Drowzee had gone down in a single move!
Only then did the young psychic realize just how terrifying the Slowpoke before him truly was.
"S-so strong!"
As a student in the psychic training program, the young man had once been fortunate enough to see a Slowking in person. The overwhelming psychic pressure it exuded had left an impression he still remembered vividly.
Yet the pressure radiating from the Slowpoke before him was already every bit as powerful as Slowking's. It was an absolute monster.
Once the shock wore off, the young psychic finally noticed Slowpoke's unusual coloring.
"It's actually a Shiny Slowpoke. No wonder it's so extraordinary."
Caster stepped forward with a smile. "May I challenge Sabrina now?"
"Yes! Please follow me!"
The young psychic immediately cast aside his earlier contempt and led Caster toward the battlefield. On the way, however, he still couldn't resist offering a warning.
"I admit your Slowpoke is strong, but against Sabrina, your chances of winning are still slim. Give it everything you've got!"
"Rotom Phone, start the livestream!"
As they walked, Caster summoned his Rotom Phone and had it begin streaming.
Caster generally livestreamed battles on the level of a Gym challenge so he could rake in the tips.
That was especially true when his opponent was a wildly popular Gym Leader like Sabrina, who had an enormous following online. It would practically be a crime not to ride that wave of attention.
Before long, the livestream went live.
"Grandpa, the streamer you followed finally updated!"
"Fishy, when are you finally going to collect all eight Badges?"
"Old Fish, aren't you supposed to be a fishing streamer? Why are you suddenly exploring ancient ruins? Watch out, or Brandon might fly over in his pyramid and kick your ass!"
Caster had an enormous following. Even though he had only just gone live, viewers poured in by the tens of thousands, and his audience soon passed a hundred thousand.
Comments flooded across the screen as the chat descended into chaos.
The interior of the Saffron Gym was so oppressively creepy that plenty of viewers mistook it for some ancient ruin.
"Guys, I'm not exploring any ruins."
Caster laughed and explained the subject of today's stream.
"I'm in Saffron City, and I'm about to challenge Sabrina of the Saffron Gym."
The instant he finished speaking, the chat exploded.
"Does that mean we'll get to see Sabrina? Streamer, you've got my money! Make sure you point the camera at her legs later, and I'll send you a Draco Meteor. Sabrina's knee-high boots are my absolute favorite. Pant, pant!"
"For real! With Sabrina's looks and presence, not even a movie star can match her style."
"Are you taking a shot at our Kalos Champion? Sword, come to me! (Honedge.JPG)"
"Streamer, DANGER!!!!! Be careful, or you'll lose and get turned into a doll for Sabrina to play with."
"If losing means I get to become Sabrina's plaything, how is that a bad thing?"
"You seriously want to try it? Careful, that might be the last thing you ever try!"
Now that the subject of the livestream had been announced, Sabrina's fans flocked in as word spread.
Part of their fascination came from how unhinged Sabrina had once been. Despite her immense popularity, outsiders knew very little about her.
As Sabrina gradually returned to normal, however, she would begin appearing in public more and more often, eventually becoming a major celebrity.
Under the young psychic's guidance, Caster soon arrived at an enclosed battlefield.
If the Gym's interior resembled ancient ruins, this battlefield looked more like a temple. It was every bit as dark and foreboding.
"Sabrina, a challenger has arrived!"
The young psychic strode to the foot of a raised platform, dropped to one knee, and delivered his report to the screen before him.
The screen suddenly slid open by itself, revealing a throne behind it.
Seated upon the throne was a pale-skinned woman with long, straight black hair. She wore a red coat, a miniskirt, and knee-high boots, while her eyes were cold and severe.
"There she is! My beloved Sabrina!"
"I love how Sabrina looks at everyone like they're trash. Ma'am, please destroy me!"
"I'm telling you, Sabrina is the ultimate cool beauty! Who agrees? Who objects?"
Sabrina's fans flooded into Caster's livestream, bombarding the screen with comments and sending its popularity soaring.
Sabrina turned her gaze toward Caster. Psychic power lifted her directly from the throne and carried her down to the battlefield, where she landed in the command box.
