"But how exactly is a three-way battle supposed to work? Does one of us command two Pokémon at once and take on the other two in a Double Battle?"
Wally raised the question, his tone was skeptical. A three-person match didn't sound like the most practical setup.
"That's an interesting idea, but I think a Single Battle format better showcases a trainer's strength."
Calem offered a different perspective.
While Double Battles might make more logistical sense in this scenario, reality wasn't like the games. Double Battles were certainly viable, but far from the mainstream. At least in this world, Single Battles remained the gold standard. The vast majority of major competitions were fought that way.
"It's simple." Paul said plainly. "Each of us uses three Pokémon in a 1v1 knockout rotation. No switching allowed mid-battle."
"The loser steps down. The winner continues. The last trainer with any remaining Pokémon on the field is declared the winner."
"That's not exactly a balanced system," Calem noted, "but since this is just a friendly outdoor sparring session, it doesn't need to be."
"Yeah. The point is to battle and bond with our Pokémon—not necessarily to win." Wally agreed.
Since it wasn't an official match, fairness didn't matter as much. The real goal was mutual growth and exchange through battle.
"I'll take the first match!" Calem declared without hesitation.
"Kroaah!"
Behind him, Greninja, the final form of the Kalos starter Froakie, stood calmly and its expression focused and composed.
"Paul, are you going first or... well, never mind."
Before Wally could finish his question, Paul had already stepped aside, heading toward the resting area and yielding the first spot to Calem without a word.
After all, Mega Evolution had just ended for him in a prior battle. Trainers needed some downtime before attempting it again. Otherwise, fatigue could lead to poor judgment or disoriented commands.
That said, in a standard match, using Mega Evolution more than once was typically against the rules—only one Mega Evolution per battle was the default.
So what if his Garchomp who carried the Mega Stone had already been knocked out?
Coming from Hoenn and Kalos, both Paul and Calem knew the answer:
They each carried more than one Mega Stone, and they had more than one Pokémon capable of Mega Evolving.
Calem stepped forward, serious now. "Let's see just how strong the Lily of the Valley Conference Champion really is."
"You'll see soon enough." Paul replied calmly.
"My first choice—Chesnaught! Let's go!"
"Naaaugh!"
As the final evolution of Chespin, one of the Kalos region's three starter Pokémon, Chesnaught stood tall in the field. Its bulky body was clad in a suit of natural armor resembling a spiked chainmail shell, complete with four prominent thorns on its back—an embodiment of brute strength and unshakable defense.
Paul didn't even reach for a Poké Ball. He merely glanced upward, locking eyes with the steel titan floating overhead.
"Metagross, prepare for battle!"
"Grroo!"
The Metagross that had been watching from above reacted instantly to Paul's call, descending with heavy momentum. Its massive alloy limbs crashed into the earth as it landed, each one like a pillar of metal. The atmosphere shifted, pressure mounting.
"I wonder how strong this shiny Metagross is compared to Mr. Steven's."
From the moment the battle began, Wally had already taken notice of the shiny Metagross and couldn't help but recall the one owned by Champion Steven Stone.
That thought only heightened Wally's anticipation for the battle to come.
As Paul and Calem's eyes locked onto one another, the match officially began!
"Agility!"
The moment Paul gave the command, Metagross vanished from its position, flashing across the battlefield and closing in on Chesnaught with bursts of rapid acceleration along the ground.
"Belly Drum!"
A seasoned veteran of countless battles, Chesnaught didn't flinch. With its eyes locked onto Metagross, it executed its move flawlessly—sacrificing more than half its HP in exchange for maximizing its Attack.
"Psychic!"
"Grrooo~!"
Seizing the moment right after Chesnaught boosted its power, Metagross reappeared behind it and launched a concentrated beam of psychic energy.
"Naaaugh~!"
Chesnaught clearly sensed the incoming attack, but in order to complete Belly Drum, it braced itself and endured the hit head-on.
BOOM!
The Psychic attack landed cleanly. Although it didn't knock Chesnaught out instantly, the super effective hit left it hanging by a thread after using Belly Drum.
"Bullet Punch!"
Not letting up, Metagross surged forward like a comet. Its arms shot out like high-caliber rounds, aiming directly for the weakened Chesnaught.
"Spiky Shield!"
Just barely surviving the blow, Chesnaught didn't even bother turning around. It planted its feet firmly and immediately threw up a defensive move.
A spiked barrier materialized around its body—perfectly intercepting the incoming Bullet Punch.
BANG!
The impact rang out as Bullet Punch struck the shield. The sharp spikes repelled Metagross, not only stopping its assault but injuring it in return before flinging it backward.
"Now! Pain Split!"
Chesnaught whirled around, its body glowing with a strange eerie light that enveloped the airborne Metagross.
Pain Split—a move that combines both users' HP and redistributes it evenly!
In an instant, Chesnaught—previously on the brink of collapse—regained half its HP, dragging Metagross down to the same level in the process.
"Psychic."
Paul's brows furrowed slightly as he gave the command.
Still airborne, Metagross unleashed a second devastating wave of psychic energy, sending a crushing pulse of force straight toward Chesnaught.
"Hammer Arm! Follow up with Synthesis!"
Unfazed, Chesnaught raised its massive arm and smashed it downward, dispersing the Psychic wave with brute force. Its body then glowed with a soft white light as it activated Synthesis, attempting to recover even more HP under the sunlight.
"Scary Face!"
The opponent's Attack had reached its peak—direct clash combat was no longer an option.
As Chesnaught used Synthesis to regain health, Metagross took the opportunity to unleash a terrifying Scary Face. A wave of mysterious energy radiated from it, sharply reducing Chesnaught's Speed.
"Pin Missile!"
Slowed drastically by the status debuff, Chesnaught couldn't hope to match the now-accelerated Metagross in terms of speed. Instead of moving, it stood its ground.
Raising both arms high, its claws and back spikes began to glow. In the next instant, a barrage of gleaming green projectiles—countless glowing arrows launched skyward toward Metagross.
"Agility—take flight!"
Once again, Metagross activated Agility, surging in speed as electromagnetic energy surged around its body lifting it into the air. Its blue eyes gleamed coldly, brain computing the trajectory of every incoming Pin Missile with machine-like precision. It darted through the storm of attacks with incredible agility.
No matter how intense or dense the barrage of missiles, not a single one landed.
"He dodged all of them?"
Calem furrowed his brow. He knew full well that even his ace Greninja, would have struggled to dodge such a spread. Yet this massive Metagross evaded them all. It defied logic.
Still, Calem remained composed. Chesnaught was in good shape and had Synthesis to restore stamina. As long as it kept up the pressure, the tide of battle would eventually tilt in his favor.
And yet...
"Why is there always a faint shimmer of light on Metagross' body? Is it some kind of enhancement move?"
Thinking of this, Calem decided to intensify the offensive.
"Rock Tomb!"
"Nauugh!"
Still launching barrage of Pin Missile, Chesnaught multitasked skillfully. It summoned a storm of glowing orbs into the air. Each one condensed into a boulder, plummeting toward Metagross in a calculated arc, compressing and constricting its aerial evasion space.
Now, Metagross faced a difficulty—be hit by the crashing Rock Tomb or the relentless Pin Missiles.
But unfortunately for Calem, he was up against a Psychic-type Metagross.
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