"Pikachu!!"
Ash's voice shook not only the stadium, but the entire world.
"Come on, Pikachu! How could you fall to just that attack?!"
"Your unyielding spirit has always carried me through at the very end of every battle!"
"Whenever I'm down and losing hope, you're the one who wakes me up with your strongest move!"
"All the journeys we've been through together… we're not stopping here!!"
"Please, hear me, Pikachu—use Thunderbolt!!"
His cry echoed across every corner of the globe.
But on the screen, the frozen Pikachu didn't move at all.
Ash's words were powerful, stirring countless hearts…
Yet reality was cruel—
a loss was still a loss.
If words alone could decide battles, then the world wouldn't have so many losers.
Ash… had already been defeated.
Onscreen, the referee raised his flag, ready to declare the match over.
And then—
Crack!
The faint sound cut through the heavy silence.
Ash, who had clenched his teeth and shut his eyes, snapped his gaze toward the frozen Pikachu.
Crack!
No mistake—the ice really was splitting apart!
Brandon's brows furrowed. Something was wrong.
"Piii—kaaaa—CHUUUU!!"
BOOM!!
The icy prison shattered, golden lightning bursting out in a blinding flash!
The thunderbolt slammed straight into the unprepared Regice,
its crackling arcs wrapping around the giant's body.
This Thunderbolt… was stronger than ever before!
Golden sparks danced across Regice's body—
it was paralyzed!
The attack hadn't just dealt heavy damage—
it left the titan unable to move properly!
"What an unbelievable Pikachu! That boy's words… they've set even my heart ablaze!" Brandon exclaimed, sweeping his arm out.
"Regice, Focus Punch!!"
"Regiii!!"
Even paralyzed, Regice slid across the ice, closing in on Pikachu.
With no charge-up, it threw a brutal Focus Punch!
Pikachu's tail lit up instinctively—Iron Tail!
Bang!
Just like before, without a proper foothold, Pikachu was knocked back,
smashing against the icy pillars like a pinball.
But this time—
it took almost no damage.
Instead, it used the pillars to absorb the impact, turning them into a springboard!
Ash's eyes gleamed.
"Pikachu, use that momentum! Go in—Iron Tail!!"
"Pika!!"
Only Ash's Pokémon could ever understand and pull off such mad tactics.
Bouncing from pillar to pillar like a slingshot, Pikachu launched from the final wall,
body arcing through the air, tail glowing steel-gray—
BOOM!!
Regice's ancient ice body split open with another massive crack!
"And again!!"
"Pika—CHU!!"
Paralysis locked Regice in place.
Pikachu rebounded, swinging another Iron Tail at the exact same spot!
The fissure deepened, and Regice's once-glimmering body grew dim.
It was badly hurt!
The world fell silent.
No way.
No way it was turning around like this!
This was insane.
In Veilstone City, Reggie sat frozen before the screen.
Years ago, he had challenged Brandon's Battle Pyramid—
and lost before Regice even took the field.
Afterward, under Brandon's advice, he quit as a trainer and became a breeder.
His younger brother had always called him weak for it.
Now, watching Brandon fight a greenhorn trainer and his Pikachu,
He felt nothing but awe.
That boy Ash…
to fight Brandon to this point, with just a Pikachu—
was beyond imagination.
Could it be possible… that Ash might actually win?
"Regice, Ice Beam!" Brandon barked. Calm, steady as ever.
"Dodge it!" Ash shouted.
The infamous "Quick, dodge!"—
Pikachu flipped away again, tail sparking.
But Regice repeated its earlier trick,
Ice Beams raising pillars to trap Pikachu once more!
Brandon's lips curved into a faint smile.
"Rest."
[Lance: 666! So this is the strongest Trainer of the Battle Frontier? I'm impressed!]
[Steven: Brandon… isn't this a bit much?]
[Alder: Cheap! So cheap! Legendary Pokémon against a Pikachu, and you pull this stunt? Don't you have any shame?!]
[Brandon: Look carefully at my words—I always fight at full strength, no matter the opponent. This is strategy, not shame!]
Even so, Brandon felt the sting of embarrassment.
Using such a dirty tactic against a rookie and his Pikachu…
it wasn't exactly honorable.
But losing would be worse.
To bring out a legendary, then resort to stalling tactics—
against a Pikachu, no less—
Even the audience could barely watch.
All they felt was pity for Ash.
"What a waste. If this were a wild legendary, Pikachu might have already pulled off a god-slaying win!"
"True… but with Brandon's level of command, there's no way. Such a shame."
"Rest again, huh? Don't give up, Pikachu! Cut through the ice with Iron Tail, then use Volt Tackle!!"
"Pika! Pikachu!!"
Breaking free once more, Pikachu landed,
then launched forward like an arrow loosed from the string!
"Pika! Pika! Pika! Pika-pi!!"
Electricity surged wildly around its body,
covering it in golden lightning!
The entire arena quaked as the voltage spiked!
The icy battlefield shattered beneath its charge,
ice exploding into fragments wherever Pikachu's paws touched.
Even its appearance seemed transformed.
In that moment, Pikachu wasn't just a Pokémon—
it was the embodiment of thunder itself.
Like a thunder god descending upon the earth.