Scott's mentality was slightly crumbling at the moment. He had already lost two battles in a row, which wasn't a big deal in itself—after all, wins and losses were part of the game.
But what if those two losses came with the added sting of his opponents winning effortlessly? How would that make him feel?
Losing twice would be easier to swallow if his opponents had barely scraped by. At least then, he'd feel like with a little more effort, he could have turned the tide.
Unfortunately, he didn't even have that consolation.
Even though his Pokémon were around the same level, he had been utterly crushed.
In the first battle, his Charizard had even Mega Evolved, reaching the peak of Elite-tier—yet it still lost to a Level 74 Kartana.
Staring at Julian's annoyingly youthful face and realizing that this guy was the son of his own classmate—Scott's heart was like fragile glass, on the verge of shattering into pieces.
Thankfully, he wasn't some rookie. After decades of grueling battles to reach the Elite rank, even if his mental state crumbled for a moment, he was able to quickly snap himself back into focus.
On the other side, Julian had already sent out his third Pokémon.
---
Pokémon: Steelix (Steel/Ground)
Level: 75
Potential: Blue
Ability: Rock Head
Held Item: Metal Coat
Gender: Male
Moves: Thunder Fang, Ice Fang, Fire Fang, Rock Polish, Tackle, Bind, Rock Throw, Autotomize, Iron Tail, Tail Whip, Dragon Breath, Earthquake, Rock Slide, Crunch, Harden, Smack Down, Sand Tomb, Stealth Rock, Screech, Slam, Sandstorm, Dig, Stone Edge, Curse
TMs: Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Protect, Wide Guard, Heavy Slam, Breaking Swipe, High Horsepower, Body Slam, Dragon Pulse, Rollout, Drill Run, Rock Blast, Bulldoze
Egg Moves: Defense Curl, Double-Edge, Head Smash, Dragon Tail
Note: After absorbing the Blacklight Core, the Pokémon continuously absorbs sunlight to restore its stamina (limited to Steel- and Rock-types)
---
A massive Steelix, 13 meters long—four meters longer than average—loomed imposingly. It stood tall and proud, its burning gaze fixed on its opponent, determined to secure a victory for its trainer.
Steelix: 'Just send a weak one, and leave the strong ones for boss Metagross.'
Steelix's greatest wish in life was to follow its Trainer around and eat delicious, nutritious Pokéblocks every day.
Simple desires… or maybe not so simple.
BAM—
Scott's Poké Ball opened.
A Pokémon with flames flickering around its neck appeared opposite Steelix.
---
Pokémon: Emboar (Fire/Fighting)
Level: 76
Potential: Cyan
Ability: Blaze
Held Item: Charcoal
Gender: Male
Moves: Arm Thrust, Hammer Arm, Tackle, Ember, Defense Curl, Flame Charge, Odor Sleuth, Smog, Heat Crash, Assurance, Rollout, Take Down, Flamethrower, Head Smash
TMs: Protect, Work Up, Bulk Up, Hyper Beam, Earthquake, Brick Break, Fire Blast, Low Sweep, Overheat, Focus Blast
Egg Moves: Superpower, Heavy Slam, Sucker Punch, Will-O-Wisp
---
This Emboar was exceptionally well-developed, standing at roughly two meters tall, with two razor-sharp tusks glinting menacingly at its mouth.
Emboar: 'Damn, that's a big guy. Not sure if I can take it… Wait, that color—Steel-type? Oh, this won't be a problem.'
Scott: "Emboar, believe in yourself! You can do this!"
His Emboar's biggest flaw was its lack of confidence—it needed a little extra motivation.
"If you win, I'll take you to Charmander's Grill and let you eat until you burst!"
Julian blinked. 'That's gonna cost a fortune.'
Charmander's Grill was a famous gourmet Pokémon restaurant, known for meals specifically tailored to Pokémon. Even the cheapest dish cost tens of thousands, and portions were tiny.
Given Emboar's appetite, a single meal could easily rack up millions in bills.
Emboar: 'LET'S GOOO!'
The flames around its neck flared up with renewed intensity. It looked at Steelix now not as an opponent—but as a walking meal ticket.
Steelix turned to glance at Julian, its expression saying: 'Aren't you going to bribe me?'
Julian: "If you lose, you're going hungry tonight."
Steelix: (⊙_⊙)⁉
Scott froze for a second upon hearing Julian's words, as if a lightbulb had gone off in his head. Maybe motivating Emboar this way would actually work!
Well, at least it was clearly working on Steelix.
Steelix: 'You're not leaving this battlefield standing!'
With a slam of its massive tail, the ground cracked open—sharp, jagged rocks rose around Steelix in a deadly halo.
Stone Edge tore through the air.
Emboar blurred into motion, its fists becoming shadows as it Brick Breaked the flying stone blades into rubble.
A bulky guy—but surprisingly nimble.
'FOR TODAY'S MEAL!!!'
With an internal roar, Steelix charged forward like a runaway train—its massive head carrying the force of a high-speed collision. Though not as fast as an actual train—but the impact force was many times more devastating.
The sheer pressure from Steelix's Double-Edge made Emboar tense up.
"Emboar, Rock Tomb!"
Emboar stomped hard with its left foot, causing jagged rocks to erupt from the ground in Steelix's path—an improvised barricade.
Normally Rock Tomb was used to block escape routes, but here, it acted like speed bumps across a road.
Steelix shattered the rocks as it charged through—but by the time it reached Emboar, the power of its Double-Edge had dropped to nearly half.
Emboar raised its massive arm and brought it down in a vertical strike. Brick Break collided with Steelix's charge, stopping it just in time.
Still, the impact sent Emboar sliding back dozens of meters—its heels digging into the earth, carving two deep trenches.
Thanks to Steelix's Rock Head ability, it took no recoil damage from Double-Edge.
Steelix wasn't stupid—this was just the opening exchange. Why would it recklessly use a move that hurt itself too?
Still, it hadn't expected Emboar to actually block its Double-Edge.
Emboar, on the other hand, was grimacing. Its palm stung like hell—when it used Brick Break, it felt like it had just punched a solid diamond.
At least it had managed to stop the charging behemoth.
Without hesitation, it clenched its fist, flames erupting around Emboar's knuckles as it drove a Fire Punch straight into Steelix's face at point-blank range.
Steelix let out a low grunt as pain seared through its head, the impact knocking its massive body backward seven or eight meters.
It gave its head a shake and glared at Emboar.
"Such strong defense…"
Scott's expression darkened.
That Fire Punch had been executed with Emboar's full power—it was strong enough to punch through a meter-thick steel plate. And yet, all it did was push Steelix back a few meters.
And judging by Steelix's reaction, it had barely taken any actual damage from the hit.
Among Steelix's base stats, Defense was by far the highest. Breaking through that with just a Fire Punch? That was wishful thinking.
Steelix had felt the pain—sure—but it was more annoyed than injured.
With a furious hiss, Steelix whipped its massive tail around, the appendage gleaming with a metallic sheen. Power rippled through its segmented body, each coil amplifying the force until—
CRACK!
Iron Tail—refined to its absolute peak—lashed out like a silver lightning bolt, faster than Emboar could react.
*****
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