After being hit by an Ice-type move, Dratini not only suffered heavy damage to her stamina, but a thin layer of ice also formed over the surface of her body.
"Again, Aurora Beam!"
Qiao Ran knew that now was the best time to finish off an opponent with low health. If he let this chance slip away, who knew when the next one would come?
Dragon-type Pokémon were all incredibly powerful, especially Pseudo-legendaries like this one. They were the benchmarks and standouts among all Pokémon. Qiao Ran had to completely snuff out even the slightest chance of a counterattack.
"This is bad."
The situation suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse, and even Long Jiangxue's calm expression began to show anxiety.
She had never imagined that she would be pushed this far in a battle against someone her age. After all, both the Pokémon she used and the training she had received were far superior to those of her peers.
I actually...
Long Jiangxue's breathing became uneven, and her modest chest began to rise and fall. She searched for a way to break the deadlock, but no matter how hard she thought, her mind remained a tangled mess.
While Long Jiangxue hesitated, her Dratini suffered another heavy blow. The Aurora Beam fired by Vulpix struck Dratini's long body, and Dratini's eyes turned into spirals as she collapsed.
"Mi..." Dratini had completely run out of strength.
"This...!"
Long Jiangxue hurried forward and caught the fallen Dratini in her arms. Even now, she still seemed unable to process what had happened.
"Dratini has lost the ability to battle!"
Long Xiangdong wore a bitter smile, but he still announced the result. He knew his daughter was a genius, with considerable coordination and battle experience, but... who would have thought she would run into such an unusually gifted boy?
He had clearly used an ordinary, seemingly unremarkable Pokémon, yet through coordination and move combinations, he had left Long Jiangxue completely unable to fight back. Although type advantage had played a role, that was no excuse for defeat.
Most importantly, Long Jiangxue had failed to realize one crucial point—her opponent would reveal herself from the snow whenever she launched an attack. If she had noticed that, she would have had at least two or three chances to turn the battle around.
It seemed... his daughter still needed much more training.
An easy road was not necessarily a good thing. Only after tasting defeat could she truly grow.
"The first battle is over. Please switch to your next Pokémon!"
Long Xiangdong announced the result of the first battle. Without question, Qiao Ran's side had won.
"Hmph..."
Long Jiangxue gave Dratini some simple treatment with medicine before recalling her into her Poké Ball. She took a deep breath, steadied herself in the battle arena once more, and looked at Qiao Ran across from her.
"I won't lose this time. I'll definitely make you use that Pokémon!"
Long Jiangxue's obsession with seeing Dianxi only grew stronger. Besides, if she really got swept by a single Vulpix, it would be a humiliation she could never wash away for the rest of her life.
However, to her surprise, Qiao Ran shook his head and directly picked up where she left off. "Since you want me to use her, I'll grant your wish."
"What...?"
Long Jiangxue froze slightly. This man was actually that easy to talk to? If she asked him to use her, he would?
After saying that, Qiao Ran really did call Vulpix back to his side and gently stroked her head. Vulpix licked Qiao Ran's fingers as though asking for praise.
This time, she had truly become a dragon slayer. Once they returned, Qiao Ran would definitely have to reward her.
Not only that, after defeating Dratini, she had already risen to level 22.
"Come back for now, Vulpix."
Qiao Ran recalled Vulpix into her ball and prepared to send out his other Pokémon. He was not doing this merely to preserve Vulpix's strength; he also wanted Dianxi to gain some battle experience.
"Hmph..."
Long Jiangxue watched Qiao Ran's movements, folded her arms, and snorted again.
"Do you think I'll praise you just because you did that?"
Although her expression seemed genuinely indifferent, the way she stared intently at the Poké Ball in Qiao Ran's hand showed that she was still looking forward to the next battle.
Or rather, she was looking forward to Dianxi.
"As the Gym Leader, I'll send out my Pokémon first."
As Long Jiangxue spoke, she gripped another Poké Ball tightly. Qiao Ran watched her every move.
Since she had led with Dratini, Qiao Ran was still looking forward to her next Pokémon. Would it be an even stronger Dragon-type Pokémon? Something like Garchomp?
However—after Long Jiangxue threw her Poké Ball and light flashed, Qiao Ran realized just how unrealistic his expectations had been.
What appeared before Qiao Ran was not the Dragon-type Pokémon he had imagined, but... a pink ball.
Yes, a ball.
With two large eyes, pointed ears, and tiny hands and feet, Qiao Ran could swear on his integrity, based on his knowledge of Pokémon, that this was definitely the Pokémon called Pangding
—a Pokémon with the Fairy Type and Normal Type, completely unrelated to Dragon-types.
"This... isn't this a Dragon-type Gym?"
Qiao Ran's eyes widened, and he even rubbed them hard. He felt certain he was hallucinating. Since when had a Fairy Type traitor infiltrated a Dragon-type Gym?!
Qiao Ran's question came straight from the heart, but upon hearing it, Long Jiangxue reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and immediately flew into a rage.
"Dragon-type... is there something wrong with me liking this kind of Pokémon?!"
For the first time, a flush rose on her usually impassive pretty face. She clenched her tiny fists and began defending herself.
"Isn't pink cute too?!"
"This..."
"It would be great if our school uniforms were pink too!"
"..."
Qiao Ran turned his gaze slightly away. Faced with Long Jiangxue's increasingly self-destructive rant, he found himself at a loss for how to respond.
Not knowing what to say, Qiao Ran could only release his own Pokémon. Surrounded by the pink effects of the Love Ball, Dianxi, the Diamond Princess, appeared on the field.
She was truly beautiful, and adorable too.
"Pink... isn't so bad either, right, Dianxi?"
"Dian?"
