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Exeggutor felt that either Ralts was a stray Luther had picked up and didn't care about, or Luther had decided to stop being human altogether.
This morning, Exeggutor had sensed very clearly that Ralts' mental power limit barely allowed her to stand up in the split second when he withdrew his own power. It was like babysitting.
The baby was having fun, and he, too, was using the play to practice finer control over his own psychic power. Both Pokémon were enjoying themselves; it had been a mutually pleasant experience.
Now, Luther's instructions could be bluntly summarized as: Stop playing. Hit her.
This wasn't right. Even if it was just sparring, being suppressed by Exeggutor's current level of psychic power would be extremely painful for Ralts. It was definitely not a good idea. Exeggutor showed obvious resistance; he couldn't understand this command at all.
"Just do what he says." Gardenia's words calmed Exeggutor down. "It's the same routine as this morning, but this time, you need to make it truly difficult for her to break free from your psychic pressure. I've already given you the limits."
Exeggutor frowned deeply, silently wondering how to control his strength just right. Even the delicious food he had enjoyed earlier no longer tasted good.
When the bell rang for the Gym's afternoon opening, Gardenia didn't return immediately. Instead, she came to the training field with Exeggutor.
Ralts was already fired up and ready, waiting for Exeggutor to make his move.
Seeing the excitement on Ralts' face, all three of Exeggutor's heads sighed in unison.
A massive surge of psychic power suddenly pressed down on Ralts. She was already familiar with this; she immediately crouched low the moment the force came, wrapping her own psychic energy around her body.
Once everything was in place, Ralts focused her energy at her forehead, trying to use that point to pierce Exeggutor's defense and stand up…
…?
She couldn't get up?
Ralts suddenly realized she was still holding the pose to summon power, but her body hadn't moved an inch.
The moment she tried to stand, psychic energy from all directions poured in like thick liquid, locking her firmly in place in a semi-crouched position.
Ralts desperately tried to control the psychic energy inside her, but no matter how she channeled it, every time she attempted to release it, Exeggutor's power crushed it back into her body.
It was a completely different state from the morning, where she could at least barely resist.
Gardenia sighed, patted Exeggutor, then gave Luther a pat on the shoulder as she passed by and returned to handle Gym challengers.
Luther saw clearly that Ralts never gave up. She kept trying to break free from Exeggutor's control. But every time she managed to shake off a little of the restraint, a stronger wave of psychic power would immediately slam down and freeze her movement again.
In the morning, Luther gave Ralts visible hope.
In the afternoon, he took that hope away and replaced it with despair.
Would this crushing contrast cause Ralts to waver, panic, and break down? Or would it ignite the unwillingness and determination in her heart?
Luther wasn't sure.
"Evolution is the process by which a Pokémon transcends its former self and gains a new life. To survive and adapt to the ever-changing environment, evolution is also a struggle against nature itself."
This was a line from the book Theory of Life and Evolution, one that Luther deeply agreed with.
Whether hope or despair, without that one step forward and unwavering determination, even a lucky evolution wouldn't mean anything. A Pokémon's mindset and strength wouldn't truly grow.
Ralts was still struggling, but her efforts were growing weaker and weaker. She was beginning to feel a suffocating pressure.
This suffocation wasn't physical, it had nothing to do with air, but emotional. It came from within.
Ralts was growing frantic. After her initial attempts failed, she started to recklessly channel her psychic power, blindly crashing it against Exeggutor's defenses.
The seemingly frantic bursts of psychic energy all vanished into nothing, like stones thrown into a stagnant pond. No matter how hard she tried, all she could stir was a faint, barely noticeable ripple.
"Increase the psychic pressure by two levels."
Exeggutor had given up trying to understand. Since both Ralts' Trainer and his own had agreed to this, he could only comply.
The shift in intensity caused Ralts to open her eyes. Her body, already straining, gave out, she could no longer hold the half-crouched position and was pushed even lower by the increased psychic force.
It felt like the world was crumbling, at least to Ralts.
The psychic power pressing on her had gone far beyond what she could imagine. With this level of power, lifting not just one, but two or three Tropius would probably be no problem.
Meanwhile, she could barely move a Chansey.
Luther noticed the change in Ralts' expression. He wanted to say something, offer encouragement, but the words stuck in his throat. He held back.
Gardenia had been right: if Ralts chose to become stronger, then she had to face the pain and hardship that came with it.
He had to steel himself.
"Push it to your maximum output."
Exeggutor shivered slightly and hesitated for a moment before gradually increasing the pressure on Ralts.
Ralts' movements became smaller and smaller, as if she was giving up. Luther stared at her intently, waiting for a response.
But Ralts didn't move.
After a long time, Luther clenched his teeth.
"You won't let me down. Just like you, I'm unwilling to be shackled by helplessness, unwilling to look up at the world from below because I lack the strength!"
"Let that frustration in your heart ignite."
He didn't say those words aloud. After a long internal struggle, Luther chose to take a gamble.
He turned and walked toward Marill.
Ralts could hear the sound of Luther's footsteps leaving. That was all she could do, hear, because she couldn't even lift her head.
