"Metang, use Psychic on yourself, adjust your landing position!" Even in this critical moment, Steven didn't give up, issuing a command for Metang to save itself.
From the battle so far, it was clear that Metang's speed and agility were within the normal range. It clearly didn't have the hidden ability Light Metal.
With its Clear Body and a weight of over 200 kilograms, controlling itself with psychic power was no easy task for Metang.
That's why Steven didn't have it stop its fall, he simply wanted to shift its landing position so it wouldn't take a direct hit from Earth Power.
Unfortunately, ever since Pupitar learned Rock Slide, it had been training precise control over its moves.
Just recently after rejoining the team, it had even used mud to put on such a dazzling display that Sato was practically speechless.
Avoid an attack by shifting your landing? Impossible!
Sato gave no new command, but the usually serious Pupitar seemed to turn a bit cunning in that moment. The linear Earth Power didn't even slightly change its course.
Just as Metang shifted direction and landed at an angle, Earth Power suddenly swerved!
Direct hit!
Metang was knocked hard to the ground. Because of its massive weight, it couldn't even get up right away.
"Pupi!"
Just as Sato prepared to push the momentum and end the match, Pupitar suddenly began to float. Its body trembled slightly, and it let out a low, restrained sound.
Pupitar was beginning to shed its skin!
This wasn't the usual effect of the Shed Skin ability, it was a slight elevation in its very life form, not just the removal of a status condition.
Metang stood up slowly, panting, but under Steven's signal, it didn't attack. It merely watched silently as Pupitar underwent its transformation.
Pupitar's trembling grew more intense, and the hard armor on its surface began to turn yellow and dull.
Starting from the gash Metang had slashed earlier, the crack along Pupitar's shell quickly extended and tore apart. From within, a brilliant silver glow began to shine through.
Pfft
A silvery white tail was the first to emerge.
The new armor wasn't as solid as expected at first. But once exposed to the environment, its color deepened rapidly.
Sato could feel the surrounding energy being drawn toward Pupitar.
After the tail came out, the old armor became even duller and more lifeless. Like a worn-out rag, it slouched weakly on Pupitar's body.
Next, the crack widened, and Pupitar slipped out of it easily and completely.
After all, this was its first true shedding. With all the accumulation it had built up, its breakthrough had come naturally.
Pupitar flashed a few times with a white glow. The new silver armor visibly hardened and, under the sunlight, shone brilliantly.
At the same time, Pupitar's aura had clearly advanced to the Mid Elite stage. Not only had it caught up to the heavy-hitters, it had even slightly surpassed them.
The Advanced Mimicry Space truly lived up to its name.
Clap clap clap!
"Congratulations, Sato!" Steven applauded as he offered his congratulations. At this point, the battle was naturally over; given the type disadvantages, he had actually lost to Sato by a margin.
Although this Metang hadn't fully matured and wasn't even one of Steven's main Pokémon, a loss was still a loss. In the final moments, Pupitar had clearly taken the upper hand.
"This match doesn't count. Let's have a rematch next time we meet." Sato declined the official win but used the chance to propose another future match.
"Absolutely! We're both amazing, there's no way we won't cross paths again," Steven cheerfully patted Sato on the shoulder, inadvertently revealing the extreme pride hiding beneath his humble exterior.
Well, of course… Steven Stone, heir of Devon Corporation, and someone whose strength far surpassed others of his age.
Even though he lost to Sato this time and seemed nonchalant on the surface, deep down, he clearly wasn't entirely satisfied.
They were both using Stage Two pseudo-legendaries, so why was Sato the one stepping up in rank over him?'
Sato understood perfectly, and secretly felt quite pleased. But after the excitement wore off, he quickly regained his composure.
Metang's level was actually the same as Pupitar's, both at Low Elite. They were also both 2nd stage Pseudo-Legendaries, and their typings countered each other. There wasn't much of a gap between them to begin with.
Sato hadn't won by a landslide… Pupitar had taken considerable damage to claim the victory, and luck played a part too.
What's more, that Aggron briefly seen at Steven's side was clearly at Peak Elite.
Without Mega Evolution or external power boosts, it would be difficult for any single one of Sato's Pokémon to take on Aggron in a one-on-one.
And in the future, Steven's peak combat representative would be a Shiny Metagross, which was clearly not the evolved form of this ordinary Metang.
To obtain a Shiny Metagross, one would either have to catch four Shiny Beldum and fuse them through evolution…
Or invest an unimaginable amount of time, effort, and terrifying resources to raise a single Shiny Beldum capable of splitting and evolving on its own.
Either way, that wasn't something an ordinary person could pull off. In fact, across the entire Pokémon world, only a handful of people were capable of it.
Thinking about all this, Sato's joy in defeating Steven -this future Champion- vanished by ninety percent. The remaining ten percent was mostly because Pupitar had achieved a breakthrough.
Once his emotions settled, Sato said goodbye to Steven, who had only crossed paths with them by chance, and then turned his attention to Pupitar, who had just shed its skin for the first time.
As expected, Pupitar had grown about five centimeters taller.
Its silvery white armor shimmered coldly under the sunlight, and the contours between each plate were more distinct and sharp.
Sato touched the big chunk of metal and gave it a gentle pat, he could even hear a slight echo!
"Pupitar!"
Pupitar gave Sato a side glance, then gently used some mud to lift the curious Pichu onto its back.
"Pichu~ pichu~!"
Compared to its old, worn-down armor, the new Pupitar looked significantly better. Its appearance had leveled up quite a bit.
To Pichu, of course, it simply preferred things that looked nice. So now it was even more attached to Pupitar, giggling and playing around, completely forgetting about Sato standing nearby.
Sato stood up and pulled away Joseph and Mark, who were also marveling at Pupitar.
"It's time to move."
"What's the rush? It's almost lunchtime… which makes it the perfect time to walk a bit more before eating!"
Mark turned away to avoid Sato's stare, casually responding without even needing a reminder; clearly a practiced routine by now.
Joseph shook his head helplessly at the side. 'Bullying others had clearly become second nature to this guy. That wasn't right, was it?'
"Mark, while we're walking, keep an eye out for any water sources so we can pick a spot for lunch," Joseph added.
"Huh? Why me?"
"Take a guess."