Chapter 18: Sandstorm

"Charge in!"

"It won't be that easy; increase the firepower!"

The two commanded simultaneously. Just as Sandshrew accelerated to break through Charmeleon's Flamethrower, Charmeleon suddenly exerted more strength. What had been a single beam of Flamethrower thickened dramatically, instantly engulfing Sandshrew completely!

"Sandshrew has no resistance to fire; just burn it down!"

The boy wore a confident grin. Even though Sandshrew maintained its Rollout, the fire attack would still cause damage, and over time, Sandshrew would surely be unable to withstand it!

"Damn it, what a powerful fire attack!" Ryoma couldn't help but feel anxious.

As Sandshrew could no longer break through the flames with Rollout, it had already lost the chance to retreat. Now, his only option was to maintain Rollout to minimize damage as much as possible. If Sandshrew stopped, it would be immediately consumed by the flames!

"How can I extinguish the fire?"

"Wait, extinguish!"

"Right! Sandshrew, maintain Rollout and use Sand Attack!"

Ryoma gritted his teeth, realizing he had to try something desperate. If Sandshrew couldn't fuse these two moves successfully, then he would be defeated!

"Sha!"

Upon hearing Ryoma's words, Sandshrew growled and recalled the Sand Attack it had just mastered that day, summoning all of its Ground-type energy.

In the next moment,

sand suddenly swirled around Sandshrew, and under the rapid spin of Rollout, it transformed into a wave of sand, surging forward!

Sizzle sizzle!

The rushing sand made popping sounds as it encountered the flames.

However, sand cannot be ignited, so the flames started to extinguish slowly under the impact of the sand. The Flamethrower unleashed by Charmeleon began to be suppressed little by little until the fire was completely extinguished, and Charmeleon was buried beneath the sand!

"Hey, hey, hey, what kind of move is this? It's way too strong?!"

"That move looks like Ground-type Sand Attack. Didn't that previous Trainer shout out Sand Attack?" 

"Sand Attack? Are you kidding me?! How could Sand Attack suppress Charmeleon's Flamethrower like that?!"

Upon witnessing Sandshrew summon a wave of sand that swallowed both Flamethrower and Charmeleon, the crowd erupted into a flurry of excited chatter, each face reflecting disbelief!

"Tyrant, did you see that?"

On the stairs leading to the second floor of the Club, Raiden looked at the Ground-type Trainer, Tyrant, with a serious expression.

"It should still be Sand Attack. This is similar to using techniques from Sand Attack to enhance its power, but compared to the technique of Sand Attack, using the rotational force from Rollout to execute Sand Attack is far more terrifying!"

"If you wanted to describe it, you could think of the Rollout that's stuck in place as tires trapped in a mud puddle…"

Tyrant thought for a moment and responded, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.

While it might sound easy, this Ground-type Trainer knew just how challenging it was.

The first challenge was to skillfully use both Rollout and Sand Attack while employing multitasking skills. Additionally, accurately adjusting the direction of Sand Attack while executing Rollout was an extremely difficult technique!

In fact, even Ryoma hadn't anticipated that Sandshrew could perform this move. While he had mentioned to Sandshrew about Ash's Sandshrew burying a Magmar with Sand Attack, he never imagined that his own Sandshrew could do it, especially even better than Ash Ketchum's!

Boom!

Just as everyone was lost in thought, another loud crash echoed through the arena.

All eyes turned to see Sandshrew, with no resistance, executing Rollout again, charging heavily toward the Charmeleon buried in the sand. The impact sent the helpless Charmeleon flying into the wall, and it slowly slid down!

"Charmeleon has lost its ability to battle; Sandshrew is the victor!"

The referee counted silently for a few seconds. Seeing that Charmeleon still hadn't gotten up, he waved the flag in his hand.

"Wow, I actually won!"

"What a comeback! That Sandshrew defeated the Charmeleon that could use Flamethrower with just Rollout and Sand Attack. It feels like I'm dreaming!"

"It seems Sandshrew is quite powerful after all, and the best part is it's cheap. I think I could get one!"

"Hey, hey, hey, it's a well-trained Pokémon. If you choose Sandshrew, your journey as a Trainer will come to an end!"

Upon hearing the referee announce the results, the audience erupted into a flurry of discussion, clearly astonished that a Sandshrew could defeat a Charmeleon.

"To think it was beaten by a Sandshrew!"

The boy's pupils contracted as he froze for a long time before recalling Charmeleon into its Poké Ball, his gaze fixated on the green Sandshrew across from him.

There are no weak Pokémon, only weak Trainers!

The boy suddenly recalled something his uncle had said and couldn't help but cast a deep look at Ryoma.

Sandshrew indeed wasn't a very powerful Pokémon, especially as this particular flawed one. This showcased just how strong a Trainer must be to train it to perform so well in Rollout!

"I lost; here's 2,000 yen!"

The boy took a deep breath, reducing Charmeleon's Poké Ball and placing it on his belt. He then pulled out his wallet and took out twenty 100-yen bills.

"Isn't it 1,000 yen?"

Ryoma frowned slightly, unsure what this rich kid was up to.

"I know it's 1,000; the other 1,000 is my deposit!" The boy's eyes sparkled.

"Deposit?"

"Exactly. Before I beat you, you have to battle me every day. How about that?"

The boy's eyes shone with eagerness, and he even pulled out his Poké Ball again, seemingly eager for another match with Ryoma.

"You want me to be your sparring partner?" Ryoma finally realized.

"Yeah, that's about it. But every time I lose, I'll still give you 1,000 yen until I manage to defeat you!" The boy nodded without hesitation, his gaze burning with determination.

Ryoma couldn't help but chuckle at this. It seemed this Wealthy Young Master incredibly competitive, intent on not giving up until he defeated him!

However, if winning against this rich kid meant earning 1,000 yen each time, Ryoma felt that didn't sound too bad.

One was willing to fight while the other was willing to take the hits; as long as he kept winning, it could easily lead to earning thousands daily and tens of thousands monthly!

Thinking about this made him feel a twinge of excitement!