All this time, Gardevoir's Level has basically been neck and neck with Charizard's.
But in terms of actual combat power, Charizard has always been a cut above Gardevoir—first with the power of Sacred Fire, and later after converting Sacred Fire into its own exclusive power, the Celestial Flame.
After obtaining the Celestial Flame, Charizard's ability to fight above its Level skyrocketed; even at Champion Level, it still has ample capacity to battle across Levels.
Gardevoir, on the other hand, apart from Mewtwo's exclusive Skill Psystrike and her broad range of Moves, doesn't really have any other means to fight above her Level.
A wide movepool is indeed a dimensionality reduction strike against opponents of the same Level, but if the opponent's overall strength is a tier higher than Gardevoir's, then no matter how wide your movepool is, you don't gain much of an edge.
After all, while having a wide movepool, Gardevoir also has a fatal flaw: she doesn't have any Move she's especially mastered to perfection.
The only Ultimate Move she can use as her trump card is Mewtwo's Psystrike.
So in terms of overall combat ability, Gardevoir falls short of Charizard, especially after Charizard awakened the Celestial Flame.
However, Gardevoir is not the type to just stand there and watch other Pokemon slowly leave her in the dust. Besides her gentle and graceful side, she's also the big sister of the team!
So she took a different path. By using Psystrike—that strange Move that converts Special Attack into Physical Attack—she grasped the power of combining Special Attack and Physical Attack into one, namely Essence Power!
Normally, a Gardevoir's Physical Attack might be low, but Ash's Gardevoir is different. Back when she was still a Ralts, she could already fight up close with Thunder Punch, and after growing into a Gardevoir she developed a physical side strong enough to smash flying bricks.
So when those two powers combine, you get an effect where 1+1 is greater than 2.
This is also Gardevoir's capital for fighting above her Level.
"Regirock, Lock-On." Brandon once again had Regirock use Lock-On. Without locking on, trying to land a direct hit on Gardevoir is still a bit too difficult.
An invisible force surged out from Regirock's body, about to lock onto Gardevoir.
At that moment, Gardevoir suddenly vanished without a trace, and Lock-On consequently lost its target for judgment.
"We're not going to get hit by the same Move twice that easily! Gardevoir, Hydro Pump!" Ash barked coldly.
The next second, Gardevoir appeared above Regirock. Her deep black arm stretched out in front, a dense Water Type power condensed before her and formed a massive water sphere.
"Boom—!!"
The Hydro Pump poured out from in front of Gardevoir—and this was no ordinary Hydro Pump, but one infused with Essence Power!
Within the torrent one could faintly see a dim glow flickering—that was proof of Spiritual Power and physical force perfectly fused. Its might far surpassed the Champion Junior Level standard!
Regirock had just finished releasing Lock-On and had no time to make any defensive move before the Hydro Pump slammed squarely into its head!
"Krrrk—krrrk—!"
The water flow scoured its rocky body with a piercing grinding sound. Regirock's massive body was forced down onto one knee by this terrifying power, and the ground around it cracked and collapsed outward with it at the center.
Those rocky plates already covered in fissures began to flake off under the continuous impact of the Hydro Pump. Chunks of stone peeled away, revealing the even more fragile rock layers beneath.
"Regirock!" For the first time, there was a trace of anxiety in Brandon's voice.
Ash choosing to evade Lock-On was something he hadn't expected. Lock-On is an intangible Skill, activated along with the user's will; ordinary Pokemon simply cannot dodge it. But Gardevoir is a Psychic-type Pokemon—she can sense the incoming intent, which allowed her to dodge.
And Lock-On failing also caused Regirock to waste an entire turn. For this turn, Brandon had already prepared to endure the opponent's attack, but he hadn't prepared for the Lock-On to fail.
So the moment Lock-On lost its target, he blanked out, resulting in Regirock being directly struck by the opponent's Hydro Pump!
"It can even use Hydro Pump… what a freak…" Brandon muttered under his breath.
Hydro Pump is the kind of Skill that basically only Pokemon highly proficient in the Water Type can learn. In other words, aside from Water Attribute Pokemon, it's very difficult for Pokemon of other attributes to master it.
