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"Your limit?"
Mammon's lips curled slightly, and he looked at Steven with interest for a moment.
"Then I'm really looking forward to it."
Although prodigies and monsters are rising one after another these days, Mammon is still very interested in regional Champions like Steven from the original story.
Especially the act of pushing them to their limits.
Mammon glanced at the big screen; the pointer representing the first or second move, located between his and Steven's avatars, had stopped spinning.
It was fixed on his side, which meant Mammon had the first move.
"Then, Steven, I'm coming."
"Come on, Mammon!"
Steven was full of spirit, his eyes gradually calming down.
Steven has always been an extremely calm and rational person. His mind is mature, and the tactics he employs in battle have always been to 'find the opponent's weakness and attack it.'
So, no matter what the situation, Steven forces himself to calm down.
Although there are occasional moments of excitement and losing composure, they are truly rare.
"So spirited~ Then my first Pokémon will be it."
Mammon chuckled lightly, then coolly tossed out his first Poké Ball with a flick of his wrist.
"Slither Wing! Prepare for battle!"
Accompanied by a wild growl, a robust Pokémon landed heavily in front of Mammon.
In its golden eyes, the black cross pupils were wild and ferocious, sending shivers down one's spine.
It was the Paradox Pokémon, Slither Wing!
"An ancient species Slither Wing?"
Looking at this Slither Wing, which shared many similar characteristics with Volcarona, Steven's eyes became much more serious.
Paradox Pokémon are divided into ancient and future species; ancient species are fierce, and future species are cold. This is information already well-known to the public.
Paradox Pokémon are very rare because the resources for Paradox Pokémon are basically 'controlled' by Team Rockets, just like Ultra Beasts.
However, Team Rockets' Senior Executives and Top Executives, if they have extra Merits and a good affinity, will usually exchange for a Paradox Pokémon.
Who can deny that the strength of Paradox Pokémon is indeed outstanding?
It can be said that as long as it's a Paradox Pokémon, there are no weak ones!
"That's right, Steven, please experience the power from ancient times," Mammon said slowly, catching the Poké Ball that bounced back.
This was one of the Paradox Pokémon he chose to keep for himself. Well, it had been simply trained, and its strength was quite good.
"Skarmory!"
Steven pondered for a moment, then decisively threw out his starting Pokémon.
A bird Pokémon, covered entirely in steel armor, spread its blade-like wings and cried out.
It was the Steel/Flying type Skarmory.
Steven is a fervent rock enthusiast, and he himself is very fond of Steel-type Pokémon, so his team is basically composed of Steel and Rock types.
It can be said that Steven is a Champion specializing in these two types, although he is registered as a Steel-type specialist.
However, his Champion team registered in the Hall of Fame is actually split evenly between Steel and Rock types, three of each.
"Skarmory, huh."
Mammon looked at the Skarmory flying in the air and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
This was indeed a bit troublesome. Although Slither Wing is an ancient species of Volcarona, Slither Wing does not have the ability to fly.
That's right, Slither Wing does have three pairs of characteristic wings, but they are only symbolic.
Moreover, the Bug/Fighting type Slither Wing is quadruple weak to Flying.
But to be honest, Mammon wasn't really afraid of Skarmory, because with Skarmory's power, Slither Wing could completely block its attacks.
However, the more realistic problem was that Slither Wing also didn't have many moves that could hit Skarmory, which had the advantage in the air.
"Skarmory, Spikes!"
Steven decisively ordered Skarmory.
"Tsk~"
Mammon couldn't help but click his tongue.
Skarmory shrieked, its wings flapping continuously, scattering sharp Spikes onto the ground.
"Heat Wave."
Mammon immediately commanded.
Slither Wing stood up on its hind legs, supporting itself with its two strong rear limbs, and its three pairs of wings on its back flapped heavily.
A fiery red wave of heat swept out—a Fire-type Heat Wave!
The vast and turbulent Heat Wave surged forward, not only devouring all the Spikes Skarmory had scattered but also continuing to assault Skarmory with unabated force.
