The much-anticipated first match concluded. As Li Qiufeng and Huang Tianxiao were about to step up for their battle, Xia Hunan intercepted them. "Li Qiufeng," he said, "can you two postpone your match for a bit? How about I cut in?"
Upon hearing Xia Hunan's request, Li Qiufeng looked at Huang Tianxiao. "Old Huang, what do you think?"
Huang Tianxiao, seeing that Xia Hunan wanted to battle, was naturally happy to fall back in the order. Opportunities to witness Coach Xia's battles were rare. Although he had often battled Xia Hunan's Politoed during training sessions, at that time Xia Hunan hadn't been commanding at all, letting Politoed play by itself. He had only seen one battle where Xia Hunan commanded against Gongsun Xue in a martial arts match.
Having received the friendly concession from Huang Tianxiao and Li Qiufeng, Xia Hunan turned around. "Come on then, I've been waiting for this day."
As Xia Hunan and Mu Zhi Shui stood on opposite sides of the arena, the crowd became excited. A battle between the coaches of the Six Spirits Great Hall and the Descending Spirits Great Hall was a rare and significant event.
Members from the Six Spirits Great Hall and the Descending Spirits Great Hall also gathered around. "Go, Coach!"
Zheng Xiaoxiao and Tong Ruo also squeezed their way closer. "I never expected it would be her that Xia Hunan challenged."
...
Xia Hunan looked at the Poké Ball in Mu Zhi Shui's hand. "Is it that one inside this Poké Ball?"
Mu Zhi Shui gripped the Poké Ball and retorted, "That one? Which one are you talking about?"
"Stop playing. If I hadn't seen your avatar, I wouldn't have dared to guess it was you. But after the semi-finals, I confirmed it. Who else but you could have this kind of Pokémon?"
Mu Zhi Shui shrunk the Poké Ball in her hand and re-attached it to her belt. "Since you've recognized it, do you still want to choose her for the battle? Although she's not my ace yet, her strength is not to be underestimated."
"Of course. Now that I've finally seen her, how can I not battle? Moreover, you gave me such a valuable gift, wouldn't it be a waste not to use it?"
"Do you know how to use that thing? And you know it was me who gave it to you?"
"I know, but I might not be able to use it. I have to take a gamble. As for guessing it was you, isn't this thing as tricky to handle as that Pokémon?"
"Alright then, I'll use her."
Mu Zhi Shui took out a Luxury Ball from the pendant around her neck. "Come on, my little princess must want to get some exercise too."
Hearing Mu Zhi Shui's words, Xia Hunan took out a Luxury Ball. "What a coincidence. Then let the little princess residing within the Luxury Ball meet each other."
The spectators: ...
"What are they talking about in riddles? I don't understand a word."
"I don't understand either..."
Xia Hunan and Mu Zhi Shui exchanged a smile and threw their Poké Balls. "Go, Diancie / Magearna!"
Seeing the two Pokémon look at each other on the field and then begin to greet each other from afar, the onlookers were bewildered.
"What kind of Pokémon are these? I've never seen either of them!"
"Are they both Ultra Beasts? That shouldn't be right. If the Descending Spirits Great Hall has Ultra Beasts, then even the Six Spirits Great Hall does?"
Just as Rotom Pokédex floated over, Xia Hunan raised his hand to stop it. "Magearna, an artificial Pokémon, Steel and Fairy type. Legend has it that it was a tribute from ancient scientists to a little princess. It's indeed a little princess. And it's in its original, unfaded ancient color scheme. Impressive."
Mu Zhi Shui smiled gently. "Diancie, the Jewel Pokémon, Rock and Fairy type. A variant of Carbink, heir to the Diamond Mining Kingdom. A proper little princess, and not low in rarity either."
"If you can revive Magearna with a Soul Heart, then I can dig up a little princess from the mines."
Hearing this, Diancie turned around, hands on its hips, pouting slightly, looking quite displeased. Xia Hunan quickly consoled it, "I misspoke. Our adorable little princess isn't dug up from the dirt."
The two sides introduced each other's Pokémon, and the surrounding crowd nodded. "We've learned something new. I never thought these two coaches would have such Pokémon."
The students of the Six Spirits Great Hall and the Descending Spirits Great Hall exchanged glances, realizing that both trainers were keeping these Pokémon as their trump cards.
"Is it okay? The type matchup isn't favorable."
"There's no other way. If I want to try using the gift you gave me, I can only send out this one. By the way, how did you think of giving me that thing?"
"Cresselia's guidance. And I have two of those but not this one, so that's why."
"Then I'm truly sorry. Although I have everything, I'm not sure I can achieve it. It's quite mystical."
The two were again speaking in riddles, causing the surrounding crowd to become impatient. Someone finally asked, "Are you two going to battle or not!"
"Everyone's getting anxious. Then I won't hold back. Diancie, use Rock Throw!"
