Just like Cain and Cynthia, Diantha also used Pokémon without a fixed type. However, Lorelei specialized in Ice-type Pokémon, which gave her a considerable advantage in this battle.
Interestingly, nearly half of Diantha’s Pokémon were vulnerable to Ice-type moves, which only deepened her initial disadvantage. Although some matchups resulted in mutual weaknesses, the circumstances were not in Diantha’s favor.
The first Pokémon Diantha sent into battle was a Hawlucha, a Fighting and Flying-type, a confident and egotistical Pokémon. Lorelei, for her part, chose Lapras as her lead Pokémon.
Although Hawlucha had the Flying type, it couldn’t truly fly—only glide—limiting its ability to capitalize on that advantage.
Furthermore, Hawlucha excelled at close combat, which made it even harder to fight against a Lapras that, with its Ice and Water typing, was a formidable opponent.
Lapras managed to overpower and defeat Hawlucha.
Diantha responded by sending out Aurorus, a Rock and Ice-type Pokémon, which succeeded in defeating Lapras. However, the effort took a toll, and Aurorus was weakened when facing Lorelei’s second Pokémon: Dewgong.
Aware of the advantage Water-type moves could provide, Lorelei used Dewgong to take down Aurorus without much trouble.
At this point, it seemed Lorelei had only a slight lead, as Diantha had lost two Pokémon. However, those who knew Diantha understood her situation was complicated.
Of the Pokémon she had left—Tyrantrum, Gourgeist, Goodra, and Gardevoir—three were weak to Ice-type. While Tyrantrum, being Rock and Dragon-type, could offer some resistance, Gourgeist and Goodra were clearly at a disadvantage.
With few options, Diantha sent out Gourgeist, hoping its Grass-type moves could turn the tide against Dewgong. The result was a tie: both Pokémon were knocked out.
This left Diantha with only three Pokémon remaining, as the battlefield prepared for the next clash.
In the second half of the match, Diantha chose to send out Goodra, a Dragon-type Pokémon known for its high special defense. Lorelei responded with Mamoswine, who held a type advantage over Goodra.
Despite that, Goodra managed to endure Mamoswine’s attacks and defeat it, regaining some ground for Diantha.
However, Lorelei then chose to reveal her strongest card: Cloyster, a Pokémon that had redefined the perception of its species and earned the feared nickname "Dragon Slayer."
This Cloyster, carefully trained since its days as a Shellder, mastered the move Shell Smash—a technique that sacrificed physical and special defense to significantly boost physical attack, special attack, and speed.
In addition, Cloyster possessed the Skill Link ability, which ensured that any multi-hit move would always strike the maximum number of times.
This included moves like Icicle Spear, whose 25 base power per hit amounted to a total of 125 when landed five times consecutively—surpassing even Ice Beam or Blizzard in potential damage.
Thanks to this lethal combination of ability and strategy, Cloyster earned its nickname and reputation.
Against Goodra, Cloyster activated Shell Smash and began attacking with Icicle Spear. The speed and power of its strikes gave Goodra no chance to fight back, leaving Diantha visibly disoriented.
Even if she had known about Cloyster in advance, her options would have been limited.
This Pokémon was the reason why Lance, despite his skill as a Dragon-type Champion, was never able to become the undisputed Champion of Kanto—Cloyster could face his Dragon and Flying-type team with terrifying efficiency.
Although Lance had managed to force close battles against Lorelei, the "Dragon Slayer" remained an insurmountable threat to him. That reputation only grew after matches where Cloyster demonstrated its ability to defeat full Dragon-type teams.
Back in the match, Diantha tried to regain ground by sending out Gardevoir, her most reliable Pokémon. Thanks to its powerful psychic abilities, Gardevoir defeated Cloyster, although it was left seriously wounded in the process.
This put Diantha in a critical position, with only Tyrantrum as her last hope.
Lorelei, on the other hand, sent out Slowbro, who further weakened Gardevoir before being taken out by Tyrantrum. However, her final Pokémon, Jynx, proved enough to finish off Tyrantrum and secure the victory.
The match concluded with Lorelei advancing to the semifinals, though not without revealing her full strategy or her ace in the hole. Cloyster, the "Dragon Slayer," was etched into the minds of all spectators as a threat not to be underestimated.
With that, the four semifinalists were decided: Lorelei, with her team of Ice-type Pokémon; Steven, a specialist in Steel and Rock-types; Cynthia, with her diverse team; and Cain, whose versatility had carried him this far.
These four trainers became the undisputed stars of the Sinnoh tournament, and fans couldn’t wait to see the matches that would decide the champion.
As for Juan, representative of the Hoenn region, he couldn’t be happier. Having two trainers from his region in the semifinals was a significant achievement, and he couldn’t help but smile—even in his sleep that night.