Arbok tunneled deep beneath the battlefield, finally escaping Pikachu's relentless flurry of attacks, for the moment, at least.
But Koga was in the middle of an existential crisis.
'Wait, wait, hold on. Who exactly is supposed to be the Champion here?'
His brow twitched, his thoughts spinning wildly.
'My Pokémon are Champion Level, right? Then why...why am I the one getting beaten like a rookie?!'
He could still see it clearly in his mind, that blinding flash of gold, the impact that cracked his League-issued defensive barrier. Those barriers could withstand Champion-tier attacks, and yet Pikachu's attack had fractured it like glass.
That kind of force wasn't just "strong." That was Champion-level destructive power.
When Charizard's Flame struck Toxicroak earlier, it had caused the exact same kind of fracture pattern…
Which only led to one burning question screaming inside Koga's head:
"Why?!"
Why could a Elite-level Pikachu, even boosted by Ash's strange Aura, unleash power on par with a Champion Pokémon?!
Was this what it meant to be a "special ability" Trainer now? Would future top Trainers need to have psychic powers or Aura manipulation just to compete?
If someone could give any Pokémon that kind of boost, then wouldn't special ability users be literally invincible?
In truth, the reality was far more complicated than Koga's panicked thoughts assumed.
Pikachu's overwhelming power wasn't just the result of Ash's Aura enhancement.
It was the combination of three massive factors:
Partner Form: When activated, Pikachu's level rose by an entire minor stage, and every single stat increased by one rank. In raw numbers, Pikachu's Attack and Special Attack were now teetering on S-rank levels.
Ash's Aura Boost: Not an ordinary Aura, but one fused from the combined power of multiple "Aura Warrior" from the multiverse chat group, plus Ash's own enhanced Aura.
That energy could temporarily raise even a god-tier Pokémon by one minor stage if applied fully.
For Pikachu, whose body was perfectly synchronized with Ash's, that meant a major stage increase in effective combat power.
The Light Ball, Pikachu's personal treasure and most broken item in existence.
It doubled both physical and special attack power. With that alone, Pikachu's offensive strength rivaled or even exceeded Arbok's Champion-tier output.
And what little difference remained, like Speed, was effortlessly erased by Electric Acceleration, which gave Pikachu near-instant acceleration and overwhelming reaction time.
So while Arbok might have technically been one minor stage above Toxicroak, the battle dynamics weren't as lopsided as they looked.
But of course, Koga had no way of knowing any of this.
All he saw was absurdity, sheer, unscientific, reality-breaking absurdity.
Still, he was an Elite Trainer for a reason. His years of battle experience allowed him to suppress his disbelief and think tactically again.
'Alright… fine. If its attack power is that monstrous, then I'll just target its weak point, defense.'
No matter how strong Pikachu's offense was, its defense had to be weak.
A small body, physically boosted beyond its limit… it couldn't possibly sustain a direct hit from Dig.
If Arbok could land even one solid strike, everything would turn around.
Beneath the field, the ground shifted subtly. A faint breeze swept through the Gym, carrying with it the low hum of moving soil.
Everyone fell silent. The vibrations echoed faintly, but unpredictably, making it impossible to pinpoint Arbok's exact position.
Pikachu stood perfectly still. Its tail twitched once, its eyes narrowed.
Then;
"Now!"
In a blur of motion, Pikachu leapt high into the air!
A split second later, the ground beneath where it had been standing exploded open...BOOM!, and Arbok burst out like a coiled spring, its gaping jaws snapping shut on empty air.
It missed by less than a heartbeat.
If Pikachu had hesitated even a fraction of a second longer, it would have been slammed, bitten, and buried all in one go.
Koga's expression darkened.
"So he can sense it, too."
That precise timing wasn't luck. It was Aura perception, just like Charizard earlier.
While underground, Arbok had deliberately sent out vibration pulses to confuse Pikachu's sense of direction. Most Trainers, even Elite ones, could only estimate the attack's timing based on instinct and guesswork.
