Steven was feeling a bit of pressure. Sure, he was someone who could say lines like "In the end, I'm the strongest one here."
But in reality, Steven was very mature and steady—and very good at reading the field.
After all, Steven's whole battle style was built around "finding the opponent's weak point" and fighting from there.
And right now, the situation was very clear: they were outnumbered.
"Wallace, I'll take Damian. You stall those two for now."
Steven thought it over, then spoke quietly to Wallace.
"Huh?"
Wallace froze. Wait, he was supposed to fight two?
"I need to get a feel for Damian's strength first." Steven said helplessly.
Of the three Team Rocket Trainers in front of them, Damian was obviously the strongest. According to the intel, Damian had easily defeated Alola's Champion‑tier Kukui.
And from how easily he'd beaten Wallace last time, it probably hadn't even been a challenge. That alone said plenty about Damian's strength.
Caitlin was a specialist Psychic, and she had both Tapu Lele and Metagross as Champion‑tier aces.
Nothing to take lightly.
Then there was the black‑haired girl who'd just shown up. Her Salamence's aura alone was terrifying—definitely not easy to handle.
"Got it. Be careful, Steven. That guy's really strong."
Wallace's handsome face tightened as he spoke seriously to Steven.
Compared to fighting Damian, Wallace honestly preferred taking on two at once.
"Yeah. You be careful too. Those two girls aren't simple." Steven nodded.
If anything, he was more worried Wallace wouldn't be able to hold the line.
After all, asking a Water‑type Champion like Wallace to fight two opponents at once was a bit much.
"Hehe～ Steven, you can always count on me!"
Wallace just smiled, flicking his cloak with a flourish as his overconfidence triggered again.
"I'm Wallace. I won't say I can beat them outright—but if it's just stalling for time, that's no problem at all!"
Wallace made this earth‑shaking declaration.
"Good." Steven nodded. He still trusted Wallace a lot in this moment.
Wallace might be a bit of a peacock, but he was reliable where it counted.
"You two done talking?"
Damian saw they seemed to have wrapped up their little strategy meeting and called out with a smile.
"If you haven't finished, I can give you more time. I'm not in any rush."
"Hmph! Damian, you really are arrogant!"
Wallace snorted coldly. He felt Damian was getting way too full of himself.
"You're standing in front of two Hoenn Champions, you know!"
In Wallace's mind, he and Steven were guaranteed to win. As the former and current Hoenn Champions, the two of them together were invincible.
"Oh? Wallace‑sensei, are you putting up another flag for yourself?" Damian couldn't help being amused by Wallace.
He was starting to find Wallace way too entertaining. No wonder in the anime Wallace later got turned into a semi‑comedic character—he really did have the chops for it.
"Three on two—we're the ones with the advantage here."
Damian casually rolled the Poké Ball in his hand, then enlarged it and popped it open.
"Ban~!"
A brutal armored behemoth crashed down in front of Damian, letting out a thunderous roar at Wallace and Steven.
Visible soundwaves rippled through the air, making every living thing flinch.
It was Kanto Region's pseudo‑legendary—Tyranitar!
Feeling the savage, violent aura coming off this Tyranitar, both Steven and Wallace grew more serious.
"Wow～ Damian, you've even got a Tyranitar."
Zinnia's eyes lit up. She pulled out the Pokédex Damian had bought her.
Beep～ Tyranitar, Rock/Dark‑type, the Armor Pokémon.
Entry: When Tyranitar goes berserk, it can cause mountains to crumble and rivers to be filled in, requiring maps to be redrawn.
Awesome～
Listening to the Pokédex's description, Zinnia was impressed. That was some high‑class flavor text.
And Tyranitar really did look amazing. Shame it wasn't Dragon‑type, or Zinnia would've wanted to catch one herself too.
"Zinnia, did you know?" Damian smiled at her.
"For strong evil organization members like us, Pokémon like Tyranitar, Salamence, Hydreigon—those are standard issue. You have to have at least one."
