On the arena, pillar after pillar of golden lightning struck Snorlax.
Its physical strength kept diminishing, although its robust physical strength and strong special defense could resist some special attacks, they couldn't withstand such continuous depletion.
Several times, it wanted to counterattack, but Jolteon's position changed too quickly to lock onto.
Trainer Ash did not speak, as if accepting his fate.
In the audience, Serena's fingers unconsciously clenched the hem of her skirt.
Her gaze closely followed the enormous figure in the field, constantly enduring attacks, her red lips slightly pursed; at this rate, Snorlax would lose.
"Don't worry." Misty's voice came from beside her, with barely any worry in her words.
Serena turned her head and found Misty also watching Ash, but her emerald green eyes showed no panic, instead full of confidence.
"Ash isn't the kind of person who would just stand there letting the opponent attack. He's certainly thinking of a solution right now."
Serena was startled for a moment, then looked at the boy standing in the command seat.
Indeed, Ash's face showed no anxiety or panic; he simply watched the continuously shifting golden streak in the field, his gaze focused and steady as if waiting for something.
In fact, just as Misty said, Ash was not one to sit around waiting for doom; he was waiting—for a chance to counterattack!
In the state of Aura Fusion, he shared perception with Snorlax.
He could see Jolteon's movement track through Snorlax's eyes, feel the pain each time Thunderbolt hit through Snorlax's body, and most importantly, he could sense Jolteon's actions through Aura Power.
Jolteon's movement was indeed swift, and after each attack, it would immediately change direction.
But no matter how it moved, it must have some pattern and habits.
Which position it preferred to strike from, which direction it habitually turned after striking, what the acceleration and deceleration rhythm was like, etc.
If observing with the naked eye, given Jolteon's attack frequency, likely Snorlax would be unable to withstand it before any results are observed, but Aura Power is different!
This power is godlike in terms of observing information!
Each attack Snorlax endured was collecting information; soon... hang in there a bit longer, Snorlax!
As time passed, Snorlax had already endured Thunderbolt attacks five times; even with Snorlax's robust physical strength, it was already depleted.
The huge body was covered with scorch marks left by Thunderbolt, each breath accompanied by heavy panting, the body slightly trembling; just one more hit from the opponent would declare its defeat.
It was at this moment, the brilliant blue light in Ash's eyes shone even more brightly—found it!
"Snorlax, Giga Impact." Ash's voice echoed in the arena, still filled with enthusiastic emotions.
Upon hearing this command, Volkner's eyebrows raised slightly, Giga Impact? What's the use of using Giga Impact at this time?
Jolteon was moving in high speed and had ample physical strength, Giga Impact is a straight-line charging skill, in Snorlax's current state, even if it charges out, it wouldn't be able to touch Jolteon's sleeve.
Could it be finally giving up, wanting to make a desperate final struggle? But this would only be a death throe.
Thinking so, Volkner's gaze fell on Ash, then he froze.
On Ash's face, he saw no expression of gambling everything, instead filled with complete confidence; even in such a situation, Ash had not given up?
No, this was no longer just about not giving up; it was a feeling that everything was within his calculations!
Volkner keenly sensed something was off, but couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong.
With Ash's command, Snorlax gathered the last remaining strength in its body, the scarred body entirely wrapped in a dense layer of white light.
Suddenly, it charged out, like a shooting meteor, toward a particular direction in the field!
That direction looked empty, no one knew why Snorlax would rush there, except Volkner's expression drastically changed!
Because Jolteon's running trajectory would exactly pass through the point where Snorlax crashed into.
Volkner finally understood where the sense of mismatch came from; it was this!
Ash predicted Jolteon's landing spot, which is why he let Snorlax use Giga Impact!
But how is this possible? Not to mention how Ash predicted Jolteon's landing spot, even predicting it, at least two seconds in advance is needed to allow Snorlax to charge toward the spot.
