WebNovels

Chapter 218 - 218. Demon King

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After Solrock—his Pokemon with the best chance of victory—was defeated, Fisher's remaining two Pokemon were Jynx and Xatu, both completely disadvantaged against Metagross due to type matchups.

His other Pokemon faced similar disadvantages, and these two already represented his strongest options in terms of overall capabilities.

However, whether it was Jynx or Xatu, when their attack power was reduced to twenty-five percent effectiveness, they couldn't even scratch Metagross's defenses.

Unable to break through its defensive capabilities meant they could only endure one-sided beatings. The gap in power was enormous, and the battles held no suspense whatsoever.

The terrifying defensive capabilities of Roy's shiny Metagross, combined with its surprising burst speed and devastating close-range destructive power, left an indelible impression on everyone present.

Many team members from other schools watching the competition frantically took notes, desperately trying to devise potential countermeasures.

Perhaps they could swap defensive stats using Wonder Room, similar to what some trainers used with Bronzong?

No, that wouldn't work either.

Considering Metagross's overwhelming resistance to Psychic-type moves and its incredibly strong mental fortitude, the energy cost of successfully using Wonder Room would be prohibitively high, making the strategy counterproductive.

Even Metagross's traditional weakness to fire-type attacks had been completely overcome.

Special moves that required extensive charging time might theoretically break through its defenses, but given this Metagross's incredible speed, opponents would clearly never have the opportunity to execute such techniques.

It was essentially perfect.

Compared to Blastoise's defense, which relied on its shell and defensive moves, this Metagross possessed seamless protection with no apparent weaknesses.

In terms of pure defensive capability, this Metagross far surpassed even the Blastoise that had appeared earlier. It had become the ultimate shield of Roy's team.

"This is impossible to counter," many contestants began to despair.

They had been shocked when Metagross demonstrated professional-level strength earlier, but now they felt this level of defense transcended what professional-level Pokemon should be capable of. It was simply outrageous.

At the guest table, Sebastian recognized the underlying mechanics at work.

"Steel that has been tempered thousands of times—pure condensed power," he observed quietly.

Highly compressed steel-type energy was contained within every cell of Metagross's body, making its physical form extraordinarily durable.

The racial advantages possessed by pseudo-legendary Pokemon already gave Metagross defensive capabilities far superior to others at the same level. Combined with the enhancement from its Totem aura and mastery of advanced steel-type energy manipulation, its defensive power seemed to have exceeded the theoretical limits of the professional level.

"How did you manage such training..." Sebastian wondered silently.

There were two distinct paths to achieving advanced energy mastery.

The optimization path involving energy integration was like a technical skill requiring deep understanding and natural talent. If someone possessed exceptional energy manipulation gifts, it wasn't impossible to master such techniques before reaching the professional level—much like Roy's Mimikyu had demonstrated.

However, an optimization path like Metagross required extremely robust physical conditioning and external pressure far beyond normal limits.

For example, some fire-type Pokemon dove into lava depths to temper their flames, seeking the extreme pressure of harsh environments.

To survive such external pressure, Pokemon typically needed at least professional-level physical capabilities.

This was why most Pokemon needed to reach the professional stage before attempting to master advanced energy techniques.

Here lay the problem.

This Metagross was obviously still at the amateur level, with insufficient physical development. How could it possibly adapt to such extreme training conditions?

Moreover, the external pressure required to temper steel-type energy to advanced levels within just four months would be absolutely terrifying.

Sebastian knew Roy possessed methods to restore vitality, which could address stamina issues—as long as the training didn't kill the Pokemon, it could push through extreme limits.

But for the latter requirement, Sebastian could only attribute it to Mew's guidance.

"As expected of the strongest legendary Pokemon," Sebastian's respect for Mew reached new heights.

In the national competition, when Central University had held early advantages, Roy completed a one-versus-three sweep, crushing the entire opposing team with absolute dominance.

Once this news was confirmed and spread, the internet erupted with excitement.

"Three professional-level Pokemon, each with unique tactics, far superior to others at their level..."

"I'm speechless. What exactly has Roy been doing these past few months?"

"Didn't the pre-match interview mention wanting to change the world's perception of trainer-Pokemon relationships?"

"That's true... I can't understand their relationship anymore."

"Same here. Looking at my Grumpig that's been stuck without a breakthrough for five years, I seriously suspect I'm not actually a trainer—just a caretaker. I'm not raising Pokemon; I'm just feeding pigs..."

"Five years without breakthrough? My Butterfree has been stagnant for seven years! What career exam should I take? Might as well go home and raise livestock! Haha! (I'm totally fine!)"

