Seeing Wallace act so shamelessly, Steven Stone couldn't help but feel annoyed.
Soon, as the second half of the match began, Aiden Flint and Steven once again stepped onto the battlefield.
At that moment, the entire stadium erupted with cheers for Aiden!
Even though the final result hadn't been decided yet, in the eyes of the audience—
Aiden was already the new Champion of the Hoenn League.
A true Champion.
With his overwhelming victories over Wallace and Steven, his strength had already earned everyone's recognition.
Watching Aiden standing there, full of confidence, even Alder couldn't help but doubt himself.
If he were the one facing Aiden… would the outcome be any different?
Or would he lose even faster than Steven?
Meanwhile, Diantha glanced at the Key Stone in her hand.
With Mega Gardevoir…
Could she defeat Aiden's Bond Infernape?
Even she wasn't certain.
"Next, you're up—Cradily!"
As Steven sent out Cradily, Aiden took out his Metagross's Poké Ball.
This Metagross had originally been a Beldum gifted by Steven himself—one of the finest in his family's lineage.
Its greatest goal…
Was to defeat Steven's Metagross.
But for now—
It was still far from enough.
"Metagross, show Steven your true strength. Let's see how far you still are from becoming the strongest Metagross in the world!"
As Aiden spoke—and mentioned that Infernape had already defeated Steven's Metagross—
Metagross began to stir with excitement.
It understood.
Infernape, through Bond Evolution, had already entered Aiden's top-tier lineup alongside Milotic.
Compared to that…
It was still lacking.
But if Infernape could defeat Metagross—
Then maybe it could too.
"Don't worry. Next time, I'll let you fight it. And when that time comes—you'll definitely defeat Steven's Shiny Metagross."
From Aiden's perspective, there was still a considerable gap between his Metagross and Steven's ace.
Even after Mega Evolution, his Metagross would only reach Level 89—not yet entering the Grandmaster tier.
Against a Level 93 Shiny Mega Metagross, the odds of winning were extremely low.
Moreover, as a member of the Metagross lineage, Aiden's Metagross had grown up hearing stories of Steven's ace.
That was why it had always taken it as its goal.
And that was also why Aiden chose not to let it fight Steven's ace in this match.
In truth, as Aiden's Pokémon began breaking into the Master tier, the gap in strength between them had become more apparent.
Currently, only seven of his Pokémon had reached the Master tier.
Aerodactyl was the weakest among them, at Level 81.
Next was Pidgeot at Level 83.
The strongest were naturally Infernape and Milotic.
Once they activated Bond Evolution, they were practically invincible—both reaching Level 87 and standing at the peak of the Master tier.
Even without Bond Evolution or Mega Evolution, they could defeat the main Pokémon of regional Champions.
As for Sceptile, Aiden's original partner, its exceptional willpower placed it just below them at Level 84.
Aggron and Metagross were also at Level 84. Despite their red-tier potential, they had already been surpassed by Infernape.
…
"Ding! Cradily's current attributes are as follows:"
Pokémon: Cradily
Level: 85
Ability: Storm Drain
Type: Rock / Grass
Potential: Gold
Bond Evolution: Not unlocked
Mega Evolution: Not unlocked
Moves: Acid, Confuse Ray, Ingrain, Brine, Gastro Acid, Swallow, Spit Up, Energy Ball…
Looking at Steven's Cradily, its Rock/Grass typing combined with Storm Drain made its resistances extremely well-rounded.
"Metagross—use Metal Claw!"
Even so, Cradily was still weak to Steel-type attacks.
"Cradily, use Ingrain—then Sunny Day!"
Facing Metagross's attack, Steven didn't dodge at all. Instead, he had Cradily root itself into the ground.
As Sunny Day activated—
Metal Claw tore into Cradily's body, nearly overwhelming it.
But Ingrain immediately restored part of its stamina.
"Now—Grassy Terrain, then use Giga Drain!"
As a lush green field spread across the battlefield, Cradily recovered even more health.
Although Giga Drain wasn't very effective against Metagross, it still drained some of its stamina.
In an instant—
Cradily returned to peak condition.
"Metagross—Psychic!"
A powerful wave of psychic energy surged forward, locking onto Cradily.
A terrifying force struck directly into its mind.
Cradily let out a cry as its body trembled violently, nearly collapsing.
But soon—
Grassy Terrain, Ingrain, and Sunny Day combined to restore its stamina once again.
Grass-type Pokémon were incredibly difficult to deal with in prolonged battles.
"Metagross—close in! Hammer Arm, twice!"
With Aiden's command, Metagross roared as Fighting-type energy gathered around its arms.
Boom!
It slammed into Cradily with overwhelming force.
"Cradily, use Brine!"
Despite its continuous recovery, Cradily could no longer withstand Metagross's relentless assault.
Finally—
It collapsed.
"Ding! Metagross has defeated Cradily. Gained 8,735 experience. Level increased. Current level: Lv85!"
With Cradily defeated—
Steven was now down to his final two Pokémon.
…
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