Diancie skipped through the alleyways.
Each step seemed to produce a faint, crystalline pop — though the raw diamond ore that formed the base of her body never quite made contact with the ground. She hovered just above the cobblestones as she went.
"They won't find me here~"
Diancie giggled, pressing her small hands over her mouth, clearly pleased with herself.
Boom!
A burst of flame and a spinning blue shuriken came shooting in from opposite angles, both aimed directly at her. But the two attacks clashed before either could reach their target — the collision sent a shockwave rippling outward, and Diancie was thrown off her feet by the blast.
She shook her head and looked up.
Standing before her was a woman with bare shoulders and a long split-skirt dress, her fiery red hair swept back from her face. Beside her stood a Delphox — tall, still, and watching Diancie with sharp eyes. The woman's smile was thin and unhurried.
"So this is the Pokémon that can create diamonds." She tilted her head upward, addressing the ninja man hanging inverted from the eaves above.
"Malamar, if you get in my way, don't expect me to go easy on you."
"I could say the same to you," the ninja man replied evenly.
"Greninja." Greninja had landed on a nearby railing, eyes narrowed.
Diancie glanced between the two of them, then rose to her feet and gave a small, polite bow.
"In that case — I'll be going now~"
She turned to leave.
"Not so fast." The red-haired woman raised her arm, fingers spread wide. Delphox responded instantly, lifting its wand and hurling a concentrated ball of fire toward Diancie's retreating form.
"Not if I can help it." The ninja man — Lylat — gave Greninja a sharp look.
Greninja's hand moved. Water condensed rapidly in his palm, spinning into the shape of a shuriken. He snapped his wrist forward.
Bang!
The Water Shuriken struck the fireball head-on. The impact threw white mist in every direction, and Diancie was knocked to the ground a second time by the force of the collision.
"Stay out of this, ninja!" The red-haired woman — Malamar — spun on her heel, glaring.
"You first, thief," Lylat replied, entirely calm.
In the same motion, he and Greninja broke into a run toward Diancie.
"How dare you! Delphox — Flamethrower!"
Delphox planted its feet and released a sustained pillar of fire directly at Lylat.
"Greninja!"
Greninja raised both arms, two Water Shurikens forming and colliding with the Flamethrower in rapid succession.
Bang!
The explosion filled the alley with thick white mist. Lylat pressed forward through it, Greninja close behind.
"That Pokémon—"
Lylat stopped.
Something in his instincts pulled at him — a sharp, wordless warning telling him not to take another step forward.
Boom.
Metagross descended from above, slamming into the alley floor with enough force to send stone fragments skittering in every direction. The shockwave tore through the mist and scattered it instantly.
"Looks like I got here at the right time."
Steven stood atop Metagross's back, one arm wrapped around Cynthia at his side. He was grinning.
As the mist cleared, Lylat found himself staring at the newcomer. His eyes went wide.
"You're — you were up on the terrace just now—"
"That's right. And your reward for remembering — Metagross, Meteor Mash!"
Steven set Cynthia down lightly and dropped from Metagross's back.
Metagross drove its fist into the air toward Lylat with tremendous force.
Lylat leapt backward. Greninja moved instantly to intercept, crossing two short black blades in front of him to block the strike.
Bang!
Both blades shattered on impact. The force sent Greninja skidding back through the air, crashing directly into Lylat. The two of them hit the ground together.
"My, my." Malamar looked at Lylat's condition with unconcealed satisfaction. "Struggling already, Lylat? Do you need a hand?"
"Malamar..." Lylat picked himself up slowly, ignoring the dig. "This Trainer is no ordinary opponent."
A pause.
"That's why I'm suggesting we work together. As for the Pokémon — we can settle that between us once this is dealt with."
Malamar's expression cooled. She studied Metagross and Steven for a moment.
"Fine."
"Cynthia — take Diancie and go."
"Got it."
Cynthia nodded without hesitation. She trusted Steven's read of the situation completely — those two, even together, weren't anything she'd lose sleep over.
She turned to Diancie, who was still standing frozen in the middle of the alley, and gently helped her up, brushing the dust from her small shoulders.
The first time Cynthia saw Diancie up close, the only thought that made it all the way through was a wordless one.
She's extraordinary.
"Can you come with me for now?" Cynthia asked, crouching slightly to meet Diancie's eyes.
Diancie looked at her. Then she looked at Lylat, and at Malamar, and back at Cynthia and Steven.
"Yes!"
She gave a decisive nod. The answer was obvious, really.
Cynthia scooped Diancie up and headed for the street.
Behind them, Steven turned back to face the two opponents.
"Metagross — Flash Cannon."
"Flamethrower!"
"Water Shuriken!"
The steel-grey beam of energy tore through both attacks without losing momentum, striking Greninja and Delphox squarely. The two Pokémon were flung back.
Lylat and Malamar both steadied themselves, expressions grim.
Lylat hadn't expected this. He had run into all kinds of Trainers, but someone who battled with that kind of composure and power was a different matter entirely.
And over what, exactly? Because Greninja had interrupted a quiet moment on the terrace?
"I'm pulling back." Lylat recalled Greninja into his Poké Ball and was gone before Malamar could respond — a blur of movement that vanished over the rooftops.
Malamar let out a short, irritated sound and recalled Delphox. As a career thief, she knew when a situation had turned unfavourable. She slipped away without ceremony.
Steven didn't pursue either of them. Watching the way they moved, he already knew it wouldn't be worth the effort.
"Good work, Metagross."
"Metagross!"
Cynthia had brought Diancie to the steps near one of the main thoroughfares — wide, open, with people passing steadily back and forth. Safe enough.
She crouched to Diancie's level and looked at her properly for the first time. The pink diamond crowning Diancie's head caught the light and scattered it across the nearby stonework in soft, shifting patterns. The golden arc of her collar, the faceted stones inlaid along it, the barely-glimpsed raw crystal of her lower form — everything about her seemed to radiate something unhurried and rare.
Cynthia had read about Diancie before, in old texts and myths connected to the Kalos region. A Pokémon with the singular ability to create diamonds. She had always half-assumed such accounts were embellished.
They were not.
"Um," Diancie said, blinking her large eyes up at Cynthia. "Aren't you going back to help him? He's fighting both of them alone."
Cynthia smiled gently. "He'll be fine. Those two weren't going to give him any real trouble."
A small pause.
"I've been meaning to ask — are you using Telepathy?"
"Yes!" Diancie's expression brightened with a hint of pride.
"Are you Diancie?"
"I am!" Diancie nodded, then tilted her head. "And you are...?"
"I'm Cynthia." She extended her hand. "It's lovely to meet you, Diancie."
Diancie's small hand wrapped around Cynthia's fingers.
"Cynthia!" she repeated warmly. Then she looked at her with wide, earnest eyes. "You're so beautiful."
Cynthia laughed softly. "Diancie is beautiful too — and incredibly cute. Like a little princess."
It wasn't flattery. Both of them meant it.
"Oh, no — you're the cute one!"
Diancie fidgeted slightly, then added, with a touch of shyness: "And, well — I actually am a princess. The princess of the Diamond Kingdom."
Cynthia's eyes widened just slightly. "Really? That's amazing."
"It's..." Diancie brought one hand to the back of her head, looking down with a small, embarrassed smile. "It's not so much, really."
She couldn't fully create diamonds yet, after all.
"Found you."
Cynthia looked up.
Steven was standing above her on the steps, leaning forward over the railing with both hands, looking down at her with an easy smile.
"Steven! You're already back!"
Diancie raised her head and found herself looking at a young man who was, by any measure, quite remarkably handsome.
"Ste... ven?"