On the battlefield, Victini still hovered in midair, the energy surrounding it not yet fully settled.
It panted softly, pride gleaming in its large eyes. With its little paws planted on its hips, it looked positively smug, as though declaring, "I'm amazing!"
Its tiny, adorable figure stood in stark contrast to the enormous Salamence lying beneath it.
The silence lasted several seconds. Then applause and exclamations finally erupted like a tidal wave, sweeping through the entire Battle Park.
Even the most die-hard Xia Chi haters had to set aside their prejudices for a moment at the sight of that striking contrast and applaud in genuine admiration.
There was no helping it. This victory was just so utterly Xia Chi.
No other words seemed capable of describing the distinctive style of the battle from beginning to end more precisely.
Underhanded from start to finish, with every tactic linked to the next, it had pushed control and calculation to their limits.
Despite completing its Mega Evolution, Salamence had been left with all that destructive power and no chance to display even a ten-thousandth of its strength.
In the end, it could only fall in frustration beneath that Encore.
"Thanks for your hard work, Victini. Come back."
In a rare move, Xia Chi took out a Poké Ball and recalled the smug little creature hovering in the air.
A flash of red light later, Victini vanished from the battlefield.
Its role on the team was closer to that of a mascot, and it rarely fought.
Its ability to turn invisible also made it easy to follow him, so it usually spent most of its time outside, roaming freely. Being formally recalled into its ball like this was genuinely unusual.
Across the field, Iris took several deep breaths, trying to calm her turbulent emotions.