In the Black World—
Pikachu and Pidgeot were both panting heavily now.
Simply put, they had become like candles in the wind, while Ash remained in relatively good condition.
Although their synchronization was decent, it was far from perfect. His sync with Pikachu was better, because his Aura had been transformed by the Unown. Therefore, when Ash performed Aura Fusion with his Pokémon, he could choose to convert his Aura power into a matching attribute before merging. This prevented power incompatibility, loss of control, or even explosive feedback. Ash could also use this energy to sustain the fusion and maintain his own stamina.
Thus, Ash's endurance was now significantly increased—provided he wasn't attempting Aura Fusion with any sub-Legendary-tier Pokémon.
In other words… Ash and Pikachu's current Aura Fusion was incomplete.
Their bond had actually reached its peak.
Both regarded the other as a partner more important than their own life. But bond alone was not enough.
A bond was a kind of magical power, even considered a miraculous force.
However, with just that power… they clearly couldn't unleash their full potential. Only a bond forged under equal conditions could achieve its greatest strength.
Therefore, strictly speaking, from a technical perspective, Ash had not yet performed true Aura Fusion. No Pokémon could withstand his full Aura output, and the Pokémon that could withstand it… didn't share a sufficient bond with him.
So now, Ash would no longer run out of steam.
Pryce looked at the two panting Pokémon and, after a moment of silence, asked Ash:
"That golden thread was made of lightning, correct? I felt the essence of thunder in it."
Humans might find Pokémon moves nonsensical, but in reality, after witnessing a move, people got a certain feeling in their hearts. Just like seeing lightning, one would feel that being struck would be fatal. A Pokémon would be paralyzed for a time. This was the so-called mystical intuition.
After Pryce saw the golden thread, he had that feeling—it was a thread woven from lightning!
"Hmm~ That's right. I originally wanted to catch you off guard, Uncle Pryce, but unexpectedly… you had it dodged with a Substitute!"
Anyway, the "Thunder Cloud Line" had been exposed. What it was made of didn't matter anymore; what mattered was its effectiveness. Now that both surprise attacks had been blocked by his opponent, recreating that opportunity would be difficult. Plus, with Pikachu exhausted, it could no longer perform such an outrageous maneuver.
At the same time, Ash revealed why Pidgeot hadn't fallen earlier.
The move Substitute!
It consumed a quarter of the user's stamina to create a decoy that could withstand any attack!
This move had a similar effect to Protect, but it was generally used as an offensive tactic by Pokémon with strong defense. Ash hadn't expected Pidgeot to know this move.
At that critical moment, there might not have even been time to use it, yet the Substitute… was deployed.
Of course, Pidgeot might have also felt that merely enduring wouldn't lead to a counterattack, so it used a Substitute to confuse the field of vision, then launched a Drill Peck from the air to deliver a decisive blow to Pikachu.
If Ash's Aura power hadn't detected Pidgeot hiding in the mist, Pikachu would have been taken out by that Drill Peck!
However, Pryce obviously hadn't had time to issue a command just then.
Why had Pidgeot used Substitute to dodge? Not just Substitute… but also Drill Peck, and earlier, the defensive move.
Pryce hadn't given an order. How could Pidgeot have acted so timely? Could it be that Pryce also possessed an ability similar to Telepathy?
That shouldn't be… If he did, he would have used it from the start instead of shouting and revealing an opening.
"Are you wondering why Pidgeot used the move even though I didn't give an order?"
Pryce saw Ash's puzzled expression and immediately guessed his thoughts. A cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"That's because I don't burden my Pokémon with useless sentiments!"
"Emotions and bonds are just pointless things. This is not only what I tell myself, but also what I teach my Pokémon!"
"I have my Pokémon discard unnecessary emotions and think for themselves. Don't trust me, the trainer, completely. During battle, if you feel you can do better than my command, then follow your own judgment!"
"The result of this training is that my Pokémon can rely on their own judgment to execute moves and respond to situations, even without my commands!"
"Ash, if you train your Pokémon to trust their trainer unconditionally, they can never achieve this!"
"Without their trainer, your Pokémon would completely lose the ability to make independent decisions. This is the flaw of emotion!"
"So… Pokémon battles don't require emotions at all! Just calm analysis!"
Pryce's aged voice was filled with indescribable excitement. Perhaps it was because Ash had been verbally dominating him, but this time, Pryce could finally counter Ash's idealistic concepts. That's why he seemed so exhilarated. But…
Ash looked at him with a strange expression, his eyes slightly lowered.
"Uncle Pryce, when you say that… aren't you just showing your own trust in your Pokémon?"
"Moreover… this is also proof that your Pokémon believe in you!"
"What 'independent judgment'… isn't this just them trusting in the training you've given them, so they believe their judgment is correct?"
