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"Met!!"
The platinum-colored Metang, after hearing Steven's command, raised its massive metal claws and viciously slashed toward Elekid!
"Elekid! Counter with Thunder Punch!!"
Liam wanted to test Metang's true strength, so he ordered Elekid to strike back head-on.
"Bzzzz!!"
Having just defeated its previous opponent, Elekid was still fired up. The moment it heard Liam's command, its right arm spun violently and slammed forward again, colliding forcefully with Metang's steel claws!
"Bzzzz!!"
This time, however, Elekid was clearly at a disadvantage. The rebound of power forced it to grit its teeth and stagger several steps backward, while Metang didn't budge at all.
"Oh? So it doesn't have the advantage in raw strength?"
From this first exchange, Liam immediately concluded that Metang's physical power surpassed Elekid's.
Seeing his Metang gain the upper hand, Steven immediately followed up.
"Keep attacking, Metang! Use Psychic!"
"Metang!!"
At Steven's command, Metang's crimson eyes flared brightly. Vast waves of blue psychic energy surged out from its body, rushing straight toward Elekid!
"Here it comes! Elekid—try that move! Wrap your whole body with Thunder Wave!"
Seeing the visible blue psychic force approaching, Liam's eyes lit up and he shouted decisively.
"Bzzzz!!"
Elekid, which had been preparing to dodge, stopped immediately upon hearing the order. Blue-white electromagnetic waves burst forth, completely enveloping its body layer by layer, perfectly blocking Metang's psychic assault!
Crackle—crackle!!
The moment Psychic collided with the electromagnetic field, dazzling blue-white sparks erupted in the air, illuminating the entire battlefield!
"What?! You can do that too?!"
Steven stared in disbelief at the unharmed Elekid, astonished.
"Mm—not bad. It works. But that also means Metang's special attack isn't very high. If this were Metagross instead, trying to block it with Thunder Wave wouldn't be nearly this easy."
Liam nodded in satisfaction at Elekid's performance.
"Heh, interesting. Elekid—now let's test speed! Use Quick Attack!"
At Liam's command, Elekid flashed with white light and instantly transformed into a streak, slamming sideways into Metang!
Bang!
A sharp impact rang out as Metang was forced back with its eyes shut. Still, it suffered little damage—its steel-hard body provided extremely high physical defense.
"Hmph! So what if you're fast? That level of attack doesn't bother my Metang at all!"
"Met!!"
Steven's confidence in Metang's defenses was obvious.
"And our attacks are fast too! Time for a counterattack! Metang!"
"Met!"
"Use Take Down!"
"Metang!!"
Metang let out a low roar, swung its iron arms backward, and strange energy surged from its sharp claws. In an instant, it rocketed forward at terrifying speed!
"Elekid! Agility! Then Double Team!"
Bzzzz!!
Elekid immediately accelerated, and more than ten shadow clones split off in all directions!
"Met!!"
Unable to distinguish the real body from the clones, Metang continued straight toward the one still standing in place—only for it to vanish as a mere illusion.
"Now's the moment, Elekid! Electro Ball!!"
Because Take Down had missed, Metang's momentum carried it into a wide arc midair, slowing it down and leaving its body stiff. Liam's eyes narrowed as he seized the opportunity and shouted!
Elekid pivoted sharply, raised both arms high, and between its horns and hands, a brilliant golden sphere of lightning rapidly condensed. With a fierce cry, it hurled the Electro Ball, trailing blazing electric arcs straight toward Metang, which had no time to evade!
"Met!!"
Knowing it couldn't dodge, Metang hardened its gaze and crossed its iron arms in front of its body!
BOOM!!
The Electro Ball slammed into Metang with a thunderous explosion. Thick black smoke instantly engulfed the battlefield!
"Metang!!"
Unable to see what happened, Steven called out anxiously.
Then—
"Metang!!"
Metang's cry rang out from within the smoke. It burst forth and landed shakily in front of Steven.
"Well done, Metang! I knew that attack wouldn't take you down!"
Steven's face lit up with relief and praise.
"Met…"
But the moment his words ended, Metang's body trembled violently. Half of it collapsed onto the ground, its eyes weakly fixed on Elekid emerging from the fading smoke.
"What?! How is that possible?!"
The sudden reversal shocked Steven. Though Metang hadn't fully fainted, it clearly had no strength left to fight back.
"There's nothing impossible about it. Metang's physical defense is good, but its special defense is lacking. And the Electro Ball Elekid used grows stronger the faster the user is compared to the opponent.
"Elekid was already faster than your Metang—and after Agility, the gap widened even more. Honestly, for a Metang with average stamina, surviving that hit at all is impressive. This one has excellent potential. Train it well—it'll be terrifying in the future."
With the smoke gone, Liam praised Metang sincerely.
"Hmph! Of course my Metang is outstanding! I don't need you to tell me that. This match—I've lost. Come back, Metang."
Steven recalled his Pokémon with visible reluctance.
"Heh, a wise choice. You're already strong—and you'll only grow stronger. I look forward to battling you again someday. Come back, Elekid. That's enough for today. We'll be heading out. You should go register and restore your Pokémon too. Goodbye."
Liam recalled the smug Elekid, then turned, grabbed Delia's hand, and walked back toward the player village.
"Tch… so full of himself…"
Steven muttered irritably as he returned to his teammates.
"Heh."
At that moment, Axu smiled and patted Steven's shoulder.
"After two battles, you should understand how strong that opponent really is. Steven—do you know who you just fought?"
Her tone carried meaning.
"Huh? Not ordinary? Didn't look like it. What's so special about him?"
Steven tried to sound indifferent—but curiosity got the better of him.
"You know that senior you just battled? He's the strongest trainer in the Kanto region—the current reigning Kanto Champion. The Leader of the operation that ended the Masked Man incident."
Axu's words left the three youngsters stunned.
Wallace and Winona were speechless.
Steven stared down at his own hands in silence. After a moment, he clenched his fist and looked toward where Liam and Delia had disappeared.
"…Champion, huh? Then one day—I'll become a Champion too!!"