At Jacob's command, Diancie gave a small nod. It raised both hands, and a surge of Rock-type energy erupted from within it like a rising tide.
A soft pink glow flickered across the chamber.
In an instant, countless tiny pink diamonds crystallized in the air around Diancie, glittering and sharp. Then they moved—all at once, a relentless storm of pink crystals tore across the arena, smashing into Volcarona from every direction.
Diamond Storm.
In the narrow confines of the room, there was nowhere to run. The swirling barrage left Volcarona with no opening to dodge.
Even so, Volcarona reacted fast. Flames erupted from its wings, and a roaring blaze poured outward. It launched into a spinning dance, its fire wings spreading wide as the inferno swept over Diancie.
Fiery Dance.
Volcarona's signature move—a high-power Fire-type attack shared only with its future Paradox form, Iron Moth. Beyond its raw power, the move carried a useful bonus: a high chance of raising the user's Special Attack after each use.
Against Diancie, though, it barely mattered.
Diancie—known by many as the "Princess of Diamonds"—resisted Fire-type attacks at double the normal rate. Its Special Defense ranked second among all Rock-type Pokémon. Volcarona's Fiery Dance barely left a mark. The flames wrapped around Diancie's jeweled body, but Diancie walked straight through them as if they were nothing more than a warm breeze.
Volcarona, by contrast, was not so fortunate. Each diamond from Diamond Storm hit like a bullet, driving Rock-type energy deep into its body with every strike.
Both moves triggered their secondary effects at the same time. Diamond Storm sharply raised Diancie's Defense—not that it mattered much, since Volcarona relied almost entirely on Special Attack. Fiery Dance boosted Volcarona's Special Attack, which was a more meaningful gain. But Jacob wasn't worried.
"Diancie, keep going—Diamond Storm!" he called out, giving Volcarona no time to breathe.
There was no complicated plan here. This was a type advantage being pressed as hard as it could go.
It came down to matchups. As a Rock- and Fairy-type, Diancie had real vulnerabilities—Water, Grass, and Ground hit it for double damage, and Steel hit it for four times the damage. But those vulnerabilities simply didn't apply here. Volcarona couldn't learn Water-, Ground-, or Steel-type attacking moves under normal conditions. That left Diancie with only one real weakness in this fight: Grass. Volcarona did know Absorb and Giga Drain, but it hadn't learned anything like Solar Beam—nothing powerful enough to seriously threaten Diancie.
Jacob was free to let Diancie run straight through it.
Diancie didn't hesitate. Rock-type energy surged within it again, and a fresh wave of pink diamonds flew toward Volcarona in another massive Diamond Storm.
Same move. Same result.
Volcarona, with no good options left, fired off Giga Drain. A pulse of vivid green energy shot toward Diancie. Some of Diancie's stamina sapped away, some flowing back into Volcarona.
But it wasn't enough.
"Boom!"
Both moves connected at the same moment. Giga Drain dealt real damage to Diancie, and Diamond Storm crashed into Volcarona from the other direction. The gap between them, however, was too wide. Whatever stamina Giga Drain restored, Diamond Storm wiped away everything that remained. Volcarona's wings drooped, its flames guttered out, and it collapsed to the ground—unable to battle.
Two moves. It was over.
Diancie had given the young Volcarona a very clear lesson in what type advantage looked like when pressed to its limit.
A small smile pulled at Jacob's mouth as he watched Diancie stand quietly in the aftermath. Then almost immediately, something cold settled in his stomach.
Oh, right.
The parent is still watching.
He'd gotten so caught up in the battle that he'd completely forgotten the Pseudo-Legendary Class Volcarona standing off to the side. He'd just had Diancie take down its child in two clean moves.
If I'd thought it through, I could have stretched it out. Let the fight go longer, made it look harder, then had Diancie barely scrape a win at the end. That would have looked a lot better.
He quietly glanced sideways at the elder Volcarona. Its expression was unreadable. There was no sign of anger.
Jacob let out a slow, quiet breath.
"You… won."
The Volcarona's voice was low and steady. It turned toward its fallen child, and a warm, golden glow gathered around its form—gentle and bright, like sunlight breaking through clouds. The light fell across the young Volcarona and held.
Morning Sun.
The young Volcarona stirred, its wounds closing as the healing light worked through it. It rose to its feet again—but its wings burned lower than before. The flames were subdued, flickering softly, matching the quiet weight in its eyes as it looked at Diancie.
It had believed it was at least one of the stronger Pokémon at its level. Not its father's equal—it knew better—but not something to be taken apart so quickly, with so little fight left to give. That stung.
"Human." The elder Volcarona spoke again. A ripple of Bug-type energy moved through the air around it. "This is your reward."
Something flew through the air and landed in Jacob's hand.
[Silver Powder] — S-Rank ItemThe Pokémon holding this item has its Bug-type move power increased by 62%.
Jacob stared at it.
Sixty-two percent. This was no ordinary Silver Powder—something this powerful had almost certainly been shed by the elder Volcarona itself. On the right Pokémon, it would be extraordinary.
Jacob had no Bug-type Pokémon at the moment. He pocketed the Silver Powder and tried not to think about it too hard.
"Human." Volcarona spoke once more. "I have one more request."
"My child lacks experience with the world beyond these walls. I would like you to take it with you—let it travel, let it grow. When you return to Dragon Spiral Tower in half a year to collect your partner, bring it back with you."
Jacob glanced at the young, Quasi-King-level Volcarona standing nearby. It looked back at him, flames still low.
He was happy to take it along. And if it happened to fall in love with the outside world and decided not to come back—well, he wouldn't lose any sleep over that. He kept the thought to himself.
"Alright," he said. "I agree."
"When you return it to me, I will give you another reward." A pulse of Fire-type energy rolled gently from Volcarona's wings, nudging its offspring forward toward Jacob. "Now. You may proceed to the top floor."