Chapter 147: A Dazzling Aura! Steven vs Diantha part 2

In the locker room, the rest of The Master's Eight were watching the battle intensely.

"I never knew Diantha had a Goodra!" Ash said excitedly. "Man, I miss mine!"

"You have a Goodra?" Iris gasped. "I've wanted one for ages!"

"Sorry, but they're only in Kalos!"

"That's not fair!"

"Sorry, them's the breaks!"

Cynthia chuckled as the two bickered.

"Cute.''

"Cute?" Lance scoffed. "It's ridiculous. They're champions, yet they're fanboying over Goodra."

"Oh? And who was it that was begging me for a Gible egg when he met Garchomp?"

Lance wisely chose to say nothing more.

"Go, Armaldo!"

Goodra eyed the giant Fossil Pokemon nervously, trying not to appear afraid.

"X-Scissor!"

"Dragon Breath, Goodra!"

Armaldo charged forward, pushing through the blast of energy from Goodra before striking her with his claws.

"Hydro Pump!"

Goodra recovered, blasting Armaldo with a huge burst of water, sending him skidding back.

"Power Whip!"

While Armaldo recovered, Goodra whipped her hair out at him, ensnaring his arm. The two tugged on it for a good few minutes, leaving them in a stalemate.

"Superpower, Armaldo!"

Finally, with one final heave Armaldo dragged Goodra towards him, catching her off guard.

"Now use Flash Cannon!"

Just as Goodra was right in his face, Armaldo let loose his attack, launching her clear back to the other side of the field unconscious.

"Goodra is unable to battle, Armaldo wins!"

"Goodra, return! You did well, get some rest."

"Incredible! Now both trainers have lost half their Pokemon, but we're far from done yet! Can Diantha turn it around?"

"Can, and will! Go, Gourgeist!"

"YES!"

"Armaldo, use Fury Cutter!"

"Energy Ball, Gourgeist!"

Armaldo charged, swinging his arms wildly to slash at her. Gourgeist launched a volley of energy balls at him, but they did little to slow him down. However, when Armaldo reached his opponent, he found she was faster than he anticipated, and she effortlessly jumped over all of his attacks.

"Now, use Trick Or Treat!"

After jumping over another arm swing, Gourgeist let loose several ghostly wisps, which entered Armaldo's body and made him cringe.

"Trick or Treat," Leon mused. "That's a tricky move."

"How come? Iris asked.

"Its a special move that only Gourgeist can use," Cynthia explained. "It changes the opponent's type to Ghost. And guess what Gourgeist's secondary type is?"

"She used that against me when I challenged her," Alain noted. "A difficult combo to overcome."

"If you think that scares us, then think again! Bug Bite!"

"Shadow Ball!"

Armaldo let loose a flurry of insects from his body, stinging at Gourgeist. But the pain did little to stop here, and she launched a huge Shadow Ball at him, knocking him back.

"Now use Phantom Force!"

Before Armaldo could recover and counterstrike, Gourgeist vanished from view, puzzling him. Steven scanned the arena, looking for where Gourgeist might emerge when he saw a glint of light coming from behind his Pokemon.

"Armaldo, Fury Cutter behind you!"

Armaldo swung around to strike his opponent, only to get a huge dose of Spectral Energy right to the face. This was more than enough to do him in, and he fell over unconscious.

"Armaldo is unable to battle, Gourgeist wins!"

"Armaldo, return! You did well, get some rest. Go, Archeops!"

Diantha eyed Steven's next choice curiously. This should be interesting.

"Gourgeist, use Shadow Ball, and don't let up!"

"Acrobatics, Archeops!"

Gourgeist began spitting out Shadow Ball after Shadow Ball, trying to hit her target, but Archeops was faster, evading every attack with ease before reaching her, striking her with his claws.

"Seed Bomb, Gourgeist!"

"Wing Attack!"

Archeops managed to get one last strike in before being bombarded by seeds, pushing him all the way back to Steven's side of the battlefield.

"Shadow Sneak!"

"Air Slash!"

Archeops began flapping his wings, creating sharp gusts of wind streaking right towards Gourgeist, only for her to disappear into his shadow. Steven waited patiently for her to appear, and when she did…

"Aerial Ace!"

Just as Gourgeist emerged from his shadow, Archeops swung around and slammed into her, sending her crashing into a wall. When the dust had settled, Gourgeist was unable to continue.

"Gourgeist is unable to battle, Archeops wins!"

"Wow, what a play!"

"You said it, Mason!" James nodded. "Those champions sure know how to put on a show, don't they Sina?"

Jessie didn't respond, she just sat on the ground moping.

"We'll come back to you."

"Gourgeist, return! You did well, take a rest. Go, Tyrantrum!"

