"Slaking!"
Seeing that his Slaking was actually sent flying by Metagross's Meteor Mash, Eric was utterly shocked and couldn't help crying out. His gaze toward Julian finally lost all trace of the earlier contempt.
He knew very well just how powerful his Slaking was.
Even though Julian's Metagross was also rumored to be formidable in the outside world, in Eric's view, no matter how strong it was, it definitely couldn't be stronger than his Slaking.
With the Zeal Seed, the side effect of Slaking's laziness temporarily disappeared, and the power it could unleash far exceeded what its level suggested.
Yet now, it had been sent flying by a single punch from Metagross—and in the very area where Slaking was supposed to be strongest: raw strength. This was truly hard for Eric to accept.
After crashing against the protective barrier, Slaking didn't seem to suffer much damage. Even though its strength was inferior to Metagross's, it had still managed to block at least half of the force from the Meteor Mash.
Slaking stood upright, its thick legs forcefully kicking off the ground. As a large crater formed beneath it, its body leaped violently, soaring nearly a thousand meters before landing heavily about two hundred meters away from Metagross.
Its aura was wild and unrestrained. With a heavy stomp of its left foot, a rock protruded from the ground. Slaking grabbed the rock and hurled it toward Metagross.
In just a short distance of two hundred meters, the thrown rock fiercely rubbed against the air, actually becoming enveloped in flames and transforming into a meteor.
Metagross smashed the incoming meteor to pieces with a single punch. Amid the shower of flying debris, Slaking's massive figure suddenly appeared right in front of it.
The creature had used the meteor as cover to close the distance in an instant.
Its left fist erupted with scorching flames as it swung at Metagross's face. Metagross sneered—it had seen through such a petty trick long ago.
But since the Fire Punch was already too close, it was too late for a physical counterattack.
So—
Psychic!
A powerful psychic energy burst forth from its body, and the surrounding space instantly became incredibly heavy. Slaking felt its Fire Punch losing power with every inch it moved forward, weakened by thirty or forty percent before it even reached its target.
By the time the Fire Punch was less than an inch away from Metagross, its fist came to a stop, and the flames on it vanished completely.
The oppressive psychic weight made Slaking feel as if it was carrying a massive mountain on its back. It could still move—but barely.
Seeing that Slaking could still move its arm even slightly under its Psychic control, Metagross was actually a bit impressed. It was one of the few Pokémon that could still move at all while being restrained by its Psychic power.
"Metagross—Hammer Arm!"
Julian's voice rang out.
The next moment, Metagross's powerful arm, carrying immense force, slammed brutally into Slaking. Under the explosive impact, Slaking's body was driven straight into the ground.
The earth reacted as if it had been filled with explosives—cracking and fracturing inch by inch. Countless fissures instantly spread across the entire Dawson family estate.
Once, twice, thrice.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Hammer Arms continued to strike down. With each blow, the entire ground shook violently. Countless rocks were sent flying from the vibrations, breaking into smaller pieces, which then turned into dust amid the tremors.
Metagross had four arms, which meant it could deliver four consecutive Hammer Arms, each one heavier and more destructive than the last.
When the fourth strike came down, two thick arms suddenly burst up from the cracked ground, catching Metagross's descending blow.
Then, a tremendous repulsive force erupted from Slaking's body—
It was Counter.
The guy had actually endured three of Metagross's Hammer Arms in a row, each one stronger than the last, and still managed to unleash Counter in response.
Counter directly multiplied the power of Metagross's three Hammer Arms by two and returned it all back.
Under the massive shockwave formed by the repulsive force, Metagross's body vanished from its original position.
BOOM!!!
A thunderous crash followed, and cracks began spreading across the protective barrier surrounding them—but fortunately, it still held firm.
"Raaaahhh!"
Covered in blood, Slaking pounded its chest wildly. After taking three of Metagross's Hammer Arms, several of its bones had been broken.
But it wasn't over yet.
Giga Impact!
The effect of Zeal Seed could only last for ten minutes. After ten minutes, the Truant ability would kick in, and it would even be weakened for ten days.
Four minutes had already passed. Slaking had only six minutes left to finish off Metagross—and then kill that human.
Only then could it and its trainer hope to survive.
"Julian, should I repair the barrier?" Jirachi asked.
"How much lifespan would that cost?"
"Ten years."
Julian's mouth twitched, but he nodded.
Well, now he had directly lost a total of thirty years of his lifespan.
"Jirachi, open a gap at the top of the protective barrier. That can reduce the impact of the shockwaves," Julian said.
That way, the residual waves and blasts from the battle could be directed upward through the gap in the barrier, venting directly into the sky.
After all, there was no one up in the sky, so this would at least ease the pressure on the barrier.
If the barrier cracked again, Julian would have to spend more of his lifespan to repair it—and if that happened a few more times, even if he won't die, lifespan wasn't something that could just be thrown away like spare change.
"One year."
Julian took a deep breath, barely resisting the urge to throw Jirachi out of his arms.
'Damn it,' for a brief moment, he really regretted not just wishing for two thousand years of lifespan back then.
He nodded helplessly.
"Ding."
[Lifespan -1]
Julian could almost hear the sound.
Out in the world, everything cost money—but when it came to Jirachi, it didn't want your money. It wanted your life.
These so-called First-class Legendaries really were too expensive to command.
And this was without having Jirachi join the fight. If Julian actually had it take part in battle, it would probably drain a year—or even several years—of his lifespan every second.
And this was just for Jirachi, one of the weakest of the First-class Legendaries.
If it was someone like Rayquaza, a true top-tier guy, it would probably suck away a hundred years of your life in a minute.
"Julian, is there anything else you need me to do?"
Jirachi looked up at Julian, eyes sparkling with excitement. It seemed genuinely happy that it could help him—completely forgetting about the deadly side effect of its power.
Julian: 'This little guy probably can't wait for me to die so it can inherit my limited-edition skins from Pokémon Glory.'
"No need."
He shook his head firmly.
Then suddenly froze.
Wait a second… he'd already lost thirty-one years of lifespan. Didn't that mean his age was technically over fifty now?
Damn, he could practically call his dad "bro" now.
And if he lost a few more years, would his dad have to start calling him "big brother"?
Julian imagined the scene in his head. 'Hmm—pretty amusing.'
Thankfully, losing lifespan didn't make you age physically. But if your lifespan ever hit zero… you'd just drop dead on the spot—instantly.
At least that was a somewhat dignified way to go… right?
*****
Upto 30 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/ReduxMagister