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Of course, making Misty surrender was not an option. Otherwise, he would have just accepted the water drop badge Violet gave him at the very beginning.
This thought merely circled in Ash's mind before he dismissed it.
After he caught Ralts and placed him back at his feet, Ash stood up again and, along with a relieved Pikachu, looked at their opponent.
"I almost thought you were going to send Ralts out."
"How could that be? If Ralts went, I might as well go myself."
Misty: ...Is that something a human can say? What the heck does he mean, 'go himself'?
If anyone else had said that, Misty would have definitely retorted with harsh words, saying, 'If you're so capable, go yourself!' How overconfident it would be for a human to battle a Pokémon.
But if that person was Ash, Misty chose to silently swallow all her words.
This guy really can fight Pokémon!
And from the strength he usually displayed, even a Superior Level peak Pokémon might not be his opponent.
If Ash personally entered the battle, he might even have a higher chance of winning than Pikachu.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!!" After a brief verbal exchange, Ash was the first to command Pikachu to attack.
Brilliant golden electric light erupted from Pikachu, cutting through the sky and heading straight for Starmie.
"Starmie, use High Speed Spin to deflect it!" Misty did not let Starmie dodge; instead, she chose to use High Speed Spin.
Starmie's entire body began to spin, quickly transforming into a high-speed spinning top, rotating at an incredibly fast speed.
The brilliant electric light traversed the space and struck Starmie's body, only to be directly deflected by Starmie's spin. Not only that, Starmie maintained its high-speed spinning posture and charged rapidly towards Pikachu.
"Quick, dodge!"
"Bang!!"
Pikachu also wanted to dodge Starmie's attack, but having just used Thunderbolt, he hadn't recovered quickly enough from the recoil, and Starmie's speed far surpassed Pikachu's.
Even if Misty's Starmie only had a D-rank speed stat, and Pikachu was C~B, the level difference between them was enough to offset or even ignore this stat difference.
If Pikachu's current stats could reach S-rank, then perhaps the situation would be reversed, and Pikachu would ignore this huge level gap.
Pikachu was hit by High Speed Spin, his body flying backward, tumbling over a dozen times on the ground.
Fortunately, there was still some water on the ground to cushion the impact; otherwise, Pikachu would have sustained even greater damage from that hit.
Even so, being hit like that by an opponent with such a large level difference made the situation very grim for Pikachu.
Although Pikachu could still stand, his small legs were already trembling slightly.
"Give up, Ash. Your Thunderbolt has no effect on Starmie, but Starmie's single blow has already left Pikachu in this state. I've won this battle. You shouldn't have spent so much effort manipulating the field."
"If, at the very beginning, you had Butterfree and Pidgeotto take turns blowing strong winds to increase Twister's restraint on Starmie, and then rotated Pikachu in for Thunder Shock, you might have had a chance. But now..."
Misty looked at the battered Pikachu, shook her head, and said this to Ash.
These words also highlighted Misty's duty as a Gym Leader: when facing a challenger about to lose, she doesn't deliver a fatal blow to completely defeat them, but rather explains the flaws and poor performances the opponent exhibited earlier, allowing them to learn something from it.
Not to mention that this challenger was Ash; Misty, of course, had to do her best to help Ash identify and fix his weaknesses.
As for the badge... Ash's performance this time was actually quite good, just a bit misguided in his approach. For a beginner Trainer, he was already among the best, and even if he didn't win this battle, he deserved a badge.
Just as Misty was already imagining how she would arrogantly lecture Ash, standing on the high ground of education and pointing things out, Ash suddenly revealed a smile.
"I lost? That's not necessarily true. The battle isn't over yet; who knows what the outcome will be?"
"What do you mean? You're still not willing to give up? If this continues, Pikachu will suffer more damage. Knowing when to give up is also something a qualified Trainer should do." Misty was startled for a moment, then frowned slightly as she advised him.
"But my Pikachu hasn't given up, so how could I make a decision for him?"
Hearing this, Misty looked at Pikachu and saw that although his legs were trembling slightly, his face was still full of fighting spirit.
He hadn't lost his fighting spirit due to the huge level difference; instead, his will to fight was even more invigorated.
"The words 'never give up' are etched into our instincts, right, Pikachu!"
"Pika Pika!!"
"Very good, let's show Misty our true power!" After Ash finished speaking, he took off his hat and threw it onto the field.
Pikachu leaped up, his head accurately catching the hat, and then landed steadily on the ground.
At this moment, Pikachu wearing Ash's red and white hat looked a bit strange, yet for some reason, there was also a natural sense of unity, as if this version of Pikachu... was his complete form?
Misty's gaze froze at this thought. Pikachu with a hat is his complete form? Why did she have such a thought? She had a bad feeling...
"Let's go, Pikachu!" Ash's eyes lit up with a brilliant blue light, and Pikachu's did the same—Aura Fusion state.
"Electric-type moves are useless against my Starmie. What method do you plan to use to attack?" Misty suppressed the strange feeling in her heart and said calmly.
"That's not necessarily true. As long as I attack you before you use High Speed Spin, isn't that enough? Pikachu, use Electric Terrain!" Ash waved his hand and shouted loudly.
Electric Terrain? What kind of move is that?
Following the Aura Sphere from before, this was another never-before-seen move. Aura Sphere, at least, was a move Ash taught Pikachu using his own Aura Power, but this Electric Terrain... does Pikachu even know this move?
Never mind, first, defend: "Starmie, High Speed Spin..."
"Pika Pika Pika!!" Before Misty's words could finish, Pikachu had already planted his four limbs on the ground, his entire body transforming into a flash of lightning and disappearing from the field.
Only a fleeting golden electric light could be seen on the field. Before Misty's voice had even faded, Starmie was already sent flying backward!
"Boom!!"
A deafening sound rang out, and the entire field seemed to shake.
Misty stared blankly at Starmie, who had been blasted against the wall, her pupils unfocused.
What... just happened?