"Metagross, Body Slam — use the momentum, press down hard!"
Luke's eyes sharpened. He had a plan.
"Meta!"
Ignoring the searing pain of Shelgon's bite, Metagross obeyed. It shifted its weight and drove its entire steel body downward, pressing full force onto Shelgon's head. At that mass, Body Slam carried genuine crushing power.
"Headbutt — push it off!"
Shelgon had no choice but to release its grip. Under David's command, a white light gathered at the crown of its head and it drove upward in a fierce thrust from below.
The collision of two enormous bodies produced a shockwave that rippled through the arena. The spectators watching from outside took an involuntary step back.
"Now — Magnet Rise!"
In a straight test of strength, even with the added weight of its metal body bearing down, Metagross was no match for Shelgon. Luke knew that. It was the outcome he had been counting on.
The two connected, and Metagross was driven steadily upward — but because of how they had been positioned, the impact hadn't dealt it significant damage. And now, carried upward by Shelgon's own force, Metagross activated Magnet Rise, riding the momentum to lift rapidly into the air and put real distance between itself and Shelgon once again.
"Not bad, Luke. I look away for a few days and you come back with something like that."
It was a well-executed sequence. Luke had clearly been working on more than just Metagross's level during the break.
"Of course. Did you forget who you're dealing with?"
"Don't get too pleased with yourself — I was just being polite."
David shook his head with a laugh at Luke's satisfied expression.
"Shelgon, Draco Meteor. Knock it back down."
"Roar!!!"
Shelgon threw its head back and roared. The Dragon-type energy in the surrounding air began to surge and concentrate. Brilliant streaks of light condensed out of nothing, one after another, taking shape as blazing meteors wrapped in deep violet flame.
Then they fell — a dense barrage of them, each one trailing fire as it plummeted toward the airborne Metagross.
Draco Meteor. One of the most powerful Dragon-type moves in existence.
Luke's relaxed expression disappeared.
Steel-type Pokémon could resist Dragon-type energy, cutting the damage in half — but Draco Meteor didn't deal only Dragon-type damage. The physical force behind each falling meteor was another matter entirely. Even a Fairy-type Pokémon, immune to Dragon-type energy altogether, couldn't simply ignore the crushing impact of those strikes. And at this density and speed, there was no comfortable way to be in the path of them.
"Metagross, descend — dodge what you can. Anything you can't avoid, break with Meteor Mash!"
Metagross cancelled Magnet Rise immediately. Its heavy frame dropped fast, weaving through the falling barrage, clearing most of the meteors through rapid repositioning.
"Beta."
The few it couldn't avoid, it met directly with Meteor Mash, shattering them before they could connect cleanly.
"Now — Giga Impact, Shelgon!"
While Metagross was occupied with the descent, David moved. Shelgon took a short charge, and then its entire body blazed with brilliant white light as it launched forward, each thunderous step shaking the ground beneath it.
"Metagross — Giga Impact."
Luke had no better option. He called for the same move.
A faint smile crossed David's face as he watched Metagross commit to the charge under pressure. It was exactly what he had been hoping for.
Both Pokémon surged toward each other. White light blazed from both sides.
The collision hit like a thunderclap.
The impact scattered air in every direction. Dust and debris were thrown up across the arena floor, swallowing the field in a thick cloud.
Silence from the crowd, then murmuring, as everyone strained to see through the haze.
As the dust began to settle, the result became clear. Metagross had been sent flying hard by the impact, tumbling toward the arena boundary. Only at the last moment did it manage to stabilise itself — catching its body with Psychic energy and Magnet Rise before it crossed the line.
Shelgon had won the exchange.
It wasn't difficult to understand why. Shelgon had been rested and fresh coming into this match. Metagross had been forced into a rushed, reactive counter. In a head-on collision of Giga Impact against Giga Impact, the advantage went to the one who had more left to give.
Now, with several powerful moves behind it, Shelgon was showing the strain — breathing harder, carrying minor injuries across its shell. Strong as it was, the sustained output of Draco Meteor and Giga Impact back to back had taken something from it.
Metagross was worse off. The Draco Meteor barrage had already worn it down before the clash, and losing the Giga Impact exchange had compounded that. Its injuries were clearly more serious.
"Metagross — full power Earthquake!"
Luke's voice had an edge to it now. Metagross touched down, its eyes flaring crimson. It raised both iron arms high, the ground trembling faintly in anticipation.
David's expression tightened.
Earthquake wasn't a super effective move against Shelgon, but at this scale, with Metagross behind it, the sheer force of the attack would still hit hard. If Zorua had been on the field, a well-timed Taunt would have shut the whole sequence down cleanly. But Shelgon didn't have that kind of answer. It was built for direct confrontation, not disruption.
He couldn't stop it. So he wouldn't try.
"Shelgon — Hyper Beam. Let's trade."
David had the stamina advantage. He trusted that. If it came down to who could outlast whom, he backed Shelgon.
Though he kept one thought to himself. Before the winter break, Luke's Metang had been clearly outmatched. That version of Metang was nowhere near what was standing across from him now. Metagross was a genuine step up — a qualitative change, not just a level gain. Even with Shelgon's deeper reserves and stronger foundation, grinding this battle out wasn't going to be simple.
"Earthquake!"
"Hyper Beam!"
Both Pokémon released their attacks at the same moment, after a brief charge that felt longer than it was. Everything that had built up over the course of the battle was being settled now, in this single exchange.
The spectators around the arena leaned forward as one.