. All's fair in love and war, and Jockley might have wanted to seize the moment when Aoki was happy about defeating his two Pokémon to launch a counterattack.
However, seeing Aoki's sufficient vigilance, he didn't find a suitable opportunity.
But the confident Jockley, who believed that after twenty-five years here, he would be able to sweep everything once he got out, found that facing someone who had just entered, someone so much younger than him, he was the one who had two Pokémon defeated first. How could he accept that?
It was as if more than twenty years of persistence, will, and confidence had all collapsed.
This was not just about him losing two Pokémon; it was more of a mockery of his betrayal of the Alliance to join another organization and his twenty-five years of biding his time here.
But now was not the time for self-pity; if he could defeat Aoki here, all his confusion would be resolved.
Six Poké Balls were thrown out simultaneously.
Six Pokémon appeared beside him, and their appearance helped him, to some extent, block the interference of the Red Sand.
They were all Grass-type Pokémon, a pure lineup of Grass-type Pokémon. Six Pokémon, but only three species.
Two Venusaur, with whom Aoki was very familiar, three Meganium, the starter Pokémon from the Johto region, and the Pokémon standing in the very center was the one that surprised Aoki the most.
He even thought that this Pokémon's evolved form did not yet exist in the Pokémon world.
It was a small, delicate Pokémon that looked like a young canine, and at first glance, it was very cute.
Anyone else might not have been able to identify what kind of Pokémon it was, but Aoki recognized it the moment he saw it.
Leafeon!
A special evolution of Eevee, and a very unique one.
Currently, the Eevee types recorded in the Pokédex include Jolteon, Vaporeon, Flareon, Espeon, and Umbreon.
Many scholars speculated that Eevee should have more evolved forms, but people found that using various evolution stones near Eevee had no effect; only Fire Stones, Water Stones, and Thunder Stones elicited a reaction.
Even Espeon and Umbreon were not evolved through evolution stones but relied on special environments.
Therefore, it was speculated that Eevee's remaining evolved forms also required special environments, but no one knew what they were.
Aoki, however, knew many Eevee evolutions, and while he didn't know if they were all of Eevee's evolved forms, he definitely knew more than anyone in the Pokémon world.
Besides Leafeon, there was also Glaceon, and even the Fairy-type Sylveon.
Eevee is a very special Pokémon in the Pokémon world; it has many evolved forms because the cells and genes of this Pokémon contain something that can change its form based on external energy and its own inner psychic power.
As far as Aoki knew, Team Rocket was still conducting genetic research on Eevee at this time, but the extent of their research was unknown to Aoki.
However, the Eevee that appeared before him now was very likely the first of its kind in the Pokémon world at this moment, and its appearance would definitely cause a great impact on the entire Pokémon world.
"Your Pokémon..." Aoki looked at Jockley's Leafeon and couldn't help but ask.
It seemed that because of Leafeon's appearance, he had regained his confidence, so that self-satisfied expression reappeared on Jockley's face, though it was somewhat more restrained than before.
However, he did not answer Aoki's question.
Before, he was caught off guard by Aoki because his information was incomplete. Now, with his Grass-type army centered around Leafeon, even if Aoki truly possessed some powerful strength, he would still have an advantage in front of Leafeon, a Grass-type Pokémon he had never encountered.
Pokémon: Leafeon (Blue)
Gender: Male
Level: 87
Type: Grass
Ability: Chlorophyll
Held Item: Miracle Seed
Egg Moves: Charm, Yawn, Synchronoise, Captivate
Basic Moves: Razor Leaf, Helping Hand, Tackle, Tail Whip, Sand Attack, Play Nice, Quick Attack, Grass Whistle, Magical Leaf, Giga Drain, Swords Dance, Synthesis, Sunny Day, Last Resort, Leaf Blade
Learnt Moves: Snore, Covet, Iron Tail, Hone Claws, Hyper Voice, Heal Bell, Seed Bomb, Knock Off, Giga Drain, Worry Seed
TM Moves: Protect, Solar Beam, Shadow Ball, Double Team, Aerial Ace, Energy Ball
Its body was brown, and its claws were dark brown, just like the color between its eyes and ears.
It had some leaves on its body, which made it look somewhat like a plant. A long leaf was in the center of its forehead, and this leaf was the core of its Grass-type energy; many of its Grass-type moves were released from this position.
Leafeon's ears and tail also looked like green leaves.
Leafeon, as a Pokémon, actually has a cellular structure more akin to a plant than an animal. As long as it can photosynthesize, it can obtain some energy even without eating, showing great similarities to many plant-like Pokémon.
Furthermore, it is said that the younger a Leafeon is, the more it emits a pungent grassy scent, but as it ages, this grassy scent gradually transforms into the smell of fallen leaves. Therefore, one can determine a Leafeon's age by its scent.
Jockley's Leafeon was very high-leveled, reaching level 87, and its potential also reached blue quality.
This was the highest-leveled Pokémon Aoki had seen among all his opponents, and it put some pressure on him.
Aoki was very curious about how this Leafeon evolved, but if he wanted to know, it would only be possible after the battle.
