"Shall we start now?"
Axel only paused for a moment, then refocused his attention on Gardevoir.
Whether the history was authentic or not had little to do with him. After all, he planned to leave early the next morning, so he certainly would not have much intersection with this world.
Rather than worry about other things, it was better to fight a few more times and try to trigger a trait as soon as possible.
"Alright," Diao Chan answered, stepping to one side of the ring.
She had just watched Gardevoir's battle and, like everyone else, felt a bit curious about Axel's Gardevoir.
From the previous fight, as a Gardevoir trainer herself, she could easily tell Axel's Gardevoir wasn't very high level; its strength lay in battle technique.
Fighting a Gardevoir like that might also give her own Gardevoir some useful insights.
["Master... I'm going,"] Gardevoir loosened the hand looped through Axel's and walked toward the ring.
Suddenly Axel gripped her hand again and placed a small box holding a Toxic Orb into her palm.
Gardevoir: "???"
She already had a Fairy Plate; why would she need this thing too?
Axel grinned, "Just in case. Isn't that safer?"
"Throw this at the start. It'll save you some effort during the fight."
"We'll probably be battling a lot over the next two days. I don't want you to get tired."
Gardevoir's mouth twitched, but she obediently held the box.
'No wonder Master said there are no restrictions earlier, he was waiting to use this.'
Seeing Axel hand the item to Gardevoir, the corner of Diao Chan's mouth under her veil lifted slightly.
'So even Axel's Gardevoir doesn't feel confident about defeating my Gardevoir, huh?'
But thinking about it, that made sense. There was a gulf in levels; if Axel hadn't made extra preparations, that would have been strange.
Diao Chan considered for a moment and reminded him, "Held items are always external. Your focus should be on your own abilities."
"If you're ready, let's begin."
Axel blinked, "You won't be mad if I use more held items, right?"
Diao Chan nodded, "Of course not!"
Axel brightened and continued, "Then don't run away later."
Diao Chan crossed her arms, "Even if you run, I won't."
"Then pinky promise!"
Axel jogged over and hooked pinkies with Diao Chan before she could react, afraid she might change her mind.
The next moment, the battle began.
As both sides took their positions, an enigmatic aura flickered around Diao Chan's Gardevoir.
In that state, Axel could clearly sense some of that Gardevoir's emotions.
At the same time, his own thoughts were slightly scattered and sluggish.
"So this is the power of Mind Sync?", Axel marveled.
Under the influence of that trait, Axel had even for a moment felt like he was a Pokémon, almost waiting to be commanded by his own Gardevoir.
A strange power.
Axel admired it briefly, then threw himself fully into the fight.
"Gardevoir, use Thrown Item!"
"Huh?", Diao Chan froze, even forgetting to have her white Gardevoir attack first.
She had seen Axel hand the held item to the pink Gardevoir and hadn't minded its using a held item to buff itself.
But the problem was the fight had just begun and Axel's Gardevoir hadn't even used the item on itself before he flung it?
The next moment her face darkened.
As the box was blown open in midair by a gust, a purple, glimmering orb came into Diao Chan's sight.
It was a Toxic Orb.
And judging by its appearance it was of rare quality, even if her Gardevoir touched it she would be inflicted with severe poison.
Diao Chan wrinkled her nose at Axel.
'No wonder Zhang Liao and Xiahou Dun screamed earlier, this guy is dirty.'
'But... since it hit my Gardevoir, he's actually messed up.'
"Gardevoir, don't dodge. Use Calm Mind," Diao Chan thought it through clearly. Her Gardevoir had the Synchronize trait.
Being hit by a Toxic Orb wasn't a problem; the opponent would also fall into poison status.
[A/N: Checked the data: Toxic Orb won't trigger Synchronize if simply held, but being thrown should trigger it.]
While that happened, she could free-ride a Calm Mind boost.
Her Gardevoir already had the level advantage over Axel's.
Once Special Attack and Special Defense rose a stage, how would the opponent manage?
"Gaaardevoir~", The white Gardevoir nodded, gently closed her eyes, and a mysterious aura appeared around her.
The moment the Toxic Orb touched her, two upward rings of light flickered across her body.
Calm Mind completed, Special Attack and Special Defense both raised!
At the same time, a mysterious rune flashed on her body and an invisible tether linked her to Axel's Gardevoir.
The poison's power traced along the tether, as if it were going to synchronize both their conditions.
Diao Chan smiled at Axel, intending to see the expression of this dirty tactic man now.
But the next moment she was stunned.
She clearly saw that the poison transferred by the Synchronize trait did not affect Axel's Gardevoir at all.
Those energies hadn't even reached it before an invisible shield in front of Axel's Gardevoir blocked them.
"When... when did you use Mystic Guard?"
"Just now," Axel smiled at Diao Chan, "Your Calm Mind is slow; I used a move in the middle of it, that's normal, right?"
Diao Chan: "..."
"Gardevoir, use Mystical Fire to strike hard!"
'What of the poison?'
She didn't believe Axel's Gardevoir could stand up to her Calm Mind-trained one.
But what followed showed her the shameless tactics of trainers from later times.
"Gardevoir, hold!"
"Gardevoir, Hypnosis!"
"Gardevoir, Substitute!"
"Gardevoir, Heal Pulse!"
No matter how Diao Chan's Gardevoir changed moves, Axel kept commanding his Gardevoir to use those few skills.
By the time the white Gardevoir was panting and nearly out of stamina, Axel's Gardevoir was still almost full of energy.
Just as Axel planned to have Gardevoir finish it with Moonblast, his tear glands suddenly tightened and two clear tears uncontrollably ran from the corners of his eyes.
Axel instinctively glanced at the opponent. The white Gardevoir was glaring at him, anger crushing down like a tide, filling his mind.
It was this force that made him feel indescribable fury.
Axel: "..."
'No, you made me cry from anger at myself?'
'White Gardevoir, I've noted this grudge!'
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