Elf: Starts with small diamonds, then mutates into Diancie.

Its design incorporates elements of pangolins and hedgehogs, with four large spines extending from its armor-like shell, and Bricaron, with green armor on its arms, guarding the right side of Little Diamond.

Rock/Fairy type Drillbite, Steel/Ghost type Aegislash, and Grass/Fighting type Bricaron are all late-game Gym Leader level. This is the foundation of the French League as one of the five leagues that directly advance to the top eight!

Meanwhile, on the Shenzhou Alliance side, Su Hao's radiant pink figure drew the attention of all the spectators present.

That is... the evolved form of Diamond Smash, the only Pokémon in the world—Dianci!

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Chapter 685 Little Diamond: You know, I lost my parents when I was little.

And surrounding Diancie, like two loyal guards, are—

On the left, compared to a normal Tauros, its fur has turned grayish-black, especially the black fur around its neck, which looks like a lion's mane. Its horns are extremely thick and long, covered with scars and marks, making them look like a pair of battle-hardened horns.

It has evenly distributed red lines on its fur, which suggests the type and breed of this Tauros. The three tails on its back are twisted together, and you can tell how powerful it is by the amplitude of its swing.

Tauros Flareon is a Fire/Fighting type Pokémon!

On the right, there was a colossal creature about ten meters long. Its gray body was as strong and tough as if it had been forged through countless trials. Its steel teeth could probably easily crush rocks and steel, and even special alloys would become its food.

A giant land-based beast perfectly suited to this giant beast arena: the Steel/Ground type Steelix!

Meanwhile, on the French Union's side, the Shielded Swordsman's sharp blade was already drawn, and Bricaron steadied himself, staring intently over.

The little diamond, on the other hand, felt its heart flutter when it saw Diancie.

Although Little Diamond grew up with Charlotte since she was a child, she has never met Diancie.

However, it sensed a faint but powerful pressure emanating from Diancie, and strange emotions arose within it.

It was as if she should swear allegiance to Diancie. Little Diamond didn't understand why she had this feeling, even though the other party was just her evolved form.

In the end, even the small diamond could only force it down. The current match is very important for Charlotte, and it cannot afford any mistakes!

When Little Diamond looked at the Divine Continent Alliance with a battle-ready gaze, it meant that at this very moment—

A clash of titans is about to erupt!

Offstage, the host, beaming with smiles, introduced the event to the camera; his voice now resonates throughout the streets and alleys of the world.

"The first match of the quarterfinals of the International Youth Exchange Tournament will be between the Shenzhou Alliance team and the French Alliance team. Surprisingly, both captains are trainers of Diamond, especially Su Hao, who owns the only Diancie in the world."

"Faced with the evolved form of his own Pokémon, what kind of brilliant command will Charlotte give, and what kind of teamwork will she demonstrate with Anthony's Aegislash and James's Bricaron? Stay tuned!"

......

Shenzhou Alliance, Jiangcheng University.

Now that several senior students have graduated and left, Li Xiao and his friends have become the true seniors.

With the newly recruited team members, everyone gathered in the newly built training hall of the school team after receiving a large sum of funding to watch the game on the big screen.

Zhao Yunlan stroked his chin, looking puzzled. How could Su Hao, the sixth brother, send out his ace, Diancie, in the first round?

This isn't like him at all. Could it be that the pressure from the geniuses in other leagues has left him with no room to show off?

A junior student asked curiously, "Captain Li Xiao, just how strong is Senior Su Hao's Diancie? How does it compare to your Volcarona?"

Having become the new captain, Li Xiao, who was staring intently at the big screen, was taken aback and looked embarrassed. Why did this junior keep asking such tricky questions?

"Well, it's hard to say. But thinking back to the many fierce battles we fought before, I never imagined that Su Hao would represent the Divine Continent Alliance on the world stage."

"Wow, no wonder he's the captain!"

Li Xiao readily accepted the admiring gazes from his juniors. In any case, he didn't say whether he had fought a long battle with Diancie or fought a long battle with the Blazing Roaring Tiger when Su Hao first entered the school. That's the art of language!

Long Ningyan, who had become the vice-captain, gave him a disdainful look but remained silent.

These boys are so concerned about saving face.

......

In a three-on-three battle, the outcome is decided in a single round with no chance of recovery. Everyone is on high alert, not daring to relax for even a moment.

Almost simultaneously, the group began their work with clear division of labor.

Charlotte was unaware that her little diamond had changed her mood after seeing Diancie.

Something was getting strange, so he immediately directed Little Diamond to skillfully shield his teammates.

As a support, Little Diamond was trained to master most of the variation moves, including Reflect and Light Screen against the opponent's attacks.

Although Steelix and Flamesaur Tauros look like melee fighters, Charlotte would rather let Diamond Smash expend some energy to cast Light Screen on her teammates in order to defend against Diancie.

Seeing that the little diamond over there had started to move, Su Hao raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected that the little diamond from the French Alliance would not react much to the appearance of Diancie. It seemed that because they had lived with humans for countless generations, they no longer recognized Diancie, or rather, they had never recognized Diancie in the first place.

At most, they might feel a sense of worship and submission to Diancie's existence, but this feeling is countered by the bond between Shard and the trainer. It seems that the plan to subdue the enemy without fighting is useless.

Su Hao immediately instructed Diancie to use a speed even faster than Little Diamond to erect double walls around the Steelix and Flamebringer Tauros, which were already rushing outwards.

Let's verify it.

Even in a support role, Diancie would perform hundreds of times better than her opponent.