But Ash wasn't most Trainers.
With Aura fully linked, he and Pikachu could sense the exact instant Arbok shifted from stealth to strike.
It was almost unfair, like playing a game where you could see the enemy's attack before it even happened.
Koga clenched his jaw.
"Arbok, Gunk Shot!" he commanded sharply.
Arbok slammed its tail down to anchor itself, stabilizing after emerging from the earth. Its massive hood flared open, and a sinister glow built in its throat, deep violet energy swirling violently.
Then;
"Kaaaaa...BOOOHHH!"
A thick column of dark-purple sludge energy erupted from its mouth like a cannon blast, rocketing straight toward Pikachu midair!
Gunk Shot, one of the most devastating Poison-type techniques in existence.
The poison energy pouring from Arbok's jaws was nothing short of catastrophic.
As soon as Gunk Shot was released, the air itself seemed to rot, a wave of dark-purple venom thick enough to blur the arena's lights.
The ground hissed and blackened wherever the sludge struck, and even the shimmering barrier around the battlefield warped as if it, too, were being corroded.
The power of a Champion-tier Arbok was terrifying.
In mid-air, Pikachu looked utterly cornered, suspended helplessly in the open, until Ash's voice cut through the venomous haze:
"Floating Fall!"
"Pika!!"
Pikachu's limbs spread wide, the air around him shimmered, and suddenly he began to ride the wind.
An invisible current caught his small frame; his descent slowed, then shifted sideways.
Like a feather caught in a breeze, he drifted smoothly out of the Gunk Shot's path.
The toxic blast missed completely, splattering against the arena floor in a violent explosion.
Koga's jaw slackened. His mind went blank.
'Why… why can Pikachu fly?!'
This wasn't gliding. Pikachu was actually floating mid-air, slow, deliberate, controlled.
He could even reposition himself before landing!
That shouldn't have been possible.
It defied physics, battle mechanics, and Koga's sanity.
A move like that… it had to be cheating.
But the insanity didn't end there.
Ash's command, Floating Fall, wasn't just a dodge. It was a counter-attack.
As Pikachu steadied himself, he abruptly tucked his limbs inward, his body aligning like a meteor.
Then;
BOOM!
Electric sparks flared around him as he plummeted straight toward Arbok, who was still recovering from the recoil of its own massive Gunk Shot.
The impact landed like a thunderclap.
Arbok's body, still half-buried in the ground, was blasted free, sent hurtling across the field and skidding dozens of meters before crashing against the arena wall with a resounding thud!
Gasps erupted from the audience.
That was the third time Pikachu had landed a clean hit, and Arbok hadn't touched him even once.
And what's worse… that attack looked like a Flying-type technique.
A Flying-type move, from Pikachu?!
Koga gritted his teeth, forcing himself back into focus. "Arbok, Glare!"
At the same instant, Ash's voice rang out, calm and confident: "Pikachu, Electric Acceleration!"
Koga's plan was clear: cripple the mouse.
If Glare landed, Pikachu would be paralyzed, its lightning-fast reactions cut in half.
Once slowed, even Electric Acceleration wouldn't save it.
Pikachu's body erupted with blinding golden light, electricity pouring into the ground.
Crackling arcs spread across the battlefield, painting it with flickering lines of gold.
At the same time, Arbok's terrible eyes flared crimson.
The sinister eye-pattern on its hood shimmered, releasing an eerie psychic-like energy that struck Pikachu head-on.
"Pika—!" Pikachu stiffened mid-stance, sparks sputtering around its cheeks.
Static froze his movements; his limbs trembled.
Koga allowed himself a breath of relief.
"It's over, Ash. Without that speed, Pikachu can't keep up. Paralysis halves reaction, movement, everything. Your tricks end here."
Ash only smiled, calm, composed, almost amused.
"Mr. Koga," he said softly, "when I battled Sabrina, she taught me something important. Now it's your turn to learn the same lesson."
