"Congratulations. This is proof of your victory at the Rustboro Gym—the Stone Badge."
Roxanne walked up to Steven, holding out a badge shaped like two arrows pointing left and right.
"Thank you." Steven accepted the Stone Badge.
He had originally thought the Stone Badge would look more rock-like.
He glanced at Aron, who was still searching for Nosepass on the field, and helplessly recalled it into its Poké Ball.
"Stop making a fuss. I'll give you rocks to eat when we get back."
Hearing Steven's words, Aron stopped causing trouble.
"Your Pokémon are very well-trained. I hope to see your excellent performance at the Ever Grande Conference," Roxanne said with a gentle smile, offering her blessing.
"I will."
Steven nodded. With the Stone Badge in hand, the next step was to find that Scyther again.
"You're so strong!"
"How did you train your Aron?"
As Steven was about to leave, he was surrounded by the students.
Various questions poured out, making Steven feel a bit overwhelmed.
"All right, don't be so rude." Roxanne calmed the situation, smiling gently at Steven.
Then she explained to the children, "Every Trainer trains their Pokémon differently—that's their personal approach. It's impolite to ask so freely!"
"Yes, Teacher—"
Seeing Roxanne so easily manage the young students, Steven couldn't help but think she really was cut out to be a teacher.
After bidding farewell at the Rustboro Gym, Steven returned to Petalburg Woods. It would be difficult to reach the depths of Petalburg Woods in a single day.
In the afternoon, he let Metagross, Skarmory, and Aron train.
That Scyther favored using Agility for a quick-attack style, so Metagross needed to learn another move.
"Try to master it well within these two days. I'll give that Scyther a surprise then!"
"Metagross!"
Skarmory needed to train the power of its beak and further refine Drill Peck.
After all, the damage Skarmory's steel beak could inflict was considerable—it couldn't be wasted.
Then there was Aron. Aron's ability was Sturdy, and it needed to master Heavy Slam and Double-Edge next.
Heavy Slam's power increased with the user's weight. Despite Aron being small, it weighed 60 kilograms.
Double-Edge wasn't a problem for Aron. With Sturdy, it wasn't afraid of the recoil damage from Double-Edge.
It was unfortunate Aron didn't have the Hidden Ability Heavy Metal—otherwise, Heavy Slam's damage would be explosive!
Heavy Metal doubles a Pokémon's weight.
But it was also fortunate. If Aron had the Heavy Metal ability, Steven might have been bedridden for several days after that earlier collision.
After finishing this matter, he could also cross the mountains above Rusturf Tunnel to Verdanturf Town, then head to Mauville City.
This wouldn't delay his progress.
Steven assigned tasks to his Pokémon and began his warm-up exercises nearby.
His back was completely healed, and the "injury" from Aron's earlier collision was almost gone.
It wasn't enough for just the Pokémon to be strong—as a Trainer, he also needed a strong body.
So Steven exercised alongside his Pokémon, training together with them.
Compared to the boring solo training before, training with his Pokémon seemed to reduce his fatigue significantly.
Steven continued to train while walking deeper into Petalburg Woods.
In two days, the evolved Metagross's training efficiency had also doubled, allowing it to fully master the new move in just two days.
It even had free time to practice its previous moves and conduct Calm Mind training.
Skarmory discovered the key to Drill Peck training on the second day and was only a little away from fully mastering it.
Aron quickly grasped Double-Edge, but the progress of Heavy Slam had stalled for a while.
Returning to the place where he'd encountered Scyther, Steven had a new feeling.
More than anything, it was confidence.
The confidence Metagross gave him.
Rustle, rustle...
The sound of rustling grass came from the surroundings, and Steven knew that Scyther had arrived!
It seemed that as soon as he'd stepped into this area, he'd caught its attention.
This time, Steven didn't need to predict where Scyther would appear—Metagross's Psychic power was now several times stronger than before.
"Metagross!"
Metagross voluntarily emerged from its Poké Ball, its eyes constantly scanning the surroundings.
Whoosh—
Metagross's gaze sharpened, and it swung a punch to the side!
Clang!
Scyther's blade struck Metagross's arm, a hint of surprise in its eyes.
Leaping back and landing, Scyther's gaze shifted between Steven and Metagross.
"We meet again, Scyther." Steven, with his hands in his pockets, looked at Scyther with a smile.
"Scyther..." Scyther snorted coldly, its two scythes emitting a chilling gleam that made one's heart tremble.
Scyther's figure immediately began to move, leaving an afterimage in its original spot!
"Use Psychic to lock onto Scyther's position, then use Bullet Punch to parry its attacks."
