Several people arrived at the training room. Professor Oak led Ash and the others to sit on the sidelines. Lance walked directly to the opposite side, a confident smile on his face. He thought to himself that while Aoki and the others might reach his level of strength in a few years, there was still a noticeable gap now. Especially after being persuaded by Aoki last time, he had realized that his family background was also his advantage, and no one would laugh at him for utilizing it. In this world, strength was paramount; as long as one emerged victorious, any doubts could be silenced.

"Let me go first," Steven said. As he spoke, he loosened the collar of his blazer to ensure it wouldn't affect his commands later.

"Let's have a one-on-one battle, one round to decide the winner. It's just a simple match; we'll stop when the time is right," Professor Oak said with a smile. The others nodded in agreement.

"Go, Metagross!" Steven took a Poké Ball from his belt, enlarged it, and threw it out directly.

A Shiny Metagross appeared on the field, its metallic body gleaming under the lights. When Aoki saw Steven's Shiny Metagross, a gleam appeared in his eyes, and his system activated, scanning the data of this impressive Pokémon.

Pokemon: Shiny Metagross (Dark Blue)

Gender: Genderless

Level: 70

Attributes: Steel + Psychic

Characteristic: Clear Body

Held Items: Metal Coat

Egg Moves: None

Basic Moves: Hammer Arm, Confusion, Metal Claw, Magnet Rise, Take Down, Pursuit, Bullet Punch, Miracle Eye, Zen Headbutt, Scary Face, Psychic, Agility, Meteor Mash, Iron Defense, Hyper Beam

Learnt Moves: Gravity, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Zen Headbutt, Magnet Rise, Icy Wind, Signal Beam, Ally Switch

TM Moves: Snatch, Psyshock, Hidden Power Flying, Hyper Beam, Earthquake, Psychic, Shadow Ball, Brick Break, Rock Slide, Protect, Flash Cannon, Grass Knot, Rain Dance, Rock Polish, Secret Power

Level 70! Dark Blue qualification! Aoki glanced at Steven with a hint of surprise. As expected of the future Hoenn Champion! Just when Aoki thought his own strength was progressing rapidly, Steven had already trained his Shiny Metagross to level 70, a solid Senior King-level strength. With the inherent advantages of a Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon, it could contend with ordinary Senior King-level Pokémon! This was even before the discovery of Mega Evolution.

If this Shiny Metagross could Mega Evolve, the power it unleashed would definitely not be weaker than an average quasi-King Pokémon! The Shiny characteristic of Steven's Metagross had also been triggered, making its physical fitness far superior to that of an average Metagross. The Dark Blue talent likely had much to do with its Shiny awakening. Furthermore, the Stone family, with its long history of specializing in Steel-type Pokémon, must have provided Steven with considerable support. Regarding this Shiny Metagross, Aoki believed that only his Gengar, after Mega Evolving, could defeat it; his other Pokémon would likely be no match.

"It seems Tyranitar's progress is still not fast enough. I need to speed up, otherwise the gap will be significant," Aoki thought silently to himself. The best way to counter a Pseudo-Legendary was with another Pseudo-Legendary. Tyranitar had both type advantages and disadvantages against Shiny Metagross. Aoki was absolutely confident in his Tyranitar's physical fitness. He believed that after a period of subtle influence from Magearna, it would certainly improve.

"Oh? Metagross? You really managed to find a rare Pokémon," Professor Oak, sitting nearby, became interested. His professional curiosity didn't allow him to remain silent. He continued, "That boy Joseph is really willing to go all out, hahahaha, not bad, not bad." It was clear that Professor Oak and Steven's father, Joseph Stone, knew each other and were on good terms.

"In that case, I can only send out this Pokémon. We can't lose our edge before the Champion challenge begins." When Lance saw Steven's Shiny Metagross, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes, followed by excitement. It had been the right choice to battle Aoki and the others; he wasn't disappointed. Lance also threw a Poké Ball. An orange-yellow Pokémon appeared on the field.

Charizard! Roar!!! After Charizard appeared, it excitedly shot a breath of flame into the sky, the fire mixed with numerous golden sparks. Others might not have noticed, but Aoki spotted the unique quality of the flames Charizard exhaled. "As expected, none of them are weak." Golden flames—his own Blaziken had only been able to produce a wisp initially, and it was only after absorbing energy from Ho-Oh that it could control them freely. This Charizard could casually spew flames laced with golden fire; it was truly worthy of being Lance's original Pokémon.

Pokemon: Charizard (Blue)

Gender: Male

Level: 75

Attributes: Fire + Flying

Characteristic: Blaze

Held Items: None

Egg Moves: Bite, Dragon Dance, Dragon Rage, Crunch

Basic Moves: Wing Attack, Flame Charge, Heat Wave, Dragon Claw, Shadow Claw, Air Slash, Scratch, Growl, Ember, Smokescreen, Dragon Tail, Flame Burst, Slash, Flamethrower, Fire Spin, Fire Blast, Heat Wave

Learnt Moves: Blast Burn, Outrage, Tailwind, Iron Tail, Sky Uppercut, Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, Snore

TM Moves: Snatch, Hidden Power Water, Dragon Claw, Hyper Beam, Roost, Earthquake, Fire Blast, Return, Aerial Ace, Swords Dance, Rock Slide

A Level 75 Charizard! And its qualification had been elevated to Blue! This was the power of the Dragon Tamer clan and the changes it had brought to Lance! This Charizard was incredibly powerful, but it was definitely not the strongest Pokémon in Lance's arsenal! Lance also had his Dragonite! That Dragonite must be even stronger! However, this Charizard's strength had reached the quasi-Champion level. It might have just broken through, but it was still quasi-Champion! It was a full tier above the Level 70 Metagross.

Ash and Gary, sitting on the chairs behind Aoki, watched the two majestic Pokémon, their eyes sparkling with admiration. They imagined themselves in that very battle. Who was Lance and who was Steven in their minds remained unknown. This was a head-on clash between the direct successors of two families that could rank among the top five even in the Pokémon world. Two players who had leveraged every advantage to the fullest! If Aoki's special ability was his psychic powers, then their special ability was resourcefulness! The battle was about to begin!

Steven's Shiny Metagross took the initiative to attack! The two future Champions of their respective regions were having their first confrontation right here. Shiny Metagross used Thunder Punch! Meteor Mash! Magnet Rise! Agility! Charizard used Swords Dance! Flamethrower! Heat Wave! Flame Charge! The battle, having just begun, immediately intensified.

"Brother Aoki! Which of these two big brothers is going to win?" Ash asked impatiently. It was only the start, but after a brief probing exchange, the two had launched into an all-out assault.

Aoki smiled and said, "Lance will win. No one here is his match. He has a very high chance of becoming one of the Elite Four this time."

"What's the Elite Four? ˙▽˙" Ash asked his signature, ignorant-style question. He didn't need to know the details; with his protagonist halo, he could overcome anything! What a simple way of thinking!

Before Aoki could answer his question, Gary beside him pulled Ash back and began to "enlighten" him with the necessary knowledge.