Pokémon: When the World Changed

It could be seen that this person was completely wrapped in a hooded sweatshirt, with his head lowered, so his face could not be clearly distinguished.

When he noticed that he had already been discovered, he stopped hiding, stood up, and raised his head.

Immediately, a dark face with rough features appeared before everyone.

"He is a Trainer in training from the Sylvara League!"

Seeing the skin tone of the one who had just spoken, the spectators showed surprise.

"Next, I, Denzel, will be your opponent."

After going up onto the stage, Denzel took off the hood he was wearing and spoke to Ethan very politely.

"Denzel! Is it Denzel?!"

When Denzel introduced himself, another member of the Sylvara League who was in the stadium was very surprised.

Immediately afterward, he began to explain who Denzel was, making the spectators' hearts tense.

"That guy said... that this Denzel defeated an Elite-level Trainer?"

The spectators murmured in shock. Although what the other man had said was that Denzel had defeated a substitute Pokémon of an Elite-level Trainer.

But even a substitute Pokémon of an Elite-level Trainer had extremely powerful combat strength, and moreover, any Elite-level Trainer without fail mastered first-rate techniques.

Under those circumstances, the fact that Denzel had been able to obtain victory was enough to prove how strong he was. It could be said without exaggeration that he was among the most powerful Trainers below the Elite level.

"Defeated an Elite-level Trainer?"

"It seems that in this battle, Rhyperior will have to use all its strength."

A hint of seriousness also appeared in Ethan's eyes, though mixed with excitement.

Now, after developing the Abilities Rock Head and Solid Rock, Rhyperior already completely mastered the force application method of the move Rock Wrecker.

In that state, Rhyperior's strength was no longer inferior at all to that of his main Pokémon, such as Sandslash or Cacturne.

And a balanced opponent, one against which it could fight with everything it had, was precisely what both Ethan and Rhyperior had been wishing for so much!

"Rhyperior, let me see all your strength!"

Outside the field, Professor Harris looked at Rhyperior with emotion in his eyes.

Ever since Rhyperior was still a Rhyhorn, he had begun polishing it using the body-strengthening method based on the move Smack Down.

And, moreover, together with the enormous quantity of resources he had supplied it, the foundation of that Rhyhorn back then had been built with extraordinary solidity.

Now, after the careful later training, feeding it Smooth Rock every day and adding a tailor-made training method and techniques of the highest level, this Rhyperior could be said to condense all of Professor Harris's effort and dedication, having brought its strength to a true peak.

He believed that, even if it faced the substitute Pokémon of an Elite-level Trainer, Rhyperior would also be capable of fighting evenly.

"Then, let us battle."

A confident expression also appeared on Ethan's face.

He also wanted to see, aside from his two hidden cards—Mega Evolution and Melmetal—how much his main Pokémon still lacked to reach the Elite level.

And now, the Denzel before him was precisely an excellent whetstone.

"Then, let's battle!"

Denzel also let out a roar full of momentum.

With the throw of the Poké Ball in his hand, a Pokémon resembling a baboon and a gorilla appeared on the field, with a pink nose and beige fur. It had brown outlines around its eyes, and on its head, two tufts of white hair shaped like sprouts.

When that Pokémon came out, its large body planted itself in the middle of the field, but it kept its eyes closed, as if it were still sleeping.

"It's Slaking!"

Seeing the Pokémon that had come onto the field, everyone's gaze tightened.

Slaking was a very rare and extremely powerful Pokémon, with combat strength perfectly comparable to that of a Legendary.

However, its lazy character was also its most fatal weakness.

Like the Slaking that was on the field at that moment, which seemed to still be sleeping: although its combat strength was enormous, if it was that lazy, it was not of much use.

"It's the Slaking that defeated the substitute Pokémon of an Elite-level Trainer!"

However, among the challengers who did know that Slaking, all of them showed grave expressions.

Most of them had seen the recording of that battle.

But, during that battle, Slaking had not been affected at all by the Ability Truant.

And a Slaking that had overcome the effects of the Ability Truant would have absolutely terrifying combat strength!

"Overcame the effects of the Ability Truant?"

Ethan's face also changed a little.

In the games, Slaking possessed base stats comparable to those of true Legendary Pokémon.

It was just that, because of its Ability Truant, its strength was drastically reduced.

But if Slaking overcame the Ability Truant, then it practically became another Pokémon altogether.

"Let the battle begin!"

"Slaking, eliminate the Ability Truant!"

As soon as the battle began, Denzel gave the order directly.

Then, Psychic-type energy began to concentrate over Slaking's body.

Immediately afterward, Slaking opened its eyes and, with a somewhat confused expression, scratched its head while looking around, as if it were disoriented.

"Did it really eliminate the Ability Truant?"

"A Slaking that is not affected by the Ability Truant... It seems that this Slaking has also found its own path." Ethan thought seriously, while at the same time having Rhyperior remain alert.

Although the Slaking at that moment even seemed somewhat clumsy and adorable, a Slaking that had lost its normal laziness was much more terrifying.

"Rhyperior, use Stone Edge!"

Under Ethan's order, Rhyperior opened the cavities in its arms, and several pointed rocks shot out at high speed.

Thanks to the force application method of the move Rock Wrecker, those sharp rocks were endowed with terrifying speed and power.

"Slaking, use Counter!"

Facing that fierce attack of the move Stone Edge, Slaking remained completely motionless and received the attack head-on.

At the moment it used the move Counter, its entire body was wrapped in a multicolored light.

Next, Slaking directly resisted the blow of the sharp rocks with its own body. Its figure only retreated a few steps, without even frowning.

Boom!

Immediately afterward, the capability of the move Counter activated, and all the sharp rocks were reflected back!

The effect of the move Counter consisted of returning to the opponent the damage of a physical attack received, and doing so with double the power.

Because of that, on the basis of the original power of the move Stone Edge, the force of the move increased terrifyingly and shot whistling directly toward Rhyperior.

"Rhyperior, dodge it!"

At the moment Slaking resisted the attack of the move Stone Edge head-on, Ethan had already given the order.

So, when the attack bounced back, Rhyperior exerted force with its legs, its muscles swelled instantly, and it disappeared directly from the spot.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The move Stone Edge reflected by the move Counter had frightening power, causing an enormous explosion and raising smoke and dust everywhere.

At the same time, after using the force application method of the move Rock Wrecker, Rhyperior's figure appeared instantly beside Slaking, throwing a brutal punch.

However, Slaking's reaction was not slow at all either. It concentrated energy in both hands and directly responded with the move Hammer Arm, colliding head-on against Rhyperior's move Hammer Arm.