My Little Pokémon: Grander World

Equestria. Las Pegasus. The Grand Festival. Day.

As the next day of the Grand Festival arrived, the battles on A Block would continue, and even then, Sweetie Belle succeeded with a ton of effort put in, securing a spot in the semi-finals. As for Diamond Tiara, her turn came up next on the C block and due to Gelidity passing hers, she was put on the C Block, being up next to take her on.

Diamond Tiara and Gelidity would step out on the stage. The two were now facing one another. Diamond was determined to not lose, not against Gelidity. "Alright. This is where I beat you a second time and move on."

Gelidity simply gave her a smile. She wasn't too worried. She was just happy that she had managed to get this far. The whole Grand Festival was just fun to her, even though she was in the middle of a serious match right now. She was going to give it her all and try her hardest to defeat Diamond Tiara.

The young filly knew that Diamond Tiara defeated her with a surprising tactic the first time, so she'd try another surprising tactic just to gain the edge. "We'll just see. Won't we?" Her voice was smooth as always. The young coordinator had nothing to worry about. It was all just fun.

"Alright, girls! Bring out your Pokemon!" Marian exclaimed.

"Go, Liepard! Minior!" Diamond Tiara threw two Poke Balls out and out of them emerged her partner Liepard along with the rather new Minior on her team.

"Liepard!"

"Minior!"

For Gelidity, she brought out someone other than Alolan Ninetales. Out emerged Mawile and Lilligant. "Mawile!"

"Lilligant!"

Sweetie Belle wanted to watch this battle more than anything. To see these two go up against each other again would reveal just how far Diamond Tiara has gotten so far and if Gelidity could defeat Diamond Tiara this time. These were her friends after all.

Turning up late due to the long distance between Equestria and Seaquestria, Queen Novo had finally arrived at the Grand Festival, along with Skystar. She managed to find a seat and sit down to watch her daughter perform.

"Ugh! I can't believe we were so late. We've probably missed out on so much." Novo complained, wearing a disguise. "I hope we're not too late to watch the rest of it all."

"Doesn't look like it. Look at that." Skystar turned her attention to the battle that was about to begin.

"5 Minutes on the Clock! Begin!" Marian called for it to finally start.

"Liepard, use Dark Pulse!"

"Lie...Liepard!" From her mouth, a beam of darkness was shot into the air, breaking off into smaller orbs of darkness. This was Minior's chance to capitilizie.

"Minior! Use Gravity!

"Min-Min!" The orb Pokemon's eyes flashed and the gravity in the air began to shift, keeping the orbs afloat while surrounding them in a purple light. Afterwards, Minior would ascend, hovering high above all the orbs.

"Now, use Power Gem!"

"Min! Minior!" From its body, multiple sparkling rays that resemble gemstones would hit all of the orbs, merging with them. These Dark Orbs would have their insides sparkle brilliantly while the outside remained deep and dark. They would spin all around, dancing through the air with a mesmerizing glow to them.

"Oooh...!" The crowd gawked at this dazzling sight. It looked like they were starting into the night sky itself, seeing the stars shine. This caused Gelidity's points to drop.

"And now! Bring it down, Minior!"

"Minior!" Minior brought down every single orb as they started raining down like meteors, coming in hot and hitting the stage with such force that a cloud of dust was made. The attack was heading for both Mawile and Lilligant. The dust would spread and soon, a cloud of it filled the stage.

Gelidity wasn't worried. She was able to come up with an idea in her head. Something that'd work wonders in a situation like this.

"Mawile, Lilligant, both of you! Hold one another!"

"Lil!" "Mawile!" Lilligant and Mawile would embrace one another as tight as they could, making sure they held on for a long period of time.

"Spin in the air! Use Petal Blizzard, Lilligant!"

Both of them would ascend and spin around rapidly in the air, creating a gust of wind as they would blow back the dust, exposing the attacks to the entire audience. Out of the dust, an array of spiralling petals would emerge, carrying the orbs as it was now heading for Minior. "Lil!"

