"Whoosh~"
With a powerful flap of its wings, a field of wind surged into existence, enveloping Pidgeot and wrapping its body in a powerful current of air.
Mega Evolution had already caused Pidgeot's movement speed to skyrocket, and at the beginning of the battle, it had repeatedly used Agility to push its speed even further.
Now, with Tailwind added on top of that…
Pidgeot soared through the sky, and no matter which direction it flew, a current of wind was always there to propel it forward.
Its flight speed and evasive agility became even more graceful and effortless. It was as though Pidgeot had completely merged with the sky, transforming into an invisible, intangible gust of wind that could not be grasped.
"Slash!!"
The moment Pidgeot completed its acceleration through the Tailwind field, Wikstrom gave the command.
Aegislash immediately raised its more-than-ten-meter-long Sacred Sword and slashed toward Pidgeot.
"Clang~!"
Although the sword had become enormous, its gigantic size did not affect Aegislash's speed when drawing or swinging it.
A flash of sword light streaked across the battlefield.
The enormous blade was already in front of Pidgeot, seemingly about to cleave it in half the very next instant.
Seeing this scene, the spectators covered their chests, their faces filled with worry and fear.
Ash, however—the trainer directly involved in the battle—remained completely calm.
Just as the sword light was about to slice through Pidgeot's body, a gentle breeze brushed past.
Pidgeot's body instantly dispersed like a strand of green smoke caught in a vortex, slowly scattering into nothingness.
Only then did Wikstrom and the spectators realize that Pidgeot had already dodged.
The Pidgeot that had seemingly been standing there moments ago was nothing more than an afterimage left behind by its incredible speed.
"Aegislash, chase it! Keep using Sacred Sword!!"
Wikstrom refused to believe it.
He immediately issued another attack command.
"Clang, clang~!"
"Whoosh, whoosh~!"
Aegislash's blade vibrated, producing a sharp sword cry.
Its ribbon-like arms held the shield while the enormous sword, seemingly condensed from holy light itself, repeatedly slashed toward Pidgeot.
Ash gave Pidgeot no commands.
Instead, he simply let Pidgeot act on its own.
Having transformed into the wind itself, Pidgeot seemed to be dancing through the sky.
Whenever Aegislash's sword light appeared to tear Pidgeot's body apart, its figure would disperse like smoke or an illusion, only to reappear completely unharmed somewhere else.
What everyone had initially thought would be a cat chasing a mouse…
Had unexpectedly turned into the mouse playing with the cat.
Earlier, when Aegislash had drawn its gigantic sword of light stretching more than ten meters, the spectators—and especially Wikstrom's supporters—had felt their blood boil.
A stirring, heroic battle anthem had seemed to echo in their ears.
But now, after seeing that Aegislash's Sacred Sword could not even touch Pidgeot, that passionate battle anthem suddenly came to an abrupt stop.
What remained was nothing but anxiety and an indescribable restlessness.
On the battlefield, Aegislash chased Pidgeot around while swinging its enormous sword again and again.
Yet it could never hit its target.
Instead, Pidgeot was making it run around in circles.
And this finally allowed Wikstrom, whose fighting spirit had just surged after believing Sacred Sword could break the deadlock, to clearly understand the situation.
Aegislash was certainly stronger than Escavalier.
But Pidgeot was not comparable to Clemont's Heliolisk from the previous battle.
The same tactic that had worked against Escavalier was practically a joke in front of Pidgeot's wind-like speed and evasive ability.
King's Shield and Sacred Sword were Aegislash's two trump cards.
Combined with its Stance Change ability, Aegislash could switch between its two forms.
In Shield Forme, its extraordinarily high defensive stats combined with King's Shield's absolute defensive ability meant that almost no opponent could easily break through its defenses.
In Blade Forme, its tremendous offensive stats combined with Sacred Sword's extraordinary attack range, huge coverage, and high damage meant that even an opponent with extremely high defenses would struggle to withstand several swings of Aegislash's massive blade.
