Steven's Trump Card

Steven and Xia Yan each recalled their Pokémon.

Once again, both of them took a brief moment to think.

They knew each other's teams inside and out.

They more or less knew what Pokémon the other possessed.

Steven had already lost four Pokémon. While Xia Yan could not be sure what Steven's remaining two were, he was certain that one of them was Steven's Shiny Metagross.

It was also the most troublesome Pokémon in Steven's roster.

At the referee's signal, the two stopped thinking and threw their Poké Balls.

"Roar—!!"

Another roar rang out.

But the commotion and sheer volume brought by this roar were far beyond anything Steven's previous Pokémon could match.

A rough, pale-green armored shell, an enormous dinosaur-like body reminiscent of Godzilla, and vicious spikes densely covering its entire form.

Xia Yan's pupils contracted slightly when he saw this Pokémon.

His surprise was unmistakable.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa—!! Steven's fifth Pokémon is actually the Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon Tyranitar!! This is the first time he has summoned Tyranitar in this tournament!"

Tyranitar!

The king of Sandstorms!

That was why Xia Yan's pupils had instinctively contracted upon seeing it.

Because—

Forget the host.

Even people like Xia Yan, who knew Steven rather well, had no idea Steven was hiding a Tyranitar.

This was completely unexpected.

Xia Yan had thought Steven's next Pokémon might be Claydol.

Seemingly sensing Xia Yan's surprise, Steven rubbed his nose somewhat sheepishly.

Honestly.

Keeping it from Xia Yan and the others had not been Steven's intention.

It was simply that his Tyranitar had only recently reached the Sub-Elite Four level and had not participated in the simulated battles.

He could not exactly drag someone over and tell them, "Hey! I have a Tyranitar," could he?

And so.

It became something known only to a very small number