Elf: Start with small diamonds, then mutate into Diancie!

That was an unfinished battle in the wild, unknown to anyone except Ash, his travel companions, and Diantha.

........

Backstage lounge.

Aside from Alice, who loves excitement and went through the trouble of changing clothes to cheer on Ash's friends and family in the audience.

In the lounge, everyone was adjusting their state of mind.

The rules for the first round of battles are even more ruthless, with no second chances.

No one would hide their strength under such circumstances, and the Pokémon Battle Committee, which formulated this rule, probably had this in mind.

The quarterfinals were a high-stakes affair, with unprecedented one-on-one singles matches.

The final four will witness the depth of the team and test its true strength in a three-on-three singles match.

The finals will be all-out, a six-on-six all-out battle where everything is at stake.

Even if everyone here is someone who can remain calm even if Mount Tai collapses before them, they will still choose to adjust their state as much as possible in order to ensure their performance.

Everyone has a reason why they can't afford to lose.

This also caused the atmosphere in the lounge to lose its initial harmony and become slightly tense.

Some people closed their eyes to rest, while others fiddled with their thumb rings, pondering how to fight next.

Except for a very few individuals, everyone's trump cards are on the table, which is a small consolation.

At this time.

A very faint sound, but slightly noticeable to the lounge where only the sound of the television echoed, was followed by a series of footsteps.

The high heels clicked rhythmically on the ground.

Cynthia sat down next to Su Hao.

She parted her red lips slightly, as if she wanted to say something.

Su Hao raised his hand to interrupt her, pointing at the TV and saying, "Let's watch the competition first. Maybe one of us will meet one of these two trainers from the upper bracket in the finals."

Cynthia paused, her grey eyes turning to the television.

Ash and Diantha had finished their friendly pre-match exchange and were each holding a Poké Ball, ready to throw it.

At this moment, Su Hao said quietly, "I have a rough idea of ​​what you want to say, but I'm sorry, please allow me to refuse."

Cynthia never expected to be rejected, and looked at Su Hao in surprise, "I remember, I haven't said anything yet, have I?"

Su Hao glanced at her. Even without using the wave guide or Reshiram's reminder, he could roughly tell from Cynthia's expression what she wanted to do.

The fighting spirit emanating from her was almost as if it were about to materialize, like the spiritual energy of "mental breakthrough".

Cynthia wants to have a no-holds-barred battle with him.

Reshiram had also mentioned to Su Hao that when they were at Tianguan Mountain, it noticed that Cynthia's gaze towards it was very strange.

It wasn't out of respect or fear, but pure fighting spirit.

She just wanted to fight Reshiram.

The moment Ash and Diantha threw their Poké Balls at the same time, Su Hao said, "Don't worry, my ace will definitely not disappoint you."

Having said that, he stopped paying attention to Cynthia's reaction and focused all his attention on the first round of the battle.

Two Poké Balls shot out graceful arcs in the sky, intersecting each other before finally emitting a burst of red light.

The red light gradually solidified, transforming into the outlines of two Pokémon.

On one side is Gardevoir, possessing an elegant temperament and exuding grace in every move.

On the other side, Greninja stood quietly on the battlefield, arms crossed.

Su Hao's eyes sparkled with excitement.

I never imagined I would see them continue that unfinished battle one day.

"Greninja Frog, Water Shuriken!"

At the start, Ash waved his hand, prompting Greninja to use its best move.

Greninja leaped into the air, and a series of blue shurikens pierced the air, shooting towards Gardevoir.

Karuno also intended to confront this head-on, and said in a deep voice, "Block it, Shadow Ball!"

The Shadow Ball, crackling with black lightning, was thrown into the sky by Gardevoir. The clash of moves produced a violent explosion, and the powerful shockwave was blocked by a suddenly lit energy barrier.

This is an energy barrier designed for Max Raid battles at the Palace Gate Arena to ensure the absolute safety of the audience.

But at this moment, none of the audience paid attention to the appearance of the energy wall; instead, they were all focused on watching what was below.

