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"Thunderbolt!" Ash decided to make a desperate attempt with Thunderbolt. In a head-on collision, only this move had a chance of winning, even if the possibility was minuscule.
Pikachu, who was rushing towards Togekiss, initially had only a faint electric glow, but then, on top of that, the electricity suddenly surged more than ten times!
Its body was completely covered by golden electric light, its entire form turning a deep golden yellow. The terrifying power made the surrounding air tremble.
"Boom!!!"
The deep blue Brave Bird and the golden yellow Thunderbolt collided, erupting with an unprecedented terrifying sound. The entire arena shook, and light and shockwaves spread across the whole area.
All the power was firmly locked inside the Psychic barrier set up by Mewtwo; otherwise, everything around would have been engulfed by the aftermath.
The shockwaves, like those of a mighty lion, repeatedly struck the deep blue barrier, yet failed to even create a ripple. A strange glint flickered in Cynthia's beautiful eyes; God Domain Level power was indeed extraordinary.
Even the most advanced barrier of the Alliance would tremble slightly under such shockwaves, and perhaps even develop some cracks.
However, even if cracks appeared, they could be repaired instantly. The Alliance's barrier was not particularly strong in instantaneous defense, but it was top-notch in sustained defense. As long as it wasn't shattered in one go, it could instantly repair itself.
But compared to Mewtwo's barrier, such a thing was like comparing a small wizard to a great one.
The solidity of the thing before her eyes was simply unimaginable; even Champion-level peak power striking it directly might not be able to shake it.
Ash never expected that at the most crucial moment of the Pokémon's collision, Cynthia wasn't thinking about the outcome of the battle but rather focusing her attention on Mewtwo's barrier.
Cynthia didn't care, but he couldn't afford not to. He could feel the terrifying damage his body was enduring, both physical and mental. It was the first time he had experienced such immense damage.
Even when he clashed with Mewtwo back then, he himself hadn't suffered such intense damage, because Mewtwo barely broke through his defenses. But now, the damage he received wasn't dependent on himself, but on Pikachu's defense.
In other words, it was almost like true damage; his own defense was effectively useless. The only way he could withstand the damage was through his stamina, his physical capabilities.
Without the enhancement of Aura, Ash couldn't be considered God Domain Level. Although his physical strength was strong, it hadn't reached the point where his body could rival God Domain Level. So, this true damage was quite difficult for the current Ash to endure.
Even if it's difficult, he has to hold on! If even he falls, then Pikachu's outcome goes without saying. If he can hold on, Pikachu still has a little hope... The lingering shockwaves lasted for dozens of seconds, and the intertwined lights slowly dissipated. The arena had already become a mess.
The originally flat ground became pitted and uneven, and there were even several bottomless craters. These were all damages caused by the collision between Pikachu and Togekiss.
Bouncing lightning and falling Flying-type energy ultimately caused this damage.
Brock and Misty both looked towards the battle arena, eager to know the result.
The last of the dust in the arena cleared, revealing the final outcome. Togekiss had quite a few injuries, but she was still floating above the ground, while Pikachu was lying quietly on the ground, not moving at all.
The result was already obvious: Cynthia had won.
Ash plopped down on the ground, the faint Aura glowing on his body disappearing. He withstood the pressure of Brave Bird, but Pikachu couldn't.
Even with Thunderbolt filtering out a lot of damage, and Brave Bird only causing one-third of the damage, Pikachu still couldn't hold on, simply because the level gap between them was too great... Once Pikachu's defense was broken by the opponent, even a small amount of Champion-level damage would be fatal to Pikachu. Don't forget, Pikachu is only Gym Peak right now.
"Alright, that's it. Mewtwo, please open the barrier." Cynthia clapped her hands, signaling the end of the battle, then looked at Mewtwo with her beautiful eyes and requested.
Mewtwo nodded, opening the barrier with a somewhat sour expression.
Seeing Ash lose the match, she felt a little empty inside for some reason, even though this was a perfectly normal outcome. She had already anticipated this ending from the very beginning of the battle.
With his God Domain Level strength, it was incredibly easy to discern the power of Cynthia's Togekiss. Champion-level Advanced strength against a Pikachu that was only Gym Peak – unless Pikachu could achieve the miracle that Lucario did when it battled her, there was no chance of winning.
The subsequent events were pretty much as she had guessed. Ash and Pikachu tried everything they could, but they could only barely raise their strength to Champion-level, and it was a superficial Champion-level at that.
They had Champion-level energy, but their bodies couldn't keep up. If they encountered an evenly matched opponent, it would be fine. But if they faced an opponent stronger than themselves, and their energy couldn't keep up during the confrontation, allowing the opponent to break through their energy and hit their body, then it would be extremely fatal.
Just like now.
Actually, Pikachu lasting that long had far exceeded Mewtwo's expectations. For anyone else, this would absolutely be a perfect, beyond perfect, confrontation. After all, who else could fight to this extent with Gym Peak and Champion-level Advanced strength?
But he was Ash. Mewtwo realized that she didn't like seeing Ash lose. This was also the first time she had seen Ash defeated, which is why she discovered this emotion in her heart.
Meanwhile, Ash, after Mewtwo removed the barrier, supported himself to stand up, then jogged to Pikachu and gently picked him up.
"Pika Pika..." After being picked up by Ash, Pikachu weakly opened his eyes, muttering something.
"It's okay... it's just one loss. We'll win it back next time. I'll heal you first." Ash comforted Pikachu, injecting Viridian Power into Pikachu's body to help him recover from his injuries.
"Return, Togekiss. You worked hard." Cynthia recalled Togekiss, then walked gracefully to Ash.
