After locking onto the enemy's attack trajectory, Lucario suddenly swung his fist with overwhelming force, a punch enhanced by his fighting skills.
The stone diamond narrowed its eyes, choosing not to dodge but to face the attack head-on.
A fist glowing with orange-red aura collided with an arm shimmering like diamond, the two contrasting colors painting the whole field.
It felt as if an invisible line split the space between them, clearly defining their opposing forces.
When they made contact, there was a brief pause, then a powerful shockwave burst out.
The impact pushed Lucario back a step, but the stone diamond retreated two.
Standing firm, the stone's expression darkened as he muttered.
"Just a slight difference..."
Both fighters were nearly evenly matched, but the first clash revealed subtle gaps in strength.
The opponent only stepped back once, while he had to take two steps, clearly showing he was a bit weaker.
Meanwhile, Shi Qi's eyes fixed on the unusual Porygon Z, which moved with jet-like speed.
Its hands spread wide, releasing two streams of gas that quickly condensed
into massive ice cones.
Though made of gas, these cones were real attacks, sharp-tipped and radiating an icy wind that chilled the air around them.
Porygon Z's mechanical eyes gleamed as it hovered upside down, appearing to welcome the attack.
Unexpectedly, the two ice cones struck Porygon Z dead-on.
In an instant, countless ice shards exploded into the air, breaking into cubes of various sizes, many turning into mist.
The battlefield suddenly filled with water vapor, as if a light rain had just fallen.
Shi Qi frowned deeply, his usually indifferent face now showing clear confusion.
Compared to the enemy beside him, he seemed to be at a slight disadvantage.
Shiqi knew his attack was fast, precise, and ruthless; releasing gas, condensing it into ice, and striking the opponent all happened in the blink of an eye.
Yet, somehow, it felt too easy to handle.
'Given the strength behind my breath, it shouldn't have been so simple, right?'
At that moment, Shiqi's eyes caught sight of Porygon Z's body being pierced by the ice cone, then collapsing like a deflated balloon as it began to shrink.
Soon, the body turned translucent, leaving behind only a broken green dinosaur puppet, which itself started to fade away.
'What was going on? Could this be the true body of this mysterious creature?'
Shiqi was momentarily stunned, unable to make sense of it.
Then it hit him: General Skill: Substitute!
In the next instant, both Porygon Z and the puppet vanished completely, replaced by Gardevoir!
Gardevoir's psychic aura glowed intensely, as if it had been building up for a long time, waiting for this very moment to unleash its power.
Its graceful hands were surrounded by swirling pink aura, frozen in time and ready to strike.
Shiqi's pupils contracted sharply, and without hesitation, he released a large amount of gas, attempting to dodge the incoming attack.
But Gardevoir seemed to anticipate this move, activating another skill ahead of time, General Skill: Immobilization!
This technique is meant to restrict the opponent's actions, preventing the use of the last move for the next four turns.
In the real world, it manifested as a sudden paralysis in Shiqi's body, freezing him in place and robbing him of the perfect chance to escape.
"Gara!" the Gigantamaxed Gardevoir called out softly, its presence far more imposing than usual.
The aura in both hands built up into a powerful, overwhelming force, forming a fierce psychic attack, Mental Impact!
This is one of its strongest moves, and combined with the mental field it had prepared earlier, the attack was devastating.
Shiqi's eyes widened as he struggled to dodge or defend with his gas, but the immobilization made his body sluggish and unresponsive.
The gas that usually flowed freely around him now felt solid, trapping him in place and making any movement nearly impossible.
Feeling the intense fluctuations of aura around him, Shiqi's mind raced.
He clenched his rocky teeth tightly, wrestling with a tough decision.
If he faced this attack head-on without any defense, he'd be seriously injured, even if he survived.
Suddenly, with a loud crash, the battlefield erupted into chaos as countless rocks shattered into dust.
Among the chaos, a pink spirit floated conspicuously, its presence amplified by the spiritual aura filling the area, making the scene even more chaotic.
Gardevoir ignored the large crater on the ground and instead focused on the stone gas struggling in the opposite corner.
At that moment, the stone gas looked weak and diminished in size, especially compared to the two towering golden giants nearby.
Wisps of gray-white gas seeped from its body, signaling its weakening breath, much like a human's spirit fading.
Besides the massive crater, similar wisps of gray-white gas lingered within the recent attack zone.
Leaning against the rock wall, Shiqi's calmness from before was gone, replaced by a grim expression.
He glanced up at Gardevoir with a mix of fear and awe, as if staring down a monstrous predator.
His body and heart trembled.
Even now, he couldn't understand why the enemy switched positions so suddenly, not only preparing to attack but also using an unknown ability to control him and restrict his movement.
If Shiqi hadn't been ruthless enough to sacrifice part of his body, he wouldn't have escaped at all.
The strength behind that attack was overwhelming, far beyond what a creature of its level should be capable of.
Confused and emotionally charged, the gas emanating from Shiqi's body gradually shifted to a deep red.
This was just their first encounter, yet he had already suffered such a heavy blow, what would come next?
Despite his shock, Shiqi knew now wasn't the time to back down.
This was a battle.
Standing upright, he let out a slow breath.
"Huh."
Particles scattered through the murky air, drifting out with his exhale.
Suddenly, most of Shiqi's body transformed into gas, losing the solid form of a golden giant and becoming more like a swirling gas giant instead.
Inside, colors danced and shimmered, a vibrant, rainbow-like haze.
Different colors correspond to different gases, each capable of launching distinct attacks.
For instance, the ice pick attack just now was created using this method.
Shi Qi understood very well that simple attacks wouldn't work here; it had to be something truly effective.
Gardevoir frowned slightly as the aura of stone aura around it grew stronger, signaling that it was fully committing to the attack.
Still, Gardevoir didn't seem too worried, it was just a matter of exchanging a few more blows.
Before Shi Qi could react, Gardevoir waved its hands again, as if wiping two bright mirrors floating in front of it.
These "mirrors" weren't just in front of Gardevoir but also appeared before Lucario and Porygon Z.
Seeing Gardevoir make another move, Shi Qi stepped back cautiously, expecting the same attack again.
But it turned out to be something else entirely.
Gardevoir had activated a mega skill: the light wall, a powerful reflective barrier.
Gardevoir clearly knew its role in the team.