"Have you noticed that Brother Walker is suddenly looking so handsome? He's about to catch up with me!" Luis exclaimed.
Hugo shot him a skeptical look. "Are you complimenting Julian or yourself?"
"Of course, I'm complimenting my Brother Walker! And while I'm at it, I'm giving myself a little praise too," Luis chuckled.
Suddenly, Luis poked Hugo in the side. "Look! Brother Walker's Metagross is moving!"
After both trainers sent out their Pokémon, neither attacked immediately. About half a minute later, Julian's Metagross sprang into action.
With a swift use of Agility, Metagross's speed was almost comparable to that of Teleport. In the blink of an eye, it closed the distance, appearing seven or eight meters away from Articuno.
In the nine battles earlier, Acacia had been meticulously studying Metagross, gaining insights into its speed, strength, and defense.
In raw power, Metagross surpassed most Fighting-type Pokémon, which were renowned for their brute strength. Out of the nine previous opponents, five had fallen to Metagross's Fighting-type moves, all defeated without mercy.
"Articuno, use Air Slash!"
Acacia commanded, and the majestic Pokémon waved its wings forward. Instantly, two translucent wind blades formed, slicing through the air with a sharp, piercing sound.
"Light Screen!" Julian ordered.
There was a certain chance that Air Slash would make the Pokémon it hit flinch.
The transparent barrier intercepted the two Air Slashes. However, the Light Screen also got
numerous cracks and was on the brink of collapse.
"Articuno, Ice Beam!"
The next second, the freezing light broke through the weakened Light Screen. But by then, Metagross had already disappeared, the Ice beam slammed into the battlefield, encasing the two football-sized field in ice.
This scene left most of the audience gasping in awe. While a typical pseudo-Elite Ice-type Pokémon could achieve something similar, none could do it with the same ease as Articuno.
As expected of a legendary Ice- and Flying-type Pokémon, Articuno's immense power left many other Ice-type Trainers in despair.
Among them, Ian was likely the most desperate. Looking at the frozen ground, he realized that, if nothing unexpected happened, his Dragon-type Pokémon would never stand a chance against Acacia's Ice-type."
"Hammer Arm!"
Metagross appeared on top of Articuno, its arm swinging down with explosive force.
"Boom!"
The impact reverberated through the arena, creating a shockwave that sent Articuno plummeting from the sky. The air beneath it compressed, forming a visible concave shape as it fell.
"Ar~!"
A deep crater formed in the ground, cracks radiating outward across the ice. Yet, Articuno quickly regained its footing and let out a fierce cry.
"How is it still fine!?"
Luis exclaimed, his eyes nearly popping out. That Hammer Arm would have been enough to take down any of his Pokémon in an instant.
Yet here, it seemed like a mere massage for Articuno.
"Legendary Pokémon cannot be measured by ordinary standards, at their level of life origin, they exist beyond ordinary Pokémon."
Frank explained, although this was also his first time seeing an Articuno in reality, and he knew almost no more about it than Luis and the others.
But, what he did know was that whether it was a third-class legendary, a mythical Pokémon, or a second or first-class legendary, their life levels were entirely different from those of regular Pokémon.
Their lifespans were also typically much longer.
For an ordinary Pokémon to enhance its life level, it had to reach the Elite level. Only then would its life level improve. This applied even to pseudo-legendaries.
But for a legendary Pokémon like Articuno, born as an extraordinary being in the world, their life levels were naturally higher than most.
That's why Articuno could withstand the full force of Metagross's Hammer Arm without showing visible injury. In fact, it was injured, but the injury was not a big deal for it.
Despite this, Articuno glared at Metagross with eyes filled with rage. Being struck first by its opponent was a humiliation it couldn't tolerate.
"Metagross, Mega Evolve!"
Noticing that Articuno was more durable than he had anticipated and that its resilience remained strong, Julian observed that the chaotic aura from its earlier injury was quickly stabilizing.
When the light of evolution disappeared, Mega Metagross appeared with its four claws pointed forward, Its gaze colder, sharper than before.
Originally, the ability Metagross possessed was light metal, but after Mega Evolution, the ability had transformed into Tough Claws.
Tough Claws: Increases the power of contact moves by 30%
Under this Ability, Metagross could do much more stronger melee damage.
At the same time, Metagross' level after Mega Evolution had skyrocketed from 59 to 69, directly at the peak of pseudo-Elite.
An overwhelming aura radiated from Mega Metagross, causing ripples to shimmer in the protective barrier meant to guard against the full-force strikes of pseudo-Elite Pokémon.
Acacia's expression shifted noticeably.
"Wow, how do I feel like Metagross is going to win?" one spectator murmured.
"I'm also with you! This Metagross is clearly at the pseudo-Elite pinnacle"
"If Articuno loses, I'll be over the moon!" someone from the Imperial University exclaimed.
"Same here!" several voices echoed in agreement.
"Meta!"
Mega Metagross snorted softly, its four claws glowing with silver-white light.
"Steel Beam!"
"Articuno, Ice Beam!"
The two beams of energy, one silver-white and the other blue, collided in the air, fighting against each other. Yet, within less than a second, the Steel Beam overpowered the other, breaking through.
"Articuno, Dodge!"
Acacia shouted urgently.
Articuno flapped its wings, managing to dodge the the Steel Beam. However, its tail feathers trailing behind were hit, losing half of their length.
For a Pokémon like Articuno, known for its grace and elegance, the damage to its magnificent tail feathers hurt the most. Although they would grow back, but it would have to make due with only half for a while.
Articuno's eyes were red with anger.
"Ar..!!"
The cry was filled with endless anger.
To be honest, Articuno was indeed beautiful, but half of its beauty was due to the ribbon like tail feathers.
Now, with half of its elegant tail feathers reduced to a mere stub, it appeared to lose some of its enchanting charm.
"Articuno, calm down!"
Seeing that Articuno was about to lose control, Acacia hurriedly shouted.
Fortunately, because she had captured Articuno using a Friend Ball, their bond had strengthened considerably in a short time. If not for this connection, Articuno might not listen to her now at all.
*****
Upto 30 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/ReduxMagister