Dianxi looked back at Qiao Ran, then tilted her little head in confusion. She had no idea what Qiao Ran was talking about.
What did the Master suddenly mean by all that?
The Diamond Princess
"Even if you say that, you must still think I'm strange deep down, right?"
On the other side, Long Jiangxue glared at Qiao Ran in embarrassment and anger. She did not believe Qiao Ran was sincere. Ever since she was little, whenever she revealed these interests of hers, even her close female friends would look at her strangely.
Was there really such a huge contrast between her appearance and pink?
"Um..."
Qiao Ran really wanted to say that she was indeed strange, but considering his identity as the challenger, he obediently kept his mouth shut.
If he had to make an analogy, it was probably like some cool, poker-faced young master suddenly announcing one day that he only liked wearing pink underwear.
Still, it was not something unacceptable. Everyone had different preferences, and some people simply had more unusual tastes. As long as they did not cause trouble for others, there was nothing wrong with them.
"Ahem... ahem."
Seeing the conversation drifting further and further off course, Long Xiangdong, who was serving as referee, could only clear his throat and quickly draw everyone's attention back.
"Please pay attention. The battle has already begun."
"I know!"
When Long Jiangxue lost her temper, she even dared to glare at Long Xiangdong. Long Xiangdong could only sigh inwardly. A daughter going through her rebellious phase was truly hard to manage.
Moreover... the Pokémon that boy had sent out gave Long Xiangdong a strange feeling. Long Xiangdong was not a Pokémon researcher, and there were many undiscovered Pokémon in this world, but this one...
He did not know her name, but from that small body, he could see the pride and composure that only high-level Pokémon possessed. It was as though from the moment she had been born into this world, she had been an extraordinary legend.
However, unlike Long Xiangdong, who had noticed something unusual, Long Jiangxue was still eager to prove herself and wash away the humiliation of her defeat in the previous battle.
"Unlike the still-young Dratini, Pangding and I are the strongest partners. Our friendship began when I was little!"
"Pangding, show our opponent how powerful we are. Get ready—Rollout!"
"Pang!"
At Long Jiangxue's command, Pangding pushed off with her two short legs, drew in a breath, and suddenly bounced into the air like a pink balloon.
"This..."
Qiao Ran had genuinely not expected Pangding to fight like this. Was she floating?
"Dianxi, be careful!"
"Dian."
Dianxi nodded and focused on the balloon floating overhead. Although Pangding's physical attack was not high, the Steel-type move Rollout would still deal massive damage to Dianxi, who was both Fairy Type and Rock Type.
—And that damage was not merely substantial. It was a terrifying fourfold type advantage!
"The reason you defeated your opponent at school last time was nothing more than an information advantage. But now, I'm the one with the information! So I'll win!"
Long Jiangxue swung her hand down. "Now, Pangding, Rollout!"
"Pang!"
At Long Jiangxue's command, Pangding's entire body began to glow silver-white. As though she had turned into a steel balloon, she started spinning in midair and rapidly descended toward the ground.
"Dianxi, Diamond Storm! Knock her down!"
Qiao Ran knew that Dianxi was not good at dodging. Unlike Vulpix, whose agile limbs allowed her to move nimbly, Dianxi's mineral body was not built for mobility. Rather than evade, it was better to force the opponent to surrender through sheer firepower.
"Dian!"
Dianxi stretched out her hand, and countless pink diamond fragments flew forth, swirling around her like blooming cherry blossom petals
before finally forming a pink diamond whirlwind that rushed toward Pangding.
Diamond Storm!
This was Diamond Storm, unique to Dianxi. Unlike the storms unleashed by other Pokémon, merely watching that dazzling pink spectacle was a feast for the eyes.
"..." Long Jiangxue's breath caught, and she was almost entranced by the sight.
But she had not forgotten her duty as a Trainer. Since she had sent out Pangding, she had to make her count.
"Pangding! Accelerate Rollout!"
"Pang!"
As though it were some preset signal, after Long Jiangxue spoke those words, Pangding began to exhale while spinning through the air—her speed suddenly increased, and she became like a falling meteor as she plunged toward Dianxi's position from above!
"Accelerate?!"
Qiao Ran was startled by the sudden move. He had never expected Long Jiangxue, the daughter of a Dragon-type Gym Leader, to make such creative use of an ordinary Fairy Type Pokémon.
Clearly, this was a combo that could only succeed after long training. Long Jiangxue and Pangding must have invested an enormous amount of time and effort into it.
"It's not over yet!"
With her sudden increase in speed, Pangding's Rollout not only avoided the Diamond Storm, but also charged straight into Dianxi's body and slammed directly into her.
Steel collided with diamond, sending sparks flying.
"Dian!"
Dianxi narrowed her eyes. That attack had hurt badly. Although her diamond body was a true defensive wall, she had still taken the blow head-on, her body shifting back more than ten centimeters.
"She actually held on?" Long Jiangxue exclaimed in surprise. Dianxi looked delicate and petite, yet she was unexpectedly tough.
Long Jiangxue had thought that the fourfold type advantage alone would take down her opponent in one move, but things did not seem so simple. Or rather, she had underestimated Dianxi.
"Dianxi, are you okay?"
"Dian."
In response to Qiao Ran's question, the Diamond Princess answered energetically, indicating that she was completely fine. With both her defensive stats reaching a terrifying base 150, Dianxi seemed born to endure the harshest beatings.
Moreover, now that Dianxi's level had gradually risen, an ordinary Pokémon like Pangding was already starting to seem a little outmatched before her.
Rather, the fact that Long Jiangxue could trade blows with Dianxi using only Pangding was already quite impressive.
"Good. Moon Power!"
Before you continue