BOOM!!
With a earth-shattering roar, Aggron unleashed a devastating Headbutt, instantly reducing the entire battlefield to ruins.
A Kommo-o was sent flying through the air with a whoosh, crashing heavily into the protective barrier before slumping to the ground. After struggling for a moment, it finally collapsed with a thud.
"Rooaaar!"
Aggron let out a triumphant roar. Although it had emerged victorious, its armor was riddled with scars of all sizes, along with countless fist and foot imprints.
Its incredibly sturdy armor was now more than half shattered—a truly pitiful sight.
Particularly noticeable were the three deep gashes on its chest, which had not only pierced through the armor and torn into the flesh beneath but had even damaged the bone.
Copious amounts of blood had stained the armor crimson, forming a small pool of blood where it stood.
Though Aggron's current state was far from good, its eyes were blazing with excitement.
At this very moment, its level rose from 85 to 86.
---
Pokémon: Aggron (Steel/Rock)
Level: 86
Potential: Blue
Ability: Heavy Metal
Held Item: Metal Coat
Gender: Male
Moves: Roar, Tackle, Harden, Headbutt, Protect, Iron Head, Metal Burst, Rock Tomb, Metal Claw, Earth Power, Take Down, Iron Defense, Double-Edge, Metal Sound, Autotomize
TMs: Earthquake, Sandstorm, Dig, Shock Wave, Rock Slide, Rock Smash, Water Pulse, Dragon Claw, Focus Punch, Iron Tail, Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, Mega Punch, Mega Kick, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Stone Edge, Wide Guard, Reckless, Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Sand Tomb, Bulldoze, Hydro Pump, Stomping Tantrum, Body Press, High Horsepower
Egg Moves: Stomp, Heavy Slam, Endeavor, Dragon Rush
Note: Has become a Totem Pokémon after absorbing the Soul of Totem.
Note: After absorbing the Blacklight Core, the Pokémon continuously absorbs sunlight to restore its stamina (limited to Steel- and Rock-types)
Note: Consumed Diamond Core, increasing the power of Rock and Ground-type moves by 20%.
---
Battle was the fastest way to strengthen a Pokémon—provided both sides were relatively close in power. A one-sided victory would leave the winner unsatisfied and the loser traumatized.
The fact that Aggron was pushed to such extremes—with its incredibly sturdy armor shattered—spoke volumes about the prowess of its opponent.
The Kommo-o, which had already lost the ability to fight, was now staggering back to its feet.
Its Trainer was Victor Drake, the Dragon Elite of Drakoria, a powerhouse at the peak of Pseudo-Champion level.
This Kommo-o was his ace Pokémon.
With the outcome of the match decided, the protective barrier dissipated automatically.
Kommo-o stared at Aggron with clear unwillingness—just a little more, and it would have been Aggron lying on the ground instead.
As a peak Pseudo-Champion, losing to a mid-stage Pseudo-Champion was hard to swallow. Until now it had been the one to defeat opponents above its level but now such a thing had actually happened to it.
Aggron beckoned to Kommo-o with one claw, as if to say, 'If you're not convinced, we can go another round.'
The motion caused Aggron's wounds to tear open even more, but it paid them no mind.
"Hurry up and heal him, 'nanny.'"
Julian patted Celebi perched on his head.
Celebi grumbled in protest: "Don't call me a nanny."
But it still flew over to Aggron and used Heal Pulse.
Perhaps because Celebi was the so-called "Nature's Child," its healing moves were far more effective than those of most Pokémon.
With Celebi's Heal Pulse, combined with Julian's internal and external treatments, Aggron's injuries were quickly stabilized.
Now it just needed time to fully recover and let its wounds heal naturally.
Aggron lowered its head to look at its Trainer, who was tending to its injuries. Its expression carried a mix of anticipation and nervousness.
"You did great, big guy."
Thanks to the Seven-Aperture Stone, Julian could understand his Pokémon's feelings more clearly. He knew Aggron wanted praise but also felt embarrassed about being so badly battered, even though it had won—it was a hard-fought victory.
Victor walked over, looking both frustrated and astonished. "You really are a monster."
The "monster" he referred to wasn't just Julian—it was also Aggron.
The first time he'd met Julian, the kid had only been an Elite-level trainer. The next time they met, Julian was already the seventh Champion of the nation, and now Victor was technically his subordinate.
The gap was so large it almost felt unreal.
"I'll take that as a compliment, Teacher Drake," Julian said with a smile.
Victor had given several public lectures at Imperial University, which Julian had attended. His secondary attribute was Dragon-type, and he had even been invited to the special Advanced-level secret realm, the Dragon's Den, by the Drake family.
Moreover, Victor's younger brother, Wade, had also taught Julian much about Dragon-types, and his good friend Asher was Victor's son.
So, Julian had a very favorable impression of Victor and the entire Drake family.
The Drake family was pleasantly surprised by Julian's rapid rise. They had initially supported him due to his talent and family background, never expecting him to become a Champion in just a few years.
As a result, the Drake family had become one of the biggest beneficiaries of Julian's rise to Champion status.
After all, they had helped Julian quite a bit—especially for being allowed to enter the Dragon's Den and bathe in the Dragon Pool. That alone was a major favor, and the Drake family had never explicitly asked for anything in return.
And now that Julian had become a Champion, that favor had become immensely valuable.
Even though the Drake family was one of the nation's top clans and possessed Champion-level Pokémon, they didn't have any living Champion-level trainers.
And there was a huge difference between a clan with an active Champion-level trainer and one that only had Champion-level Pokémon.
Not to mention, the Walker family was also a Champion lineage, with Champion-level Trainers in their ranks and now they had achieved the near impossible feat of producing two active Champions—one of whom was only 22 years old.
A single family with two active Champions was practically rewriting the history books of Drakoria.
Fortunately, Jake had chosen to take it easy. Otherwise, if this top ranked Elite were to suddenly get serious again, the Walker family might even produce a third Champion in the future.
The battle just now had actually been initiated by Victor himself.
His goal was to help Julian establish authority over the Elites under his command.
Even though Julian was now a Champion, he was simply too young, and many veteran Trainers were not entirely convinced.
Their attitude was essentially, 'I don't care if you're a Champion—I'm not convinced, so what are you going to do about it?'
So Victor took the initiative to challenge Julian and even invited several seasoned Pseudo-Champions to witness the battle.
And in this match, he did not hold back—he fought with everything he had—yet he still lost.
If he had lost to Metagross, it would have been understandable—after all, Metagross was a Champion-level Pokémon.
But losing to a mid-stage Pseudo-Champion? His Kommo-o was at the peak of Pseudo-Champion level!
The older generation of Trainers who witnessed this battle were just as shocked as Victor.
They had assumed Julian only had Metagross to rely on, never expecting his Aggron to be just as monstrously powerful.
*****
Upto 30 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/ReduxMagister