Next was the final showdown. Brandon didn't need many words. In his hands was undoubtedly his last remaining Regi: Regice. Although Regice had already faced Paul in a duel, the impact on its stamina was minimal.
To put it bluntly, it had barely exerted any effort, and Paul's entire team had fallen. Therefore, Regice's stamina was still at its peak. It still possessed the strength of a true Champion High Legendary.
In contrast, Ash's last Pokémon.
Ash looked at Pikachu at his feet. "Pikachu, the final battle is up to you."
"Pika pika!"
Pikachu nodded firmly. He knew that Ash always entrusted the final, toughest battle to him, no matter how strong the opponent was. Ash always believed in him. So he wouldn't let Ash down.
"Pikachu? I've long heard you have a miraculous Pikachu, and now I finally get to see it for real." Brandon said, recalling Regirock into its Poké Ball. Regirock's defeat had been a significant blow to him, but a Trainer's composure wasn't just for show. It was just a minor setback. How could it cause him to lose his focus?
It was just one defeat, and even if there had been some unexpected moments, it wouldn't leave him stunned for long. He would immediately get back into form to face the final match.
"You know my last Pokémon already, right? Go, Regice." Brandon threw out a Poké Ball, and Regice reappeared on the field. Its oppressive aura was still incredibly strong.
Ash had already seen Regice's information beforehand, including its stat totals. To put it simply, Regice was stronger than the other two Regis. Even though it was also Champion High, there was a significant difference between them. It could be said that Regice was the strongest of the three Regis in the world.
And Pikachu, although it was the final appearance, was the weakest of Ash's three aces in raw tier. Pikachu had now reached Elite Four Peak. Just looking at Pikachu's leveling speed, it was absolutely impressive.
But compared to Charizard and Gardevoir, those two freaks, this level was still somewhat lacking. Those two were already Champion level, while Pikachu didn't even know where the Champion breakthrough lay.
Moreover, once it reached Champion level, it would hit a bottleneck, needing another evolution stage to break through to Champion Beginner or higher.
At first glance, Pikachu seemed unlikely to ever surpass Gardevoir and Charizard, but that wasn't actually the case. If Pikachu were to undergo another rebirth stage, its leveling speed could potentially surpass those two Pokémon, but that was a matter for later.
Without mentioning that Pikachu's next rebirth stage required a Chat Group prize draw, and that the evolution itself had no connection to the current situation, Ash set aside those thoughts.
Ash waved his hand, and Pikachu leaped onto the tattered field. As Ash's most trusted Pokémon, and the final act, this battle was a gamble on his own dignity. He absolutely could not lose.
"Let's go!" Ash took off his hat and threw it onto the field, and Pikachu firmly caught it and placed it on his head.
Species: Pikachu (Partner Form)
Gender: Male
Type: Electric
Level: Champion Beginner
Ability: Static
Held Item: Light Ball
Moves: Thunderbolt, Zippy Zap, Floaty Fall, Electric Terrain, 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt...
Stats: Physical Attack S+(S), Special Attack S+(S), Defense A+(A), Special Defense A+(A), Stamina S(S), Speed S+(S)
This was Pikachu's current peak state. Partner form directly allowed Pikachu's dual attack stats and speed to surpass the normal limit.
In the past, Ash had seen all kinds of Pokémon, including the legendary top-tier Ho-Oh and Lugia, and not a single Pokémon could surpass the S-class limit of its stats.
However, Pikachu was special. Its stats surpassing the limit was basically a certainty. It was currently only in its second evolutionary stage, and once it reached its third stage, its stats would naturally break through to the limit. But even without a third rebirth, under the influence of partner form, Pikachu could still break through its current stat limits.
The biggest difference between partner form and Mega Evolution was this: while Mega Evolution could increase a Pokémon's strength and raise its ultimate racial value, the Pokémon's effective stat distribution would shift slightly after evolution.
