"Use Leaf Tornado!"
Snivy slipped past Pikachu's Iron Tail, and before Pikachu could react,
its slender tail spun—
a flurry of leaves whipping into a spiraling cyclone.
The swirling green vortex roared forward,
sweeping Pikachu straight off the ground!
Snivy twisted its tail gracefully,
controlling the Leaf Tornado like a personal blender,
slinging Pikachu through the air again and again—
And then slammed him into the ground with brutal force.
The impact carved a trench several meters long and over a dozen centimeters deep,
dust erupting like an explosion.
When the smoke finally cleared,
Pikachu lay battered and motionless inside the trench.
He had lost the ability to fight.
Trip… had won.
Snivy… had won.
A total newbie and his starter Pokémon… had won.
The entire world fell silent again.
In the first tally,
everyone had been awed speechless by Pikachu's explosive power, unyielding resolve,
and the incredible bond between Ash and his partner.
This time?
They were speechless because Pikachu's performance was so absurd.
He seriously lost?!
Thank goodness the Heavenly Tally didn't open betting for this round.
Otherwise, it would've been the second global bankruptcy within 24 hours.
Everyone had been given 300 free points for this special tally…
If betting had been enabled, every single one of them would've lost it immediately.
Even Trip himself hadn't believed he could win.
Soon, the world erupted.
"Is this the same Pikachu from earlier? Did Ash swap in a different Pokémon?!"
"My impression of Pikachu:
Weak common electric mouse → GOD among gods → Weak common electric mouse"
"I'm starting to think… maybe this is Pikachu's real strength,
and the god-slaying earlier was just a freak berserk moment."
"I WANT to call you an idiot… but you're making too much sense!"
"Come on! Even if Pikachu is weak, Ash has been traveling for months! How do you lose to a brand-new Trainer and a brand-new Snivy?!"
Just moments ago, the entire world had rewritten its perception of Pikachu.
Many people even started believing Pikachu might have god-tier potential,
just unawakened.
And then this special tally dropped…
Completely resetting everyone's impressions.
Maybe…
Maybe this is what a normal Pikachu is actually like.
"A-are you sure you weren't acting… Pikachu?"
Ash eyed Pikachu suspiciously.
They'd lived together for half a year now,
and Ash still couldn't figure out this guy's real level.
Sometimes Pikachu went berserk and nuked legendaries—
Sometimes he crumpled like an iron-deficient grandma and got flattened by a baby snake.
"Pika Pii!! Pika-chuuu!!"
Master Pikachu roared in indignation.
How could I possibly act against you?!
At worst… sometimes he slacked off.
Took a little nap.
Didn't feel like going all out.
But losing to Snivy?!
Impossible.
That thing on the screen absolutely wasn't him!
"Why is Pikachu so weak now, meow?"
"Maybe… he didn't eat enough?"
"That makes sense!"
Meowth stared blankly at the duo.
Only these two idiots could come up with an excuse like that.
[Elesa]: …That's a bit too unbelievable.
[Wattson]: Truly unbelievable.
[Roxie]: Pikachu's glow… seems to have dimmed…
[Milo]: That Leaf Tornado… can it really one-shot Pikachu?
As Galar's Grass Gym Leader, Milo was close to the Elite Four level.
He could easily gauge Snivy's strength… and the power of Leaf Tornado.
Even if you shaved Wooloo bald,
he still couldn't imagine Snivy one-shotting that Pikachu.
[Steven Stone]: Let me count—
Pikachu took Blizzard, an Ice Beam, indirect recoil from two Focus Punches,
and backlash from Volt Tackle… and STILL didn't faint!
[Steven]: And now a newbie Snivy's Leaf Tornado one-shots him.
Meaning…
Snivy's one move is equivalent to FOUR signature attacks from Regice?!
Uh…
After Steven put it that way…
It did sound kind of logical.
[Diantha]: Stop thinking so hard.
He's acting, obviously.
And acting perfectly, at that.
[Diantha]: If we hadn't just seen the first tally,
we might've really believed this was Pikachu's real strength!
[Lance]: So this is the legendary…
Able to zap gods, able to lose to newbies?
Incredible.
[Wallace]: I've seen Pokémon whose strength fluctuates…
But THIS level of fluctuation?
First time.
This Actor King title—
No one questioned it anymore.
Pikachu had acted flawlessly.
Brandon's face, however, was turning darker by the second.
If Pikachu had kept winning, at least he could pretend the loss was respectable.
But losing to a newbie Snivy
made Brandon look even worse—
Because this was the same Pikachu
that beat him.
Too ridiculous.
[Leon]: Maybe Pikachu couldn't use Electric moves? That must affect his strength.
[Alder]: True! If Pikachu can't use his strongest moves, maybe his power was sealed?
[Byron]: Maybe some psychic sealed his abilities. That happens.
[Diantha]: Then how do you explain the Actor King title?
Ah…
That couldn't be explained at all.
The Heavenly Tally itself had called Pikachu an Actor King.
There was no escape.
Diantha had turned evil.
She'd never imagined the so-called Actor King
was just a Pokémon throwing a battle so professionally
that even she, the Kalos Champion and film queen, was fooled.
And worst—
Now, SHE would have her own dark history broadcast.
She… she didn't have a dark history… right?
Probably not?
Hopefully?
"The special tally has ended.
Next, the second main tally will begin."
"Ranking Those Pokémon Who, With Mortal Bodies, Challenge the Divine (Part Two)."
That ethereal voice echoed again.
The special tally was over, and though the world was still buzzing about Pikachu's performance,
The main tally had begun,
and nothing was more important than that.
This time would almost certainly include betting again.
Everyone braced themselves.
Moments later—
the giant screen lit up with a new scene…
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