"And you, Uncle Pryce, also believe that in a crisis, your Pokémon will make the better call. This… isn't that your trust in them?"
"When you get down to it… Grandpa Pryce, you're not as cold and heartless as you claim!"
Pryce: …Where did this kid… learn such sophistry? He's too silver-tongued!
He, an old man, was left speechless…
What was worse was that he actually found some truth in Ash's words!
No… impossible… he was Pryce of the cold winter!
No, there could be no such thing as so-called feelings!
He had been hurt by a Pokémon once, and he would never trust any Pokémon again!
"It seems I can't make you understand with words… In that case, I can only use action to make you shut up!"
"Pidgeot, Drill Peck!"
"Pikachu, meet it head-on! Thunderbolt!"
Both sides' stamina had reached a critical low, and both chose a direct confrontation.
By this point, the Tailwind effect had faded.
Ash had no intention of using his Aura power to secretly issue commands.
Whatever the result of this clash, it would be the final one!
Pidgeot tossed aside the bag it was holding, then flapped its wings, soared upward, and came streaking down like a meteor!
Its red and white body was once again clad in earthy-yellow energy, simultaneously beginning to spin at high speed!
Pikachu's limbs struck the ground—to be precise, they struck the two golden threads of lightning on the ground!
Its body sank slightly, and the lightning threads under its feet bent like springs.
Then, Pikachu shot forward like a stone from a slingshot, violently propelled by the recoiling lightning!
In an instant, Pikachu was sheathed in a coat of golden lightning, its whole body turning a deep gold under the power of Thunderbolt!
The collision of earthy-yellow and deep-gold energy—
BOOM!!!
An earth-shaking explosion erupted. The terrifying shockwave transformed into a dazzling white light that spread outward in a ring!
It was like the mushroom cloud of a nuclear detonation!
This time, Sabrina had to block not only the side where Sima stood, but also Pryce's side!
Otherwise, Pryce's aged body would likely be blown straight to the hospital by the aftermath!
And because Ash and Pikachu were of one mind, he needed to focus all his energy on channeling the Thunderbolt's power, leaving him unable to concentrate on protecting Pryce. As for himself… this blast couldn't harm his tempered body. At most, his clothes might get a little torn.
Because the energy aftermath was so immense, Sabrina had to use her full psychic power, causing the light screen behind her to fail completely.
Sima glanced over unintentionally, and then her eyes froze. Her slightly plump face trembled, and the referee's flag in her hand fell to the ground.
"Th-that's… unmistakable… It's A-Pryce's… It's A-Pryce's Mamoswine!"
"But… why is the Mamoswine with Sabrina? No… it should be said, with Ash!"
"Could it be that this child…?"
Sima looked at Ash, who seemed to be straining with effort, a fierce expression on his face, and already had a rough guess.
This kid… knows about A-Pryce!
And for A-Pryce's sake, he actually retrieved the Mamoswine…
She just didn't know what had happened back then.
It seemed that after this battle, the truth would come out.
Sima murmured to herself, and a heavy shackle in her heart quietly cracked.
The Mamoswine was not only Pryce's pain but hers as well…
More than ten seconds passed before the explosion's aftermath slowly began to dissipate.
As it faded, so did the blue psychic barrier in front of Pryce.
Sabrina had also noticed Sima's gaze fixed on the Mamoswine and simply stopped concealing it.
Yes, they had found the Mamoswine yesterday but hadn't told Pryce immediately today.
One reason was to see if they could directly change Pryce's perspective. The other… was that Ash wanted to have an all-out battle with Pryce at his full strength.
If the Mamoswine was returned to Pryce beforehand, it was hard to say whether Pryce would have held back out of gratitude to Ash or been too emotionally overwhelmed by seeing the Mamoswine again, his heart filled with regret.
Now that the battle was over, there was no need for secrecy.
On the field—
Pryce saw that Pikachu had fallen in the rubble. Pidgeot wasn't much better off; it could barely stand now.
The final clash… was won by Pidgeot. But the ultimate victor was Ash, because Ash still had a Mega Charizard!
With Pidgeot's current state, it stood no chance against Charizard, even if Charizard wasn't in peak condition.
Pryce thought for a moment, then raised his hand.
"I concede. You have defeated me in this Gym battle, Ash."
After speaking, Pryce ignored Ash's surprised look and moved to return Pidgeot to its Poké Ball. But then he saw the brown-furred Pokémon behind Ash, or more precisely, behind Sabrina!
The Pokémon was trembling upon seeing him.
Though its eyes weren't visible, anyone could see it was incredibly agitated.
Pryce was even more shaken.
The Poké Ball he was about to use to recall Pidgeot fell from his hand and clattered to the floor.
"M… Mamoswine?"
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