Draco: From an in-universe standpoint, if you intend to Dynamax a Pokémon right away, it really doesn't make sense to send out your Pokémon and then Dynamax. A Trainer-induced Dynamax involves pumping the Poké Ball full of Dynamax energy with the Pokémon inside. Sending out the Pokémon, then immediately withdrawing the Pokémon to Dynamax is really just a consequence of the gameplay mechanics.

So, I've got seven Colosseums in Grand Stage, unlocked in the pattern of 1-2-1-2-1. The dialogue at each of the "paired" Colosseums would change based on which order you beat them; the post-battle of the first one will have the Colosseum Leader express the anticipation of the second, and the lead-in for the second will have the Colosseum Leader mention watching the first, because those Colosseum Leaders are serving as announcers for each others' battles.

Pokémon and all related properties © Nintendo. Virtual Singers of Piapro Studio © Crypton Future Media.

The Girl With Nothing to Burn

Jeanne had been surprised when she'd heard that Chilly Colosseum was underground - given that each battlefield was allegedly designed to accommodate a Dynamax, she didn't think a cave was going to live up to the Power Spot. The lobby of the Colosseum was above-ground, with elevators leading down to the battlefield; as Jeanne stepped inside, she found a blonde-haired girl stretching like an athlete might before a sports game, though she came to a stop when she saw Jeanne arrive.

"Oh, hey there!" Rin greeted. "I was wondering if and when you'd show up!"

"I don't know about 'if'..." Jeanne argued.

Rin giggled. "Doesn't matter," she insisted. "You're here now, which means I get to see how you battle on my turf." She started towards one of the elevators, waving to Jeanne in the process. "And, hopefully, get to battle you for myself!"

Jeanne took a deep breath. "Here's hoping."

+x+x+x+

"Hello, you beautiful crowd, and welcome to my icy wonderland!"

Rin was not kidding; Chilly Colosseum was very deep underground, which allowed it to be huge - and its size, in turn, allowed it positively glacial, no matter how hot the battle got. Snow was dusted across the battlefield, icy crystals were scattered across the roof and walls, and the spectators cheering to answer Rin's call were very heavily bundled. There was a bit of frost on the windows that were shielding the front row, but Jeanne figured it wouldn't have too much of an effect on the spectators' view of things - hosting a battle with spectators in an arena fit for Dynamax meant flying cameras and viewer-convenient screens to catch the action of everything else.

"That's what I like to hear!" Rin encouraged; she was rather un-bundled, considering she was standing in the middle of the Colosseum for her intro. "Let's see you keep that up - our combatants are about to give us a wonderful show tonight, and I want you to give them everything you got!"

The crowd gave a single, sharp note to assure her that they would.

Rin pumped her fists before her. "Then it's time for our fighters to take the stage!"

She dashed towards the red corner as the doors on each end opened; Jeanne stepped out and found snow starting to fall around her, with a larger shards of ice descending irregularly as well. She made her way to the marker to find the red corner's Trainer just ahead of her - a lithe woman whose Battle Pass had proclaimed her name to be Jack.

"Battle is a dance," the woman proclaimed, holding a Poké Ball out before her, "and I will not misstep."

"Don't think I'm gonna hand you the win!" Jeanne retorted, seizing two of her own Poké Balls.

She hurled them forward as Jack seized another and tossed it as well; a crimson canine figure appeared with a soaring white figure spotted with red and blue, facing down a avian yellow-and-blue figure and a draconic purple figure who looked like he regretted being here. "The blue corner: Archeops and Goodra! The red corner: Arcanine and Togekiss! What could they be about to bring us today?"

"Trash that slimeball!" Jack commanded.

"Gotta be quick!" Jeanne warned.

"The red corner makes the first move!" Rin observed as Togekiss soared forward; a Dazzling Gleam struck Goodra and Archeops both, and the Dragon Pokémon retaliated with a Sludge Bomb that missed Togekiss but slammed into a charging Arcanine in mid-dash. Archeops gave a loud screech as Togekiss soared back, calling down a Rock Slide in an effort to strike both of the opposing Pokémon; Togekiss was struck, skidding across the dirt, but Arcanine charged through the onslaught and bombarded Goodra with a barrage of Fairy blows.

Rin gave an "Ooh" over the loudspeaker as Goodra fell to the ground. "Can't handle it when they Play Rough! The red corner takes an early lead!"

"Right then," Jeanne muttered, withdrawing the Dragon-type as the weather took its toll on the active Pokémon. "Let's take advantage of this hail!"

