“The Gym Challenge is now beginning!” the referee announced, waving his flag. “The participants are the acting Gym Leader and Ash from Pallet Town. Each trainer may use one Pokémon, and there is no time limit for the match!”

The arrival of Ash’s trio had quickly caught the attention of Sabrina’s father. Seeing the confident demeanor of both Ash and Pikachu, he had agreed to the challenge.

“I choose you, Pikachu!” Ash shouted, sending out his most trusted partner.

“I’m counting on you, Alakazam,” Sabrina’s father said, sending out his own starter Pokémon. The white light dissipated, and the familiar, powerful Alakazam reappeared in the arena.

“Let the battle begin!” the referee announced.

“Pikachu, use Quick Attack!” Ash commanded.

“Not bad,” Red nodded in satisfaction from the sidelines. Alakazam’s weakness was its physical defense; blindly using electric attacks would only be exploited by the Psychic-type. Purposeful, close-range combat was the correct way to defeat it.

“Ash thought for a long time last night about how to defeat Alakazam,” Brock explained.

“My Ash can strategize now?!” Red was momentarily stunned. Is this still the same clueless Ash I know?

“Teleport!” Sabrina’s father commanded, choosing not to engage Pikachu in close combat.

“Pikachu, pay attention to where it appears! Use Iron Tail!” Ash ordered again.

“Pika-pi!” Pikachu’s tail glowed with a white, metallic sheen as it swung toward the very spot where Alakazam materialized. Alakazam could only just manage to raise a psychic barrier, but it was still struck hard by the powerful tail.

“These past two days of training allowed me to figure out your Alakazam’s habits!” Ash explained to his puzzled opponent.

“You’ve really surprised me, Ash!” Sabrina’s father praised, not expecting such a significant change in the boy and his Pokémon in just two days. “In that case, I won’t hold back! Alakazam, use Psybeam!”

“Oh no, Ash, you need to defend against that!” Brock hurriedly reminded him. “Psybeam has a ten percent chance of causing confusion; you have to be careful!”

“In that case, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt to break right through it!” Ash decisively shouted.

“Pika…chu!” Pikachu’s body erupted with electricity, and the high-voltage current collided with the psychic beam, causing a violent explosion.

“Now, use Agility!” The explosion stirred up a thick cloud of smoke, and Ash planned to use the opportunity to completely exhaust Alakazam’s stamina.

“Trying for close combat? Alakazam, use Reflect!” Sabrina’s father commanded, intending to weaken the power of Pikachu’s physical attacks.

“Reflect?” Ash, whose theoretical knowledge was close to zero, was instantly bewildered. What kind of move was that? He only saw a transparent wall appear inexplicably beside Alakazam but didn’t know its specific effect.

“Reflect is a Psychic-type move. It cuts the power of physical attacks like Quick Attack in half!” Brock helplessly explained.

“Never mind! Pikachu, use Iron Tail now!” Ash shook his head, dispelling the useless anxiety. For a trainer like him who adapted on the fly, overthinking tactics would only disrupt his battle state.

“Bang—” Pikachu’s Iron Tail accurately hit Alakazam, but half of the damage was negated by the wall in front of it. Seeing this, Alakazam quickly launched a counterattack.

“Alakazam, use Psychic!” Alakazam’s eyes emitted blue light, and its two spoons crossed, releasing a powerful psychic force to forcibly control Pikachu, repeatedly slamming it up and down onto the hard floor to consume its stamina.

(What should I do? How can I escape Alakazam’s psychic control?) Ash’s brain frantically thought about how to break free, his gaze focusing on the ground beneath Pikachu. (My older brother once said that during Pokémon battles, you must always utilize the conditions of the arena. The ground… yes! The ground!)

“Pikachu, when you’re close to the ground, use your Iron Tail to firmly embed yourself!” Ash commanded, without any panic.

“Good idea!” Brock praised.

Pikachu, controlled by Alakazam, rapidly plummeted to the ground. Just as it was about to hit, it used the momentum to flip over with all its might and use its Iron Tail to fix itself to the floor. While Alakazam was trying to strengthen its telekinetic control, Ash directly told Pikachu to use Thunderbolt.

“Teleport!” Alakazam disappeared from its spot, easily hovering in the air with its psychic power. It materialized its telekinesis like a cannonball, striking Pikachu with Psyshock.

“Pikachu, quickly dodge!” Ash commanded.

The smaller Pikachu dodged the attack using its body’s advantage and continued to use Quick Attack, leaping to hit Alakazam’s body. The hit Alakazam also crashed to the ground, but the fallen Pokémon showed a strange smile.

“Good opportunity! Pikachu, use Iron Tail now!” Ash exclaimed excitedly, as if witnessing his and Pikachu’s victory.

“Still too reckless…” Red shook his head helplessly. To battle a Psychic-type Pokémon like Alakazam, if you don’t have a way to completely defeat it, you shouldn’t actively give up your advantage; after all, Psychic-type Pokémon have many moves to protect themselves.

“Alakazam, use Kinesis!” Sabrina’s father ordered.

The command left Ash and Pikachu simultaneously puzzled. What kind of strategy was this?

Alakazam’s spoons inexplicably bent, making the attacking Pikachu mistakenly believe it was about to unleash a powerful Psychic-type move.

“Pikachu, you must be careful!” Ash reminded, unaware that these words played right into Alakazam’s trap.

“Ash, you’re still too naive. Alakazam, use Fire Punch now!” her father commanded.

“What?!” Alakazam’s flaming right fist fiercely struck Pikachu’s abdomen. The scorching flames burned Pikachu’s body, and it cried out in pain.

“I can’t believe it was a trap!” Misty exclaimed in shock.

“It can only be said that his battle experience is quite rich; he’s completely figured out the minds of trainers like Ash,” Brock said, feeling a sense of dread. How could one win against such a tricky opponent?

“Psyshock!” Countless waves of psychic power were released from Alakazam’s crossed spoons, mercilessly hitting Pikachu’s body.

“Pikachu, hold on! Quickly dodge!” Ash shouted.

Pikachu struggled to get up from the ground but couldn’t due to the burns on its body.

“Psycho Cut!” Alakazam’s crossed spoons suddenly slashed, and two materialized psychic blades struck Pikachu.

(End of Chapter)

***

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