Pokémon: Melmetal (Steel)

Level: 75

Potential: Purple

Ability: Iron Fist

Held Item: Black Belt

Gender: Genderless

Moves: Harden, Thunder Shock, Headbutt, Tail whip, Charge Beam, Thunder Punch, Acid Armor, Flash Cannon, Thunder Wave, Dynamic Punch, Mega Punch, Double Iron Bash, Protect, Discharge, Superpower

TMs: Ice Punch, Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Thunderbolt, Brick Break, Electric Terrain, Hammer Arm, Brutal Swing, Thrash, Body Slam, Ice Beam, Darkest Lariat, Heavy Slam, Earthquake, Mega Kick, Steel Beam, High Horsepower

Egg Moves: None

---

“Mel!”

Melmetal appeared on the battlefield, striking a bodybuilder's pose.

Since Julian was set to inherit the Steel-type Gym, he had allowed Melmetal, Steelix, and Aggron to stop suppressing their levels. After breaking through, Melmetal had now reached mid-stage Elite-level.

Melmetal’s opponent was a Flareon.

---

Pokémon: Flareon (Fire)

Level: 75

Potential: Cyan

Ability: Flash Fire

Held Item: Charcoal

Gender: Female

Moves: Growl, Ember, Quick Attack, Double Edge, Take Down, Tail Whip, Bite, Fire Fang, Lava Plume, Smog, Scary Face, Flare Blitz, Last Resort

TMs: Fire Spin, Swift, Protect, Will-O-Wisp, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Overheat, Hyper Beam

Egg Moves: Double Kick, Flail, Dig

---

Eevee—a truly peculiar Pokémon. Due to its unstable genetic makeup and adaptability, it can evolve into different forms based on environmental influences.

Currently, eight Eeveelutions are known to exist.

Unfortunately, none of them were Steel-type—otherwise, Julian would’ve trained one himself.

Because of Eevee’s versatility, a whole class of Trainers known as Eevee Specialists had emerged.

These Trainers didn’t focus on a single type, nor on every type, but instead exclusively trained Eevee and its evolutions, which covered eight distinct types. In a sense, they were generalist in disguise.

Flareon, with its fluffy, luxurious coat, was also a favorite among wealthy ladies and noble heiresses, often kept as both a battle partner and a pampered pet.

Of course, the market price for Eevee was relatively high—a Green-potential one would go for around 4 million.

Flareon’s body temperature ranged from 700 to 800 degrees Celsius, and just by standing still, it caused the water molecules in the air nearby to distort.

Melmetal didn’t seem particularly interested in this pint-sized opponent. Even though Flareon was the same level, Melmetal clearly preferred battling bigger, bulkier opponents.

Most Fire-type Pokémon were known for their fiery tempers, and Flareon was no exception. Irritated, its body temperature rapidly spiked—

WHOOSH!

The next moment, a searing Flamethrower blasted straight at Melmetal.

Melmetal, of course, wasn't about to take that lying down. Its arm elongated, fist glowing with a blinding white light.

Double Iron Bash!

The Flamethrower dissipated under the sheer force of the strike, and with a loud BOOM!, Melmetal's fist slammed into the ground where Flareon had just been—but the opponent had already dodged.

“Flare Blitz!”

The next second, a blazing red figure charged straight at Melmetal.

CRASH!

Melmetal was knocked back dozens of meters.

Watching Melmetal stabilize and land on its feet, Julian frowned slightly. “Take this seriously.”

This guy had looked down on Flareon from the start, which was why it hadn’t fought seriously. That was Melmetal’s biggest flaw—it rarely gave its all unless it respected the opponent.

“Mel…”

Sensing its Trainer’s displeasure, Melmetal stiffened slightly.

Julian’s commands carried weight, and though it still didn’t think much of Flareon, Melmetal at least started taking the battle more seriously now.

Flareon raced swiftly across the battlefield. With that kind of speed, landing a hit wouldn’t be easy.

“Earthquake,” Julian ordered calmly.

Melmetal slammed both fists into the ground. The earth shook violently, cracks spidering out in all directions. With no other choice, Flareon leapt into the air—

—and that was exactly what Melmetal wanted.

Mega Punch!!

Its arm shot out again, this time with terrifying momentum. The punch split the air with a deafening sound, and even mid-air, Flareon's fur bristled with alarm.

“Flareon, Protect!” Scott shouted.

A shimmering green barrier materialized in front of Flareon.

KABOOM!!

The Mega Punch struck it with tremendous force. Cracks rapidly spread across the shield’s surface, and within a second, the Protect shattered.

But Flareon had already landed by then, and the Earthquake had subsided.

The moment its paws touched down, Flareon's powerful hind legs launched it forward. With Melmetal's arm still extended, Flareon cloaked itself in flames—

FLARE BLITZ!

Melmetal: 'Naive.'

A flicker of mockery flashed through its eyes. Then, to Scott’s shock, Melmetal’s seemingly retracting arm suddenly twisted mid-motion.

It moved so fast it managed to catch up with Flareon.

“FLAREON, BEHIND YOU!” Scott roared.

Flareon, in the midst of its Flare Blitz, heard the warning and sensed something approaching from behind—but in its current state, it couldn’t stop. And in the middle of Flare Blitz, changing direction wasn’t an option either.

Only a few meters now separated it from Melmetal.

Flareon: 'Faster. I need to go FASTER—'

Desperation fueled its speed, pushing it to run even harder.

But unfortunately…

It was already too late.

BOOM!!

With a deafening impact, Flareon was blasted away by Mega Punch, its body flung high into the air.

“Flareon, Fire Blast!”

Despite the intense pain coursing through its body, Flareon wasn’t out of the fight yet. Gritting through the pain, it twisted mid-air and unleashed a massive 大-shaped inferno downward.

"Dynamic Punch!"

“MEL!”

Melmetal’s right fist surged with blinding light, explosive energy condensing in its iron arm.

Fire Blast was blown away on contact, scattering into embers—but the attack didn’t land on Flareon.

Dynamic Punch’s accuracy was already abysmal, and combined with Julian’s luck, hitting a small, airborne target from over ten meters away was nearly impossible.

“Earthquake!”

The moment Flareon landed, the ground erupted with violent tremors. The intense shockwaves rattled its body, damaging its internal organs directly.

As Flareon collapsed to the ground, Melmetal brought the Earthquake to a halt.

It stared down at Flareon, actually hoping it'd stand up again.

Then it looked over at Scott with a questioning expression, as if to say: “Why don’t you shout something inspiring? Maybe then it’ll get up.”

Why would it think something like that?

Because when Celebi was scrolling through TikTok recently, Melmetal happened to be watching beside it.

It saw a clip where a Trainer shouted a few passionate lines to their fainted Pokémon—and incredibly, that Pokémon actually got back up and defeated a much stronger opponent in a completely nonsensical plot twist.

But when Scott silently recalled Flareon into its Poké Ball, Melmetal looked away with visible disappointment—then glanced back at Scott with an unimpressed glare.

Melmetal: 'You really let me down. If you don’t shout, how can you even call yourself a Trainer.'

*****

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