Minior had no choice but to dodge the attacks as the orbs that were made with Dark Pulse, Power Gem and Gravity, flying through the air as the petals followed. "Min, Minior!" The meteor-like orbs came straight for Minior.

"Use Psychic, quick!"

"Minior!"

The meteor-like orbs that were made of Power Gem and Dark Pulse would be suspended by the Psychic, soon coming together into one massive ball of energy as they all combined. It would then spin in place, causing the petals that were coming for Minior to swirl around the sphere. After that, Minior would then fire it up in the air.

"Whoa! Look at that!" The audience gasped in awe, looking at the gigantic orb of petals, Darkness and Gem. It looked like a planet with an array of beautiful rings, the colours of the attacks shining inside. The planet-like ball would continue spinning as it went high into the sky, almost vanishing.

"Send it back at them, Liepard! Use Copycat!"

"Min! Min!" The Meteor Pokemon used Gravity on it to make it fall at a much faster speed. It came straight for both of them. As for Liepard, she increased its speed by copying Psychic, pushing it further at greater speeds.

"Mawile! Catch it with Vice Grip!"

"Mawile!" Mawile's jaw would extend as her second set of teeth were aiming to grab the gigantic ball of attacks. The second set of teeth was glowing with a red light. With her maw wide open, she forcefully bit down on the attack, catching it in her grip and trying to hold onto it as it would spin around.

"She caught that?!" Diamond Tiara gasped while leaning back. Her face expressed her surprise at how strong Gelidity's Mawile truly was, not letting her get away with a surprise attack.

"Shoot it back, Mawile!" She yelled out. With the might of Mawile, she would send the ball of energy flying straight for Liepard.

"I don't think so! Liepard, use Slash!"

"Lie!" The attack would be cut in half with Liepard's sharp claws. It split apart as a wave of energy and a shower of petals flew outwards from the attack. This caused Diamond Tiara's points to go down by a little, and so did Gelidity's points.

"Whew..." Diamond Tiara sighed, being thankful for the quick decision. "That could've gone badly in my favour...But geez, she's still so good. I didn't get to catch her off guard like last time."

"Oh, she's starting to look nervous down there...!" Spoiled Rich was on the edge of her seat as she watched her daughter's battle unfold. Diamond Tiara was putting up quite the performance. It was amazing to see. But what also surprised Spoiled was the fact that her daughter was able to pull this off, having the skill to even make Gelidity look nervous.

"Phew...That was close." Gelidity let out a relieved sigh.

"Oh, now, come on. It's only the first few seconds." Filthy Rich tried calming his wife down, hoping to make her see that there was still time to go. The battle was just getting started and there was a ton of things Diamond Tiara could do.

Sweetie Belle watched intently, seeing what her friends could do at their absolute best. And so far, as to be expected, both are truly formidable and are able to counter one another.

"Let's try this now! Liepard! Night Slash! Minior, use Power Gem!"

"Lie!" Liepard rushed in, her claws being coated in darkness once more, with Minior following close by, firing a ray of light that was aimed right at the both of them. The ray of light split into multiple rays as Liepard would slash at each of them, making them all scatter and move about the area, creating a lightshow of colours as each one of these beams were going everywhere.

"Lilligant! Petal Blizzard! Mawile! Metal Burst!"

"Lil! Lilli!" By spinning around, Lilligant would unleash a fierce whirlwind of petals that would ascend into a tower formation. And jumping right in the middle of that was Mawile as she was now being surrounded in the petals. The Petal Blizzard soon began to move and flow, heading towards Liepard. As for Minior, the petals would soon reach the Pokemon and surround her as well.

And thanks to Metal Burst, Mawile unleashed a plethora of light energy that coated her body and spread throughout the blizzard, making the entire thing turn from pink to silver. This caused the attack to move in swiftly and cut through Liepard, Minior and even Lilligant. "Liepard!" "Min!"

"Li-Liepard!"

"Min!" Liepard and Minior would take a hit from the attack as Silver Petals surrounded the stage, shining beautifully while spinning around.

