Diancie's Progress

Boom—

The clashing energies finally erupted in a massive explosion, and thunderous roars that seemed to shake the clouds echoed across the arena.

What should have been a completely one-sided clash based on size alone had produced an unexpected result under that sudden burst of energy.

The petite Diancie stood firm, while Steelix rolled backward several times in succession, only stopping after several giant rocks on the field cushioned its fall.

Countless clouds of dust kicked up by the explosion swirled through the arena like a miniature Sandstorm.

Even Mega Steelix's towering body was difficult to see clearly from the stands.

But everyone could tell one thing: in the first head-on clash between the two Pokémon, Steelix had lost!

"Sand Tomb!"

Without giving his opponent even a moment to catch his breath, Xia Chen took the initiative to attack.

The dust that had yet to settle churned once more under Diancie's control. The solid, rock-formed ground softened the instant it was broken down, causing Steelix, which had only just gotten back up and had not yet recovered, to stumble again.

Sand Tomb's damage was insignificant to Steelix, whose physical defense was incredibly high. The key was limiting its mobility.

"Steelix, Magnet Rise!"

But his opponent was clearly no pushover. Before Steelix could completely sink into the quicksand-like mire, Meng Yingcheng had already thought of a countermeasure.

Magnet Rise was an Electric-type status move. It filled the user's body with electromagnetic energy, granting it the ability to fly for a short time and immunity to Ground-type moves.

The brilliance of this move was that it not only freed Steelix from Sand Tomb's restraints, but also greatly hindered Diancie's subsequent attacks.

Immunity to Ground-type moves meant that most of the moves she excelled at had been sealed off—

Steelix resisted Rock type