I have added this story to my Patreon. You can support me and read the 40 latest and advanced chapters there. It also fed and motivate me to write more chapters!
Free Members will get 10 Chapters Ahead of the schedule on Patreon!!!
Link: Patreon.com/AVRKingsTL
—------------------—
Fighting against Pikachu, win or lose, always left a Trainer feeling incredibly frustrated.
It was just a Pikachu, yet it possessed all sorts of strange moves and annoying abilities.
It could use the Water-type Surf, and then, at the last moment, it even triggered Electrostatic!
This probabilistic ability is actually linked to the level difference between the two Pokémon. The greater the level difference, the harder it is to trigger a Pokémon's probabilistic ability.
Although Pikachu's strength reached the Elite Four Class, its actual level was only Professional. The level difference between them was quite significant; even if their strength was somewhat closer, there was still a considerable gap.
To trigger Electrostatic under such circumstances was truly bad luck.
In reality, Arcanine's paralysis wasn't just due to Pikachu's ability; those three soaring surfs weren't used in vain. Each soaring surf had a thirty percent chance of paralyzing the opponent.
Because they were used consecutively, the electric currents lay dormant within Arcanine's body. Although they didn't cause paralysis immediately, they remained hidden, and then Pikachu's final Electric Terrain activated all the currents, leading to Arcanine's paralysis.
This could be called a coincidence or an inevitability; in essence, it was a foreshadowing planted earlier that was finally revealed in this clash.
Now, although Arcanine had lost its ability to battle, Pikachu also had very little stamina left, so continuing the fight wasn't realistic. Thus, it was considered a one-for-one trade.
However, for Blaine, this one-for-one trade was absolutely humiliating, as he hadn't even touched Pikachu. Pikachu's near-exhaustion was entirely due to him expending too much energy on attacks.
Blaine calmed himself down, then took out Ninetales's Poké Ball again: "I'll rely on you one more time, Ninetales!"
"Wooh~" With a flash of light, the golden Ninetales appeared on the field.
Ash also took out Gardevoir's Poké Ball and threw it directly: "I choose you, Gardevoir!"
The Poké Ball landed on the field, and Gardevoir reappeared, still in her MEGA Evolution state.
"Ash, I have a question."
"Go ahead."
"Is your Gardevoir's current form permanent?"
"Why do you ask that?"
"Because I just saw that, besides the Stone on Gardevoir's body, the Evolution also required an item in your hand. This Evolution seems a bit different from Pokémon that evolve using an Stone; her current form is like a temporary state that transcends limits using that item."
"Moreover, if Gardevoir's form were permanent, why would you let her evolve on the field? Wouldn't it be better to have her evolve early?"
It must be said, Blaine's analysis was very reasonable.
MEGA Evolution does indeed disappear, but only under two conditions: one, when the Pokémon's stamina is exhausted and it no longer has the strength to maintain it; and two, when the Pokémon voluntarily exits MEGA Evolution.
This means that as long as the Pokémon is willing and has sufficient stamina, MEGA Evolution can be treated as a permanent form.
However, generally speaking, no one would be so bored as to keep a Pokémon in this state indefinitely. During battle, it's understandable, but why maintain this state in daily life? This form consumes far more stamina with every movement than its normal state.
"That's right, Gardevoir's form is only temporary. You can think of this state as an enhanced form, but even if it's temporary, it can certainly be maintained for an entire battle. Gardevoir, Calm Mind!"
After Ash casually explained, he quickly entered battle mode. This time, he chose to have Gardevoir power up first.
"Sana!" Gardevoir closed her eyes, then quickly opened them again. Calm Mind was completed in less than a second.
"Nasty Plot." Blaine immediately gave the command the moment Ash spoke.
Don't let him seem like he was asking questions; he never forgot that they were in battle. After the opponent used a stat-boosting move, he quickly responded.
Calm Mind is a move that boosts Special Attack and Special Defense, while Nasty Plot greatly boosts Special Attack.
