"Good!"
"Iron Tail—then follow it up with Volt Tackle!"
Facing Brandon, the legendary Frontier Brain, and his once-again ice-sealing tactics, the flames of confidence burned fiercely in Ash's eyes.
He was no longer the rookie who could be easily baited.
Pikachu let out a sharp roar. Its round eyes were now razor-bright, crackling with electricity!
"Pika—CHU—!"
Unimaginable energy surged around its tail in an instant—
its hardness surpassing even the strongest steel!
With no hesitation whatsoever, it smashed straight into the oncoming ice pillar!
BOOM!
The massive wall of frost exploded on contact, shattered ice raining down like a storm!
The very next second, Pikachu's form twisted completely—
It was no longer a creature of flesh and blood,
but a pure bolt of golden lightning, carving a breathtaking arc across the frozen battlefield!
"Pika—pika-pika-pika-pika—!!!"
Frenzied golden thunder erupted from its body, completely engulfing Pikachu and transforming it into a living lightning sphere!
This was no longer Pikachu.
This was a god descending upon the world!
The electric radiance wrapped around it carried power so terrifying it felt capable of tearing space itself apart.
Every single spectator held their breath—
As if witnessing the arrival of a miracle.
Victory and defeat would be decided in this instant!
Just as Pikachu was about to collide with that frozen divine statue—Regice—
The sleeping Legendary Pokémon finally forced its eyes open under Brandon's desperate call.
"Ice Beam!!"
Brandon roared hoarsely, issuing his final command!
But Pikachu's speed had already reached the limits of the domain itself!
As if foreseeing the future, its body twisted ever so slightly to the side!
SHH—!
The Ice Beam, capable of freezing all things, swept past in what felt like slow motion, grazing Pikachu's body—
Unable to hinder that golden lightning in the slightest!
"Go! Pikachu!"
Ash clenched his fists, veins bulging, pouring all his trust and belief into that single cry!
BOOOOOOM—!!!
Space itself seemed compressed as Pikachu flashed forward, tearing through the air with the might of a million bolts of lightning and detonating point-blank in front of Regice!
Regice didn't even have time to raise a defense—
It was struck head-on by this world-shattering force!
"REGICE—!"
Brandon's horrified shout was swallowed whole by the explosion!
The Ice-type Titan—
A Genesis Pillar of legend—
Was blasted clean out of the battlefield by a single, unstoppable electric strike from a tiny Pikachu!
Its massive body slammed heavily into the hard ground beyond the arena.
All vitality vanished.
"Regice has lost the ability to battle—!
The winner is—!
The challenger from Pallet Town—ASH!"
The referee's voice was like a thunderclap from the heavens, igniting the entire venue!
The winner is—Ash from Pallet Town!
Hundreds of millions of viewers felt as if their pressure points had been sealed all at once.
Eyes wide.
Minds blank.
In their understanding of the world, this scene should never have been possible.
A Pikachu—
an electric mouse so ordinary it bordered on mundane—
Faced a fully healthy Genesis Pillar of legend, Regice, head-on.
And the result?
One hit. One second. One-shot. Godslaying.
"Th-this… this has to be a hallucination, right? Someone tell me I just had the dumbest dream of my life!"
"Stop lying to yourself! This isn't a dream! My eyes hurt—they're telling me Pikachu actually won! My worldview has completely collapsed!"
"I need to go to the hospital right now! I must have developed schizophrenia if I'm supposed to accept Pikachu one-shotting Regice!"
"Give it up! We're witnesses! Pikachu slew a god! We just watched history happen!"
"No! I don't believe it! Brandon must've done this on purpose! He held back! Regice had restrictions!"
"Bullshit! Even if Brandon crippled Regice first, no Pikachu should be able to one-shot it! This isn't science anymore!"
"Unless… that thing isn't Pikachu at all! It has to be something far more terrifying in disguise! Giratina wearing yellow fur?!"
"Hey, cut it out! The opening footage clearly shows it evolving from Pichu! The evidence is right there! Ironclad proof!"
And precisely because the evidence was ironclad—
Everyone plunged into even deeper madness and self-doubt.
This result was more absurd than the wildest fantasy novel ever written!
The shock felt by ordinary viewers was immense—
But among those standing at the pinnacle of the Pokémon world, the emotional tsunami was even greater!
Lance: Holy hell! So this is the Trainer chosen by Ho-Oh?! Have I seriously been competing with a heaven-selected child all these years?!
Diantha: I completely surrender to the title "Chosen One" today. Be honest—whose Pikachu can knock out a Genesis Pillar? Brandon, care to comment?
Cynthia: Pikachu's strength is undeniable, and Ash himself is… unusual. That said, Regice really underperformed. Don't you agree, Brandon?
Steven Stone: I can't even bring myself to say "Regice was weak." I'd rather believe Ash's Pikachu is a Legendary's illegitimate child. Brandon, your turn.
Alder: Hahaha! Nothing to add from this old man—just here for the chaos! Brandon! Step up!
Brandon: …All of you shut up! Veins are popping over here! Nothing good ever comes out of your mouths! So what if I lost?! Open your eyes and look at that electric rat—does it look like a normal Pikachu to you?!
Brandon: And that damn "Thunderbolt"—who the hell said that was Thunderbolt?! With that power, it should be renamed "Million-Volt" immediately!!
Brandon: Losing to Million-Volt? I have no regrets. Not unjust. Not at all!
Ash: MY BLOOD IS BOILING—I'M ABOUT TO EXPLODE—I'M GOING TO THE SKY!!!
Veilstone City
The instant Regice collapsed, Reiji felt as though all the blood in his body had frozen solid.
What could he even say?
Faced with a Pikachu that had defeated Brandon and felled a Legendary Pokémon, all words were meaningless.
Regice stood shoulder to shoulder with Regirock and Registeel—
A true Genesis Pillar.
Reiji recalled his own brutal battles and crushing defeats against Regirock and Registeel—
Then compared them to Pikachu's one-hit annihilation of a fully healthy Regice…
Absurd.
Utterly absurd.
He felt one breath away from fainting on the spot.
This result shattered every preconceived notion he had ever held.
And then—
The normally silent Paul suddenly lit up, his eyes blazing with fanatic intensity!
That Pikachu…
So unassuming on the surface—
yet hiding such monstrous power?!
"Ash and Pikachu… very good."
"I'll remember those names."
"When I officially become a Trainer, I'll find you—and challenge you in a battle that shakes the world!"
"I'll prove it with my own strength!"
"I—Paul—will be the strongest Trainer of the future!"
Paul's expression was icy calm, but a raging inferno burned in his heart.
He had thought his rivals were only the established Champions and Elite Four—
But now he realized that in distant Pallet Town…
There existed a monster of this caliber.
His list of opponents had grown.
And that only made him more excited.
Viridian City – Team Rocket Headquarters
Giovanni sat upon his throne, watching the full replay of Pikachu one-shotting Regice.
His hand stroked Persian's fur—
And it was trembling.
After a long while…
Even the king of the underworld
could not utter a single word.
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