In the footage—
Pikachu's first attack not only failed to cause effective damage to the opponent, but he was even outmaneuvered by the opponent! The extreme speed provided by Bounce allowed Gyarados to avoid the damage of the Thunderbolt in the pool, and it used a Hydro Pump on Pikachu in the air to hit it hard in one wave!
The current Pikachu didn't even get a turn to act. Although he is much stronger than the average Pikachu, in terms of physical strength, he is at best just a bit sturdier. This powerful Hydro Pump hit almost finished Pikachu off…
"Pikachu, are you all right?!"
"Pi! Pika-pi!"
Pikachu barely supported himself, and there were already many more scars on his body. But one hit is not enough to take him down. Even if he hasn't evolved, he is still the Savior Pikachu!
"Gyarados, another Hydro Pump!"
Gyarados is much stronger in its physical attacks. However... as long as it gets close to Pikachu, there is a risk of being hit by Thunderbolt! Therefore, only long-range attacks can be used to wear down Ash's Pikachu as much as possible. Fighting hard to take him down!
"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"
"Pika!"
Pikachu turned into a flash of light and instantly dodged the Hydro Pump attack. Golden light flashed across the field, and Pikachu had already arrived in front of Gyarados, slamming right into it! He directly knocked the Gyarados in the water several meters away!
"What speed, such strong force… It's faster than yesterday, and this Pikachu is quite outrageous…" Clair truly felt the sensation of playing against a hacker player. You call this a Pikachu?
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika-Chuuu!!"
Pikachu's body flashed with golden electric light in mid-air, and then the electricity flew out like sparks striking flint.
Before Gyarados could recover from the flinch of Quick Attack, the golden electric light had already bombarded its body!
"Roar!!!"
The 4x effective Thunderbolt hit its body, making Gyarados let out a miserable cry! The electric glow dissipated, and many of the sky-blue scales of Gyarados appeared scorched black.
However, from the fact that it could still breathe, one could tell that it wasn't completely down. Surviving this hit meant it truly had massive bulk!
But with its remaining physical strength, it is absolutely impossible to take another Thunderbolt!
"No matter! Gyarados, it doesn't matter if all your physical strength is exhausted, use continuous Hydro Pumps!"
Clair realized that if she didn't decide the winner right now, it would be Gyarados who would fall first! So she decided to make a desperate bet, letting Gyarados use all its power to block Pikachu's path with continuous Hydro Pumps! As long as it could hit once… then Pikachu would be finished!
"Roar!"
Hearing this, Gyarados converted all the remaining power in its body into Hydro Pumps and then began to bombard wildly! Attacks like a storm raged throughout the Blackthorn Gym! The splash of water even splashed into the surrounding audience area!
Pikachu was like a small boat floating in the wind and rain, ready to be overwhelmed by this stormy attack! He used his swift speed to move wildly throughout the venue.
However, the attacks of Gyarados were targeted. In a short while, Pikachu was driven into a dead end!
Clair looked beaming and shouted loudly, "This is the end of it!"
As Clair shouted, a thick water column pointed directly at Pikachu, who was cornered. Ash gritted his teeth, frantically thinking of countermeasures in his mind.
Just before the Hydro Pump hit, his unexpected battle brain finally found a way to survive!
"Pikachu, jump up! Use Agility on the Hydro Pump!"
Clair: ???
What is this operation again? You can actually run on a Hydro Pump???
In the next second, Pikachu's maneuver once again shattered Clair's worldview. The little electric mouse gently jumped up as the Hydro Pump hit the ground, and then, taking rapid steps, he began to sprint along the spinning water column! In less than two seconds, he ran right in front of Gyarados, and then jumped high again!
"This distance… there's no way to dodge it! Pikachu, Thunderbolt!!"
...
"Pika-Chuuu!!"
The huge golden electric light flashed in mid-air, and then bombarded the body of Gyarados like a thunderbolt! Electricity filled the whole body of Gyarados, causing it to let out a miserable wail.
The golden electric glow dissipated, and Gyarados completely lost its strength, collapsing into the pool.
[Lance: Is this how you handle a Pikachu?]
[Wallace: Can Hydro Pump really be evaded like that? Ash's Pikachu is still as outrageous as ever!]
[Siebold: The skill of Hydro Pump is not just as simple as a column of water; it is imbued with a massive amount of Water-type power, and it still maintains a spiral shape when it is launched!]
[Siebold: For Pikachu to be able to walk and run on it, in addition to his extremely fast speed, his control of strength, and his ability to cancel out the energy must be just right!]
[Wallace: That's right. Don't look at Ash as if he just gave a random instruction; Pikachu's actual execution is quite difficult!]
A Water-type Elite Four member and a Water-type Champion both affirmed Pikachu's feats! Don't look at Pikachu as if he is breaking the rules; in fact, as long as you have superb control, this is something achievable!
[Steven: …What are you two talking about? Pikachu hasn't even evolved, and to control power the way you say would require at least Elite Four-level execution, right? Are you overthinking it?]
[Diantha: Could it be… Pikachu is simply fast? So fast that the additional power on the Hydro Pump didn't even have time to hurt him before he already reached the front of Gyarados?]
[Wallace: ...]
[Siebold: ...]
It seems like... these two Champions also have a point! Could it be that they really overanalyzed it?
Ah, this… they just embarrassed themselves in front of the whole world! But they can't admit it… Absolutely cannot admit it!
In the Footage—
Clair recalled Gyarados and looked at the panting Pikachu.
"I have to praise your skills, Ash. This is the last one… don't look at it as having just evolved, its level is anything but ordinary!"
With those words, Clair released her last Pokémon. It had bright black eyes, a unique horn on the top of its head, and small, feathery white wings on the sides of its head.
Its entire body was covered with sapphire-colored scales, and there were small blue beads on the lower part of its neck and at the end of its tail.
The evolutionary form of Dratini—Dragonair!
The Dratini family is known as late bloomers. Its final evolution, Dragonite, is also known as a quasi-legendary, second only to Mythicals and Legendaries!
This type of Pokémon is actually not weak even before it evolves, and the reason they are called late bloomers is that…
They are so hard to evolve! Generally speaking, reaching the final stage of a quasi-legendary might take as much effort as evolving an ordinary Pokémon twice! In return, an evolution can increase their strength by leaps and bounds!
And Clair's Dragonair is one of the absolute best! In terms of experience, this Dragonair could even directly evolve into a Dragonite.
But Clair wants her Dragonair to reach the same heights as her cousin Lance! Thus, she delayed its evolution in exchange for higher potential and deeper foundations! Don't just look at this Dragonair as a middle stage; its strength… is incredibly formidable!
"I certainly don't underestimate it! I know better than anyone how strong Miss Clair's Dragonair is! Pikachu, be careful!"
"Pi… Pika!"
Pikachu was on all fours, panting heavily. Even though Ash said to be careful, right now, he was also a little powerless…
"Pre-empt it, use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika-Chu!"
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