A Gardevoir, a Pokemon that shouldn't even be able to learn ordinary Water Type Skills, was now using Hydro Pump—if that's not a freak, what is?
"Sha-naa—"
Gardevoir gracefully withdrew her hands, and the impact of the Hydro Pump finally subsided.
Regirock was still on one knee, its entire body left in a sorry state by the Hydro Pump. The once sharp and defined rocky body was now pitted and uneven, with several spots even showing penetrating fractures.
Yet it still had not fallen.
A legendary Pokemon's willpower and Physical Strength are far tougher than those of ordinary Pokemon. If a normal Pokemon had taken this many attribute-countering Moves, it would probably have gone down long ago.
Right now Regirock still had roughly one-third of its Physical Strength remaining—its tenacity was simply unbelievable.
And that's with Gardevoir having Essence Power. If it had been pure Special Attack, Regirock's Physical Strength would likely still be above half. Legendary Pokemon really are this terrifying!
But Brandon clearly had no intention of sitting and waiting for death.
"Regirock, Rock Slide!" Brandon's voice returned to calm once more. As a seasoned Trainer, it's fine to feel panic, but you must suppress it. Otherwise, the moment your panic continues, the battle is already over for you.
Regirock's body paused, the seven rhombus light points on its head flickered, and its fists slammed heavily onto the ground!
"Rumble——!"
The entire battlefield trembled violently again, countless boulders fell from the ceiling, crashing down on Gardevoir like a meteor shower!
The volumes of these boulders were larger than the previous Stone Edge, and the coverage area was wider. Gardevoir, being in mid-air, had virtually no way to dodge them.
"Gardevoir, Teleport!" Ash commanded without hesitation.
Facing such a large-scale attack, the only option was to use Teleport to find a gap in the field, which was not difficult for Gardevoir.
In the blink of an eye, Gardevoir disappeared from the sky, and the next moment reappeared in an area not covered by Rock Slide.
"Lock-on!" Brandon's voice was emotionless.
The seven gems on Regirock's chest lit up simultaneously, and an invisible locking wave instantly targeted the recently teleported Gardevoir!
"I see, Regirock's Rock Slide was meant to force Gardevoir to dodge into a gap, making it easier to pinpoint Gardevoir's landing spot after teleportation, leaving Gardevoir unable to evade the Lock-on skill!" Brock immediately deduced Brandon's strategy after seeing this.
Against Gardevoir, who could detect a Lock-on skill early, hitting it without any feint was simply impossible.
So Brandon chose to use large-scale attacks to force Gardevoir into position, then used the Lock-on skill to target Gardevoir's position, laying the groundwork for a subsequent attack.
As expected of the strongest among the battle heads, he found a way to counter Gardevoir's Teleport so quickly.
"Giga Impact!" Brandon delivered the final judgment; Giga Impact, a Normal Type's super ultimate move, would leave the user immobile for a while after being used. If this move didn't take down Gardevoir, Regirock would be left vulnerable.
Brandon was planning to go all in!
At this moment, all of Regirock's remaining physical strength converted into Giga Impact's energy. Its battered rocky body was enveloped in white light, rushing toward Gardevoir like a meteor!
Where it passed, the ground was plowed into a deep trench, and the air was twisted and deformed by this destructive shockwave.
If this hit connected, even a fully healthy Gardevoir would struggle to withstand it, let alone one already spent of much strength.
Moreover, this time, Gardevoir couldn't use Reflect and Protect to defend.
Although Giga Impact is slightly weaker than Stone Edge regarding power accuracy, it excels by allowing Regirock's massive body to charge directly at Gardevoir.
Protect can block the initial impact, but if Regirock continuously outputs energy, it would turn into a battle of endurance.
Frankly speaking, Regirock with one-third of its stamina left still had a higher stamina level than Gardevoir.
Once in a passive defense, Gardevoir was essentially doomed to defeat.
Therefore... no matter what, Gardevoir had to take this hit head-on!
"Gardevoir, Psystrike!" Ash's voice boomed through the pyramid; if the other side wanted to go all out, they would see it through to the end!
