Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game

Daigo's heart sank.

It's not just because of the high damage of this attack, but also because of the fundamental logic behind it.

High damage means high physical defense, and high physical defense... then how can Metagross be defeated?

Should I switch to a special attack move?

While Metagross's Special Attack is decent for a pseudo-legendary Pokémon, its Special Defense is significantly boosted during Sandstorm weather.

With one side gaining and the other losing, Metagross will also have a hard time performing well in the Special Attack category.

Did this guy already foresee what was happening on the battlefield at the very beginning of the game?

Daigo is starting to lose interest in playing.

If Xia Chen had used a dirtier approach, perhaps employing meditation instead of continuing his attack, his next move would have been a death sentence.

As if hearing Daigo's thoughts, Xia Chen's next command arrived as expected: "Dianci, instantly lose your memory!"

It was even dirtier than he imagined. It wasn't a meditation that simultaneously boosted Special Attack and Special Defense, but rather an instant amnesia that directly and drastically increased Special Defense!

Daigo shook his head with a wry smile and raised his hands in surrender.

"Okay, that's enough. I give up."

If it were a 3v3 or 6v6 match, Daigo might stick it out a bit longer.

However, there are too few variables in a 1v1 match. Metagross doesn't have a move like [Mist] that removes buffs, nor does it have an attack like [Holy Sword] that ignores buffs.

What's the point of fighting now?

Metagross also drooped its four iron arms, its entire body pressed to the ground, quietly recovering from the injuries it had just suffered.

Tianxi blinked and turned to look at Xia Chen.

Admitting defeat...does that mean you've won?

Xia Chen nodded. "Yes, Tianxi, congratulations, you won."

Diancie corrected her earnestly, "No, we won!"

Xia Chen smiled knowingly, "You're right, we won."

Tianxi jumped up happily and hopped towards Xia Chen, her lively and energetic appearance showing no signs of serious injury.

The Megalodon stared resentfully at Diancie's retreating figure.

Sure enough, it was all an act...

…………

The first thing the three did after the battle was to take a shower.

That's how sandstorms are; after a battle, both trainers, their Pokémon, and even the referee are covered in sand and dust.

This can also be considered a physical welcome for Xia Chen and Tianxi, who have come from afar.

Diancie's excitement from her first victory lasted a long time. Even after taking a bath and going to the Mega Evolution Laboratory with Michael and Daigo, she was still thinking about the victory.

It's fortunate that they won the first match; if they had lost, this little guy would probably have lost all his pearls.

The Mega Evolution Research Institute is much larger than it was when Xia Chen left the Hoenn region last year.

A small island of over ten square kilometers on the east side of the main island of Liuli City has been entirely developed into a research institute and supporting residential area.

Trainers flock to the site daily, waiting to convert Mega Stones, and all of them are at least elite-level or higher high-level trainers.

As one of the owners here, Xia Chen naturally has his own exclusive Super Stone Transformation Room.

He arranged for Tianxi to stay here. He originally wanted to explore the island, but the princess was very clingy and wanted to stay by Xia Chen's side.

With no other option, Xia Chen had to stay here and keep them company for the time being.

It takes about half a month to transform an evolution stone into a super stone, which is not a long time.

The conversion process of Diancie's Super Stone went smoothly, and it didn't take longer just because it was a legendary Pokémon.

In just three days, this top-quality light stone took the shape of a super stone.

Similarly, Xia Chen and Diancie's relationship is progressing smoothly; if expressed in terms of intimacy in the game, it has increased from at least 60 to over 100.

Xia Chen didn't intend to woo the princess of the diamond mining country, but he couldn't resist the princess's constant attempts to get close to him.

Diancie's changes go beyond that. Not only has her princess-like temper from when we first met changed considerably, but she has also suddenly become interested in battles.

Perhaps it was her battle with Metagross that day that made her realize the joy of Pokémon battles.

Since Xia Chen had nothing better to do while at the research institute, he had his Pokémon teach Diancie the moves she could learn from her skill pool.

Sylveon is the Fairy-type teacher, Gardevoir is the Psychic-type teacher, and Gruuldon personally teaches Rock-type moves.

Legend has it that the elf's talent is no joke; in just half a month, Diancie mastered most of the useful moves in her vast skill pool.

At the same time, her practical experience is also growing rapidly.

It battles against Steven's Pokémon, and occasionally against Dragapult and Blademaster.

