On the Battle Court, Qingyu gave the signal to begin and threw out a Poké Ball first.
"My lead Pokémon is Hippowdon. Don't underestimate this little one~"
As Qingyu finished speaking, a beam of red light shot out of the Poké Ball.
An enormous, earthy-brown hippopotamus appeared, with black markings on its back, feet, and around its nose. It opened its ridiculously wide maw, revealing the few teeth inside.
(Hippowdon)
"Hippowdon, the evolved form of Hippopotas, has the same Sand Stream Ability as Tyranitar. It's a common weather setter on sandstorm teams."
While waiting for his opponent to throw out a Poké Ball and officially begin the battle, Qingyu didn't forget to introduce it.
Muffled by his dustproof goggles, Qingyu's voice sounded dull, but the cheerfulness in his tone still came through.
"They're both weather setters, but their roles are a little different. As for exactly how..."
"You'll find out once this battle starts."
As Qingyu spoke with a smile, Hippowdon's arrival immediately stirred the surrounding air.
Soon, dust began to rise around them, steadily intensifying as though it wouldn't stop until it formed a localized sandstorm.
Faced with this big creature, which looked fierce but was strangely ugly-cute, the rookie challenger wasn't frightened. Instead, he instinctively let out a breath of relief.
Great, it's not Tyranitar!
If Teacher Yu really used a powerful Pokémon like Tyranitar for the assessment, the double torment of raw stats and mechanics would probably make passing much harder than before...
But this time, I came prepared!
"Got it!"
The challenger, who was rather short and looked young, nodded and took a Luxury Ball from his pocket.
"I choose you, Tauros!!!"
The Poké Ball landed with a crisp sound, and a wild bull Pokémon with sharp horns and an angry expression appeared on the court.