Gardevoir clasped its hands in front of it, a different kind of energy began to form distinctly from the Giga Impact.
That was Mewtwo's exclusive skill—Psystrike!
But this time, Gardevoir's Psystrike was different; it contained a unique light within it, the light of Essence Power.
Essence Power was an energy system derived from understanding Psystrike, and using this power to unleash Psystrike brought about special effects as well.
Besides doubling the power of Psystrike, it enabled Gardevoir to decide what type of attack to make.
In other words, if Gardevoir wanted Psystrike to be a Special Attack, it would be a Special Attack. If it wanted it to be a Physical Attack, then it would be a Physical Attack!
Between Gardevoir's hands, a half-transparent Energy Ball was rapidly expanding, the core flickering with gold and silver lights, like a miniature galaxy rotating.
"Go!"
"Shana!!"
Ash and Gardevoir's voices sounded almost simultaneously.
The Giga Impact, shining with dazzling white light and the gold and silver intertwined Psystrike, clashed fiercely in mid-air!
"Boom——!!!"
The entire pyramid shook violently, it wasn't just the building that was vibrating; the whole space was trembling!
The barrier set by Mewtwo made a screech at that moment; the clash of these two attacks caused even Mewtwo's barrier to react!
Within the Pokeball, Mewtwo's expression slightly tightened, though it was just a casually set barrier, the fact that it could be shaken indicated the impact force from these two attacks was nearing the Divine Domain level.
Truly a terrifying duel... Mewtwo thought to herself, silently increasing her psychic output, stabilizing the barrier entirely.
The deadlock at the collision center lasted for less than two seconds.
Psystrike began to gradually overpower Giga Impact!
Gardevoir gritted her teeth, veins even bulging on her forehead; it was her first time using Essence-powered Psystrike in actual combat, which took a huge toll on her spiritual and physical strength.
Double the power also meant double the consumption, but she couldn't lose!
Charizard had already secured a win; as the big sister of the team, how could she perform worse than Charizard!
Moreover, she couldn't let Ash down!
"Shana——!!"
Gardevoir released a loud, clear shout, unleashing her entire power at that moment!
The Energy Ball of Psystrike expanded suddenly, like a small sun, completely engulfing the Giga Impact!
"What?!" Brandon's eyes widened.
"Boom——!!!"
The dazzling gold and silver light exploded entirely, bathing the entire battlefield in daylight-like brightness, even prompting Misty and others in the audience to close their eyes involuntarily.
Within that light, a massive shadow could faintly be seen blasted out from the light mass!
Regirock's shattered body was launched backward at an unbelievable speed like a cannonball, crashing hard against Mewtwo's transparent barrier!
"Bang——!!!"
Ripples visible to the naked eye appeared on the barrier; the entire field trembled violently from this impact.
As Regirock's rocky body collided with the barrier, countless fragments scattered off him, then he slid weakly from the barrier, slamming hard into the ground, leaving a huge pit.
Amid the billowing dust, the legendary Rock Divine Pillar lay at the bottom of the pit, motionless.
Its wretched state surpassed even that of the previous Regenice!
On the other end of the battlefield, Gardevoir wasn't faring much better.
She knelt on one knee, gasping heavily, the MEGA evolution light on her body receding like a tide—her black fluffy gown reverting to a white dress, her blue long hair returning to its original length.
MEGA evolution, lifted.
Gardevoir and the previous Charizard were in the exact same scenario, also lifted from MEGA evolution, and equally hadn't lost combat capability, while the opponent suffered just as miserably.
The referee was stunned for a while, eventually reacting to Misty and others' cries: "Regirock is unable to battle, Gardevoir wins!"
In the second match, it was still Ash who claimed victory!
And the price paid was far less severe than in the first match.
Gardevoir was now just exhausted; her body wasn't actually injured, while Charizard managed to stay standing entirely due to his extraordinary willpower, otherwise it would've been a double knockout.
Now, Brandon was down to his last Pokemon, while Ash was nearly in the same situation.
Gardevoir was in better shape than Charizard, but not by much, making it very challenging to continue fighting.
Which means, it had now turned from a 3v3 into a 1v1!
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