Metagross's damage output was undeniably high, but its lack of endurance was also well known. Aside from using Rest, it had no means of recovery.
After nearly knocking up Excadrill's dinner from the previous night, it had also been rattled by Excadrill's Brutal Swing.
Metagross had eaten some durability candies and had gummies as a foundation, but its stamina wasn't infinite, nor was it invincible.
Pokémon like Hippowdon and Excadrill could deal damage, too.
Switching to Incineroar would be a different story.
Therefore, after suddenly colliding with Excadrill and pinning it against the wall to endure Metal Claw attacks, Metagross was gradually getting tired.
But if it wanted to withdraw, it had to take down Excadrill first!
"Meta!"
Metagross roared. Hammer Arm had lowered its speed, but that didn't stop it from throwing punches.
Without hesitation, it pulled back one fist and slammed it down hard on Excadrill's head!
Brick Break!
The brownish-red energy was dazzling and piercing!
Excadrill wasn't about to wait for death. It used Protect to block Brick Break, broke free from Metagross's hold, and ran back into the arena.
Metagross's Hammer Arm strikes were heavy and forceful. If not for Iron Defense boosting its defense, Excadrill would have already been down.
But even so, its condition wasn't ideal.
Next, it could use Rock Slide by leveraging its speed. Metagross clearly didn't have much stamina left. With luck triggering a flinch, it could definitely finish it off.
Just as Excadrill was thinking this, Feng Laiyi recalled it into its Poké Ball.
"Take a short rest."
She shook the Poké Ball, watching Metagross limp back onto the field with a look of regret. She knew that if she had waited another moment, Excadrill would have been knocked out.
On the other side, after careful consideration and observing the scale of the sandstorm, Li Xiang silently recalled Metagross, which was limping as it walked.
One of Excadrill's claws had hit Metagross's joint earlier, and combined with the damage from Hippowdon before, its limbs were becoming less mobile.
It could still fight, thanks to Magnet Rise, but there was no need to push through.
Li Xiang recalled it and thought about which Pokémon she would send out next.
Feng Laiyi was still quite strong in single battles, but her compatibility with Li Xiang was poor. Her strength lay in her ability to tank and deal damage.
Coincidentally, many of Li Xiang's Pokémon could also tank and deal damage.
With similar attributes on both sides, the deciding factor naturally came down to who could take more hits and dish out more damage.
As of now, Li Xiang's displayed strength was clearly above Feng Laiyi's and this performance sparked quite a bit of chatter in the audience.
Some students whispered quietly.
"Is the senior about to lose?"
"It seems that way. That Metagross has gotten a lot stronger. Its Earthquake wasn't that powerful before."
"Has Hammer Arm been modified like that? Does Agility also boost attack power?"
"He's using momentum to prevent the target from escaping. What do you know!"
On another side, in the reserved candidates' section, quite a few people were also talking.
"Xiao Feng can't even beat her junior now. Her reputation is ruined."
"The junior has gotten stronger again."
"Kids these days are so scary."
"No, only that junior is scary. Song Jie and Gong Xu are at normal levels."
"...Your definition of normal is very abnormal."
"Bai Xiang, why aren't you saying anything?"
"The junior is so handsome. I wonder if he likes Grass-type Pokémon..."
"Huh? Huh???"
There were also school board members present to observe. They pointed at Li Xiang, whispering among themselves, all with satisfied smiles on their faces.
Their main purpose this time was to see in person whether what Xu He said was true—that Li Xiang had already surpassed the strength of the six main team members.
Judging by the current situation, his words were not false.
And this didn't seem to be Li Xiang's limit yet.
On the other hand, they were also somewhat curious about how Li Xiang had achieved such significant growth in just one month.
Although they had learned from Bai Wanhua that Li Xiang had gone for special training under Elite Four Mo Ye, was Mo Ye really that skilled at teaching?
Since there had never been any record of Mo Ye teaching others how to train Pokémon, no one knew his teaching ability.
If Li Xiang's growth was indeed thanks to him, then this Elite Four member was truly remarkable.
They couldn't help but harbor some ulterior motives, but those thoughts were quickly extinguished.
After all, unlike many high-ranking trainers, Mo Ye was not willing to teach privately.
He barely even held public classes.
To receive the same treatment as Li Xiang, you would first need to have the same value as Li Xiang...
But that alone wouldn't be enough, would it? In the end, the fact that Mo Ye got involved at all was ridiculous.
This Elite Four member didn't care for anything else besides battling and training Pokémon. That was well known.
Him acting like this all of a sudden was simply incredible.
Still, Li Xiang did deserve it, that was true.
It was said that the current top scorer of this recent Youth Training Camp had less than two-thirds of Li Xiang's points.
With only a few days left until the points closed, many began to wonder how Li Xiang had managed to earn so many points back then.
They naturally had no idea about the "Demon King" and how the system of five people supporting one had grown into over ten people supporting one.
Up above, murmuring and chatting continued.
Down below, sand and wind swept across the arena, obscuring the situation within.
Feng Laiyi's face showed little expression, only seriousness and deep thought.