Having failed in its attack, Greninja landed without pausing for a moment.

The blue figure darted out like a ghost, passing through the thick smoke and instantly approaching Gardevoir!

Ash's command then sounded.

"Greninja, a sneak attack on a vital point!"

------------

Chapter 1165 The First Battle Ends

Greninja, wielding two jet-black blades, swung them directly at Gardevoir, showing no mercy whatsoever.

The jet-black blade was shrouded in a smoky black mist, clearly indicating its formidable power.

Upon seeing this, Su Hao's eyes lit up.

That's it!

Why bother with Tree Cutting and Iai Slash? Isn't Dark Strike, which has a Same-type bonus, better?

The host immediately shouted, "Faced with Greninja's lightning-fast attack, how will Diantha and Gardevoir respond!?"

As she listened to the host's explanation, Karuno's lips curled into a slight smile.

Now let me show you how we'll respond.

Her eyes met Gardevoir's.

Without any command from Diantha, Gardevoir only needed a glance to know how to react.

Faced with Greninja's fierce attack, Gardevoir maneuvered within a small area.

Often, just as Greninja's blade is about to touch Gardevoir, Gardevoir will flash into a range that the blade cannot reach.

In this back-and-forth exchange, the two sides began to engage in dozens of dazzling clashes.

"Whoa! Gardevoir's reaction speed was astonishing, precisely dodging Greninja's every attack!"

In the stands, among Ash's friends and family.

Citron pushed up his glasses, looking deep in thought.

"Dalino and Gardevoir... seem to be even more compatible than before. If this continues, Greninja won't be able to catch up with Gardevoir."

Karuno's cheerful voice followed.

"You should know that you're not the only one who's improved during this time, Ash."

"Gardedor, Flash!"

This time, Gardevoir darted behind Greninja.

Centered on Gardevoir, a blindingly bright light burst forth, utterly destroying everything in its path.

Even though Greninja reacted and pulled away, it was still grazed and immediately suffered burn-like marks.

That strike was absolutely effective!

With the battle at this point, the warm-up was over, and both sides understood that such minor skirmishes would not be enough to defeat the other.

It's time to go all out!

Diantha pulled up the necklace with the key to evolution embedded in her chest. A strong gust of air blew up her dress, and the light representing bonds transformed into a bridge, connecting with the evolution stone on Gardevoir's chest.

"Gardevoir, Mega Evolve!"

A blinding light of evolution instantly enveloped Gardevoir.

On the other side...

Ash's Aura spontaneously surged forth, synchronizing with Greninja, and their thoughts overlapped at that moment.

He clenched his fists, his gaze resolute, and shouted, "Let's go! Greninja, full power!"

In an instant, their figures seemed to transcend the distance of space and completely overlapped.

A waterspout shot skyward, and a powerful aura began to permeate the air—

Amidst cheers, Mega Gardevoir and Ash's Greninja appeared simultaneously!

The two powerful forces transformed into a storm, neither giving way to the other, squeezing each other's space.

"Gardevoir, Thunderbolt!"

Greninja, Ice Beam!

The blue and yellow lightning-shaped energies collided, causing a burst of cold wind and electricity, but neither paid any attention to it and gathered their killing moves again.

Greninja, wielding the Water Shuriken on its back, left a trail of afterimages as it charged straight at Mega Gardevoir.

Mega Gardevoir conjured a Reflector with one hand to confront the Water Shuriken, while its other hand emitted a burst of green light, transforming into a deep energy ball that blasted towards Greninja's back.

Greninja, which shares vision with Ash, clearly saw Mega Gardevoir's little move. Using Reflect, it leaped into the air, clasped its hands together in a hand seal, and a terrifying torrent of water, like a dam releasing its floodgates, poured down from the sky!

Water cannon!

Inside the lounge.

Cynthia stroked her chin, looking thoughtful. "Evenly matched...?"

Su Hao nodded slightly.

Although he couldn't actually sense the aura of the two Pokémon due to his location, he could roughly analyze their combat strength by observing the changes in the data on the panel.