As the referee's whistle echoed across the arena, Julian's public exhibition match officially began.
Metagross's eyes narrowed slightly, and in the blink of an eye, it crossed a hundred meters, its metallic arm gleaming as it swung down at Sirfetch'd.
Steel-type energy condensed into a half-meter-long metallic claw, and the air beneath it erupted with a sharp sonic boom.
Even before the Metal Claw descended, an oppressive pressure was already bearing down.
"Sir!"
Sirfetch'd's gaze remained calm as it raised the leek-leaf shield in its left hand. Though it looked soft and flimsy, it easily blocked Metagross's massive Metal Claw.
However, one of Sirfetch'd's feet was driven halfway into the ground from the impact.
At this moment, its right hand thrust the leek lance forward like lightning, aimed directly at the joints of Metagross's body.
Metagross's entire body was made of steel, leaving it with very few weak points. If there were any, they would be the connecting points between its four arms and its main body.
Hitting those joints required not only close proximity but also precise accuracy.
"Meta!"
Sensing the sharp, piercing force coming its way, Metagross raised its arm to block. A metallic clang rang out as Sirfetch'd's lance struck its thick steel limb.
Sirfetch'd's lance was deflected by Metagross's arm, but the sheer force behind the thrust still pushed Metagross back more than ten meters.
The instant Metagross was forced back, Sirfetch'd pushed off with its foot, shattering the ground beneath it as its small body shot forward like a rocket.
It closed the distance to Metagross in an instant, its lance transforming into a blur of silver streaks.
It was Fury Cutter.
Sirfetch's attack was incredibly rapid, delivering dozens of strikes per second. This single Fury Cutter alone could easily take down an Elite-level Pokémon.
Under the blinding speed of the assault, the lance in its hand turned into a shimmering curtain of silver light.
The audience was dazzled.
> "Sirfetch'd is so strong! If Metagross takes this whole combo, it might be done for!"
> "King Julian's Metagross actually got hit by Sirfetch'd in just the second exchange? Duke truly lives up to being the strongest Champion!"
> "Tch, Julian's Champion title might be all bark and no bite."
> "Where did this mutt come from, barking here?"
> "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention, and my dog got out."
As the Fury Cutter ended, Sirfetch'd delivered a final powerful strike straight at Metagross's head, and the explosive force generated a terrifying shockwave.
The protective barrier around the battlefield rippled continuously under the impact of the shockwave.
"Meta~"
Metagross: "Is that all?"
"Fetch!?"
Sirfetch'd looked at Metagross in utter disbelief. It had just landed over a hundred strikes with that Fury Cutter—yet Metagross stood there completely unharmed.
'This shouldn't be possible. Even for a Steel-type Pokémon, its defense shouldn't be this ridiculously strong.'
Duke's expression also shifted slightly as he watched.
He knew that Julian's Metagross, being a shiny variant, had twice the defense of a regular Metagross. But even so, it shouldn't have emerged completely unscathed.
Meteor Mash!
After taking that many hits, it was now Metagross's turn to strike back. With Sirfetch'd right in front of it, not using Meteor Mash would be a waste of the opportunity.
An overwhelming pressure descended like the sky itself was falling. Even before Meteor Mash landed, the terrifying force had already caused the ground beneath Sirfetch'd to sink.
"Sir!"
Sirfetch'd immediately raised its shield in defense, but this time, the shield failed to hold.
The instant the shield made contact with Meteor Mash, the unstoppable force instantly tore through it, shattering the green shield into pieces.
The remaining force of Meteor Mash transformed into a brilliant multicolored light and slammed squarely into Sirfetch'd's face.
BOOM!!!
Sirfetch'd's body turned into a streak of white light, accompanied by a powerful shockwave, before it crashed heavily into the arena's protective barrier.
The impact was so intense that the entire barrier shook violently.
Seeing the barrier's energy levels spike, a staff member panicked: "Raise the barrier's energy output—max power, now!"
The force of that single impact was comparable to a mid- to late-stage Champion-level attack.
"What a monster…" the staff member muttered, staring at Metagross on the screen. Despite being only an early-stage Champion, its power rivaled that of mid- to late-stage Champion-level beings.
In reality, both Metagross and Sirfetch'd were still holding back.
After all, this was an exhibition match—moves with massive destructive potential were off the table, and if they went all-out, the protective barrier might not withstand the aftermath.
Sirfetch'd slid down the barrier and landed back on the ground.
Julian did not order Metagross to press the advantage.
"Sir…"
Sirfetch'd shook its dizzy head—for a moment, it felt like it had seen its great-grandmother waving at it.
When it looked toward Metagross again, the opponent was no longer in its original position. In fact, it couldn't sense Metagross anywhere in the arena.
"Be careful—it's using Teleport."
Duke's voice sounded in its ears.
"Sir!"
Sirfetch'd nodded, then slowly closed its eyes.
This dramatic gesture made Metagross—who was about to launch a sneak attack—pause. Unsure of Sirfetch'd's intentions, Metagross continued to flicker across the battlefield using Teleport.
"Fetch!"
Sirfetch'd suddenly opened its eyes. Its body moved like a ghost, and in the very next second, Metagross reappeared from Teleport right in front of it.
The leek lance came crashing down on Metagross.
Brick Break!
Metagross was taken aback—this guy had actually predicted its movement path!
Was it luck—or could Sirfetch'd really predict its movements?
Brick Break came crashing down from above with tremendous force.
Metagross's own arm shot upward from below—Bullet Punch, its momentum not the least bit weaker.
BOOM!!
The two moves collided, generating concentric rings of milky-white energy that spread out like razor-sharp blades of air, scraping a layer off the entire battlefield.
> "Not gonna lie—if my ace Pokémon got caught in just that shockwave, it would be severely injured. For context, I'm an Elite trainer—though only an early-stage Elite."
> "Whoa, a hidden expert! Respect!"
> "Nah, nah, compared to those two, I'm nothing."
> "How did Sirfetch'd predict where Metagross would Teleport?"
> "If we knew that, we wouldn't be here just watching."
> "I know. But I'm not gonna tell you guys."
The live stream chat exploded with comments and speculation.
There was no commentator for this exhibition match—after all, few were qualified to commentate on a battle between two Champions. Unless, of course, the commentator was also a Champion themselves.
The two attacks seemed evenly matched. After several seconds of stalemate, Metagross and Sirfetch'd tacitly disengaged, retreating to their respective sides.
Once again, they stood a hundred meters apart. Sirfetch'd tightly gripped its lance, though a closer look would reveal its hand trembling slightly.
Sirfetch'd: 'This guy's strength… even a Machamp would be outclassed.'
Metagross: 'If I had used a bit more force just now, I probably would have sent this guy flying. Good thing I held back.'
Considering the time, only ten minutes had passed. The exhibition match needed to last at least half an hour—meaning they had to keep this up for another twenty minutes.
*****
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