Ash turned to look at Steven, who had already changed into dry clothes.
"But before that, Mr. Steven, please battle me!"
Serena and the others were used to this kind of enthusiasm by now.
"Yay, yay, battle, battle!" Hoopa perked right back up the moment it heard the word "battle."
"In that case, Diancie, why don't we take him up on it?" Steven said with a light chuckle, glancing down at Diancie.
"Me?" Diancie blinked, pointing at itself in surprise.
Steven nodded gently. Diancie still had very little battle experience, and this seemed like a good chance to change that.
Then something occurred to him. "Ash, let's make it a two-on-two battle."
Ash blinked. "Two-on-two?"
"You can use two Pokémon," Steven said, holding up two fingers with a smile.
"All right! I wouldn't want it any other way!" Ash agreed at once, grinning.
Steven wanted to see Pikachu in action, but he was also curious to see the bond Ash shared with his Greninja. Before the thought could settle, though, he caught himself — hadn't that bond not yet awakened at this point? If he remembered right, it was still some months off. Perhaps he'd gotten ahead of himself.
"Miss Meray, would it be all right if we battled nearby?" Steven asked, turning to Meray, who sat watching from a chair.
"Of course," Meray said warmly, with no intention of talking the two of them out of it.
Steven and Ash took their places on opposite ends of a stone-paved clearing in front of the house.
"Go, Pikachu!" Ash pointed forward, and Pikachu leapt down from his shoulder, landing squarely in front of him.
"Pika!" Pikachu looked thrilled to be battling.
"Diancie." Steven glanced down at the small Pokémon by his feet.
"Mm." Diancie nodded and hopped onto the field.
"Pikachu, let's show Mr. Steven what we can do!" Ash called out. "Quick Attack!"
"Pika!"
Pikachu's small legs blurred into motion, and a streak of white light shot across the field at incredible speed.
"Diamond Storm!"
Diancie stretched out its hands, a faint pink glow gathering between them. A swirl of pink diamonds burst outward, spinning into a small storm that raced toward Pikachu. Pikachu dodged nimbly to the side, slipping past the attack untouched.
Had Diancie let the Diamond Storm expand the way a true Twister would, it might have done more than just block Pikachu's charge — it could have folded back into a spiraling shockwave the moment Pikachu came to a stop, catching it off guard entirely.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
Electricity crackled and hissed around Pikachu's body. An instant later, a bolt of golden lightning shot toward Diancie.
"Light Screen."
Diancie raised its small hands toward the incoming bolt, and a shimmering pink wall sprang up out of nowhere, absorbing the Thunderbolt completely.
"Build up speed with Quick Attack, then hit it with Iron Tail!" Ash commanded with a sweep of his hand.
Steven smiled to himself. Ash really had grown since the last time — whenever that had been, from his perspective.
Though the Light Screen had already faded, its protective effect still lingered, dulling the power of special attacks against Diancie for a little while longer. Knowing this, Ash had switched immediately to a physical move instead — and Iron Tail, being a Steel-type attack, would hit Diancie especially hard, given its Rock and Fairy typing.
"Stay calm. Use Diamond Storm, then shape it into a Sacred Diamond to block," Steven said evenly.
Diancie looked up as Pikachu leapt into the air, its tail hardening into gleaming steel. With a small motion of its hand, Diancie formed a massive crystalline shield in front of itself.
Bang!
Pikachu's Iron Tail slammed into the Sacred Diamond with a heavy thud. A shield strong enough to hold off attacks from Legendary Pokémon could certainly handle one Iron Tail from Pikachu — however fearsome Ash liked to joke that move had become.
If Pikachu ever learns Slash on top of everything else, Steven thought idly, I'll have to ask Arceus myself whether it forgot to grant this particular Pikachu some kind of divine title.
A moment later, the pink storm swept outward and knocked Pikachu tumbling across the ground. It rolled several times before scrambling back up, shaking off the impact and turning back toward Diancie with fresh determination.
"You okay, Pikachu?"
"Pika!"
Rather than press the attack, Steven spoke gently to Diancie. "In a battle, you can't focus on only one thing at a time. You need to think calmly about what your opponent might do next. Remember what we practiced — you have to read your opponent's movements before deciding how to respond. That's what battle experience really means."
Diancie nodded slowly, taking the words in.
No trainer could spell out every single thought mid-battle — doing so would only slow them down and give the opponent room to strike and retreat before they could react. Between a trainer and a Pokémon who truly understood each other, though, their instincts tended to move in step, guided by habit and mutual understanding rather than words. Just as it had a moment ago: the instant Steven gave the command, Pikachu had already begun forming Iron Tail. If Diancie had hesitated even a little, the Sacred Diamond might not have finished forming in time, and Iron Tail would have shattered straight through it — landing a blow four times as effective as it should have been.
"Um…" Serena watched the battle with a puzzled frown. "Is Mr. Steven…"
Clemont pushed up his glasses, his voice thoughtful. "It looks less like a battle and more like a coaching session."
"That's kind of unfair to Ash," Bonnie chimed in.
"No, it's not! Ash is just waiting for Mr. Steven to finish explaining things, that's all!" Serena huffed, cheeks puffed out.
Steven glanced up at Ash, who was still waiting patiently, and offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that, Ash. Let's continue."
"It's fine — this just makes it more interesting!" Ash said, clearly unbothered. If anything, Diancie's performance seemed to be improving thanks to Steven's guidance, and that suited him just fine.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
"Pika!"
Pikachu surged forward again.
"Moonblast — but just enough to light things up!"
Diancie gathered a glowing pink orb above its head, letting it flare with a bright but weakened light. The sudden flash still forced Pikachu to shut its eyes, stumble, and pull back.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
Diancie hurled the orb forward. With its eyes still closed, Pikachu fired a burst of electricity blindly ahead. One bolt collided directly with the incoming Moonblast.
Boom!
Both attacks, weakened as they were, met in a small burst of light and sound.
Steven nodded and turned to Diancie. "That's what it means to use a move creatively. Now — let's see your true strength."
"Diancie!" It nodded firmly, hands beginning to glow pink once more.
Ash grinned and raised his voice. "Pikachu, give it everything you've got! Quick Attack!"
…