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Gardevoir's slender hands slowly lifted, and the magnificent black gown danced gracefully in the rain.
An extremely dense mass of purple-black energy suddenly gathered in front of her.
The energy grew more solid and more concentrated, ultimately forming a purple-black energy ball the size of a basketball.
The surface of the energy ball flowed with eerie patterns, as if it contained some transcendent law.
Just the existence of that energy ball itself made the air in the entire arena stagnate.
"That is..."
Clair and Lance simultaneously displayed bewildered expressions.
They had never seen such a move in any texts.
They had never heard of the term Psystrike before; if Ash hadn't made a mistake, this must be a brand new skill!
"Is this another skill Gardevoir created?" Clair asked cautiously.
She was already psychologically prepared for Gardevoir's bizarre moves.
The previous Essence Power was already ridiculous enough, and now there's another energy ball that looks off.
Cynthia's golden eyes flashed with a complex expression.
As a Champion Trainer, her sensitivity to these top-tier moves was naturally much higher than Clair's.
The aura emitted by that energy ball made her scalp slightly tingle.
"That's no ordinary skill. That scent... it's the scent exclusive to the moves of Legendary Beasts."
Lance's expression changed; a move exclusive to Legendary Beasts? That sort of thing should only be usable by Legendary Beasts themselves!
Why can a Gardevoir use it?
Before this question could form in his mind, the lavender-black energy ball in the center of the arena had already been launched.
The purple-black energy ball suddenly detached from Gardevoir's hands, transforming into an eerie comet rushing head-on toward the flood made from Muddy Water and Hydro Pump in the center of the arena.
"Boom!!"
The two forces collided mightily at the center of the arena.
The flood layered with Muddy Water and Hydro Pump couldn't even last a second; the purple-black energy ball cut through it like a knife through tofu.
Muddy water splashed everywhere, and the surging flood of water was completely pulverized in an instant by the energy ball's impact.
The purple-black energy ball advanced without the slightest pause and, in the blink of an eye, slammed onto the Goodra riding the wave of Muddy Water.
"Aow---!!!"
Goodra let out a most sorrowful shriek.
Its tall body of two meters was struck hard by the energy ball, falling straight down from the wave of Muddy Water.
After Psystrike hit Goodra, it didn't instantly disappear; instead, it exploded a series of psyshocks on Goodra's body.
These shockwaves surged wildly outwards from the explosion point, encompassing the entire arena.
"Crack!"
The barriers originally capable of resisting the impact of Champion Peak-level Pokemon battles began to form cracks.
These cracks, like cobwebs, spread towards every corner of the barrier, looking as if they might shatter completely at any moment.
"Not good!"
Lance and Clair's expressions changed simultaneously.
They were both experienced trainers and naturally understood the consequences of a barrier breaking.
If those shockwaves really broke through the barrier, the entire gym would suffer.
Almost simultaneously, the two stood up from their seats, reaching for their Pokeballs to prepare their Pokemon to help resist the frightening shockwaves.
But just as their hands touched the Pokeballs...
"Buzz——"
The barrier once littered with cracks suddenly glowed with a faint purple aura.
In the blink of an eye, the cracks on the barrier began to heal as if time had reversed.
Not only healed, but the thickness of the barrier was even stronger than before.
Lance and Clair stood frozen in place, their hands hovering over the Pokeballs, unsure of what to do.
"This..."
"How did the barrier repair itself?!"
Lance was full of disbelief.
"Does the gym's barrier come with a self-repair feature?"
Clair was similarly bewildered, although she was a Gym Leader herself, her Blackthorn Gym's barrier didn't possess such power.
Yet the barriers used by both gyms should be the same; there was no reason Raihan's gym should have a feature hers didn't!
The truth of the matter was known only to Ash, whose waist bore a certain Pokeball.
Within the Pokeball, Mewtwo gently released its power to repair the cracks in the barrier.
It also fortified the barrier's strength a bit, just in case similar situations arose later on.
For Mewtwo, this sort of thing was already routine, and it was already a miracle that the League's barriers lasted so long this time.