Koga frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Ash's eyes gleamed.
"When you're up against a Trainer who can channel special powers into their Pokémon…"
He pointed forward, grinning"…never give them a status condition!"
Koga's expression flickered. "What?"
"Pikachu, Electric Acceleration!!"
The electricity that had spread across the field suddenly surged back into Pikachu's body like a living tide.
Lightning burst outward in a blinding flash, and the paralysis vanished.
With a roar of thunder, Pikachu blurred and disappeared from sight.
"Lay down Toxic all around!"
Koga's voice snapped through the chaos, sharp and commanding.
This time, he wasn't going to get caught off guard.
Earlier, when Ash had ordered Pikachu's Electric Acceleration, Arbok hadn't even managed to finish coiling before it was launched halfway across the field like a rag doll.
But things were different now.
Pikachu had been paralyzed.
Even if Electric Acceleration boosted speed, paralysis cut it in half. So, in theory, Pikachu's frightening, instantaneous movement shouldn't be as fast this time.
That meant Arbok would have enough time, finally, to execute a move.
And Koga knew exactly what to do.
Toxic.
If Arbok spread poison across the entire field, Pikachu would have nowhere to stand, nowhere to dodge.
Even if Pikachu attacked successfully, the poison's continuous damage would make sure it fell soon after.
After several rounds of observation, Koga had already pieced together Ash's fatal weakness:
His Pokémon could fight way above their level, yes, but they all burned out just as fast.
Their stamina was the weak point.
Not "weak" in the traditional sense, it was more like their power was skyrocketed by external means, while their endurance stayed at its original baseline.
In short, they could fight like Champions for a while, but their energy reserves were still that of an Elite or Professional-tier Pokémon.
If that was the case, then the longer the fight dragged on, the greater Koga's advantage became.
He just had to hold out, trade blow for blow, and eventually the overclocked Pokémon would collapse from exhaustion.
That was the price of unnatural strength.
"Arbok, go!"
A dark violet light pulsed across Arbok's scales. The toxins in its body churned, ready to burst outward, until, suddenly...
FLASH!
Golden light exploded across the field.
A thunderclap rang out.
Then, boom!
The world turned into chaos.
Koga barely had time to register what happened before his Arbok was launched, spinning through the air like a struck projectile, crashing into the far barrier with a deafening CRASH!
Spiderweb cracks splintered across the protective dome.
This time, they weren't faint, they were deep enough that even the League-certified barrier hummed with strain.
Any harder, and it would've shattered outright.
"Wh–what…?"
Koga stared, dumbfounded.
The words stumbled out of his mouth before he even realized.
Why is it even faster than before?!
Pikachu was supposed to be paralyzed. Paralysis halves speed. So how the hell did it increase instead?!
Then, like lightning, realization struck.
His eyes widened. "Wait… that thing you said before, 'Don't give Trainers with special powers status conditions'…
You can use your special ability to remove them, can't you?!"
Ash's lips curved into a calm, knowing smile.
He didn't answer.
The proof was right in front of them, Pikachu glowing in radiant gold, every spark humming with wild vitality, not a trace of paralysis left.
Pikachu was fully powered, uninjured, and faster than before.
Meanwhile, Arbok was cracked, bruised, and, judging from that impact, barely holding on.
'Calm down,' Koga told himself, regaining focus. 'There's still a way.'
Even if speed was impossible to match, he could still rely on durability.
If he couldn't outspeed Pikachu, he'd simply outlast it.
He snapped his fingers.
"Arbok, Stockpile!"
Arbok hissed, dragging itself from the cracked barrier. Its massive body began to glow faintly as it accumulated energy, defensive power swelling as its muscles tightened and hardened.
Ash's eyes gleamed.
"Pikachu, Electric Acceleration!"
Stockpile is a stat-boosting move that increases Defense and Special Defense, but Electric Acceleration has the effect of guaranteeing a critical hit, which ignores the opponent's defense boosts.
So, this move was useless against Pikachu.
...
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