Diamond Tiara's points would fall, causing her to grit her teeth. She wanted to make sure she kept her cool, taking a few moments to think of a strategy. She'd then smile and have a determined expression. "Copycat!"

Liepard's eyes would flash as she locked onto Lilligant, deciding to mimic her Petal Blizzard while she was being struck by the same attack. Out of her body came a powerful storm of petals that were heading for Gelidity's Pokemon. This time, however, the attack was coated in a veil of darkness, making them a dark red colour.

The two Petal Blizzards of Light and Dark clashed against one another as a shockwave was made. Everyone watched in awe at this clash of Light and Dark. So far, they looked to be rather evenly matched. But the real question was who could keep this going for longer.

Gelidity looked to be having the time of her life, smiling as always while Diamond Tiara continued to struggle with keeping the attack going. However, she wasn't out of it yet. "Minior! Meteor Beam!"

"Minior!" Minior gave assistance, ascending into the air and charging up all the energy of the cosmos within its body, aiming right for the clashing storms. With a powerful attack, it would shoot a giant ray straight for both Mawile and Lilligant, cutting through both attacks.

Both of them would be struck as the attack carried them through the air and crashed them into the floor. The impact was strong enough to send the two flying far back, almost sending them out of the stage. The attack would soon vanish as Mawile and Lilligant would slowly rise up.

The aftermath were beautiful petals slowly dropping like snowflakes, each in a Light and Dark colouring as both the attacks had been destroyed. Gelidity's points took a hit from this as she gasped. She then narrowed her eyes as she thought to herself. "She's still great. Greater than before. But..."

"At this rate, they'll go down by knockout! The attack was heavy!" Rainbow Dash yelled while also looking at the screen. Both had their points drop, but it looked like Gelidity's points were lowering a little faster.

Diamond Tiara smiled. This was a perfect chance for her. She was hoping that she'd be able to win by knockout. If not, she could just use up all of her time to make sure Gelidity's points were drained. Either way, she'd win if Gelidity didn't come up with a strategy of her own.

"I just have to keep this up. That talk we had earlier today before we stepped out. You knew how seriously I would take this, Gelidity. I'd take you on as if it were like the first time I went up against you." Diamond Tiara spoke."

"Mhm. I know." Gelidity nodded in understanding. Prior to this, the two of them had a talk at the waiting room once they saw that they would be going up against each other.

15 Minutes ago.

The duo stood in the waiting room once they saw the matchups on this bracket. They looked at each other, a smile forming on both their faces. Gelidity knew she would have a tough battle ahead.

"I would say I'm terrified by this but...I beat you once. Not meaning to brag or anything."

"I remember. It surprised me. I hadn't lost until then. And...I'm just happy that I'm up against a good opponent." She smiled.

"I guess so. Win or lose, seeing you perform is satisfying. As for me, I'd prefer to win. My dad and especially my mom won't mind if I lose, but it'll feel good either way. I want to make them even more proud by winning this entire contest."

"I feel the same. Everypony from my town. They showed up here." Gelidity revealed that everypony from her cold hometown were present at the stands to watch her. "I don't want to disappoint. But they all don't care."

"Your entire hometown is here?! T-That's a lot... You're not even scared a bit that you might lose?" Diamond Tiara blinked in surprise.

"No." Gelidity shook her head. "Where I'm from...winning or losing is fun. We just enjoy it. That is how my town is. And it never changes. I love that..."

"That sounds like it could've been a life I could've lived. But I'm satisfied with where I am." Diamond Tiara grinned. She couldn't imagine what it'd be like living there. But even if that was a life she could've lived, she preferred living the one she had and how it has changed. "Either way, when we go out there, I'll make it feel like the first time we took each other on. That means, I intend to really surprise you."

"I look forward to it, friend."

Gelidity reopened her eyes after reminiscing about that moment, seeing that Diamond Tiara wanted her to really struggle, but also to shine as brightly as possible. And that was the same thing she wanted to do. She was glad she had a worthy opponent in the Grand Festival.

