"Just a tiny bit short!"
"It really was only that infinitesimal sliver!"
"If—if Pikachu had seized that 0.1-second window—
then this unbelievable victory might have already belonged to it!"
Inside and outside the arena, everyone's breathing was strangled by that cruel phrase: "just a little short."
Waves of heartfelt regret surged like a tidal wave.
"I put all my chips on Regice, but honestly… for a moment just now, I actually started hoping the Pikagod would pull off a miracle… sigh. That 'tiny difference'—that's the unshakable chasm between a divine body and a mortal Pokémon."
"Stop talking… we all knew how this would end, but seeing it with our own eyes still makes my chest ache. Pikachu's desperate struggle has gone far beyond the word 'excellent.'"
"Its only 'mistake' was choosing to challenge a rule-defying divine beast."
"The shock value of this death match absolutely obliterated my lowest expectations! Pikachu used its entire life force to show us what it means to fight in a blaze of glory—even in defeat!"
Pikachu—
It was nothing short of a war god reborn!
People mourned the tragic fate of this desperate Electric mouse, yet deep down, an unparalleled respect burned for it.
To fight to this extent—
Pikachu had already poured every last fragment of its soul into the battle.
Enough talk!
Now was the time to happily plan how to spend those 100 betting points!
However—
What no one expected was that, at the center of the radiant screen,
the boy known as Ash was thinking in a direction completely opposite to everyone else.
Camera Focus—
"Wake up! Pikachu! Get back on your feet!"
"Don't tell me you'll be taken down by something as trivial as ice!"
"That unyielding toughness of yours—
it's dragged me back from despair more times than I can count!"
"Every time I was on the brink of breaking,
you reignited my fighting spirit with the fiercest lightning!"
"I'm ordering you—listen to my voice!"
"PIKACHU—RELEASE YOUR THUNDERBOLT!!!"
Ash's heart-rending roar, torn straight from the depths of his soul, shook countless hearts to their core.
Yet the Pikachu sealed within the crystal-clear ice coffin remained deathly silent.
No response.
The referee frowned deeply, raised his arm, and spoke heavily:
"Pikachu has lost the ability to battle. Therefore, the winner of this match is—"
Lance (Kanto Champion): Sigh… that boy's cry instantly pulled me back to the days when I fought alongside Dragonite in raging storms. Perhaps this is what they call the fire of youth.
Diantha (Kalos Champion): Even though the outcome was carved into fate long ago, witnessing this still twists the heart. That little one fought with everything it had—but still couldn't shake a Legendary's iron wall.
Cynthia (Sinnoh Champion): Ash has already done everything he possibly could. Pikachu even surpassed its own limits. That's enough. Sometimes, the blaze of the journey matters far more than the final result.
The onlookers shook their heads and sighed.
The ending was already set in stone.
Ash's speech-powered encouragement was touching—
even stirring memories of first journeys and first partners.
But no matter how powerful belief was,
it could not revive a body already judged to be "near death."
Victory was clear-cut.
Defeat was irreversible.
There was no gray area between them.
In base stats and potential ceiling, Pikachu was worlds beneath Regice.
And the sliver of hope Pikachu had carved out with flesh and blood—
Had been casually flattened by Brandon.
With no advantage to begin with, and now completely drained—
What right did Pikachu have?
What could it possibly use to bridge the heaven-and-earth gap between itself and a god?
Unbeatable.
This was truly a defeat with no possible reversal.
Watching Ash, eyes reddened, nearly pleading as he called for Pikachu on the screen—
All anyone felt was deep pity for this pair.
All except Ash himself.
The fire blazing within him refused to accept defeat.
"No!"
"This isn't the end!"
Ash stared at the screen like a blazing sun, fists clenched tight. His voice pierced through space itself:
"My Pikachu and I—we will fight until the very last spark burns out!"
"This battle—
IS NOT OVER!"
He—
Was the embodiment of miracles.
He—
Would create a miracle!
"Pika! Pika—!"
The Pikachu standing on Ash's shoulder in the real world lifted its head firmly and nodded hard.
That's right.
Nothing was over yet.