Diancie extended its hand and threw a stone at Magearna. Magearna sidestepped two steps to the left, dodging Diancie's attack, and then launched a counter-attack.
"Magearna, use Dazzling Gleam!"
Magearna's body began to shine, emitting a flash towards Diancie. Diancie was blinded by the flash and instinctively covered its eyes with its hands.
"Magearna, take advantage of this moment, use Dazzling Gleam again!"
"Diancie, use Dazzling Dance to dodge to the right, then counter with Dazzling Gleam!"
Diancie moved with light steps, the diamond ore beneath its feet spinning as it dodged the Dazzling Gleam attack. The gems on its head emitted a strong light directly at Magearna.
"Magearna, let's move too, use Aurora Beam!"
After a few exchanges, neither side achieved much due to the other's movements.
"I didn't expect Magearna to be so agile."
"Diancie isn't bad either; it can use dance steps to dodge attacks."
"Likewise, Diancie, Dazzling Gleam!"
"Magearna, clash with Aurora Beam!"
The two brilliant beams collided, emitting a fierce light that made everyone squint and avoid looking directly. In the end, Magearna's Aurora Beam had the upper hand. Diancie's attack dispersed under the laser beam, and Aurora Beam sliced through space, striking Diancie.
Diancie, seeing the rushing Aurora Beam, spun to dodge under Xia Hunan's command. During the spin, it also unleashed a Rock Throw.
Accelerated by Diancie's spin, the Rock Throw's projectile speed was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, it reached Magearna and struck the circle on its chest.
"Are you okay, Magearna!"
Magearna turned and waved its hand towards Mu Zhi Shui, indicating it was fine. Only then did Mu Zhi Shui relax. "Good. Magearna, use Phantasm!"
"So annoying, are all the moves beam-based? Diancie, block it with a large Rock Throw!"
Although Rock Throw typically involved throwing small stones to attack, if Diancie truly wanted to throw a large rock, it wasn't impossible. Diancie conjured a giant stone in front of itself, completely blocking the Phantasm.
"Let's counter-attack. Diancie, use Dazzling Dance to approach!"
Diancie spun again, its movements erratic, gradually closing the distance with Magearna. Seeing the gems on Diancie's head glow, Mu Zhi Shui said, "Magearna, change mode to defend!"
Magearna curled up into a ball on the ground. Although Diancie hit Magearna, it didn't inflict much damage.
Diancie looked curiously at the Magearna Pokémon Ball before it. Just as it was about to poke it, Magearna suddenly exploded.
"Magearna, Dazzling Gleam!"
At such close range, Magearna's attack accurately hit Diancie. Under the influence of the quadruple type advantage, Diancie's HP rapidly decreased.
Xia Hunan quickly ordered Diancie to retreat. Then he asked the system, "System, its stats, Magearna's stats, I should have checked them first..."
Name: Magearna
Level: Lv28
Ability: Soul-Heart
Effect: +Sp. Atk -Atk
IVs: 6V
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk, 252 Speed
Stats: HP 82, Attack 54, Defense 70, Sp. Atk 102, Sp. Def 70, Speed 61
Moves: Aurora Beam, Dazzling Gleam, Phantasm, Hyper Voice
Held Item: None
After reviewing Magearna's stats, Xia Hunan clicked his tongue. "This training looks so familiar."
Quickly confirming Magearna's stats, Xia Hunan continued to have Diancie skirmish with Magearna. Taking that one hit was already difficult. Although its HP was locked, another hit would definitely make it faint.
Both Xia Hunan and Mu Zhi Shui were aware of this situation, so Mu Zhi Shui began to launch an offensive. "Magearna, use Aurora Beam!"
"Diancie, change dance steps, use street dance to dodge!"
Diancie's movements suddenly changed style, becoming faster and more flexible. For a moment, Magearna couldn't keep up with Diancie's rhythm.
"Diancie, Iron Defense!"
"Isn't it a bit late to use Iron Defense now?"
Xia Hunan sighed. "No choice. I slipped up a bit, so I have to try to fix it. Diancie, Dazzling Gleam!"
"Magearna, Aurora Beam!"
The two clashed again. This time, Diancie didn't fall behind; instead, Magearna moved two steps to the side to dodge the attack. Xia Hunan was stunned. What was going on? Had Diancie suddenly become stronger?
Mu Zhi Shui examined Xia Hunan. "Coach Xia, you truly haven't mastered that ability, have you? I really want to see it."
"Did you hold back just now for this?"
Mu Zhi Shui nodded. "Of course. Just to satisfy my curiosity. Even if it's mystical, I want to believe in your luck."
Xia Hunan shook his head. "Alright, then I'll give it a try. Don't laugh at me if it doesn't work."
Saying this, Xia Hunan took out his phone from his pocket and tossed it in his hand. "Diancie, let's try to use that."