It was the fifth day of the Ever Grande Conference.
Today marked the battle for the semifinals.
This time, Steven's opponent hadn't withdrawn from the competition.
Both trainers were already in position in the main arena.
Steven's team, aside from Empoleon who remained in the room looking after Honedge, had only five Pokémon available for battle.
Though in the end, perhaps only one or two Pokémon would actually see combat.
Among them, only Aggron and Metagross were holding items—both carried a Mega Evolution Stone.
The items on the remaining three Pokémon had all been removed beforehand.
"Today is the fifth day of this year's competition. Who will stand on tomorrow's final stage?!" the announcer's voice echoed through the stadium.
"The competitors in this match are: the unstoppable favorite to win the championship, who advanced to the semifinals by only sending out one Empoleon! Steven Stone from Mossdeep City!"
"And… overcoming countless difficulties, striving hard to reach this point with no regrets, Ami from Saffron City in the Kanto Region!"
Steven looked at the girl standing opposite him. She had long brown hair and wore the uniform of Saffron Academy.
This was the first time he had encountered a female competitor in the tournament.
Perhaps she wasn't particularly skilled at unregulated battles, so she had simply come to compete in the Hoenn Ever Grande Conference instead.
But thinking about it carefully, the trainers in this generation were quite unlucky.
The Indigo Plateau Conference had Red and Green, the Ever Grande Conference had Steven, and the Lily of the Valley Conference had Cynthia…
Calculating the timeline, the future Lumiose Conference would probably also have Diantha competing around this time.
It seemed only the Icirrus Conference could offer these trainers a genuine chance to contend for the Champion title.
As for the Galar Region's Champion Cup…
Did you also want to try your luck against Leon's Charizard?
Steven and Ami shook hands in the center of the arena.
They exchanged no words before returning to their respective positions.
"Ever Grande Conference semifinals, Steven versus Ami! The match—"
"Begin!"
With the referee's command, Steven and Ami simultaneously sent out their first Pokémon.
"Yo!!"
Skarmory spread its metallic wings in the air, calmly observing its opponent.
"Nido!"
As soon as the entirely blue Nidoqueen appeared, it opened its mouth and roared at Skarmory with fierce intensity.
"Stealth Rock!"
Steven and Ami shouted their commands simultaneously.
Surprisingly, both trainers had chosen the Stealth Rock move!
Skarmory turned gracefully in the air, scattering several energy-charged rocks which, upon landing on the field, absorbed the ground's stones to form Stealth Rock!
Nidoqueen stomped its foot heavily, and several rocks floated around it before scattering to various parts of the battlefield.
Both sides' Stealth Rock merely flashed briefly before disappearing into the field.
Steven chuckled lightly. "That's more like it."
"Spikes!"
"Ice Beam!"
The energy rocks weren't enough. Skarmory flapped its wings, scattering a field of energy spikes across the ground.
Nidoqueen opened its mouth, condensing a ball of ice-blue energy from which a winding ray shot out.
Skarmory didn't dodge, enduring the Ice Beam directly. It merely flapped its wings, and the ice shards that had formed on its body fell off harmlessly.
Immediately, it scattered another layer of spikes across the ground.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Roost."
Seeing Nidoqueen's body burst with crackling electricity, Skarmory quickly descended to the field.
It folded its wings and began recovering its energy.
Boom!
A powerful electric current struck Skarmory, but it didn't cause much damage to the Steel-type Pokémon, which had temporarily lost its Flying type due to Roost.
"Come back, Skarmory."
Steven recalled Skarmory, then looked down at the Riolu beside him.
"Go, Riolu."
"Rio!"
Riolu nodded and quickly ran onto the battlefield.
The Stealth Rock laid at the start of the match began to appear, gathering toward Riolu.
Bang!
Several rocks struck Riolu, then disappeared after a single impact.
"Nidoqueen! Earth Power!" Ami shouted.
"Quick Attack!"
Nidoqueen stomped its foot hard!
Riolu's figure flashed, constantly changing positions as it advanced toward Nidoqueen.
It was temporarily unclear whether Nidoqueen's ability was Poison Point or Sheer Force, but Rivalry could probably be ruled out.
The ground vibrated, and a rock suddenly protruded without warning, but Riolu deftly avoided it with a jump.
"Vacuum Wave!"
Riolu, while in mid-air, threw a punch at Nidoqueen. The force of the punch carried an invisible energy wave that struck its target.
Bang—
Nidoqueen retreated a few steps before steadying itself.
"Sludge Wave!"
"Detect!"
Nidoqueen let out a long roar toward the sky, and the surrounding ground seemed to turn liquid, rising slightly like a wave.
As it spread outward, the color of the earth also changed to purple.
Riolu's gaze sharpened, and seeing the oncoming Sludge Wave, it chose to leap into the air.
At this moment, it presented a good opportunity for Nidoqueen to attack.
"Rock Slide!"
Nidoqueen raised a hand, controlling several rocks to float in the air before sending them flying toward Riolu.
"Quick Attack!"
Riolu watched the rocks flying toward it, nimbly leaping among them!
Steven also roughly determined Nidoqueen's ability at this point.
Most of Nidoqueen's moves had additional effects, and their power was considerable.
If it wasn't holding a Life Orb, then it could only be Sheer Force!
"Bullet Punch!"
Riolu used a rock as a stepping stone, rapidly closing the distance with Nidoqueen.
It unleashed a punch, its small body erupting with powerful force!
Bang!
A punch struck Nidoqueen squarely in the face, knocking it to the ground.
"Nidoqueen, come on! Get up and use Poison Jab!"
"Ice Punch!"
Riolu, using the momentum from its previous attack, moved behind Nidoqueen.
Just as Nidoqueen was supporting itself with its hands on the ground, trying to get up—
Riolu raised its frost-covered fist and slammed it into Nidoqueen's back.
Bang—
Nidoqueen fell forward, completely unconscious.
"Nidoqueen is unable to battle! Riolu wins!"
"Come back, Nidoqueen." Ami said softly to the Poké Ball in her hand.
Now her side of the field had Stealth Rock and two layers of Spikes, so her primary goal was to clear the entry hazards.
"Go, Sandslash!"
Ami quickly sent out her second Pokémon.
It was a yellow Pokémon resembling a hedgehog, with many brown, spiky patches of hardened skin on its back.
"Rapid Spin!"
"Swords Dance."
Steven didn't stop his opponent from clearing the hazards, choosing instead to set up.
Four sharp swords appeared around Riolu, beginning to spin around it.
As soon as Sandslash appeared, it was caught by Stealth Rock and pierced by the spikes scattered across the ground.
It was fortunate that Sandslash resisted Rock-type moves; otherwise, it would have lost a significant amount of HP.
Sandslash curled into a ball and began spinning rapidly.
The airflow generated by Rapid Spin cleared all the Stealth Rock and Spikes on its side of the field!
Meanwhile, Riolu delightedly completed one stage of Swords Dance.
"Ice Punch!"
Riolu once again raised its frost-covered fist, charging toward Sandslash.
After one Swords Dance boost, Riolu's Ice Punch was already powerful enough to defeat Sandslash in a single hit.
The difference in raw power was evident here.
It even had the potential to sweep through the entire team!
Ami also knew that the Ground-type Sandslash couldn't withstand this Ice Punch.
"Endure!"