"Psychic!"
At Paul's command, Metagross—its psychic power already quietly amplified by cosmic energy—suddenly unleashed a burst of overwhelming telekinetic force, taking control of every floating boulder around it.
With a mere thought, Paul sent the massive stones hurtling toward Chesnaught.
Chesnaught instinctively angled its arms midair and fired a barrage of Pin Missile to intercept. The needles struck with pinpoint precision, shattering each incoming rock. But in the blink of an eye, Metagross had vanished from sight.
"Psychic!" Paul called again.
"Grrooo!"
A sharp cry rang out from above. Calem looked up—Metagross was directly overhead, its eyes glowing as it gathered psychic energy into a focused beam.
"Spiky Shield!" Calem shouted without hesitation.
"Nauugh~!"
Chesnaught clapped its hands together, summoning its signature spiked barrier once more. The shield formed instantly, enveloping its body in a bristling dome of protection.
BOOM!
The Psychic attack struck, but the shield held firm.
Paul's reaction was icy and precise—he uttered only one word:
"Continue."
At once, a new wave of psychic force surged from Metagross.
This time, the move no longer took the form of a blast. Instead, it manifested as a continuous, invisible pressure—pure telekinetic force—pushing against Chesnaught's Spiky Shield from all sides, applying relentless inward pressure.
It was a dangerous situation. As soon as Spiky Shield dropped, Psychic would crash through, directly striking Chesnaught.
In real battles—just like in the games—protection-based moves like Spiky Shield couldn't be sustained indefinitely. Eventually, they would falter.
Unless Chesnaught found a way to respond, defeat was inevitable.
"Hang in there, Chesnaught—get ready to use Giga Impact!" Calem called out, clenching his fist.
"Nauugh!"
Chesnaught understood. Still maintaining the shield, it began charging energy preparing to unleash everything in a single, devastating counterattack.
CRACK—!
The moment Spiky Shield dropped, Metagross' Psychic power surged in, slamming into Chesnaught with tremendous force.
But Chesnaught didn't flinch.
Without a sound, it powered through the pressure and launched Giga Impact, breaking through the psychic restraints and barreling straight toward Metagross in midair.
"Protect!"
Metagross didn't evade. Instead, it generated a shimmering barrier before itself.
BOOM!
The Giga Impact landed cleanly—but was stopped cold by Protect, which absorbed the full brunt of the blow.
No matter how hard Chesnaught pushed, it simply couldn't break through the iron defense of Metagross.
"Grrooo~"
A savage grin tugged at the corners of Metagross' mouth, as if to say—
You think you're the only one who knows how to use Protect?
Even as it sneered, Metagross didn't waste a second. Its psychic power had already been prepared.
The moment the momentum behind the Giga Impact faded, a wave of Psychic energy surged from Metagross' core. In a flash, it seized the immobilized Chesnaught with terrifying force—the damage was devastating.
"End it."
Paul said flatly.
With a mere flick of its will, Metagross hurled Chesnaught to the ground like a meteor crashing from the heavens.
BOOM!
The battlefield shook. Chesnaught now lay motionless in a deep crater.
"Return, Chesnaught. You did well." Calem recalled his Pokémon, shaking his head as he and Greninja stepped aside to give room to the next challenger.
"This is going to be rough…"
Wally stepped up with Gallade at his side, a grimace forming on his face.
Under normal circumstances, Metagross wouldn't be too difficult to handle. But this was no ordinary Metagross.
Two uses of Agility had given it frightening speed, and multiple boosts from a special variant of Cosmic Power had stacked up its Defense and Special Attack.
At this point, the steel Pokemon was practically a mini-boss. Bringing it down wouldn't be easy.
Wally's only hope?
Metagross was running low on stamina. If he could land two solid hits, he might just have a chance.
Of all his Pokémon, only two might be able to pull it off.
One is the flaming hawk, and the other is—his ace:
"Gallade, I'm counting on you."
Wally turned and gave Gallade a look of absolute trust— yet, he didn't reach for the Mega Pendant on his chest.
"Use Double Team!"
"Gaaall~!"
Even without Mega Evolution, Gallade showed no fear. It stepped forward calmly.
Reality shimmered around its body and in an instant, dozens of afterimages split off in unison—charging straight at Metagross.
Double Team!
Right now, Metagross held the upper hand in every way. Paul had no intention of sitting still.
"Psychic!"
The command had barely left his lips when the Metagross' eyes lit up with a deep blue glow.
Invisible psychic energy surged across the battlefield. Every Gallade that it touched flickered and burst like illusions—decoys, all of them. The real Gallade was nowhere in sight.
Then suddenly, Metagross felt a strange disturbance ripple across its body. A voice followed swiftly after.
"Night Slash!"
"Gaaall~!"
Gallade's form shimmered into existence—perched right on top of Metagross. His arms had transformed into gleaming blades, slashing down with sharp precision.
"Protect!"
It was the first time Paul had encountered such a maneuver, and he hesitated for a moment—just long enough. Metagross didn't react in time either. All it felt was a sharp jolt of pain before crashing down from the sky.
It's super effective!
Empowered by its Sharpness Ability, Gallade's attack struck with devastating force. Metagross was nearly down in a single blow.
"Psychic!"
Even while falling, crackles of electromagnetic force pulsed around Metagross' body. Using magnetism, it stabilized midair—then unleashed Psychic once again, targeting Gallade.
But just as the psychic energy lashed out—
"Night Slash!"
Wally's voice rang out, and Gallade's figure vanished on the spot.
Instantly, Metagross sensed that strange ripple again—this time much closer, advancing rapidly around its frame. Alarm bells went off in its mind.
"Gaaall~!"
This time, Metagross didn't even need Paul's command. It acted on instinct, immediately throwing up Protect. A green energy shield shimmered over its metallic body.
BOOM!
In the next moment, Gallade's twin arm-blades cloaked in a dark sinister aura, slammed down against the shield.
Night Slash—blocked!
"Feint, then Night Slash!"
Wally didn't wait for the shield to dissipate before issuing his next command.
"Gallade!"
Gallade's eyes gleamed with focus. One arm glowed white as it slashed forward with Feint to break through Protect, the other followed immediately with Night Slash.
Whether or not Protect was still active, this combo would leave Metagross severely weakened—or worse.
Getting caught off guard once could be excused. But twice in a row would be downright humiliating.
This time, Metagross was ready. Before the Feint could connect, it launched Zen Headbutt preemptively, intercepting Gallade mid-lunge and hurling him backwards. The attack cleanly disrupted the combo before it could land.
Just as Metagross prepared to pin Gallade in place with Psychic and finish the job, Gallade's body twisted midair—then vanished entirely.
He reappeared dozens of meters away.
Teleport!
Clearly, Gallade hadn't forgotten this technique—one that might seem trivial in the games, yet holds limitless potential in real-life battle.
Not only had it retained Teleport, but it had fused the move seamlessly with its close-combat prowess, turning the skill into something formidable.
"Psychic!"
Recognizing this, Paul had no intention of engaging Gallade in a brawl battle any longer.
If the opponent could Teleport at will, how was he supposed to land a hit?
The only answer was to suppress it head-on with sheer psychic force!
Metagross understood this well, Psychic surged forth once again in a renewed offensive.
(End of Chapter)
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