Looking at Marshtomp's fist—massive like a sandbag—Kadabra's eyes widened in terror.
Just as it panicked, unsure what to do—
Sabrina's voice echoed directly in its mind.
"Use all your psychic power. Construct a barrier. As long as you block this one hit, you still have a chance to win."
Hearing Sabrina's command, Kadabra quickly regained its composure. Its eyes glowed blue.
A nearly transparent, pale-blue psychic barrier formed in front of Marshtomp.
Seeing the sudden wall appear, Marshtomp showed no panic at all. Its expression remained calm as ever.
Without hesitation, it threw a punch—smashing heavily into the psychic barrier.
Kadabra let out a sigh of relief as it saw the barrier hold.
But in the very next second—
That relief vanished.
Because Marshtomp's fist broke through the barrier—
And continued straight toward Kadabra.
Kadabra's expression changed drastically.
Sabrina let out a soft sigh of helplessness.
Facing the incoming punch—
Her eyes flashed blue.
In the next instant, Kadabra disappeared from the battlefield—
Reappearing beside Sabrina.
Marshtomp's full-power strike missed, and it looked at Sabrina with slight dissatisfaction.
Sabrina turned to Red and said calmly:
"With Kadabra's defense, it could never withstand your Marshtomp's punch."
"I concede this round."
The moment Sabrina declared her loss—
The entire arena erupted in shock!
"My god! Lady Sabrina actually lost?!"
"Where did this guy come from? He's this strong?!"
"The broadcast said he's also a Gym Leader!"
...
The entire venue was filled with disbelief.
To the people of Saffron City, Sabrina's strength had always been unfathomable.
Many even believed that not even the Elite Four could guarantee victory against her.
And yet—
Today, she had actually lost.
"Go, Master!"
At this moment, two voices stood out in the entire arena.
Ash waved a flag from who-knows-where, shouting excitedly:
"Master, you're the best!"
"Keep it up—defeat the opposing Gym Leader!"
Ash continued cheering wildly.
Meanwhile, Gary suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Looking around, he noticed the disciples of the Saffron Gym staring at them with hostile intent.
Clearly—
After Red and Sabrina finished, a clash between disciples was inevitable.
Gary sighed helplessly, then decisively joined Ash.
"Go, Master! Beat them!"
He stared back at the glaring Saffron disciples, determination burning in his eyes.
Who's afraid of who? We're all Gym disciples!
The commotion outside didn't affect the two on the battlefield.
Sabrina glanced at Kadabra, which was still trembling slightly, then shook her head and recalled it.
"Gym Leader Red , your strength is impressive."
"But next… I'll be going all out."
A Poké Ball at her waist opened on its own.
A Pokémon floated into the battlefield—
Alakazam.
[Pokémon: Alakazam]
[Level: 61]
[Talent: Perfect]
[Evaluation: Champion-level Alakazam. Possesses unmatched psychic power. Under Sabrina's amplification, its combat strength will surge even further!]
"As expected… Champion-level."
Even before checking the data, Red had already sensed something was off from its aura alone.
But after seeing the panel—
He was still slightly shocked.
It really was a Champion-level Alakazam.
Red took out a Poké Ball and recalled Marshtomp.
Although Marshtomp was extremely interested in the floating Alakazam—clearly wanting to see what would happen if it landed a punch—
The gap in strength was simply too large.
Red had no intention of letting it take that risk.
"Do you have confidence in winning?"
Red spoke softly while holding a seemingly ordinary Poké Ball.
The Poké Ball shook slightly—
Then opened on its own.
Tyranitar descended once again!
BOOM—!
The already damaged battlefield was completely Reduced to rubble.
As Tyranitar appeared —
The sandstorm, which had been weakening, suddenly intensified several times over!
The violent storm caused Alakazam—who had kept its eyes closed—to slowly open them.
Upon seeing Tyranitar, a trace of surprise flashed in its gaze.
But after assessing its strength—
Alakazam calmly closed its eyes again.
Clearly—
In its view, any Pokémon that hadn't stepped into the Champion threshold…
All shared the same outcome.
The audience was also shocked upon seeing Sabrina send out her ace.
"My god! The last time Lady Sabrina used Alakazam was half a year ago!"
"Yeah! This guy's really lucky—he actually forced her to use her ace!"
"Lady Sabrina! Crush him!"
Sabrina crossed her arms and looked at Red .
"Don't be mistaken. A quasi-Champion is still far from a true Champion."
"The gap between them is like a chasm."
"This Tyranitar… your father left it to you, didn't he?"
"But unfortunately—it's not Alakazam's opponent."
Below the stage, Ninetales snorted angrily:
"It's just a newly advanced Champion-level Pokémon!"
"If I weren't in poor condition, I'd take its place and crush you myself!"
Facing the overwhelmingly one-sided support, Red took a deep breath.
"We'll see who wins after the battle."
"And Tyranitar is a Dark-type Pokémon—your Alakazam's natural counter."
Hearing this, Sabrina frowned slightly, irritation clear in her voice:
"That's exactly why I hate Dark-type Pokémon."
"Alakazam—Focus Blast."
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