Ten minutes later, everything was ready.
Wattson had opted for a 2v2 match without substitutions, a format that favored decisive battles and left little room for adjustment once the fight began.
A referee stood at the center of the battlefield, his expression focused as a powerful energy barrier surrounded the arena, shimmering faintly as it activated.
The barrier was strong enough to withstand attacks reaching low Champion-level strength, ensuring that neither the trainers nor the surroundings would be put at risk during the match.
After confirming that both sides were prepared, the referee raised his hand and gave a sharp signal. "Both trainers, send out your first Pokémon!"
Alex and Wattson moved at the same moment.
Two Poké Balls opened almost simultaneously, releasing flashes of light onto the battlefield.
An Umbreon and a Magnezone appeared in the stadium at the same time, their gazes immediately locking onto each other as the battle was about to begin.
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Pokémon: Umbreon
LV: 56
Type: Dark
Ability: Synchronize
Gender: Female
Potential: Shallow Diamond (2%)
Moves:
- Growl, Tackle, Tail Whip, Quick Attack, Double Kick, Sand Attack, Bite, Swift, Take Down, Double-Edge [E], Helping Hand, Charm, Baton Pass [E], Work Up [M], Pursuit, Moonlight, Mean Look, Last Resort, Guard Swap
- (Perfect Talent) Rest [M], (Perfect Talent) Sleep Talk [M],
-(TM) Toxic [M], (TM) Shadow Ball [E], (TM) Facade [E], (TM) Protect [E], (TM) Attract [E], (TM) Psychic [E], (TM) Substitute, (TM) Snarl, (TM) Payback [M], (TM) Psych Up ,(TM) Return, (TM) Taunt [E], (TM) Hyper Beam
--------------------
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Pokémon: Magnezone
LV: 57
Type: Electric/Steel
Abilities: Magnet Pull
Gender: Genderless
Potential: Gold (78%)
Moves:
-Supersonic, Tackle, Thunder Shock, Magnet Bomb, Thunder Wave [M], Light Screen, Sonic Boom, Spark, Mirror Shot, Metal Sound [M], Electro Ball, Tri Attack, Flash Cannon [M], Screech, Discharge, Lock-On, Magnet Rise [M],
- (Innate Talent) Thunder [M], (Innate Talent) Double Team [M], (Innate Talent) Rain Dance [E]
- (TM)Toxic [M], (TM) Hyper Beam, (TM) Protect [M], (TM) Substitute,(TM) Facade, (TM) Volt Switch [M], (TM) Wild Charge, (TM) Rest [M], (TM) Sleep Talk [M], (TM) Thunderbolt
------------------------
Alex's eyes lingered on Wattson's Pokémon, a Magnezone, as he quietly assessed its capabilities.
When he realized that it possessed 11 moves at Master Rank, he paused for a brief moment, genuinely surprised by the sheer amount of Master Rank moves.
Given Magnezone's naturally long lifespan—far exceeding that of an average human—there was a strong possibility that this Pokémon had been with Wattson for decades.
Depending on when Wattson had first obtained it, Alex estimated that it had likely trained under him for at least 40 years, if not longer.
And yet, despite that immense time investment, it "only" had eleven moves at Master Rank.
That detail alone revealed two things to Alex. First, it reaffirmed just how absurdly difficult it was for S-rank Pokémon to push their non-innate moves to the Master Rank.
Second, it suggested that Wattson hadn't spent all those years mindlessly grinding move mastery, but had instead focused on something else.
Alex shifted his gaze back to the Magnezone, comparing the move sets of both Pokémon in his mind, and knew immediately that this was not going to be a short battle.
"3, 2, 1, GO!"
After the referee started the match, both trainers immediately began giving their first instructions.
"B4"
"Go, Magnezone, show him what you can do."
Both Pokémon began preparing moves as they moved simultaneously.
Umbreon started preparing her move a little earlier.
Magnezone and Umbreon moved within 30 meters of each other, and neither tried to move away.
Umbreon finished first and used Work Up, successfully improving her Attack and Special Attack.
Magnezone also finished and used Toxic, which Umbreon tried to dodge but was still hit by.
Umbreon ignored this and immediately began preparing a new move.
Magnezone also began preparing a move without hearing the trainer's instructions.
It didn't seem to Alex that Wattson had devised a plan with Magnezone when he said, "Go, Magnezone, show him what you can do," but rather that Magnezone was independently deciding which move to use.
That was just a hunch, but that's the feeling he had.
