At this moment, Aegislash carried an utterly cold and solemn aura around its body.
It was like a towering mountain—indestructible, impossible to climb, and even more impossible to cross.
It stood directly between Ash and Pidgeot, resembling an absolutely unbreakable ultimate shield.
"Come!"
Aegislash unleashed King's Shield, and Wikstrom shouted toward Ash and Pidgeot.
His voice was filled with heroic spirit and overwhelming battle intent.
Even though Ash was his opponent and enemy on the battlefield, Wikstrom's words still stirred the fighting spirit and competitive will within him.
"Alright!"
Hearing Wikstrom's challenge, Ash took a deep breath before answering loudly.
"Pidgeot, in that case, let's use our strongest attack as well. Use Brave Bird!"
Looking at Aegislash's ultimate defense—King's Shield—Ash ordered Pidgeot to unleash its strongest attack.
And because this exchange was specifically meant for Ash and Pidgeot to experience Aegislash's defensive capabilities more directly, neither side intended to use any evasive tactics this time.
Ash did not care that using a contact-based physical attack would trigger King's Shield's ability to weaken the opponent's physical Attack.
Unlike before, when he had relied on long-range Special Attacks, Ash showed no hesitation whatsoever.
He directly ordered Pidgeot to use its strongest attack, Brave Bird.
Even though Brave Bird was a charging physical attack, Ash did not hesitate in the slightest.
"Caw~!"
On the battlefield, Pidgeot opened its beak and released a piercing, crystal-clear cry that seemed capable of splitting rocks and piercing the clouds.
It had no doubts whatsoever about Ash's command.
"Whoosh, whoosh…"
Pidgeot suddenly beat its wings.
Like a high-jumper sprinting before taking off, it accelerated upward like an arrow shooting into the heavens.
While ascending, it began charging its attack.
"Caw~!"
"Boom~!"
Once the attack had finished charging, Mega Pidgeot had already reached the highest point of the sky above the battlefield.
The next instant, accompanied by another loud and piercing eagle cry, brilliant golden flames suddenly erupted from Mega Pidgeot's body.
It looked like a divine eagle born from the sun itself—a blazing solar deity, a golden three-legged crow descending from the heavens.
The next moment, Mega Pidgeot plunged downward toward Aegislash, which stood below behind its King's Shield.
It descended with the momentum of the heavens collapsing and the blazing sun falling from the sky.
"Caw!!"
BOOM—!
RUMBLE—!
Mega Pidgeot, transformed into a blazing divine bird, plummeted from the heavens.
It was as though a burning sun had descended from the sky, carrying enough flames to incinerate and destroy the entire world.
However—
When Pidgeot crashed into Aegislash's King's Shield, it not only failed to break through the shield…
It was actually bounced away by King's Shield!
Looking at the completely motionless King's Shield, both Ash and Pidgeot finally experienced firsthand what the words "ultimate defense" truly meant.
Especially Pidgeot.
After being repelled by the shield, it could clearly feel that a considerable portion of its strength had been weakened.
Its sharp eagle eyes were filled with astonishment.
"Wikstrom! Wikstrom!!"
"Wikstrom! Wikstrom!!"
"Aegislash! Aegislash!!"
"Aegislash! Aegislash!!"
"…"
"…"
Previously, Ash and Pidgeot had relied on their incredible speed to toy with Wikstrom and his Aegislash.
But now that Wikstrom had released Aegislash's strength restriction and displayed its true power, the spectators who had previously looked somewhat dejected were once again fired up.
They enthusiastically cheered for Wikstrom and Aegislash.
"Ash! Ash!!"
"Pidgeot! Pidgeot!!"
"Pidgeot! Pidgeot!!"
"…"
However, Ash and Pidgeot had also displayed astonishing strength throughout this battle.
At the same level, they had actually suppressed Wikstrom.
Just as Wikstrom himself had commented earlier, Ash truly lived up to the title of a genius Trainer from the Kanto region.
And especially Pidgeot.
The fact that it had actually mastered Mega Evolution was already astonishing enough.
Now, the Brave Bird it had unleashed was dazzling, spectacular, and immensely powerful.
This battle had already earned Ash and Pidgeot a considerable number of new fans.
The cheers for Wikstrom and Aegislash had barely erupted before Ash's own supporters began cheering loudly for Ash and Pidgeot as well.
"Pidgeot, don't stop!"
"Continue using Brave Bird!"
Ash raised his hand and shouted his command toward Pidgeot.
"Caw~!"
Using the rebound force from King's Shield, Pidgeot rapidly flew back into the sky.
It answered Ash with a high-pitched eagle cry filled with blazing fighting spirit and soaring determination.
Then—
A magnificent golden radiance erupted from Pidgeot's body.
Blazing solar flames burst forth, transforming Pidgeot into a divine bird even more dazzling and imposing than Moltres.
It suddenly plunged down from the highest point of the heavens at tremendous speed.
"BOOM!!"
However, although the fiery divine bird formed by Pidgeot was dazzling and powerful, even its unstoppable charge could not force Aegislash's King's Shield backward by half a step.
The shield remained completely motionless.
Seeing this, Ash was not surprised in the slightest.
After all, Wikstrom's Aegislash was at the Champion level.
Ash had never expected that his current strength would allow him to gain any meaningful advantage against Wikstrom.
He possessed enough self-awareness to clearly understand the gap between himself and Wikstrom.
The reason he kept stubbornly ordering Pidgeot to attack was not because he wanted to prove that he could overcome the difference in strength.
He wanted Pidgeot to experience firsthand the gap between itself and a true powerhouse.
Pidgeot had already reached the peak of the Gym Leader level and would soon step into the Quasi-Champion level.
At this point, ordinary training had already become increasingly ineffective at improving Pidgeot's strength.
From the Quasi-Champion level onward, as Pokémon continued climbing toward higher tiers, the contribution of daily training and actual battles would gradually decrease.
Instead, comprehension would become increasingly important.
At this stage, what the Pokémon itself understood and comprehended in its heart was far more important than what even its Trainer understood.
"Pidgeot, from now on, fight freely."
"Attack Aegislash's King's Shield head-on until you run out of strength."
"Until you can no longer continue."
Ash shouted toward Pidgeot.
"Caw~!"
Pidgeot answered with a powerful eagle cry.
Then, following Ash's command, it began unleashing everything it had, launching a crazed frontal assault against Aegislash.
Brave Bird!
Aerial Ace!
Air Slash!
Hurricane!
Tackle!
Quick Attack!
Air Slash!
Hyper Beam!
Pidgeot brought out every weapon in its arsenal.
One attack after another.
All kinds of different moves were unleashed in rapid succession, dazzling the spectators and making their eyes blur as they tried to follow the spectacular barrage.
Yet no matter how Pidgeot attacked—
No matter how ferocious its assault became—
It could not shake Aegislash's defense even slightly.
After unleashing attack after attack, Pidgeot eventually became completely exhausted.
It panted heavily as it stared at Aegislash.
Aegislash remained there like an immovable mountain, calmly holding up its King's Shield.
Pidgeot's eyes were filled with helplessness, frustration, defeat…
And finally—
Despair.
It had finally experienced the true meaning of Aegislash's defense.
This wasn't merely King's Shield.
This was a Wall of Sighs.
A colossal wall that would make anyone who looked upon it sigh helplessly.
Pidgeot could not think of any kind of attack capable of breaking through this defense.
It felt as though this defensive line simply could not be broken.
No matter what attack it used…
No matter how hard it tried…
The wall remained standing.
Unshaken.
Unbroken.
Absolute.
It was a defense that inspired nothing but despair.
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T/N:
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