But why did Steven take the initiative to share this information?
Was it because Rax owned a Beldum?
"Well, no wonder your Metang is so strong."
Rax pretended to be naive, his shock quickly turning into admiration, which made Steven raise an eyebrow.
Not bad, he's quite calm.
Just as Steven was about to continue speaking, his name suddenly echoed through the loudspeaker.
"I'll be heading to my match first, see you later!"
"See you!"
Rax waved, needing time to think about how to handle Steven.
Three minutes later, Steven finished his battle.
"..."
Excluding the time it took to walk to the arena, Steven ended the battle in less than half a minute?
Isn't that too fast?
'But right now, the advantage is mine, so I can't panic!'
Rax thought to himself, though he hadn't figured everything out yet.
Soon, Steven returned to the waiting room and walked directly toward Rax.
"Let's exchange contact information. We can chat in more detail after the competition."
This time, Rax took the initiative, looking around to signal that it was better not to talk too much here.
Steven had initially wanted to continue chatting, but after his battle, he wasn't in a hurry, so he observed more.
"Okay."
The two exchanged contact information, and Steven returned to his seat.
Setting this matter aside, Rax turned his attention back to the sandstorm competition.
The second round of the official competition was over, and almost none of the remaining 64 players were pushovers.
Even among the various Pokémon, the senior and junior marowak were below the average level.
Fortunately, level doesn't mean everything, and Rax still had a chance to move forward.
Soon, the third round of the official competition began!
In a 64-player match, the pace would only get faster, with less rest time.
The chatter in the backroom gradually died down as everyone focused on watching every game intently.
It was in stark contrast to the deafening cheers outside.
Players appeared one after another.
In this round, Rax appeared first, before Steven.
Perhaps it was just an illusion, but the arena seemed to be more crowded.
Marowak remained calm, his indifferent temperament winning him a lot of cheers.
Opposite, a two-meter-tall behemoth lurked quietly in the sandstorm, as if trying to lower its presence.
Hippopotamus, a senior Pokémon.
This Ground-type Pokémon, unique to the Sinnoh region, often lives in groups in the desert and is the ace Pokémon of the Elite Four's Cynthia.
As a result, Hippopotamus was far more popular than marowak.
The referee's voice remained terse, and the match began immediately.
In an instant, the intensity of the sandstorm doubled.
Rax understood that it was Hippopotamus' ability to trigger the Sand Stream ability, causing another sandstorm.
"Gather your energy!"
Rax's command rang out, starting with energy gathering.
The Hippopotamus across from him remained motionless, but its ability had already been activated.
The surrounding rocks and soil suddenly loosened and began to spin rapidly.
It was using Quick Sand Hell!
Marowak was quickly engulfed by it, and half her body was almost instantly buried in the sand.
"Attack!"
"Gah!"
Facing the lockdown, marowak didn't attempt any other moves.
At Rax's command, she swung the bone stick in her hand without hesitation.
Critical hit!
The bone boomerang hit twice in a row on Hippopotamus' head.
Hippopotamus, slower than marowak, had no chance to dodge.
A scream rang out, and the sandstorm grew a little unstable.
Rax felt a wave of satisfaction, but then he noticed that Hippopotamus opened its mouth and yawned lazily.
"Crack, squeak, squeak!"
Rax immediately ordered to resist the yawn attack.
A painful screeching sound echoed, and the loudspeakers near marowak were quickly turned down.
"Go on, Bone Boomerang!"
Rax's command came again, unsure if marowak was still affected by the yawn.
The next second, marowak swung the bone stick again!
Two more solid hits, but the positioning of the attack didn't change.
Rax frowned as he noticed marowak seemed a little unsteady?
The yawn wasn't entirely negated!
"Continue!"
"Gah!"
This time, marowak pressed on despite the drowsiness and looked at her still-motionless opponent.
Must win...
The bone boomerang flew out again!
But the next moment, it missed, flying past Hippopotamus' head.
At the same time, marowak half-knelt on the ground, barely supported by sheer will.
Boomerang!
A sudden familiar knocking sound rang out, and the second attack of the bone boomerang hit Hippopotamus' head again!
"Woo~~~"
A whimper escaped, and the two-meter-tall Hippopotamus fell, unable to get up.
Just as marowak was about to fall asleep, the thick bone stick flew back and hit her on the head!
Boom!
The impact made marowak stumble, but the sharp pain jolted her awake.
She wasn't giving up.
Her bone boomerang never missed a beat.
"Hippopotamus has lost its ability to fight! Marowak wins, and contestant No. 233, Rax, wins!"
The audience didn't fully snap out of it until the referee made the announcement.
Their shocked expressions quickly turned into admiration, and they couldn't help but applaud marowak.
She was ruthless enough to knock her own head in order to win!
At this moment, Rax wasn't celebrating his win, but hurried off the stage, picking up the bone stick marowak had missed the first time and handed it to her.
Seeing her scars, Rax gritted his teeth but held back from scolding her too harshly.
"Don't be so reckless next time."
"Ga~"
Marowak took the bone stick, proudly placing it over her shoulder, as if to say, "See? I'm amazing!"
"Yeah, you're great!"
Rax smiled, thinking that with such a spirit, what more could he ask for?
Before the match, Rax had known his opponent would be Hippopotamus, and he understood it would be a tough battle.
In a competition limited to Rock, Ground, and Steel types, Ground-type Pokémon naturally have an advantage.
That's why marowak could beat Steelix and Corsola relatively easily.
But this time, he had to face Hippopotamus.
As a Ground-type Pokémon, Hippopotamus had a clear advantage over marowak in almost every aspect except speed.
Size, level, attack, defense... Hippopotamus was strong in every way!
And marowak had no moves that could specifically counter it.
So, the only option was to fight with all his might!
Using the bone boomerang's mobility, he had to give up most resistance and focus entirely on maximizing his attack!
Let's see who falls first.
That was the best tactic Rax could come up with in such a short amount of time.
And marowak'sfinal self-hit was the highlight of the entire match!
It was also her own choice.