At Grant's signal, the expedition opened fire.
Blue pulses of energy streaked across the clearing and slammed into the Aurorus gathered beneath the Frostfruit trees.
This herd was weaker overall than the Abomasnow group they had encountered earlier. Most of the Aurorus ranged from Advanced to Elite, while only the one that had attacked Grant had reached Gym (Late Stage).
Judging by the way the others reacted around it, that Aurorus was clearly the leader.
"AURORUS!"
Several of the weaker Pokémon cried out as the energy shots struck home. Some staggered backward through the snow, while others collapsed entirely under the sustained barrage.
Aaron watched with a more complicated expression than before.
Secret zones were not the peaceful wildernesses shown in Pokémon anime. Wild Pokémon defended their territory, humans wanted access to the resources inside, and neither side could always be persuaded to back down.
That was especially true during the first exploration of an untouched zone.
People had died in expeditions like this before.
If Hualis wanted to establish safe access to the area, the Pokémon protecting it first had to understand that attacking every human who entered was not an option.
Aaron did not particularly like that reality.
But pretending it did not exist would not make it disappear.
...
"AURORUS!"
The herd leader watched several of its companions fall and erupted in fury.
Energy gathered inside its mouth.
At first, the glow was pale white.
Then it shifted into an intense icy blue.
Aaron recognized what was happening immediately.
Hyper Beam.
The Aurorus possessed Refrigerate, an Ability that converted Normal-type moves into Ice-type attacks while increasing their power. Combined with the same-type bonus Aurorus gained from using an Ice-type attack, its Hyper Beam was far more dangerous than the ordinary version.
The beam erupted from its mouth.
A torrent of freezing energy tore across the clearing toward the expedition.
"Metagross, Meteor Mash!"
Grant reacted immediately.
"METAGROSS!"
Steel-type energy flared around one of Metagross's massive forelimbs as it surged forward.
The silver glow intensified until its fist resembled a falling meteor.
Metagross drove straight into the incoming Hyper Beam.
BOOM!
The collision shook the clearing.
Ice-blue energy burst outward alongside a wave of silver light, sending snow flying from the surrounding trees. Ryan's Pokémon moved in front of the expedition and helped shield the people behind them from the worst of the blast.
When the swirling snow finally settled, Metagross was still standing exactly where it had met the attack.
A thin layer of frost coated parts of its steel body.
Nothing more.
Grant smiled.
"Not bad."
Aurorus's Refrigerate-boosted Hyper Beam had tremendous power, but once converted to Ice-type, it was resisted by Metagross's Steel typing. Grant's Pokémon was also exceptionally well trained and carried a held item that further strengthened its Steel-type attacks.
The Aurorus leader had thrown one of its strongest attacks at Metagross.
And Metagross had stopped it head-on.
Several members of the Rivergate team stared at the Steel-type Pokémon with newfound respect.
"So that's Grant's Metagross..."
"One of his strongest Pokémon."
"No wonder. That thing barely moved."
Those from Sealine City were considerably less surprised.
They had seen Metagross fight before.
Grant might not have Aaron's absurd rate of growth, but there was a reason he had already become a Gym-level Trainer at twenty-six. If he were half as disciplined about training as he was talented, some of the people who knew him suspected he might already have reached Class Champion.
Grant apparently heard part of the conversation.
"Hey. I train plenty."
Aaron glanced at him.
"Sure you do."
Grant ignored him.
His attention returned to the Aurorus leader.
Hyper Beam had left it unable to act immediately after firing.
Grant saw the opening.
"Metagross, again! Meteor Mash!"
"METAGROSS!"
Metagross shot across the snow before the Aurorus could recover.
Silver light enveloped its forelimb once more.
The herd leader's eyes widened.
It tried to move.
Its body refused to respond.
Metagross was already there.
Meteor Mash!
The steel fist crashed directly into Aurorus's side.
BOOM!
The impact lifted the enormous Pokémon off the ground and hurled it backward across the clearing.
Snow exploded into the air as Aurorus struck the ground and continued sliding between the Frostfruit trees.
...