Before long, Baltoy also exited its meditation state.
Because it had learned a new move, it felt extremely smug.
To dampen its arrogance, Ange tapped it on the forehead and said,
"Diancie also learned a new move, yet it isn't acting as conceited as you are. You need to learn humility!"
Baltoy covered its forehead, unconvinced. Why should it be humble when it was so powerful?
Bal bal~ (Hoopa is powerful.)
Ange was speechless. "You are Baltoy, not Hoopa."
Upon hearing this, Baltoy became very excited.
Bal bal~ (I am Hoopa, I am Hoopa!)
Seeing it acting crazy again, Ange decided to ignore it.
At this moment, Ms. Olympia asked, "Your Highness, would you like to have a Gym battle with me?"
"Hmm?" Ange was taken aback by her request. "But I'm not a trainer, and I don't intend to participate in the League tournament!"
Ms. Olympia said, "You don't have to participate in the League tournament to challenge a Gym. Sometimes, experiencing different things is not a bad thing."
Ange felt thoughtful for a moment and then nodded. "What you say makes sense. I'll give it a try!"
A smile appeared on Ms. Olympia's face. "Then follow me, Your Highness!"
Guided by Ms. Olympia, Ange arrived at the battle arena of the Anistar Gym.
After Ange and Ms. Olympia stood in their respective positions on the field, the Gym referee announced,
"The Gym challenge for His Highness Ange will now begin. The match is a two-on-two double battle. The match ends when one side's Pokémon are all unable to battle.
I now ask both sides to release their Pokémon."
Ms. Olympia was the first to send out her Pokémon—the two Meowstic that were always by her side.
Meow meow~
Meow meow~
The two Meowstic walked side-by-side to one side of the field.
Doub doub~ Doublade stepped forward, volunteering to fight.
Seeing this, Ange nodded and said, "Then Doublade, I'll leave it to you."
Bal bal~ The Baltoy next to him screamed excitedly; it actually wanted to get on the field.
Baltoy: I am so powerful, if I don't go, who will?
Ange speechless, tapped its forehead. "You're only level 1, why do you want to go up there? To give away a free win?"
Bal bal~ Baltoy was very unconvinced.
At this time, Diancie stepped forward. "Then I will be the second one."
This was Ange's first Gym battle, so it had to be involved.
Ange nodded. "Fine!"
Diancie walked into the center of the field with a smile.
"Then... the match begins!" Seeing that both sides had sent out their Pokémon, the referee announced loudly.
As the referee's voice fell, Olympia was the first to give commands to the two Meowstic.
"Helping Hand, Dark Pulse."
Although she did not specify which Meowstic was using Helping Hand and which was using Dark Pulse, the two Meowstic instantly understood their roles.
The male Meowstic emanated a mysterious light from its left hand and tapped the right hand of the female Meowstic. The female Meowstic immediately waved its hand, firing a ring of black energy at Doublade.
Because one of Doublade's weaknesses was Dark-type.
Seeing this, Diancie stepped forward. "I'll handle the defense!"
It thrust its hands forward, using the move Light Screen to create a transparent barrier that intercepted the Dark Pulse the moment it attacked.
At the same time, Doublade's figure flashed quickly through the air. With both swords drawn and dark energy flickering on its blades, it slashed straight toward the two Meowstic.
Doublade was using the move Night Slash.
Doublade was weak to Dark-type moves, and the two Meowstic were equally weak to Dark-type moves.
However, the two Meowstic seemed to know that Doublade's ability was No Guard, making dodging useless, so the male Meowstic released Reflect.
Light Screen was used to defend against special attacks, while conversely, Reflect was used to defend against physical attacks.
A transparent barrier formed, intercepting Doublade's strike.
The two Meowstic were very agile. The moment they defended against Doublade, they jumped into the air simultaneously, quickly moving away from Doublade.
As Psychic-type Pokémon, Meowstic could use their psychic powers to move freely in the air.
