Watching Leafeon and Serperior, Julian clenched his fist slightly, while Metagross floated in front of him, its gaze as calm as ever.
As Julian threw a Poké Ball, a red Moltres soared into the sky.
Metagross: Level 80, peak Elite-level.
Moltres: Level 85, mid Pseudo-Champion-level.
Julian had no intention of sending out his other Pokémon—firstly, their strength posed no threat to these two Champion-level Pokémon, and secondly, William wasn't without other Pokémon himself.
If Julian sent out more Pokémon to overwhelm William with numbers, William would surely respond in kind, which would only put Julian at a greater disadvantage.
Moltres did have a type advantage over Leafeon and Serperior, which could slightly narrow the gap between them.
"Metagross, Mega Evolve!"
A multicolored light descended as Metagross's level temporarily rose from 80 to 82, reaching Pseudo-Champion early stage.
"Truly an exceptional Pokémon," William remarked, looking at Mega Metagross as if admiring a flawless work of art.
In his eyes, even the legendary Moltres or the two Champion-level Pokémon before him paled in comparison to Mega Metagross.
"Meta!"
Mega Metagross: "Like I need you to say that."
With that, Mega Metagross vanished from its original position, while Moltres unleashed a searing Flamethrower at Leafeon.
Julian's two Pokémon had initiated the first strike.
At the same time, Julian swiftly mounted his Dragonite to avoid getting caught in the crossfire of the battle.
On the opposing side, William sent out a Gardevoir.
Two Champion-tier Pokémon and two Pseudo-Champion-tier Pokémon—once the battle truly began, any trainer without strong self-defense capabilities risked being killed by a single stray attack.
Moltres's Flamethrower was sliced in half by Leafeon's Leaf Blade, and the attack didn't stop there—the Leaf Blade continued toward Moltres, though the fiery bird managed to narrowly dodged it.
Meanwhile, Mega Metagross had already teleported to Leafeon's left side. Compared to Serperior, Leafeon's strength was slightly weaker.
So the two Pokémon's strategy was to focus fire on Leafeon first.
Mega Metagross's Meteor Mash hurtled toward Leafeon's side, the sheer force causing the air to crackle. At the same time, Serperior's Iron Tail came slashing down toward Mega Metagross, attempting to force it to abandon its attack on Leafeon.
But as the Iron Tail closed in, Mega Metagross showed no signs of halting its Meteor Mash.
This made both Serperior and Leafeon's expressions change slightly.
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion erupted.
Meteor Mash, amplified by the Tough Claws ability, struck Leafeon's side with the force of a falling comet.
Though Leafeon was a Champion-level Pokémon, it wasn't known for its defense. Under the crushing impact of Meteor Mash, its small body was sent flying like a shooting star, embedding itself deep into the mountainside.
At the same time, Mega Metagross was also struck by Serperior's Iron Tail, its massive body slammed heavily into the ground, causing the entire area to shake like an earthquake.
Serperior couldn't believe that Mega Metagross had really chosen to tank its Iron Tail just to injure Leafeon.
'Where did this confidence come from? I'm a Champion-level Pokémon, and you're just a measly Pseudo-Champion!'
It was certain that, after taking its Iron Tail head-on, even if Mega Metagross didn't die, it would be gravely wounded.
'To pay such a steep price just to wound Leafeon—you can't even trade one-for-one. How foolish.'
Leafeon, which was smashed more than ten meters deep into the mountainside, had indeed taken some damage, but it was far from the point of not being able to stand up.
Inside the shattered rock, Leafeon seethed with humiliation—it had been struck first! Just as it was about to force its way out, a torrent of crimson flames surged through the hole it had created.
These bastards!
Serperior retaliated by firing a barrage of Seed Bombs at Moltres, each one the size of a soccer ball.
A single one of these Seed Bombs packed the destructive power of a small explosive—and there were over a dozen of them.
If these bombs were unleashed upon a city, they could easily reduce it to ruins.
While a First-class Legendary could effortlessly annihilate a small-to-medium-sized nation, a Champion-tier Pokémon could raze an entire city without breaking a sweat.
If Moltres didn't dodge these Seed Bombs, it would undoubtedly suffer heavy damage.
Yet, Moltres showed no intention of evading.
Serperior: 'It's not going to dodge either?'
"Meta!"
Mega Metagross: "Because I'm here."
Hearing that voice in its ears, Serperior's expression shifted. It looked at Mega Metagross in front of it in disbelief.
'How is this thing not down yet? My Iron Tail hit it dead-on!'
Metagross's unique shiny trait was its doubled defensive capabilities, further enhanced by Julian's extensive investment in its training and resources.
Even though Serperior was a Champion-level Pokémon, expecting to incapacitate or severely injure Mega Metagross with a single Iron Tail was simply unrealistic.
Maybe if it had been a mid-stage Champion, it could have pulled it off.
Among Champion-level Pokémon, the gap between each level was massive.
Mega Metagross used Protect, shielding Moltres from the Seed Bombs. After six consecutive explosions, the barrier shattered—but the remaining seven Seed Bombs slammed directly into Mega Metagross without exception.
At this point, damage finally started to appear on its body—its silver frame now showed several scorched marks.
What Mega Metagross had bought in exchange was Moltres's continuous Flamethrower assault.
By now, the small mountain had melted into a pool of magma under the intense heat. Yet, Leafeon emerged unscathed, shielded by its Protect, its gaze locked coldly onto Moltres.
Seeing this, William let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Mega Metagross had blocked Serperior twice just to let Moltres deal enough damage to Leafeon—he had really been worried that Leafeon might be too badly injured to fight at full strength.
Fortunately, Leafeon was fine.
Instead, it was Mega Metagross that ended up wounded.
On Julian's side, he sighed inwardly.
As expected, facing two early-stage Champion-level Pokémon at once was proving very difficult for him. If it was just one, things would have been so much easier.
"Leafeon!"
Leafeon stepped out from the molten rock, its protective barrier flickering before fading. Its eyes burned with cold fury as it glared at Moltres.
Had it not been for its sheer strength, it might have truly fallen for that trap.
It had noticed something unusual—Moltres's Flamethrower was abnormally hot. Normally, it shouldn't have been possible to melt an entire mountain into lava in mere seconds.
If its opponent was at late pseudo-Champion level, with its type advantage and that freakishly intense Flamethrower… it really could have been in serious trouble.
"Metagross, Moltres—stall for time."
Julian quietly transmitted a command to his two Pokémon.
He was waiting for his father—once his father arrived, these two Champion-level Pokémon would be nothing to worry about.
Meanwhile, Jake was still en route…
*****
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