Lionel looked at the chat and smiled. When he introduced Deino, he only said it was a Dragon-type, deliberately omitting the Dark type. After all, the Mossdeep Gym was full of Psychic-type Pokémon, which was a natural advantage.
The apprentice gave Lionel a wry smile and stepped aside:
"You won. Please come in. There are other apprentices waiting behind you. Good luck."
Lionel nodded and led his Deino into the next room.
The following challenges were all from gym apprentices, and the Pokémon they sent out were mostly Psychic-type... but without exception, they were all easily defeated by Deino.
With the absolute advantage of Dark-type over Psychic-type, Deino was like a fish in water.
No matter if the opponent used Psychic, Psychic Beam, or Psychic Pulse, it couldn't do any damage, while its Bite and Dark Pulse could easily defeat the opponent.
Of course, Lionel didn't just send Deino into battle all the time.
When the system panel displayed the opponent's Pokémon...
When they used Ice-type or Fairy-type moves, he immediately had Deino rest and switched to Larvesta.
Of course, Lionel couldn't tell Deino that it couldn't beat the opponent, but instead told it to rest for a bit and let Larvesta stretch its legs.
Deino didn't care; it had already won so many matches, so letting that annoying fat bug fight a couple more wouldn't hurt.
The opponent, however, was in a terrible situation. Moves intended to counter Deino were completely ineffective against Larvesta.
Furthermore, Larvesta's strength far surpassed theirs, and its Bug-type was super effective against Psychic-types, making it impossible to fight back. They suffered repeated defeats.
Thus, Lionel advanced smoothly, passing all the apprentices' tests with almost no effort.
The portal to the last room opened, and Lionel stepped inside.
This was a spacious and brightly lit arena. The ground was made of a special metal material, gleaming with a faint blue light. The surrounding stands were already packed with people.
At the other end of the arena, two figures stood silently—the Gym masters, Liza and Tate.
They wore matching white and green outfits, their figures slender, their faces delicate. If one didn't know beforehand, it would be very difficult to tell they were twins, a boy and a girl!
No wonder their father often confused them; the twins were just too similar. However, the moment they spoke, the differences became clear.
When the older sister, Liza, spoke, the corners of her eyes curved slightly, making her appear much gentler, while the younger brother, Tate, was different; his voice always carried a hint of arrogance and sharpness.
Liza spoke first, her gaze falling on Lionel, with a scrutinizing look:
"Lionel, although we both belong to Devon Corporation, there are no exceptions in gym challenges.
Father often mentions you, saying you're the most talented newcomer in recent years. Today, let's, brother and sister, verify that ourselves."
Tate crossed his arms, a defiant smile playing on his lips:
"Don't think that having a Pokémon with a type advantage guarantees a win. Our Mossdeep Gym Badge isn't so easy to obtain."
Liza picked up where her brother left off, continuing:
"Our gym's rules are double battles. Only by defeating us can you get the Mind Badge. Are you ready?"
Just as she finished speaking, Liza and Tate exchanged a glance, and simultaneously threw out Poké Balls:
"Solrock, Lunatone, come out!"
A flash of red light appeared, and two Pokémon Lionel had seen before in the Meteor Falls Mountains appeared on the field—Solrock and Lunatone.
Solrock was entirely orange-red, its surface marked with crater-like patterns, radiating a scorching light. The Lunatone, on the other hand, was blue-white, resembling a miniature moon, shrouded in a faint chill.
The two Pokémon established a mental connection with Liza and Tate as soon as they appeared, an invisible fluctuation of spiritual energy filling the air.
Just as Lionel was about to take out Milotic's Poké Ball, Deino couldn't contain itself any longer. Provoked by Tate's earlier attitude, it pawed at the ground with its short legs, wanting to charge forward and show them its power.
Lionel quickly pressed down on Deino's head and whispered, "Don't rush, you've already fought. Next, let's see Metagross and Milotic fight. Let them have a chance to battle too."
Lionel had already seen the move information of Liza and Tate in his mind, especially Liza's Lunatone, which gave her a lot of Fairy-type and Ice-type moves, such as Moonblast, Ice Beam, and Blizzard...
If Deino, a baby dragon, were to fight, its chances of survival would be slim. Although somewhat unwilling, Deino obediently retreated to the side, its eyes still fixed on the field.
Lionel raised his hand and threw his Poké Ball.
"Come out, Metagross, Milotic!"
A flash of red light appeared, and two figures appeared simultaneously.
The moment the two shiny Pokémon appeared, the audience erupted in gasps.
The live stream chat exploded with comments, refreshing almost non-stop:
[Holy crap! A once-in-a-lifetime collaboration! Metagross and Milotic are finally battling together!]
[Isn't this just a clone of Champion Steven + Master Wallace? A dream collaboration!]
[Quick, screenshot! Quick, screenshot! This scene must be saved!]
Liza and Tate stared intently at the Metagross and Milotic as they entered the arena, their expressions growing increasingly serious.
Their powerful spiritual senses had already detected the strength of these two Pokémon. Although they had seen Lionel's account battles before, they had never actually faced them.
It was truly unbelievable that Lionel had only trained his Pokémon for a year, yet they were already so powerful.
Liza's eyes sharpened, and she whispered to her younger brother:
"Tate, be serious, fight with all your might."
"Do you even need to tell me?"
Tate snorted, giving his sister a disdainful look.
No further words were needed; the twins' telepathic connection had already forged a unified battle plan.
"Battle begins!"
The referee waved the flag.
Almost simultaneously, Liza and Tate issued commands without speaking, relying entirely on their telepathic communication with their Pokémon.
Solrock and Lunatone emitted strong fluctuations of spiritual energy, their powerful mental energy gradually condensing into thin mental barriers that covered them respectively.
These were the Psychic-type moves Light Screen and Reflect.
[Light Screen: Creates a special mental defense barrier with powerful mental energy, reducing damage from the opponent's special energy attacks.]
[Reflect: Creates a special mental defense barrier with powerful mental energy, reducing damage from the opponent's close-range attacks.]
The two barriers overlapped, protecting the two Pokémon thoroughly, clearly indicating a defensive preparation.
Seeing this, Lionel simply smiled faintly and slowly said to Milotic: "Milotic, retreat to the edge of the arena and help Metagross out."
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