The first use of Protect is guarao succeed, but each secutive use has a lower ce of success: around 50% on the sed try and 25% ohird.

  A lucky trainer might get three secutive Protects, while an unluay fail after the first attempt.

  Whether you're lucky or unlucky, just using Protect will make it clear.

  Unlucky King Julian didn't believe in this curse, but poor Melmetal had to suffer for it.

  When Protect failed, Melmetal took a direct Hyper Beam, and, wing from the pain, it turned back to Julian with a look of frustration.

  How could it not know its trainer's luck? Every time Metagross used Meteor Mash, it had to be right in the oppo's face to even hope for a hit—otherwise, the accuracy was hopeless.

  "Focus otle; it's ing"

  Julian said sternly, givial a quick reprimand.

  It was Melmetal that used Protect, and if it failed, how could that be Julian's fault? Clearly, it was just unlucky itself.

  Gyarados, seizing the opportunity, shot a burst of Scald from its open mouth, as for the Hyper Beam's recovery time, that barely slowed it down.

  The boiling water caused the air around it to heat up noticeably.

  Though Scald is a Water-type move, it has a ce of inflig a burn status on its target.

  "Fsh on!"

  There was no point in trying Protect again, though Julia a bit disappointed.

  If the sed try didn't work, maybe the third attempt would miraculously have a better ce, he thought.

  The silver Fsh on collided with Scald, and after a moment of struggle, Fsh on broke through the water.

  Seeing this, Gyarados immediately whipped up a Twister, using the powerful winds to block the Fsh on.

  "This Gyarados sure has impressive battle experience," Julian muttered.

  It evehis alternative use of Twister; clearly, this Gyarados had faced many trainers in battle. Those defeats hadn't been in vain—it had learned from eae.

  Each time a trainer defeated it and took its treasures, Gyarados would wake up feeling even strohan before.

  The Twister tore up the icy ground, spinning up sharp shards of ice that swirled like bdes.

  Dragonite fpped its wings, carrying Julian out of the Twister's range.

  Melmetal stood still as the Twister approached, letting itself get swallowed by the vortex. Even with its immense weight, the Twister lifted it from the ice.

  As it un around, sharp ice shards tinuously struck its metallic body, drawing silver liquid with each hit.

  Gyarados khe Twister alone wouldn't be enough to defeat Melmetal.

  "Raaaargh!!"

  Withiwister, Gyarados roared, a fierergy surging from its body, its voice filled with pain.

  With its roar, the ewister turned blood-red, filled with a frenzied energy that shattered the ice beh it and pulled in water from the ke below.

  After using e, Gyarados gained an eveer surge of power.

  "Melmetal, Giga Impact!"

  Julian's voice echoed directly into Melmetal's mind through Psychic.

  An endless white light burst from Melmetal, not as an evolution but as the release of all its inner energy.

  The force of its energy was so intehat it even stalled the Twister for a moment.

  "Raaaargh!!"

  Despite the e, Gyarados retained some trol and dissipated the Twister. Its body was ed in a blood-red aura as it, too, prepared a Giga Impact.

  One beam of white light shot down from above, while a blood-red beam surged up from below. Like two meteors, they collided mid-air.

  "BOOM!!"

  The instant they cshed, a massive wave of energy rippled out in all dires, and the water below sank, f a crater hundreds of meters deep.

  The resulting waves expanded outward in a , leaving many Pokémon in the ke scrambling.

  Even though they had fled far during the battle, it still wasn't far enough.

  The younger Gyarados, previously knocked out during the battle, had just woken up and was trying to swim toward its father. It hadn't gotten far before a wave crashed into its face, knog it out cold again.

  Poor thing—faihree times in a single day.

  Even a Snorx, watg nearby, would have appuded the resilience.

  As the blinding lights faded, both Gyarados aal began to fall from the sky.

  Metagross immediately caught Melmetal with Psychic, while Gyarados was left to fend for itself.

  With a spsh, Gyarados hit the water, resurfag only after several seds, clearly uo tinue fighting.

  Meanwhile, Melmetal, though exhausted, still had its eyes open, showing it had won.

  "Well done"

  Julian said, pattial's head. To defeat a mid-level Elite Gyarados as ary-level pseudo-Elite—it had more than lived up to its status as a Mythical Pokémon and to the resources Julian had ied in it.

  "Mel!~"

  Despite its fatigue, Melmetal's eyes shone brightly, thrilled by the exhirating battle that had stirred its fighting spirit and desire for victory.

  This was only the beginning. It would bring its trainer many more victories iure.

  Sensial's fiery Aura, Julian smiled.

  "Slowking, go dig up its treasure for me"

  Julian said, sending out his Slowking and handing it the Dowsing Mae.

  He had made an agreement with Gyarados earlier: if it lost, all its treasures would belong to him.

  Julian was kind enough not to wake it up to witness him digging up its treasure.

  After a full twenty minutes, Slowking finally surfaced. Julian had thought there'd be a trove of treasures, but all he saw were a few Water Stones.

  "Slow…~"

  It turned out that Gyarados had buried these Water Stones dozens of meters deep, even weighed them down with several rge rocks. Slowking had to put in a lot of effort just to dig them up.

  Even a clever Pokémon like Slowking was left speechless by Gyarados's antics.

  Gyarados had actually woken up within the first few minutes after Slowki down.

  Elite-level Pokémon sure had impressive resilience.

  Seeing the handful of Water Stones in Slowking's grasp, Gyarados opes mouth in dismay, looking as though it were on the verge of tears.

  As a Gyarados who valued its word, it had no choice but to let go, despite the heartbreak.

  'Why do my eyes glisten with tears? It's because I love my Water Stones so deeply'

  Those were all its life savings! It had hoped that even if it were defeated, its oppo might not find them. But now, everything was taken in one fell swoop.

  Gyarados: ime, I'm hiding them in separate pces

  With Gyarad at him with red eyes, Julian pocketed the fh-quality Water Stones and oop-grade Water Stone.

  "Thanks! I'll be sure to visit again"

  He said with a grin before riding Dragoo make a quick getaway.

  "Roar, roar, roar!"

  Behind him, Julian could hear Gyarados's furious, sorrowful, and helpless roars.

  Meanwhile, out on the ke, the younger Gyarados that had retly been knocked out by the waves began tain sciousness, shaking its head. But before it could fully e to, a silver fist appeared right in front of it.

  "Bam!"

  Once again, the pyarados fainted.

  Metagross: If you 't win, you call for your parents—huh, you deserve it.