In the eyes of the world, Pikachu had already reached its limit.
And on screen, Ash was clearly on the back foot.
After crashing hard into the arena wall, Pikachu struggled to rise.
Regice's speed, its ability to fire Focus Punch without visible charging—
Everything exceeded Ash's expectations.
If Pikachu took even one more hit…
It might truly be over.
Ash clenched his teeth.
His eyes darted around the icy battlefield—
And then a spark lit up in his mind.
"Pikachu! Smash a chunk of ice with Iron Tail and use it as a stepping stone!
From there—close the distance!"
"Pika!!"
Only Ash could come up with such wild ideas…
and only his Pokémon could make them work.
Pikachu slammed its glowing tail against the frozen ground—
A chunk of ice popped up from the floor, launched by the force.
Pikachu leapt onto it midair—
And the entire world watching went speechless.
What kind of technique is that?!
Launching yourself with your tail?!
Riding the ice block, Pikachu burst forward with Quick Attack—
spiraling in midair—
"Now! Iron Tail!!"
"Pika—CHU!!"
With the momentum of the jump and a midair spin,
Pikachu's tail crashed into Regice like a divine hammer.
BOOM!
This time, Regice did not merely grunt in pain—
a visible crack split across its icy body.
The Titan of Ice—said to be made of ancient glacier ice that fire couldn't melt—
had been cleaved by Pikachu's Iron Tail.
The world fell silent.
In Wyndon Stadium:
The Champions stared at the screen, speechless.
Pikachu had damaged Regice.
With a non-STAB Iron Tail.
What kind of monster tail was that?
Even Steel-type Pokémon rarely produced such power with Iron Tail.
"Guh—this is… just a little insane…"
Steven swallowed hard.
He specialized in Steel-types—
he knew Iron Tail better than anyone.
If a Champion-level Steel Pokémon had delivered that blow,
the result wouldn't have been much different.
…And this was Pikachu?!
"You guys feel it too, right?
Pikachu's Iron Tail looks stronger than before."
Leon narrowed his eyes.
This Iron Tail was far beyond the earlier ones.
Even with momentum and rotation, the increase in power was absurd.
"It does seem stronger…
Let's keep watching."
The situation had shifted—
subtly, but undeniably.
Thirty seconds ago,
99.99% of the world believed Ash had no chance.
But after that, Iron Tail—
The balance began to tilt.
On the screen—
Ash's face lit up with hope.
He rushed forward to press the advantage—
But Brandon responded instantly.
"Regice—Focus Punch!"
"Regi!!"
The Titan's glowing fist slammed forward.
Pikachu sprang away with lightning reflexes—
"Ice Beam!"
Midair.
No room to dodge.
"Pikachu—Thunderbolt!"
"PIKAAAA—CHU!!"
Lightning and frozen light collided—
The two attacks were evenly matched.
Even Thunderbolt's power… had increased.
After the clash, Pikachu somersaulted back onto the ground.
"We can win…! Pikachu—one more Iron Tail!"
Ash believed.
Pikachu's sudden surge of strength had ignited real hope.
He aimed to repeat the same combo.
But Brandon had prepared for that.
"Regice—Ice Beam!"
"Dodge!"
But this Ice Beam wasn't aimed at Pikachu.
It was aimed at the space around Pikachu.
Frost erupted—
forming a prison of thick ice pillars.
With each blast, the pillars grew larger, sealing Pikachu inside.
"Regice—Rest!"
Rest.
The most infuriating technique imaginable.
Especially on a Legendary Pokémon—
the most horrifying of all.
All of Pikachu's hard-earned damage—
gone in an instant.
[Lance: Dirty! Brandon, you're too dirty! Making a Legendary use of Rest!]
[Cynthia: Legendary Pokémon have immense stamina. For Pikachu to spend so much effort whittling it down, only for Rest to heal it instantly… this must crush Ash's heart.]
[Brandon: I fight every opponent with full strength.
And that boy Ash… is no ordinary rookie.]
Atop the Battle Pyramid, Brandon watched the footage,
eyes calm and firm.
Ice prison.
Rest.
Complete battlefield control.
He was using every ounce of strength.
To push him this far—
Ash was truly remarkable.
In the future… he would happily face the boy for real.
But for this match…
He couldn't imagine losing.
"Pikachu! Smash the ice pillars with Iron Tail!
Quick Attack in—and hit with Iron Tail again!"
"Pika!!"
Pikachu spun—
Its tail slices the towering ice pillars into shards.
Then it burst forward like a streak of lightning—
"With this speed… before it wakes up—!"
"Regi!!"
Before Ash could finish—
Regice stirred.
Brandon's voice rang out:
"Ice Beam!"
"Pikachuuu—!!"
Pikachu was moving too fast to stop—
and too close to dodge.
The chilling beam struck dead-on.
In an instant, Pikachu was frozen solid—
encased in crystal-clear ice.
Standing motionless on the battlefield.
Was it… over?
Across the world, the tension dissolved into heavy exhalation.
It had been a fierce battle.
A brilliant performance.
Pikachu had shocked everyone with its strength.
But in the end—
Brandon and his Regice were simply stronger.
Pikachu…
had lost—but lost with honor.
Yet—
While the world accepted the outcome…
Ash, on the screen—
did not.