Umbreon used Work Up for the second time, successfully improving her Attack and Special Attack again. At Master Rank, these small improvements shouldn't be underestimated.
Magnezone used Screech, and a blue shockwave flew relatively slowly toward Umbreon.
Umbreon almost managed to dodge the move but was hit. She felt her body not weaken, but just become more sensitive to energy.
Alex, seeing this, knew he couldn't wait any longer. He telepathically said, "A3."
Umbreon telepathically agreed and began preparing a new move while absorbing more and more damage from Toxic.
Magnezone began accumulating Electric and Steel energy simultaneously on its body.
Alex quickly noticed this and telepathically said, "Don't cancel the move now, but change the next move you're preparing to Protect."
Umbreon nodded and remained calm as she watched how much energy Magnezone was accumulating.
Alex knew that most combo Master Rank moves take longer than a normal Master Rank move, so he risked that this move would be the same.
He didn't believe that a move utilizing two different energy elements could be completed so quickly.
Alex was right, and Umbreon used Work Up while Magnezone was still preparing its move.
Magnezone didn't need much longer, and the moment the energy stabilized, the combination of Thunder and Flash Cannon was completed.
For a brief instant, the air around Magnezone seemed to distort as both electric and metallic energy gathered at its core, compressing into a single point of blinding light.
Arcs of lightning coiled tightly around that point, not lashing out wildly but instead being forced into alignment, as if restrained by an invisible structure.
Then, in the next heartbeat, it fired.
A concentrated beam erupted forward, brilliant and almost white at its center, with streaks of gold and steel-blue energy spiraling along its length.
Umbreon used Protect, but the shield broke in less than a second, and she was hit by most of the power behind the move.
She suffered a great deal of damage, and her body was covered in blood. She had less than a quarter of her HP left.
Alex, who witnessed this, was completely shocked.
Umbreon was a Pokemon with a very high Special Defense stat and no weaknesses to Electric or Steel, yet she would almost be one-shotted without the Protect shield.
Even with the Screech debuff, she shouldn't take that much damage. Buffs and debuffs aren't as effective as they are in the games. even at the Master Rank.
A Swords Dance at Master Rank doesn't double a Pokémon's Attack stat.
So the effect of Screech shouldn't be that great Influence why this happend.
Umbreon ignored her pain and began preparing her next move.
Magnezone also started moving, and as it did, Alex noticed it had taken damage from its own move.
It looked like it had lost a third of its HP after the move. But it was able to immediately prepare its next move.
Wattson suddenly said something again: "Ha, good job. Now it's time to end the fight. Magnezone, use Flash Cannon."
Alex displayed a calm expression as he watched. Although the situation didn't look good to the average viewer, he knew he was in the winning position.
Umbreon finished first and used Rest.
Her body began to lighten and heal rapidly. As she fell asleep, she not only lost her poison but was also back to full HP.
Magnezone used Flash Cannon and hit Umbreon, who was unable to move.
It tried to hit her head but narrowly missed.
Umbreon was hit but didn't suffer much damage. She lost maybe 20% or 25% of her HP.
Wattson showed a serious expression for the first time and said, "Magnezone, we need to finish this quickly."
Magnezone agreed and began preparing and combining both Thunder and Flash Cannon again.
Umbreon, who was now at Master Rank with Sleep Talk, could choose which move Sleep Talk would use. Unfortunately, she still couldn't immediately move her body because she need a move requiring direct contact that is ready to move her body and she can't move before that.
She didn't understand why this move had such a strange limitation, but she quickly selected the move and began preparing it.
Umbreon finished first, and she could now use Payback. Unfortunately, she wasn't in range, so she couldn't use it immediately.
Umbreon's body automatically began charging at Magnezone.
Magnezone noticed this, but its combo move was completed.
Umbreon was faster, however, and hit Magnezone with Payback at Master Rank.
Magnezone took a lot of damage, but because Payback wasn't used immediately after Umbreon was hit, it wasn't as powerful as it could have been.
Alex saw how limited Umbreon's attack options were and that he needed to quickly upgrade other attack moves to Master Rank.
Magnezone, however, was now below 1/3 HP, so using its combo move would defeat it.
But it didn't hesitate for a moment and used it.
A concentrated beam hit Umbreon and she fell unconscious to the ground along with Magnezone.
***
Wow, that was a long fight. But I still like it. It also showed that combo moves have different weaknesses (in this case, recoil damage) and how big the difference is in the number of Master Rank moves between young and old trainers is.
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