Archeops slammed his talons to the ground, unleashing an Earthquake before Jeanne's next combatant could come out; Togekiss evaded the tremors, but Arcanine was knocked out by the shaking as Froslass was sent out. Jack withdrew the Fire-type as the Jubilee Pokémon made to attack the new arrival; Froslass was able to deftly sidestep a flurry of Air Slashes as a Poliwrath was sent out, then swept her arms out and gave a foul cry as ice howled across the battlefield, knocking Togekiss out of the air and hitting the Tadpole Pokémon for as much force as was possible.

"Buried under the Blizzard!" Rin called. "The blue corner has managed to turned this battle around!"

"Get that old bird!" Jack commanded as she withdrew Togekiss; Poliwrath leapt into the air, and water seemed to surge down around him as he descended on Archeops, knocking out the Rock-type before he could try and finish the Tadpole Pokémon off. A Bellossom was sent out from Jack's last Ball, and promptly twisted into a dance; the hail subsided as Froslass tried to attack again, and a blazing light took its place, leaving the Blizzard howling past both of her opponents.

Jeanne grinned, sending out Volcarona into the sunlight. "How kind of you!" The heat wouldn't keep a Fire-type up against Water-type attacks forever, but she didn't need forever anymore; Volcarona gave a screech, and sunlight rapidly gathered around her, causing Bellossom's face to fall as Froslass took aim with something a little more accurate.

Poliwrath made a valiant effort anyways, unleashing a wave of water to Surf atop; Froslass loosed an Ice Beam that froze a cylinder through the deluge and slammed into Bellossom for a critical blow. Volcarona unleashed her Solar Beam as the wave was coming down; weakened by the sun, it wasn't enough to knock her out, and a blast of light came down on the Tadpole Pokémon, knocking him out as well.

"And good night!" Rin proclaimed as the waters subsided; Jack withdrew her Pokémon with a scowl. "The blue corner overcomes a rough start for an satisfying victory!" Jeanne approached her Pokémon, finding Froslass surrounded by shards that implied that frozen cylinder had returned to sender. "Looking forward to seeing the challenger show us more of that!"

"I'll give it my best shot," Jeanne assured, withdrawing her Pokémon and returning to the gate.

+x+x+x+

The next few battles had increasingly better showings, including a very satisfying match for the fifth; Jeanne managed to claim a victory without any of her Pokémon getting knocked out, owing to a fortunate match-up letting her withdraw an un-fainted Pokémon without sending out the next one into a bad position.

"What a showing!" Rin approved as Jeanne pulled Lucario and Froslass into a joyful hug. "The blue corner claims a perfect win!" She quickly withdrew the pair before heading back to the gate, making to patch up her team as Rin continued; "And that makes five for the challenger! Time to put them to a real test."

Jeanne glanced at the incoming Battle Pass and pursed her lips, taking note of several prominent possibilities.

"You want on?"

"Yes please, Rin!" assured a voice that Jeanne recognized as Len's; as she reclaimed her Poké Balls, she found Rin already dashing out onto the field. "The stage is set for the climax! Our challenger, victorious five times over, will now be set against the queen of Chilly Colosseum!"

Rin drew a Poké Ball with her left hand, tossing it into the air and twisting into a spin before catching it in her right hand - and giving Jeanne a glance at the Dynamax Band she was wearing on that wrist. "Let's light this place up!"

Jeanne smirked as she drew a pair of Poké Balls for herself. "We'll see who crashes and burns!"

A blazing red-and-white was joined by a combative blue-and-yellow, and a towering leafy green was accompanied by a gorgeous floral orange. "Lucario, Volcarona in the blue corner! Florges, Sceptile in the red corner!" The two sides eyed each other up as Jeanne grinned at her good fortune. "This one promises to be exciting!"

"Get that howler!" Rin instructed.

Jeanne drew out her Key Stone, making a mental note to find an accessory to wear it more readily. "Start with the tree!"

Sceptile brought her hands together as Mega Evolution consumed Lucario, hurling a Focus Blast in the Aura Pokémon's direction; the light shattered as Lucario leapt into the air, hurling an Aura Sphere down at Sceptile - Florges' Moonblast, however, found its mark, stopping him from closing the distance with his leap. Volcarona quickly leapt up to point-blank range on the Forest Pokémon, twisting into a spin to bombard her with blazes.

"Walked on in a Fiery Dance!" Len observed. "A strong start from the blue corner!"

Florges changed tact, loosing a note of Echoed Voice to slam into Volcarona. Lucario charged forward in retaliation, driving a Meteor Mash into the Garden Pokémon and leaving her reeling as Rin withdrew Sceptile. Light started to gather around the Sun Pokémon, less quickly than it had in the first bout on this arena - and that would prove her undoing, as Rin sent out a Golurk to take the empty place.

