Chapter 204
"That's the Pokémon that Defeat Miss Sabrina!"
"It's the one who defeated Miss Sabrina!"
The audience was shouting, clearly unaware that a row of black lines had spread across the face of a woman sitting in the front row.
What's the name of this Pokémon?
"In the video... it looks like he's calling for Dianxi?"
"Dianxi! Dianxi! Dianxi!!"
"Dianxi!"
Beautiful, cute, and powerful, a character who is both good-looking and powerful is bound to be sought after. Dianxi, who is currently at the peak of her popularity, Harvest cheers from the entire audience as soon as she appeared.
Compared to her appearance in the video, Dianxi looked even more beautiful in the spacious Open-air Battlefield today, the warm sunlight making her body sparkle like Gem.
"What a Mew Pokémon..."
Inside Gym in Longjiang City, a young girl was scrolling through firsthand photos sent by her friend and couldn't help but sigh.
Several Carbink around her quickly gathered around, their faces showing envy.
This... is a princess!
Meanwhile, at the other end of the Battlefield in the Magic City Gym, Old Man Nian Hai also spoke with a smile.
"This Pokémon seems to be more popular than me, old man."
"It just happens to be a hot topic right now."
Qiao Ran wasn't smug about it. Sabrina had already warned him about what might happen after Dianxi's appearance. As a veteran actress, she had seen too many examples of fleeting popularity. What they should be doing was figuring out how to maintain that popularity.
"It's hard to say..."
Old Man Nian Hai shook his head. "If you can beat this old man, the buzz this time will probably be much higher than before, right?"
"Who knows?" Qiao Ran blinked, neither denying nor admitting it.
After all, the difficulty of this Competition was obvious. He had even prepared for the possibility that Dianxi might lose. If Dianxi could not win, then he would have no choice but to send out Zacian and Yveltal, who were still in a state of battle injury.
"Both players are ready--"
The Referee surveyed both sides and gave a satisfactory answer.
He nodded. Although the size difference in this match was significant, it wasn't as outrageous as the last one. He figured he wouldn't be facing as much danger this time.
"The Competition has officially begun!!"
At the Referee's whistle, Qiao Ran immediately pulled out the stone hanging around his neck.
This time, the opponent is different from the previous ones. It's a level 57 Metagross, which is not far from level 60. Moreover, considering its age, it's possible that its original strength was already level 60.
Dianxi, Mega Evolution!
A surge of power overflowed from Qiao Ran's body and flowed into Dianxi's body through a link. His heart and Dianxi's heart were also linked, and Dianxi's appearance began to change in the light.
"Meteor Mash!"
Dianxi began her Mega Evolution, and Metagross wasn't idle either. Its body Levitate in mid-air, its arms raised high, and with unstoppable force, it fell towards Dianxi's location like a comet falling from the sky.
"Boom!!!"
Metagross's weight, combined with its absurdly high attack power, made this punch incredibly powerful. If it were an ordinary Pokémon, few would likely be able to stand up after such a blow.
However—amidst the dissipating dust, Dianxi, now dressed in her Princess Dress again, did not fall. In fact, she held tightly to a diamond shield, temporarily blocking the attack.
After Mega Evolution, Dianxi's Attack stats are comparable to, and even slightly higher than, Metagross's. However... facing its terrifying Superpower and some of its counter-moves, direct confrontation still puts her under some strain.
"Heavy Slam!"
The Old Man Nian Hai's sudden speech caused Metagross's body to glow slightly. It even began to spin slightly in place, and a layer of Confusion was added to its fist. The Heavy Slam force made Dianxi unable to withstand it any longer, and her body flew backward and crashed into the ground.
It stirred up a shower of pebbles.
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Dianxi after Mega Evolution is very strong; there's no doubt about that.
However, in a head-on collision, it would still be difficult to match Metagross, which has four arms and can use Confusion, not to mention the difference in size and weight between the two, which would only be greater.
In fact, if Dianxi's attack power hadn't been high enough, she probably would have been knocked away the moment she started to resist, instead of waiting until now.
"... Hmm."
The clash between steel and diamonds was over. From that moment, Qiao Ran understood that the path of head-on confrontation had been completely blocked.
Qiao Ran clutched his arm, feeling the pain in Dianxi's body. After three battles, he himself was also quite exhausted. Connecting with Pokémon had both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage was that his commands could be transmitted to the Pokémon before he spoke them, just like the old man and Sabrina opposite him. Although they sometimes shouted out the names of moves, that was merely a means for the Gym Leader to hype up the atmosphere or boost their morale. In fact, when they used moves, they still handled it the same way as Qiao Ran — the Pokémon had already begun to act before he even shouted it out.
The downside of being connected to Pokémon's consciousness... or rather, another consequence of this high degree of mental unity is the transmission of pain. Especially when the battle drags on, Qiao Ran's pain cannot be healed through his own Tokiwa Power.
