As soon as Steven finished speaking, he slowly reached out, his fingertips lightly touching the Poké Ball at his waist.
With a sudden flash of dazzling white light, it was as if a miniature sun had risen in the depths of the cave; the intense glare almost forced one to squint subconsciously.
As the light faded slightly, a steel behemoth far larger than an ordinary Metagross appeared in the cave's clearing, floating steadily a few centimeters above the ground, radiating a suffocating sense of pressure.
That was Steven's shiny Metagross.
Unlike the blue appearance of a normal Metagross, this one's body presented a deep and brilliant silver, with a strange luster flowing over its metallic frame, sparkling in the dim light of the cave.
Its four steel claws shimmered with a cold edge, and its red eyes shone like jewels, vigilantly scanning the surroundings, its entire being exuding an aura both powerful and mysterious.
Just by standing there, this shiny Metagross displayed an indescribable regal bearing—
It was the weighted presence accumulated after countless top-tier battles and standing alongside its master at the peak of Hoenn.
Even without releasing any skills, its mere existence was enough to silence the surrounding wild Pokémon; the faint Bug Buzz and crawling sounds originally heard deep in the cave had long since vanished without a trace.
Lionel's breath hitched. "Is this... a Champion's Pokémon?"
Lionel murmured to himself, an unprecedented pressure weighing on his heart like something physical.
The Feebas in the inflatable fish tank on his chest also seemed to feel this powerful aura; originally circling energetically in the tank, it now went quiet.
Its small body curled up at the bottom of the tank, revealing only its round eyes as it peeked timidly at the massive creature.
But even so, it didn't seem to back down completely, occasionally puffing out its small gills as if cheering itself up.
The livestream's bullet chat exploded once more the moment the shiny Metagross appeared, with dense text almost swallowing the entire screen:
"My god! A shiny Metagross! Steven's shiny Metagross!"
"As expected of Steven's ace. This aura... I feel like I'm suffocating just watching through the screen."
"Now the streamer's test feels even more impossible... This is a shiny Metagross!"
"Forget about hurting it, can Feebas even last ten seconds in front of it? I have my doubts."
"Even though it's hard, I still want to cheer for the streamer! What if there's a miracle?"
"A miracle? Facing a Champion-level Metagross, I'm afraid even a miracle won't help..."
Steven looked at Lionel's slightly tense expression, his tone remaining calm:
"Are you ready? Metagross will not attack proactively; it will only defend. You can rest assured and let your Pokémon use its skills."
This news allowed Lionel to breathe a small sigh of relief.
If Metagross attacked proactively, with Feebas's current strength, it probably wouldn't be able to withstand even a single blow.
But even so, wounding a Champion-level Metagross that was fully focused on defense was still an almost impossible task.
Lionel took a deep breath, gently placed the inflatable fish tank on the ground, knelt down, and looked at the Feebas inside, saying softly:
"Feebas, I'm counting on you. You're the best. No matter the result, let's show Champion Steven our strength!"
Feebas seemed to understand Lionel's words. It gently flicked its tail, jumped out of the tank, and rubbed its head against Lionel's hand in response to the encouragement.
In those eyes that originally held timidness, a trace of determination seemed to appear.
"Alright, let's begin!" Lionel stood up, his gaze becoming sharp. "Feebas, first use Icy Wind!"
Feebas nodded and suddenly opened its mouth, a white current of air carrying a chill sprayed from its mouth, blowing toward Metagross.
While this Icy Wind wasn't particularly powerful, it carried enough of a chill to make ordinary Pokémon feel uncomfortable.
However, facing this Icy Wind, the shiny Metagross didn't even make a move, simply floating there quietly.
The cold air blew onto Metagross's body, only condensing a thin layer of frost on the surface, but after just a second, the frost melted under the faint heat radiating from Metagross's body, causing no substantial damage.
There was no effect at all.
Lionel's heart sank, but he didn't lose heart.
He had long expected this result; the power of Icy Wind was indeed too weak for Metagross.