Both moves have their pros and cons, but they are both types of stat-boosting moves.
Ninetales tilted her head, and streaks of light flashed in her crimson eyes. The power within her body grew stronger at this moment.
"Inferno!"
Blazing flames suddenly rose around Gardevoir, trapping her within the fire. But in the next second, Gardevoir suddenly appeared behind Ninetales!
Disable had already been lifted when Gardevoir was recalled, so her Teleport could be used again.
After appearing behind Ninetales, Gardevoir's eyes lit up, and she raised a small hand, about to use a massive Confusion to bind Ninetales.
But just then, scorching flames also suddenly surged around Ninetales!
The towering pillars of fire forced Gardevoir to retreat quickly. Even so, Gardevoir's palm was singed, and flames even burned on her hand.
A burst of icy air rose from Gardevoir's hand, directly extinguishing the flames.
Ice Punch.
She used the coldness of Ice Punch to directly put out the flames.
Afterward, Gardevoir didn't stop for a moment. She first floated up, then extended both hands, making a tearing motion in the air!
The protective flames encircling Ninetales were actually torn open!
Blaine wasn't surprised by this. This was merely a defensive trap set around Ninetales to guard against Gardevoir's sneak attack, only providing simple protection.
If it were full-power flames, Gardevoir wouldn't have been able to tear them open directly with her Psychic powers.
After all, these were flames empowered by Nasty Plot.
After tearing open the flames, another light flashed in Gardevoir's beautiful eyes. When Ninetales's and Gardevoir's eyes met, Ninetales felt her body spinning as if in a daze.
But soon, she shook her head and broke free from that illusion.
Ninetales tilted her head, feeling a bit confused. What was that illusion just now, and why did she feel like there was something wrong with her body?
Blaine didn't notice Ninetales's abnormality. He commanded loudly: "Flamethrower!"
"Wooh!!" Ninetales opened her mouth and spewed flames, but this time, the flames not only had less power than before, but they were also two sizes smaller!
Not just Gary and the others, even Blaine was stunned by what he saw. What was going on?
That was a Flamethrower boosted by Nasty Plot. How could its power be so little?
"Sana!!" Gardevoir extended one hand, directly freezing the flames in mid-air. Her Confusion even extended further, binding Ninetales, who was spewing the flames!
Psychic!
While binding Ninetales, another light shone in Gardevoir's beautiful eyes. Immediately, a dazzling blue light shot out from her eyes, transforming into a phantom of MEGA Gardevoir that surged forward!
"Use Inferno to break free!" Blaine's pupils constricted as he saw the scene on the field and quickly commanded.
This time, he didn't have time to use the Poké Ball recall trick to help Ninetales break free. He could only have Ninetales use a Fire-type move to forcibly break through the Psychic Gardevoir was unleashing.
Ninetales's face showed a look of struggle. She cut off the Flamethrower she was spewing and then applied her energy to the surrounding field. Pillars of fire rose from the ground, completely encircling Ninetales.
The scorching flames forcibly blocked the energy of Psychic, but Gardevoir's phantom had already reached Ninetales's front and passed directly through her!
In an instant, Ninetales's pupils seemed to lose focus, and she appeared to have suffered a huge mental blow.
Move — Psyshock!
After seeing the scene on the field, Blaine's heart was filled with anxiety. Even with his rich experience, he didn't know what was happening. It wasn't that he didn't know what move Gardevoir used to attack, but rather why Ninetales had suddenly become so weakened.
She had used Nasty Plot, yet all her attacks seemed to have dropped by two levels, not even reaching normal power.
Even a normal Inferno would have been able to burn through Psychic and block most of Psyshock.
But now, Inferno could only slightly block Psychic, and couldn't even defend against Psyshock in the slightest.
On the field, Gardevoir, who was floating in the air, disappeared from her spot once again. Blaine, seeing this, quickly shouted: "Protect!"
"Bang!!"
