Chapter 173: Unlucky Julian
In the standard close state, the Pokémon inside could come out on its own.
In the locked close state, the Pokémon inside couldn't exit on its own.
Most of the time, trainers kept their Poké Balls in the standard close state, so in unexpected situations, the Pokémon could come out on its own, saving the trainer the trouble of manually opening the Poké Ball.
All of Julian's Poké Balls were in the standard close state, which was why Melmetal could come out on its own.
But couldn't this foolish thing check the battle environment from inside the Poké Ball before coming out? It plunged straight to the bottom as soon as it appeared.
They say evolution changes a Pokémon's personality, but who knew it could lower their IQ too?
Even though the two Gyarados had their mouths open, Julian had the feeling they were laughing.
"Slowking, get Melmetal out of there!"
Better to pull Melmetal up before the fight actually starts—no need for it to become the first Mythical Pokémon to drown. That'd be quite the "honor."
Just as Slowking was about to dive in, a fist suddenly broke through the water and struck Gyarados's jaw, sending it flying.
As the fist began to retract back underwater, Metagross grabbed it and, with a firm pull, lifted Melmetal from the lake.
Seeing its child get sent flying in front of it, the Elite Gyarados felt a surge of rage.
"Melmetal!~"
Even as Metagross held it in mid-air, Melmetal didn't settle down. Its fist, crackling with electricity, swung toward the Elite Gyarados.
Gyarados leapt into the air, meeting the Thunder Punch with an Iron Tail to block it.
Seeing this, Slowking unleashed an Ice Beam that froze the surrounding lake surface solid.
Gyarados landed on the ice, glancing at Slowking, then at Melmetal, Metagross, and Dragonite.
- Are they planning to gang up on me? -
Its fighting spirit, fired up by rage, was suddenly dampened.
"Melmetal!~"
Melmetal also landed on the ice. Fortunately, the ice was thick enough; otherwise, with its 800kg weight, it would have broken through immediately.
"Alright, it's up to you"
Julian said, seeing Melmetal's eagerness to fight. This was its first battle since hatching and evolving, and its opponent was an Elite-level Pokémon.
For a Mythical Pokémon, having an Elite-level opponent as its first battle was certainly fitting.
"Gyarados, one-on-one! If you lose, I'm taking all your treasures. If I lose, I'll give you this."
Julian took out a Water Gem. This item was worth more than ten top-grade Water Stones and, when carried over time, could enhance a Water-type Pokémon's essence.
Upon seeing the Water Gem in Julian's hand, Gyarados's expression instantly turned depressed.
It once had a Water Gem just like that, but it was stolen by a wretched human who not only beat it up but also captured one of its harem—a beautiful white Magikarp.
Julian: (?_?)?
'What's going on? How am I sensing waves of depression from a Pokémon?'
Julian had no idea that the Water Gem had stirred up Gyarados's painful memories.
"ROAR!!"
Gyarados suddenly raised its head.
Those bitter memories and the trampling of its pride finally ignited its fury. It wanted payback; it was going to take down the Pokémon in front of it and snatch all of this human's Pokémon.
Its Intimidate ability activated, but aside from Slowking looking a bit scared, neither Metagross, Dragonite, nor Melmetal showed any signs of fear.
With the level difference between Slowking and Gyarados, it was natural for Slowking to be affected by Intimidate.
Julian recalled Slowking back into its Poké Ball to keep it from getting caught up in the upcoming battle.
The Gyarados before him was level 75, a mid-tier Elite Pokémon. Melmetal, on the other hand, was level 61, at the early pseudo-Elite stage—a full tier below.
However, as a Mythical Pokémon, Melmetal's life force was on par with Elites and even surpassed many Elite-level Pokémon.
"Melmetal!~"
Melmetal taunted Gyarados by bending forward and lowering its head to his crotch to look at it.
Gyarados couldn't tolerate this.
With a mighty Hydro Pump, Gyarados unleashed a powerful blast of water. Even though they were on the ice, the surrounding lake gave Water-type moves a natural power boost.
Melmetal wasn't exactly a fast Pokémon.
In fact, most Steel-types were heavy, tank-like Pokémon; only a few, like Lucario, Escavalier, and Bisharp, etc, fall into the agile category.
Melmetal met the Hydro Pump with a Dynamic Punch. With its Iron Fist ability, the power of its punching moves was increased by 20%, and white energy swirled around its fist.
"BOOM!!"
The two attacks collided, and Melmetal was pushed back three or four meters.
Gyarados then went for a Fire Fang, its fangs blazing as it lunged at Melmetal.
Being able to learn Fire-type moves, this Gyarados had even better talent than expected.
Melmetal blocked with its arm, and though Gyarados was a Water type, its Elite-level status meant that even Fire-type moves were still potent.
Melmetal's body had a unique feature—it was fluid, composed of liquid metal. When Gyarados's fangs clamped down on its arm, Melmetal took damage, but it quickly controlled the liquid metal in its arm, creating a gap in the area being bitten.
Gyarados felt as though its mouth was suddenly empty and was momentarily confused. Just then, a crackling sound of electricity buzzed near its ear.
A Thunder Punch struck Gyarados square on the chin with a loud "bang," sending its body airborne. But as soon as it left the ice surface, Gyarados twisted in midair, using the momentum to whirl around and channel a swirling stream of water along its tail.
Melmetal was about to block with its arms when Julian's voice rang out.
"Protect!"
The battlefield was on ice, and if Melmetal tried to block Aqua Tail with its arms, the impact would shatter the ice beneath, causing it to sink once again.
Protect shielded against the Aqua Tail, and Gyarados landed heavily back on the ice. In that instant, a silver-white beam shot toward it.
Flash Cannon
The attack hit its mark, pushing Gyarados back several meters.
Immediately, Melmetal swung its fist, its liquid metal body allowing for extreme reach, extending Dynamic Punch over a wide span of several meters.
"ROAR!!"
Gyarados unleashed a Hyper Beam, blasting the Dynamic Punch away.
"Protect" Julian called out again, though his tone sounded a bit uncertain.
Melmetal tried to use Protect once more… but it failed this time.
Julian's luck seemed to have run out.
Unlucky King Julian was back.
*****
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