"Ash, Murkrow is a Dark-type. Psychic techniques won't work on it. Use Pikachu or Eevee instead," Sabrina said, confused as she saw Ash send out Ralts.
Dark completely resisted Psychic—what Ash was doing shouldn't have been possible.
"Relax."
Ash didn't withdraw Ralts. The blue psychic arm formed from Ralts' power suddenly whipped upward, caught the Murkrow in midair, and slammed it toward the ground.
Sabrina's eyes widened.
"That's impossible—Psychic moves shouldn't affect a Murkrow at all!"
"You're thinking too narrowly," Ash answered.
"Ralts isn't using pure Psychic energy. This move counts as a physical attack, even though it's made of mental power."
Ralts' technique—Sand Hand—was modeled after Gaara's ability from Naruto. Ash had trained Ralts to manifest psychic energy into a tangible force, turning it into a physical strike. That was why he insisted Ralts master "externalizing" Psychic power—it made it a hybrid attack, bypassing traditional type immunity.
Sabrina froze for a moment, then nodded slowly.
"…Right. Manifested psychic force isn't the same as pure energy. It has mass, so it can cause bodily damage."
"Gaa—!"
Murkrow hit the dirt hard, glaring at Ralts in disbelief. It clearly felt the attack was Psychic energy… yet it couldn't resist it at all. Completely different from normal Psychic suppression.
Traditional Psychic attacks worked by invading the opponent's mind, paralyzing their thoughts so the body couldn't respond. But Sand Hand was a shaped construct, operating like a physical limb—closer to elemental manipulation than standard Psychic-type moves.
So Murkrow couldn't break free.
"Sand Coffin."
The manifested spiritual power lunged toward Murkrow again.
"Gaa!!"
Murkrow shot upward instantly, narrowly avoiding being trapped. Then it folded its wings and dove straight toward Ralts in a fierce aerial charge. If that attack connected, Ralts would be hit with raw kinetic force—a guaranteed heavy blow.
"Sand Shield."
The pursuing psychic construct vanished, then reformed around Ralts as a shimmering blue barrier.
Boom!
"Gaa!"
Murkrow slammed into the shield and was flung backward from the rebound.
Even with type resistance, strength difference mattered.
If two Pokémon were close in level, a resisted attack might deal almost zero damage—but if one Pokémon's manifested power far exceeded the other's defenses, the move would still hurt, even if reduced.
Murkrow didn't understand.
Its level matched Ralts—both elite-tier. So why was a Dark-type being struck by Psychic power?
Its instincts screamed that it should have been immune… yet it wasn't.
Although Sand Hand caused physical damage, its core still came from Psychic energy. So instead of 2× weakness or 0× immunity, it landed around 0.5–0.8× effectiveness. Not lethal—but enough to frustrate Murkrow deeply.
"Gaa!!"
Murkrow skimmed the ground, darting around the Sand Shield, and lunged with a sharp, spear-like Peck aimed directly at Ralts.
Boom!
"W-waah!"
Ralts cried out as the beak jabbed into its side, pain forcing it to retreat as the Sand Shield reformed tightly around it, sealing off all openings.
Ash exhaled sharply.
"Murkrow shrugs off most of Ralts' Psychic damage. Ralts' mental power isn't strong enough yet to use higher-tier manifestations—only B-rank constructs like Sand Hand can stack any meaningful damage."
Seeing Murkrow still moving swiftly despite injury, Ash made his decision.
"Ralts—Sand Binding!"
"Wooo…!"
Another surge of psychic force erupted from Ralts' body. The existing Sand Shield around her rippled, then split apart, reshaping into multiple tendrils of manifested mental power that lashed outward toward Murkrow.
"Gaa—!"
Murkrow tried to evade, but this time the grasping claws of psychic sand caught its legs.
In an instant, the entire bird was dragged midair, then wrapped completely in a glowing blue psychic sphere.
Murkrow has been restrained—Sand Binding successful.
Because Ralts used blue manifestation energy, the sphere appeared as a swirling, compressed blue sand-like aura—firm, heavy, and impossible to slip through.
"Sand Burial."
Ash's voice was calm, but precise.
The sphere tightened violently.
Pfft—!
"Gaaa—!!"
Murkrow's scream echoed from inside the sphere as the manifested psychic sand compressed inward. Even though the damage wasn't fully doubled—due to Dark resisting pure Psychic—the A+ rank manifestation technique was far too strong for an elite-level Murkrow to endure unscathed.
"Hu… hu… hu…"
The moment the technique ended, Ralts' legs buckled and she dropped to one knee, panting hard. The Sand Shield dispersed into faint blue motes.
Her strength was only at elite level—using an A+ manifestation skill consumed nearly 70% of her psychic stamina, and her physical vitality was severely drained as well.
Manifesting psychic force required not only mental energy, but actual physical endurance, similar to chakra expenditure in Naruto. Ralts' body simply wasn't built for repeated high-intensity manifestations yet.
The Murkrow, released from the collapsing sphere, tumbled to the ground. Its feathers were ruffled and mangled, bruises spread across its wings and chest. The damage was undeniable.
Ash exhaled lightly.
"It really is difficult. Even at the same level, the difference in attributes is this obvious… A Dark-type defending against Psychic techniques—it really pushes Ralts to her limits."
Sabrina nodded.
"Type advantages don't tell the whole story… but they're a harsh reminder when they matter."
Murkrow struggled to its feet, still glaring—but far less arrogantly than before.
For the first time, it looked at Ralts not with contempt… but with respect.