He summoned three more Pokémon: Slowking, Gengar, and Darkrai, who made another appearance!
Aoki no longer held back any strength; the opponent was clearly stronger in raw power, and if he continued to hide Darkrai's existence, it might truly put him in a very passive position.
However, Darkrai's appearance did, to some extent, once again awe the opponent.
After all, as a legendary Pokémon, even after twenty-five years here, the reverence cultivated by habit for such a Pokémon was indelible.
But Aoki's summoning of Pokémon didn't stop there; he also summoned Drapion, Florges, Diancie, and Magearna, plus Salamence and Gardevoir, who had been by Aoki's side from the beginning. This truly became a battle of twelve Pokémon.
Aoki was almost at full strength!
Because it wasn't just Leafeon; including the two Venusaur and three Meganium, they all put immense pressure on him. One of the Venusaur and one of the Meganium had also broken through to the first champion level.
"Frenzy Plant!" Jockley narrowed his eyes as he watched Aoki summon so many Pokémon.
However, he wasn't very worried, because the Pokémon summoned later didn't have very strong auras of power and wouldn't pose much of a threat to him.
On the contrary, the BanGira, Aggron, and Blaziken that appeared at the beginning, as well as the later appearance of Darkrai, caused him considerable deterrence.
Frenzy Plant is a Grass-type move, but here, it wasn't about having the Pokémon use a Grass-type move; it was his tactic.
Just as Aoki created a Sandstorm Domain with BanGira's sandstorm as the core, he also wanted to create a Grass or plant-based field with his Grass-type Pokémon as the core, to reduce the impact of the sandstorm on them.
After all, this was the Red Sand, and the temperature was too high; all Grass-type Pokémon would not be very comfortable under the interference of the Red Sand.
A large amount of green vegetation grew from beneath the feet of their six Pokémon. Saplings sprouted from the ground, growing almost instantly to the height of a person, and then in another blink of an eye, they grew into normal-sized trees.
Jockley slowly descended from the air, stepping onto the soft grass. Around his body, a cage made of vines grew, carefully protecting him from various attacks and interferences. Coupled with his own psychic abilities, which were no less than Aoki's, he could, to some extent, foresee danger.
Even if Aoki's BanGira used Precipice Blades again this time, it might not have much of an effect on him. If he were to be attacked while under the protection of six Pokémon, where would he put his face?
The outermost vegetation began to resist the impact of the Red Sand, quickly recovering after suffering some damage, and then rapidly spreading further outwards, with an intention to forcibly transform the Red Sand Domain into his Grass Domain.
This was a large-scale domain battle. It seemed that neither side's Pokémon had made a move, but in reality, the battle had already begun. It remained to be seen whether BanGira's Red Sand Domain would gain the upper hand, or if the Grass Domain, centered around Leafeon, would prevail.
Whichever side's domain gained the upper hand would create a great advantage for their own side, potentially even influencing the course of the battle to some extent.
Aoki looked at the increasingly large grass field within the Red Sand Domain, and then at Mega BanGira, gritting its teeth to resist the erosion.
If it weren't for the fact that this place was originally a desert, and if it weren't for the Red Sand being imbued with Fire-type energy, which had a certain advantage against Grass-types, the combined energy of the opponent's six Champion-level Grass-type Pokémon could almost instantly change the terrain of any place.
But Aoki felt neither surprise nor helplessness.
In his opinion, the opponent should possess such strength to justify his twenty-five years of growth here. Aoki was even somewhat dissatisfied with his current strength.
It was too much time wasted; twenty-five years to only achieve this level. If he were given twenty-five years, Aoki felt that he could at least contend with trainers of Sakaki's caliber, becoming one of the absolute top existences in the Pokémon world.
As for not feeling helpless, it was because Aoki had already thought of a solution.
He glanced at Gengar, who had a mischievous smile on its face.
Gengar, understanding instantly, had a dark red glow in its eyes that lasted for a very long time.
All Pokémon enveloped by Gengar's strange energy would have large amounts of yellow sand rising around their bodies. Then, under Mega BanGira's control, this yellow sand transformed in the blink of an eye into fiery hot Red Sand, brightly entering the Red Sand Domain.
From Aggron, to Darkrai, Gengar itself, and even finally to Salamence and Gardevoir.
All Pokémon, except Blaziken, had their original abilities transformed into Sand Stream through Gengar's Imposter and Skill Swap move combination.
Suddenly, more than a dozen Pokémon with the Sand Stream ability appeared on the field. The already wildly swirling red sand was already obstructing vision, but from the Pokémon around Aoki, large amounts of dust were all kicked up.
Although not every Pokémon was accustomed to using the Sand Stream ability, quantity led to a qualitative change, especially under the Sand Stream abilities of Champion-level Pokémon like Gengar, Darkrai, Slowking, and Aggron.
A massive sandstorm, centered around where Aoki stood, swirled wildly, instantly covering the entire Red Sand Domain. The already expansive Red Sand Domain expanded by more than double, like a balloon being inflated, and the sand content within the Red Sand Domain also more than doubled.