"It has!" Shalin smiled, excited to see the royal again. "Been so busy with my duties in Rustboro that I haven't had a lot of time to see you, unfortunately. Had to find an Elite of Rustboro willing to cover me just to come out here. Now, let's go!"

Clicking the release switch on her Poké Ball, out from it came a Shiny Beedrill that looked a bit strange to Shalin not seeing her with her saddle on. She had become so used to riding her Pokémon that they looked so different without their gear on. After waving the flat of one of her foreleg stings to say hello to the Galarian, the insect churned up a TAILWIND with her loud wings, drowning out the noise of the small gallery watching. Keeping her distance from the phantom, she pointed both her foreleg stings toward the Mismagius, her TWINEEDLE's speed augmented by the harsh wind in Elise's face.

The reaction from Elise was unexpected; she had remembered the royal had a fear of giant bugs. It was too bad; she loved her Yanmega and Beedrill, and she would never be able to use them around her if she wanted to make friends with the fine lady across from her. There would be no banter between them. All they could rely on was what they could see and smell; the churning wings made hearing anything else but the deafening drone impossible.

Though the Beedrill was agile, she was much less so than other insects. Through her foresight and crafty positioning, Mana had led her SHADOW BALL into the bug-type perfectly. With a nod and a serious look that was unlike her, Shalin raised her right hand's index and middle fingers to the KEY STONE on her MEGA CIRCLET. Both the green wasp and Shalin's headpiece glowed purple-pink with the light of MEGA EVOLUTION.



Boasting five stings instead of three, as well as a much more menacing gaze, her wings hummed all the louder. Both their ears might be ringing after the match. She pointed all five barbs downward, aiming to deliver five painful jabs with her FELL STINGERS. Even one of those would leave the phantom with a burning sensation if they connected with her soul gem. All five? She didn't want to think about the kind of damage her berserk partner could cause...

The Mega Evolved insect fearlessly charged toward Mana and her MYSTICAL FIRE with reckless abandon. The foe's Terastal body only drew the Beedrill to greater anger, acting nothing like the sweet insect she was prior to her Mega Evolution. That empathy had been converted into raw grit. The fires burned hot and bright, but she did not care. Shalin did, wincing in worry for her partner.

Once she was clear of the flames, Queen Zing zipped toward Mana, her blue eyes flashing rapidly. With terrifying speed and agility, she threw a flurry of pointed POISON JABS at the phantom's new body.

Mega Evolution gave Queen Zing a surge of strength, but it also wore her out coming off the Infinity Energy high. Where one form of energy expired, another materialized, this time on Mana, her Terastal body empowering her to withstand the venom.

Queen Zing's head thumped, finding it difficult to aim a precise attack after the PSYCHIC blast narrowly grazed her. All she could do was spray TWINEEDLE in all forward directions and pray.

The POWER GEM cut some of the barrage of venomous needles, but not all of them. Queen Zing's blue eyes flickered as the gemstone cut into her at the same time the buzzer went off. This match would come down to a judge decision. "Wow, Elise, you're good! This was so close. Far as I'm concerned, this is a tie!"

Ties could not happen; there had to be a winner and loser of every match. The girl took a seat on a nearby bench, awaiting the judges' ruling. When she was declared the winner, she opened her arms wide to embrace Elise if she allowed it. "Amazing match. Want to get lunch together after the sixth round? I'd love to reconnect."