Just as Leafeon's Leaf Blade was about to slash into Mega Metagross, its Ice Punch landed on Leafeon first.
An extreme chill instantly erupted from Mega Metagross's claw, accompanied by tremendous force.
Although Metagross wasn't an Ice-type Pokémon, the power of its Ice-type moves was no weaker than that of a true Ice-type.
However, Metagross could only learn two Ice-type moves: Ice Punch and Icy Wind.
If it wanted to learn a third Ice-type move, Julian would have to "cheat" for it.
The freezing energy rapidly spread across most of Leafeon's body. It felt as if even its blood was about to freeze solid.
But despite that, its Leaf Blade didn't stop just because of the Ice Punch.
BOOM!!
The Leaf Blade still landed squarely on Mega Metagross's forehead. Its razor-sharp edge carved out a nasty gash in that metallic skull.
Metal shards flew in every direction, as Mega Metagross was sent flying by the force of the attack.
"Meta-!"
Mega Metagross let out a low, pained growl.
A fist-sized dent was now visible on its forehead, but no blood flowed out—after all, Metagross doesn't have blood.
Julian clenched his fists. Leafeon's tenacity had exceeded his expectations. Mega Metagross had already taken significant damage, though Leafeon wasn't in great shape either.
By this point, its injuries were piling up, and its stamina was rapidly depleting. The earlier Ice Punch had also dealt it considerable damage.
Feeling the pain coursing through its body, Mega Metagross's gaze grew colder and more savage. The violent temper hidden deep within its heart started to rise.
Its aura started turning more and more violent, as waves of invisible energy rippled around it.
The ground beneath it began to cave in under the pressure, while bits of stone defied gravity and hovered in the air.
Leafeon narrowed its eyes: 'Is it about to unleash a big move?'
Sensing the overwhelmingly frenzied power gathering around Mega Metagross, Leafeon's expression also turned grim.
It started absorbing sunlight at a speed visible to the naked eye. The air around it shimmered and warped—the clear sign that a Solar Beam was coming.
"META!"
Mega Metagross thrust its four limbs forward, generating immense propulsion. Its claws tore through the air as its body transformed into a silver streak of light.
Giga Impact!!
The air in front of it seemed to solidify under the force of the charge, with continuous sonic booms echoing as the shockwaves shattered the ground and carved deep trenches in the earth below.
"FEON!"
With a furious cry, Leafeon finished charging its Solar Beam.
A blinding beam of light shot from its mouth, tearing through the air with terrifying speed—the sonic boom of its passage followed a heartbeat later.
In an instant, Giga Impact and Solar Beam collided in midair.
BOOM!!!
A thunderous explosion roared across the surrounding, the deafening sound making Julian momentarily lose his hearing—his entire head buzzed and rang violently. If he hadn't instinctively clutched Dragonite's back for support, he might've collapsed right there.
The massive shockwave of sound rippled outward, shattering windows across half of Havenburg and even knocking out many people and weaker Pokémon.
But this was only the beginning.
The deafening boom was just the appetizer—the real horror was the aftershock unleashed by the collision of the two moves.
Under its force, the earth split apart violently. Countless trees and boulders were obliterated, reducing everything within dozens of kilometers to ruins.
It was as if humanity's most devastating weapon had just detonated.
The shockwave, like the initial blast, continued expanding outward in all directions.
The citizens of Havenburg were still reeling from the thunderous noise when a white, slicing force approached from the distance.
At the outermost edge of the city, buildings were cleanly sliced in half. Houses, shops—entire streets began crumbling in huge sections.
These collapsing structures crushed roads, cars, and fleeing pedestrians alike.
"Help!!"
"Run! The Drakorian must be attacking us!"
"Where are our trainers?! Why aren't they protecting us?!"
Panic and chaos consumed the entire city.
Julian and William had deliberately chosen to fight far from the city, deep in the mountain forest. Yet, even at such a distance, the full-power clash between Mega Metagross and Leafeon still reached the city.
Had this battle taken place inside Havenburg, the entire city would have been wiped out in an instant from that single exchange.
This was why no nation dared provoke a Champion—because a Champion-level Pokémon was nothing short of a walking natural disaster.
If a Champion truly sought to destroy a city, stopping them would be nearly impossible.
Unlike an enemy missile, which could be detected and intercepted, a Champion-level Trainer could just walk right in. If they used even the slightest disguise, you'd never find them in time without prior intel.
That's why Champions were known as living natural disasters—or, as many called them, walking nuclear weapons.
Because of Mega Metagross going "berserk", the power of its Giga Impact had reached true Champion-level, and its clash with Leafeon's Solar Beam was so massive that even Jake's Mega Metagross and Serperior were forced to halt their own battle.
Both of them instinctively turned to look toward Julian's side of the field.
"Damn, that's my blood right there," Jake muttered to himself, pride glinting in his eyes. "That raw power… he's almost catching up to me when I was his age."
Skarmory beneath him: 'Have a little shame, will you?'
Watching Leafeon still locked in a head-on clash with Mega Metagross's Giga Impact, William looked extremely tense.
If Leafeon lost now, his fate wouldn't be any better—he'd almost certainly end up dead too.
Leafeon had to win. If it didn't, he was done for.
"You can do it…"
William whispered under his breath, almost like a prayer.
On the other side, Julian was just as focused, his eyes locked on the clash. Victory or defeat hinged on this moment. Mega Metagross had went all in for this Giga Impact. If this failed, even if it still had some energy left, it wouldn't have the strength to keep fighting.
The same went for Leafeon.
This was now a battle of endurance and raw power.
Greater endurance meant holding the move longer.
Greater power meant higher chances of overwhelming the opponent.
From the looks of it, though, their endurance and power were neck-and-neck.
Mega Metagross's Giga Impact couldn't fully overpower Leafeon's Solar Beam—and Leafeon couldn't push Mega Metagross back either.
"A battle of stamina, huh? My Metagross won't lose that." Julian clenched his fists, muttering under his breath.
Almost as if responding to his words, the stalemate began to shift.
The Giga Impact slowly began to push Solar Beam back, inching closer and closer to Leafeon.
The intensity of Solar Beam was clearly weakening.
After all, the sunlight Leafeon had absorbed was finite, and it was finally running dry.
*****
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