The win rate is a bit low.

Once the characteristics of Diamond Storm were understood, the Pokémon would no longer allow her to unleash her full power when battling her.

Slow reaction speed and occasional misjudgments due to nervousness are common weaknesses of these new Pokémon in battles.

This often puts her at a great disadvantage when facing experienced veterans.

When Diancie was initially defeated repeatedly, she was quite emotionally fragile. However, after a lot of encouragement from Xia Chen and the elves, the Diamond Princess quickly cheered up.

Although they will still keep losing, they have changed from a state of "repeatedly losing" to a state of "repeatedly losing but fighting on".

It's just a small difference in word order, but the underlying mindset is quite different.

The former represents loss and even disappointment, while the latter contains a strong sense of resilience.

Half a month passed quickly.

Soon, Diancie's Super Stone transformation was completed.

Chapter 432 Shine, Super Diancie!

There aren't many legendary Pokémon that can undergo Mega Evolution.

Aside from Rayquaza and the siblings from Latios, there's only Diancie.

Xia Chen has already ridden Mega Rayquaza. If he can successfully help Diancie complete Mega Evolution, it would mean that half of the Mega Evolution Legendary Pokémon have a close connection with him.

This achievement sounds really cool.

Currently, Xia Chen already possesses two of the three essential elements for Mega Evolution: the Key Stone and Diancie's exclusive Mega Stone. He is not far from achieving this goal.

Of course, it's hard to say until it succeeds.

After all, the last of the three elements is the mysterious [bond].

Whether this thing exists between Xia Chen and Diancie... is really hard to say.

Xia Chen was also very curious about this question, so as soon as the Super Stone was transformed, he pulled Diancie along to prepare for an experiment.

"Don't be nervous, Mega Evolution is not difficult at all. You just need to activate your mental power and resonate with the energy in the Mega Stone."

Xia Chen, a veteran who had completed Mega Evolution with three Pokémon, provided meticulous guidance.

Sylveon and Gardevoir, two seniors with experience in Mega Evolution, were also there to comfort Diancie.

In order not to put any psychological burden on Diancie, they deliberately did not tell her about the bond.

Even if the super evolution fails, it won't make her think about random things, like whether Xia Chen doesn't like her...

"Ready? Shall we begin?"

Before attempting it, Xia Chen confirmed.

Diancie gripped the round, cherry-pink jewel tightly in her hand and nodded firmly.

"Come on, Xia Chen, I'm ready!"

"Calm your mind and unleash your spiritual power."

As he spoke softly, Xia Chen did not forget to control his mental energy to probe into the keystone.

A dazzling light shines simultaneously, marking the completion of the first step in Mega Evolution—the resonating between the Trainer and the Pokémon with the Key Stone and Mega Stone, respectively.

The next step is to connect these two forces.

The experienced Xia Chen naturally took the initiative.

The brilliant golden energy, even more dazzling than lightning, reached towards the slightly hazy pinkish energy, but the two repelled each other like the poles of a magnet.

Xia Chen frowned slightly with his eyes closed. This step was far more difficult than his first Mega Evolution experience with Sylveon and Gardevoir.

It wasn't even as smooth as Rayquaza's first Mega Evolution.

But there's nothing we can do about it.

The bond between Sylveon and Gardevoir is undeniably strong; their spiritual connection is as natural as water and milk blending together.

Rayquaza's situation was special. After establishing a contractual bond with it, during its Mega Evolution, Xia Chen could feel the guy's powerful and domineering spiritual energy forcibly absorbing his energy. Afterwards, he was almost completely drained.

As for Diancie, they had only known each other for less than a month, with neither a deep bond nor the means of Rayquaza, so the existence of obstacles was perfectly normal.

Despite having countless reasonable explanations, Xia Chen still did not give up trying.

…………

"Tianci, listen to me, can you relax a little?"

Xia Chen used telepathy to comfort her: "Imagine I'm right in front of you, with open arms, don't resist..."

He spoke in the gentlest tone, soothingly, almost hypnotically.

However, the desperate attempt to find a cure actually yielded some initial results.

The pale pink energy representing Diancie gradually softened, drawing ever closer to the bright golden energy that was actively approaching and showing goodwill...

Xia Chen's tone softened, "Yes, that's it... Clear your mind... Please accept me... I'm coming in..."

At this point, he didn't care about how bad his words were; he only felt that he was now just one step away from completing his super evolution.