Right? As executives of an evil organization, if you didn't have a Tyranitar or something in that category, it just didn't feel right.
"Eh? Salamence is a villain Pokémon too?"
Zinnia froze, then tilted her head back to look up at her own Salamence. Emmm*
To be fair, Salamence really did give off a very strong "feral, vicious" vibe.
Caitlin glanced between her teammates' Tyranitar and Salamence, then fell into thought.
Maybe she should nab something that looked savage enough to really match the Team Rocket image for her main roster too?
"Tyranitar, huh?"
Steven opened a Poké Ball. His ace, Metagross, appeared in front of him.
Wallace sent out Milotic and Gyarados.
"It's truly an honor to face you in battle, Champion Wallace of Hoenn."
Tapu Lele, the island guardian deity of Alola's Akala Island, floated into place before Caitlin. Her beautiful eyes fixed on Wallace, her elegant smile as composed as ever.
"Girls blinded by darkness… let me be the one to guide you back onto the right path."
Facing Caitlin and Zinnia, Wallace was very confident.
Salamence? Four‑times weak to Ice. His Milotic was very good with Ice‑type moves.
As for Tapu Lele, Wallace believed his Gyarados could handle it just fine.
"Oh? Wallace, you wanna take the two of us at once?" Zinnia's mouth curled into a wild, predatory grin.
"Of course. Come at me together."
Wallace flicked his white cloak with a snap, radiating Champion presence.
"Ha～ now that's some guts. I really wanna see how strong you actually are."
Zinnia's pupils sharpened, her gaze turning razor‑edged and predatory—genuinely intimidating.
"Bring it on!"
Even so, Wallace's confidence didn't waver in the slightest.
Losing to Damian was one thing. But he, Wallace, Hoenn's Champion—was he going to lose to two girls?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
Even if he really couldn't beat them, he could at least stall, couldn't he?
"Lele."
Caitlin called softly to Tapu Lele. It raised its tiny hands.
Ability: Psychic Surge. A soft lavender aura spread out as Psychic Terrain formed.
Salamence spread its wings and rocketed into the air, its savage roar ringing through the sky as its cruel dragon eyes locked on the airborne Gyarados.
Battle!
"Metagross, huh? Shame, looks like my typing's got the edge on you."
Damian took one look at Caitlin and the others' fight, then smiled and turned his attention back to Steven and Metagross.
There really wasn't much to see on Wallace‑sensei's side. That outcome was never going to surprise him.
"Pokémon battles aren't decided by type alone, Damian. And Tyranitar's weak to Metagross's Steel‑type too."
Steven replied calmly.
Sure, Metagross's Psychic‑type was completely blanked by Tyranitar's Dark‑typing—but Metagross mainly relied on its Steel‑type and monstrous stats in battle. Psychic was more of a support typing.
And in terms of type matchups, Tyranitar was weak to Steel as well. Plus, that four‑times weakness to Fighting was way more of a liability than anything Metagross had.
And conveniently, Metagross did know Fighting‑type moves.
"Of course. Then go ahead, Steven‑sensei. Show me how strong Hoenn's former Champion really is."
Damian gestured politely, inviting Steven to make the first move.
Steven frowned slightly. That "Steven‑sensei" just sounded… wrong somehow.
"Metagross, Bullet Punch!"
Steven swung his arm, giving the order. Since Damian hadn't sent out a second Pokémon yet, Steven also stuck to just Metagross.
He was going to stick to his usual battle ideology and sound out Tyranitar's strength first.
This was his first time battling Damian; knowing your opponent was crucial.
Metagross let out a low rumble, its body lifting into the air as it shot forward at high speed toward Tyranitar.
A Steel‑type priority move: Bullet Punch.
"Dragon Dance."
Tyranitar's massive armored body began to move in a strange, ancient rhythm, faint blue light shimmering along its form.
