I have added this story to my Patreon. You can support me and read the 50 latest and advanced chapters there. It also fed and motivate me to write more chapters!
Free Members will get 10 Chapters Ahead of the schedule on Patreon!!!
Link: Patreon.com/AVRKingsTL
—------------------—
"She was already strong. Besides Akari, I've never seen a Trainer more talented than Selene."
Mammon chuckled twice. He wasn't surprised by Selene's performance at all.
The reason Selene had absolute confidence in battles against her peers was precisely because her strength was unrivaled among them.
Although her talent was nerfed compared to the game, she didn't lack resources. With Mammon's backing, how could she lack resources?
Her starter Pokémon was a Dratini, and Mammon later sent her an Articuno and a Nihilego.
As for opponents, she had a formidable rival in Hau, and even Kukui, a Champion, personally sparred with her.
It could be said that among Trainers of her generation, besides Mammon, Selene was arguably the most outstanding.
"Selene is truly amazing."
Lillie was very proud of her sister.
Platinum blinked at the words.
"Mammon, you can't even compare to Miss Selene?"
Platinum was very curious about this. She didn't deny Selene's strength, as the facts were right there.
If it were her, she probably wouldn't be Selene's opponent, but what about Mammon?
"Me? We're about even. My level at the end of last year wasn't much better than Selene's."
Mammon raised an eyebrow at the question, then chuckled, speaking thus.
So, in other words, Mammon still had confidence in comparing himself to Selene around this time last year, or perhaps he was even slightly better?
Terrifying!
Platinum subtly clicked her tongue. So, in the end, the strongest talent monster of the past two years was actually Mammon himself.
It's impossible that there's anyone with better talent than Mammon and Miss Selene in this era, right?
She wondered what kind of monsters Mammon and Miss Selene's future offspring would be?
No, her and Mammon's daughter would be the most outstanding talent monster!!
That's someone chosen by Arceus.
So, having children is also a matter of luck, and it's not necessarily that 1+1 will always be greater than 2.
Thinking of this, Platinum's pretty face couldn't help but beam with a smile, showing a hint of pride.
Seeing Platinum suddenly smile shyly, Mammon gave her a strange look, wondering what she was thinking.
On the field.
The battle was still ongoing. Although she had just fallen behind, Caitlin didn't get discouraged.
Instead, she began to play steadily. However, Tapu Koko's combat power was indeed stronger, and Tapu Koko was more flexible and agile.
Caitlin tried to have Tapu Lele use Psychic to restrain it, but with the small difference in strength, the restraining effect of Psychic was simply unsatisfactory.
Tapu Koko could completely counter with long-range moves even while being bound by Psychic powers.
After battling for a while, although Caitlin found an opportunity for Tapu Lele to injure Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele's injuries were more severe.
Caitlin wasn't stubborn. She recalled Tapu Lele. Continuing to battle with Tapu Lele was meaningless. Tapu Lele couldn't possibly defeat Tapu Koko. At most, it would make Tapu Koko more injured, but Tapu Lele would definitely lose its ability to battle.
The Spirit Maker ability held high strategic significance for Caitlin's team and couldn't be directly lost here.
"A very wise choice."
Seeing Caitlin recall Tapu Lele, Mammon couldn't help but praise her.
Caitlin was indeed very calm during battle, not acting on impulse, insisting on having Tapu Lele and Tapu Koko fight to a decisive outcome.
Because the result was obvious; the current Tapu Lele was simply inferior to Tapu Koko.
Caitlin's second Pokémon was Brimstone.
This Brimstone evolved from the Hatenna Mammon had given Caitlin, and its ability was Magic Mirror.
"Trick Room!"
Caitlin was very calm, having Brimstone use Trick Room.
"Brilliant! Sister Caitlin's move is very powerful."
Platinum's eyes lit up. Trick Room can distort the speed within a space, and Brimstone's speed is very slow.
But within the Trick Room, facing Tapu Koko, it could turn the tide!
"It's certainly a good idea, but..." Lusamine's eyes held a strange look.
"What if Selene also switches Pokémon?"
Lusamine knew that Selene also had a very slow Pokémon.
On the field, Selene first had Tapu Koko attack directly with Volt Tackle while Brimstone was using Trick Room, getting a free hit.
A translucent spatial cube rose and expanded in front of Brimstone, distorting the space within the entire battle arena.
Trick Room formed.
Selene decisively recalled Tapu Koko and took out her third Poké Ball.
"Melmetal!"
The Poké Ball opened, and a strong, silver-bodied Pokémon made of liquid metal landed heavily in front of Selene.
"This Pokémon is...?"
Platinum was momentarily stunned. She hadn't seen this Pokémon before, but it seemed somewhat familiar.
"Melmetal, Steel-type, the Hex Nut Pokémon, with the Iron Fist ability. It is said that Melmetal's punches, swung using centrifugal force from its heavy hex nuts, are considered among the strongest of all Pokémon."
Mammon briefly introduced Melmetal.
"It's not strange that you don't recognize it. This is a Mythical Pokémon from the Alola region."
Mammon observed this Melmetal. Selene had previously told him that she had caught a Meltan, so it seemed to have evolved.
She wondered how she made Meltan evolve, whether it was with Meltan Candy, or if it was like in the anime, where many Meltan fuse to evolve?
But that wasn't important either.
It's actually a Mythical Pokémon...
Platinum looked at this unusually tall and strong Melmetal; it was indeed extraordinary.
