Chapter 662: Moltres Down

On Jake's side, his Mega Metagross kept pressing its advantage, driving Serperior back step by step. The latter's long, slender body was already covered in wounds—most of them deep claw marks left by Mega Metagross. Blood kept dripping from them, staining its emerald-green scales almost entirely red.

Serperior's eyes burned with fury as it glared at its metallic foe.

Mega Metagross wasn't completely unscathed either—after all, Serperior was still a genuine Champion-level Pokémon that had held that rank for decades. It was no pushover.

For Pokémon at the Elite-level and above, if their Trainer died, they wouldn't grow stronger just because their Trainer's descendants fed them well.

But if they returned to the wild or to a Secret Realm to live on their own, their strength would keep improving over time.

To this day, Pokémon scholars still hadn't figured out exactly why.

"Metagross—Zen Headbutt!" Jake ordered.

---

On the other side, Julian's Mega Metagross and Moltres were both injured—though Leafeon wasn't in great shape either.

Leafeon's eyes glared at the two Pokémon in front of it, its body beginning to emit a soft white glow—the clear sign of drawing in sunlight.

Absorb—then release.

Solar Beamwas charged in the blink of an eye—the blinding white beam shot out and instantly punched a hole through one of Moltres's wing.

"SCREEE—!"

Moltres let out a cry of pain, crimson blood splattering down as its damaged wing made it lose control, sending it plummeting toward the ground.

Julian immediately grabbed its Poké Ball and recalled it.

With an injured wing, it could no longer fly.

And a Moltres that couldn't fly… was just a grounded chicken. With its mobility gone, keeping it on the field would only make it easy prey for Leafeon.

"Metagross… it's all on you now," Julian said in a low voice.

With Moltres withdrawn, none of his other Pokémon had the strength to threaten Leafeon. If he sent anyone else out, it'd only split Mega Metagross's focus trying to protect them.

So his only real option now was Metagross.

"Meta~"

Mega Metagross rumbled calmly: "I'll smash that little punk to pieces."

It didn't bother whispering either, and of course, Leafeon heard it loud and clear.

'A little punk? You think I'm some clueless cub who doesn't know what you're saying?'

'Back when I was ruling the wilds, you hadn't even hatched yet.'

Being so openly insulted and looked down on by Mega Metagross naturally made Leafeon furious—but its mind stayed clear.

At its level, it was hard to lose control just from rage alone.

'You two couldn't beat me together—now you're alone. Where the hell is your confidence coming from?'

As these thoughts flashed through Leafeon's mind, it suddenly spat out a torrent of seeds from its mouth—

Bullet Seed!

Each seed was about the size of a fist, all formed from pure Grass-type energy.

Bullet Seedmight not pack the raw power ofSeed Bomb, but it made up for it with sheer quantity and speed.

In midair, the barrage transformed into a green tidal wave, blanketing the battlefield.

Mega Metagross usedAgilityto keep dodging, but theBullet Seedstream clung to it relentlessly, nearly landing hits several times.

As Mega Metagross intentionally used its speed to widen the gap between itself and Leafeon, Bullet Seedbecame even harder to land.

Leafeon quickly noticed, so it decisively cut offBullet Seed—and that white light began gathering on its body again.

Solar Beam—fired instantly.

Missed.

It fired again.

Missed again.

The frequency of theseSolar Beamswas absurdly fast—Leafeon didn't seem to need to charge in sunlight at all, it was like instant-cast.

AndSolar Beam'sspeed was far greater thanBullet Seed's. Even with Mega Metagross having widened the distance, it didn't help much.

It already got grazed by one blast, though the damage wasn't too severe. Because it was rush charged, the power behind theSolar Beamwas clearly reduced.

Of course, if it had been any ordinary Pseudo-Champion Pokémon, even a weakenedSolar Beamwould've been enough to put them in serious trouble.

But staying on the defensive wasn't Mega Metagross's style.

It had kept dodging for so long because it was waiting for an opening.

Leafeon had gone from spammingBullet Seednonstop to firing offSolar Beamsat will—that whole flurry had burned through its stamina in a very short time.

It was like in humans: walking 200 meters was nothing, but sprint 200 meters flat-out, and you'll be gasping for air.

Leafeon wasn't quite that extreme, but it did feel the fatigue—it had to stop itsSolar Beambarrage and start usingSynthesisto absorb sunlight and restore its stamina.

Giga Drain'saccuracy was unreliable—and even though Mega Metagross was like a giant battery—it probably wasn't going to let itself get drained again.

'Interrupt it!'

Leafeon was already a nightmare to fight. If it managed to recover even a portion of its stamina, the question wouldn't be whether they could win—but how long they'd last.

Mega Metagross vanished, reappearing point-blank in front of Leafeon—

Leafeon's eyes gleamed:'Just what I was waiting for.'

A Champion-level Pokémon's intelligence was equivalent to a genius among humans—when it started usingSynthesis, it already knew Mega Metagross would try to stop it.

So theSynthesishad been a ruse—the real trap wasLeaf Blade, already primed to strike the moment Mega Metagross closed in.

Its tail, glowing like a green guillotine, slashed upward—

Facing Leafeon's suddenLeaf Blade, Mega Metagross showed no panic. Its internal supercomputer had already calculated the optimal countermeasure in that split second—

Substitute!

TheLeaf Bladestruck true—cutting right into Mega Metagross's body—and for a brief moment, Leafeon's heart surged with triumph.

Leafeon:'It's finally over.'

It kept slashing withLeaf Blade, and the Mega Metagross before it was cleanly sliced in two.

But the triumphant look on its face suddenly vanished.

'Something's off.'

The sensation wasn't right. Cutting through Mega Metagross felt far too effortless—it didn't feel like slicing through solid metal at all. It was more like cutting through a piece of wood.

As if confirming its suspicion, the "cleaved" Mega Metagross flickered like a mirage before dissolving into nothingness.

A blaring alarm went off in Leafeon's mind. Trusting its battle instincts, it reflexively swung itsLeaf Bladebackward.

You had to admit, Leafeon's reaction speed was terrifyingly fast—the moment it felt something was wrong when it split Mega Metagross, it had already braced to counterattack.

But Mega Metagross was still faster.

A well-prepared plan always beats a reflex.

The chilling aura behind it made Leafeon's fur stand on end, and itsLeaf Bladeaccelerated desperately—

And Mega Metagross wasn't usingMeteor Mashthis time—it wasIce Punch.

WhileIce Punchwasn't quite as powerful asMeteor Mash, its Ice-type energy was twice as effective against Leafeon's Grass typing.

So in this moment, Ice Punchwas the far better choice.

*****

Upto 30 chapters ahead on patreon: -

/ReduxMagister