Ange's Meowstic could not do this because their psychic powers were not yet strong enough.
While Doublade launched its attack, Diancie did not sit idle. As soon as the two Meowstic flew into the sky, its Power Gem struck them.
Meowstic's weaknesses included Dark, Bug, and Ghost. Unfortunately, Diancie could not use any moves of those three types.
The two Meowstic's reactions were very fast; they were truly worthy of being Psychic-type Pokémon, very skilled at adapting to the situation.
Even though they were approached by Doublade, they never ignored their defense against the distant Diancie.
Therefore, the moment Diancie attacked, they flashed continuously in the air and dodged easily.
Do not mistake this for Teleport; it was purely because they were fast.
"Helping Hand, Future Sight," Ms. Olympia commanded again.
Meow meow~
Meow meow~
The two Meowstic responded. The male Meowstic used Helping Hand on the female again, while the female Meowstic tossed a ball of light into the sky.
The ball of light flew into the sky and quickly disappeared.
Future Sight was a powerful Psychic-type move. It was extremely potent, but it only took effect after a period of time.
However, compared to other moves that required charging, Future Sight had an advantage: once activated, the user did not need to keep their focus on it. They could wait for it to take effect while completely freeing themselves to use other moves or do something else.
Unlike other moves that required charging, where the user was unable to be distracted.
For example, a Pokémon using Solar Beam needed to accumulate solar energy; during that period, it could not do anything else but focus on accumulating energy.
The two Meowstic had just finished releasing their move when Doublade slashed with its sword, but the effect of Reflect was still active.
After Doublade's attack ended, the male Meowstic immediately released Gravity toward Doublade.
Caught off guard, Doublade was pressed hard against the ground by the gravity.
The female Meowstic took the opportunity without hesitation to release Dark Pulse at it.
Fortunately, Diancie arrived in time and used Power Gem to shatter the Dark Pulse.
Then, it waved its hand, firing sharp stones that forced the two Meowstic back.
Once out of range, the male Meowstic's gravity naturally lost its effect, and Doublade regained its freedom.
At this moment, Ange called out, "Doublade, use Fury Cutter."
Fury Cutter was a Bug-type move, which was effective against Meowstic. If this move hit continuously, its power would double.
What was Doublade's ability? No Guard. It was very easy for its attacks to hit the opponent.
Blade~ Hearing Ange's command, Doublade responded and immediately raised its swords to slash at the Meowstic.
Fury Cutter easily hit the male Meowstic, but because Reflect was active, the damage was not high.
Although Reflect was a defensive move, its role was not to block damage, but to weaken it. Therefore, even if the damage was low, Fury Cutter had still landed.
The female Meowstic immediately used Dark Pulse to aid the male, but how could Diancie stand by and watch?
Thus, the Dark Pulse and Power Gem collided.
Doublade continued to launch Fury Cutter against the male Meowstic.
Just then, Future Sight activated.
Rings of light descended from the sky, shooting straight toward Doublade.
Diancie did not hesitate at all, leaping in front of Doublade and using Amnesia to help Doublade block the attack.
At the same time, Doublade successfully delivered a slash.
Meow meow~ The male Meowstic was knocked away.
Diancie was also struck down by Future Sight.
However, Diancie possessed excellent Special Defense, and had the help of Light Screen to weaken the attack, plus it had used Amnesia to strengthen its Special Defense, so it appeared to be unharmed.
The female Meowstic caught the male Meowstic, took it, and ascended into the sky, keeping a distance from Doublade to prevent further attacks.
Seeing this, Ange shouted, "Diancie, Rock Tomb!"
As Ange's voice fell, giant rocks were controlled by Diancie and came crashing down from the sky.
The two Meowstic did not notice what was above their heads and were hit directly, falling from the sky.
Seeing this, Doublade launched Fury Cutter again.
A yellow-green sword light swept out, hitting both Meowstic at the same time.
