After greeting Mayor Nakajima, Chen Shi brought Steven back home.
Salamence and Garchomp did not leave either, following them to the villa.
They wanted to see how their pupil performed.
When the two elders heard that their grandson wanted to battle Steven, their interest was piqued too.
They found an open patch on the farm, and Gardevoir created a Psychic power barrier, forming a makeshift Battle Arena.
"Steven, let me see what the Ever Grande Conference Champion can do."
Steven's eyes shone with excitement. "You'll see."
"Go, Metagross!"
"Meta~"
The silver Shiny Metagross immediately appeared on the field.
Chen Shi smiled softly, his fighting spirit ignited.
"Drakloak, let's welcome your first battle since evolving."
"Kyaa~"
Drakloak roared and flew onto the field, facing Metagross from a distance.
However, since Drakloak had yet to reach its final evolution, its voice still sounded rather youthful, and the roar lacked much force.
It even sounded somewhat cute.
Sure enough, Garchomp was already drooling on the sidelines.
Grandpa Chen stepped forward and glanced at them both. "Then I declare the battle begun."
"Drakloak, Phantom Force!"
"Metagross, Psychic!"
As soon as Grandpa Chen finished speaking, both trainers called out their commands.
Hearing the command, Drakloak flickered into subspace, causing Metagross's Psychic to miss and slam heavily into the ground.
"Metagross, set up Light Screen."
Steven calmly instructed Metagross, intending to set up Light Screen.
But how could Chen Shi give him that chance?
"Drakloak, interrupt it."
The next moment, Drakloak emerged behind Metagross.
A smile curved Steven's lips. You fell for it.
Chen Shi immediately sensed trouble and hurriedly commanded, "Drakloak, use Protect now."
Sure enough, Steven's voice rang out.
"Grab it, Metagross, and use Ice Punch."
"Me~ta~"
Metagross took a Phantom Force head-on, enduring the pain.
One claw gripped Drakloak tightly while the other prepared to slam an Ice Punch into it.
Unfortunately for Metagross, Drakloak activated the incredible move Protect just in time.
In reality, this move did not block everything without fail. An attack exceeding Protect's limits could still break through.
But Drakloak and Metagross were both at Gym-level, and a single Ice Punch from Metagross clearly could not manage that.
As expected, Metagross's Ice Punch struck a green screen of light.
Steven frowned slightly. "Metagross, Encore."
"Drakloak, U-turn!"
Hearing that command, Steven was a little bewildered.
Grandpa Chen's eyes lit up, and he nodded in satisfaction.
On the field, Drakloak extended a claw and scratched Metagross, then turned into a streak of red light and returned to its Poké Ball.
Since this was a one-on-one battle and Chen Shi had brought only Drakloak, Drakloak was the one sent back out.
But now, Drakloak had escaped Metagross's grip.
Understanding dawned on Steven, and he inwardly marveled. That was brilliant.
Chen Shi had actually used U-turn to escape Metagross's grip while also avoiding Ice Punch.
Excitement flared in Steven's heart too. It had been a long time since anyone had made him feel this way.
He called loudly, "Let's give this battle everything, Metagross! Use Flash Cannon!"
"Me~ta~"
Chen Shi swept out his hand. "Drakloak, use Shadow Ball!"
"Ky~aa~"
Metagross's Flash Cannon collided with Drakloak's Shadow Ball, whipping up a huge cloud of smoke.
"Drakloak, Phantom Force."
"Metagross, do it again!"
Metagross fired another Flash Cannon, but it struck Gardevoir's Psychic power barrier instead.
Clearly, Drakloak had already entered subspace.
Steven immediately felt a headache coming on. This Drakloak was far too slippery.
His earlier tactic certainly would not work a second time, but he was not completely out of options.
"Metagross, spread Confusion across the entire field. Use Ice Punch as soon as it comes out."
Metagross's eyes turned blue, and powerful psychic energy spread across the entire Battle Arena.
This is bad, Chen Shi thought. Before he could respond, Drakloak had already emerged from subspace, slamming concentrated Ghost-type energy into Metagross.
But Metagross had also locked onto Drakloak with Confusion.
Immediately afterward, an Ice Punch struck Drakloak, smashing it into the ground.
Dreepy had yet to reach its final evolution and simply could not withstand an Ice Punch from Metagross.
As everyone expected, Drakloak lay on the ground, unable to battle.
Chen Shi hurried over and picked up Drakloak, beckoning to Gardevoir.
Gardevoir understood what he meant. After removing the Psychic power barrier, it used Life Dew on Dreepy.
Dreepy soon woke up, its narrow yellow eyes filled with guilt.
"Ky... kyaa~"
It turned its head away, afraid to meet its trainer's eyes.
Chen Shi comforted it softly. "You already did very well, Drakloak."
"I'm proud of you!"
"Once you reach your final evolution, we'll battle them again."
"Keep your spirits up!"
Drakloak looked at Chen Shi, then at Metagross in the sky, and nodded firmly.
"Ky~aa~"
Next time. Next time, I'll definitely win.
"Then it's a promise."
Steven walked over and said, "Once you evolve, we'll battle again."
Off to the side, the two elders exchanged smiles, unsurprised by the result.
Although Drakloak had the type advantage, it stood practically no chance of beating Metagross before its final evolution.
Hadn't Metagross taken two Phantom Forces and still been perfectly fine?
Meanwhile, little Drakloak had gone down after just one Ice Punch.
They were already quite surprised that Chen Shi had commanded Dreepy well enough to put up such a fight against Metagross.
Steven understood this too, which was why he had offered to battle again after Dreepy evolved.
"Gar~chomp~"
Just then, Garchomp ran over to question Chen Shi about why he had not let Dreepy use Dragon-type moves.
The others were baffled, with no idea what Garchomp was saying.
Meanwhile, Salamence closed its eyes and flew straight away.
It could no longer bear to watch this embarrassing fool.
Chen Shi patiently explained, "Metagross is a Steel-type Pokémon, so it takes only half damage from Dragon-type moves."
"But Ghost-type moves deal double damage to Metagross. That's why I didn't have little Drakloak use Dragon-type moves."
"Gar... Garchomp?"
Garchomp scratched its head in confusion. Is that so?
Then it smiled sheepishly. Sorry about that. It's been so long since I last fought that I forgot.
Drakloak shot Garchomp a look with its narrow eyes. Even I knew that, yet you, my teacher, didn't.
What a disgrace to dragons.
Hisuian Zorua
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