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"Go, Pikachu."
After realizing how strong his opponent was, Sato naturally wouldn't send out one of his second-tier Pokémon just to be bullied. He immediately chose his strongest battler—Pikachu.
"Pika, pika~"
The moment Pikachu heard Sato's command, his expression turned serious. He leapt forcefully from Sato's shoulder and, using Magnet Rise, quickly ascended into the air above the Grass battlefield.
As he circled the arena at high speed, strands of black lightning began to crackle around his body. Waves of powerful Electric-type energy radiated outward from him.
Ever since facing the super-divine beast Kyogre head-on, Pikachu's mentality had undergone a tremendous transformation. Having stared down one of the most terrifying beings in the world, he now feared no Pokémon.
"Oh my—Mr. Tyler's Pikachu is flying! And what incredible Electric-type energy fluctuations! Even from this distance, the electromagnetic force is making my skin tingle!"
The referee/commentator, hovering in midair with a jetpack, changed expression immediately upon seeing Pikachu's imposing presence. He shouted excitedly into his microphone.
In truth, the referee/commentator didn't need to say anything—everyone present could clearly feel the pressure emanating from Pikachu. At that moment, he was like a living electromagnetic reactor. The immense Electric-type energy surrounding him caused many people's hair to stand on end involuntarily.
"What an impressive Pikachu… just like the reports said. Tyler possesses an exceptionally gifted Pikachu. And that Pikachu is probably holding an incredibly powerful Light Ball."
Seated in the front row, Alice could feel Pikachu's overwhelming aura just as clearly. Her smooth golden hair had slightly lifted from the static. A trace of worry surfaced in her heart for the person she cared about.
Meanwhile, Elesa and the middle-aged man—who had initially feared Sato would be crushed—were equally astonished. Especially Elesa, who understood Electric-type Pokémon extremely well, she knew exactly how terrifying Pikachu's displayed power truly was.
She knew that although Pikachu's base stats were low, once equipped with a suitable Light Ball, its offensive power would become horrifying. Opponents of the same level might not survive even a single Thunderbolt.
Of course, Pikachu's frailty remained a weakness—almost any solid hit could knock him out.
But from the current situation, the Pikachu floating above the Grass field had clearly mastered aerial combat—and his flying ability was no joke. That meant conventional ground-based tactics would have difficulty even reaching him.
To strike him reliably, his opponent would likely need aerial capability as well. Otherwise, they would be destined to fall under his devastating Electric-type attacks. Sometimes, the best defense is offense.
"Still… Mr. Hughes' Pokémon are all very high level. Although Tyler's Pikachu looks extremely strong, there's still a noticeable level gap compared to the Pokémon I've seen Hughes use before."
"It depends on whether Mr. Hughes goes all out. If he does, Tyler will still have a hard time winning."
Elesa couldn't help but think pessimistically.
At this point, the relaxed look had vanished from Hughes' face. After witnessing Pikachu's aura, he knew that if he didn't show some real ability, he might very well stumble badly here.
"Come out, Absol. I'll rely on you for this battle as well."
However, remembering that he had come mainly to train his second-tier Pokémon, it would be somewhat unsporting to bring out his first-string team. In the end, Hughes still chose to send out Absol.
A flash of white light appeared, and a sleek, glossy-furred Absol landed steadily on the Grass battlefield.
"Level 43 Absol… IV total 169. And it's mastered a huge number of moves. As expected—looks like I'm facing another rich second-generation trainer."
The moment Absol appeared, Sato used the system's scanning ability to gather its data. Seeing the long list of TM moves displayed, he couldn't help but feel a trace of envy.
Moves such as Extreme Speed, Magic Coat, Role Play, and Foul Play—this Absol had learned them all through TMs.
"Absol, use Psycho Cut."
Hughes decided to strike first. The moment the referee gave the signal, he immediately issued his command.
Absol reacted swiftly. As Hughes' words ended, the scythe-like horn on its head flared brightly. With a sharp swing of its head, it unleashed a massive white energy slash.
The slash was astonishingly fast. Though it initially appeared several meters away, in the blink of an eye it was already in front of Pikachu.
"Counter it with Iron Tail."
As the white energy slash closed in, Sato quickly issued his command.
Pikachu had initially hesitated about dodging with electromagnetic acceleration. But upon hearing Sato's order, his tail instantly gleamed with a metallic sheen. At the critical moment, he twisted his waist and swung his tail like lightning, striking the incoming slash head-on.
Clang!
A sharp metallic collision rang through the air as the two attacks collided fiercely and locked in a brief stalemate.
However, Iron Tail was inherently stronger than Psycho Cut. Moreover, boosted by the mutated Thunder Orb within Pikachu's body—amplifying both his physical and special attack power by 2.5 times—the power of Iron Tail surged dramatically.
Meanwhile, Psycho Cut was not one of Absol's same-type moves and received no STAB bonus. Being a detached, projected attack, it simply couldn't compete with Pikachu's direct physical strike.
In less than a second, cracks spread across the surface of the white energy slash. With a final push, Pikachu shattered it into fragments.
However, the remaining energy fragments detonated midair in a chain of miniature explosions. The blast wave knocked Pikachu's small body backward through the air.
At that very moment, Hughes seized the opportunity and issued another command to Absol.
This time, however, it wasn't an attack.
He ordered Absol to use Taunt on Pikachu.