Previously, Metang had struggled to keep up with Scyther's offense, but now it was different.
No matter how fast Scyther was, it couldn't escape Metagross's Psychic range.
With this speed advantage, Metagross's Bullet Punch could completely block Scyther's attacks.
Scyther continuously used Agility as it circled around, its sharp eyes constantly scanning Metagross's surroundings.
Searching for an opportunity to attack.
But after more than ten seconds, Scyther still hadn't launched an attack.
Its warrior's intuition told it there was no opening!
Continuing to move at such high speed would only exhaust its stamina.
So Scyther stopped, standing on the grass and staring at Metagross.
"Metagross?"
Metagross beckoned to Scyther, signaling it to attack.
How could Scyther tolerate being provoked like this?
It gritted its teeth and launched an attack, its scythes rushing forward with a faint green glow.
Before Metagross's hand had fully dropped, Scyther had already reached its front!
Clang!
However, its attack was blocked by Metagross's other arm.
"Be careful—it might be a two-hit combo."
Steven warned.
Scyther's other scythe then attacked Metagross's lower body with a whooshing sound.
Metagross's arm suddenly accelerated, punching Scyther's scythe and blocking it.
"Scyther!"
Scyther continuously launched slashes, each slash increasing its attack speed.
Metagross quickly crossed its arms to block Scyther's continuous slashes.
One after another, it could feel that the power of each of Scyther's slashes grew stronger.
"Observe carefully."
Scyther's Fury Cutter had a certain pattern. If it slashed wildly, it would be easier for the enemy to find openings and strike a heavy blow!
Metagross's crimson eyes were hidden behind its two arms, constantly rotating in their sockets, observing Scyther's movements with each Fury Cutter.
Thereby analyzing the pattern.
"Time to dodge," Steven murmured.
Metagross seized the opportunity, using the gap between Scyther's Fury Cutter attacks to retract one of its defending arms.
Clang!
Scyther's slash landed on Metagross's other hand, and Metagross immediately counterattacked with Bullet Punch.
Scyther's eyes widened, and it immediately stopped slashing, using its non-attacking arm to block with its scythe in front of its chest.
Bang!
A powerful punch struck Scyther's scythe, sending it flying back more than ten meters.
Unfortunately, Scyther had blocked much of the force, so it was pushed back rather than sent flying.
"Scyther..."
Scyther panted heavily, lowering its head to look at the scythe it had used for defense.
On the faint green, translucent scythe blade, cracks had now appeared!
Metagross also lowered its head and looked at its arms, only to see countless shallow and deep blade marks left on them.
Scyther couldn't believe it—its scythe actually had cracks!
This was the first time it had encountered such a situation.
The hardest part of Scyther's body was these two scythes it was so proud of.
Only its continuously accumulated slashing power could leave blade marks on Metagross, yet one punch from its opponent could cause cracks in its scythes.
This made it feel a clear difference in strength.
Its opponent was still perfectly stable, while it was already panting with exhaustion.
I'm going to... lose...
"Scyther!"
Scyther violently swung its scythes, leaving an extremely deep gash in the ground.
I can't lose! Absolutely not!
Scyther lowered its center of gravity and instantly launched itself forward!
A black streak of light cut across the air, making Steven feel a sense of unease.
"You must block it!"
Metagross also noticed the change in Scyther but found that its Psychic power made it difficult to lock onto the opponent's movements!
"Gyro Ball!"
This was the new move Metagross had been diligently practicing these past two days!
The faster the opponent's speed and the greater the difference from the user's speed, the more powerful this move becomes!
Metagross began to spin rapidly in place, like a silver-white top with a few golden specks.
Clang—Bang!
Scyther's attack hit Metagross, which was performing Gyro Ball. In just an instant of contact, Scyther was sent flying back.
It crashed heavily into a large tree, making the tree sway dangerously.
Scyther lay on the ground, its eyes fierce, struggling to get up.
Metagross stopped Gyro Ball, which allowed Steven to see the shocking blade mark on Metagross's body.
Although it could be healed, Steven wasn't sure how long it would take.
To leave such a deep blade mark on Metagross—
Did Scyther have a burst of hidden strength?
What was the difference between this and pulling out a trump card to severely injure an opponent during a desperate battle?
Don't underestimate a desperate Scyther!
Although surprised, it seemed that Scyther probably couldn't get up anymore.
After being counterattacked by Metagross's Gyro Ball, it no longer had the ability to continue fighting.
Steven took out a Poké Ball and gradually approached the struggling Scyther on the ground.
"Poochyena!"
"Wurmple..."
"Taillow!"
"Seedot~"
Steven stopped, looking toward the sounds coming from around him.
"What's going on?!"