Moreover, in Mega form, this pain would only become more intense, not lessen in any way. Fortunately, Qiao Ran had experienced many more brutal battles before, and had already developed an iron body. He could still endure this pain, and it wouldn't interfere with his command in any way.
"But... Dianxi still has a significant disadvantage against Steel-type Pokémon..."
Looking at Dianxi floating out of the crack in the ground again, Qiao Ran still had an extremely serious expression.
Although Dianxi managed to block Metagross Meteor Mash using her diamond-generating ability in that brief exchange, avoiding the initial direct damage, as long as she wasn't killed by the skill...
In the middle, the four times the terrifying damage wouldn't directly hit Dianxi.
However, this is not a sustainable method. Even if you manage to block it, it's only a matter of time before you get knocked away. Being directly knocked to the ground will also cause significant impact damage.
So, what type of Metagross is effective against Metagross?
"Dianxi, the Earth Power!"
Qiao Ran decided to launch the attack himself this time. Ground-type attacks can deal double damage to Metagross, and... Dianxi's speed after Mega Evolution far exceeds Metagross's, which is also something that must be taken advantage of.
"Ti!!!"
Dianxi Levitate in the air, holding the Diamond Shield. With a gentle flick of her free hand, the ground beneath Metagross began to tremble violently, and a powerful energy wave erupted from the shattered earth, heading straight for Metagross above.
Get out of the way!
Faced with Ground-type moves, Old Man Nian Hai didn't let Metagross take the hit head-on. After all, it was double damage no matter what, and compared to Metagross's physical defense, its Special Defense wasn't high enough to ignore the damage.
"@#*@&#!"
Metagross emitted a series of metallic scraping sounds as its body was quickly enveloped by a ghostly blue Confusion. This energy interacted with the Magnet Pull that propelled its body, allowing it to narrowly evade Dianxi's attack.
Although it's not as fast as Dianxi, the preparation time of Earth Power does give Metagross time to prepare, making it too difficult to hit directly with this skill.
"..."
Qiao Ran's several attempts to probe the monsters were unsuccessful, and Old Man Nian Hai seized the opportunity to have the Metagross launch another attack.
"... Meteor Mash!"
As an experienced Trainer, he naturally guessed what Qiao Ran might be thinking. At the same time, from the video of his previous battle with Sabrina, he also roughly guessed Dianxi's type: whether it was Fairy type or Rock-type, it was weak to Steel-type.
Moreover, the previous encounter also showed that the opponent did not have any advantage in close combat.
Metagross is different from ordinary Pokémon. Its entire body is made of metal and it does not have the flesh and blood structure of ordinary Pokémon. It cannot feel pain and is almost invincible in close combat.
Once again, Metagross swung its enormous fist and charged towards Dianxi. Knowing that he couldn't defend against it, Qiao Ran could only have Dianxi use a move to dodge first.
"Dianxi, get out of the way!"
With Dianxi's speed, dodging an attack while the opponent is still in its initial stages shouldn't be difficult, assuming nothing unexpected happens along the way.
Yes, assuming no unexpected events occur along the way.
However, the Old Man Nian Hai on the other side clearly wouldn't let Qiao Ran have his way.
"Metagross, speed up!"
Suddenly, Metagross's two arms behind its back emitted a bright light, and it swung its fists backward while simultaneously unleashing energy. Accompanying this bizarre scene, Metagross's speed actually increased.
"Tsk!"
Faced with this unreasonable ability, Dianxi, unable to dodge in time, could only raise her shield to block once more. It was impossible to take a direct hit from a Meteor Mash; the damage this attack would inflict on Dianxi was simply too great. Even Qiao Ran would not take such a risk.
The steel fist collided with the diamond shield, producing a sharp sound. Metagross's attack did not shatter the shield directly; the Eternal Diamond was harder than expected. However, having learned from the previous experience, Old Man Nian Hai would not give up here.
"It's useless!"
As he spoke, Metagross suddenly began to spin, and at the same time, its other fists began to glow.
"My Metagross can use skills on all its arms simultaneously, and it can use different skills at the same time."
How long can you hold out?
Metagross's second punch was already in the air, ready to smash into Dianxi's shield. This time, the Old Man Nian Hai did not want to knock Dianxi away, but to use the attacks to shatter the shield directly.
"..."
Qiao Ran pursed her lips.
Once you're dragged into close combat, escaping isn't so easy.
However, this does not mean that he has lost his last chance.
"Dianxi!"
"... Mystical Fire!"
"What?"
Qiao Ran's sudden voice startled even the Old Man Nian Hai on the other side.
... magic... fire?
This is...
--In the Battle Court, Dianxi, who was originally unable to withstand the attack, suddenly focused her gaze and slightly opened her mouth. A ring of fire, larger than her body, gradually spread around her.
Immediately afterwards, a series of bright red flames began to erupt from between the rings of fire, rushing straight towards the Metagross in front of them.
In fact, Dianxi only recently learned this skill; that's right, it was after the White Dragon joined the party.
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