Compared to the sharp, whip-like crack of Vibrava's tail, the sound of a cat's paw hitting a human face was much duller, muffled by its thick paw pads. To Nova, it didn't even sound like a slap. It sounded more like Meowscarada had thrown a heavy punch straight into Diane's face.
Diane might have looked human, but her body wasn't nearly tough enough to stand up to a Meowscarada with Gold-Tier talent. The hit nearly sent the 1.9-meter-tall beauty flying. She spun around three times like a top before finally losing her balance and dropping onto the sand.
The moment the slap landed, Meowscarada didn't linger. Worried the two Pokémon guarding Diane might recover and gang up on it, it chose to strike and retreat at once.
It used Ally Switch again, swapping places with a chunk of sandstone Nova had placed nearby earlier.
Gilbert reacted quickly and made his ruling.
"Meowscarada is disqualified for breaking the rules by making contact with the opposing Trainer! This round goes to Diane!"
Diane lay flat on the sand for a while before she could recover. She slowly pushed herself up onto her elbows and knees, trying to stand while letting out an angry, whimpering cry.
"You old man! You call this touching?!"
Before Gilbert could respond, Nova cut in first. "Hey, hey, watch your tone! Is everyone from Purple Dragon Gym this rude? Enough with the 'old man' already, show him some respect and call him Senior!"
Gilbert gave Nova a sideways look, wondering if the boy was using this moment to vent his own irritation, since he'd repeated Diane's insult twice instead of once.
Before Gilbert could think it over further, Nova accepted the ruling without argument and threw out his next Poké Ball.
This confirmed Nova's third Pokémon: his trusted ace, Nidoking.
Like Archaludon, Nidoking also belonged to the Monster Egg Group and carried the "Very Large Frame" trait.
The two giants now faced each other across the field. Since Archaludon had already advanced earlier, the distance between them was now under fifty meters, close enough that a single charge would bring them into direct contact.
One stood 3.8 meters tall, wrapped in tough natural armor. The other stood 4.2 meters tall, covered in hard alloy plating. Waiting silently for the match to resume, the two looked like they belonged on a giant-monster movie set.
In the quieting arena, a girl's crying stood out sharply.
Diane could no longer focus on commanding Archaludon. After taking several hard hits, her face had swollen up like a large steamed bun.
If her own brother's slap had been held back out of hesitation, and Vibrava's tail strike had lacked precision from inexperience, then Meowscarada's slap held nothing back. It was steady, controlled, and full of feeling.
For a cat that usually preached "love is the greatest power," turning into a furious, merciless little troublemaker took real effort. No one else could have delivered a slap quite that perfect.
The force had left the blood vessels under Diane's delicate skin wide open, and her left cheek was now deeply swollen and red, like a ripe peach had grown right out of her face.
Though certainly not one anyone would want to take a bite of.
As the sun began to set, Diane looked out across the field and saw Nidoking's huge shape, backlit into a dark silhouette, its long tail swinging back and forth impatiently.
It seemed to be warning her: See this tail? In a moment, I'm going to swing it right into your other cheek.
That thing is way too big. It'll actually kill me!
Diane quickly threw both hands up to cover her cheeks, as if the attack were about to land any second.
"Can you all please stop hitting my face?!" she cried out sharply.
The sentence made little sense, but Nova understood exactly what she meant.
With a grin that practically begged to be slapped himself, he decided to tease her further.
"Sorry, Diane, that's not really how this works! There's an old saying, when you fight someone, you go for the face; when you scold someone, you expose their weak points!"
"You'd better be careful. Nidoking's paws are about the size of rice cookers. Imagine those landing on someone. Yikes, that's a lot of bruising."
Just as Gilbert was about to raise his flag and start the third match, one side of the arena suddenly burst into loud, dramatic sobbing.
"You're all... bullying me!"
"Waaaah!"
Nova was stunned. It was the first time he had ever seen a 1.9-meter-tall "elegant beauty" sitting on the sand, kicking her legs and wailing like a child.
Gilbert was equally stunned. It was the first time he had seen anyone from Purple Dragon Gym reduced to acting like a three-year-old with absolutely no dignity left.
Mort was stunned too. It was the first time he had watched a proper Pokémon battle turn into a spinning contest.
The trouble was, the one responsible was his own student. If word got out, Mort's old friends would surely say he hadn't raised his disciple properly, that he was some careless old teacher who never taught the boy manners. Mort felt genuinely wronged. He'd picked this kid up off the road; he certainly hadn't taught him any of this.
Even Archaludon on the field looked baffled. Diane had a difficult personality and treated her Pokémon coldly, whether in training or simply spending time with them. As a result, her team wasn't exactly slacking off, but they weren't exactly devoted either. They were just doing what was required.
The mood among Diane's Pokémon was nothing like the bond between Nova and his partners. Hers worked more like employees clocking in and out. If their raw talent and power hadn't been so exceptional, Diane wouldn't have gotten away with acting so arrogant for this long.
Watching Diane throw a tantrum and roll around on the sand, Archaludon turned toward the equally massive Pokémon across from it and exchanged a look.
Archaludon: Buddy, are we really still doing this?
Nidoking: Not sure. You want to?
Archaludon: Standing out here in this heat feels a little pointless, honestly.
Nidoking: Fair. Should we just head back?
Archaludon: Deal.
With that, both giants took three steps back, as though they'd silently agreed on a ceasefire.
Nova, feeling a bit lost himself now, turned to look at Mort, hoping the old man's years of experience might offer some guidance.