Everyone found Roy increasingly incomprehensible, unable to determine where his limits might lie.

When he first participated in regional competitions, he hadn't even met Peak trainer standards, with strength far below prestigious school team captains like Elon.

Yet afterward, his power climbed steadily like a rocket launching into space.

In the span of half a year, he had already surpassed the ceiling called the National Competition.

Team captains who once seemed unreachable were now no match for him individually.

Professional-level Pokemon that once required careful strategizing and tactical planning were now merely obstacles to be crushed effortlessly.

Everyone had recognized him as a future star, but the anticipated future was arriving far too quickly, so fast it felt surreal.

That evening, as team battles were about to begin, shocking news broke, causing internet discussions to explode.

Takeshi Aihara had chosen to forfeit due to personal reasons. Since his withdrawal wasn't due to force majeure circumstances, Central University couldn't field substitute players.

"What? He's not fighting?"

"Did he get beaten into depression?"

"I always thought Roy was extraordinary, but he does have one minor flaw—his opponents keep giving up."

When Roy received this news, he was in his personal lounge, helping Metagross polish its metallic body with a towel. The Pokemon enjoyed maintaining its lustrous appearance.

"Brother Aihara's stress tolerance isn't very good," Roy commented casually, not paying much attention to the development.

While Takeshi Aihara unilaterally viewed him as a formidable rival, Roy himself harbored no such feelings. It wasn't uncommon for rivals to become discouraged—every generation produced such cases.

In the current national competition, only one person truly qualified as Roy's rival: Dragon King Henry.

His opponent was also someone who had transcended the national competition ceiling, crushing his entire generation.

Henry was the first person in China to obtain master certification before university graduation.

Many believed Henry's talent even exceeded that of his legendary father.

Roy applied shower gel and created bubbles all over Metagross while praising, "Your performance in today's first competition was excellent."

"Hmm!" Metagross rumbled contentedly, closing its eyes in pleasure.

Metagross had been the latest team member to reach its species potential limit, but it had also broken through the accumulation period fastest—completing the transition in just one month.

The racial advantages of pseudo-legendary Pokemon, combined with a massive body perfectly suited for Totem aura enhancement, plus Mega Evolution potential—with such exceptional qualifications, even Roy found its progress rate somewhat outrageous.

In terms of raw power, it had already surpassed both Blastoise and Mimikyu, ranking just below Lucario in the team hierarchy.

Lucario's position as strongest team member was under threat again, and Metagross had been giving it strange looks recently.

No wonder so many trainers, even after reaching professional level, desperately desired pseudo-legendary Pokemon and willingly invested enormous resources to train them from scratch.

Pseudo-legendary Pokemon, especially those with exceptional potential, were genuinely national treasure-level existences—not merely cute mascots.

Night fell, and team battles soon commenced.

Having lost Takeshi Aihara's support, combined with the crushing individual competition defeat, Central University team morale had plummeted dramatically.

Targeting this psychological weakness, Roy chose to lead the assault himself.

He didn't deploy his team battle core Ninetales, instead directly sending out his Mega Evolution trio: Lucario, Metagross, and Blastoise.

Team battle system? There was no formal system to consider—only the instinctive cooperation achieved through waveguide connection.

With overwhelming strength and perfect coordination, even without specialized team battle formations, Roy completed another crushing one-versus-four victory.

His effortless dominance made everyone certain that had Takeshi Aihara participated, Roy would likely have achieved a complete one-versus-five sweep.

The competition concluded.

Central University lost both individual and team battles decisively. There would be no overtime opportunities.

"We lost..." Captain Fisher spoke in a dazed voice, as if awakening from a dream to face harsh reality.

Although group stage matches continued, only one team per group would advance.

Given Roy's current terrifying strength that crushed his entire generation, no one believed he would be eliminated here.

This meant Central University was eliminated! Under Caroline's leadership, Central University—which had won two consecutive championships—achieved the historic dishonor of first-round elimination during her tenure.

The twenty-year championship dominance shared between League University and Central University had ended!

Central University's sixty-year record of never being eliminated in group stages was broken!

After the match, Central University officials and students wailed in despair.

They openly declared this the "darkest year" in school history.

No—perhaps the "darkest four years," given Roy's age.

Simultaneously, everyone realized one crucial fact: a new king had been born.

Roy was no longer merely a future star, but a powerhouse who had genuinely realized significant portions of his potential.

That talent, sufficient to make other trainers lose confidence entirely, had fully confirmed his status as the new "Demon King" of competitive Pokemon battling.

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