"Dodge it," Steven shouted.
Although Slither Wing's special attack wasn't particularly high, only average, a Fire-type Heat Wave was, after all, super effective against Skarmory, especially since Skarmory's special defense was very low.
Skarmory immediately flapped its wings and ascended, avoiding the surging, powerful Heat Wave.
'Given Mammon's strength, this Slither Wing's close-combat ability must be very strong... Should I take the risk?'
Spikes didn't succeed, and looking at Mammon, he was clearly preparing to wait for an opportunity.
Steven slightly narrowed his eyes, his thoughts racing.
Slither Wing is quadruple weak to Flying, and besides Heat Wave, it basically has no other long-range moves to hit Skarmory.
It could be said that Slither Wing is very unsuited to dealing with flying Pokémon, but Mammon didn't switch out Slither Wing immediately.
It's unclear whether it was due to pride or confidence in using Slither Wing against Skarmory.
And Steven, at this moment, was also seriously considering whether to approach Slither Wing.
After all, in terms of typing, Steven held a significant advantage; a quadruple weakness is no joke.
For example, Skarmory's STAB Brave Bird. If it could hit Slither Wing, Steven wouldn't mind trading damage.
But what if it didn't trade damage?
And Mammon was not currently commanding Slither Wing to attack proactively, clearly waiting for Steven to initiate the attack.
However... "Skarmory! Brave Bird!"
Steven actually wanted to use Spikes to wear down Mammon's Pokémon, but clearly, Mammon wouldn't sit by and let Steven set up entry hazards.
Then he would test it first!
Skarmory shrieked loudly, its body enveloped in a Brave Bird aura like flames, and it swooped down.
"Flare Blitz."
With the opponent coming to him, Mammon naturally had Slither Wing meet the attack.
Slither Wing growled, its body engulfed in surging flames—a Fire-type Flare Blitz. Its cross-shaped eyes intently fixed on the approaching Skarmory.
Ten meters, five meters, three meters, one meter!
Slither Wing pushed off with all four limbs and leapt, crashing into Skarmory.
Boom!
Flare Blitz and Brave Bird collided heavily, flames and the Brave Bird aura fiercely impacting each other.
A powerful shockwave instantly rippled out, and a vast gust of wind spread, causing Mammon's and Steven's clothes to billow.
A draw?
Steven stared intently at the two Pokémon that had crashed together, but the next second, his eyes narrowed.
Powerful flames began to erupt. Slither Wing's Flare Blitz had gradually suppressed Brave Bird, eventually completely engulfing it and sending Skarmory flying heavily.
Skarmory shrieked in pain, its entire body uncontrollably thrown backward, taking a while to regain its balance.
"Indeed, in terms of pure power, Skarmory is completely inferior to this Slither Wing."
In the Unova region, Iris, who was also watching the live broadcast, pouted.
"That's natural. Slither Wing is known for its ferocity, not to mention a Slither Wing raised by Mammon."
Hilda nodded.
With Skarmory's strength, why would it try to fight Slither Wing head-on? It's simply no match, alright?
Skarmory is renowned for its excellent physical defense; its frontal combat ability is generally average.
Perhaps Steven has trained Skarmory very well, but when facing an equally powerful opponent, Skarmory's weaknesses are immediately exposed.
"Champion Steven probably wanted to test the precise power of this Slither Wing, but the result of the test now makes things even more troublesome for Mr. Steven."
Hilda then shook her head and added.
If she were in Steven's shoes, she would probably make the same decision, but clearly, Slither Wing's powerful attack is very troublesome.
This means it would be difficult for Skarmory to even trade damage, because Slither Wing has the power to directly overwhelm your attacks. Why would it trade damage with you?
And simply setting up Spikes in the sky, Slither Wing has Heat Wave, which can sweep away all the hazards you haven't even laid down yet over a large area.
This also leads to Skarmory's current awkward predicament, despite having a type advantage and aerial advantage.
