A water-type trainer who specializes in dragon-type water.

Just as both battlefields reached a fever pitch, and everyone's attention was highly focused—

A sudden change occurred!

A shadow sphere, solidified to almost black with its edges burning with chilling purple flames, silently tore through the gray mist of the spirit world like a venomous snake lurking in the abyss.

At an extremely tricky angle, he shot directly from below at the back of the helmeted man who was intently watching the crack and the battle situation at the edge of the battlefield!

An unethical sneak attack!

A fatal blow from Zhang Heng!

The shadow ball was extremely fast. By the time the sound of it cutting through the air reached the helmeted man's ears, the destructive energy had almost touched his combat suit!

The helmeted man was terrified; his face beneath the helmet turned deathly pale instantly! He had no time to react at all!

However, just as the Shadow Ball was about to hit—

"sand…!"

The Poké Ball on his waist popped open automatically, and a yellowish-brown light flashed!

A seemingly inconspicuous yellow clod of earth made of sand suddenly appeared and expanded, deformed, and piled up at an incredible speed!

In the blink of an eye, a miniature, earthen castle phantom, riddled with eerie window holes and broken walls, firmly protected the helmeted man in the center!

Rumble, rumble—! ! !

The solidified shadow ball slammed into the suddenly appearing earthen castle, creating a deafening explosion!

The violent ghostly energy mixed with earth and rock debris and burst out in all directions, the powerful shockwaves blowing away the nearby gray mist.

As the smoke and dust cleared, the walls of the earthen castle were seen to be covered with cracks and teetering on the verge of collapse, but ultimately they did not completely crumble.

Although the helmeted man hiding inside was shaken so badly that his blood was churning, his combat suit was torn, and he looked disheveled, he miraculously escaped unharmed!

"As expected... it's Lord Shishabao again!" In the distance, Zhang Heng, who was concealing his figure with the help of Duolongqi's ability, had a cold look in his eyes and was not surprised at all.

Zhang Heng knew that the helmeted man was a Ground-type trainer whose main Pokémon was Steelix, but that didn't mean he didn't have any Ground/Ghost-type Pokémon that could be surprisingly effective in this space.

"Lord Sand Eater, although this spirit world environment lacks substantial earth, it is rich in ghost-type energy, which may actually strengthen its ghost-type defenses..."

His smile widened: "However... there's no limit to the number of times you can launch a sneak attack."

Almost as the aftershocks of the Shadow Sphere explosion had not yet completely subsided, and the helmeted man was still in shock—

"Ouch——!"

A clear, resounding dragon roar filled with fighting spirit rang out! Dorgonchi's figure leaped out of the void like a purple lightning bolt, his body entwined with a dense, impenetrable deep purple phantom energy.

It transformed itself completely into a drill, unleashing a stealthy attack with a strange power that could pierce through reality and illusion, launching a second, even more deadly assault on the already cracked earthen castle!

This strike was swift, accurate, and ruthless!

It points directly to the sand castle that Lord Sand Eater has gathered!

The helmeted man looked out through the window formed by the Sand Eater's Castle, and then let out a desperate roar.

"Do not!!"

The crumbling phantom of the Sand Eater Lord let out a silent wail. Faced with this Ghost-type move, which was also incredibly powerful, it had no way to avoid it!

"rustle!!"

The Sand Devourer could only frantically draw energy from the spirit world, trying to solidify itself to withstand the attack.

"boom--!!!"

The purple drill bit plunged deep into the earthen castle!

This time, there was no earth-shattering explosion, only a tooth-grinding, tearing sound, as if space itself was being ripped apart.

The phantom of the earthen castle shattered instantly like a burst bubble, turning into scattered yellow sand and dissipating ghostly light spots.

The Sand Eater Lord's true form—a smaller, cracked sandcastle with dim eyes and a small shovel stuck in its top—let out a mournful cry.

"rustle……"

Along with the helmeted man who was protected by its remaining power, they plummeted straight down to a smaller floating platform below, like a kite with a broken string.

"Boom——!!!"

A heavy impact rang out, kicking up clouds of dust.

Dragon and Ghost type Pokémon have a strange trait: they are not immune to moves of their own type.

Ghost-type moves are extremely effective against Ghost-type Pokémon!

Two rounds of precise, swift, and deadly sneak attacks left Lord Sand Eater near his limit, completely incapacitated, though he wasn't killed outright.

Only a patch of yellow sand remained, shifting across the ground.

Amidst the dust, the helmeted man coughed up blood, struggling to prop himself up with his hands.

He then quickly reached for his waist, took the Poké Ball, and threw it with all his might.

"Boom..."

A flash of white light appeared, and a creature whose body was made up of many huge gray rocks, its form resembling a giant snake Pokémon, made its appearance—it was Steelix!

The giant steel snake quickly coiled its massive body, like a loyal guard protecting the helmeted man in the center.

Seeing his ace Pokémon appear brought the helmeted man some comfort.

He then looked at the Sand Eater Lord beside him, who was on the verge of death and almost falling apart.

Looking up at the battle above, Mega Eel King was no match for Ampharos, nearly dying from severe injuries. Now it could only barely survive a two-on-one fight.

Although the gigantic Dusknoir had the upper hand, it was also tightly entangled by the terrifying Mega Charizard X and unable to break free.

As for himself, one of his greatest assets in the spirit world was instantly crippled, and the attacker lurked in the shadows, watching with predatory intent...

The shadow of death had never loomed over him so clearly and intensely.

"who!!"

"who is it!!"

"Get out here, you son of a bitch!!"

Extreme fear once again overwhelmed all reason and restraint, turning into hysterical screams, as if to embolden oneself, but in reality, they were of no use.

Then, the helmeted man suddenly turned his head toward the eighth divine being of the Creation Palace, Electric Fiend, who was struggling to hold on but still holding back.

With all his remaining strength, he let out another heart-wrenching, desperate roar:

"Electric Shock!! Stop fucking hiding!!"

"Where's your mythical beast?!"

"Quickly! Release them!!"

"Send them all out!!!"

His voice, distorted by fear and injury, sounded particularly mournful in the deathly silence of the spirit world.

"If we hold back any longer... we'll really die here!!!"

Upon hearing his shout, Dian Sha frowned and inwardly grumbled.

"Idiot..."

Electric Fiend felt that this was not the time to bring out the divine beast for a head-on battle.

What he wanted was to find an opportunity for the mythical beast to help him escape this area. He did have a mythical beast, but the East China champion didn't.

He was far inferior to the Second Divine Punishment - Myriad Manifestations and the Fourth Divine Punishment - Mad Vine. Even the Fourth Divine Punishment had died on the spot, and he did not want to become the second member of the Creation Temple to perish.