Magnezone hovered in the air, its two horseshoe magnets spinning steadily at its sides like a pair of arms.
"Shelgon, Dragon Dance." Jacob called the move while Magnezone was still setting up. There was no point in waiting — he had Shelgon use the downtime to boost its own Attack and Speed.
Dragon-type energy coiled around Shelgon's body as it moved through the rhythmic steps of the dance. When it finished, it lifted its head and fixed its gaze on Magnezone above, letting out a low, determined growl.
Truthfully, this matchup was rough for Shelgon on almost every front.
For one, Shelgon hadn't evolved yet. Its overall strength was well below what it would become as a Salamence — the gap between the two was enormous, and Shelgon's current form reflected that.
For another, Shelgon's greatest asset was its defensive shell — one of the toughest physical barriers around. But that meant nothing against Magnezone, which relied almost entirely on Special Attacks to deal damage.
On the offensive side, Shelgon's own Special Attack was poor. Physical moves were where it had any real punch, but Magnezone's Defense was strong enough to blunt that too. Neither side of Shelgon's offense was well-suited for this fight.
In terms of raw stats and typing, Shelgon was at a disadvantage across the board. Jacob couldn't find much to work with.
The only realistic path to winning was through status moves — but when he mentally went through Shelgon's options, nothing stood out. There was nothing that could create a clean opening. Toxic crossed his mind briefly, but Steel-types were immune to poison. That strategy was off the table entirely.
Jacob was running out of ideas.
Unless... Shelgon evolved mid-battle.
It was a long shot, but it might be the only real chance he had.
After months of training, Shelgon had grown quickly and was close — very close — to evolving. But evolution wasn't something that could be forced. The leap from Shelgon to Salamence was one of the hardest in the Dragon family, comparable to Magikarp becoming Gyarados. It required something deeper than just reaching a level threshold. That final step wasn't guaranteed.
He would just have to keep fighting and see.
"Shelgon, Fire Fang!" Jacob made his call. Against a Steel-type, Fire was the obvious choice.
Shelgon opened its jaws wide, flames igniting and wrapping around its teeth as it broke into a charge toward Magnezone.
"Magnezone, rise higher." Julia's response was calm and unhurried. She had Magnezone ascend further using Magnet Rise, lifting it cleanly out of Shelgon's reach before the Fire Fang could connect.
"Now — Metal Sound!"
From above, Magnezone let out a harsh, grinding screech. Metal Sound was a Steel-type status move that worked by generating a shrill noise through metallic friction, coating the target in Steel-type energy and sharply lowering their Special Defense. As a sound-based move, it was fast to execute and difficult to dodge — especially for a Pokémon as slow-footed as Shelgon.
There was nothing Shelgon could do. It stood below, watching Magnezone in the air, eyes burning with frustration as the piercing sound swept down and hit its mark. Shelgon's Special Defense dropped sharply.
"Flamethrower, Shelgon!" Jacob adjusted. If close-range physical moves couldn't reach Magnezone, he'd switch to a ranged Special Attack instead.
Fire-type energy gathered at Shelgon's core and surged toward its mouth. Then Shelgon let out a long, sweeping breath — a steady stream of flame arcing upward toward Magnezone.
It was Flamethrower, and Shelgon was pushing it hard. But seeing it alongside what Jacob's Charizard could do with the same move made the gap obvious. If Charizard had been the one using Flamethrower right now, Magnezone would have needed Protect just to survive it. Shelgon simply didn't have the Special Attack to match that output, and the difference in power showed clearly.
"Flash Cannon!" Julia called back.
When one side holds a decisive advantage, tactics matter less — raw power becomes the answer. Julia knew that a straight-up exchange favored Magnezone, and she leaned into it.
Steel-type energy gathered rapidly in front of Magnezone, compressing into a concentrated point. In a blink, a bright beam of light shot downward.
Boom!
The two attacks met in a burst of smoke and light. Shelgon's Flamethrower was overwhelmed — Flash Cannon punched straight through the fire and struck Shelgon directly, sending it skidding backward.
"Shelgon!" Jacob's expression tightened.
Magnezone was a tough opponent, and Shelgon in its current form wasn't going to overpower it. He had already accepted that much.
Shelgon pulled itself up with a low growl, eyes still locked on Magnezone. The battle intent hadn't left them.
Julia saw it too. She pressed forward: "Magnezone, Flash Cannon again!"
Another beam of Steel-type energy charged and fired.
"Shelgon, Protect!"
A barrier of light snapped into place around Shelgon, holding firm against the Flash Cannon and blocking it cleanly.
"Now — Fire Fang, charge!"
The moment Protect dropped, Jacob sent Shelgon forward. Flames wrapped around its jaws as it surged ahead.
Julia watched the approach. She had been about to have Magnezone rise again to stay out of reach — but something made her stop. She looked at Jacob, then at Shelgon, and let the words go unsaid.
"Magnezone — Thunderbolt, full power, meet it head-on!"
Jacob's eyes narrowed. Thunderbolt? Dragon-types had a two-times resistance to Electric. Flash Cannon would have been the stronger call — it was a straightforward mistake to make, and yet Julia wasn't the type to make basic mistakes.
She was holding back.
Whether she was or not, though, it wouldn't change much. A head-on clash was also good for Shelgon — it gave it something to fight against, and that kind of pressure sometimes lit a fire in a Pokémon that strategy alone couldn't.
Shelgon drove its flaming jaws into Magnezone with a sharp metallic clang. Fire Fang connected — flames spread across Magnezone's frame — but against its solid Defense, the damage was limited.
At the same time, lightning cracked across the arena. A bolt of golden electricity struck Shelgon dead on.
Thunder rumbled. The smoke settled.
"Jacob's done."
"That's it, Julia! Get him back for me!"