"Come back, Slowking."
Seeing that Slowking was basically hanging on by a thread, Yellow immediately recalled it.
Although Slowking was already poisoned and essentially beyond saving, she still let it rest inside its Poké Ball for the time being.
That was Yellow's gentleness.
"As expected of you, Gym Leader brother… I've already been pushed into a dead end this quickly."
After putting away Slowking's Poké Ball, Yellow looked at the Sneasler on the field, which was casually waving its sharp claws, and spoke softly.
She was already this strong.
She herself had already given it everything she had.
And yet—even now—she still couldn't break through even her Gym Leader brother's second main Pokémon?
"You still have your final trump card, don't you, Yellow? Let me see your last bit of strength."
Dylan gestured toward her with a smile.
"Yes!"
Yellow took a deep breath, fighting spirit surging within her.
That's right—she still had her final trump card!
Although it was already impossible to turn the tables, that didn't matter. She'd never expected to defeat Dylan in the first place.
As long as she could show her Gym Leader brother her strength—that would be enough!
"Pikachu! I'm counting on you!"
Yellow threw her sixth Poké Ball.
"Pika—chu!"
The Poké Ball opened midair in a flash of white light, and a small Pikachu landed nimbly in front of Yellow. A little red flower rested by its left ear, making it look even cuter.
This was Yellow's final ace!
"Woah—! It's Yellow's Pikachu!"
In the stands, Ash's eyes immediately sparkled when he saw Pikachu enter the field. On his shoulder, the electric mouse also lit up.
So cute. So pretty. Great figure. Really want to—
Hearts practically appeared in the electric mouse's eyes. The more he looked, the more beautiful this Pikachu seemed. He felt like he'd fallen in love.
"I dunno, Yellow's Pikachu feels kind of… elegant," Ash commented after thinking for a moment. "And it's wearing a flower."
Compared to it, his own electric mouse felt a little… lacking.
Not ugly, just… different. Yellow's Pikachu gave off a sort of clean, refined vibe.
"Probably because Yellow's Pikachu is female," Brock said with a smile. "And her build is slimmer."
"Your Pikachu is male, Ash, so there are some differences in appearance."
"Huh? Really?" Ash blinked.
"You didn't know?" Misty was stunned.
"You're Pikachu's Trainer and you didn't know?"
She pointed out, "Female Pikachu have heart-shaped tails, while males don't. So yours is obviously male."
"And look—your Pikachu's totally smitten with Yellow's Pikachu."
Misty glanced at the electric mouse, who was staring dreamily, and rolled her eyes.
At least compared to Ash, the electric mouse knew how to appreciate a 'beauty'.
"Eh?"
Ash turned to look—and sure enough, his Pikachu's eyes were shining, just about ready to drool.
Scratching his head, Ash found it impressive without fully understanding.
So… his Pikachu had fallen for Yellow's Pikachu?
Well, that made sense. Even he thought Yellow's Pikachu looked refined. No wonder his Pikachu liked her.
On the field.
"Pikachu!"
Yellow didn't attack immediately. Instead, she took out a black Tera Orb and threw it toward Pikachu.
Terastallization!
Crystal-like matter enveloped Pikachu. With a crisp cracking sound, the crystals shattered.
Electric Tera — Pikachu!
A sharp look appeared on Pikachu's face as it lowered its body, staring intently at Sneasler.
"Poison Tera versus Electric Tera—neither side has type advantage," Leon observed.
"It depends on whether this Pikachu can keep up with Sneasler's speed," he continued. "If it can't, it'll be very hard to beat Sneasler."
Hop didn't underestimate Pikachu at all. After all, Yellow had proven its strength time and again.
As Yellow's ace, this Pikachu was truly terrifying.
"But Champion Dylan is just absurd," Hop added, looking at Dylan. "These Pokémon could easily be other Trainers' aces, couldn't they?"
Leon laughed. "With Dylan's strength, that's nothing surprising. Let's see whether Yellow can defeat this Sneasler."
On the field.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
After a brief thought, Yellow decisively took the initiative.
Pikachu let out a low cry as its cheek pouches crackled with golden electricity. A Thunderbolt shot straight toward Sneasler.
Fast. Fierce.
"Quick Attack!"
But Sneasler was faster!
It lowered its body slightly, white light flaring as it shot toward Pikachu like lightning.
