His physical strength had already been depleted by nearly half during the previous battles, and he bore scars from being hit by Shadow Punch and Fire Punch, yet the fighting spirit in his eyes was undiminished. These injuries would only make his emotions more fervent!
"Electivire, use Fire Punch!"
Paul knew that facing the Ice Type Regice, Electivire's Electric Type move would inflict very limited damage.
Fortunately, as one of his aces, Electivire had a wide array of skills, and Fire Punch had been learned specifically to deal with Ice Type and Grass Type Pokemon.
Electivire's fists ignited with roaring flames, and its entire body became a streak of red and gold lightning, charging towards Regice.
Now that Trick Room had disappeared, Electivire's speed also increased.
However... it was actually better when Trick Room was active.
"Regice, Ice Punch." Brandon's voice was calm as water.
As soon as Electivire came close, Regice's right fist gathered an even thicker layer of ice, and it punched out!
"Bang!!"
Electivire's Fire Punch didn't even touch Regice because Regice's Ice Punch had already struck Electivire's chest.
If they were at the same level, Electivire might have been slightly faster than Regice; however, now there was a significant strength gap between the two, and Regice's speed was actually faster!
That's why it was said that Trick Room would have been better, because now Electivire was at a speed disadvantage.
The terrifying force of Ice Punch sent Electivire's entire body flying.
Electivire drew an arc in the air, crashing heavily to the ground, sliding several meters before stopping.
A thin layer of ice covered its chest, with residual electric arcs jumping across its body, but its eyes had already lost their luster.
Electivire, lost its ability to battle.
"Damn it..." Paul gritted his teeth, clenching his fist.
His fingers slightly whitened due to excessive force; he had come to challenge Brandon with the mindset of avenging his brother.
As a result, after much hard work, he only managed to defeat one of Brandon's Pokemon before immediately having two of his own Pokemon instantly defeated by Brandon's main force.
Now he only had one final Pokemon left, and it was Torterra, which Regice had a quadruple advantage against.
Even so, he had no other choice but to fight with Torterra head-on!
"Torterra, prepare for battle!!" With a flash of light, Torterra appeared on the battlefield again.
It was still carrying the scars from its previous battle with Dusknoir; its physical strength and condition weren't good, but there was no other way, for this was Paul's last and strongest Pokemon.
"Torterra, use Frenzy Plant!" Paul immediately had Torterra use its ultimate move.
He knew that against an opponent like Regice, of such a level, any attempts to probe would be redundant. Only by going all out was there a chance for a glimmer of hope.
Torterra let out a low roar, and the entire battlefield started to shake violently.
Emerald-green light erupted crazily from the cracks in the ground, and dozens of thick, hardened vines burst from the earth beneath Regice, winding towards it like pythons!
"Regice, Ice Beam."
As soon as Brandon spoke, Regice fired an ice-blue beam from the core in its chest.
The beam froze the air it passed through, forming a road paved with ice crystals.
The hardened vines froze the instant they touched the Ice Beam, turning into ice sculptures that shattered into a myriad of icy shards.
Ice Beam penetrated through the vines' barrier, hitting Torterra with precision!
"Boom——"
Torterra's large body was instantly engulfed in ice, with the small tree on its back also frozen within a massive ice mountain.
Torterra—lost its ability to battle.
At this point, all three of Paul's Pokemon had lost their ability to battle, each one being instantly defeated by Regice without exception!
And Brandon's Regice, didn't even break a sweat.
The disparity between the opponents was evident.
Although Paul was the first to defeat one of Brandon's Pokemon, facing Brandon's true strength, he was no different from any other challenger, unable to escape being instantly defeated.
For the first time, Paul felt the sense of powerlessness — the feeling of giving everything yet unable to harm the opponent in the slightest. Was this the same feeling his brother experienced years ago?
"Torterra lost its ability to battle, Regice wins! Therefore, the winner is Mr. Brandon!" the referee announced the final result.
"Even giving it your all, you can't win?" Brock stated plainly.
Paul did well enough, whether it was switching to the slower Torterra when Trick Room was in effect or sending out Pokemon with attribute advantages against Regice, all were quick and adept responses.
Just these two responses alone placed Paul's Trainer level among the highest.
But unfortunately, Paul was up against the much stronger Trainer level, Pharaoh Brandon!
The moment Regice appeared, Paul's defeat was inevitable; it was just surprising how severe it turned out to be.
"Ash... he will win, right?" Serena asked worriedly.
Seeing Paul being overpowered by Regice, it was natural to have such concerns.
After all, Paul once had neck-and-neck battles with Ash at the Quartz Conference—even though he was shut out.
Compared to the pressure Ash exerted on Paul at the Quartz Conference, Brandon's overwhelming pressure was even more vividly displayed in this battle!
It's said Brandon possesses more than one Divine Pillar, but three in total!
Just one Ice Pillar was this powerful, if facing all three Divine Pillars…how could anyone win!
"He will win." Ash stood up, confidently stating.
Even against three Champion Advanced Level Pokemon, he would still win.
Because after reaching Goldenrod City, the first thing he did was not to locate the Battle Pyramid but to gather his companions.
Without them, this battle might have been difficult, but now—he was invincible!
Ash headed to the battlefield below just as Paul recalled Torterra into its Pokeball. Glancing at Ash, he said nothing, silently passing by him.
"If you can't win this time, just win next time. You're not someone who can be defeated so easily, are you?" Ash's voice rang out behind Paul.
Paul paused for a moment, then continued moving forward until he reached the front row of seats closest to the battlefield, randomly finding a spot to sit.
Initially intending to leave directly, Ash's words made him curious to see how Ash and Brandon's battle would unfold.
He'd heard much about Ash's recent feats, reportedly even Elite Lorelei fell to Ash.
Screenshots were all over the internet, not as rumors but as actual events.
So... how would the duel between Ash and Brandon play out?
Facing Brandon's Divine Pillars, could Ash achieve victory?
"Is it your turn, young one?" Brandon recalled Regice, arms crossed with a serious expression.
"Yes, Mr. Brandon... do you need to take your Pokemon to the Pokemon Center for recovery?" Ash rotated his wrists, warming up while asking Brandon.
"No need, for this battle, I don't plan to use Dusknoir. To face you... I think using them would be the best choice."
"I see... then let's do this, show me, Mr. Brandon, your—Three Divine Pillars!" Ash steadied himself, taking out a Pokeball to challenge Brandon!
"My first Pokemon will be him; go ahead, Registeel!" With a flash of light, a Pokemon appearing to be forged from steel appeared, the Steel Pillar—Registeel!