A vibrant green barrier instantly lit up around Ninetales, and Gardevoir, who had instantly flashed to Ninetales's front, unleashed a punch!
The fist, glowing with pink light, slammed against the barrier, but couldn't cause even a scratch of damage.
Move — Extreme Speed! Ability, Pixilate, which converts Normal-type moves into Fairy-type moves.
If that hit, it would have been the power of a STAB Extreme Speed, and Ninetales would likely have been on her last legs.
However, Blaine's reaction was also extremely fast. Regardless of whether Gardevoir used Teleport or some other move, he knew that given Ash's personality, he would definitely attack. So, by using a defensive move, he could block this attacking turn.
"Flame Charge!" After blocking the opponent's attack, Blaine finally had a chance to let Ninetales counterattack. At this distance, even if Gardevoir used Teleport, she wouldn't have time to dodge!
The barrier around Ninetales instantly disappeared. At the same time, scorching red flames ignited on her body. Then, she pushed off the ground with her toes and charged forward, with whooshing sounds echoing through the air.
Gardevoir only had time to cross her arms in front of her before she was hit by the opponent's Flame Charge, and her entire body was sent flying!
Ash, standing in the Trainer's box, also grunted, involuntarily taking two steps back.
This was the first time his Pokémon had been hit by a move in a strict sense, across these two battles.
The flame barrier used for defense earlier had only singed Gardevoir's palm for a moment before being extinguished by Ice Punch. This time was different; this was a solid hit from a move.
And the bad news was, Ninetales used a physical move.
Blaine saw the flames burning on Ninetales's body, and a myriad of doubts flashed through his mind.
Why... why was there nothing wrong with the flames when using Flame Charge, but the temperature and density of the flames from Flamethrower and Inferno, Ninetales's specialty Special moves, were incredibly low?
Those were moves boosted by Nasty Plot, yet their power decreased... What the heck!
On the field, the knocked-back Gardevoir rolled several times on the ground, finally coming to a stop precariously at the edge of the field, with even one hand already hanging off the field.
Below this field was scorching lava. If she fell in, the battle would essentially be declared over, and Ash would have to intervene immediately to bring Gardevoir back.
However, in this situation, she could still fight.
Gardevoir's slender arms propped her up on a scorched patch of ground, barely standing. Her already dark skirt was stained with a lot of black char and dust, remnants from earlier on the field.
At this moment, Gardevoir looked quite disheveled, having become like this after being hit only once. And this was only a very low-power Flame Charge, plus Ninetales wasn't particularly good at physical moves.
If she were hit again, the battle would probably be declared over.
'The Elite is truly not to be underestimated. To be able to counterattack in that state is simply monstrous.' Ash's exclamation echoed in Gardevoir's mind.
That Extreme Speed just now was basically a decisive move. Ninetales was suppressed to such an extent, who would have thought that the opponent could still use Protect so quickly? What else could that be but monstrous?
'Ash, I can still do it.' Gardevoir's soft voice rang out, her dust-covered, pretty face filled with determination.
'Now the opponent is even harder to deal with. He used Flame Charge to increase his speed by one level, and through the physical attack just now, Blaine should have also noticed the strangeness about Ninetales. If we can't take him down with the next attack, it will be difficult.'
'I understand, Ash. One hit, one victory!' Gardevoir silently began to accumulate power within her body.
Just as Ash said, the opponent had now initially discovered Ninetales' peculiarity. If they dragged it out further and the opponent truly realized the truth of Ninetales's weakened power, it would be even harder to fight.
So, this attack must decide the victor.
On the other side, after a long period of thought, a flicker of determination flashed in Blaine's eyes. Was it as he suspected? He would know after trying: "Ninetales, Flare Blitz!"
"Wooh!!" Explosive crimson flames ignited on Ninetales's body. The towering fire almost dyed the sky a fiery red, turning the night into day at this moment.
Not only had Ash decided to go for a decisive blow, but Blaine was doing the same!