As a life-saving move, Protect could be learned through a Technical Machine by nearly ninety-nine percent of all Pokémon.
It was not particularly difficult to master, either.
Even a Pokémon with ordinary aptitude could generally learn it after using the TM four or five times.
Protect’s defensive limit was remarkably high.
When two Pokémon possessed roughly equal strength, even a direct Hyper Beam might not necessarily break through the barrier it created.
Its extraordinary versatility was precisely why Protect was considered an essential survival move.
However, it possessed one serious weakness.
It could not be used repeatedly without consequence.
The first Protect was guaranteed to succeed.
The second had only a fifty-percent chance.
The third dropped to twenty-five percent.
Each consecutive use halved the probability of success.
Thus, unless the gods of luck personally watched over you, attempting a third Protect in a row was generally a terrible idea.
Some truly unfortunate Trainers could not even succeed on the second attempt.
Piplup’s Protect had successfully blocked Beldum’s Zen Headbutt, allowing Nozomi Mizuno to breathe a quiet sigh of relief.
The sound produced when Beldum slammed into the barrier had been terrifying.
For a moment, she had genuinely feared that the protective screen would be shattered outright.
Fortunately, Beldum’s Zen Headbutt had not reached such an absurd degree of destructive power—
Crack.
A faint sound echoed from the transparent barrier.
No one else heard it.
Piplup did.
More importantly, it saw what had happened.
A hair-thin fracture had appeared across the barrier created by Protect.
And that fracture was rapidly spreading.
“Pip!”
Piplup reacted instantly.
It did not wait for its Trainer’s command.
After all, Nozomi had yet to notice that Protect was beginning to collapse.
Piplup opened its beak, and a stream of water carrying a bone-chilling cold shot forward like a silver serpent.
Chilling Water.
Crack—!
At almost the exact same moment, the Protect barrier shattered.
Beldum’s Zen Headbutt surged through the broken defense like a heavy war hammer, only to collide head-on with the freezing current.
BOOM!
Beldum was blasted backward more than ten meters.
After breaking through Protect, Zen Headbutt had already exhausted most of its remaining power.
Naturally, it could no longer overpower Piplup’s Chilling Water.
“Piplup, that was amazing!”
The sudden reversal had startled even Nozomi.
Fortunately, Piplup’s reactions were extremely sharp, and it possessed enough battle awareness to make decisions independently.
“Piplup!”
Hearing its Trainer’s praise, Piplup immediately puffed out its chest and raised its head.
Its expression seemed to say—
Keep praising me.
I can handle much more.
“Piplup, press the advantage!”
Nozomi pointed toward Beldum.
“Use Water Gun at maximum power!”
This was the perfect opportunity.
Beldum’s attack had just been repelled, and the additional effect of Chilling Water should have lowered its Attack.
“Pip—!”
Piplup inhaled deeply.
A stream of water far thicker than its opening attack erupted from its beak.
FWOOSH—!
The spectators stared at the enlarged Water Gun in confusion.
“Why is it so much stronger than before?”
“That Piplup must be holding a Water Gem.”
The explanation came from a man wearing the battle club’s uniform.
The exact increase depended on the gem’s quality.
The finest commercially available Water Gems could double the strength of one attack.
The most powerful Water Gem ever discovered had supposedly tripled a move’s destructive force, though an item of that quality was already considered a priceless treasure rather than an ordinary battle item.
Even a Water Gem capable of increasing power by fifty percent was regarded as high quality and could easily cost several hundred thousand yen.
“Boss?
What are you doing here?”
One of the employees turned toward the speaker and immediately revealed a surprised expression.
The man was Tadafumi Minegishi, the owner of the battle club.
He was a peak Quasi-Elite Trainer and rarely visited the club personally.
Why had he suddenly appeared today?
“A Shiny Beldum entered my club.
How could I possibly stay away?”
Minegishi stared at the silver-white Pokémon on the battlefield, his expression filled with astonishment.
“As expected of Elite Gendō Natsume’s grandson.”
On the battlefield, Beldum had only just stabilized itself when Piplup’s enhanced Water Gun came surging toward it.
“Zen Headbutt.”
Suguru’s voice remained perfectly calm.
It was almost as though he had not noticed the enormous Water Gun racing toward his Pokémon.
Of course he had seen it.
But so what?
Beldum possessed Clear Body.
The ability prevented its attributes from being lowered by an opponent’s moves or abilities.
In other words, Chilling Water’s Attack-lowering effect had done absolutely nothing.
“Bzz…!”
Magnetic energy erupted from Beldum’s body.
It was annoyed now.
The previous nine opponents had fallen as easily as vegetables beneath a kitchen knife.
So why was this one taking so long?
