All in all…
The Eevee family was neither "unrare," nor "unprecious."
Rather, it was simply that the trainers on this stage were all Senior Level Trainers, perfectly capable of commanding them!
It was just like Armament Haki in One Piece: something unseen in the East Blue, yet commonplace in the New World.
The East Blue was too weak. The New World was too strong. That was all there was to it.
…
And the Eevee family truly was powerful. With a base stat total exceeding 500 after evolution, they were highly coveted by elite trainers.
If not for the fact that Eevee itself was genuinely rare, almost never seen in the wild… then surely every Senior Level Trainer would own at least one!
Who wouldn't want an Eevee?Rare, adorable, and strong—who could resist?
In fact, there were even people in this world who formed entire "Eevee Squads"!
Of course, Eevee itself was extremely weak—its base stat total barely over 300. Only through evolution did it become formidable…
But that was about the species, not the individual.
A weak species did not mean weak individuals.
There were bound to be some extraordinary Eevee in this world, blessed with talent beyond their kin. They were rare, but they did exist.
And once such Eevee evolved, their strength would become even more astonishing.
"Vaporeon! Attribute-wise, Vaporeon has the overwhelming advantage without a doubt!"
"But then again, this battlefield is filled with rocky obstacles. The real question is: can Vaporeon truly perform here?" The announcer led the audience in analyzing the situation.
"Heh."
Hikaru sneered.
Yes, Vaporeon would be restricted on a rocky field.
But Vaporeon wasn't exactly a speed-based Pokémon in the first place. If its movements were limited, then so what?
The main reason to send out a Water-type on a rocky battlefield was simple—Hydro Pump.
As long as Hydro Pump landed, it would deal quadruple damage. The match would be decided in an instant.
"Graveler, use Rollout!"
At that moment, Graveler curled into a gleaming golden sphere, barreling forward at high speed.
"Perfect!"
Hikaru's eyes lit up, and he shouted:"Now, Vaporeon! Aim at Graveler and fire Hydro Pump!"
Boom!
A thunderous impact rang out.
Vaporeon's Hydro Pump, about thirty centimeters in diameter, slammed into the golden sphere of Graveler—nearly sixty centimeters across.
The jet was powerful enough to throw Graveler off balance, disrupting its trajectory.
"It hit! Super effective!" the announcer cried, his voice brimming with excitement.
To host the Indigo League, his theoretical knowledge was no joke. He knew full well: Water beat Ground, Water beat Rock.
That meant Hydro Pump wasn't just strong—it dealt quadruple damage to Graveler!
Normally, this would be an instant knockout.
Even if not, Graveler should at least have been critically wounded.
And yet…
To everyone's surprise, Yozora's Graveler seemed hardly harmed at all. Knocked off course, yes. Thrown back, yes. But injured? Not in the slightest.
Instead, Graveler twisted mid-roll, redirected itself, and with a resounding crash, smashed straight into Vaporeon—sending it flying!
"Vaaaah…" Vaporeon howled as it slammed into the rocky ground, battered all over, its eyes swirling. It had clearly lost the will to battle.
"Vaporeon is unable to fight! Graveler wins!" The referee announced at once.
"Unbelievable! Graveler actually turned the tables! After taking that devastating Hydro Pump, its strength remains undiminished!" The announcer's voice was full of disbelief.
Inside, even he felt a pang of doubt.
Because from the outside, Graveler looked positively smug, its whole body glowing with golden light, as though it hadn't taken a single scratch.
"No way… could it be that it truly didn't take any damage?" The announcer wiped a bead of cold sweat. As a professional, he couldn't afford such a basic mistake in commentary.
Fortunately, the audience—swept away by the atmosphere—only screamed louder, not caring whether Graveler was actually injured or not.
"In any case, Yozora's Graveler is incredible—defeating two opponents in a row! Truly worthy of being a Shiny Graveler! Now, Kōgen is down to his very last Pokémon!" the announcer declared.
On the field.
Hikaru recalled his fainted Vaporeon. His pressure mounted, but he swiftly threw out his final Poké Ball.
ROAR!
A thunderous bellow shook the arena.
Emerging from the light was a massive, steel-forged serpent, looming across the rocky battlefield.
Steelix—the evolution of Onix.
Its body was even larger than Onix's, its massive, ferocious head framed by blood-red eyes brimming with menace.
Its steel fangs gleamed with overwhelming bite force.
And with its entire body reforged in metal, its defense far surpassed that of Onix.
[Steelix] (Steel + Ground): Commander-tier peak, Gym Leader potential.
"Steelix! Hikaru's final Pokémon is Steelix!" the announcer exclaimed.
The rocky battlefield wasn't nearly as vast as an official arena.
That made Steelix's colossal form even more overwhelming here. Compared to it, Yozora's Graveler looked utterly tiny.
"It's said that Onix only evolves into Steelix with a Metal Coat—and Metal Coats are not only rare, but extraordinarily expensive. Clearly, Hikaru spared no expense in raising this Steelix!"
"Now, let us witness the true might of Steelix!" the announcer cried.
"To evolve Onix into Steelix, I really did spend quite a fortune…"
Hikaru allowed himself a faint smile. But to him, it was worth every penny.
Because Steelix's power after evolution satisfied him completely.
"Go, Steelix! Use Iron Tail!"
With a snap command, Steelix swung its colossal tail, crashing down on Graveler with unstoppable force.
"Quick, use Harden!" Yozora shouted, sensing the sheer pressure emanating from Steelix's tail.
Graveler instantly hardened its body, boosting its defense—but it wasn't enough.
BOOOOM!
Steelix's Iron Tail slammed into Graveler's head, the immense impact contorting its face in pain as its body was driven downward.
Cracks split across the rocky ground like thunderbolts.
Graveler groaned once, then collapsed, unable to endure.
The loss was clean. Yozora had no choice but to accept it.
The level gap was simply too great.
And beyond that—Iron Tail was a Steel-type move, super effective against Rock, dealing double damage.
Graveler's dual Abilities, Water Absorb and Sap Sipper, had patched up two of its greatest weaknesses. But many weaknesses still remained.
Ultimately, it came down to levels.
If Graveler could evolve into Golem, raising its level further, then even with a type disadvantage, it might still stand against Steelix.
…
…
(End of Chapter)