"Melmetal is a Pokémon with very strong close-combat abilities, but its drawback is its slow speed. However, with Trick Room present on the field, its weakness is compensated."
"So, doesn't that mean Sister Caitlin's Trick Room was used by Selene?"
Lillie tilted her head.
"Exactly. However, it still depends on Caitlin's own performance. After all, Trick Room was originally set up by her for Brimstone, and it was also to restrict Tapu Koko."
Mammon nodded.
"Furthermore, while Melmetal is extremely strong in close combat, its Special Defense is not high. It's fortunate that it has resistance to both Psychic and Fairy."
"But Brimstone knows Mystical Fire. If Caitlin can maintain the distance well, it's not impossible to defeat Melmetal."
Mammon analyzed.
Melmetal is a type of Pokémon similar to an Ultra Beast, with both extreme advantages and disadvantages.
Its strong points are its excellent HP, Attack, and Defense, but its Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed are all very poor.
Of course, Special Attack can be disregarded, as Melmetal doesn't rely on Special Attack to battle; its ability is Iron Fist!
Speed isn't too big a drawback either, especially with Trick Room distorting speed, Melmetal can really take off.
Although in most situations, there isn't a Trick Room set up for Melmetal.
However, Special Defense is Melmetal's fatal flaw. Melmetal's Special Defense is very low, and Fire beats Steel, with Fire-type being a very popular type.
Just like Brimstone, it can even learn Mystical Fire.
To some extent, Melmetal can be a super war god when battling slow, close-combat Pokémon!
But against fast Pokémon that are good at long-range attacks, Melmetal can basically only stare blankly.
This is determined by the Pokémon's inherent characteristics. In reality, besides type factors, a Pokémon's inherent strengths and weaknesses also have a 'counter chain.'
Under the distortion of Trick Room, both Brimstone and Melmetal's speeds were originally very slow, and now it's essentially back to 'square one.'
The battle began, and just as Mammon predicted, Caitlin, after a brief observation, determined that Melmetal was a pure 'berserker.'
She decisively began to kite the battle, using Brimstone's special attacks to chip away.
Ultimately, Brimstone was originally a ranged attacker. While its close-combat ability wasn't very weak, compared to Melmetal, it was like a child.
Mystical Fire continuously sprayed, burning Melmetal painfully, yet it was very difficult for Melmetal to catch up to Brimstone, making Melmetal increasingly agitated.
However, this constant kiting battle style is very prone to accidents.
Such was the case with Brimstone. Under Melmetal's deliberate guidance, Brimstone was quickly forced into a corner. Although Brimstone immediately used Psychic to control itself and float.
But the heavily breathing Melmetal still forcibly extended its arm, grabbed its tail, pulled it down, and slammed it heavily onto the ground.
Then, Melmetal's heavy punch, swung in a full circle, heavily struck Brimstone's body.
Double Iron Bash!
Two consecutive Steel-type punches directly hammered Brimstone until it was almost unable to function.
Then, another Iron Head was added, and Brimstone's eyes immediately spun into circles, losing its ability to battle.
"What a shame, just a little bit more."
Platinum felt sorry for Caitlin.
"Not a shame at all. Melmetal's condition is already very poor."
Mammon, however, shook his head. Although Melmetal had defeated Brimstone, Melmetal's condition was not good.
Caitlin's third Pokémon was Gallade. Gallade used its flexible movements to avoid Melmetal's punches and successfully defeated Melmetal with Sacred Sword.
Afterward, Selene sent out Incineroar, which immediately applied a combo of Intimidate + Fake Out + Swagger to Gallade.
Next, Selene's fourth Pokémon was Dragonite, which was Selene's starter Pokémon.
Caitlin recalled Gallade. How could Gallade, whose physical attack had been weakened twice, continue to fight? It definitely had to be switched out.
Caitlin's fourth Pokémon was Galar Articuno.
However, after an intense battle, Galar Articuno was no match for Selene's Dragonite and was defeated by it.
Caitlin then decisively sent out Metagross and Mega Evolved it.
Mega Metagross defeated the heavily injured Dragonite, and Selene once again sent out Incineroar.
After Mega Evolution, Mega Metagross's ability was no longer Clear Body, so it naturally couldn't resist the weakening effect of Intimidate.
However, this time Selene didn't use Swagger to switch out, but instead had Incineroar continue to battle.
Caitlin hesitated for a moment, then also didn't switch out Mega Metagross. Just one Intimidate, while it had an effect, wasn't that significant.
The battle continued.
"The battle between these two is so exciting~"
Lusamine sighed, "Is this what the young people are like now? Terrifyingly powerful!"
The battle was nearing its end. Caitlin had already been pushed to the brink, and Tapu Lele had also been defeated.
She now only had one Pokémon left, while Selene still had one Pokémon that hadn't appeared, as well as the Tapu Koko currently on the field.
"This is exhilarating~ As expected of the organization's Top Executive! Caitlin, you are indeed very strong."
Selene's cheeks were slightly flushed at this moment, showing her rather excited emotions.
This was the kind of exhilarating battle she loved! This was much more stimulating than battling Professor Kukui.
This truly far exceeded her expectations. She had originally thought that this girl, who seemed to be her peer, would probably be on the same level as Professor Kukui.
She had underestimated her, but this was indeed a great surprise!
"Come on, come on, let Grandpa see what your last Pokémon is. It must be very strong."
This was the first time Selene had such an exhilarating battle! It was truly amazing!
Hmm, she could consider playing cards with Mammon and this blonde girl in the future.
Selene truly felt that she would never forget this battle in her life.