With the priority boost of Quick Attack, its speed was terrifying.
"We'll use Quick Attack too!" Yellow shouted without hesitation.
White light flared behind Pikachu as well. Using Quick Attack, it darted around, avoiding Sneasler's approach.
To normal spectators, only two blurry streaks could be seen racing across the field.
Too fast!
"Can't catch up?" Dylan raised an eyebrow as he watched Sneasler continue its pursuit.
He had originally thought Sneasler would still have a slight speed advantage over Yellow's Pikachu—but now it seemed he'd underestimated her.
"Pikachu!"
Yellow suddenly called out.
Pikachu immediately understood. It accelerated two more steps, leapt high into the air, turned around mid-jump, and its cheek pouches crackled wildly.
"Hmm?" Dylan narrowed his eyes.
Sneasler, still in pursuit, didn't hesitate at all. Pushing off the ground, it slammed straight into the airborne Pikachu like a streak of light.
Bang!
Quick Attack struck Pikachu squarely. Pikachu cried out in pain, its small body knocked backward.
But at the same time, the crackling of electricity grew even louder.
Bzzzz—!
"Thunder!"
BOOM!
A massive bolt of lightning descended from the sky, crashing straight down onto Sneasler.
Sneasler's expression changed. It raised its claws to block—but bare claws were no match for Thunder.
With a deafening explosion, Thunder struck home. Sneasler screamed in pain, its body blasted out of the air and slammed into the ground.
"Beautiful!"
Most people's eyes lit up at the sight.
The bait was perfect. Chasing each other with Quick Attack would've gone nowhere, so Yellow instantly changed tactics.
Pikachu jumped into the air to charge Thunder, forcing Sneasler to follow.
Even if Sneasler's Quick Attack landed, trading it for a Thunder hit was more than worth it.
"Excellent adaptability," Dylan praised without reservation, drawing a smile from Yellow.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
Yellow knew now was the time to press the attack.
One Thunder alone wasn't enough to seriously injure Sneasler.
Pikachu landed and immediately fired another bolt of golden electricity at the spot where Sneasler had fallen.
Another explosion. Smoke billowed.
Footsteps slowly emerged from the smoke. Sneasler walked out, eyes cold and piercing as it stared at Pikachu.
That flashy yellow electric rat with the little red flower—
It hurt.
Behind Sneasler, green particles of light faded away along with the smoke.
Protect?
Did it instinctively use it the moment it landed?
What rich battle experience.
Yellow pressed her lips together, not too disappointed. After all, this was her Gym Leader brother's main Pokémon—experience like that was only natural.
"Dire Claw!"
Sneasler's claws glowed with eerie purple light as it exploded forward toward Pikachu.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
Yellow's expression was grave. That Dire Claw again.
Pikachu retreated while firing electricity, but Sneasler simply swung its claw—
Rip!
The claw light shredded the incoming electricity completely.
An overwhelmingly dominant Dire Claw!
And after tearing through the attack, Sneasler continued charging toward Pikachu without slowing.
"Iron Tail!"
Yellow frowned.
Purely dodging wasn't the issue—she believed Pikachu could keep dodging.
After all, Pikachu wasn't slower than Sneasler. That much had already been proven during their Quick Attack chase.
But what was the point of dodging forever?
Defense alone would inevitably fail.
"Pika—chu!"
At Yellow's command, Pikachu stopped retreating. Its long tail gleamed with metallic light as it charged forward instead.
Sneasler grinned, slamming its Dire Claw downward, while Pikachu leapt up, swinging its tail.
Dire Claw vs. Iron Tail!
Boom!
The two powerful attacks collided head-on, a visible shockwave exploding outward.
Evenly matched?!
"This is ridiculous," Mei couldn't help but complain. "I honestly don't know how she trained this Pikachu. It's outrageous."
"You're telling me," Touko agreed wholeheartedly. "I still remember my Emboar's Blaze-boosted Blast Burn getting pushed back by this Pikachu's Volt Tackle."
"The bond between this girl and her Pokémon is extraordinarily deep," N said softly, eyes glinting. "They trust each other completely."
He could feel the powerful bond between Yellow and Pikachu, and it made him genuinely happy.
"My bond with Serperior is deep too—you said that, N," Mei shot back. "So why can't my Serperior beat this electric mouse?"
N froze, then smiled awkwardly but politely.
You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?