"Then go, Meltan!"
Ethan sent Meltan straight onto the field.
Although he wasn't entirely sure of Jake Turner's full team, he could confidently guess that his main Pokémon was Blastoise.
And while Meltan was a Steel-type, it possessed a special ability — it could generate an electric field within its body to propel itself and move, as well as convert the metal it absorbed from its surroundings into electrical energy. That electricity not only sustained its vital functions but could also be released as attacks through its eyes.
Because of that, even though Meltan wasn't a pure Electric-type Pokémon, its Electric-type moves were in no way inferior to those of a genuine one.
With a flash of white light from the Poké Ball, Meltan's figure appeared on the battlefield. Compared to when Ethan had first caught it, it had grown slightly larger.
"What kind of Pokémon is that?"
"Looks like something similar to a Magnemite... must be a Steel-type, right?"
Jake was startled when he saw Meltan, but based on its appearance, he could more or less deduce its type.
He wasn't the only one — the entire audience began murmuring, as none of them had ever seen such a Pokémon before.
"Steel-type Pokémon, Meltan. Evolution form unknown."
Lucas Silver, sitting among the spectators, observed attentively. As a trainer specializing in Steel-types, saying he wasn't interested in Meltan would be a lie.
"If it's Steel-type, then it's your turn — go, Magmar!"
Jake's eyes gleamed with determination as he threw his Poké Ball, sending out Magmar, whose type advantage was obvious.
"In that case, I'll take the first move! Meltan, use Magnet Rise and take to the air!"
Seeing his opponent's Magmar, Ethan ordered Meltan to levitate, avoiding the disadvantage of the type matchup.
"Zzzt!"
Meltan let out a soft hum as sparks ran across its body. Following the principle of electromagnetism, it formed a magnetic field around itself, and under its own magnetic force, it began to slowly lift off the ground.
"Magnet Rise?"
"Magmar, use Flamethrower!"
Jake reacted instantly, ordering Magmar to attack from a distance with its flames.
"Meltan, dodge it and use Thunderbolt!"
Meltan's body lit up with electricity. It darted through the air in a curved trajectory, swiftly evading the incoming flames, and then fired a bolt of lightning from above that struck Magmar directly.
The speed of the attack left everyone stunned!
"Nice! Keep up that magnetic mobility!"
Watching Meltan move so nimbly thanks to its magnetic field, Ethan nodded in satisfaction and gave another command: "Flash Cannon!"
Boom!
In front of Meltan, a silver sphere of energy began to condense, which then transformed into a beam of light that shot toward Magmar like a shining spear.
Boom!
The roar of the attack echoed through the arena. Magmar's eyes narrowed as it gathered flames into its fist, using Fire Punch to counter the incoming blast.
BOOM!
The silver beam clashed against the flaming fist, a violent explosion shaking the air as Magmar staggered back two steps.
"Thunderbolt again!"
Taking advantage of the brief delay after Flash Cannon, Meltan's body lit up once more, charging another electric strike.
Just as Magmar tried to regain its balance, another lightning bolt descended from above, completely engulfing it. Sparks crackled all around as the ground beneath its feet split and burst apart with thunderous force while electricity devoured it mercilessly.
"Magmar, get out of there, quickly!"
Jake shouted anxiously as his Pokémon was overwhelmed by the current.
"Not so fast! Electrical output to maximum!"
Ethan wasn't about to miss the opportunity. Meltan's body flared with blinding light, and all of its electricity concentrated into a single devastating beam that crashed down on Magmar, swallowing it whole.
"What's going on with that Meltan?"
"Can it really generate such a powerful current?"
The entire audience was dumbfounded by Meltan's incredible power.
In fact, judging the strength of an Electric-type Pokémon was simple — one only had to look at how much electricity its body could contain. The more energy it stored, the stronger it was.
That's why everyone could clearly feel how immense the electricity within Meltan was — and they couldn't help but be amazed.
"What an enormous amount of energy... the electricity inside that Meltan is unbelievable."
Lucas's eyes gleamed. His family, devoted to Steel-type Pokémon, had several Magneton and Magnezone, but not a single one could compare to Meltan's power.
"Looks like when this tournament's over, I'll have to have a serious talk with Ethan about that Meltan..." he thought, his gaze full of interest.
"Phew... another hidden card revealed."
Ethan sighed. "Well, it's a Mythical Pokémon after all — its natural control over electricity is extraordinary."
"Still," he thought to himself, "this attack can only be used as a surprise strike. After that maximum discharge, Meltan's strength has dropped significantly..."
"Even so, if I can use a single card to take down my opponent's first Pokémon and secure the initial advantage, then it's totally worth it."
He looked at Meltan, who was barely maintaining levitation, its body flickering with residual sparks.
"Damn it! I didn't even get to do anything and I already lost!"
Jake gritted his teeth in frustration, recalled Magmar to its Poké Ball, and sent out his second Pokémon — Sneasel.
"Sneasel, huh?"
Ethan murmured, and upon seeing the switch, withdrew Meltan and sent out Sandslash instead.
Sneasel's body was mostly black, with a red tail, silver claws, and small golden spots on its forehead and chest; its left ear was also red.
From a certain point of view, Sandslash and Sneasel were quite similar — both were natural close-range fighters.
"This time I'll attack first! Sneasel, use Metal Claw!"
Sneasel dashed forward with great speed, its claws shining silver. Sandslash reacted instantly, also using Metal Claw.
The two figures clashed repeatedly, the metallic sound of their strikes filling the arena, like a duel between two swordmasters.
Thanks to its initial momentum, Sneasel dominated the first exchanges; however, as the battle went on, Sandslash began to take the upper hand.
It was clear that, in terms of sheer physical strength, Ethan's Pokémon was superior.
(End of Chapter)