"This will be a one-on-one battle. Any objections?"
"None!"
A single glance from Sabrina sent goose bumps racing across Caster's entire body.
Compared to before, Sabrina's oppressive presence had weakened considerably. Even so, her expression remained frosty, and her aura was colder than an iceberg.
"Go, Kadabra!"
Sabrina's body remained perfectly still. Under the control of her psychic power, a Poké Ball floated out from beside her and landed in the center of the battlefield.
Kadabra's body was yellow. It had long, pointed ears, a red five-pointed star on its forehead, a foxlike face with a narrow snout, and two tufts of fur resembling a mustache.
Its brown shoulders resembled pauldrons, while its brown chest looked like leather armor. Three red lines marked its triangular abdomen, and a thick, long tail extended behind it with a brown ring around its length. In its right hand, it clutched a silver spoon.
Caster's eyes narrowed.
Just as I expected. Kadabra!
If Caster's guess was correct, this Kadabra had evolved from the Abra Ash encountered during his first challenge. It was one of the newer Pokémon Sabrina had raised specifically for Gym battles.
But even if it was newly trained, its Trainer was still Sabrina. Its psychic power was exceptionally formidable.
Even Ash's Pikachu had once had its Thunder seized by Kadabra's psychic power and turned back against it.
"Slowpoke!"
Caster drew a deep breath and sent out Slowpoke.
"Our opponent is strong. Don't let your guard down!"
"Understood!"
Slowpoke nodded solemnly.
The battle hadn't officially begun yet, but Psychic-type Pokémon had a habit of spreading their psychic power across the battlefield in advance. In truth, the two sides had already begun clashing.
Kadabra's psychic power was tremendously strong, but Slowpoke was an anomaly in its own right. In the end, neither side managed to gain the upper hand.
"Hm? That Slowpoke..."
In her command box, Sabrina raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing through her frosty eyes.
As a psychic herself, Sabrina could practically be considered a human Psychic-type Pokémon. She could sense that Slowpoke's psychic power was remarkably resilient and versatile. It even gave her a faint sense of familiarity.
For the moment, however, she couldn't remember where she had encountered it before.
The young psychic temporarily took on the role of referee and hurriedly raised his flag.
"Begin!"
Since both sides could communicate telepathically, neither Sabrina nor Caster needed to issue their commands aloud.
Psychic power was invisible and intangible. Ordinary people could neither see nor feel it, so once the match began, the livestream viewers stared at the battlefield in utter confusion.
Kadabra and Slowpoke both stood perfectly still with their eyes closed.
"What are they doing? Why aren't they moving? Where are the attacks?"
"WTF! Give me my money back! Is this even a legitimate Gym? Are they seriously throwing the match?"
"The two idiots above me need to shut up! Ordinary people can't see a clash of psychic power, but that only makes it even more dangerous."
A few viewers who didn't know much about Pokémon had barely voiced their doubts before the rest of the chat nearly flamed them out of the livestream.
And the knowledgeable viewers were absolutely right. The clash of psychic power had begun escalating the moment the battle started.
At first, the two Pokémon tested each other using raw psychic force rather than actual moves, the equivalent of trading basic attacks.
When neither could overwhelm the other, they began using Confusion.
But Confusion's offensive power was too weak. It wasn't long before both Pokémon escalated to Psybeam, and then even Psychic.
"S-so strong!"
The young referee was a psychic as well, so he could sense the forces at work.
To an ordinary person, nothing was happening on the battlefield.
But in his eyes, the two Pokémon's psychic power took on countless different forms as they ceaselessly attacked each other. It was a spectacular battle.
Caster's red Slowpoke was far more powerful than he had imagined. Not only did it withstand Kadabra's repeated attacks, but it also launched several brilliant counterattacks of its own.
The young psychic suddenly exclaimed, "Oh! We have a winner!"
At that moment, Kadabra's body abruptly lit up with a hazy white glow.
It opened its eyes, the silver spoon in its hand bending even farther as it staggered several steps backward.
Caster and Slowpoke had actually won the contest of psychic power!