"But now...It's my turn to surprise you." Gelidity said before pulling something out of her mane. From it, to the shock of Diamond Tiara and everyone else, she took out a ring with a Mega Stone in it. It was attached to her horn. "Mawile! Mega Evolve!"

"H-Hold on, WHAT?!" Diamond Tiara shouted. Her eyes widened and she took steps back. Her mind had been shattered in an instant upon the sight of this.

After placing the ring on, the Mega Stone would sparkle and glow, the area dimming in a flash of white light as Mawile began to undergo her transformation, Mega Evolving for the first time. "Mawile! Mega Evolve!"

"Maw! Mawile!" Mawile cried out as a powerful surge of energy enveloped her body. Mawile's second pair of jaws were growing larger and stronger as the Mega Evolution energy gave off a glorious glow for all to see. And out of that stupendous light, out emerged Mega Mawile.

"Oho! Mega Evolution!" Marian gawked with her eyes wide. "The first time we're seeing it here!"

"Mega Evolution!" Everyone said in unison.

"I-I didn't see this one coming...!" Diamond Tiara pointed to her, shouting. This was too surprising. Mawile was looking way more powerful than before. She was sure that this was the ace up Gelidity's sleeve considering Mawile was compatible with Mega Evolution. The question was how she was going to overcome this juggernaut. "It's not time to panic yet! I can still win this!"

"Hm." Gelidity smiled as her eyes sparkled, ready to continue from here. "Mawile! Use Hidden Power!"

"Maw...!" From the Mega Pokemon's body, a dormant power from within would erupt, flaring to life in a massive surge. In this case, she was using Hidden Power Ground. Soon, orbs of light were shooting outwards in all directions. The orbs of light would be a brilliant gold colour, each one flying through the air in different directions, but they would soon hone in on both Minior and Liepard.

"Power Gem! Copycat!"

"Mini" Responding to all these orbs, Minior used Power Gem attacking the orbs with rays of light and breaking them apart with a mighty force. As for Liepard, she mimicked the attack and made a second wave of orbs, creating a light show of golden colours.

"Lilligant! Pollen Puf!"

"Gant!" In her hands, Lilligant made a ball of sparkling pollen, throwing it at all these orbs, coating them in a golden glow of sparkles as the light from them would rejuvenate. Since Pollen Puff worked differently based on either ally or opponent, since they were connecting with Mawile's attacks, the orbs benefitted from this. Due to this boost, the orbs broke through the Power Gem and opposing orbs that Liepard had created.

"Quick! Use Psychic!"

"Minior!" Minior, by a hair, managed to catch all of them with a telekinetic hold, making the orbs freeze and float in the air, the Psychic powers holding them in place.

"Send them!"

"Nior!" Minior would make the orbs fly across the air in a beautiful motion for everyone to follow, moving them around in a snake-like motion as they slithered through the sky, dancing in a graceful display. Afterwards, they would move to strike both Lilligant and Mega Mawile.

"Crunch!"

"Maw!" Mawile leapt high into the air, approaching the attack, her maw opening wide. The attack was getting closer and closer and she soon caught the snake-like stream of orbs within her mighty jaws. The audience gawked at Mawile managing to chomp down on these orbs in such a manner.

And since the orbs had Pollen Puff in them, this benefited Mawile greatly, healing her as well as powering up her jaw. A brilliant orange aura erupted around the Mega Pokemon, giving a greater edge.

"Ghh!" Diamond Tiara's heart skipped a beat upon seeing this.

"And now...Metal Burst!"

"Maw...Mawile!" After devouring the attack, Mawile's body lit up once more as Metal Burst was activated, releasing a great big wave of light that engulfed the stage. Her power was overwhelming as a dazzling array of colours blinded everyone on the field. When the bright flash disappeared, all of her energy had formed a whirlwind of light that was shaped like a sphere.

Once she was ready to unleash it, Mawile sent the orb crashing straight at Minior. Minior tried stopping it with Psychic, but it wouldn't stop, forcing her to attempt to push it back.

