All eyes on a four-way free-for-all! (5,000-word special)

After Dian stepped out of the temporary passage, an open-air battlefield lay before him.

Mossdeep City's Double Battle Gym had been temporarily converted into a special Battle Arena combining land and water. A winding waterway ran through the center, flanked by lush grass.

Three notable figures sat at the center of the venue. On either side were a stern, gray-haired old man in a captain's uniform, Drake of the Elite Four, and a middle-aged gentleman in a blue-and-white formal suit with two neatly groomed whiskers, Wallace, the current Gym Leader of Sootopolis City.

Between them sat a middle-aged man who kept striking up conversations with both of them. Presumably, he was Mossdeep City's mayor.

Meanwhile, two serious-faced Trainers stood on the battlefield. One was Liangguang, a man with tea-green hair who studied under Drake. The other was a lavishly dressed young man whose bearing somewhat resembled Wallace's. He was Thatcher, a Trainer who likewise studied under Wallace.

As Dian led Fennel and her sister to their seats, he glanced around. The previously empty stands were now packed, with plenty of spectators still standing.

"Why does the atmosphere feel so tense?"

Fennel held Munna in her arms and looked around in puzzlement.

"They're probably about to start a battle down there."

Dian likewise held the curious Mawile in his arms, then watched the battlefield below with keen interest.

Even if he didn't know the two participants, they were probably connected to those two men.

"A battle?"

Fennel grew interested as well. Her research focused on the mysterious powers of Pokémon, and battles were the best way to display and observe those powers.

Suddenly, she gave a puzzled little gasp, then murmured, "Thatcher?"

"Oh, that guy..."

Truffle pursed her lips beside her. "Shen Meng doesn't like him."

Dian nodded thoughtfully. It seemed