Was this Piplup deliberately trying to make Beldum look bad in front of its Trainer?
Unacceptable.
Just stay down already!
Psychic energy wrapped around Beldum’s silver-white body.
BOOM!
It accelerated as though a rocket engine had suddenly ignited behind it.
Beldum transformed into a streak of silver light and drove its Zen Headbutt directly into the oncoming Water Gun.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
The strengthened Water Gun continuously struck the psychic energy coating Beldum’s body.
Yet instead of being forced backward, Beldum continued advancing.
One meter.
Two meters.
Five meters.
It tore through the stream inch by inch, forcing its way toward Piplup.
“Piplup!”
Nozomi clenched both fists and shouted with all her strength.
Unfortunately, she was not the protagonist of some hot-blooded anime.
Her shouting could not suddenly awaken Piplup’s hidden power.
Nor could a simple cry of encouragement make a critically injured Pokémon leap back to its feet with renewed strength.
BOOM—!
Under Piplup’s despairing gaze, Zen Headbutt finally tore the Water Gun apart.
The stream exploded into countless droplets.
Beyond the scattered water, Beldum’s smooth silver forehead rapidly grew larger within Piplup’s vision.
“Pip…?”
BANG!
Zen Headbutt struck Piplup squarely.
Its small body flew backward, bounced across the battlefield, and finally collapsed against the floor. Get faster updates on g.com.
The jewel-like Water Gem it had been carrying had already dimmed after completing its purpose.
The Rotom Referee Drone immediately descended and scanned Piplup.
“Piplup is unable to battle!”
“Beldum wins!”
At the same moment, the system’s voice rang inside Suguru’s mind.
[Ding!]
[Daily Mission completed.]
[Rewards distributed: 200 System Points.]
[Beldum’s Special Attack increased by 1.]
The rewards had arrived.
Suguru’s lips curved into a satisfied smile.
Beldum turned around and flew back toward him.
“Well done.”
He gently stroked his partner’s metallic head before taking a small piece of Magnetic Stone from his pocket and offering it to Beldum.
Although Beldum had defeated ten Pokémon in succession without suffering any serious injuries, the repeated battles had still consumed a considerable amount of magnetic energy.
The Magnetic Stone would allow it to quickly restore what it had lost.
“Bzz…”
Hearing its Trainer’s praise, Beldum happily narrowed its single red eye.
The surrounding spectators finally recovered from their daze.
“That was terrifying…”
“One Pokémon against ten opponents—and it won every single match!”
“I’m uploading the video to PokéTok.
A silver Beldum sweeping ten Pokémon in a row?
This is definitely going viral!”
“So that boy is Elite Natsume’s grandson?”
“Why have we never seen him before?
Elite Natsume hid his grandson far too well!”
With the appearance of the Shiny Beldum and Suguru’s age, most people had already guessed his identity.
He could only be the grandson of Gendō Natsume.
Most ordinary citizens knew that Gendō had one son and one daughter.
His son, Senri Natsume, was the chairman of the Kogane Prefecture Trainer Association and the officially recognized national Steel-type Gym Leader.
His daughter, Keina Natsume, was the youngest recipient of the Arceus Prize in the world.
However, very few people knew much about Gendō’s grandchildren.
Even though Aya Natsume had already been an active Trainer for several years, ordinary members of the public remained unaware of her true background.
Only Trainers from influential families and organizations generally knew that she belonged to the Natsume family.
The reason was simple.
Aya’s Metagross was not Shiny.
It possessed the ordinary coloration of its species.
That was not because Gendō or Senri had been unwilling to give her a silver Beldum.
At the time Aya became eligible to receive her starter, both Gendō’s Metagross and Senri’s Metagross had been at critical stages in their advancement.
Neither could afford the damage to its foundation caused by division.
As a result, the family could only provide Aya with an ordinary Beldum.
Later, once the two Metagross had stabilized, the family offered to give her a silver one.
Aya refused.
By then, she had already developed an inseparable bond with her original Beldum.
To her, replacing it simply because another Beldum possessed a rarer coloration was unthinkable.
Countless Trainers throughout the world used Metagross.
Merely owning one was not enough for the public to identify someone as a member of the Natsume family.
But a silver Metagross—
Or a silver Beldum—
Was different.
That unique coloration belonged exclusively to Gendō Natsume’s direct lineage.
Thus, the moment Suguru revealed his Shiny Beldum, his identity became obvious.
Still, it was not as though the Natsume family had ever intended to conceal Suguru.
As the possessor of the Perfect Steel Heart, Suguru was destined to illuminate the Natsume family’s name.
And with the power accumulated by a millennium-old great house—
The Natsume family had no need to force its most brilliant descendant to hide his light.