And Ash didn't even give Snorlax a specific direction, just shouted "Giga Impact," and Snorlax rushed in a certain direction!
Could it be Ash and this Snorlax could already act as one, requiring no specific command to determine the target point to attack?
Countless thoughts exploded in Volkner's mind, but he no longer had time to think about them, because a massive crisis was nearing Jolteon!
"Jolteon, dodge quickly!!" Volkner's voice carried unprecedented urgency.
If this move, Giga Impact, hits, it's definitely going to be a bad outcome!
Jolteon also sensed that something was wrong. He tried his best to change direction, but at this moment, while running at full speed, his entire body was in a state of inertia.
Trying to change direction temporarily was utterly impossible, so the only thing he could do now was unleash his strongest attack before Snorlax collided with him.
"Thunder!!" Volkner's voice also timely rang out at this moment.
All the Thunder Light around Jolteon gathered at one point and then turned into a thick golden pillar of lightning, striking down towards the incoming Snorlax!
The power of that lightning bolt was more terrifying than all the combined Thunderbolt before it. The whole Gym was bathed in dazzling gold, and the arcs of electricity jumping on the Electric Terrain also crazily converged towards that lightning pillar.
This was the strongest attack unleashed by Jolteon at the Elite Four Peak level!
Snorlax did not dodge, and he couldn't avoid it. He could only rely on brute strength to charge forward, and at this moment, this move was already compressed into using all the power within his body with nothing held back, placing everything on this single attack!
Two forces collided in mid-air — "Boom!!"
The Thunder attack hit Snorlax, but the distance between them was too close for Thunder to prevent Snorlax's attack from hitting.
Giga Impact slammed solidly into Jolteon, sending his slender, pale yellow body flying high, like a spinning top, flipping several times in the air before crashing heavily to the ground, sliding a considerable distance before barely stopping.
A deep wound marked his body, inflicted by the Giga Impact.
Jolteon, with full Physical Strength, had nearly bottomed out immediately after being hit by Giga Impact; this is the power of Belly Drum Snorlax.
Couple that with the Giga Impact, an Ultimate Move of the same type; not fainting means a miracle!
—— Now it is indeed a miracle, but unfortunately, Jolteon's Level is just too high; if he weren't at Elite Four Peak, he would have already fallen.
The Level gap still formed an insurmountable chasm, who remembers that Snorlax was just Gym Intermediate Level?
On the other hand, Snorlax's condition was much worse.
The Thunder damage exploded entirely on him, leaving horrifying char marks all over his round body, the once sleek fur now turned pitch black in large patches.
At this moment, he was rolled out due to the recoil from Thunder, arriving in front of Ash, who was also half-kneeling on the ground, eyes half-open, looking quite in pain.
After Aura Fusion, their perceptions merged into one; the pain Snorlax suffered, Ash naturally could also feel firsthand.
"Snor..." Snorlax looked at Ash and let out a weak murmur. He wanted to stand up, but ultimately his arm could only lift halfway before physically dropping down again.
After Belly Drum, with full Physical Strength, Jolteon's continuous Thunderbolt had already left him with hardly any stamina left, coupled with that final full-force Thunder, eventually exceeding his endurance limit.
Snorlax lost the ability to fight.
"Snorlax is unable to battle, Jolteon wins!" Alex's voice rang out, with a hint of undisguised awe.
Although Snorlax lost, saying he lost honorably is completely appropriate.
Ash, using special power, elevated Snorlax's Level over hundreds of years, but the chasm between Snorlax and Jolteon at Elite Four Peak was still formidable, not to mention Snorlax had just defeated an Elite Four Advanced Level Manectric.
The kind of results Snorlax achieved is inseparable from Ash's command and tactics.
The Belly Drum strategy exceeded the Gym Leader's expectations, the phantom-like speed further shattered their understanding, and that last move to predict Jolteon's landing point was simply unbelievable.
The Trainer challenging this time might not be weaker in command level than a Champion!
