"Magmortar, Flamethrower!" Paul deliberately chose Flamethrower to probe.
Magmortar took a breath, and immediately flames shot from the cannon-muzzles on both arms.
Two enormous pillars of fire erupted. The entire arena was filled with scorching heat, and the temperature inside the pyramid began to rise rapidly.
In less than a second, sweat was beading on Misty and Serena's foreheads, showing just how extreme the temperature had become. Ash waved his arm, and a transparent Aura shield appeared in front of them, blocking out all the heat, which slightly relieved the discomfort. Before they could thank Ash, the flames had already reached Regice.
Brandon didn't give Regice any order to dodge. Magmortar's flames rained down on Regice without reservation.
Paul's expression darkened. The opponent sending out Regice was clearly taking him seriously, but letting Regice just stand there and eat his Fire-type move was contemptuous.
It was hard to imagine two contradictory attitudes happening simultaneously, so Brandon hadn't actually been looking down on him.
"You've misunderstood, young man. It's not that I look down on you. It's that Regice essentially has no need to dodge."
As Brandon's words fell, Regice, engulfed in flames, advanced step by step through the inferno. The flames washed over it like nothing.
"Regice, Ice Beam."
Brandon waved his hand, ordering the counterattack. Regice was still enduring the fiery onslaught, but it remained completely unaffected. Raising both hands, a strange electronic melody emanated from its body.
A column of icy blue light shot from its hands, formed from pure ice energy, carrying bone-chilling cold as it engulfed Magmortar. The flames along the way were instantly frozen upon contact with the beam, turning into countless tiny ice crystals that scattered across the ground.
Flames. Frozen.
Paul's pupils narrowed. Without hesitation, he shouted at Magmortar. "Get out of the way!"
Magmortar desperately tried to move, but the Ice Beam was moving too fast. It couldn't react at all. A thick layer of ice began to spread from Magmortar's legs, instantly enveloping its entire body.
Magmortar maintained its flame-breathing posture, including the flames still lingering from its hands and mouth, frozen solid within a massive block of ice. Its eyes were wide, its expression frozen in the moment of being struck, a complex mixture of disbelief and terror.
Clearly, Magmortar had never imagined that its opponent could freeze even its flames, and it had no time to react. This scene left Paul utterly stunned. He had known the gap between them was vast, but he'd never imagined it would be this great.
Fire against Ice. Under circumstances where Magmortar was actively using Fire-type moves, those moves didn't inflict any significant damage on the opponent. At least on the surface, Regice seemed to withstand the attack without any issue.
But under Regice's counterattack using a single Ice-type move, Magmortar's flames were directly frozen.
Flames, frozen. Without seeing it with your own eyes, it was absolutely unbelievable. This unimaginable event had just happened right before him. Magmortar was instantly defeated by a single Ice-type move. The difference between the two was like a chasm.
At this moment, Magmortar had lost its ability to fight. An Ice-type, with its disadvantaged attribute, had instantly annihilated a Fire-type Pokémon. Not a funny joke at all.
"This is too much!" Misty covered her mouth, her eyes filled with disbelief. "That's a Fire-type Magmortar! Isn't Fire-type supposed to counter Ice-type? How could it be instantly defeated?"
"It's not just a matter of type matchup." Brock's expression also became serious. "That Regice's level is simply too high. In the face of such an absolute power gap, the basic type advantage is completely meaningless."
Misty finally connected the dots. Just now, Ash had mentioned that Regice's level was Champion High. And Magmortar, even after all this time, was only at Elite Four.
This difference couldn't even be called a "gap." It was simply a different world. Type advantage? In the face of absolute power, that kind of edge was practically nonexistent.
Ash, on the other hand, showed no change in expression. This was all within his expectations. A Champion-level Legendary Pokémon, if it could be damaged by a Flamethrower from an Elite Four Magmortar, that would be genuinely strange.
What he'd said earlier wasn't a joke. If Paul truly brought out all his Pokémon together, Regice could obliterate them all in three seconds. Champion-level Legendary Pokémon were that powerful. Even at the same level, they were unrivaled.
Paul took a deep breath, slowly pulled out a Poké Ball, and retrieved Magmortar from the ice. He glanced down at the Poké Ball in his hand, remained silent for two seconds, then put it back on his belt and pulled out another.
"Electivire."
A flash of light, and Electivire appeared once again. Its stamina had been nearly half depleted in the previous battle, and it still bore wounds from the Shadow Punch hits, but its fighting spirit was undiminished. These minor injuries only fueled the fire. The excitement intensified.
"Electivire, Fire Punch!" Paul knew that facing an Ice-type Regice, Electivire's Electric-type moves could only inflict very limited damage. Fortunately, Electivire was one of his trump cards and had learned a wide range of moves. Fire Punch was specifically prepared to counter Ice and Grass-type opponents.
Electivire's fists blazed with intense heat, its entire body transforming into a reddish-yellow bolt, hurtling toward Regice. Now that Trick Room had expired, Electivire's speed had returned. But it still wasn't fast enough.
"Regice, Ice Punch." Brandon's voice was calm and steady.
Regice's right fist condensed an even thicker layer of ice, and the moment Electivire charged forward, it punched out.
Electivire's Fire Punch basically didn't touch Regice, because Regice's Ice Punch had already struck Electivire's chest first. If it were an equal-level matchup, Electivire's speed might have been much faster.