Hitting three times in a row, the Fury Cutter, which originally only had a power of 40, now reached a power of 160. The Reflect that had been protecting the two Meowstic was shattered in an instant.
Meow meow~~
Meow meow~~
The two Meowstic slammed hard into the ground and lost their ability to battle.
After the referee stepped forward to check the condition of the two Meowstic, he announced loudly, "The Meowstic are unable to battle, so the winner is the challenger, His Highness Ange!"
Ms. Olympia walked to the center of the arena and, after using her Poké Balls to recall the two Meowstic, whispered to them,
"You worked hard!"
She then looked at Ange. "Your Highness, a beautiful battle!"
Ange said humbly, "That is only because you were going easy on me, Ms. Olympia."
Olympia shook her head. "I was not going easy on you, Your Highness."
In typical Gym matches, Gym Leaders would indeed go easy on challengers, but she had used her full strength against Ange without holding anything back.
Ange then saw the referee walk to the center of the field carrying a tray.
Ms. Olympia took the badge from the tray and handed it to Ange.
"Your Highness, this Psychic Badge is yours. Although you said you won't participate in the League tournament, it is still worth collecting."
Ange took the badge and said, "Thank you, Ms. Olympia."
Ms. Olympia smiled and shook her head.
"Your Highness, let's find a place to sit down and talk," Olympia suggested.
"Okay!" Ange nodded.
Ange and Ms. Olympia chatted for a long time afterward, discussing topics related to raising Pokémon, especially the raising of Psychic-type Pokémon.
This conversation was very beneficial to Ange.
Ms. Olympia was truly a very knowledgeable person, which made Ange admire her deeply.
Seeing that it was getting late, Ms. Olympia stood up and said, "Your Highness, I won't take up any more of your time. Let us bid farewell here."
Ange nodded and stood up. "I am very honored to have had such a great conversation with you today, Ms. Olympia."
Ms. Olympia said, "I am as well. It is an honor to have met you in Anistar City, Your Highness."
Just as Ange was about to leave, Olympia said, "Please wait a moment, Your Highness. I have two gifts for you!"
Ange looked puzzled. "Gifts?"
He then saw a Gym apprentice walk over carrying two items.
After Olympia took the two items from the apprentice, she handed them to Ange.
The first item was something like a storage drive.
The second item was a wooden box.
Ms. Olympia first pointed to the first item. "This storage drive contains some of my insights into raising Psychic-type Pokémon. I hope it can help you, Your Highness."
Ange looked surprised and quickly said, "This is too precious!"
Ms. Olympia smiled. "It's nothing remarkable. The apprentices in my Gym are all learning it; please accept it, Your Highness."
"This... okay!" Ange stopped being modest.
Then, Ms. Olympia looked at the box. "As for the second item..."
She paused slightly, then slowly opened the box. Inside was a pink crystal the size of an adult's fist.
"This is..." Ange asked.
Olympia explained, "Many years ago, a meteorite landed in Anistar City. Later, that meteorite became the sundial in the square of Anistar City today.
This crystal was once part of that sundial and has been kept in the Anistar Gym ever since."
Ange looked surprised. "Is it really alright to give me something so precious?"
The sundial was a landmark of Anistar City, and because of its existence, Anistar City was known as "the city of stars."
It was even said that the name of Anistar City was related to the sundial.
Ms. Olympia said, "Please take it, Your Highness. The reason I am giving it to you is that I have seen some glimpses concerning you, and this item will play a very important role for you, Your Highness."
Ange was even more surprised by this.
"Glimpses? What kind of glimpses?"
Ms. Olympia shook her head. "The glimpses were blurred; I could not see them clearly."
Ange looked disappointed.
"In that case, I will accept it." Ange took the wooden box and put it into his backpack.
However, when he saw an item in his bag, he thought about it and took it out, handing it to Ms. Olympia.
"Ms. Olympia, I have a gift for you as well."
Looking at the massive pink diamond in Ange's hand, Ms. Olympia asked,
"Is this a diamond created by Diancie?"