Under Bullet Punch's priority and speed boost, Metagross closed the distance in an instant, appearing right in front of Tyranitar. Its twin claws hammered down again and again, its flurry of blows like a hail of bullets hammering into Tyranitar's body.
Tyranitar only grunted once and tanked the Bullet Punch straight through, forcing the Dragon Dance through to completion.
The blue glow sank slowly into Tyranitar's body. Dragon Dance—done!
"Defense is very solid."
Seeing that, Steven locked in a few details in his mind. Bullet Punch's power wasn't huge, sure—but it was still super‑effective on Tyranitar.
Yet this Tyranitar had eaten the hit, raw, while finishing Dragon Dance.
"Metagross, Meteor Mash!" Steven decided quickly.
"Payback. Meet it head‑on." Damian's lips curled.
Metagross's right arm shone with heavy metallic light as it swung down at Tyranitar, a trail of falling "meteors" seeming to follow its punch.
Steel‑type Meteor Mash!
Tyranitar roared in Metagross's face, raising its own claw to meet the blow.
Dark‑type Payback!
Boom!!
Meteor Mash and Payback smashed into each other, detonating with a thunderous crack. A visible shockwave rippled outward from the point of impact.
Steven's face darkened. Metagross's Meteor Mash had been completely blocked. Tyranitar hadn't so much as shifted its footing.
That Tyranitar's physical power was insane.
Steven's brows knit tighter. What he was proudest of in Metagross was its unmatched physical offense.
Yet this Tyranitar had taken Meteor Mash head‑on—and hadn't even looked strained.
"Crunch."
Meteor Mash burned out, and Tyranitar immediately seized Metagross's striking arm in one claw, a feral grin twisting its face.
It yanked Metagross in, then lunged forward with its gaping maw, black fangs gleaming as it clamped down.
Dark‑type Crunch!
"Metagross! Iron Head!" Steven ordered on instinct.
A metallic sheen flashed over Metagross's head—Steel‑type Iron Head.
Crack!
Crunch bit viciously into Iron Head. Metagross cried out in pain as the energy of Iron Head was ground to pieces under Crunch.
The shock sent a spike of agony through it. Metagross's free claw smashed hard into Tyranitar's chest, catching it off guard and shoving it back.
Metagross used the opening to wrench itself free, pulling away to reestablish distance.
Tyranitar braced, then settled back into its stance, its vicious eyes locked on Metagross, its face twisted into a feral mask.
"Looks like even your Metagross, Steven‑sensei, can't really match my Tyranitar."
Damian chuckled lightly.
"The battle's not over yet, Damian. Don't get ahead of yourself."
Steven stayed calm.
Even if that first exchange had gone against him, Metagross's defenses were high. It wasn't in real trouble yet.
Steven didn't believe he couldn't turn things around. He was Steven, after all.
"Oh? That so? You really shouldn't be this relaxed, you know." Damian's smile turned even more unrestrained.
"I'd suggest taking a look at your teammate.
Wallace‑sensei's situation… is not looking great."
Damian pointed cheerfully over toward Wallace's side of the field.
"???"
Steven blinked and turned his head.
One glance—and he saw Wallace's Milotic getting slammed into the ground by Zinnia's Salamence with Dragon Rush, taking a full beatdown.
Gyarados had just eaten a Thunder from Tapu Lele and crashed out of the sky, completely unable to fight.
Wallace was drenched in sweat. He'd never imagined these two girls would be this strong.
In just a few moments, Gyarados had already lost the ability to battle, and Milotic had taken heavy damage.
Wallace felt like the sky was falling.
"Steven, I… don't think I can hold them—"
Wallace's desperate gaze shot toward the one man he believed to be invincible: Steven.
Steven's scalp tingled. He had the same "sky is collapsing" feeling—and he could barely breathe.
Seriously, Wallace? It hasn't even been ten minutes!!!
Didn't you just tell me I could always count on you?!
~~~
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