Regice might only be slightly faster than Electivire under normal conditions, but now with the huge gap in power, Regice's speed was actually faster in practice. This was also why Trick Room might have been better if it were still on the field. Now, Electivire was the one at a disadvantage in speed.
The terrifying force of the Ice Punch sent Electivire's entire body flying. Electivire traced an arc in the air, crashed to the ground, and slid several meters before stopping. A thin layer of ice covered its chest, and electric arcs still flickered across its body, but its eyes had lost their vitality.
Electivire had lost its ability to fight.
Paul gritted his teeth, clenching his fists. His fingers turned slightly white from the force. He had come to challenge the Pyramid King with the mindset of avenging his brother. After enduring countless hardships to defeat one of Brandon's Pokémon, he was instead annihilated by Brandon's main line up, losing two in a row.
Now he had only one Pokémon left, and it was Torterra, which Regice had a quadruple advantage over. Even so, he had no other option. His only choice was to use Torterra to make his last stand.
"Torterra!"
A flash of light, and Torterra entered the arena once again. It still bore the wounds from its previous battle with Dusknoir, and its stamina and condition weren't great, but there was no other way. This was his final, and strongest, move.
"Torterra, Frenzy Plant!" The moment Torterra appeared, Paul ordered the ultimate move. He knew that facing an opponent of Regice's caliber, any probing was superfluous. Only by giving everything could he have any chance.
Torterra let out a low, furious roar, and the entire battle arena began to shake violently. A bluish-green light burst forth from cracks in the ground, and dozens of thick, sturdy vines, as wide as teacups, broke through the earth beneath Regice's feet, coiling around it like serpents.
"Regice, Ice Beam."
As Brandon's voice rang out, Regice fired a beam of icy blue light from its chest. Wherever the beam passed, the air froze, paving a path of ice crystals. The vines, hit by the beam, were instantly frozen upon contact.
Each verdant vine turned into an ice sculpture, then shattered with a sharp crack, scattering shards of ice everywhere. The beam pierced through the vines and hit Torterra directly.
Torterra's massive body was instantly engulfed in ice, along with the small tree on its back, frozen solid within a huge ice mountain.
Torterra had lost its ability to fight.
At this point, all three of Paul's Pokémon had been defeated, and without exception, his last two were both instantly annihilated by Regice. And Brandon's Regice didn't even flinch. The difference between the two sides was clearly evident. Although Paul could claim to have taken down one of Brandon's Pokémon first, in the face of Brandon's true strength, he was no different from the other challengers. Inevitable annihilation.
For the first time, Paul felt what it meant to be truly powerless. The feeling of giving everything and being unable to so much as scratch his opponent.
Was this the same feeling his older brother had experienced?
"Torterra has lost its ability to fight. Regice wins. Therefore, the winner is the Pyramid King!" The referee announced the final result.
"Even giving it my all, I still couldn't win." Paul said it in a flat, declarative tone. He had done well enough, whether it was his tactical handling of Torterra against a slower Dusknoir, or specifically switching to a type-advantaged Pokémon against Regice. His reactions had been among the fastest. Those decisions alone were enough to place him among the top-tier Trainers of his generation.
Unfortunately, the opponent was far more powerful. A Trainer of the highest caliber. The Pyramid King. The moment Regice appeared, Paul's defeat had been inevitable. He just hadn't expected such a devastating loss.
"Ash, you'll win, right?" Serena said with some concern. Seeing Paul get swept by Regice, the worry was unavoidable. Paul had fought Ash to a near-draw at the Indigo Conference, despite being affected by external circumstances. His performance here was comparable to what he'd shown at the League.
Ash was facing immense pressure, and Brandon's battle formation had been displayed with incredible finesse. It was said that Brandon had not just one, but three of the Regis. If even one Regice was this overwhelmingly powerful, imagine facing three. How could Ash possibly win?
"I'll win," Ash said confidently, standing up. Even if three Champion High Pokémon were present, he knew he could win. Because after arriving in Goldenrod City, his first priority hadn't been finding the location of the Battle Pyramid. It had been gathering the right Pokémon for his team. Without them, this battle might have been difficult. But now, he was winning every battle.
Ash walked down to the battle arena. Just then, Paul recalled Torterra back into its Poké Ball. He glanced at Ash, said nothing more, and silently passed by him.
"If you can't win this time, then you can win next time. You're not someone who'll be easily broken, are you?" Ash's voice echoed from behind Paul.
Paul's body paused for a moment. Then he continued forward, reaching the darkest part of the arena near the stands, and casually found a seat. He had originally intended to leave immediately, but Ash's words made him want to see what this battle between Ash and Brandon would be like.
He had heard many accounts of Ash's feats, even that Elite Four members had fallen to Ash. The stories were circulating online, and they weren't just rumors but actual events. So what would the fight between Ash and Brandon look like? Facing Brandon's Regice, could Ash actually achieve victory?
"It's your turn, young man." Brandon said seriously, recalling Regice.
"Yes, Mr. Brandon. Do you need to take your Pokémon to the Pokémon Center to recover a bit?" Ash asked, stretching his wrists and warming up.
"No need. I don't plan on sending out my Dusknoir for this battle anyway. I think sending out the main line right from the start is probably the best option."
"Is that so? Then come on. Let me see them, Mr. Brandon. The three Regis!" Ash stood firm, took out a Poké Ball, and declared war on the Pyramid King.
"My first Pokémon is this one. Go, Registeel!" A flash of light, and a Pokémon made entirely of steel appeared on the field. The Steel Pillar of the Regis, Registeel.