Chapter 174: Miserable Gyarados
A lucky trainer might get three consecutive Protects, while an unlucky one may fail after the first attempt.
Whether you're lucky or unlucky, just using Protect will make it clear.
Unlucky King Julian didn't believe in this curse, but poor Melmetal had to suffer for it.
When Protect failed, Melmetal took a direct Hyper Beam, and, wincing from the pain, it turned back to Julian with a look of frustration.
How could it not know its trainer's luck? Every time Metagross used Meteor Mash, it had to be right in the opponent's face to even hope for a hit—otherwise, the accuracy was hopeless.
"Focus on the battle; it's coming"
Julian said sternly, giving Melmetal a quick reprimand.
It was Melmetal that used Protect, and if it failed, how could that be Julian's fault? Clearly, it was just unlucky itself.
Gyarados, seizing the opportunity, shot a burst of Scald from its open mouth, as for the Hyper Beam's recovery time, that barely slowed it down.
The boiling water caused the air around it to heat up noticeably.
Though Scald is a Water-type move, it has a chance of inflicting a burn status on its target.
"Flash Cannon!"
There was no point in trying Protect again, though Julian felt a bit disappointed.
If the second try didn't work, maybe the third attempt would miraculously have a better chance, he thought.
The silver Flash Cannon collided with Scald, and after a moment of struggle, Flash Cannon broke through the water.
Seeing this, Gyarados immediately whipped up a Twister, using the powerful winds to block the Flash Cannon.
"This Gyarados sure has impressive battle experience," Julian muttered.
It even knew this alternative use of Twister; clearly, this Gyarados had faced many trainers in battle. Those defeats hadn't been in vain—it had learned from each one.
Each time a trainer defeated it and took its treasures, Gyarados would wake up feeling even stronger than before.
The Twister tore up the icy ground, spinning up sharp shards of ice that swirled like blades.
Dragonite flapped its wings, carrying Julian out of the Twister's range.
Melmetal stood still as the Twister approached, letting itself get swallowed by the vortex. Even with its immense weight, the Twister lifted it from the ice.
As it was spun around, sharp ice shards continuously struck its metallic body, drawing silver liquid with each hit.
Gyarados knew the Twister alone wouldn't be enough to defeat Melmetal.
"Raaaargh!!"
Within the Twister, Gyarados roared, a fierce energy surging from its body, its voice filled with pain.
With its roar, the entire Twister turned blood-red, filled with a frenzied energy that shattered the ice beneath it and pulled in water from the lake below.
After using Outrage, Gyarados gained an even greater surge of power.
"Melmetal, Giga Impact!"
Julian's voice echoed directly into Melmetal's mind through Psychic.
An endless white light burst from Melmetal, not as an evolution but as the release of all its inner energy.
The force of its energy was so intense that it even stalled the Twister for a moment.
"Raaaargh!!"
Despite the Outrage, Gyarados retained some control and dissipated the Twister. Its body was wrapped in a blood-red aura as it, too, prepared a Giga Impact.
One beam of white light shot down from above, while a blood-red beam surged up from below. Like two meteors, they collided mid-air.
"BOOM!!"
The instant they clashed, a massive wave of energy rippled out in all directions, and the water below sank, forming a crater hundreds of meters deep.
The resulting waves expanded outward in a chain, leaving many Pokémon in the lake scrambling.
Even though they had fled far during the battle, it still wasn't far enough.
The younger Gyarados, previously knocked out during the battle, had just woken up and was trying to swim toward its father. It hadn't gotten far before a wave crashed into its face, knocking it out cold again.
Poor thing—fainted three times in a single day.
Even a Snorlax, watching nearby, would have applauded the resilience.
As the blinding lights faded, both Gyarados and Melmetal began to fall from the sky.
Metagross immediately caught Melmetal with Psychic, while Gyarados was left to fend for itself.
With a splash, Gyarados hit the water, resurfacing only after several seconds, clearly unable to continue fighting.
Meanwhile, Melmetal, though exhausted, still had its eyes open, showing it had won.
"Well done"
Julian said, patting Melmetal's head. To defeat a mid-level Elite Gyarados as an entry-level pseudo-Elite—it had more than lived up to its status as a Mythical Pokémon and to the resources Julian had invested in it.
"Mel!~"
Despite its fatigue, Melmetal's eyes shone brightly, thrilled by the exhilarating battle that had stirred its fighting spirit and desire for victory.
This was only the beginning. It would bring its trainer many more victories in the future.
Sensing Melmetal's fiery Aura, Julian smiled.
"Slowking, go dig up its treasure for me"
Julian said, sending out his Slowking and handing it the Dowsing Machine.
He had made an agreement with Gyarados earlier: if it lost, all its treasures would belong to him.
Julian was kind enough not to wake it up to witness him digging up its treasure.
After a full twenty minutes, Slowking finally surfaced. Julian had thought there'd be a trove of treasures, but all he saw were a few Water Stones.
"Slow…~"
It turned out that Gyarados had buried these Water Stones dozens of meters deep, even weighed them down with several large rocks. Slowking had to put in a lot of effort just to dig them up.
Even a clever Pokémon like Slowking was left speechless by Gyarados's antics.
Gyarados had actually woken up within the first few minutes after Slowking went down.
Elite-level Pokémon sure had impressive resilience.
Seeing the handful of Water Stones in Slowking's grasp, Gyarados opened its mouth in dismay, looking as though it were on the verge of tears.
As a Gyarados who valued its word, it had no choice but to let go, despite the heartbreak.
'Why do my eyes glisten with tears? It's because I love my Water Stones so deeply'
Those were all its life savings! It had hoped that even if it were defeated, its opponent might not find them. But now, everything was taken in one fell swoop.
Gyarados: Next time, I'm hiding them in separate places
With Gyarados glaring at him with red eyes, Julian pocketed the four high-quality Water Stones and one top-grade Water Stone.
"Thanks! I'll be sure to visit again"
He said with a grin before riding Dragonite to make a quick getaway.
"Roar, roar, roar!"
Behind him, Julian could hear Gyarados's furious, sorrowful, and helpless roars.
Meanwhile, out on the lake, the younger Gyarados that had recently been knocked out by the waves began to regain consciousness, shaking its head. But before it could fully come to, a silver fist appeared right in front of it.
"Bam!"
Once again, the poor Gyarados fainted.
Metagross: If you can't win, you call for your parents—huh, you deserve it.
*****
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