The weakened Pikachu met Cynthia's gaze. The latter knelt down, her jade-like hand gently stroking Pikachu's fluffy head: "Little guy, you did very well. You exceeded my expectations in every aspect. With your help, your Trainer will sooner or later stand at the pinnacle of the world. It's just that you two are still a bit naive right now."
After a defeat, having the opponent come over to comfort them was something Ash and Pikachu were experiencing for the first time, because they had never lost a partner battle since their debut.
This was their first defeat, and it was a particularly crushing one.
Along the way, while Ash had experienced failures, he had never lost when using Pikachu. This was the first time.
From strength to tactics, he was completely crushed by Cynthia in every aspect.
He was just a Trainer who had debuted half a year ago, and being able to achieve this level was actually something to be proud of, but neither Ash nor Pikachu were willing to accept it.
This wasn't a defeat like Charizard vs. Glaceon, where they were just a step short, but a defeat where they were completely suppressed by the opponent in all aspects.
Since his debut, Ash had never felt such pure suppression at the Trainer level. All his actions were seen through by the opponent, yet he couldn't see through the opponent's actions.
Many times, gaining the upper hand relied entirely on the convenience of Aura, directly predicting the opponent's moves. However, even if he predicted the opponent's moves, he simply couldn't dodge the opponent's attacks; the power gap was too great.
Cynthia's comfort made both the boy and his Pokémon feel a little better, but there was still a strong sense of unwillingness. Pikachu, in particular, intensely wanted to become stronger, because in a sense, he had held Ash back.
If it weren't for his lack of strength, Ash's abilities wouldn't have led to him being hurt like this.
However, that was all for later. For now, a loss was a loss. Ash had no chance of defeating Cynthia without using Mewtwo or Gengar. This was actually a foregone conclusion, but Ash wanted to use their bond to overcome the level gap.
The facts proved that bonds were not omnipotent. A large level gap was simply too large, and this wasn't just a difference in levels; Ash's gap in Trainer skill was also completely exposed by Cynthia.
He was still too young.
"Should we go to the Pokémon Center first?" Cynthia asked softly, seeing Pikachu's weak state.
"No need, he'll recover quickly." Ash shook his head, refusing Cynthia's kind offer. Under the healing of his Viridian Power, Pikachu would be full of vigor in a few minutes.
Cynthia was slightly taken aback. Ash wasn't the type to let his Pokémon suffer injuries. Now, with Pikachu so seriously injured, yet he wasn't taking him for treatment. Did he have his own method?
"Don't worry, Ms. Cynthia, Ash possesses Viridian Power and can heal Pokémon. Moreover, his Viridian Power has grown to a very powerful level. Even Gym Peak Pokémon don't need long to fully recover."
Having Viridian Power isn't something that should be casually told to others, but if it's Cynthia, that's another matter. After all, she's a Champion, so she naturally wouldn't have any ill intentions towards Ash.
"Viridian Power... I've heard of it. It seems to be a gift from Viridian Forest to specific humans. A power only possessed by a very few humans who live in Viridian Forest, and it's just a legend. In fact, no one with Viridian Power has appeared yet." Cynthia said, looking at Ash, her beautiful eyes filled with surprise.
Besides Aura, Ash actually had Viridian Power. Just how many secrets did this young man hold?
He was like a Dark Void, containing endless things within, making it impossible for anyone to fully explore him.
A few minutes later, Pikachu's external injuries had completely disappeared. Pikachu also naturally jumped out of Ash's arms, shook his arms, and cheerfully called out to Ash, indicating that he was completely fine.
"That fast? This is even faster than recovery at a Pokémon Center." Cynthia, who was calm and composed during battle, was now repeatedly surprised. It was simply because Ash's speed in recovering Pokémon was too fast. Pikachu's injuries, if left at a Pokémon Center, would probably take an hour or so to recover.
But now Ash only took a few minutes. This recovery ability... perhaps it would also be useful for that little one.
"It's alright, because Pikachu's level isn't actually very high. The higher the Pokémon's level, the longer it takes to recover. If Ms. Cynthia doesn't mind, you can release Togekiss. Although she didn't lose her combat ability, her injuries should be considerable too." Ash stood up from his kneeling position, brushed the dust off his knees, and then said to Cynthia.
"Okay, thank you." Cynthia didn't decline but rather released Togekiss very straightforwardly.
Originally, she had intended to go to the Pokémon Center with Ash, but Ash had directly healed Pikachu. If Ash hadn't made this suggestion, she would have actively asked Ash for help.
After all, she wanted to see how much Ash's Viridian Power could achieve in terms of Pokémon recovery. If even Champion-level Advanced Pokémon could be easily restored, then it should also be effective for that Pokémon.
Ash's Viridian Power worked on Togekiss, and although the effect wasn't as good as on Pikachu, Togekiss's injuries weren't as severe as Pikachu's. In a few minutes, Togekiss was also restored to perfect condition.
A flicker of surprise crossed Cynthia's face, then she recalled Togekiss: "There's something I want to discuss with you, Ash."
"Huh?"
"Let's go inside to talk."
...In the living room, Ash and his two companions sat upright on a sofa, while Cynthia sat on a separate armchair. Her expression was somewhat solemn at the moment, which was also the reason for the trio's expressions.
From the moment Cynthia called them in, they felt that she seemed to have something very important to say. For Cynthia to show such an expression, it was definitely not a small matter.
"Then I'll get straight to the point, Ash. I want to ask you to protect a Pokémon."
"Protect a Pokémon? What Pokémon?"
"The God of the Sea, Lugia."
Ash and his two companions: ???
Countless question marks popped up above their heads, and their expressions instantly lost control, becoming extremely strange. The main reason was that what Cynthia said was too hard to take seriously. What did she mean by protecting the God of the Sea, Lugia?
Was it their turn to protect the God of the Sea?!