Faced with this overwhelming and disadvantageous situation, in the end, they still had to rely on Kevin from Team Aqua, the water-type Pokémon specialist. Upon hearing their trainer's command, his three Pokémon immediately sprang into action. "Politoed! Crawdaunt! Sharpedo! Use Surf around you!" Kevin shouted. A rich, swirling aquatic energy erupted beneath their feet, water pooling and spreading across the sandy ground. Seeing their captain's decisive action, the three other members of Team Aqua immediately commanded their own Pokémon to utilize Water-type moves as well, adding to the deluge. Their goal was simple: to saturate the sand with moisture, increasing its humidity and weight to prevent it from being whipped into the air so easily.
The abrasive sand that managed to fly through the dampened air still passed harshly against their cheeks, leaving stinging marks on their faces. For a short period, it was impossible to open their eyes without risking injury. However, the ferocious sandstorm did visibly slow its relentless assault after the massive infusion of surfing water and other aquatic skills. Seeing the tangible effect, the members of Team Aqua immediately showed flashes of relief and joy on their faces. Once the sandstorms disappeared completely, they reasoned, they would no longer be in such a passive and blinded position anymore. They could finally fight back properly.
But the cold, hard facts of the battle were about to tell them that whether there was a sandstorm or not didn't make much of a meaningful difference to their fate. Against opponents of their caliber, the main purpose of the Tyranitar's Sandstream ability was to eliminate the weaker Pokémon whose strength was simply too insignificant to withstand the environment, saving time and energy. It was a tool for battlefield control, not the primary weapon. Even while the Team Aqua members frantically spewed water to counter the storm, the Tyranitar was still perfectly capable of controlling the dry, deeper layers of sand, using focused bursts to stun and subdue several of the weaker Pokémon first. If Aoki deemed it necessary, there was a continuous, nearly endless supply of sand in the surrounding soil for the Tyranitar to command. The rate at which the colossal Pokémon could produce and weaponize sand was much faster than they could possibly hope to wet and neutralize it all.
However, Aoki recognized that the remaining, more resilient Pokémon could not be dealt with simply by the sandstorm alone; it would take too much time to grind them down that way. Furthermore, in such a dense, obscuring sandstorm, his own Blaziken and Drapion would also be adversely affected, their mobility and precision hampered. It was far more efficient to confront the remaining foes head-on with direct and overwhelming force. So, just when the other side thought their water strategy had worked and was beginning to gain the upper hand, it was actually because Aoki had mentally commanded his Tyranitar to cease actively absorbing and churning the sand. The existing storm was enough; the battlefield was already primed to his advantage.
As the sandstorm gradually subsided, the air clearing to reveal the battered opposition, the two captains, McCree and Kevin, thought they could finally show off their skills and turn the tide. But their hope was short-lived. The Tyranitar and Aggron, two behemoths of raw power, were already standing directly in front of them, having used the cover of the storm to close the distance. Have you ever seen a fist the size of a sandbag? The Tyranitar had previously trained and studied with a group of Vigoroth for a while. Though it didn't quite manage to turn every single joint in its body into a fluid weapon like the hyperactive apes could, it was able to train its clearly usable limbs into devastating instruments. For example, its tail. The Tyranitar had now discovered that the part of its body with the greatest innate crushing strength was its powerful tail. It lashed out horizontally with a devastating Tail Smash attack that was like a pressurized water jet cutter; any Pokémon hit by it was either instantly knocked out or left seriously injured, hurled through the air.
The Aggron was even more terrifying in its straightforward brutality. Since mastering the skill of using Autotomize to lighten its body, it was no longer the slow-moving defensive tank it once was. Have you ever seen an iron bull completely encased in thick metal armor, charging around the battlefield recklessly and at high speed? The Aggron took full advantage of its incredibly hard, helmet-like head to make the most of its Double-Edge skill. It lowered its head and charged like a battering ram, a living missile. No matter what kind of Pokémon the opponent sent out, none of them could withstand such a brutal, full-force collision from the Aggron. The sound of impact was like a car crash each time.
As for the Blaziken, his fighting style differed significantly from the direct, brutal confrontation favored by the Tyranitar and Aggron. With its incredibly graceful, almost dance-like movements and an agile, powerful body, the Blaziken made it nearly impossible for opponents to catch its whereabouts. Its speed would only increase as the battle wore on thanks to its Speed Boost ability. He was often the only one who could successfully land attacks on his opponent, a blur of motion, while his opponent had no way to effectively target or deal with him. The problem for his foes was, not everyone could handle or endure the intense, focused flames that the Blaziken commanded. One of Team Magma's Camerupt, extremely confident in its own size and defensive capabilities as a Fire-type Pokémon, believed it could directly confront and withstand the Blaziken's flames. But the Blaziken was about to teach it a very harsh lesson about the qualitative differences between flames and fighting spirit.