Although Slither Wing is helpless against a Skarmory that doesn't proactively attack, Skarmory is also somewhat helpless against Slither Wing.
"Let's see what Champion Steven does next."
At the Ever Grande City Arena, Steven was currently contemplating his tactics.
"Sandstorm!"
After a quick thought, Steven decisively gave the order. After the previous test, having Skarmory attack proactively was impossible.
Given the power disparity between Skarmory and Slither Wing, that would be completely suicidal. He had to leverage Skarmory's inherent advantages.
Skarmory retreated while rapidly flapping its wings, and a localized sandstorm began to sweep through.
"Heat Wave." Mammon raised an eyebrow.
Slither Wing's fiery wind wave surged out, striking towards Skarmory in the air.
But Skarmory did not give up on the Sandstorm; instead, it retreated even faster, urging the Sandstorm to form.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh~
The battle arena began to kick up a sandstorm. The Heat Wave's fiery wind wave eventually caught up to Skarmory, directly impacting its body.
The scorching Heat Wave made Skarmory cry out in pain. Skarmory's special defense was still too low. Even though Steven had specially trained it, this Heat Wave still caused significant damage to Skarmory.
But fortunately, the sandstorm weather had also taken shape.
The entire battle arena was now filled with a dense sandstorm. The strong winds, mixed with sand particles, howled wildly, blowing against Slither Wing's body and making it squint uncomfortably.
Under the dense dust, even with Slither Wing's vision, visibility was not high.
"He's really going all out, but it's indeed a good choice."
Mammon chuckled lightly. After all, for this sandstorm, Skarmory chose to endure a Heat Wave.
Mammon truly admired Steven's decisiveness.
However, this sandstorm was indeed very useful. While a sandstorm in reality doesn't cause damage every turn like in the games and can be easily dispelled—for example, a classic instance where Pikachu's Iron Tail hitting a small lake created a small ripple that broke Alain's Tyranitar's sandstorm—
the strong impact of a dense sandstorm on visibility and its slight effect on movement are very real.
"Skarmory, Spikes!"
Seeing the sandstorm form, Steven decisively gave the order.
"Sunny Day." Mammon chuckled lightly.
To eliminate weather, it's best to counter it with another weather condition.
"Taunt!"
Steven naturally couldn't let Mammon succeed so easily. Otherwise, how could a mere Spikes compensate for the losses?
Slither Wing stood upright again, and a scorching orb of light condensed in front of its mouth.
But at that moment, Skarmory emerged from the dense sandstorm and began to taunt Slither Wing with chirps.
Black ripples overflowed, and Slither Wing's motion to condense Sunny Day paused. Its gaze towards Skarmory became increasingly fierce and irritable.
The Dark-type Taunt forces the opponent to use only offensive moves for a period of time.
Slither Wing's Sunny Day could not be used.
"Tsk~"
Mammon couldn't help but click his tongue softly, but he truly had no recourse. A clever housewife cannot cook without rice.
Slither Wing truly had no initiative whatsoever when battling a Pokémon that could fly and was also quite skilled in status moves.
Because Slither Wing couldn't even learn Taunt; otherwise, Mammon would have thrown a Taunt at the beginning, forcing Skarmory to attack proactively.
And if Steven didn't want Skarmory to be useless, he would have had to switch out Skarmory.
But the problem was that Slither Wing couldn't even learn Taunt.
"As expected of you, Master Steven, you are indeed much harder to deal with than Master Wallace."
Mammon took out a Poké Ball and proactively recalled Slither Wing, praising Steven.
Although Slither Wing was completely unharmed, and Skarmory was quite injured, the current situation made Slither Wing too passive, completely lacking any means of counterattack.
It was purely infantry fighting air units, and the air units weren't giving any opportunities.
Steven's lips curved slightly. He had forced Mammon to proactively switch Pokémon!
This honor was not something ordinary people could achieve!
Meanwhile, in the observation room, Wallace's pretty face darkened.
Damn it! I'm not even on the field, and you still have to specifically mention me??
Naturally evil Mammon!