With the reassuring double wall hanging on them, both Anthony and James from the French League side, as well as Xiao Zijian and Cheng Liming from this side, thanked Charlotte and Su Hao beside them.

Steelix's mere movement caused the ground to vibrate with an unbearable hum. Under Cheng Liming's command, Steelix took the lead and approached Aegislash.

The Flame-type Tauros is unable to use many moves against Aegislash's Ghost type, and Steelix is ​​the only move that can defeat Aegislash.

The Shield Sword Monster's movements were inexplicably slow from the start, and it swung its holy sword at the Steelix with its shield raised.

Cheng Liming originally intended for Steelix to withstand Aegislash's attacks, but Su Hao, who was beside him, suddenly said, "Ignore its attacks, take advantage of its switch to sword mode and attack its bottom lane directly!"

Although Cheng Liming was puzzled, he still chose to trust Su Hao's judgment.

Under the astonished gazes of many viewers, Cheng Liming directly made Steelix ignore the attack coming from Aegislash. Steelix was emitting a dazzling red light, and its huge tail lashed out at Aegislash without regard for anything else, unleashing a move called "100,000 Horsepower"!

Anthony said in a deep voice, "Tsk, are you planning to trade injuries for injuries?"

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Chapter 686 The Hero Behind the Scenes

This isn't surprising, given that Steelix is ​​known for its toughness and durability, while Aegislash's defense drops drastically after switching forms...

However, this doesn't matter. With Charlotte's high-energy reflective barrier released by the small diamond, it can weaken Steelix's not-so-outstanding physical attacks.

However, the moment the two sides clashed in the next scene, all the spectators watching the game were stunned, including the confident Anthony.

The Shield Sword Monster's holy sword, which should have been able to cut through iron like mud and was invincible, suddenly struck the reflective wall in front of the Steel Serpent, producing a crisp sound of metal clashing, but it could not advance an inch.

On the contrary, Steelix's 100,000 horsepower, after breaking through the small diamond's reflect barrier, although its power was greatly reduced, still hit Aegislash squarely, slamming it into the ground and creating a huge crater!

Everyone was stunned, even Cheng Liming was dumbfounded.

Holy crap... This isn't a reflective barrier, it's more like a reflective fortress!

The Excalibur, which should be able to make a big hole in Steelix, didn't even leave a nick in Reflection. That's ridiculous.

At the same time, another confrontation also unfolded on the other side.

Xiao Zijian's Flamebringer Tauros exhaled scorching breath from its nostrils, and upon closer inspection, one could see sparks flying out. The intense fire energy rapidly gathered on the thick horns on the Flamebringer Tauros's head, burning its black appearance until it resembled two red-hot sticks.

Then, the Flame Seed Tauros stomped through the ground and charged directly at the small diamond like an enraged bull!

The next moment, under James's command, Bricaron stood in front of the little diamond.

Facing the fiery Kentero charging in with unstoppable momentum, James, knowing that Bricaron's attributes were countered by the opponent, decisively ordered: "Spike defense!"

Bricaron stood before the small diamond, his arm armor rapidly unfolding into a round shield, shimmering with emerald light, and sprouting sharp spikes for counterattacks.

The Spiked Shield move not only defends against the opponent's attacks, possessing defensive capabilities comparable to a guard, but the spikes on the shield can also inflict counter-damage on the opponent, making it extremely versatile!

The fiery Tauros arrived in an instant, a terrifying heat rushing towards them. Behind the shield, Bricaron crouched down, intending to take the full force of the attack.

James and Charlotte originally wanted to use Reflect to hold off Tauros for a moment, but the moment they touched the horns, Reflect was melted by the high temperature and Tauros broke through it. Then, a huge force came from the shield on his arm.

Bricaron used all his strength to keep from retreating, but judging from the sizzling sound coming from where the shield and Tauros's horns made contact, it was only a matter of time before the Flamebringer Tauros broke through the shield.

Just then, the commotion of Aegislash being knocked down by Steelix drew the attention of the two who were focused on their work. Charlotte exclaimed in disbelief, "How is this possible!?"

If Tauros's Rage Bull move is specifically designed to counter Reflect and Light Screen, that's one thing, but Steelix's attacks are also significantly reduced by Reflect.

But how did the Reflect Wall released by Diancie on the other side, which emitted a faint golden light and looked visually beautiful, manage to block Aegislash's Holy Sword without suffering any damage?

Just as the fiery Tauros was about to break through the spiked defense, it stopped moving. Before the three members of the French League could even wonder what was going on, the Tauros suddenly took a few steps back and ran directly towards its teammates.

After a moment of stunned silence, Charlotte suddenly noticed the giant steel snake's tail raised high. Her expression changed, and she shouted, "An earthquake is coming!!!"

Xiao Zijian clutched the back of his head, somewhat regretfully saying, "Oh dear, we've been found out."

Su Ge's waveguide is really useful. They can complete tactical assignments without communicating verbally and without being detected by the other side.

Unfortunately, the experienced French team still noticed.

The Flamesa Tauros quickly ran back behind Steelix, and at the same time, Steelix's long tail slammed heavily into the ground, causing the terrain to crack open layer by layer. The terrifying earthquake waves rippled directly towards the three Pokémon from the French League.

The energy barrier specially set up in the behemoth arena rose rapidly, but the next moment...

Everyone realized that the energy barrier seemed to have been raised too early.

Because the earthquake waves were cleverly controlled by the seemingly incredibly powerful Steelix, directly confining them to the vicinity of the three Pokémon from the French League!