The Garchomp in the sky slowly descended, and the golden-haired girl gracefully dismounted.
She wore a short, off-the-shoulder top in black and white, revealing a sliver of her slender waist. Her lower body was clad in stylish black cargo pants and white boots, radiating confidence and strength.
"Uh, Cynthia, long time no see~" Steven's mouth twitched as he smiled and greeted her.
I knew it!
Grandma caroline said nothing! It was all a lie!
"Hmm, long time no see," Cynthia responded coolly, her face showing little expression.
A single word exploded in Steven's mind...
Doomed!!!
Piplup's Poke Ball suddenly shook.
That's right! Cynthia and Piplup had met before, and although they hadn't gotten along well, given Cynthia's personality, she should have had some interaction with Piplup.
Then let it out to break the ice!
"I'm counting on you!" Steven opened Piplup's Poke Ball and released it.
"Piplup?!"
I only sprayed you with water a few times! Why are you letting me out now?!
Piplup emerged and met Cynthia's gaze, then immediately turned around, refusing to look. Its stubby legs bounced as it tried to return to its Poke Ball.
Unfortunately, even jumping, it couldn't reach Steven's waist.
"Piplup!"
Let me go back quickly!
"Garchomp?" Garchomp let out a low growl.
Piplup shivered violently, frantically tugging at Steven's pant leg, nearly dropping to its knees.
Earlier, it had also sprayed Cynthia with water as a prank, and that Garchomp had, without hesitation, given it a firm smack on the head.
That blow—it still remembered it vividly!
"Long time no see, Piplup." Cynthia naturally recognized this Piplup, which Garchomp had nearly flattened, and greeted it with a smile.
"Piplup?!"
"Huh?!"
Piplup: This is not the time for pleasantries!
Steven: Why don't you smile when you greet me?!
"Garchomp..." Garchomp narrowed its eyes, slowly raising its right arm to a comfortable height.
Hmm, this height is perfect for a swift chop!
"Piplup!"
Piplup trembled all over, its potential bursting forth directly as it scrambled up Steven's pants.
Finally, its small flipper slapped the button on the Poke Ball, and it disappeared back inside.
"..." Steven looked at Piplup's Poke Ball with a wry smile.
Good thing I wore a belt, otherwise this Pokemon would have pulled my pants down.
But why does it act like it's seen a monster?
"Ahem, well..." Steven coughed lightly into his fist, about to speak.
Suddenly, he sensed something was off, vaguely detecting an unusual... "killing intent" from somewhere?
It really does seem like a monster!
Wait, no?
Steven looked at the smile that lingered on Cynthia's face, her eyebrows slightly lowered in an endearing expression.
So where was this killing intent coming from?
Steven's gaze shifted slightly, meeting the Garchomp behind Cynthia.
Garchomp's eye twitched, and several visible anger marks appeared on its face.
"Garchomp..."
I noticed you were staring at my Cynthia... for quite a while, weren't you!
Steven's Adam's apple bobbed. So the killing intent was coming from Garchomp!
"Metagross." Metagross stepped forward, positioning itself in front of Steven.
Its serious gaze met Garchomp's glare directly.
Steven: Metagross, thank you!
Cynthia's captivating eyes slowly closed, her lips moving slightly.
"Garchomp, Fire Fang!"
Wait! Why did it suddenly attack?!
Professor Rowan, seemingly prescient, had already retreated to a safe distance. He had only one request:
"Just don't damage the car."
"Iron Defense!" Steven responded quickly.
Watching Garchomp lunge forward, its teeth ignited with flames, Metagross's body seemed to be coated with a metallic sheen.
Clang!
Garchomp bit down on Metagross's arm after Iron Defense activated. The flames caused Metagross's expression to shift subtly, but it still blocked the attack.
"My turn! Ice Punch!"
"Metagross!"
Metagross raised its other arm, and cold air began emanating from its fist—a telltale sign of ice forming.
Cynthia suddenly opened her sharp eyes, her battle aura fully unleashed!
"Stone Edge!"
"Garchomp!"
Garchomp released its bite on Metagross's arm and roared toward the sky.
With a stomp of its foot, several small but wickedly sharp rocks instantly surged from beneath the ground, engulfing Metagross!
The Stone Edge rose from below, forcing Steven to retreat repeatedly to avoid being hit.
Bang! Bang!
The stones struck Metagross, but the damage was minimal.
Suddenly, Metagross jolted fiercely.
This was because the arm wielding Ice Punch was struck by Stone Edge, knocking its attack trajectory off course!
The deflected Ice Punch barely grazed past the dodging Garchomp!
"Cynthia is really strong..." Steven immediately understood how formidable his opponent was.
She actually used Stone Edge to interfere with Metagross's Ice Punch!
Both sides temporarily separated, preparing to enter the next phase.
Steven's mind raced. It seemed Garchomp's strength was indeed superior to Metagross's.
But having successfully activated Iron Defense while enduring Fire Fang, combined with Metagross's typing advantages, it wasn't impossible to win.
Metagross's physical defense was inherently strong. Although Fire Fang had type advantage, it wasn't Garchomp's STAB move, so it lacked the same-type attack bonus.
Furthermore, Metagross's physical defense was currently boosted.
Steel-type also resisted Dragon-type moves, and Earthquake, which would be super effective against Metagross, could be dodged by using Magnet Rise.
Unless Garchomp could make Earthquake perform like Precipice Blades, the advantage should still be on his side.
Although Garchomp didn't have Dragon Dance, it did have Swords Dance. As long as Garchomp didn't successfully use Swords Dance to greatly boost its attack power, everything should be manageable.
"Psychic!"
"Fire Blast!"
Steven was stunned. Not Swords Dance?!
After creating distance, instead of seizing the opportunity to use Swords Dance, she used Fire Blast to suppress him!
Cynthia's Garchomp was trained as a mixed attacker!
I misjudged the strategy... but that doesn't mean Metagross has to take this Fire Blast!
This was exactly why Steven didn't use Flash Cannon but chose Psychic instead!
Metagross observed the large kanji-shaped flame expelled by Garchomp, and its supercomputer-like brain processed the situation in just 0.01 seconds.
The target of Psychic changed to itself!
Using Psychic to control its own body, it flew upward, dodging Garchomp's surprise Fire Blast!
Just like a Psychic-type user using Psychic to levitate, Metagross used Psychic to lift itself into the air, avoiding Fire Blast entirely.
I can win!
Even against Cynthia and Garchomp, who are slightly stronger than us, Metagross and I have a real chance to win!
"Garchomp!" Garchomp's eyes widened in fury, but its gaze wasn't fixed on Metagross—it was on Steven!
This left Steven puzzled.
"That's enough, Garchomp." Cynthia suddenly spoke.
"Garchomp?"
Why aren't we continuing?
Cynthia didn't respond but slowly walked toward Steven.
Watching Cynthia approach step by step, Steven's heart leaped to his throat.
What should I say first?!
Explain? Apologize?
No, no! I need to stay calm!
First, let's see how this plays out!