Inside a certain space created by [Secret Power].
Ash felt only an extreme dizziness, as if the coordinates of the entire world had been instantly scrambled and reorganized. His vision was flooded with distorted light and color, and his body lost all points of reference, feeling as though he were being wildly tossed about in a raging storm.
The sensation seemed to last only a split second, yet also felt infinitely long. Being forcibly Teleported without any preparation was not a comfortable experience. Or rather, for those without psychic talent, their spatial perception was forcibly synchronized—the essence of space suddenly appeared in the mind of a human incapable of perceiving it.
It felt like someone with motion sickness spinning around fifty times immediately after getting off a car.
You ask if one would die?
Definitely not.
You ask if it's unpleasant?
It's incredibly unpleasant.
Lacking psychic power—something that can truly perceive space—means one cannot feel the beauty of space. Even among Psychics, only the strongest tier can Teleport recklessly. Top-tier Psychics are indeed strong. Their upper limit is very high. But their lower limit is also really low.
The vast majority of Psychics are at the level where they can, at most, bend a spoon with all their might; in reality, they aren't much different from ordinary people.
When everything came to an abrupt halt and the sensation of solid ground returned to the soles of his feet, Ash stumbled and nearly fell. He hurriedly pressed his hand to his forehead, trying hard to dispel that intense vertigo.
"Where is... this?"
Ash shook his head and focused his gaze on his surroundings, his heart sinking violently. He was not in the anticipated Gym battlefield, nor did it even look like the interior of any normal building. This was an incomparably vast, seemingly boundless pure white space.
Above, below, left, and right—everywhere his eyes could see was a void of white radiating a soft glow. He couldn't see walls, couldn't see a ceiling, and couldn't see the specific boundaries of the floor. He seemed to be standing on a plane composed purely of light.
Silence.
Deathly silence.
Not even the sound of flowing air could be heard here, as if sound itself had been swallowed by this pure white space.
—Good news: there is still oxygen here.
—Bad news: this is a hell of a place.
A sense of absolute loneliness and insignificance seized him instantly.
"Pikachu?"
"Misdreavus?"
"Misty?"
"Brock?"
Ash shouted subconsciously. His voice traveled through this strange space but carried a weird, muffled quality, with absolutely no echo. No response. There was only him.
He immediately touched his shoulder; it was empty. He looked down at his feet; his shadow had also vanished. Pikachu and Misdreavus hadn't come with him! Tension, like cold vines, instantly wrapped around his heart.
He quickly reached for his waist; the Poké Balls were still there. Currently, he still had Gyarados, Pidgeotto, and Charmeleon remaining. This allowed him to sigh in relief slightly, but the alarm bells in his heart rang even more violently.
To be able to Teleport him here alone so precisely, leaving even Pikachu and Misdreavus unable to follow, and to have created a space so beyond common sense... There was only one person in Saffron City capable of achieving all this.
Ash took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He raised his head, his gaze sharply scanning this endless pure white, trying to find any unusual traces.
"Miss Sabrina?"
He attempted to speak, keeping his voice as steady as possible.
"I am the Trainer Ash from Pallet Town, here to challenge the Saffron Gym. If this is part of the challenge, I am ready. Please reveal yourself!"
His voice diffused into the empty white silence, then was swallowed up.
Originally, he didn't want to face Sabrina. But now, it seemed he had no choice at all.
If I do not go to the mountain... The mountain comes to me.
Hilarious.
How am I supposed to dodge this?
A few seconds later. In the pure white space not far directly in front of Ash, the light began to silently distort and converge. Like ripples spreading from a water droplet falling onto a calm lake surface.
A figure floated out slowly and soundlessly, transitioning from blurry to clear. A dark purple, tight-fitting combat suit, long dark green hair moving without wind, skin fair and delicate, and those eyes so deep one dared not look directly into them.
She hovered quietly in mid-air, half a meter off the ground. Looking down at Ash from above, her face held no expression.
True · Psychic Queen · Sabrina.
She didn't even open her mouth. But a cold voice already resounded in Ash's mind.
"Challenger—"
"Exhaust your martial force."
"Deplete your brute courage."
"And then, defeat me."