Shadowy aura gathered around Lucario as he tried to take out the Automaton Pokémon quickly - but Golurk was having none of it, slamming both fists into the ground to unleash a tremor throughout the Colosseum. The Aura Pokémon was practically at origin, thrown into the air from the shaking as his Mega Evolution subsided; Volcarona fared little better, knocked out rapidly, and Florges fared little better, barely able to hang on.

"Shaken up in an Earthquake!" Len observed. "And the red corner claims an advantage!"

Jeanne withdrew both of her Pokémon, sending out Primarina and Goodra. "Get the Fairy down!"

Goodra hurled a Sludge Bomb at Florges, but the Garden Pokémon managed to weave aside, unleashing another Moonblast to strike the Dragon-type full-force. Golurk lunged forward right behind, landing a Shadow Punch hard enough to knock Goodra out; Primarina quickly rose up on her tail and unleashed a Sparkling Aria to finish off Florges and land a solid hit on Golurk.

Rin withdrew the Fairy-type as Jeanne was withdrawing her Dragon; then she drew her next Poké Ball with a grin. "To the heavens!"

"And now, for the moment you've been waiting for!" Len proclaimed. "Our Colosseum Leader is giving maximum effort!"

Jeanne swore as Rin held out her right arm, her Dynamax Band seeming radiant in this underground arena; particles coursed from the Wishing Star and gathered around her Poké Ball, leaving it shining as it expanded in size. She seized the Ball in both hands and hurled it backwards over her head without looking, lowering her arms with a confident smirk as it opened; a large figure in blazing red and orange emerged, becoming larger and then larger still - and it was only now that Jeanne realized even a Dynamaxed Pokémon still had room to reach its hands over its head and not touch the ceiling of the cavern that was Chilly Colosseum.

Magmortar hit the ground and then cried out in confidence, unfazed even by the chilly arena.

"Make some music!" Jeanne commanded, snapping Primarina out of her awe; she quickly loosed another Sparkling Aria, finishing off Golurk and hitting Magmortar as well. The Blast Pokémon retaliated, bracing both arms at her sides as clouds gathered above the blue corner, and blast of Max Lightning came down to send voltage coursing through the Soloist Pokémon.

It wasn't enough to finish her off, and Jeanne quickly crossed her arms, the Z-Power Ring on her left wrist gleaming as she thrust them forward. "Oh, no you don't!" she warned, sweeping her arms to one side and then the other with the fluidity of flowing water. "You're not burning us away that easy!"

Z-Power gathered around Primarina, and her hair came loose as she raised her arms at her sides, singing a powerful note that sent water surging skyward around her. The liquid converged above her head in a sphere massive enough to have Magmortar stepping back fearfully, and Primarina brought her hands forward in a pushing motion that had the water approaching and then consuming the Blast Pokémon's torso.

Jeanne raised her fingers upwards like a conductor with no baton.

Primarina leaned her head back and loosed a vibrant chord, and the water burst, consuming Magmortar with the force of an ocean; a blast echoed from the red corner as the water showered in all directions, and the Fire-type gave a painful cry as the Dynamax gave way, falling to the ground.

"Curtains, fall!" Len proclaimed; Primarina bowed to the arena around her as the aftershower of the Oceanic Operetta rained down on the battlefield, and Rin caught herself shivering as she withdrew Magmortar. "The blue corner emerges triumphant from a tight situation!" Jeanne charged forward, grabbing Primarina in a relieved hug before withdrawing her. "Which means that our challenger has claimed victory over Chilly Colosseum!"

Rin stepped forward, her face carrying a conflict between happiness and frustration. "I knew you were good, after the showing you gave Len," she admitted. "But part of me was hoping you weren't that good." She offered her hand. "The rest of me is glad I was wrong."

Jeanne accepted the hand with a smile. "Happy I could satisfy you."

Draco: In the performance videos for Project DIVA, Rin is constantly the vocalist and default character when things are being destroyed. Like, she is shredding a guitar in a burning hall for Tengaku. She gets an underground Colosseum full of ice because that seemed like the environment with the least capacity for destruction (save for maybe the top of a mountain, which is Pokétopia's final Colosseum so Rin doesn't get that one), which means I don't get tempted to say "the battlefield is in ruins when you fight Rin".

Now for the arena details. Chilly Colosseum may randomly start a battle with hail coming down; Camouflage will make your Pokémon an Ice-type, Nature Power will turn into Ice Beam, and Secret Power may freeze an opponent. Colosseum Mode battles take place at night... according to what you can see in the lobby for the first-time cutscene with Rin; your first victory here is earned in Double Battles.

Unashamed to admit that Rin and Len's teams have a lot of parallels, but for different reasons than you might think. Rin's team in Chilly Colosseum consists of Gengar, Florges (Orange Flower), Beartic, Sceptile, Golurk, and Magmortar - her Dynamax choice is Magmortar.