Pikachu, wreathed in golden lightning, charged straight at Regice head-on!
At that very moment, Regice suddenly awakened!
"Regice, Ice Beam!"
"Regiiiice!"
Even faced with Pikachu's terrifying surge of power, Brandon still gave calm, precise commands.
Twin beams of frigid light gathered in Regice's hands and blasted toward Pikachu.
But Pikachu, empowered by Volt Tackle, vanished in an instant!
The next second, it was already right in front of Regice!
That speed made Brandon's pupils contract sharply—but before he could even react,
Regice was struck like a falling meteor, sent hurtling backwards!
It smashed into the arena wall, leaving behind a massive crater!
Its entire front was charred black, and even its body of solid ice was riddled with cracks!
Finally, Regice collapsed with a resounding crash!
Pikachu, its lightning dissipating, stood panting heavily where it had landed.
The result was clear—Pikachu had slain a god!
Ash… had won!!
…
The entire world fell into silence at that scene.
Never before had there been such a stillness.
And all because the boy on the screen had done something everyone thought utterly impossible—
With a single Pikachu, he had defeated a god!
More importantly, Regice had been at full health!
One-shot at full HP! That was even more outrageous than a normal victory!
"…T-that…that can't be real, right?"
"How…how is that possible? Pikachu…how could Pikachu beat Regice?"
"Mr. Brandon didn't throw the match, did he?"
"…Even pseudo-legendaries like Metagross or Tyranitar, or even Lucario—at least you could imagine them having a chance against Regice. But Pikachu…why?!"
"Is that thing even a Pikachu?!"
"A clean one-shot against a full-health Legendary Titan… ha, even another Legendary at the same tier couldn't guarantee that!"
Silence gave way to an explosion!
The world erupted in chaos!
Pikachu had defeated the Ice Titan, Regice—
with a single Volt Tackle!
If someone had claimed this yesterday, people would've said: You might as well say Groudon can fly!
How could Pikachu possibly one-shot Regice? You'd need the world's biggest pillow to dream up something that absurd!
And yet today… it had happened, right before their very eyes!
Unbelievable or not, they had no choice but to accept it!
On the Heavenly Record's scrolling feed, the comments boiled over like a pot brought to a furious boil:
[Lance: Brandon, are you sure that thing was really Regice? Don't tell me it was a knockoff.]
[Steven: Some people rely on Ice Beam stall tactics, using a Legendary Titan against a single Pikachu, and still lose. I won't name names.]
[Cynthia: Steven, that's harsh! You didn't even say the name! Now I can't guess who it is—come on, tell me!]
[Diantha: I know, I know. It's the Battle Pyramid Head from Kanto, what's-his-name again…?]
[Leon: A full-health one-shot… Something's definitely off about Ash's Pikachu.]
[Alder: Pikachu? More like Pikachad!!]
[Brandon: …That's enough out of you lot!]
[Brandon: Didn't you see the difference in that Pikachu? I swear, I wasn't holding back at all! The only reason I lost is because Ash and his Pikachu had the sheer strength to back it up!]
I, Brandon, did not lose face!!
What's shameful about losing to a cheat like that?!
What? You say it wasn't cheating?
Then take a look at the moves that Pikachu just used:
Thunderbolt.Iron Tail.Quick Attack.Volt Tackle.
Well? See those moves now? Doesn't my loss seem perfectly reasonable?
That thing was straight-up broken!!
—
"We…we won… Pikachu, we actually won!! We beat a Legendary Pokémon!!"
Ash stared blankly for a moment at the fallen Ice Titan and his still-standing Pikachu,
then scooped Pikachu off his shoulder, spun in circles, and shouted with joy!
The battle had been grueling, but in the end, victory was theirs!
Their opponent hadn't just been the renowned Pyramid King Brandon,
but a true Legendary Pokémon—Regice!
And when the entire world doubted them, they still pulled through!
"Pika-pi!!"
Seeing his future self victorious, Pikachu cried out in delight—though he was feeling a little dizzy right now…
Misty and Brock exchanged wide-eyed looks.
Ash really won… Good grief, Pikachu actually defeated a Legendary…
Was that Pikachu on screen truly the same one that lived and traveled with them every day?
…
Elsewhere, Team Rocket's trio erupted into cheers, high-fiving each other.
"See, I told you Pikachu would win, nya!"
"Of course! The Pikachu that's foiled us countless times—how could it possibly lose to some Regi-whatever!"
"It's Regice, Jessie. And it's a Legendary Pokémon, by the way!"
James, hailing from a wealthy family, was far more knowledgeable than the others.
He knew well how powerful Regice was.
And precisely because of that, his unwavering faith in Pikachu shone even brighter!
Aside from Ash himself, perhaps no one in the world believed in Pikachu more than them.
"You two each bet two thousand, right, nya? At thirty times payout… that's a hundred and twenty thousand, nya!! We're rich!!"
Meowth instantly thought back to the betting pool.
He, being a Pokémon, had no way to place bets.
But Jessie and James had both staked their entire savings!
A hundred and twenty thousand points! Enough to redeem who-knows-how-many treasures from the prize shop!
When had Team Rocket's trio ever fought a battle that made them this wealthy?
…
[Professor Oak: Ahem, alright, that's enough jokes.]
[Professor Oak: Pikachu's victory over Regice is astonishing, yes, but we can't forget the bond between Trainer and Pokémon. That made all the difference.]
[Professor Oak: Haven't you noticed? With each attack, Pikachu's power grew stronger. His speed, stamina, and energy all kept rising throughout the fight!]
At Oak's reminder, the Champions and Elite Four reviewed the battle in their minds—
And he was right!
From the early Thunderbolts that barely scratched Regice,
to the modestly damaging Iron Tail,
to the later, devastating Thunderbolts and those lethal, blade-like Iron Tails,
all the way to the final god-slaying Volt Tackle!
Every move had grown more powerful!
So… was this really just Pikachu? Maybe they really should call it Pikachad!
[Elesa: Professor Oak, do you have any idea why Pikachu could do this? I can't figure it out.]
[Volkner: I've studied Electric-types for years, and I've never seen a Pikachu like this.]
[Clemont: Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! To think such a dazzling Pikachu exists in this world!]
The three who spoke were Gym Leaders specializing in Electric-types.
And yet even they had never seen such a creature.
Just what made this Pikachu… So special?