Yet Wikstrom had never expected that, apart from Diantha—the Kalos League Champion—there would actually be another opponent this troublesome.
Another Pokémon as difficult to deal with as Diantha's Gardevoir.
Pidgeot was already extremely fast.
Its damage output was also terrifying.
And now it had mastered Mega Evolution.
After Mega Evolution, both its attack power and speed had risen to an entirely different level.
Even Aegislash's extremely high defenses were unable to completely withstand Pidgeot's offensive power.
As for King's Shield, although it could defend against Pidgeot's attacks, Pidgeot was attacking from long range with special attacks. Therefore, it could not trigger King's Shield's ability to reduce the opponent's Attack.
Furthermore, King's Shield could not be used endlessly.
In short, Aegislash's greatest defensive advantage was not particularly useful against Pidgeot.
As for Aegislash's most powerful weapon—Sacred Sword—
Pidgeot was a relatively fragile Pokémon, so it certainly could not withstand a direct hit from Aegislash's Sacred Sword.
But Pidgeot possessed astonishing speed and evasive ability.
It could simply dodge.
Just like Diantha's Gardevoir, whose mastery of Teleport was so profound that it could make the technique seem almost supernatural—if Aegislash could not land a hit, then no matter how high its damage was, it meant nothing.
At this moment, Aegislash had suppressed its strength to the peak of the Gym Leader level.
It had already displayed the strongest state it could possibly achieve at that power level.
Yet it still could not do anything to Ash's Pidgeot.
That left Wikstrom with only two choices.
Either allow Pidgeot to continuously wear Aegislash down until it was defeated…
Or release its power suppression and use the overwhelming strength of a true Elite Four-level Pokémon to crush Ash's Pidgeot.
But in Wikstrom's eyes, the latter would be somewhat unsportsmanlike.
More importantly, he simply could not cross that line of pride within his heart.
"Pidgeot, use Hyper Beam!!"
While Wikstrom was struggling with his decision, Ash seized the opportunity.
He immediately issued Pidgeot an attack command.
"Gryy~!"
"BOOM—!!"
Pidgeot had just dodged another slash from Aegislash.
Before Aegislash could launch its next attack, Pidgeot's magnificent crest fluttered dramatically in the wind.
Accompanied by a clear and soaring eagle cry, a terrifying Hyper Beam shot downward with an overwhelming momentum capable of destroying everything in its path.
"BOOM!!"
"Clang~!"
The Hyper Beam struck Aegislash head-on.
The Sacred Sword condensed from holy light shattered instantly.
Aegislash was blasted backward through the air.
"Aegislash!!"
Hearing Aegislash's cry of pain, Wikstrom immediately snapped out of his thoughts and shouted anxiously.
"Pidgeot, don't stop attacking! Keep using Twister!!"
Ash immediately issued another command.
"Gryy~!"
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~!"
Pidgeot answered with a cry.
It spread its wings and began sweeping them through the air.
One razor-sharp blade of wind after another instantly formed an enormous net of slicing air and descended toward Aegislash below.
This was the third time Ash's Pidgeot had unleashed an assault of this kind.
The first time, it had been in its ordinary form.
The second time, after Mega Evolution, its attack had become far more powerful.
And now, with its speed further amplified by the Tailwind field…
Each assault was faster and more violent than the one before it.
Both Wikstrom and Aegislash could feel an increasingly tremendous pressure bearing down on them.
"Aegislash, use Iron Defense, then use Swords Dance!!"
Wikstrom did not dare underestimate the situation any longer.
He immediately issued a defensive command.
"Clang, clang~!"
Aegislash had just been blasted backward by Pidgeot's Hyper Beam.
It immediately stopped itself in midair and used Iron Defense to raise its defensive capabilities once more.
After all, its defenses in Blade Forme were not particularly impressive.
Once Iron Defense had finished increasing its defenses, Aegislash held its sword and began spinning rapidly.
The sword energy it scattered through the air rose together with its imposing aura, forming a revolving barrier of sword energy around its entire body.
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