"Pika?"
"Hmph... It's nothing, Pikachu, I'm fine."
Ash forced a comforting smile at Pikachu, who was concerned about him.
He still felt pain all over his body, but he could finally bear it.
"Ash, are you alright?"
Mammon asked Ash with concern.
At this moment, many astonished gazes were already looking down from the audience, after all, in a Pokémon battle, how could a Trainer almost collapse?
"Ah~ I'm fine, I'm already a bit used to this kind of situation."
Ash awkwardly rubbed his nose, then stood up with effort, but his figure was still a bit hunched after just standing up.
"I think, if necessary, you should use that form less often."
Mammon raised an eyebrow; he felt that the side effects of Bond Phenomenon seemed a bit too strong.
Ash's physique was excellent, and his willpower was beyond question, but even Ash looked so disheveled.
It showed how intense the sympathetic pain was for a human.
"Ha~ I know, I know." Ash chuckled.
Compared to the pain he suffered, the boost in Greninja's strength from Bond Phenomenon was completely worth it, he felt.
And... wasn't this originally the proof and miracle of his bond with Greninja?
Mammon heard this and said nothing more; After all, it was Ash's own decision.
Ash recalled Greninja, looked at the fierce Tyranitar, and took a deep breath.
"No matter what, I must defeat this guy!"
Ash clenched his fists tightly, his eyes resolute.
"Pikachu!"
Ash looked at the Electric Rodent beside his feet; he had to rely on his most valued partner.
He had already lost four main Pokémon, and Charizard Y was also severely injured, and Charizard Y was clearly not good at battling Tyranitar.
After all, although Tyranitar cannot fly, the power of Tyranitar's STAB Rock-type moves was unquestionable.
Hmm, although Tyranitar was Tera Dark, its original Rock typing still had STAB.
"Pika~chu!"
The Electric Rodent naturally noticed this, showing a big smile and cutely raising its small arm to give Ash a cheering gesture.
"Alright!"
Ash's fighting spirit was instantly full.
"Then it's decided! Pikachu, I choose you!"
The young man, full of youthful vigor, turned the brim of his cap to the back of his head and shouted with a cool swing of his arm.
Pikachu also jumped up full of energy, leaping onto the battleground, its spirited eyes fixed on Tyranitar.
The electric sacs on its cheeks crackled with arcs of electricity, indicating Pikachu's high fighting spirit and caution at this moment.
"Ash-Pikachu..."
Looking at the young man and Pikachu opposite him, Mammon's eyes couldn't help but ripple slightly.
Then Mammon lowered his head and smiled, crossing his arms, his fingers lightly tapping his arm, seemingly quite satisfied.
"What a good opponent."
Tyranitar let out a low, menacing growl at Pikachu, but Pikachu was not afraid at all, digging its four limbs into the ground and striking a battle pose.
"Pikachu vs. Tyranitar. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, who would have thought such a matchup would appear in the World Championship quarterfinals?"
In the audience, Brock couldn't help but exclaim from the bottom of his heart as he watched the two Pokémon confronting each other on the battleground.
"Yes, but..." Misty hugged Togepi, looking at the young man and Pikachu in the arena.
She still remembered Ash saying, 'Pikachu are as common as stray dogs on the street.'
But what did that matter? Ash's Pikachu had proven its strength with one battle record after another.
"I hope Pikachu can defeat this Tyranitar."
...On the field.
"Earthquake."
Mammon, uncharacteristically, took the initiative to attack.
He was already eager to have a good fight with Ash's Electric Rodent.
Tyranitar roared, lifted one foot, and then stomped it down heavily.
Rumble!
The entire battleground shook violently, and a materialized Earthquake shockwave rippled forward.
A Ground-type Earthquake.
"Pikachu! Dodge it!" Ash ordered without hesitation.
Pikachu was on high alert, leaping up abruptly as the Earthquake shockwave reached the front.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Stone Edge!"
Golden electrical light flashed and buzzed around Pikachu, and a thick current shot out, rapidly flying towards Tyranitar.
In front of Tyranitar, sharp rocks appeared, a Rock-type Stone Edge.
Boom, boom, boom!
Stone Edge and Thunderbolt collided violently in mid-air, with an incessant roar.
But very quickly, a part of Stone Edge broke through Pikachu's Thunderbolt and continued to assault Pikachu with undiminished momentum.
"Pikachu!"
A white flash appeared behind Pikachu, a Normal-type priority move, Quick Attack.
With the boost of Quick Attack, Pikachu immediately rushed towards the ground, avoiding the small portion of Stone Edge.
"Sure enough, even Pikachu's frontal combat ability is not as good as Tyranitar's."
The exchange just now was very brief, but Ash already understood this point.
He still had to use flanking tactics, utilizing Pikachu's flexibility.
"It can actually briefly contend with Tyranitar's Stone Edge." Mammon narrowed his eyes slightly.