Brock and Misty still harbored doubts—but when they saw the unyielding fire in Ash's eyes, then looked back at the uncertain battlefield on the screen…
"Maybe… maybe it really could work?"
"That idiot Ash pulling off a miracle—
it wouldn't exactly be the first time, would it?"
Brock narrowed his signature squinting eyes and smiled in relief.
If anyone else said, "It's not over yet," Brock would scoff.
But if the one saying it was Ash—
Then the answer remained the same.
Maybe… just maybe… he really could do it.
After all, he was the boy favored by fate—the one who walked wherever miracles descended upon the world.
On Screen—
Countless moments shared by Ash and Pikachu exploded forth like a flood.
From their first meeting in Pallet Town, with a bike fried black.
To the blood-soaked, fiery journey that earned them eight League Badges.
Even fragmented, fleeting scenes—
Everyone could clearly feel it.
What kind of near-death struggles this duo had endured all the way here.
No one could tell—
Was this Ash's memory replaying?
Or was it Pikachu, frozen in ice, experiencing its final life flashback?
Just as the referee raised his hand high, about to deliver the final verdict—
He suddenly heard a disturbance he couldn't ignore.
It erupted from the very core of the ice sculpture.
His gaze snapped like lightning toward Pikachu's position.
He saw—
Deep inside the massive transparent ice pillar,
violent electric arcs twisted and flashed like venomous serpents!
What the hell was this?!
For the first time in the entire battle—
Brandon's brow froze solid.
Viewers across the world stared in disbelief, hearts nearly stopping.
Th-this… what kind of insane twist was this?!
"PIKA—PIKA—CHUUUUU!!!"
A world-shattering burst of brilliant yellow lightning—
as if it could tear heaven and earth apart—erupted from Pikachu's body!
BOOOOOOM—!!
Amid thunderous roars, the massive ice pillar imprisoning it shattered instantly into countless flying shards!
Pikachu burst free—
Like rebirth through flames!
"It worked!"
Ash pumped his fist wildly in ecstasy!
But Pikachu wasn't finished.
That Thunderbolt—
Its pressure and terror dwarfed every previous release by several magnitudes!
At the very instant the ice shattered—
Its target locked directly onto the Regice opposite it,
still stunned by the sudden turn of events!
"REGI—!!!"
The Legendary Pokémon Regice let out an agonized, disbelieving wail!
Deep Within Viridian Gym
"This Pikachu…
That energy fluctuation…"
"There's no way an ordinary Electric mouse should possess something like this."
Giovanni's pupils ignited once more with greedy flames.
Unbelievable!
This display of power had already shattered Giovanni's highest definition of what "Pikachu" could be.
"I'm even more curious now…"
"Just what kind of defiance-against-heaven secret is hidden within this Pikachu?"
"If I can analyze it… and make it mine…"
Giovanni's lips curled into a cold, sinister smile.
"Mewtwo…
My ultimate weapon—you are destined to return to your master."
His gaze swept past the Pokédex entry representing Mewtwo in the item shop—
Then locked onto an object most considered worthless,
but which he viewed as priceless—
A forbidden device capable of precisely retrieving a Pokémon once owned.
A look of absolute certainty appeared on Giovanni's face.
Five hundred betting points.
Once this prediction settled, he'd have half the required funds.
Very soon…
Very soon, he would reclaim that ultimate nightmare—Mewtwo—
And make the entire world tremble.
Kalos Region
"As expected of Ash…
He's always this dazzling—this powerful."
"It's like wherever he stands, no difficulty is worth worrying about."
The young girl cupped her flushed cheeks with both hands, eyes shimmering with adoration as she gazed at the miracle-forging duo on the screen.
From time to time, a smile surfaced—
Sweet and radiant, like someone immersed in the purest, most passionate love.
Back to the Battlefield—
Regice was once again struck by that raging Thunderbolt, its entire body violently paralyzed!
And this time—
Compared to the previous minor tremor, Regice's condition was far worse,
as if it might collapse at any moment!
And Brandon—
At that very instant—
Seemed to be deeply, uncontrollably stirred by Ash's fiery, despair-defying comeback!
The flames of battle—
Were far from extinguished.
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