The pressure on her wasn't unbearable, but the humiliation was.
At last, she understood.
Her easy progress in the morning had all been because Exeggutor had intentionally held back.
What was that supposed to be? Pity?
If Luther hadn't told Exeggutor to go all-out, would they have just kept "playing house" together like that forever?
Bang! A crisp sound broke the silence.
Then came loud cheering, Abomasnow's excited celebration.
Luther's applause followed.
"Not bad, not bad! Even Abomasnow thought your move just now was spot on. You didn't manage to activate your inner Ice-type power, but in terms of strength, it was definitely qualified. Come on, open your mouth…"
The sound of Marill munching followed.
Ralts knew that was Luther rewarding Marill.
She felt a bit jealous. That should've been hers, too!
Gritting her teeth, Ralts pressed her little hands to the ground. This time, she didn't summon her psychic power; instead, she was relying on pure willpower to break free from Exeggutor's suppression.
Exeggutor didn't sense any psychic activity from her, which left him confused.
Ralts had gone all-in. Pushed to her limit, she flattened herself against the walls of the psychic cage Exeggutor had built.
She remembered that afternoon two months ago.
Flustered and helpless, she watched Luther bob in the water. No matter how hard she tried, her psychic power couldn't lift him.
The best she could do was keep his head above water so he wouldn't drown, but beyond that, she was useless.
In the end, it was Luther himself who struggled back to shore.
And on the night Mismagius ambushed them, it was Jumpluff, not her, who had done the most. Jumpluff had bravely tanked Mismagius' fierce bombardment and even blocked an attack aimed at Luther.
If it hadn't been for that…
Who knows what would've happened?
After that, during the Gym battles, she was only a bystander.
Later on, in the battle against Shiran, Luther carefully kept her inside the Poké Ball, no matter how much she cried out, he refused to let her out.
And during the clash with Evergreen, she was still just an onlooker.
Luther had once muttered to everyone, as if talking to himself, that sometimes the most despairing thing in this world… is the feeling of powerlessness.
You want to act, but your ability doesn't allow it. You can only watch opportunities slip away… watch danger draw closer and closer to you.
When Luther said those words, his hands were wrapped in bandages, and the smell of blood still lingered around him.
Ralts could sense it, after encountering Evergreen, Luther had fallen into a dark, depressed state. Yet within just a few hours, he had transformed, cold, resolute, and sharp.
She could also sense… that the blood on him wasn't his own.
He had gone through a life-or-death battle. And once again, she hadn't been able to help.
Was this what Luther meant by that feeling of helplessness?
What a ridiculous feeling it was.
Exeggutor sensed something was off. The psychic force surrounding Ralts had begun to destabilize and grow chaotic. But oddly, he didn't feel Ralts using any moves or actively summoning her psychic energy, it didn't make sense.
Luther had once told those strange stories, ones whose origins were never clear.
He said that great power could be broken by skillful finesse. He called this technique "using softness to overcome hardness."
It was a small tale he told while teaching Basil's Pokémon some basics. Basil had only taken it as a story, but Ralts didn't.
She believed that every story Luther told was real, full of meaning, and a symbol of his wisdom. If others didn't understand them, it was only because they didn't recognize Luther's depth of knowledge.
"You don't need to destroy the whole defensive structure someone's built. Just try breaking the weakest point. There was once a great military strategist who did exactly that."
"I also knew a story about the Maginot Line. That story taught us a simple truth, even the strongest defenses can be circumvented. There's no need to charge head-on."
Luther had laughed after telling it, joking that he was probably "talking nonsense" again.
The psychic barrier enveloping Ralts pressed tighter, yet Ralts straightened her body. The moment the psychic pressure surged in, it felt like time slowed to an eternity.
In that instant, when the chaotic psychic energy raged around her, countless glowing points appeared in Ralts' mind.
Like stars scattered across her consciousness, even with her eyes closed, she could see the glowing nodes where the psychic energy surged toward her.
She followed those glowing energy paths in reverse. And behind the lights… she found the dim points, the weak links.
A burst of psychic energy suddenly launched from within Ralts.
Exeggutor watched in astonishment as that tiny, almost imperceptible stream of psychic power pierced straight through all his defenses and entered his mind.
It was beyond anything he understood about psychic energy. He didn't even have time to react.
Moments later, the pressure wrapping around Ralts disintegrated.
Her body went limp and collapsed to the ground.
Freed, Ralts looked up at the blinding sun overhead.
With all the strength she had left, she cried out.
When Luther turned around, brilliant and radiant light had already engulfed Exeggutor.
Every Pokémon in the courtyard instinctively stopped what they were doing, eyes fixed on the glowing veil of light.
Luther scooped up Marill and ran toward Exeggutor.
When he saw her, bathed in the light, he finally let out a long, relieved breath.
"We all hate the feeling of helplessness.
If we never abandon the old, timid version of ourselves, we'll never find rebirth."
"Welcome… Kirlia."
(End of Chapter)
PS-"For every 200 power stones, I'll release one bonus chapter (Current-2)!"