Even after reaching Champion level, using Mega Evolution, there was no way to increase your tier by a full level, unless your current level was already nearing its ceiling. In that state, performing Mega Evolution might actually allow you to break through.
For example, Pokémon like Charizard and Gardevoir, which had just reached Champion level, even after undergoing Mega Evolution, were fundamentally unable to break through to Champion Mid. The gap between Champion Beginner and Champion Mid was immeasurably larger than it looked. Mega Evolution, while boosting combat power beyond one's tier, became increasingly less effective at higher levels.
But partner form was different. Regardless of Pikachu's current form or level, regardless of its base stats, once it entered partner form, all of its stats would increase by one level, raising its tier by one. After entering partner form, Pikachu's attack power and speed were even stronger than Charizard's and Gardevoir's.
On the surface, Pikachu was indeed the weakest of the three aces, but when he entered partner form, that was a different story entirely.
"Wearing a hat? Interesting. The entire Pokémon's aura is different. It seems this is your Pikachu's enhancement method." Upon seeing Pikachu wearing the hat, Brandon instantly understood. Although he knew that Ash's Pikachu was special, he hadn't seen partner form before. This was his first time witnessing it. However, even he was captivated by Pikachu's imposing presence.
The conclusion was clear. Ash's Pikachu, after putting on the hat, had likely undergone something similar to Mega Evolution, strengthening itself. After putting on the hat, Pikachu's strength had undergone a qualitative change.
Originally, it might not have been able to threaten Regice, but now that was no longer the case.
"Time to go, Mr. Brandon! Pikachu, Zippy Zap!"
"What is that?" Brandon frowned, clearly unfamiliar with the move.
Before Brandon could react, Pikachu vanished from the arena, leaving only a faint flash of lightning behind. Brandon's pupils narrowed. This speed was almost comparable to Extreme Speed. He couldn't even catch a glimpse of Pikachu's shadow.
A dull crash echoed within the pyramid, lightning flying everywhere. Regice's enormous body was struck like a heavy hammer, sent flying backward, crashing violently into Mewtwo's transparent shield.
The shield rippled violently but held firm. Regice slid down from the barrier, half-kneeling, a visible wound appearing on its chest. This blow had directly hit Regice's vital point, inflicting considerable damage.
"Regice!" Brandon's voice finally carried a hint of surprise. He slowly stood up. The chest injury disappeared beneath a layer of fresh ice as Regice's body self-repaired, but Brandon could see that this blow had inflicted far more damage on Regice than he'd anticipated.
Although Regice's special defense was exceptionally outstanding, this did not mean its physical defense was weak. None of the three Regis had weak defenses. Judging from the aura Pikachu had just unleashed, which had flashed and then disappeared, it was at most Elite Four Peak at base.
With the hat boosting its power, it could probably reach Champion Beginner, but that should be about it. Yet a Champion Beginner had reduced Regice's outstanding defense by nearly a fifth of its total health, and this was without any type advantage.
Ash's third Pokémon was incredibly powerful. Truly surpassing the previous two.
"Zippy Zap." Brandon muttered the name of the move, his gaze fixed on the small yellow figure on the battlefield.
Pikachu landed firmly on the ground, its body shimmering with yellow lightning beneath the hat, its face still crackling with electric sparks.
"Another never-before-seen move." Brandon looked up at Ash. "Its speed is even comparable to Extreme Speed. That's simply not a move Pikachu can normally learn."
Ash nodded and smiled. "Exactly. This move is impossible for an ordinary Pikachu to learn, but my Pikachu is special. He's the one-of-a-kind Pikachu in the whole world."
"One-of-a-kind? He truly deserves that title." Brandon took a deep breath, suppressing his shock. "Regice, Ice Beam!"
"Pikachu, dodge!" Facing Brandon's counterattack, Ash decisively ordered Pikachu to dodge. Without Lock-On, Regice's slow attack was basically impossible to land on Pikachu.
