Facing the completely transformed Pikachu, Brandon's expression changed dramatically.
In decades of experience, he had never seen such a Pokemon, its aura unpredictable, making it impossible to determine its level and strength. Yet even through the barrier, Brandon felt a destructive aura!
Inside the Pokeball, Mewtwo's expression turned serious too. In this state, Pikachu even made him feel a slight threat.
Bear in mind, he is now at the Intermediate Divine Realm Level, almost close to Divine Realm Advanced.
With this level of strength, forget Champion Junior Level, even Champion Peak wouldn't pose any threat to him.
Yet Pikachu made him feel threatened even through the Pokeball, indicating that Pikachu's unleashed power is at least Divine Domain Level!
A Pokemon at Elite Peak exhibiting Divine Domain Level strength? What kind of international joke is this...
Although Mewtwo found it hard to believe, she still followed her intuition, ramping up her Spiritual Power to the maximum, making the barriers around the venue extraordinarily solid.
Ash likely wouldn't notice this aspect now, as he too had focused all attention on the battle ahead, just like Pikachu.
Thus, protecting the people around fell on her shoulders, which is why Ash trusted her fully, allowing him to concentrate entirely on the match.
"Pika——CHU!!!"
As the dark golden Thunder Light exploded on Pikachu, the air inside the Battle Pyramid seemed to freeze.
This was no ordinary Thunder, but a deep and almost twisted glow, as if compressing an entire storm within that tiny electric mouse.
Pikachu's fur stood on end, its cheek electrical sacs emitting some dazzling black arcs. His eyes had turned completely golden, with pupils reflecting Regice's figure. At this moment, he had only one thought—defeat Regice!
In the next moment, Pikachu's figure vanished, time and space seemed torn apart; no one could catch sight of Pikachu's movements!
At the critical juncture, Regice awoke!
The icy blue glow at its chest core transitioned from dark to bright, bursting into a blinding brilliance.
The Rest skill effect didn't fully restore it, but recovered over three-quarters of its Physical Strength. Even with cracked gaps remaining, the entire icy body emitted a daunting aura anew.
Upon awakening, Regice sensed the approaching dark golden Thunder, potent enough to destroy everything.
Without Brandon's command, Regice knew what to do now—Defend! Defend! Damn it, defend!
Without defense, getting hit by such an attack, even as a Legendary Pokemon, it would probably meet its end!
"Protect!!!" Brandon's shout rang almost instantly as Regice woke, with the green barrier instantly forming before Regice, thicker and stronger than any prior uses of Protect.
This was Regice's first time channeling all energy into one Defense Move, significantly draining its Physical Strength.
Originally recovered from Rest, its Physical Strength now plummeted again.
Yet the manifesting green barrier provided comfort to both Brandon and Regice. With this level of shield ahead, they felt somewhat reassured.
However...
"Boom!!!"
The dark golden Thunder collided with the green barrier, echoing earth-shattering sound within the Battle Pyramid.
"Crack——"
In mere moments, the barrier claimed to withstand any attack developed cracks instantaneously.
Cracks spread madly from the collision point, like a spider web crawling across the entire blockade.
The cross-shaped light on Regice's chest flickered intensely, revealing the scene surpassed its expectations entirely.
"Amplify the power, channel all energy into Protect!" Brandon cared less about anything else now; if this attack broke through Protect's barrier, it would not just incapacitate in battle!
There's a risk that his Regice might vanish from the world completely!
Who'd have thought such a minor match would escalate into this, threatening a Legendary Pokemon's potential wipeout—yet this is just a challenge match!
But there was no choice; Ash's Pikachu seemed to have lost its mind, eyes targeting only Regice.
The force Pikachu exerted came from obsessive intensity, so their only option was to block this attack!
Even if unable to block it, they must reduce its power as much as possible; otherwise, upon Ash and Pikachu's awakening, they'd only see Regice's remains!
The cross-shaped light ahead of Regice flickered to the extreme; it channelled all remaining energy into the crumbling barrier.
Green light reignited, restoring the shattered crack, yet before Brandon and Regice could rejoice, cracks reappeared—repair time not exceeding a second!
"Bang!!!"
After withstanding several seconds, Protect's barrier shattered like glass, dispersing into countless green light fragments flying everywhere.