Pokemon: Gym Leader

"Return, Tyrantrum."

After several failed attempts to snap her Pokémon out of confusion, Diantha had no choice but to withdraw it.

Otherwise, if her Tyrantrum stayed on the field while confused and kept getting attacked by Grimmsnarl, it wouldn't last.

At least withdrawing it would give it time to recover its clarity.

But… it wouldn't change anything. Because the real problem was that Grimmsnarl. Unless she beat it, nothing would improve.

"As expected of you, Champion Dylan. I've truly seen a whole new world today."

Diantha took a deep breath and placed Tyrantrum's Poké Ball back at her belt, her voice heavy.

Now she finally understood why people called Lota Gym a place from the depths of hell.

She never quite got it before. Wasn't Dylan the strongest Champion in Kanto? A Gym run by someone of that caliber should be an honor.

But now, she got it. She really got it.

"Miss Diantha flatters me," Dylan replied with his signature warm smile.

"Now then, this will be my final Pokémon."

Diantha solemnly retrieved her sixth and final Poké Ball—her ace.

"Gardevoir!!"

White light burst as a tall, elegant, humanoid Pokémon floated onto the field. Diantha had, wisely, instructed it to hover just above the ground—she hadn't forgotten about the layers of Spikes covering the battlefield.

With calm, serene eyes, it stared down Dylan's Grimmsnarl, the skirt-like lower half of its body gently swaying. Beautiful, refined—this was Diantha's signature partner.

Dylan observed the Gardevoir closely. It was excellently trained.

Beep—Gardevoir, Psychic/Fairy type, Embrace Pokémon

Ability: Trace

Moves: Future Sight, Dream Eater, Moonblast, Psychic, Calm Mind, Thunderbolt...

"Gardevoir!"

Diantha raised her right hand to the Keystone set in her necklace. It lit up with dazzling light.

At the same time, Gardevoir's Mega Stone began to shine with radiant brilliance.

The rich glow of evolution engulfed Gardevoir, and when it faded, a Mega Gardevoir had taken the field, even more graceful and divine than before.

"Mega Gardevoir really is beautiful," Lillie's eyes sparkled in admiration.

Though it didn't have the dramatic black dress of Dylan's shiny Gardevoir, it still possessed a dazzling charm and elegance.

"But even after Mega Evolution… can Mega Gardevoir really beat Grimmsnarl?" Erin tilted her head.

Mega Gardevoir's typing hadn't changed.

And Grimmsnarl, being Dark-type, was immune to Psychic attacks. But Fairy beat Dark, so Gardevoir had the type advantage in that regard.

Still, if it couldn't deal with Prankster-powered status moves, even a type advantage wouldn't help.

"Mega Gardevoir, huh…"

Dylan's smile deepened slightly.

"Well then, I guess I can't hold back either."

After all, wasn't Diantha the most iconic Gardevoir trainer in the world?

Her Gardevoir was practically a symbol of her identity.

Diantha, of course, understood the situation as well. If she wanted to beat Grimmsnarl, she couldn't approach it head-on. Even her ace Mega Gardevoir wouldn't be able to win if it got caught in Dylan's usual tricks.

But it's fine—she had a plan.

"Gardevoir, use Taunt!"

"Parting Shot."

Diantha blinked in surprise.

Mega Gardevoir raised its arms, ready to unleash Taunt and lock Grimmsnarl out of its status moves.

But Grimmsnarl beat it to the punch—muttering a string of foul and untranslatable insults in Gardevoir's direction.

Visibly, Mega Gardevoir's elegant expression twisted into a cold, angry glare. That insult had hit deep.

Parting Shot dropped Mega Gardevoir's Attack and Special Attack by one stage each before Grimmsnarl turned into light and returned to its Poké Ball.

"..."

Diantha blinked again, unsure what just happened.

"Did you know, Miss Diantha? I actually have a Gardevoir of my own."

Dylan smiled as he took out another Poké Ball.

"I'm quite fond of her, and I've heard nothing but praise about your Gardevoir. Today's the perfect time to compare."

"Let's see whose Gardevoir is stronger—yours, or mine."

Diantha's eyes lit up with interest. So Dylan had a Gardevoir too?

"Gardevoir, battle ready!"

Dylan tossed the ball into the air. A flash of white light later, his shiny Gardevoir landed gracefully on the field.

Her soft blue hair stood in sharp contrast to Diantha's green-haired Gardevoir, and her deep, calm eyes locked onto her Mega counterpart without a flicker of emotion.

Mega Gardevoir's expression tensed. Despite her Mega-evolved power, the pressure she felt from this fellow Gardevoir was immense.

This… wasn't normal.

She had Mega-evolved, yet the other one hadn't, and still radiated such power?

