POKEMON : STARTING WITH FLASH METAGROSS

After advancing to the top 32, Rax's goal was basically achieved.

The battles ahead would only get more difficult, and there was no need to dwell on winning or losing.

When Rax and Marowak returned to the waiting room, the remaining 40 or 50 people burst into applause that was even more enthusiastic than the previous 100 people.

Their strength was also recognized by the other contestants.

After nodding to everyone, Rax took Marowak for treatment.

The continuous Quicksand Hell had caused considerable damage to it, but fortunately, it was only superficial injuries.

Buzzbuzz~

But at this moment, Rax's communicator suddenly vibrated.

Harumi?

Why would she contact me?

Rax looked at the caller ID on the communicator, thought about it, and picked it up.

"Hello, Harumi?"

"Ahhhhhh!!! Brother Rax, you are so awesome, you actually defeated Hippowdon, and Marowak too, you've become so strong!"

Rax blinked and looked towards the stadium.

"You guys... are in Black Gold City?"

You know, the Sandstorm Contest is not broadcast and can only be watched live.

"Yeah, something happened during this period. Anyway, we finally went out to travel. I'll treat you to a meal after the game, and we'll talk in detail?"

Rax subconsciously looked in the direction of Steven, and then said, "Okay! See you at Exit 3 after the game."

After hanging up the phone, Rax couldn't help thinking.

Isn't it just a competition? Why does it feel like everything is rushing to him?

It's hard to have a quiet competition.

But from Harumi's tone, it shouldn't be a bad thing.

The Sandstorm Contest was still going on, and soon it was Steven's turn to play.

And Steven's opponent this time was Flygon, which had been quite popular from the beginning.

Flygon is a rare Ground/Dragon-type Pokémon.

Its elite-level strength also made 80% of the players stay away.

In addition, Flygon has the ability Levitate, high mobility, and it can use Fire-type moves like Flamethrower, which has a considerable advantage against Steel-types like Metang.

However, Metang still won!

With one move of Ice Punch, it hit Flygon for four times damage and won easily.

Rax felt the same way—this was the power of rare resources.

Not all trainers can learn any moves that they want their Pokémon to learn.

Rax's skiploom also consumed a lot of points to learn Poison Defense tactics from the Rocket Team's platform.

And Steven has no shortage of resources; he just loves digging stones!

Wait... digging stones!

Rax's eyes lit up, and suddenly he had a new idea about why Steven was looking for him.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the third round of the official Sandstorm Competition ended, and all 32 teams were selected.

At this point, Marowak had become the lowest level Pokémon remaining in the tournament.

But this also reflected Marowak's current combat strength.

At the same time, the organizer finally added a battle bracket, clarifying all the upcoming battles.

On the screen, Steven ranked first on the left, and Rax happened to be first on the right.

This meant that unless Rax made it to the last match, he and Steven would never meet.

When Rax saw his opponent, he finally felt a little discouraged.

Elite Intermediate, Gastrodon!

"Just do your best for now; we still have a lot of time to get stronger."

"Maro~"

Marowak nodded, but still clenched the bone stick unwillingly.

The fourth round of the official competition finally started!

This time, Steven took the lead and fought against the Water/Ground-type Gastrodon Pokémon.

Under the strong control of Telekinesis and the fierce attack of Bullet Punch, the Gastrodon didn't last long and was defeated.

At the same time, the organizers began to introduce the players who had entered the top 32 one by one.

The audience only then knew that the player Steven, with his Metang, had actually won the championship of the Hoenn League last year.

No wonder he was so strong!

Suddenly, Steven received more cheers.

After all, even the champion of the Hoenn League came to participate in the Sandstorm Competition, which showed the prestige of the event.

Especially the people in Black Gold City—they felt so proud.

An hour later, the last match of the fourth round started.

Marowak vs. Gastrodon!

Ten minutes later, Marowak was hit head-on by Gastrodon's powerful Earth Power and lost the ability to fight.

Even though there was a huge difference in strength, Rax and Marowak fought their best against it.

At the end of the battle, the Gastrodon on the opposite side was panting, and the few large lumps vaguely visible on its head proved that it wasn't an easy fight.

Applause rang out, and Rax helped Marowak up. Together, they accepted the final applause from the crowd.

"Keep working hard in the future, Marowak!"

"Marowak!"

...

At six o'clock in the evening, the final of the Sandstorm Competition began.

As expected, Steven stood there.

And opposite him was another elite-level Gastrodon.

The battle between the two sides was about to begin, and each showed extremely strong strength.

But in the end, it was Steven's Metang that defeated the Gastrodon with the absolute advantage of Ice Punch.

At this point, the Sandstorm Contest officially ended, and Steven and Metang became the biggest winners, receiving applause from everyone in the audience.

The game was over, but the celebration of the Black Gold Festival was far from over.

The lights came on, and the lively night party began.

Rax met harumi and her husband Aze at Exit 3 of the stadium.

At this time, the two of them were completely dressed as tourists, and there was no particular joy on their faces.

"Sister Harumi!"

"Here here!"

The three of them met and began strolling slowly around the night market.

As for Rax, he gradually learned what had happened to them during this period and felt so sore that his teeth almost fell out.

It turned out that after Rax helped them solve the problem with the North Nose Group, the group was actually sold to the famous Dr. Yamanashi Research Institute.

After Rax left, the Yamanashi Research Institute sent someone over again, saying that they wanted to buy the entire mine.

At first, Aze was reluctant because he was a serious miner and didn't want to lose his old profession.

But Dr. Yamanashi offered too much money.

Then, after receiving a large sum of money and no longer worrying about food and clothing, the young couple began traveling around the world.

And their first stop happened to be the annual Black Gold Festival in Black Gold City!

When Rax heard this, he could only click his tongue and say nothing.

It's true that different people have different fates, and he could only envy them.

"By the way, did they say why they were selling the mine?"

Rax asked casually.

"I heard that in order to study the evolution method of the North Nose Pokémon, they also hired many old miners to help them mine."

Harumi said nonchalantly, and then her attention was drawn to the squid skewers next to her.

"Helping them dig?"

Rax was thoughtful and immediately guessed that Dr. Yamanashi's current research direction seemed to be...

Not quite right!

Do they think the ore in the mine is special?

Are they trying to study the composition of the minerals?