"Meta~"
Metagross: "Next"
Right now, it was eager to finish the remaining two battles quickly so it could properly have a word with Julian about 'who exactly' he said was cool earlier.
Wasn’t the buddy at home good-looking enough? How could he go and compliment someone else’s Pokémon?
'Bah! Scumbag.'
Julian: 'I get the feeling this matter isn’t over yet...'
The fourth person to step up was Orion. Like Pierce, he was one of the military’s specially trained prodigy trainers. However, Pierce had shown better talent and received more focused support from the military.
It’d be a lie to say he wasn’t jealous of Pierce, so he wanted to prove here that he was no worse than him.
But the overwhelming strength Julian had just shown already made him give up on that idea.
At first, he thought he was lucky to draw Julian, the youngest among them, and was secretly pleased. But looking back now... he should have just cried on the spot.
He had drawn a total monster.
He glanced at his hand—seems like it was a bit unlucky today.
He took a deep breath, he knew he had to fight regardless. He was from the military, and he couldn’t bring shame to it.
Thankfully, the last guy only lasted thirty seconds.
Looking at Tyler, Orion secretly rejoiced. The discord between the Eldridge family and the Walker family had caused him to lose quickly and miserably.
Though in truth, the real reason behind the brutality wasn’t this. It was all because Julian had said the wrong thing that Tyler and Gallade found themselves in such a mess.
As Orion sent out his Pokémon, a white, upright-standing creature emitting waves of icy air, appeared on the battlefield.
Pokémon: Beartic (Ice)
Level: 75
Potential: Cyan
Ability: Slush Rush
Held Item: Never-Melt Ice
Gender: Female
Moves: Icicle Crash, Fury Swipes, Powder Snow, Aqua Jet, Icy Wind, Play Nice, Charm, Brine, Frost Breath, Slash, Thrash, Swagger, Snowscape, Flail, Blizzard, Sheer Cold, Superpower
TMs: Take Down, Ice Fang, Water Pulse, Protect, Rest, Bulldoze, Snarl, Metal Claw, Mud Shot, Avalanche
Egg Moves: Focus Punch, Yawn, Ice Beam, Night Slash
---
Beartic was a Pokémon from the far northern regions. Some countries also had it in their Advanced-level secret realms, including Drakoria.
Its appearance was somewhat similar to Ursaring, and temperament-wise, they were nearly identical—extremely aggressive and very territorial.
"Rooaaar!"
Beartic let out a provocative roar at Metagross from across the battlefield.
Beartic: “Look me in the eyes, mutt.”
Orion: “Don’t go looking for death…”
Julian: “Got guts.”
Pokémon being combative was a good thing—just depends on who they were up against.
Metagross had already proven its strength in the previous three battles—ordinary Pokémon were like kids in front of it.
'And you, Beartic? You’re not a late-stage Elite, nor can you Mega Evolve.'
'What are you going to fight me with?'
"Beartic, Snowscape!"
Earlier, when Ninetales used Sunny Day, Julian hadn’t stopped it.
Likewise, when Beartic used Snowscape to create snowy weather, Julian didn’t intervene either.
Julian's principle was simple: since you're here to battle, then fight in a way that convinces your heart, whatever tricks you have, bring them all out.
Above the battlefield, snowflakes began to drift down, and the temperature started dropping rapidly. In less than half a minute, a thin layer of snow had blanketed the ground.
Snowscape boosted the power of Ice-type moves, and Beartic’s ability was Slush Rush.
[Slush Rush: When it’s hailing or snowing, the Pokémon’s Speed doubles.]
Beartic was a burly and powerful Pokémon, but its biggest weakness was its speed. Now, with the snowy weather and its ability in play, that flaw was covered.
"Beartic, Icicle Crash!"
With the weather in place, Orion immediately launched an attack.
Beartic stomped its left foot onto the ground. Above Metagross, a massive conical icicle—over three meters long and half a meter wide—suddenly formed in the air.
As it fell, it whistled through the air, and bursts of cold light shone from its tip.
But the icicle stopped less than half a meter away from Metagross.
Metagross's eyes glowed blue as it halted the icicle midair with Psychic. Then, under the same control, the icicle suddenly shot toward Beartic with a sharp swish.
It was at least three to four times faster than when it had been falling.
The icicle turned into a glowing streak, with frigid air swirling around its pointed tip.
"Slash it!"
"Hyper Beam!"
The first command came from Orion, the second from Julian.
They spoke almost simultaneously.
But Orion’s face turned pale—Julian had predicted his move.
As Beartic slashed the incoming icicle apart with its sharp claws, it was hit by a blazing golden beam of energy before it could even retract its claws.
Its massive body kept retreating by the impact of Hyper Beam, and the intense pain caused Beartic to let out a pained roar.
"Beartic, Superpower!"
Orion clenched his fists and roared.
At this point, all he could do was gamble—gamble that Beartic would manage to successfully use Superpower while still enduring the Hyper Beam. If it couldn’t, then even if it wasn’t taken down by the attack, it’d most likely have no strength left to fight back.
"Rooaaar!"
Beartic didn’t let Orion down. It successfully used Superpower, breaking through the Hyper Beam.
At the same time, the move gave it a brief boost in strength.
This power boost was terrifying.
After using Superpower, a Pokémon's strength could increase by three to four times.
However, after using it, both its Attack and Defense would sharply decrease.
That’s why this move was best saved for desperate situations—unless absolutely necessary, it was better not to use it.
If you used it and still couldn’t defeat your opponent, you’d end up in a really bad position afterward.
"Beartic, Thrash!"
Taking advantage of Beartic’s sudden surge in power, Orion wasn’t about to waste the opportunity.
Beartic charged at Metagross like a wild beast gone mad, tearing up the battlefield as it ran with reckless fury.
"Earthquake," Julian said calmly.
Floating in midair, Metagross suddenly slammed heavily into the ground, and a powerful tremor spread across the entire battlefield.
Cracks began to form and ripple outward from where Metagross had landed.
Beartic let out a pained, unwilling cry as it was forced to stop less than twenty meters from Metagross. It tried hard to stand back up.
But even that simple movement was now beyond its exhausted body.
"Return, Beartic."
Before Beartic could collapse, Orion recalled it into its Pokéball.
The moment Julian predicted his command, the battle had already been decided. Everything after that was just his last-ditch effort.
Beartic had fought with all its might but it was he who had failed.
"Meta~"
Metagross: "I still wanted to punch it once. Why'd you recall it so soon?"
Orion walked over to the defeated three: “All you guys Pokémon went down but mine didn’t.”
Tyler: “Since when did military folks become this humorous?”
'Not down? Please. You just recalled it right before it dropped. Shameless.'
The fifth and final challenger stroked his chin, Orion’s “words” making his eyes shine.
'So you can turn things around like that after all, huh?'
'I mean, I’m definitely not beating that Metagross anyway… Maybe I should just surrender directly...'
*****
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