Could it be that even in normal form, she's stronger than me?

"She's shiny?" Diantha blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected that.

"She's beautiful, right? But we're not done."

Dylan lifted his hand. His Keystone glowed.

Shiny Gardevoir opened her arms as her own Mega Stone shone, and in seconds, her transformation was complete.

A black, voluminous ballroom gown billowed around her form—shiny Mega Gardevoir.

Woah!!

The moment she appeared, the onlookers erupted in awe.

"No way! That's way too pretty!"

"I never realized Gardevoir could be this gorgeous."

"Holy—she's perfect…"

"You know, I used to think people who wanted to marry their Gardevoir were nuts. But now I think they might be onto something."

"This is insane. That shiny form is unreal."

Crowd chatter buzzed with admiration. No one could look away.

"She's… divine." Even Diantha was covering her mouth, stunned. That black dress, the mystery, grace, and nobility—she couldn't help but feel a little… envious.

"…"

Mega Gardevoir gave her trainer a silent side-eye.

Excuse me, whose trainer are you again?

Diantha coughed awkwardly and looked away.

Even her own Gardevoir looked at the opposing shiny version with longing—I want that dress too!

"Looks like everyone loves my Gardevoir." Dylan nodded in satisfaction.

He could feel the admiration in the crowd's eyes—and why wouldn't they? This was his hand-raised, shiny Gardevoir. His pride and joy!

"She really is beautiful. But Champion Dylan, this is a Pokémon battle—not a beauty pageant."

Diantha regained her composure and confidence.

When it came to understanding Gardevoir, she was the expert. And in a battle between Gardevoirs, no one knew more than her.

She was Diantha, the world's foremost Gardevoir trainer!

"Then I'll look forward to your guidance, Miss Diantha."

Dylan smiled.

But forgive me, Miss Diantha—starting today, the strongest Gardevoir trainer in the world… will be me.

"Gardevoir, Shadow Ball!"

Diantha waved her arm elegantly. As long as this wasn't some twisted Prankster mess, she was back in her element.

Mega Gardevoir formed a swirling orb of ghostly energy between her hands and hurled it toward Dylan's Gardevoir.

"Shadow Ball."

Dylan's shiny Gardevoir responded in kind, forming her own orb and launching it forward.

The two attacks collided in midair, a ripple of black energy shaking the field.

But within a second—

Bang!

Dylan's Gardevoir's Shadow Ball shattered the other, continuing forward and slamming directly into Mega Gardevoir's chest.

Boom!

She let out a cry and crashed to the ground.

As she landed, the Spikes embedded on the field dug into her further, causing more damage.

She winced in pain—Shadow Ball was super-effective against her.

"What?!" Diantha gasped.

Same Mega Evolution. Same move.

Why was her Shadow Ball crushed so easily?

It didn't make sense!

Her Gardevoir was her lifelong partner, her ace! And she'd never even heard that Dylan had a Gardevoir, let alone this strong of one.

He'd been hiding this?

"Looks like Miss Diantha is having a little existential crisis," Leaf grinned.

"Dylan's too much. That Gardevoir used to be the core of his Psychic-type team, and now he's just tossed her onto his Fairy squad?"

Leaf rolled her eyes.

"Nope!" Lillie piped up with a bright smile. "Brother's Psychic team ace is now Mega Metagross. Gardevoir isn't the strongest anymore."

"Well, barely makes a difference. Metagross is on his Steel team now," Leaf muttered.

Meanwhile, back on the field—

"Gardevoir, Hyper Voice!"

Diantha ordered firmly, though her voice wavered slightly.

Hyper Voice was a Normal-type move, but with Gardevoir's Pixilate ability post-Mega Evolution, it became Fairy-type.

Fairy vs Fairy—there was no resistance here.

"Restrain it."

Dylan's voice was calm.

His Gardevoir raised her hand slowly and pointed toward her counterpart. Her eyes glowed deep purple.

Psychic. But not as an attack—to restrain.

Mega Gardevoir was lifted helplessly into the air, unable to control her body.

She struggled against the invisible force, trying to cast Hyper Voice, but it was impossible to concentrate.

"Don't let it stop you! Hyper Voice!" Diantha cried out, realizing something was wrong.

As fellow Psychic-types, they should resist each other's powers.

But her Gardevoir couldn't budge from the hold.

Which meant—Dylan's Gardevoir had far superior psychic power.

This was devastating.

Klefki and Grimmsnarl had been about using gimmicks.

But this shiny Gardevoir?

This was raw, undeniable power.

And what Diantha couldn't accept—what hurt—was that Dylan's Gardevoir… was simply better than hers.

She'd never even known he had one.

So this… this is what it meant to be the multi-specialist Champion of Kanto?

(End of Chapter)