The combined force of Twister and the crashing water had Starmie in serious trouble. If it were just Twister alone, Starmie—at Elite Peak Tier—could've easily escaped from a Pidgeotto's attack. But once the vortex absorbed the pool's water and turned into a roaring waterspout, it wasn't something Starmie could break free from so easily.
"What an outrageous idea. If I hadn't traveled with you this whole time, I'd seriously doubt you were a beginner Trainer, Ash," Misty said, genuinely impressed.
Ash's battle instincts had been showing ever since his fight with Brock. His strategies were far beyond what a rookie Trainer should be capable of—and today was no exception.
Even with such a huge gap in power, he'd somehow managed to trap her Starmie, if only for a moment.
Of course, it wouldn't last. As soon as the Twister weakened, Starmie would burst free and counterattack.
Ash grinned. "Guess it's time to admit it—I'm a genius Trainer. Way more of a genius than you are, Misty!"
"Ugh, as if!"
"Heh, my turn's not over yet! Come back, Pidgeotto… I'm counting on you again, Butterfree!"
Misty frowned as Butterfree reappeared. Why switch back? If he wanted to rotate Pokémon, now was the perfect time to send out Pikachu and strike Starmie while it was trapped. A powerful Electric-type move right now could deal devastating damage.
Once Starmie escaped, Misty was certain Ash wouldn't get another opening like this.
If Starmie was free to move, Pikachu would never be able to keep up in Speed. So if he wanted to do real damage, this was the moment—and yet Ash wasn't taking it. Instead, he brought back Butterfree, effectively wasting the advantage he'd just created.
But Ash quickly showed his real plan. "Butterfree, use Confusion!"
"freeee—!" Butterfree's compound eyes glowed an intense blue, and psychic energy surged through the air. The entire Twister lifted from the pool, spinning wildly before Butterfree hurled it toward the right side of the stands!
The Sensational Sisters and Brock were sitting on the left side, so they were safe—but they still jumped at the sheer force of the move.
What on earth was Ash doing? Was he trying to fling Starmie out of the arena along with the Twister? Misty could only stare as the swirling vortex—and most of the pool's water—were flung aside, leaving the pool two-thirds empty. But Starmie hadn't been thrown out.
In fact, now that the Twister was gone, Starmie was finally free.
"Ash, what are you doing?!"
"You'll see soon enough. Butterfree, use Gust!"
The air roared again, strong winds whipping through the arena, stirring what little water remained.
Starmie, still submerged, took no damage. Meanwhile, Butterfree was already gasping for breath.
Using Confusion—a non-STAB move—for something that massive had drained nearly half its HP. Now it was using Gust again, forcing more of its strength out. If this kept up, Butterfree would collapse from exhaustion before Starmie even attacked.
…Wait. Stirring up the water?
Misty's eyes widened. Her gaze snapped to the pool below. Most of the water had already been drained or thrown aside. Starmie could barely stay submerged now. If the water dropped any lower, the water arena would be completely useless.
His real target wasn't Starmie—it was the water itself!
"Now, Butterfree! Use Confusion again—throw out the rest of the water!"
The pool was already in chaos, the water no longer cohesive. That meant Butterfree could easily lift what remained.
"freee!" Blue light filled Butterfree's eyes again, and the remaining water surged upward before being flung toward the empty stands. The water rushed down the aisles, draining away through the floor's water system.
By the time it was over, the battlefield was almost dry. Only shallow puddles remained—barely enough to dampen the floor, but not enough to hinder Pikachu's footing.
"So that was your plan all along," Misty said, twitching at the sight of the soaked stands.
"Exactly. Hurting Starmie wasn't the point. I just needed to give Pikachu solid ground to stand on. If we fought in your water arena, I wouldn't stand a chance, even three-on-one."
Ash smiled, returning Butterfree to its Poké Ball.
He felt a little bad for Butterfree and Pidgeotto—they'd both given it their all—but realistically, they couldn't have hurt Starmie anyway. The Tier gap was simply too big. Even if their attacks landed, they'd barely scratch it.
The only one who could truly threaten Starmie was Pikachu—his strongest Pokémon and the natural counter to a Water-type.
Misty exhaled slowly. "But to make that kind of battlefield, you completely drained your Butterfree. It can't fight anymore."
She wasn't wrong. The water arena's biggest advantage was shutting down Butterfree's powder-based tactics. Now that Butterfree was too tired to continue, that threat was gone.
And Pidgeotto, for all its effort, still didn't have the power to trouble her Starmie.
So even if Ash technically had three Pokémon left, the only one that really mattered was Pikachu.
Once Pikachu went down, the match would be over.
Ash clenched his fist. "Butterfree and Pidgeotto's efforts won't go to waste… Pikachu, it's all up to you now!"
"Pika pika!" Pikachu leapt forward, eyes blazing with determination.
Ralts tried to follow, tiny feet pattering against the floor, but Ash quickly scooped her up.
"Whoa there, hang on! Not you—Pikachu's fighting this time. Remember what I said? Just watch and learn today. You'll battle next time."
Sweat beaded on his forehead as he set her back down. If that little one jumped into the fight now, he couldn't even imagine what kind of disaster it'd be… Though honestly, if Ralts did step up, Misty might just surrender on the spot.