"I choose you, Gardevoir!" With a flash of light, Gardevoir—whom we hadn't seen in ages—made a dazzling entrance!
It had been so long since Gardevoir's last official battle; it seemed like it might have been back during the Indigo Plateau Conference...
Despite being one of Ash's top three powerhouses, she rarely got the chance to battle; usually, it was Charizard or Pikachu taking the field.
Finally, it was Gardevoir's turn.
One advantage of her long absence from the battlefield was that Brandon had no way to gauge her strength or prepare for her moves based on past data.
Since her last battle had taken place months ago—when she was only at the Gym Leader level—any old combat data was practically useless.
Consequently, Brandon had to treat Gardevoir as an entirely new Pokémon; everything about her was an unknown variable.
Of course, even if Brandon had seen Gardevoir's status just a month ago, he would likely still be in the dark now.
After all, spurred on by Charizard, Gardevoir had undergone a massive transformation and was no longer the same Pokémon she used to be.
"A Psychic-type Gardevoir—and a Shiny one at that. Young man, your Pokémon are truly rare, one after another." Even Brandon was momentarily surprised by the Shiny Gardevoir.
Gardevoir was rare enough on its own, let alone in its Shiny form.
While being Shiny didn't necessarily equate to greater power, the rarity of Shiny Pokémon rivaled that of Legendary Pokémon; a Shiny variant of an already rare species like Gardevoir was even more precious than a Legendary.
"You're too kind, Mr. Brandon. But my Gardevoir isn't just for show," Ash said, rubbing his nose with a look of pride.
"Shana~" Gardevoir lifted the hem of her skirt and bowed to Brandon and Regirock, displaying the poise of an elegant queen.
Courtesies first, then combat—once the formalities were over, it was time to strike!
"Gardevoir, use Psychic!" As always, Ash was the first to launch an attack.
At Ash's command, Gardevoir instantly shifted into battle mode. Her expression turned serious; she raised her hands, her beautiful eyes glowing faintly as a surge of powerful psychic energy bore down on Regirock.
"Regirock, use Curse," Brandon commanded calmly.
Curse is a Ghost-type move. When used by a Ghost-type Pokémon, it drains half of the user's maximum HP to curse the opponent, causing them to lose increasing amounts of HP over time.
However, when used by a Pokémon of a different type, it becomes a stat-boosting move: it lowers the user's Speed by one stage while raising both Attack and Defense by one stage.
This boost was incredibly potent for Regirock; the drop in Speed was negligible, given that Regirock was already slow to begin with.
The only downside was that the opponent was Gardevoir; the move would have been even more valuable against a Pokémon that relied on physical attacks.
The seven gems on Regirock's head lit up, and a dark, eerie aura enveloped its body. This aura mingled with the glow of Gardevoir's Psychic attack, creating a strange, unsettling color.
The full force of the Psychic attack battered Regirock's body, yet the Pokémon showed no signs of pain—simply because it lacked a face capable of expressing emotion.
However, Regirock's physical reactions revealed that the Psychic attack was indeed taking effect. Curse bolstered Regirock's already formidable Defense but did nothing to improve its weaker Special Defense.
Gardevoir was targeting exactly that weak point; in a way, this opponent was a perfect match for her.
It was a pity, though, that the move Mewtwo had taught Gardevoir—Psystrike...
It couldn't be used in this match.
Psystrike is a physical attack move that relies on the Special Attack stat; Regirock would defend against it perfectly. Even though it is a signature move of a Legendary Pokémon, the damage dealt to Regirock would still be negligible.
However, that didn't mean Gardevoir had no other way to break through Regirock's defenses...
"Gardevoir, let your radiance shine—Mega Evolve!" Ash glanced at his Key Stone; the energy for Mega Evolution had been fully replenished thanks to the combined influence of his Aura and the Viridian Power, making another Mega Evolution possible.
Without hesitation, Ash commanded Gardevoir to Mega Evolve; this wasn't an opponent he could defeat without it.
As the light surrounding Gardevoir dissipated, the Pokémon—originally clad in a pure white gown—transformed into a "Queen of the Night" wearing a voluminous, deep black dress.
Her hair remained blue, but her body—arms included—had turned black. Mega Gardevoir, the Queen of the Night, had arrived!