With the help of the Tai Chi philosophy, the concept of generating immense power from a very short distance known as inch power, and the method of using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds that Aoki had taught it, the Blaziken unleashed a blisteringly fast Sky Uppercut followed immediately by a Fire Punch! The combination was seamless. Not only did it send the overconfident, heavy Camerupt flying backwards with a single, precise punch, sliding three or four meters across the ground before crashing down, but it also left a perfect, deeply burned fist imprint on one of the camel's humps. It was a dark, charred, smoldering fist mark. The Camerupt lay on the ground in agony, and when it tried to stand up, it failed three times, its legs buckling. It felt as though its entire camel hump was ruined, the nerve endings screaming in protest.
Then there was the Swampert. His current fighting style was deceptively simple but brutally effective: a continuous, sweeping Earth Power! He had successfully integrated the raw, concussive power of the Hammer Arm technique and the pervasive energy of the earth into nearly every attack he made. If he got particularly carried away during a fight, he could easily switch from using Earth Power to triggering a full-blown Earthquake. Not only was the earthquake more powerful in its raw destructive force, but it also had a wide, indiscriminate area of effect. However, the enclosed space of the tunnel was not particularly large, and using an earthquake could very easily cause accidental injuries to his teammates or destabilize the ceiling, so he consciously restrained himself from using it often, relying on the more controlled Earth Power.
The last of Aoki's heavy hitters, the Drapion, felt that he was somewhat unable to properly join their intense battle. It wasn't because the Drapion was weak; on the contrary, it was because he was too strong and too proud. He looked down upon those opponents who were already being effortlessly held, tossed around, and defeated by Tyranitar and the others like they were mere toys. They were simply too weak! They didn't even have the basic power to properly deal with Tyranitar and his three other Pokémon, let alone warrant a serious engagement from him, a Pokémon on the very verge of breaking through to the senior Elite Four level. So, after the Drapion burrowed into the sand with a swift Dig attack and used a simple, efficient triple attack combination to instantly knock out a Team Magma member's Pokémon, it gave up on the main battle entirely. It clicked its pincers in disdain, pouted with clear frustration, and walked over to stand by Aoki's side, watching the one-sided fray with bored eyes. There was no way around it; there were too many monks and not enough porridge, too many powerful Pokémon on Aoki's side for the limited number of worthy opponents.
Aoki also knew exactly what his Drapion was thinking. The Drapion was currently on the cusp of a major breakthrough and needed powerful, challenging opponents to whet its skills and push it over the edge, not these "chickens and dogs" that were being so easily dispatched. He gently patted the Drapion's hard, armored arm, a silent signal for it to be patient and calm down. The larger war against the full forces of Team Magma and Team Aqua, he communicated without words, has only just begun. There would always be more opportunities, and stronger opponents, for it to fight in the near future.
McCee of Team Magma and Kevin of Team Ocean looked on with ashen-faced horror, their expressions a mixture of despair and disbelief as they stared at the utterly imposing Tyranitar and his crew. Their own Pokémon had little to no ability to resist Aoki's team; it was a one-sided massacre, a brutal demonstration of power disparity. They watched in helpless frustration as Tyranitar and Aggron knocked their Pokémon around with single, casual punches, sending them flying, while their own Pokémon's most desperate attacks against the Aggron and Tyranitar didn't even cause the giants to budge or flinch. The defensive and offensive capabilities of the two sides were simply not even in the same league; it was like children trying to fight professional warriors. As for the Blaziken, the situation was even more demoralizing; it wasn't touched a single time during the entire engagement, a ghost of flame and motion, while their Pokémon were systematically and efficiently beaten up one after another. The worst off was undoubtedly the Camerupt, which had been specifically targeted after only slightly provoking the Blaziken. At this point, the two volcano-like humps of the fire-breathing camel were swollen beyond recognition, disfigured. Do you know what it feels like to see a Camerupt with two huge, blackened, misshapen buns on its head, looking like completely burnt and collapsed steamed buns? The Camerupt itself was on the verge of tears, its pride and its body equally shattered. The Blaziken, meanwhile, seemed quite pleased with its fiery masterpiece, its head held high.
The only one of Aoki's Pokémon that could potentially be harmed was the Swampert that was swinging around like a possessed madman, its fists encased in devastating ground-type energy. Yes, it could indeed theoretically take damage, and any damage it did receive was visibly apparent on its hide. But the cost of actually managing to damage this particular Swampert was prohibitively high. This Swampert must have been hit by some profound revelation or training method, because its fists, constantly wrapped in pulsing yellow Earth Power energy, were swinging wildly and powerfully in wide, unpredictable arcs, blasting away any Pokémon foolish enough to get within reach. At this point, there were deep cracks and fresh impact marks all along the tunnel walls, which were solely caused by the stray, explosive shocks of the Swampert's relentless assaults.
Just four Pokémon. Only four of Aoki's Pokémon had single-handedly wiped out their combined force of nearly fifty Pokémon. A profound, crushing silence fell over the defeated teams, broken only by the moans of their fainted partners. One thought echoed in the minds of the broken Team Magma and Aqua members: Mom, I want to go home...