"Save her, Liepard! Use Dark Pulse!"

"Lie!" Shooting out of Liepard's body was a blast of darkness, meeting with all the light from Metal Burst. Another great clash of Light and Dark happened, but there would be a clear victor in this clash. Easily, Metal Burst broke through, engulfing both Liepard and Minior as the Pokemon were slammed against the ground. An explosion of light occurred on contact, shaking the ground from its epicenter. Once again, it seemed like time had frozen in place, both Pokemon trapped in the blinding light. Afterwards, both Pokemon came tumbling out. Both of them had fainted.

"Liepard..."

"Minior..."

"That's that! Both Liepard and Minior have fainted!" Marian declared as she pointed to the fallen Liepard and Minior. Gelidity win this round!" Marian called it, declaring her the victor. The audience cheered, applauding her for the wonderful performance. Gelidity's Mega Mawile reverted back to normal as the two Pokemon high-fived.

Diamond Tiara sighed, knowing what had just happened. She returned both her Pokemon. She wasn't upset. Sure, she was a bit peeved, but she wasn't angry at this outcome. "Liepard. Minior, thanks for everything." She smiled, walking over to them both of them. "You both did so great out there."

"That was an amazing battle, Diamond Tiara." Gelidity praised her. She was thankful for the performance that was given to her. Her Pokemon also thanked Diamond Tiara, happy that they had a fun battle. "It's a shame it had to be like that, though. You're a lot stronger than you were when I last battled you. It's just that, well, I have a Mega Evolution Pokemon."

"Hey, it's okay. I had this feeling I was going to lose anyway. Still, I didn't think I would lose like that." She chuckled. "But it's not like I didn't enjoy it."

"Mm. Oh, well." Silver Spoon lowered her head, seeing her best friend. But it wasn't the end of the world or anything. "It was still great to look at."

"Aww! Why?!" Spoiled Rich was gutted by this, her tears flowing out like a fountain as Filthy Rich would pat her back. Both trainers paid their respect by bumping their hooves together.

"But geez! I actually wanted to win so badly!" Diamond Tiara wasn't afraid of expressing her feelings, pulling on her dress with her teeth as Gelidity chuckled.

As the other matches on the other blocks went off, they all came down to just 4 Coordinators in total. The final 4. And as Diamond Tiara as out of her dress, now out of the Grand Festival, she met up with Sweetie Belle, who was now a part of the Final 4.

"Well, congrats on getting to the semi-finals." She congratulated her friend. "I wish I could've made it there."

"I'm still sad that you lost. It just felt like it was over before you knew it. That Mega Evolution was too much!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"Mmrgh...It's always Mega Evolution that catches everypony off guard. But, what can you do?" Diamond Tiara shrugged. "I mean, that was the ace up her sleeve. I'm just glad I went down with something impressive. Anyways, I didn't really think you'd make it all the way here. You beat the top 32, 16 and even the Top 8. Well, you and Gelidity did."

"I know. I'm a bit spooked. Too many close-calls recently but...it gets me all giddy." Sweetie Belle giggled with glee.

"But you know you'll probably have to go up against Gelidity sooner or later. And she's got Mega Evolution. Can you get past that? I sue struggled to..."

Sweetie Belle frowned. She knew that. She'd have to think of a way to counter it and come up with some strategy. She just couldn't think of anything new fast enough. She would have to rely on what she knows. "Maybe. We'll see when it happens. One thing's for sure, Mega Evolution's tough but it's not unbeatable."

"True. I'll be watching you. Good luck." Diamond Tiara called it there, walking off. Sweetie Belle watched her walk away, knowing that her friend would be there to support her all the way. She'd try and win for her, for her friends and for her sister. She was going to win this Grand Festival or go down trying.

It was coming down to the wire rather quickly. Soon, the Semi-Finals would emerge and whoever makes it the finals, where the two Coordinators clash, only one can come out on top and claim the trophy and be bestowed the title of Top Coordinator as the journey continues.

Chapter 637 End.