She was, after all, a main team member of a Big Six school. She had to have this much psychological fortitude. Xu He had also said that once you step onto the field, you don't need to worry about anything.
Reputation, costs—don't think about any of that. Only one thing matters—winning.
Just think about how you're going to win.
Feng Laiyi always kept this in mind.
So, she had only one choice. A smooth Poké Ball was thrown out.
Bang!
"Roooar—!"
Even the howling wind could not drown out this roar that shook the air.
A colossal, terrifying serpent, its entire body constructed of refined steel. At first glance, it looked like a fish skeleton, but ten thousand times more horrifying.
Its dark eye sockets and blood-red pupils radiated a bone-chilling coldness. Its thick bone joints actually began to spin, drawing the blowing sand around its body.
It looked ferociously sinister.
Feng Laiyi's ace Pokémon was a Steelix with the Sheer Force ability, one that could endure exceptionally well.
In the games, the Sheer Force ability boosts moves with secondary effects by thirty percent. Steelix's move pool clearly didn't match this ability.
This made it less cost-effective than Sturdy, which at least kept this paper-thin special defense from being one-shot by moves like Earth Power or Flamethrower.
But here, percentages became fixed values. At first glance, that seemed even worse, but the fact that fixed values could grow was a plus.
At least many trainers who believed they could make their abilities grow thought this ability was better than Sturdy.
Li Xiang threw his Poké Ball second; the timing difference between them was minimal.
What landed was Lucario, ignoring the small rocks that materialized and exploded around it, dealing it negligible damage.
"Magnet Rise."
"Earthquake!"
Boom!
Steelix slammed its massive tail against the ground. A yellow-brown shockwave, shaped like a fan, surged toward Lucario!
Its starting speed was extremely fast—truly a same-type move!
Fortunately, at the critical moment, Lucario used Magnet Rise, isolating itself from the Ground-type energy. Only the gust of wind from the shockwave brushed past it.
Sand struck its body but caused no damage.
"Smack Down!"
Steelix's terrifying maw opened wide, launching several golden orbs at Lucario.
It really did know Smack Down!
Seeing this move, Li Xiang didn't show tension. Instead, his brow relaxed.
"Aura Sphere!"
A vortex-like, azure energy ball shot forward and very "coincidentally" collided with the golden orbs, exploding violently!
The golden orbs turned into circular flashes of lightning, which were then swallowed by the blue aura!
Smoke erupted!
It began spreading around but was quickly blown away by the sandstorm.
The two moves canceled each other out.
Neither side's expression changed much. That was to be expected. But what Steelix couldn't understand was—
Lucario had disappeared!?
It was completely gone from its field of vision!
Something's wrong!
Instinctively, it tried to burrow underground, where it was in its element. But the next second.....
Bang!
An explosive sound!
A sharp pain came from its head!
Under a massive impact, its skull was forced to have an intimate encounter with the ground!
Boom!
Its jaw, comparable to a bulldozer bucket, smashed out a small crater and made the ground tremble.
When did it get above me!
Steelix's mind flashed with this thought, utterly shocked. It hadn't even blinked, keeping its eyes on its opponent.
Even so, it still couldn't figure out why the attack had come from above.
Of course, it wasn't going to wait for defeat. Even as its head spun, its body instinctively controlled its torso, spinning the metal fish bones at high speed, whipping up a swirling sandstorm around it!
Its use of Sand Tomb was superb. Even if one could ignore the dust created by the energy, there was no way to resist the torque of the vortex.
Being thrown off was inevitable.
After doing all this, without hesitation, without even looking at its opponent, Steelix decisively burrowed underground. Like a tunnel boring machine, it continuously flung up dust.
At a speed far exceeding Hippowdon's Dig, it reached a spot dozens of meters away and leaped out!
Bang!
A large hole burst open in the ground!
The metal serpent returned to the surface, about to relocate Lucario's position, when a dark shadow flashed before its eyes!
Countless brownish-red energy blasts rained down on its head like hailstones!
Ora ora ora ora ora—!
Accompanied by unintelligible cries and successive explosions, Steelix was like a steel nail—each time it was hit, it was driven a bit further back into the hole.
By the time the final, energetic "Ora!" rang out, its entire body was back in the original hole!
"Roooar!!"
Steelix was in agony, but the ferocity in its heart kept it holding on, refusing to fall.
Enduring the physical pain, it looked at Lucario, who had just finished Close Combat, and knew this was a good opportunity.
Immediately, its body was covered in a brownish-red vortex as it lunged out of the hole, charging at Lucario!
Body Press!
Its massive form was quite terrifying!
Yet, faced with this scene, the elusive Lucario stood unmoved, simply watching Steelix get closer and closer.
Closer and closer—
It sidestepped.
A light, almost careless motion. Lucario watched coldly as the fierce and terrifying brownish-red Steelix brushed past it, ignoring its unwilling gaze.
Steelix slammed "Boom!" into the ground, creating a visible crater.
Then, it went limp and collapsed. It had knocked itself out.
It seemed one Aura Sphere and one Close Combat had already pushed it to its limit.
Lucario landed slowly.
The sandstorm gradually ceased.