"Dragonite, use Hyper Beam!" Joe called out, watching his Dragonite get caught in the edge of the Aura Pillar's shockwave. A dense golden sphere of particle energy condensed inside the dragon's open maw, and within an instant it was rocketing toward Gardevoir at frightening speed.
Both Pokémon were powerful in their own right, but in terms of type matchup, Gardevoir's Fairy typing held a clear advantage over Dragonite. This battle was tilted in Ash's favor, and everyone watching knew it.
"Mirror Coat." Ash's voice was steady.
Gardevoir raised her right hand and extended it forward. In the fraction of a second before the beam connected, a crystal-clear mirror materialized in front of her, gleaming like polished glass. The Hyper Beam slammed into it with a thunderous crack, and the mirror absorbed its full power before fracturing into a thousand glittering shards.
Crack.
Shatter.
The cascade of breaking mirror fragments was the only warning before Dragonite was already moving. The dragon closed the distance in a blink, appearing right in front of Gardevoir, his right fist igniting with a hot, roaring flame.
"Fire Punch!" Joe commanded.
The blazing fist drove straight into Gardevoir's abdomen. It wasn't that Ash hadn't tried to dodge, but Dragonite's speed was simply on another level. Gardevoir, for all her grace, was not built for evasion.
"Sana~" Gardevoir gasped, clutching her midsection as she stumbled backward, putting distance between herself and Dragonite before the dragon could press the advantage further. But Dragonite wasn't about to let her breathe. He surged forward immediately, denying her any chance to recover or counterattack.
"Gardevoir, Fairy Barrier!" Ash's brow furrowed as he watched the pursuit, his mind already a step ahead.
Gardevoir's body tensed sharply. A vivid blue barrier erupted around her in all directions, and the moment Dragonite rushed in, the force of it sent him sailing back through the air.
"Awww!" The dragon roared in surprise, slamming down on the arena floor. He hadn't expected that. After evolving into Dragonite, he had rarely met a rival who could stop him like that. Even his own mother, a Dragonite herself, could only match him at best, never overpower him.
In the stands, Sabrina and Liza were watching the exchange closely. With Elder Kabu's ongoing commentary, they had begun to piece together the full picture of why Ash's expression had been so cold since the battle began.
Sabrina, in particular, understood it well. She knew better than anyone that Ash despised betrayal and deception above all else. What Lorelei had done was proof enough of that. Coupled with the shadow of Ash's absent, irresponsible father, it had shaped something deep inside him, a quiet and immovable refusal to forgive those who chose to deceive.
"I can't believe Joe would do something like that," Liza muttered beside her, shaking her head slowly.
Sabrina said nothing. She kept watching.
Back on the arena floor, Ash's Rinnegan flashed briefly as he assessed the battlefield. Dragonite had landed hard but was already steadying himself, shaking off the impact.
"Gardevoir, Moonblast."
Gardevoir crossed her arms slowly over her chest, and a soft blue radiance began gathering there, spiraling inward like a current of gathered starlight. When it was dense enough, it released in a straight, wave-like pulse that crashed into Dragonite before the dragon could avoid it.
The effect was decisive. Fairy-type moves against a Dragon-type hit like a hammer against glass, and the Moonblast connected flush. Dragonite staggered.
Joe's jaw tightened. "Dragonite, hold on! Use Inferno Blaze!"
Ash's eyes narrowed the moment he heard the command. A self-created move from the inherited skill tree. He recognized the principle immediately, a large-scale fire technique, immensely powerful, but with poor coverage limitations when the opponent was mobile. Still, in an enclosed arena, that breadth made it dangerous.
"ROAAAR!" Dragonite threw his head back and unleashed it. A column of fire nearly fifteen meters in diameter burst from his maw, spreading outward to engulf the entire arena floor in a cascading wall of flame. The heat rolled outward in waves, and Dragonite let out a confident roar.
This was his pride, the move even his mother couldn't replicate. He had every reason to be confident.
Ash watched the fire spread and quietly thought, fifteen meters. My Charizard's version clears twenty-five, maybe thirty. He set the thought aside.
"The radius is too large for Mirror Coat to absorb cleanly." He made the call instantly. "Gardevoir, Solar Radiance."
Gardevoir's expression shifted. She drew both arms up and crossed her wrists over her forehead, and then the light came.
It wasn't just bright. It was blinding, pure, like staring directly into the sun. The radiance tore through the arena in every direction at once, and rather than collide with the surrounding fire, it absorbed it, drawing the flame inward and converting it, assimilating every burning ember into raw luminous energy before releasing it all outward in a devastating burst. The entire venue turned white.
Sabrina and the others in the stands had instinctively shielded their eyes. They were far enough back, just barely. That distance was exactly why Ash had felt comfortable giving the order.
Ding.
The sharp, crystalline tone that followed the release was almost beautiful. Then came Dragonite's scream.
"AWWWW!"
"Dragonite!" Joe threw his arms up to shield his face, staggering in place as the white field swallowed his vision. He hadn't expected this, an indiscriminate, wide-range technique that turned the arena itself into a weapon.
Several seconds passed before the light finally died. Solar Radiance had hit its limit and broken. Gardevoir lowered her arms slowly, chest heaving, sweat on her brow. She looked across the arena at Dragonite's condition, assessing. The flame and light had taken their toll, but she knew the truth of her own state too. At her peak, she could use Solar Radiance perhaps three times. Right now, she had one left, if that.
Dragonite was covered in burns, his scales scorched and cracked across his arms and torso. For all his power and defense, he hadn't walked away clean.
"That's… incredible," Liza said, unable to keep the disbelief out of her voice. "Even Dragonite's defense wasn't enough to tank that in a single hit."
Sabrina nodded, her gaze still fixed on Gardevoir's labored breathing. "Solar Radiance is a technique Ash developed after arriving in Johto. It's powerful, genuinely powerful, but the energy cost is enormous." She glanced at Gardevoir. "Looking at her now, she can probably manage one more use. No more than that."
Liza fell quiet.
The battle was far from over.