Sabrina looked forward to Ash's arrival. And Sabrina, who was poor at expressing her inner emotions and had terrible eloquence, was just this direct when it came time to act.
As Sabrina finished speaking, the entire space began to change. It was no longer a space of pure white. It turned into scenes of a city. Only, the environmental imagery of this city began to fold and tumble constantly like a kaleidoscope. Finally, it looked like countless objects of different colors and shapes mixed into a pile.
It was simply like the final boss finishing their opening declaration and then changing the stage itself.
No wonder those guys who finished challenging Sabrina only babbled incoherently after getting out. This scene was shockingly overwhelming. How was one supposed to fight this?
You'd need those guys who can truly change the heavens and earth to forcefully break this with miracles of brute strength. Or similar types like Mewtwo or Mew to crack it with technique. Anyway, normally speaking... there aren't many in the entire world who could pass this stage.
The result is—
Ash: Huh?
Ash: Me?
Ash wanted to roast this, but he didn't know what to say. Big beauty! With strength like yours, how do you expect me to fight?
Exhaust martial force? Deplete brute courage? If you want me to die, just say so directly!
Ash's mindset was unavoidable. This wasn't like when he confronted Giovanni, fighting to protect his companions. This was a battle he was required to fight without reason, knowing full well he would lose. It was a guaranteed loss with absolutely no reason to continue!
Just then, Ash suddenly discovered that his System, which usually didn't have much presence, suddenly reacted.
[Achievement: First Encounter with a Psychic · Completed]
[Reward: Item Enhancement × 1]
[Effect: Can enhance the performance of an item]
Ash: Giving me this thing now is useless!
Ash was speechless and didn't know how to complain. It didn't react when he met Giovanni back then. But it reacts now that he meets Sabrina.
...Considering it didn't react when he first met Professor Oak either, this System achievement doesn't consider individual strength? Does it consider the specific nature of the identity?
Giovanni and Professor Oak... although one is a boss in the academic world and the other is the boss of Team Rocket... are they both viewed as normal humans? ...Wait?
Does this mean the difference between Psychics and normal people is huge? Then... what about the relationship between Psychics, normal people, and Pokémon?
"!!!"
Ash shook his head. Now isn't the time to space out! Considering the items on his person... the only thing that could be enhanced is Pikachu's Light Ball. But leaving aside that Pikachu isn't by his side... even if Pikachu were here and the Light Ball was enhanced... he still couldn't beat Sabrina!
Never mind Ash's current team. Even if you added up all the Gym Leaders Ash has challenged—Brock, Misty, Lt. Surge, Erika... inside this domain space of Sabrina's, combined they might not necessarily beat Sabrina... The Trainer themselves is the biggest weakness, but Sabrina is not.
...You, the world's strongest Psychic, actually used a preemptive sneak attack + opened a domain space to fight a newbie like me?
Ash felt this strange space must be a multi-layered composite. With Sabrina's strength, she must have stacked [Secret Power] + [Magic Room] + [Wonder Room] + ... All sorts of weird stuff.
Ash didn't even know how to begin complaining. So, to solve the current problem, he could only use his wits! That's right! The Great Ash must win by outsmarting her! The Great Ash must rely on wisdom to obtain victory!
Ash's heart beat heavily in his chest. He was thinking of his wording. As the saying goes—words, like weapons, can hurt people. This was the only thing he could use right now.
—Watch my eloquence!
"Exhaust martial force... Deplete brute courage..."
Ash repeated the words Sabrina had spoken in his mind in a low voice. Clearly, Sabrina's phrasing proved—Sabrina knew Ash couldn't possibly defeat her in a fight. This was like a Level 10 Miyamoto going to fight a Level 15 Zhuge Liang.
Considering this was also Sabrina's home turf. That's a Level 15 Zhuge Liang with a 5,000 gold lead, carrying two passive stacks, fighting a group of enemies whose highest level is 13.
Fight my ass! It's instant death for anyone!
...So... this stage... could it be testing intelligence?
Ash pondered the direction for achieving victory. No matter how he thought about it, passing this stage could only rely on intelligence. So now was the time to display his eloquence!
Come on! I can do this!
____
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