Another man and woman took the field, specializing in Bug-type and Water-type Pokémon. It looked as though the Australia Alliance was already struggling to put together a pair that could counter Xiao Ran and Veranica.
"Oh! It's a Primarina!" Veranica cried in delight when she saw the Water-type starter Pokémon summoned by their opponents.
"Popplio is one of the starter Pokémon native to Australia. What's so strange about seeing a Primarina?" Xiao Ran said helplessly.
Never mind their opponent's Primarina—even his own Popplio had been shipped over from Australia. Trace their ancestry back three generations, and they might even have been family.
"True, but this Primarina doesn't look as pretty as yours! It definitely isn't as strong, either!" Veranica said, pursing her lips.
In truth, the opposing Primarina still possessed its species' characteristic nobility and beauty. But Xiao Ran's Primarina had undergone Leaping Over the Dragon Gate and spent years living inland, so it had developed some differences from its Australian counterparts.
The most obvious difference was that Xiao Ran's Primarina looked gentler and more graceful, rather than as sharp and fierce as the one before them.
Besides, Xiao Ran's Primarina had clearly been raised better. Both the sheen of its fur and the energy fluctuations it gave off were more striking than those of its opponent.
"Hey, how about letting them compete on the same stage? After all, as you say in China, one mountain can't hold two tigers—unless one's male and the other's female!" Veranica nudged Xiao Ran with her elbow.
"Where did you learn all this Chinese?" Xiao Ran rubbed his forehead helplessly. "I can use Primarina, sure, but Primarina has the Fairy type. Can you handle that?"
"It's fine. I'll use Altaria!" Veranica said casually, taking the lead in summoning her second Pokémon for the match.