Chapter 136: Sunsteel Strike
In a remote, rarely visited forest, a feline, humanoid Pokémon crouched before a Caterpie, seemingly pondering the meaning of existence. Suddenly, as if sensing something, it turned its head and gazed in a particular direction.
"Th-this move... isn’t that that one’s move?!"
"Even that Pokémon’s signature move got rolled."
Sabrina stared at the fallen Mr. Mime, shock and disbelief plastered across her face. Beyond the usual surprise at Munchlax’s consistently terrifying luck, she was more stunned because she had witnessed this exact move before—it had decimated Team Rocket’s forces, leaving their Boss Giovanni obsessed with the Pokémon that used it.
"Munchlax rolled Mewtwo’s Psystrike," Rio muttered on the other side of the battlefield, equally surprised.
"Munchlax—can you still fight? Hang in there. I can’t feed you Energy Cubes right now, but after this, you can eat as much as you want."
He looked at Munchlax, which had exited its divine state and was visibly weakened.
"Ka~" Munchlax nodded at Rio, then turned to look at the spectator stands. The expression of utter shock on its former trainer’s face sent a wave of immense satisfaction through its body. Suddenly, it didn’t feel hungry anymore. There was only one word to describe how it felt: satisfying!
"Good work, Mr. Mime." Sabrina recalled it, glancing at Munchlax, which was clearly in worse shape than before. She guessed that rolling a powerful move must take a heavy toll on its stamina. If that was the case, it probably couldn’t roll another strong move.
"Come out, Jynx." With a flash of light, Sabrina sent out a Level 53 Jynx.
"Jynx—Shadow Ball!"
"Munchlax—Metronome!"
"Jynx~" Jynx clasped its hands together, a dark sphere forming between them.
"Ka~" Munchlax raised its paws and began waving them again.
This time, no one in the audience dared mock Rio’s commanding. They kept their insults to themselves, afraid of being proven wrong again. You got lucky once—do you really think you’ll get lucky twice?
Munchlax’s former trainer also couldn’t wrap his head around Rio’s strategy. "Does that guy really think he can win a Pokémon battle just by relying on Metronome? That’s delusional! I’ve commanded Munchlax before—the best move it ever rolled was Thunder. The worst was Splash. How can you be so confident betting on pure luck—"
Before he could finish, his eyes bulged in disbelief.
Munchlax suddenly floated into the air, blazing like the sun. Jynx’s Shadow Ball struck the sun-like sphere and instantly dissolved. The brilliance forced everyone in the arena to shield their eyes.
"WHAT MOVE WAS THAT?!" someone in the stands shouted.
When everyone opened their eyes again, Jynx lay defeated on the ground, and Munchlax stood beside it, looking noticeably thinner—almost deflated. The battlefield beneath them had been reduced to a massive crater.
The audience erupted into chaos once more.
"This is unbelievable! When did Metronome—a move based purely on luck—become so ridiculously overpowered?!"
"Rolling one powerful move is one thing—but two in a row?!"
"Can anyone with more knowledge tell us what that last move was?!"
Munchlax’s former trainer listened to the commotion, his gaze vacant. He had lost the bet. The other trainer had actually commanded Munchlax to defeat two of Sabrina’s ace Pokémon—even if it was all thanks to Metronome. If it was luck the first time, then the second time made him question whether it was luck at all.
A wave of regret began to take root in his mind, unbidden. If I hadn’t abandoned Munchlax... would I be the one standing opposite Sabrina right now? Would I be the one receiving all those shocked and envious looks?
"That was Solgaleo’s Sunsteel Strike, wasn’t it?"
Rio narrowed his eyes, glancing at the dumbfounded former trainer in the stands. A smirk tugged at his lips as he called out to Sabrina: "Gym Leader Sabrina—don’t tell me you’re scared? You still have one more Pokémon to send out."
Startled out of her shock by Rio’s voice, Sabrina looked at the fallen Jynx, then at the visibly drained Munchlax, and finally at Rio.
Could this guy have some secret that lets Munchlax only roll moves comparable to legendary Pokémon? Sabrina swallowed hard, muttering under her breath. She didn’t recognize the last move, but her intuition told her it was likely another legendary move—the sheer spectacle it created was beyond anything ordinary Pokémon could produce.
She recalled Jynx and reached for her final and strongest Pokémon—Alakazam.
"Munchlax—come back. You’ve already shown the world how powerful you are. Leave the last one to Charizard."
"Ka~"
To Rio’s surprise, Munchlax shook its head. Though its body was gaunt and drained, its eyes burned with determination—it wanted to fight this final battle too.