Pikachu leaped up. Regice raised both hands, and a beam of icy blue light shot from its palms, but its target wasn't Pikachu. It was the entire battle arena.
"What?" Ash's eyebrows furrowed.
The freezing beam swept across the ground. Shattered rocks and cracked floors, wherever it passed, were completely covered in a thick layer of ice. In less than a second, the entire battle arena transformed into a frozen wasteland. The air was filled with biting cold, causing even the spectators in the stands, including Misty, to shiver.
"With that, your Pikachu's speed can't be used effectively." Brandon said in a low voice.
Pikachu stood on the ice, its feet constantly slipping, nearly falling several times. After all, it wasn't an Ice-type Pokémon. Even walking on this smooth surface was difficult, let alone moving at high speed.
"Ash." Serena looked anxiously toward the center of the arena. Misty and Brock also frowned.
Brandon's response was incredibly decisive. The moment he saw Pikachu's speed advantage, he immediately used Regice's abilities to neutralize it, sealing Pikachu's greatest weapon. Compared to the Trainers Ash had previously battled, Brandon's strategy and quick adaptation were undoubtedly the strongest he'd faced.
How would Ash respond next?
But this wasn't over yet.
"Regice, Snowscape!" Brandon's voice boomed again.
Regice's core emitted an icy blue light, and the temperature inside the pyramid suddenly dropped again. Thick, heavy dark clouds inexplicably gathered above the arena, and snowflakes began falling from them. In no time at all, the entire battle arena was blanketed in heavy snowfall.
The snowflakes fell on Pikachu, causing him to shiver.
Snowscape, when used, changed the weather to a snowy state. Snowscape and Hail were two different weather conditions. The latter continuously reduced the stamina of any Pokémon other than Ice-types, while the former did not.
Under snow, Ice-type Pokémon's defense increased by 50%, Blizzard gained 100% accuracy, and some Pokémon could even use the incredibly powerful Aurora Veil, reducing all damage taken by half.
These advantages were already significant for Ice-type Pokémon, but for Regice, they were even more so. Ash gritted his teeth. Regice's Ability was its hidden Ability: Ice Body.
While it was snowing, Regice could recover a portion of its stamina at regular intervals, based on a percentage of its total. For a Legendary Pokémon with a massive stamina pool, this was simply an artificial cheat.
"Regice, Blizzard!" Brandon waved his hand.
Regice's chest core erupted with dazzling blue light, and the temperature inside the pyramid plummeted below freezing. A whirlwind swept countless sharp ice crystals toward Pikachu, the density astonishing, almost covering the entire arena.
This move had a huge range, and with the added effect of the snowy weather, Blizzard's coverage was a full circle larger than normal. Even under normal conditions, Pikachu would find it extremely difficult to dodge this move, let alone now that the arena was covered in ice.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash had no choice but to resist head-on.
Pikachu stood firmly on the ice, its body emitting dazzling golden lightning. A powerful bolt of electricity struck the center of the Blizzard.
The yellow lightning and the icy blue Blizzard clashed violently in mid-air. Pikachu was absolutely not going to be overpowered by Regice, but Thunderbolt was ultimately a single-target attack, while Blizzard was area-wide.
The lightning tore a large hole through the center, but it couldn't stop the entire storm. Countless ice crystals circled around the lightning from the sides, striking Pikachu's body with immense force.
"Pika!"
Pikachu screamed in pain, its entire body blown away by the Blizzard, tumbling several times in mid-air before crashing heavily onto the ice, sliding for another dozen meters before stopping. It struggled to stand, but its body was frozen stiff, covered in wounds from the ice crystals.
This single exchange had nearly drained Pikachu of half its stamina, while Regice, thanks to the snowfall, was continuously regaining strength.
Brock and the others couldn't help but wipe the sweat from their brows for Ash. Of the three matches, this was the one where Ash was pushed closest to the brink. Now, with no favorable circumstances or advantages on Ash's side, how could he possibly win?