The spectators, Lance and Clair, naturally had no clue, and could only attribute the barrier's automatic repair to some facility mechanism of the gym.
Only Cynthia had an inkling of what was going on.
'It must be Mewtwo, that one is still so incredible...'
Back at the Orange Archipelago, Cynthia had witnessed Mewtwo's power, capable of battling the Divine Domain Peak Lugia in the sky.
Although Ash mentioned that Mewtwo had used some special power back then, Mewtwo's own power could also dominate the Three Divine Birds on the ground.
Divine Domain Level power is more than sufficient to mend such barriers.
As the view became clear again, everyone saw the devastation on the arena.
The field, already tattered from various moves, had now become completely unrecognizable.
A giant crater nearly thirty meters in diameter and almost ten meters deep was blasted by Psystrike in the center of the arena.
The ground around the crater was covered with numerous web-like cracks, and there were even some visible bulges and depressions on the entire arena floor.
The originally pristine battlefield now looked as if it had been struck by a meteor, with no semblance of its former appearance at all.
The Goodra, which had been supporting the rainy weather, was now collapsed in that giant crater.
Its large purple body was battered and bruised by Psystrike, with countless scars from Spiritual Power tearing through its once smooth skin, and its slime was nearly washed away.
Its large round eyes were tightly shut, unable to move even a bit.
As Goodra fell, the heavy downpour gradually came to a halt.
Though the number of rounds hadn't been reached, the power of Psystrike directly shattered the rainy weather.
The Gardevoir now, even without using Essence Power for Psystrike, could reach almost Champion Peak level in power.
That was a power that Goodra simply couldn't resist.
The referee was stunned for quite some time before they realized and raised the flag in their hand.
"Goodra is unable to battle!"
"The challenger's Gardevoir wins!"
Raihan stood dazed in place, staring at the giant crater in the center of the arena, unable to regain his senses for a long time.
After a long while, he let out a deep sigh.
He took out a Pokeball and recalled the Goodra from the ground.
"You did well, Goodra, that move... we really couldn't block it."
He looked up at the arena completely blown apart by Psystrike and then at the Gardevoir still standing elegantly on the field with a fascinating expression on his face.
He doesn't understand.jpg.
Why do Ash's Pokémon always pull out some strange moves?
Those moves, and that power, continually refresh his perception of Ash.
"Can you tell me, Ash? What exactly is that move?"
Even someone as experienced as him had never seen such a move, enabling a Pokémon to burst out with power far exceeding its physical capabilities... it should only be achievable by divine skills, right?
Ash scratched his head, exchanged a glance with Gardevoir, and then replied, "That's a move Gardevoir learned from a Legendary Beast, similar in level to Death Wing and Aeroblast."
Raihan: ...
Fine, fine, another Legendary Move again, it never ends!
How many Legendary Level moves do you have on hand, darn it! Release a real Legendary Beast in the next match if you've got the guts!
"Alright, alright, you always manage to pull off something way beyond my expectations; you feel more troublesome than Leon."
Raihan shrugged helplessly, refocusing his attention on the arena.
The battlefield, now dilapidated beyond recognition, was no longer fit to support the match.
The giant crater on the ground, along with those web-like cracks, made it impossible for two Pokémon to battle normally on it.
"We'll need to change the arena." He turned his head and shouted toward a staff member in the corner. "Activate the backup arena switch!"
With a mechanical roar, the entire battlefield suddenly began to sink.
The tattered ground, along with the giant crater, gradually sank into the Gym's underground area, replaced by a brand new battlefield slowly rising from below.
This field wasn't sand anymore, but instead an official Gym arena.
Lance watched this scene, unable to resist a chuckle: "Raihan actually prepared two sets of arenas, this guy sure thinks peculiarly."
Typically, Gym Leaders indeed prepare two arenas, but not two sets of arenas.
Gym Leaders like Raihan, who prepare one sandy and one standard arena, are truly rare.
