"Crackle—!"
"Hiss—!"
The Serpent of Lightning vs. the Scarlet Flame Serpent.
Pikachu's level was sixteen levels lower than Heatmor's. On top of that, Pikachu's mastery of Thunderbolt was not as refined as Heatmor's control over Fire Lash.
In midair above the battlefield, the two attacks twisted and tore at each other like wild beasts locked in mortal combat.
But in the end—
The Scarlet Flame Serpent gained the upper hand.
The Golden Serpent of Lightning was shredded apart, scattering into sparks that fizzled away.
"Whoosh—!"
With a violent flick of its fiery tail, the blazing serpent swung downward toward Pikachu again.
Even without Ash's command, Pikachu reacted instantly.
Facing the incoming danger, the small Pokémon thrust its paws forward and summoned a semi-transparent energy barrier.
"BANG!"
"Pika!!"
Although Thunderbolt had weakened the Fire Lash slightly, the flaming whip still slammed into the Reflect barrier with tremendous force.
Pikachu slid backward across the ground several steps before finally stopping.
Seeing this, Ash's brow furrowed deeply.
The gap in strength between Pikachu and Heatmor was simply too large.
"Well, kid?"
Across the battlefield, the old craftsman halted his attack and looked at Ash with interest.
"Ready to admit defeat?"
His tone carried a playful curiosity, as though he were eager to see how Ash would handle such a disadvantage.
"Give up?"
Ash snorted lightly.
"Master Caldor, you're underestimating me."
"I was just thinking about how to defeat you without using my trump card."
Then Ash raised his voice.
"Pikachu—stay mobile and use Agility!"
"Pika!"
On the battlefield, Pikachu sprang into motion immediately.
Thanks to its 6×100 mythical stat template, Pikachu's Speed stat had increased from 90 to 100.
Although it was still slower than Pokémon like Pidgeotto or Fearow, compared to Heatmor's Speed stat of only 65—and the fact that Heatmor had already been hit by Thunder Wave and was now paralyzed—
Pikachu's speed was simply overwhelming.
After activating Agility, Pikachu transformed into a streak of lightning-like motion, darting across the field like a hyperactive electric mouse.
Heatmor twisted its body again and again, trying to track Pikachu's movements—
But the task was nearly impossible.
"Heatmor! Don't panic!"
"Attack with Fire Lash!"
Although Pikachu's speed made Heatmor visibly restless, the old craftsman remained calm.
"Skraa!"
Responding to its Trainer's command, Heatmor whipped its head forward.
A tongue of fire shot from its mouth, extending further and further until it transformed into a blazing whip.
"CRACK—CRACK—!"
The flaming lash snapped through the air like a furious fire serpent.
With explosive bursts of sound, it struck repeatedly toward Pikachu as it raced around the field.
"Pikachu—Quick Attack!"
Ash responded calmly.
During the previous exchanges, Ash had realized something important.
Heatmor's raw power far exceeded Pikachu's.
Whether in direct move clashes or defensive tactics like Reflect, Pikachu was clearly at a disadvantage in a frontal confrontation.
So Ash made a strategic decision:
Avoid the enemy's strength.
Exploit Pikachu's speed advantage to the fullest.
The goal was simple.
Turn the difference in speed into a difference in offensive opportunity.
If Pikachu could move fast enough to dodge Heatmor's attacks, it could then reduce its speed slightly and maintain just enough movement to avoid being hit.
Maintaining maximum speed consumed far more stamina than maintaining a controlled optimal speed.
By lowering speed just slightly, Pikachu could conserve energy—
Energy that could then be used to counterattack while moving.
Right now, Ash and Pikachu were searching for that perfect balance of speed.
"Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!"
"CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!"
Pikachu raced across the field while Heatmor lashed wildly behind it.
On the surface, it looked like Pikachu was being chased.
But in reality—
Pikachu was toying with Heatmor.
Agility was a move that greatly enhanced mobility.
Each use boosted Speed by two stages.
After stacking Agility several times, Pikachu's speed had already reached a frightening level.
Even when Heatmor attempted wide sweeping strikes with Fire Lash, Pikachu easily avoided them using Quick Attack and Double Team.
Heatmor's base Speed of 65, combined with its paralysis, meant it had been forced to stand almost completely still during the entire battle.
It relied solely on Fire Lash's mid-range reach to attack Pikachu.
Now that Pikachu's speed had reached a critical threshold—
Heatmor simply couldn't touch it.
"Kid," the old craftsman said with a chuckle.
"Keeping Pikachu moving at that speed must drain a lot of stamina."
"How much longer can your little pet keep this up?"
Ash smirked slightly.
"I don't know how long Pikachu can keep going."
"But I do know one thing."
"It'll last long enough to defeat your Heatmor."
After delivering that small retort, Ash saw that Pikachu had already adjusted to Heatmor's attack rhythm.
He immediately gave the next command.
"Pikachu—time to counterattack! Use Thunder Shock!"
"Pika!"
Even while maintaining high-speed movement, Pikachu responded instantly.
The 6×100 mythical stat template also gave Pikachu a base HP stat of 100.
For comparison—
The final evolution of the Kanto starter Squirtle, Blastoise, had only 79 HP.
And Venusaur, the final evolution of Bulbasaur, had just 80 HP.
Water- and Grass-type Pokémon were famous for their durability and recovery ability.
Yet Pikachu's HP stat was twenty points higher than both.
This showed just how astonishing Pikachu's stamina truly was.
Maintaining extreme speed did consume a lot of energy.
A normal Pikachu would have been panting long ago.
But Ash's Pikachu remained full of vitality.
"CRACK!"
The fiery whip struck again.
Pikachu dodged effortlessly.
And just as Heatmor's attack finished—before the fiery whip could retract—
"CRACK—!"
A bolt of lightning as thick as a clothesline pole shot straight toward Heatmor.
Electric-type attacks were incredibly fast.
And Thunder Shock, Pikachu's basic electric attack, had been trained to the point of instant activation.
"BANG!"
"SKRAAA!"
The electricity struck Heatmor directly.
Its body convulsed violently, and its expression twisted in pain.
The flaming whip nearly dissipated entirely.
…
Despite this, the old craftsman didn't change his strategy.
He still believed that Pikachu couldn't maintain such extreme speed for long.
Even though Heatmor had been hit by Thunder Shock, he continued ordering it to attack relentlessly with Fire Lash.
Even if the attacks missed—
Driving Pikachu to keep moving at such high speeds would continuously drain its stamina.
And exhausting Pikachu, little by little—
Was exactly the outcome he wanted.
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