"You know, Ms. Olympia?" Ange asked, surprised.
Only then did he suddenly realize that Ms. Olympia hadn't shown any surprise after seeing Diancie, nor had she asked for Diancie's name.
So she had recognized Diancie's identity from the beginning?
Ms. Olympia nodded. "I have seen records of Diancie in ancient books, so I know a little about it."
Ange could not help but say, "Ms. Olympia is truly a knowledgeable person."
"You are too kind, Your Highness," Ms. Olympia smiled. She reached out and took the diamond. "Then I will accept your gift, Your Highness."
Ange said, "May our friendship shine like a diamond."
Ms. Olympia was stunned for a moment, then nodded with a smile. "May our friendship shine like a diamond."
After saying goodbye to Ms. Olympia, Ange led Diancie and the others out of the Anistar Gym. The sun had already set.
"It seems we won't be able to go home today. Let's stay in Anistar City for another night."
Diancie nodded. "I'll listen to you."
Passi~ Passi~ Passimian also nodded, showing no objection.
As for Baltoy, its opinion was ignored.
After reaching a consensus, Ange found a hotel to stay in.
He first took his Pokémon to the hotel restaurant for a wonderful meal, then took them for a walk in a nearby park as the sun set. They did not return to the hotel to rest until it was dark.
Back at the hotel, it was still early, so everyone was not in a hurry to rest.
Diancie took out needle and thread and sat on the sofa knitting a sweater.
Although it had already knitted a wool sweater for Ange, how could one be enough to wear? So it planned to knit a few more.
Passimian was mixing fruit juice, planning to make something for everyone to drink.
Baltoy was spinning around like a top, looking at Ange one moment and the other Pokémon the next.
It desperately wanted to go crazy, but was afraid of Ange's fist.
Volcanion was still watching its favorite soccer match.
As for Espathra, it lay quietly at Ange's feet, looking up and communicating with Ange.
When Ms. Olympia taught everyone how to meditate earlier, it wasn't outside, so Ange was teaching it how to meditate now.
Ange was teaching it while referring to the insights Ms. Olympia had given him.
As long as the storage drive was plugged into a phone, the content could be viewed directly.
Seeing Baltoy shaking and spinning there, Ange couldn't help but say, "If you have nothing to do, meditate. Don't you want to become stronger quickly?"
Baltoy paused, then silently climbed onto the bed, lay down, and assumed a comfortable position to begin meditating.
Ange glanced at it. "You certainly know how to enjoy yourself."
Bal bal~~ (Are you targeting me?)
Baltoy said dissatisfied.
Ange said, "Yes, did you just realize that?"
Baltoy: ...
Everyone was busy with their own things, and the room gradually became quiet.
Just as everyone was focused on their own business, Volcanion suddenly screamed.
"Damn it!!!"
Everyone was startled.
"What's wrong, Volcanion?" Ange asked, puzzled.
"My favorite Pokémon soccer star has retired!" Volcanion said angrily.
Ange asked, "Is it that Cinderace?"
Volcanion nodded.
Ange wondered, "I remember it was in its peak period, right? Why did it retire out of the blue?"
Volcanion shook its head. "How would I know? The team just issued a retirement statement without saying why."
Ange looked regretful. "That's a real pity."
Volcanion said, "Pity is an understatement, it's a huge loss for the soccer world!"
Ange said, "There's nothing we can do about it."
So, for the rest of the time until sleep, Volcanion was depressed, sighing and groaning, with no interest in watching the soccer match.
Considering it was in a bad mood, everyone did not blame it. After all, Volcanion truly liked Cinderace, and they often heard it talk about Cinderace.
When it was time, everyone started to sleep, and it finally quieted down.
The next morning, Volcanion was still in a very bad mood, and everyone's comfort was of no use.
Since everyone was ready to set off for home, they all subconsciously thought:
It's better to go home and let Magearna comfort it.