The number of remaining Pokémon was tied once again. Three against three.
Luther still had one unrevealed Pokémon, but that hardly mattered anymore. Ash had been pushed into a corner. Snorlax could probably endure some damage and get off a Rest, but whether it could safely recover afterward was still uncertain.
Meanwhile, both Pikachu and Sceptile had already accumulated a lot of damage.
Ash turned to look at Pikachu on his shoulder. After traveling together for so long, the two understood each other perfectly. Before Ash could even speak, Pikachu flashed him a confident grin and jumped onto the battlefield.
Luther examined Gardevoir's condition. Toxic was continuously wearing her down. The only reason Take Down and Iron Head hadn't knocked her out earlier was sheer willpower.
"Stay alert. That Pikachu isn't an ordinary Pokémon. Use Psychic."
"Quick Attack!"
Gardevoir had only just begun gathering psychic power when a streak of light shot straight into her chest. Pikachu slammed into Gardevoir at an unbelievable speed, knocking her backward. Then, upon landing, he swung his Iron Tail down and struck her again, completing a flawless two-hit combo.
Gardevoir never even had time to react before collapsing.
"Gardevoir is unable to battle. Pikachu wins."
Luther stared in shock. He had just been praising Gardevoir's impressive movepool and adaptability, only for Pikachu to come in and execute a swift chain of attacks that left absolutely no room for a counterattack.
The exchange happened so quickly that many spectators who had looked away for just a moment missed it entirely. If the giant screen hadn't immediately shown a replay, plenty of people wouldn't have known what happened.
Barry, ever the fence-sitter, had been shouting about how amazing Gardevoir was one second, then immediately switched to praising Pikachu as the greatest thing ever the next. Nobody could figure out which side he was actually cheering for.
Even though Pikachu had defeated Gardevoir, Brock and Dawn were still on edge. Mismagius had only taken minor damage, and Luther's final unrevealed Pokémon was still at full health.
"Pikachu! Ash! Don't lose!" Dawn shouted.
Hearing the commotion from behind, Candice glanced at Mai, who was holding Eevee and staring silently at the battlefield. "Should we cheer too?" she asked.
Eevee escaped from Mai's sweaty hands at the first opportunity and immediately jumped onto Spheal's face, demanding some cool air.
"I... can't," Mai finally said after a long pause. Looking at how stiff her speech had become, Candice realized just how nervous she really was.
Mismagius versus Pikachu.
In this matchup, Pikachu's greatest advantage, his speed, was effectively neutralized. Pikachu tried using the heavily damaged battlefield and scattered rubble to shake Mismagius off, but Mismagius stayed glued to him like a shadow, never giving him enough room to comfortably create distance.
This was a battle between a Ghost-type and an Electric-type. Neither Pokémon had a type advantage through their attacks, making this a contest of pure skill and move mastery.
Always wary of Pikachu suddenly unleashing overwhelming special attack power, Luther struck first with Mystical Fire, treating the audience to the sight of a flaming electric mouse. But lowering Pikachu's Special Attack wasn't enough to solve the problem.
"Pika!"
With a single swing of Iron Tail, Pikachu shattered the Mystical Fire and continued the attack, his steel-coated tail slicing through the air before crashing into Mismagius's neck. The hit knocked the wind out of her, forcing her to stagger backward.
Every time Pikachu attacked, he first accelerated with Quick Attack before chaining into another move. It was an extremely stamina-intensive fighting style. But Ash wasn't holding anything back.
"Volt Tackle!"
Ash had never been the type to calculate stamina consumption; he left that sort of thing to Luther. Instead, he intended to overwhelm Luther completely with relentless aggression and throw all of Luther's careful plans into chaos.
A Dark Pulse slammed into Pikachu's face, and the resulting explosion stopped the Volt Tackle–Quick Attack combo before it could even begin. But the blasted-away Pikachu landed on a protruding chunk of rock, used his tail like a spring, and launched himself back into the air.
Another Iron Tail.
But Luther wasn't about to fall for the same trick twice. "Lock him down with Psychic!"
A target moving through the air was easy to predict. Mismagius's gaze tracked Pikachu's trajectory. The moment Iron Tail crashed onto her head, an immense surge of psychic power erupted.
Pikachu's eyes widened in surprise. Instead of losing her balance from the hit, Mismagius simply stared at him with reddened eyes, refusing to budge.
"Pikachu, break free! Run!" Ash shouted. He had already noticed Mismagius gathering energy. Above her head, a black sphere was rapidly growing larger. The Psychic holding Pikachu in place was only the setup, that Shadow Ball was the real finishing blow.
"Increase the Psychic output. Trust him!" Luther ordered. Unlike most Trainers, Luther would never give Ash a chance to recover his momentum.
The seemingly random command made Ash hesitate for a moment. Trust him? Who is he talking about? Shouldn't it be trust yourself?
A bolt of Thunder crashed down onto Mismagius, but she didn't flinch. She had already heard Luther's command. Others might not understand what "trust him" meant, but before the battle, when all the Pokémon had gathered together, Luther had explained it clearly.
Without holding anything back, Mismagius poured every ounce of her power into the Shadow Ball above her head. Even after her Special Attack had been lowered, Pikachu's Thunder was still incredibly powerful, but Mismagius endured it.
The Shadow Ball shot forward like an arrow released from a bow and exploded directly in Pikachu's face. The blast dragged Pikachu across the battlefield before smashing him into the arena floor, creating yet another crater.
Covered in injuries, Pikachu struggled out of the crater before the referee could even check his condition. Mismagius wasn't doing much better. No matter how tough she was, repeatedly taking close-range attacks had pushed her to her limits.
Just as Luther was preparing to finish things off, Pikachu swayed, then slowly collapsed.
"Pikachu is unable to battle. Mismagius wins."
Luther's body trembled slightly. He had maintained intense concentration throughout the grueling battle. Seeing Pikachu finally go down, he let out a long breath.
Ash entered the field and carried Pikachu back to the sidelines, comforting the guilt-ridden little Pokémon. Then he looked toward Mismagius with complete confidence.
Mismagius was breathing heavily. While trapped by Psychic, Pikachu had struggled desperately, and the effort required to restrain him had taken a serious toll.
Ash sent out Snorlax. This was the perfect opportunity, an opportunity Pikachu had created for him. Mismagius's condition had deteriorated significantly. With Snorlax's incredible durability, he could absolutely withstand her attacks long enough to use Rest.
"Rest."
Snorlax yawned and promptly fell asleep right in front of Mismagius.
For once, Luther had miscalculated. He knew Ash was stubborn and aggressive, but he hadn't expected him to do something this outrageous right in Mismagius's face.
Luther recalled Mismagius; she needed a short break. If Ash had capitalized on his mistake, then he would have simply taken the advantage back.
The Pokémon Luther had kept hidden throughout the entire match, never revealing it, no matter how intense the battles became, finally entered the field.
Houndoom threw back his head and howled. Luther had promised him that he would stand on the biggest stage of all and have the chance to show everyone what he could do.
Now, that time had come.
(End of Chapter)
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