Chapter 192: A Mid-Battle Breakthrough
Basalt had a healthy respect for Metagross. But he wasn't as familiar with its intermediate evolution, Metang. It wasn't until Zane's Metang had shot out jets of flame like a rocket that he remembered it even had that ability.
"This is a problem," Basalt thought, his face grim.
"Your Gravity has an impressive multiplier," Zane said with a smirk, "but it's nowhere near enough to defeat Metang! Metang, Comet Punch!"
"Metang!" the Pokémon roared. A metallic sheen flashed over its right claw as it unleashed a powerful, heavy punch that tore through the air.
Its super-heavy body was both a weakness and a strength. It endowed Metang with immense power, and combined with its sturdy frame, it was a veritable battle fortress.
BOOM!
The Comet Punch slammed into Bronzor, sending it flying backwards.
"Brooonz~" Bronzor wobbled in the air, barely managing to stay afloat. It was in bad shape.
"Bronzor!" Basalt yelled, his voice filled with alarm. The previous clashes had already taken a toll on its stamina and psychic energy. Now, after taking a full-power hit from Metang, it was only its incredible defenses that were keeping it from fainting.
"I'm okay! I can still fight!" Bronzor's weak voice echoed in Basalt's mind, laced with deep frustration and... unwillingness. To be defeated by another Steel/Psychic-type, in front of its entire clan—it was an outcome Bronzor could not accept. This was a battle for the honor of its family!
"It seems our Bronzor is being pushed too hard," the Great Elder sighed from within its cave. It had miscalculated. Zane's Metang was far more formidable than it had anticipated. Its control over its power was precise down to the millimeter, with almost no wasted energy. Even without having evolved to gain its supercomputer brain, its energy manipulation was already at the professional level. That was the secret to its powerful, penetrating attacks.
Even a simple move, in its hands, could unleash devastating power. Although Metang was the weakest member of Zane's team, the effort he had poured into raising it was clearly extraordinary. After all, it was a pseudo-legendary.
"Take Down!" Zane's lips curled into a smirk, confident that victory was his.
BOOM!
Under Metang's terrifying force, Bronzor was sent flying once again. At that moment, the hearts of Basalt and every member of the Bronzong clan clenched.
But hearing the desperate cheers of its kin, Bronzor wobbled, then slowly floated back into position.
"Quite resilient. But it's all in vain," Zane sneered. "Metang, finish it with one last Take Down!"
"Metang!" it roared, gathering all its strength. The jets of flame shooting from its claws burned even hotter as it shot forward for the final blow.
"It's over," Summer whispered, closing her eyes, unable to watch.
But unbeknownst to them, deep within the cave, the Great Elder's psychic power was already surging, prepared to intervene and end the match.
"Hmm? Wait a moment," the Great Elder's aura suddenly shifted to one of pleasant surprise. Its psychic senses had detected a powerful, turbulent wave of mental energy erupting from Bronzor's mind, far stronger than before.
"A mid-battle breakthrough? Excellent!" The Great Elder was overjoyed.
Psychic power was an ethereal thing. Unlike physical energy, which had to be built up over time, it could undergo a sudden transformation under intense stimulation—a life-or-death crisis, a devastating blow. And Bronzor, at this very moment, was experiencing just that.
Its eye was glowing with a strange light, fixed on the approaching Metang.
Bronzor refused to accept it. It refused to lose, and it especially refused to lose in front of its entire clan.
I can still fight! I have to win! it roared silently in its mind.
A storm of psychic energy, more than twice as strong as before, erupted from its body. But as a Steel/Psychic-type, Metang was doubly resistant to Psychic attacks. Even against this empowered mental storm, it pressed its attack.
Seeing the Metang closing in, Bronzor's rage boiled over. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" it screamed telepathically.
WHOOSH!
Just as Metang's steel body was less than a meter from Bronzor, it was suddenly and violently thrown upwards, as if its body was no longer under its own control.
"What's going on?" Basalt gasped, completely bewildered.
In the air, Metang reacted quickly, adjusting the direction of its arm-jets to stabilize itself.
"This is... Gravity," Basalt's mind flashed, his eyes widening. "Reverse... Gravity!"
It was a technique he had been working on with Bronzor ever since Mr. Leo had explained the theory. But until now, its psychic power hadn't been strong enough to even begin to master it. But now, with its mid-battle breakthrough, it had not only boosted its psychic power, but had also unlocked the new technique.
However, Basalt noticed that the effect of the Reverse Gravity was much weaker than its normal counterpart. Metang was resisting it with relative ease, though its expression was one of complete confusion.
"Brooonz~" With a low hum, the direction of the gravity field suddenly shifted again. The reverse field weakened, then vanished, only to be replaced by a normal gravity field that rapidly intensified.
And the Metang, still firing its jets to fight the upward pull, was suddenly in a world of hurt. Before it could reorient its arms, the combined force of the intensified gravity and its own jets sent it plummeting towards the ground at a terrifying speed.
BOOM!
It slammed into the stone platform, shattering the rock and creating a massive crater. Thanks to its sturdy body, it wasn't seriously injured. The only problem was... it was now on the ground.
"Bulldoze!" Basalt roared. The time to counterattack was now.
"Metang, fly!" Zane yelled, but it was too late.
RUMBLE!
Bronzor let itself fall, and the moment it touched the ground, a massive wave of Ground-type energy erupted from its body, sending a violent tremor through the platform.
"Metang!" The pseudo-legendary cried out in pain. The super-effective Ground-type move had hit it hard.
"How did this happen?" Zane stared in disbelief. A mid-battle breakthrough? A dramatic turnaround? "In this story, aren't I supposed to be the main character?"
"Metang, get airborne, now!" he commanded.
But just as the Metang's jets flared to life, a mass of green vines erupted from the ground beneath it, wrapping around its body and dragging it back down.
Grass Knot.
"Metang!" Though the move wasn't very effective, its power was based on the target's weight. And at over 200 kilograms, Metang was a very heavy target. The blow left it dazed and winded.
"The tables have turned!" Summer and Barry stared, their mouths agape. The Bronzong clan, meanwhile, erupted in a chorus of triumphant, bell-like chimes that sounded like a war song.
Basalt looked up at the midday sun and clenched his fist. "Bronzor, finish this with Solar Beam!"
VWOOM!
The sunlight intensified, and Bronzor turned its reflective surface towards the sky, greedily absorbing the solar energy.
"Metang, break free! Use Bullet Punch to stop it!" Zane yelled desperately.
"Metang!" Shaking off its daze, it used Ice Punch to shatter the vines and free itself.
But by then, Bronzor had finished charging.
FWOOSH!
A massive beam of pure solar energy erupted from Bronzor, engulfing the Metang completely.
BOOM!
A huge explosion rocked the summit, shrouding the area in black smoke. From within the cloud, Metang fell to the ground, its eyes spinning.
Bronzor itself was not much better off. Its mind was throbbing with a splitting headache, and it could barely stay afloat.
"I... won!" Bronzor's triumphant voice echoed in their minds, and then, its energy spent, it too fainted.
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