"Another Fossil Pokemon, eh?"

"You didn't think you were the only one who had them, did you? I aim to win!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it! Archeops, use Dragon Claw!"

"Outrage!"

Tyrantrum roared, charging wildly across the battlefield before ramming his head right into Archeops, sending him flying wildly.

"Dragon Pulse!"

It took a minute, but Archeops recovered and fired off a quick blast of energy right at Tyrantrum. The attack did little to faze him, however, and he rammed Archeops even harder than before, nearly driving him right into the ground.

"Rock Smash!"

Unable to break free from his hole in the ground, Archeops soon felt the shadow of Tyrantrum's giant head fall over him. Knowing he wouldn't be able to continue after this next strike, Archeops met it head on with his own, knocking both of them back. But while Tyrantrum was wounded, Archeops was down for the count.

"Archeops is unable to battle, Tyrantrum wins!"

"Way to go, Tyrantrum!"

Tyrantrum grunted, confusion starting to take hold, but his pride refused to let him retreat.

"Archeops, return! You did great, get some rest."

He then took out his last Pokeball, gripping it firmly as his heart raced.

"I'm counting on you, old friend. Go, Metagross!"

"Tyrantrum, can you continue?"

Tyrantrum slammed his head into the ground, shaking off his confusion before nodding.

"Alright then, use Earthquake!"

"Magnet Rise!"

Metagross, using their arms as jet propulsion, took into the air, evading the Earthquake with ease.

"Now use Gyro Ball!"

"Ancient Power!"

Tyrantrum roared, sending a volley of stones to pelt Metagross, who broke them apart with their arms as they spun wildly towards Tyrantrum, grinding against his torso and making him cry out.

"Throw him off with Breaking Swipe!"

"Meteor Mash!"

Tyrantrum slashed Metagross, throwing them off him but not before they got one hard shot in with their arms.

"Iron Head!"

"Head Smash!"

The two Pokemon charged forward again, each gaining speed rapidly before slamming into eachother brutally, creating a huge dust cloud. When the dust settled, Tyrantrum was on the floor out cold.

"Tyrantrum is unable to battle, Metagross wins!"

"What a turnaround, folks! Just like that, both trainers are down to their last Pokemon! It is still anyone's game, who will win?"

"Tyrantrum, return! You did well, we'll take it from here."

She then took out her last Pokeball, gripping it tightly.

"I put my faith in you, old friend. Go, Gardevoir!"

Diantha's ace floated down onto the battlefield, eyeing her opponent cautiously.

"Metagross, time to take things to the next level!"

"Gardevoir, let us rise to the challenge!"

"Mega Evolve!"

The crowd cheered as the two aces transformed into their Mega Forms.

"Bullet Punch!"

"Will-O-Wisp!"

Metagross charged forward, speeding towards Gardevoir like a rocket. However, Gardevoir was fast, launching several small orbs of fire into their body, leaving them burned and weakening the impact when they hit her. It still did a lot of damage, but Gardevoir was still standing strong.

"Meteor Mash!"

"Teleport!"

Metagross tried to pummel Gardevoir with their arms, only for Gardevoir to teleport right behind him.

"Fire Punch!"

Metagross turned around, giant metal arm meeting her flame-empowered fist, sending both of them flying away from each other. Both pushed themselves up with some difficulty, though it was clear Metagross was feeling the wear of battle more than Gardevoir.

"Sunny Day, Gardevoir!"

"Shadow Ball!"

Gardevoir focused, creating a brilliant ray of sunshine to break through the grey skies of Wyndon before getting knocked off her feet by a Shadow Ball. While she managed to get back up, Diantha could tell she was about ready to collapse.

"Gardevoir, finish this with Mystic Fire!"

"Flash Cannon, Metagross!"

The two launched their final attacks, Fire and steel clashing in the middle for control. For a long while, they were evenly matched, both sides pushing back and forth against each other. But eventually, Metagross began to weaken, and Gardevoir took control before finally hitting them, knocking him to the ground. As the dust settled, it became clear that they would not be getting back up.

"Metagross is unable to battle, Gardevoir wins! Which means the winner is Diantha!"

"And there you have it, folks! It was a long, hard fought match, but Diantha is our winner!"

The crowd cheered as the two champs returned their ace.

"You were amazing, Metagross. You've earned a rest."

"Thank you, Gardevoir. I'm truly lucky to have you as my partner."

After that, they shook each other's hand.

"Thank you for an amazing battle. I look forward to facing you again."

"As do I. Good luck with the rest of the tournament, but you'd better hope you don't face us again, or we'll win."

"I'll keep that in mind!"

"We'll bring you the last match of the first round in 30 minutes! Don't go away!"