"You can Mega Evolve again? Isn't Mega Evolution limited to once per short period?" Brandon was astounded by the appearance of Mega Gardevoir, but a new question immediately arose in his mind.
He owned Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution and a Key Stone himself, and he had experimented with the process; however, usually, after Mega Evolving one Pokémon, the Key Stone would enter a cooldown phase.
It required a period of recharging before it could be used for Mega Evolution again.
That was why he had believed that even though his Registeel lost the first round, he wasn't at a significant disadvantage; he thought Ash had already played his Mega Evolution trump card and wouldn't be able to boost his Pokémon further in the subsequent battles.
Yet, Ash had dealt him a shocking blow right at the start—he was actually able to Mega Evolve two different Pokémon in a single match?! How was that even possible?
"If you had watched all my battles at the Indigo Plateau, Mr. Brandon, you would know that I can have my Pokémon Mega Evolve in succession. As for the reason... it has to do with certain special abilities I possess."
It was difficult for Ash to explain exactly how his Aura and Viridian Power interacted with the Key Stone.
In any case, it was enough for Brandon to simply know that Ash could use his own inner power to restore the energy of the Key Stone. As for Brandon not having watched Ash's matches at the Indigo Plateau Conference... that wasn't particularly strange; it simply meant he hadn't watched every single one of them—perhaps just a few key bouts.
No matter how famous someone is, an outsider wouldn't know every minute detail about them unless they were a dedicated fan.
And Brandon clearly hadn't reached the level of being an Ash fan.
"Enough small talk. Regirock, Lock-On!" Brandon composed himself, shaking off his shock, and refocused his mind on the battle.
He opened with "Lock-On." All three of his Legendary Titans could use it; their speed was simply too low—even for Legendary Pokémon, slow is slow.
When facing agile opponents, it is difficult to land hits, yet hard to dodge the opponent's attacks.
Consequently, Brandon had devised a specific combat strategy for the Titans: leveraging their exceptional defense and stamina to trade blows—taking damage to deal damage.
Lower-level opponents would be instantly defeated before they could even touch the Titans, while higher-level ones would be dragged into a war of attrition—forced into the Titans' preferred style of combat.
And the key to this "trade-damage" strategy was "Lock-On"!
It was a move that guaranteed a hit, effectively forcing the opponent into a direct exchange of attacks.
"Gardevoir, use Water Pulse!" Seizing the opening while the opponent was using Lock-On, Ash launched an immediate attack!
However, this command baffled both Brandon and Paul, who was watching from the sidelines.
Gardevoir... learning Water Pulse?
Although Gardevoir is a Psychic-type capable of learning a vast array of moves, "Water Pulse" was not part of its standard move pool.
Had Ash lost his mind?
Yet, the very next second, Gardevoir gracefully traced an arc with her hands in front of her.
A stream of clear water materialized out of thin air, and under the control of her psychic power, it coalesced into a rapidly spinning sphere of water!
The water sphere radiated a pale blue glow; it looked nothing like a hastily improvised move, but rather like a signature move honed to perfection through countless repetitions.
"What?!" Brandon's pupils contracted sharply.
Not only could Gardevoir use Water Pulse, but its proficiency was on par with the Psychic move she had used earlier—it was as if it were a move that played to her natural strengths!
The Water Pulse shot forward, slamming directly into Regirock—BOOM!
The water exploded outward, the force of the impact causing Regirock's massive body to stagger backward two steps.
The effectiveness of a Water-type move against a Rock-type was on full display; the torrent scoured the seemingly indestructible rocky body, leaving behind countless tiny cracks.
It was super effective!
"Now, use Magical Leaf!"
Gardevoir waved her left hand, and dozens of leaves glowing with emerald light materialized out of thin air around her. Each leaf was as thin as a cicada's wing, yet their edges glinted with a cold, metallic sheen.
Magical Leaf—a Grass-type move. It was a move Gardevoir should have been completely incapable of learning, yet she wielded it with effortless fluidity!
The Magical Leaves traced graceful arcs through the air, striking with pinpoint accuracy the very cracks that Water Pulse had carved into Regirock's body!
Slish! Slash!
