"Ralts? And only at elite stage? With a Psychic-type disadvantage against my Bray?"
Shinmu sneered, glaring sharply at Ash.
"Are you underestimating me?"
Ash exhaled lazily.
"The results show themselves. A real data-stream trainer doesn't rely on a toy laptop to think," he said calmly. "Since you already looked into my background, you should know—I'm a data-stream trainer too."
He took out a pack of cigarettes with one hand, slipped a stick into his mouth, and with a brief flick of Chakra at his fingertips, lit it instantly.
Munemasa, watching from the side, felt a sharp flash of recognition.
"I'll teach you what it means to underestimate me. Bray—Quick Attack!"
Shinmu settled cross-legged, opened his laptop, and issued his command.
"Hassa!"
Scizor's body blurred into a streak of red light, rushing straight toward the floating Ralts.
"Bug resists Psychic heavily. At the same level, Ralts' psychic skills would barely deal 0.2× damage to a Scizor like his," Ash analyzed silently.
"But with its current level disadvantage, regular Psychic techniques won't matter."
He flicked ash off his cigarette.
"Which means… I'll have to rely on Ralts' self-created mental techniques. And judging by the timing, evolution isn't far off."
"Sand Shuriken."
Blue psychic energy compressed instantly into spinning shuriken-like constructs, firing toward Scizor.
"Huh?" Shinmu tapped rapidly on his keyboard, confused.
"That's… not in any known move database—"
Before he could finish the evasion command, the psychic shuriken smashed into Scizor's knee from its straight-line advance.
"Hassaa!"
The Scizor's hardened carapace threw the attack aside, though the impact left a very small mark—barely 0.2× damage—almost negligible.
"Useless."
Shinmu smirked.
"Ralts is at a massive attribute disadvantage, not to mention my Bray is near Quasi-Champion level. If they were equal, maybe it would matter. Is this all your strength amounts to?"
Ash ignored him entirely, the indifference in his gaze making Shinmu feel like he was punching air.
"Bray—X-Scissor!"
Scizor kicked off the ground, claws raised high above Ralts as a white glow wrapped around its pincers. It came down in a crushing overhead strike.
"Sand Shield."
A psychic shield materialized instantly, blue and translucent, forming a barrier above Ralts.
"BOOM!!!"
"Crack—!"
"Wala!!"
Scizor's massive pincers smashed into the shield, fractures spreading instantly before it shattered.
But Scizor's momentum didn't slow—
the giant red pincer drove forward and slammed into Ralts' abdomen, blasting it backward through the air.
"Good job, Bray."
Shinmu's voice carried obvious pride as his Scizor sent Ralts flying. He turned toward Ash with a smug look, clearly expecting shock or panic on Ash's face.
To his disappointment, Ash didn't react at all.
He simply took a slow drag from his cigarette, eyes calm, expression unreadable—
as if everything was proceeding exactly as he had predicted.
"Click!"
Stabilizing itself mid-air with psychic energy, Ralts floated back up. A faint crack ran across its abdomen, and blue flakes shed off its body, revealing a tougher psychic armor beneath.
"What… what is that?"
Shinmu's face stiffened. A moment ago, Ralts had been smashed directly by a type-advantaged Bug-type attack from a near–Quasi-Champion-level Scizor.
So how was it acting like nothing happened?
Munemasa, observing from the side, narrowed his eyes with interest.
"So that's it… Ralts manifested psychic power as a physical shell—an armor layered over its body."
He nodded slightly.
"A self-developed defensive construct. Impressive. The mark of someone who truly understands mental-type techniques."
"Rain Sand."
Ralts' spiritual aura pulsed upward. The psychic energy dispersed into the air and instantly formed countless blue droplets that began falling like rain.
"Bray, use Agility—avoid it!"
Scizor moved as a streak of red light, weaving cleanly through the falling drops. Its speed was indeed extraordinary.
Ash let out a quiet scoff.
"Figures. Since you've never seen the technique, of course you'd assume it's meant to hit."
The moment the rain touched the ground, the droplets pooled together.
Shimmering blue puddles formed across the battlefield—
the same technique Ash had once used in the Bellflower—no, Saffron Gym encounter.
"Haa-sa!"
"Boom!"
As Scizor darted through the air, its feet suddenly sank into the blue puddles. Psychic water surged upward, binding its legs. Losing balance mid-stride, Scizor smashed into the ground with full momentum, the impact amplified by the sudden loss of footing.
"Bray!"
Shinmu's composure shattered as he shouted, frantically typing on his laptop, trying to record the unknown technique Ash had used.
But Scizor was pinned, the psychic water tightening around its limbs.
And Ash simply exhaled a thin trail of smoke.
Everything was unfolding exactly as he intended.