Chapter 322: Wake Up, You Fool!

"This time he's bound to lose. He's not even at the Elite level—how could he possibly beat Grandpa?"

Although Ethan didn't have much skill himself, he wasn't entirely blind when it came to judging battles. While Steelix appeared imposing, he could tell that it wasn't at Elite level.

Elite-level Pokémon were fundamentally different from regular ones.

Even if an Elite-level Pokémon suppressed its aura, you could still sense something extraordinary about it just by looking at it.

Steelix was at the peak of pseudo-Elite, while Lunatone was at the peak of Elite level. The gap between the two was significant.

So the first priority was to narrow that gap.

"Steelix, Mega Evolve!"

As a dazzling rainbow light engulfed Steelix, a few seconds later, Mega Steelix emerged on the battlefield.

Mega Steelix's new form boasted a ring of floating metallic shards around its neck, divided into six groups rotating clockwise.

Its three rod-like protrusions had transformed into crystalline structures resembling diamonds, and its tail tip had also adopted a diamond-like appearance.

Additionally, four previously unadorned body segments now featured hexagonal blue ring patterns on their sides.

Its height had also increased significantly compared to before, and its level temporarily surged from 70 to 73.

Seeing this, Ethan fell silent. He had completely forgotten about Mega Evolution.

"ROAR!"

Feeling the dramatic boost in power, Mega Steelix's confidence surged. In this moment, it even dared to consider facing Metagross head-on.

Its piercing gaze locked onto Lunatone, roughly 400 meters away.

Mega Steelix: "I'll take you down first."

Its massive body began moving forward. While not particularly fast, its enormous size made each movement cover significant ground.

As it closed in on Lunatone, a massive spectral jaw filled with sharp teeth formed in midair and lunged toward the opponent.

Lunatone unleashed its Psychic energy, shattering theCrunchattack with aPsyshock.

"Lunatone, Future Sight"

A mysterious orb of light shot from Lunatone into the sky. The next second, the orb vanished from sight.

Future Sight:'Unleashes an attack after a few turns'

While Lunatone was preparingFuture Sight, Mega Steelix'sIron Tailwas already raised and crashing down. For a Pokémon of its size, the force of the attack was truly terrifying.

As theIron Taildescended, it caused a sonic boom, its tip streaking through the air with white energy that compressed the atmosphere beneath it.

"Psychic!"

Facing anIron Tailcapable of demolishing a skyscraper, Lunatone remained motionless. Its eyes glowed blue, and ripples of psychic energy surged outward, striking Mega Steelix'sIron Tailin successive waves.

Each timeIron Tailwas struck by the psychic waves, its power weakened slightly.

At just ten centimeters away from Lunatone, Iron Tailcame to a complete stop.

No matter how much force Mega Steelix exerted, the ten centimeter gap remained unbridgeable, an invisible wall created by Lunatone'sPsychicheld the Iron Tail in place.

As the blue glow in Lunatone's eyes intensified, Mega Steelix felt its massive body begin to lift off the ground, inch by inch.

"Steelix, Screech!" Julian said.

Hearing this, Fred's expression changed slightly.

Though Mega Steelix's body was immobilized, it could still use its mouth. As its jaws opened, an ear-piercing sound, like the sound of a blade scraping against glass, echoed across the battlefield.

Lunatone's face twisted in discomfort, and its focus onPsychicfaltered.

Boom!

Mega Steelix crashed back to the ground.

"Dig!"

"Moonblast!"

Julian and Fred shouted almost simultaneously.

Lunatone began gathering energy forMoonblast, but Mega Steelix's massive form vanished underground before the move could land.

Fred's face darkened slightly. Julian had read his actions and preempted his move.

Mega Steelix had dodged theMoonblastwithDigbefore Lunatone could complete its attack.

Moments later, the ground cracked open. Mega Steelix erupted from beneath the surface like a venomous snake striking a sparrow, its massive jaws snapping toward Lunatone.

At the critical moment, a pale green protective barrier enveloped Lunatone.

Crunch!

Mega Steelix's jaws slammed into theProtect. Cracks began to spread across the barrier, but it held firm.

Perhaps the shield would shatter in the next instant, or maybe in two or three seconds.

Either way, Lunatone only needed those few seconds.

The ground beneath Mega Steelix rapidly turned to sand, swallowing a third of its massive body in mere moments.

The powerful suction created bySand Tombrendered even Mega Steelix's immense strength useless. The loose sand negated its efforts to move effectively.

And at that very moment, a brilliant white beam of light descended from above, striking Mega Steelix squarely on the head.

Future Sighthad landed.

The timing couldn't have been better. Trapped bySand Tomb, Mega Steelix had no way to dodge.

Fred allowed himself a slight smile. A bit of luck always felt good.

Julian, however, remained silent.

"Steelix, Drill Run," he said calmly.

Just when Mega Steelix was thinking about how to escape the predicament, Julian's voice made its eyes light up with realization.

Yes, it could use that move.

AlthoughSand Tomb'ssuction restricted its movement, Mega Steelix's massive body could spin with the flow of the shifting sands, turning the trap into an advantage.

Sand Tombthat once restrained Mega Steelix, in an instant, become its ally. Harnessing the shifting sands, it completedDrill Runin the blink of an eye.

Like a high-speed spinning drill, Mega Steelix pierced through theFuture Sight, dispersing it entirely. Using the momentum from its rotation, it propelled itself out of theSand Tomb.

Watching Mega Steelix charge toward Lunatone withDrill Run, Fred glanced at Julian with a hint of admiration.

From theScreechto disrupt Lunatone, to reading his moves, and nowDrill Run, Julian consistently found ways to help his Pokémon escape dire situations at critical moments.

Such precise command and adaptability—no wonder he overshadowed his peers, and now even dared to challenge veteran trainers.

But Fred's Lunatone wasn't so easily bested.

Lunatone's eyes flashed blue, and severalLight Screensmaterialized in theDrill Run'spath.

Crack! The firstLight Screenshattered in an instant.

Crack! The secondLight Screenbroke within half a second.

Crack!

Crack!

Crack! By the time the fifthLight Screenshattered, Mega Steelix'sDrill Runhad lost all its momentum, and its massive body came to a halt.

The power ofDrill Runwas completely neutralized by the fiveLight Screens, and Lunatone had prepared six.

"Hypnosis"

Mega Steelix, still recovering from the haltedDrill Run, suddenly felt its eyelids grow heavy. They fluttered open and shut, a deep drowsiness washing over it.

It wanted nothing more than to close its eyes and rest.

Seeing Mega Steelix's eyelids slowly close, Fred smiled faintly.

"Wake up, you fool!"

Just as Mega Steelix was about to succumb to sleep, Julian's sharp voice boomed directly into its mind.

*****

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