The Magical Leaves acted like a barrage of razor-sharp blades, slicing furiously into Regirock. This dealt a devastating blow to a body already weakened by the earlier Water-type attack!
Once again, the move inflicted massive damage on Regirock.
"First Water-type, then Grass-type... Aside from being at the Champion level, this Gardevoir possesses some truly uncanny traits! Its unpredictability is on par with that Charizard from earlier."
Brandon slowly suppressed the shock in his eyes. The bizarre nature of Ash's Pokémon defied everything he had witnessed in his decades as a Trainer; having one that defied conventional wisdom was one thing, but two...
It was hard to say whether it was a matter of luck or if Ash's training methods were what shaped these Pokémon.
Regardless of the reason, the battle had to go on.
They were merely two super-effective moves, after all; his Regirock wasn't that fragile.
"Regirock, use Stone Edge!"
Regirock stomped its foot hard, and dozens of sharp rock pillars instantly shot up from the ground, surging wildly toward Gardevoir's position!
The tips of the pillars glinted coldly; any one of them could easily impale an ordinary Pokémon.
"Reflect!" Ash didn't have Gardevoir dodge—that would have been futile; the priority now was to defend against the attack.
Gardevoir spread her hands, and a transparent wall materialized before her. The sharp rock pillars slammed into the Reflect barrier; they paused for less than a second before punching right through!
The power of the Stone Edge attack had clearly diminished after piercing the Reflect barrier, though not by the drastic fifty percent one might expect.
This was because Regirock held a level advantage over Gardevoir and had boosted its physical attack by one stage using Curse; furthermore, Stone Edge was a STAB (Same-Type Attack Bonus) move for it, making the attack's power comparable to that of a peak Champion-level Pokémon.
Given the massive level gap, it would have been a miracle for Reflect to hold completely. However, Ash had more than one defensive measure up his sleeve; in fact, Reflect was merely the appetizer.
"Protect!"
Bang! An emerald-green barrier manifested around Gardevoir, completely enveloping her.
The Stone Edge pillars slammed fiercely into the barrier; within a split second, hairline cracks began to appear.
More sharp rock pillars hammered against the barrier in rapid succession; in moments, the Protect barrier was reduced to a tattered, crumbling mess. Yet, despite being battered and fractured, the barrier held firm against every attack; those massive, devastating rock pillars couldn't advance even an inch against the emerald-green shield!
"Blocked by a combination of Reflect and Protect? Such lightning-fast reflexes and immense psychic power." Even though Gardevoir was an opposing Pokémon, Brandon couldn't help but marvel at the feat.
Although this Gardevoir was slightly stronger than the Charizard from earlier, she was still only at the entry-level Champion tier.
Even with Mega Evolution, she hadn't quite managed to break through to the mid-level Champion tier.
Under normal circumstances, a Pokémon at this level—even using Reflect and Protect—wouldn't be able to withstand a boosted Stone Edge attack from Regirock.
Yet, she had managed to block it.
Just as the previous Charizard's flames had been unlike those of other Fire-types, this Gardevoir's psychic energy seemed to possess unique, extraordinary qualities...
That was only natural, considering she was a protégé personally trained by Mewtwo!
Only she knew the sheer amount of effort she had poured into rising from a level below Charizard to matching him.
Even Pikachu admitted he couldn't compete with Gardevoir's relentless drive; who the hell trains twenty-four hours a day? Gardevoir did.
She even sacrificed time she could have spent with Ash to force herself to meditate inside her Poké Ball; whenever she emerged, it was to master psychic control under Mewtwo's guidance or to receive direct psychic energy transfers from him.
You could say Gardevoir wished a day had forty-eight hours—all of which she'd dedicate to training!
Pikachu and Gardevoir had once been on equal footing, but now Gardevoir had reached the Champion tier, whereas Pikachu had only just hit the peak of the Elite Four tier a couple of days prior.
It was a testament to just how intensely Gardevoir pushed herself.
Moreover, beyond just leveling up, Gardevoir had unlocked a brand-new power derived from Mewtwo's signature move, Psystrike.
That power was the fusion of psychic energy and physical strength to create a third force!
Gardevoir and Ash named it: Essence Power. It symbolizes the power born of the union of spirit and physique!
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