It's not him boasting his Gym Leader, but really—if a Champion came, facing this Snorlax would undoubtedly suffer a major loss on first encounter.
Ash, after a rest, came to Snorlax's side; his condition was not great, but he still showed a gentle smile looking at Snorlax: "Thanks for your hard work, Snorlax. Rest well; you've done your best."
Snorlax's body slightly moved, seemingly responding to Ash's words.
Ash returned Snorlax to the Pokeball, feeling quietly regretful; if only Snorlax didn't rely on Aura Power but his strength to reach real Mid-Elite Four Level, his Physical Strength and defensive power would be significantly stronger than now.
Then, the results of this battle would be entirely different.
Gym Intermediate Level is ultimately still Gym Intermediate Level; Aura Fusion can enhance his ATK and Speed, but there's no way to make up for the physical gap created by Level differences.
In other words, Snorlax resiliently endured five Thunderbolts from Elite Four Peak level with Gym Intermediate Level defensive power and Physical Strength.
Though Ash took some of the damage, fundamentally Snorlax himself was incredibly tough.
If Snorlax truly achieved Mid-Elite Four Level, he would have already swept two.
Even so, Snorlax still defeated one and devastated another, and this was even when both Pokemon surpassed Snorlax in power after enhancement.
If only at Mid-Elite Four Level...
"Remarkable." Volkner's voice had genuine admiration, "No matter what means you used, your Snorlax ultimately relied on Gym Intermediate Level power to defeat an Elite Four Advanced Level and severely injure an Elite Four Peak Level."
"Just this achievement is enough to be recorded in the annals of the Pokemon Realm."
Ash retrieved the Pokeball to his belt, then took out another Pokeball: "Is that so? If this alone can be recorded in the annals, then my partners and I have already filled the annals of the Pokemon Realm."
Volkner: ...
Are you taking a breather after being complimented? Snorlax's miracle-making phenomenon, do you think it'll happen again?
If it happened easily again, it wouldn't be called a miracle.
"Let it be you, Lucario!" Ash released his second Pokemon.
The light flashed, and a tall figure with a mix of blue and black steadily landed in the center of the field, the Aura Guardian—Lucario!
Seeing Lucario, Volkner slightly raised his eyebrows; in terms of attribute, Lucario resists Electric Type, and his Jolteon's Physical Strength was significantly depleted.
If the opponent could unleash the kind of power shown by Snorlax just now, it would be troublesome for Jolteon—but only a bit.
"Come, show me what's special about your Lucario." Volkner waved, his expression already drastically different from when he first saw Ash.
It was an expression of excitement long absent from Volkner's face!
This battle made Volkner's blood as Trainer boil up; this is what battling is all about!
"You'll see, Lucario, Mach Punch!"
"Jolteon, dodge and use Thunderbolt!"
Ash initiated the attack first; Volkner's command was slightly delayed, but that slight delay in battle didn't matter much — Volkner initially thought so.
He knew Jolteon's speed; even if the opponent took the initiative, Jolteon's agility was enough to withdraw from the attack range before Mach Punch hit, then counter with a Thunderbolt to turn the tables.
However, this time, his judgement was wrong.
The moment Lucario's figure disappeared from the original place, the air didn't even have time to leave a shadow.
Jolteon hadn't even managed to gather strength when a blue-black figure stood right in front of him.
Lucario's crimson eyes met his, the right fist already brimming with power, with his fist surrounded by gleaming Fighting Type energy.
"Bang!!"
A deep thud erupted in the Gym. The fist struck precisely, hitting the side of Jolteon's head, sending Jolteon flying!
Jolteon rolled like a bowling ball, tumbling several times across the ground before sliding to a stop in front of Volkner, his body slightly shivering before ceasing all movements — Jolteon lost the ability to battle.
Lucario slowly withdrew his fist, his face remained unchanged, as if saying—one punch is enough.
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