Raihan took a deep breath, shaking off the shadow of the previous match from his mind.
"The next one won't be something Goodra can compare to."
From his waist, he took down the fifth Pokeball: "Go, Dragapult!"
As the light faded, a streamlined large form appeared on the field.
Its upper body was covered with a thick dark gray shell adorned with a few sharp red triangular patterns, resembling a precise stealth fighter jet.
On top of its head were two high-raised red horns, each with an opening resembling a launch port at its base, inside of which two small Pokémon were curled up: Dragapult's unique partners, Dreepy.
The lower body transformed into a graceful green-blue ghostly aura extending backward, gradually becoming transparent at the end, swaying leisurely above the field.
Galar Region's Dragon Type Quasi-God, Ghost Dragon—Dragapult!
In the audience stands, Lance's expression immediately became grave.
"This is going to be troublesome," he whispered to a few people beside him, "Dragapult is Galar Region's Dragon Type Quasi-God, there's one in Leon's team."
"Leon's Dragapult has already reached Champion Peak; however, Raihan's one here is definitely not weak either."
"In terms of level, it should already be Champion Advanced, and it's even above the Champion Advanced level of the Goodra just now."
Cynthia nodded lightly.
"Generally, Champion Level Trainers' strongest Pokémon are at most Champion Advanced, only the top Champion Trainers have Champion Peak Pokémon."
"Raihan's last Pokémon is most likely Champion Peak; Dragapult should be his second strongest Pokémon."
Clair, having heard this analysis, nodded her head, subconsciously glancing at the still elegantly standing MEGA Gardevoir on the field.
"Gardevoir still has plenty of physical strength, it can definitely fight another battle."
"Moreover, Fairy Type along with Psychic Type against Ghost Type plus Dragon Type Dragapult, is somewhat advantageous to both sides."
"Fairy Type counters Dragon Type, and Ghost Type counters Psychic Type, so it's a perfect mutual weakness."
But Lance shook his head.
"According to what Ash has said before, he seems to have arranged an entry slot for each Pokémon. Since Gardevoir has already fought one battle, as per rules, it won't be sent out again, Ash should dispatch a new Pokémon."
Cynthia's gaze fell on Ash: "If Ash is to send a new Pokémon, there's probably only Pikachu left?"
Charizard descended from the sky, Gardevoir fought at Blackthorn Gym, added to the other two Pokémon that have appeared, and those from Blackthorn Gym.
Now, likely only Pikachu is left for Ash that can be used.
Is he planning to use Pikachu for a one-on-two, or...?
In the center of the field, Ash was currently frowning and tangled up.
His gaze swept back and forth over the few Pokeballs on his waist, with countless thoughts swirling inside.
According to his idea, each Pokémon could only appear once in a battle.
This rule was mainly to ensure each partner in the team had the opportunity to showcase themselves, to avoid a few main players monopolizing all the action.
However, the current problem was... there really weren't many Pokémon left fit to fight.
The ones still fit that haven't gone on yet are only Pikachu and Mewtwo.
But Mewtwo simply isn't interested in this level of battle, letting it out would be a waste of time.
Only Pikachu is left then.
But the thought of Pikachu going out twice in a row had Ash glance at the sidelines.
The Charizard laying in the corner was watching him with a meaningful look, its demeanor fully saying, 'if you let old Pikachu out twice and not let me out, I'm really going to throw a Dragon Type mega explosion'.
If Pikachu actually went out, Charizard might just perform a Dragon Type mega explosion on the spot.
Ash chuckled helplessly and toyed with a strategy in his mind.
'Maybe let Charizard, Gardevoir, Pikachu decide with rock-paper-scissors?'
This idea was immediately dismissed by him.
Haha, Pikachu's hands and Charizard's claws might still be able to change, but Gardevoir's hands... can only make fabric!
Forget it... if worst comes to worst let Charizard and Gardevoir each battle half a match?
At this moment, a low and authoritative voice suddenly resonated in his mind.
'Ash, let me in.' Ash was dumbfounded.
This voice...
'Giratina?'