"Kirlia!" A shadow once again shot out from Kirlia, inflicting serious damage to Vileplume once more. Even though Vileplume had multiple methods of recovery, after two Dream Eaters, its physical strength plummeted to the freezing point!
Though Kirlia's strength seemed weaker than Vileplume's, her Special Attack Ability Value was genuinely at an A-level, and with the Kinesis given by Sabrina inside her, her Psychic-type damage increased by another twenty-five percent.
If it weren't for Vileplume relying on the Grassy Terrain and Ingrain to recover some physical strength, it would have been knocked out already!
However, in this Dream Eater, Vileplume finally woke up. Seeing this, Erika quickly shouted, "Vileplume, use Synthesis quickly!"
Synthesis under Sunny Day can restore a huge amount of physical strength. If Vileplume managed to use it, then what Kirlia did would have been in vain.
However, Ash believed in his luck and in Kirlia: "Finish it, Kirlia, use Psychic!"
Azure light burst forth, and powerful telekinesis transformed into a substantial impact, roaring towards Vileplume.
Psychic has two modes of use, one is control, the other is attack!
What Kirlia was using now was the latter.
Meanwhile, Vileplume, dazzled with stars before its eyes, seemed to vaguely hear Erika's shout but was quickly overwhelmed by chaotic thoughts.
In the end, Vileplume didn't manage to use Synthesis; instead, an emerald Energy Bomb exploded on its petals!
The Energy Bomb flew into the air and then plummeted down, targeting Vileplume itself.
"Boom!"
Psychic and Seed Bomb both hit Vileplume, creating thick black smoke on the field.
Erika's face was as black as the smoke, no, darker than the smoke!
As the smoke cleared, as expected, Vileplume had lost its combat capability.
In the end, rather than recovering, Vileplume ended up self-destructing!
There's a thirty percent chance of ignoring the Trainer's commands while confused, randomly using skills that end up causing self-harm.
Clearly, Vileplume triggered the thirty percent chance... What bad luck, Erika thought to herself.
A two-thirds probability missed, if only Synthesis had been used, maybe it could have kept fighting.
But Erika didn't know, competing in luck with Ash was a mistake...
In terms of luck, Ash feared no one; even across countless parallel universes, this world's Ash was always the luckiest. What could compete with this world's Ash in terms of luck?
After Vileplume lost its combat ability, Erika withdrew Vileplume, but instead of immediately sending out another Pokeball, she looked at Ash with a peculiar expression and said, "Honestly, I'm a bit curious, did Sabrina from the Psychic Gym annoy you, and now you're using her methods to annoy me?"
Sabrina's reputation got ruined!
"No, Sabrina's way of annoying people is different from mine. For such sleep and confusion, she can remove them directly using her superpowers, meaning her Pokemon aren't affected by abnormal statuses."
Upon hearing this, Erika sighed inwardly in relief. Knowing that the person annoying her had also been annoyed by someone else made her feel better.
People's happiness is generally based on the misery of others. Ash felt this way, as did she!
Besides, if she didn't find some way to relieve her frustration, her ladylike image would collapse. As a Gym Leader, when had she ever been through such an annoying battle?
She had always been the one to annoy others, not the other way around.
After calming her mood, Erika sent out her second Pokemon. As the Pokeball drew a parabolic arc in the air and the light flickered, a Pokemon much smaller than the previous Vileplume appeared on the field.
With a green body, eyes round like sapphires, two red marks on her cheeks, and two vibrant red flowers on her head. Below was a green leaf skirt like a grass skirt.
This is Vileplume's other evolution form, Bellossom.
"My second Pokemon is her, this time it won't be as simple!"
In Erika's sweet yet commanding voice, Ash glanced at Bellossom's data, seeing it's a level higher than Vileplume, already at Elite Advanced Level, and with the same ability, Chlorophyll.
Currently, the sun was shining on the field, with vibrant green energy constantly emerging from the ground.
Compared to the previous Vileplume, Bellossom not only had a higher level but the field was already prepared for her, all she needed to do was attack.
"Kirlia, prepare... hmm?" Just as Ash was about to instruct Kirlia to prepare for battle, a dazzling light suddenly erupted from Kirlia!
Ash paused for a moment, then focused, and Kirlia's status appeared in his mind.
Level—Elite Junior Level!
The battle just now had allowed Kirlia to level up, and upon reaching Elite Level, she had met the criteria for evolution. Now, Kirlia was entering the moment of evolution!
Seeing the light bursting from Kirlia, Erika, who originally intended to attack, paused. As a Gym Leader, she certainly knew this was the glow of evolution.
If a Pokemon in the middle of evolution is attacked, it could be interrupted and may also cause irreversible damage to the Pokemon, so usually when a Pokemon evolves, unless it's a completely antagonistic battle from both sides, the attack would be stopped.
Especially during a Gym battle.
(PS: Calculating by game levels, Elite Level is equivalent to a level beyond 40, so evolving at this stage is quite late.)
A few seconds later, as the glow slowly faded, the evolved form of Kirlia was revealed.
With a slender and graceful physique. The body was mainly a pure white, accented with hints of serene blue.
The lower body resembled a floor-length gown, with the inner skirt being light blue, and the outer white part draping like a gown, creating a layered effect. If not stated, one might mistake this Pokemon for a queen from some palace.
"She's evolved! It seems Kirlia was already on the brink of evolution." Seeing Kirlia's form, even Erika had to admit that the appearance was absolutely stunning. Among humanoid Pokemon, Gardevoir was the most beautiful, without a doubt.
Not to mention, this Gardevoir is shiny, with her blue colored variant hairstyle making her look even more special. If possible, Erika would love to have such a Pokemon. Whatever her specialization in Grass-types, it couldn't compare to a Gardevoir (just kidding).
"So this is Gardevoir, she looks much more mature than Kirlia!" Ash marveled at Gardevoir's form.
If Ralts was a young girl, and Kirlia a maiden, then Gardevoir was a fully mature woman, with a figure akin to a queen from some country.
The three evolutionary forms represent three different stages of a human girl's growth. That little one who used to sit on his shoulder had grown to this extent in just a month, making Ash feel a sense of surreal time shift.
"Gardevoir." Gardevoir turned her head slightly, her orange eyes softening as she looked at Ash. Having evolved to her final form, she finally had some ability to help Ash bear his burdens.
"Congratulations, Gardevoir!"
"Gardevoir."
"Shall we start the battle? Well then, let me witness your newfound strength!" Initially, Ash intended for Kirlia to prepare the field and switch out, considering Bellossom's higher level and Kirlia's disadvantage in attributes.
Bellossom's attribute was solely Grass-type and was not restrained by the Psychic-type.
But since Kirlia had evolved into Gardevoir, it was different.
After evolving, her level increased as well, reaching Elite Intermediate Level, just a level lower than the opponent, a negligible gap.
So for the second match, let Gardevoir continue to stand in the ring!