"Feebas, use Water Pulse, full power!"
Following Lionel's command, ripples of light blue water began to appear around Feebas's small body.
The ripples grew denser, gradually converging into a ring of water that shot toward the nearby shiny Metagross.
This Water Pulse seemed so insignificant in front of Metagross's massive body, like a pebble thrown casually by a child.
The shiny Metagross remained unmoved!
The moment the Water Pulse was about to hit, a faint ripple of energy appeared on its silver shell, like an invisible shield.
With a soft "poof," the Water Pulse collided with the energy shield and instantly collapsed, turning into countless tiny water droplets that splashed onto the ground, not even dampening Metagross's carapace in the slightest.
The livestream's bullet chat turned pessimistic:
"As expected, it's useless... Icy Wind and Water Pulse are just like tickles to Metagross."
"I told you, it's impossible to hurt it."
"The streamer has done his best, and Feebas is great too. You can only blame the opponent for being too strong."
"It's a pity, but this is the gap in strength..."
On the other side, Steven's gaze remained fixed on Lionel and Feebas, his expression showing clear admiration.
When Feebas first used Icy Wind, his eyes brightened slightly. By the time Feebas followed up with Water Pulse, the satisfaction in his eyes grew even deeper, and his gaze toward Lionel became even gentler.
Lionel was focused on finding a way to break the deadlock and didn't notice Steven's gaze. He glanced at his panel's total popularity points; riding on Steven's fame, his total popularity had already skyrocketed from the original ten thousand-plus to two hundred and twenty thousand.
"Should I try a high-level gacha to see if I can pull an item that can help?" Just as Lionel was planning to pull from the gacha to see if he could change his fate...
Suddenly,
Steven gave a light shout: "Metagross."
Metagross immediately turned to look at its master. Its originally upright posture slumped slightly, and it instantly put on an "injured" act as if it had been hit by a skill and was feeling weak.
Following that, Steven, with a face full of joy and a smile, announced to Lionel:
"Congratulations, you passed the assessment."
Lionel was completely baffled for a moment. Full of suspicion, he quickly asked:
"Champion Steven, was this assessment testing my courage to face a strong opponent? Or was there some other focus?"
Steven couldn't help but laugh and waved his hand, saying:
"Oh, none of those! I just wanted to make up an assessment for fun, mainly to tease you. Seeing you so nervous and at a loss, frowning while trying to find a way, was really quite interesting!"
As Steven spoke, he couldn't help but chuckle again.
Hearing this, Lionel froze on the spot. He was stiff for several seconds before staring blankly at Steven, his eyes filled with the shock of "it was just to tease me?"
Feebas followed Lionel's lead in being "dazed." Its round little eyes looked at Lionel for a moment, then at Metagross, its small head tilting slightly—
It had been a long time since its skill was released, yet Metagross was only "getting injured" now. It couldn't understand this operation at all.
Seeing the synchronized dazed expressions of the man and his fish, Steven could no longer hold it back and laughed heartily, his shoulders shaking slightly.
At this time, many viewers in Lionel's livestream instantly turned into Sherlock Holmes and quickly guessed Steven's meaning. The bullet chat flooded the screen:
"Love me, love my dog!"
"Hahahaha, I get it too. This damn romance!"
"Ahhh, what does that mean? Romance? What the hell? Can someone explain?"
"Yeah, what's this about? What 'love me love my dog' romance? Did the streamer pass the assessment or not!"
"Master Wallace! Think about it yourself!"
"I remember Master Wallace, he also has green hair and uses Water-type Pokémon!"
"+1, I felt it long ago! I noticed early on that the way Steven looked at the streamer was a bit off?"
"Hahahaha, no wonder Champion Steven hasn't married yet... So that's why!"
"And what does this have to do with Master Wallace? Ahhh, why is everyone talking in riddles? Can't you be more direct!!"
"Hahahaha, you're still young, upstairs. You'll understand when you grow up!"
"..."
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