To be honest, even though he valued Ash-Pikachu, Mammon was still quite surprised.
After all, Stone Edge was originally Tyranitar's STAB attack, and Dragon Dance had previously boosted Tyranitar's physical attack by one stage.
In such circumstances, Stone Edge was actually unable to directly suppress Pikachu's Thunderbolt.
As expected of Ash's team ace and big brother, much stronger than Charizard Y and Ash-Greninja.
"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"
Ash's mind raced, and he shouted at Pikachu.
A white light suddenly appeared behind Pikachu, and it rushed towards Tyranitar at high speed, moving incredibly fast.
"Is he going to get close again? Why?"
In the audience, Wallace saw this scene and was a little confused.
Looking at the situation, Ash was once again going to have Pikachu actively engage in close combat, nothing more than wanting to utilize Pikachu's small size and flexibility.
Yes, theoretically, this is how it should be fought.
But weren't the precedents of Sceptile and Greninja still vivid? Mammon was clearly very experienced with such defensive counterattacks.
In Wallace's opinion, it would be better to keep a distance from Tyranitar and use Pikachu's long-range attacks to find opportunities.
"If he doesn't get close, it's too difficult to defeat Tyranitar." Steven shook his head.
"Although Pikachu's long-range attacks are not weak, Tyranitar's are also like that."
Steven said, long-range attacks are not exclusive to special attacks.
Rock Slide and Stone Edge are also long-range attacks, and for Tyranitar, these two are sufficient to deal with attacks like Pikachu's Thunderbolt.
While it is possible to maintain distance and fight, the chances are really too slim.
"Opportunity and risk always coexist. Ash is someone willing to take risks and actively seek victory, even if that could also be the reason for his failure."
Steven calmly stated the reason.
Wallace frowned, but did not refute Steven.
"Don't rush, wait for it to come over."
Mammon whispered to Tyranitar; he knew Ash would attack proactively.
He understood Ash's thoughts too well, still wanting to find an opportunity through close combat and actively move towards victory.
Tyranitar's fierce eyes were fixed on the rushing Pikachu.
The distance between the two Pokémon was getting closer and closer.
Ten meters, five meters, three meters, one meter!
Pikachu had already leaped up, striking at Tyranitar like lightning.
"Screech!"
Mammon decisively ordered.
"Ban!"
Tyranitar let out an incredibly piercing noise, not to block Pikachu's Quick Attack, but to prevent it from retreating immediately after being hit by Quick Attack.
Sure enough, Pikachu, mid-charge, showed a look of discomfort.
The Screech was too piercing, practically torture for the eardrums.
"I knew it!" Ash, however, was not surprised.
After all, Greninja had already been tricked by this Screech once, so how could he fall for it again?
Pikachu's Quick Attack charge was still continuing, but Tyranitar noticed that the yellow Electric Rodent had rushed past its side.
That's right, the target of this Quick Attack was not Tyranitar at all, but a feint.
Using the momentum of Quick Attack, even with its eardrums being tortured, Pikachu still rushed behind Tyranitar.
"Earth Power!"
Mammon raised an eyebrow.
Tyranitar roared, and a yellowish-brown energy glowed on the ground beneath Pikachu.
"Pikachu!"
The 'aftermath' of Screech had passed, and Pikachu landed, immediately reversing direction and leaping up.
Boom!
Earth Power erupted with a roar, but Pikachu had already retreated out of Earth Power's attack range one step ahead.
Bang!
Pikachu, turning back, slammed its forehead hard into Tyranitar's face, the powerful impact causing Tyranitar to lean back.
Tyranitar roared in anger, its roar extremely loud.
However, Pikachu didn't care, retreating with the recoil of the Tackle.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Dark Pulse!"
Electrical light flashed on Pikachu, and black light pulsed in Tyranitar's wide-open maw.
Thunderbolt and Dark Pulse shot out with a roar.
The golden electrical light and black light collided at close range, exploding violently after a fierce impact, and a vast, surging wave of air vibrated.
Both Pikachu and Tyranitar were simultaneously pushed back.
Tyranitar retreated two steps before steadying itself, and Pikachu also flew backward, doing several flips before landing and immediately springing up to adjust to a battle stance.
"Such a quick reaction..." Ash gritted his teeth, seeing that he hadn't gained much advantage.
He had reason to believe that a normal opponent would absolutely not have time to react to Pikachu's Quick Attack just now.
But Tyranitar still counterattacked with Dark Pulse; otherwise, if the Thunderbolt had hit, it would have been a guaranteed profit.
But sure enough, formidable and powerful opponents are not so easy to deal with.
Ash took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down; now he really had a feeling.
Battling Mammon, each of Mammon's main Pokémon was like a boss in a game; he had to use all his strength and rack his brains to find a way to defeat them.
And this boss named Tyranitar in front of him was truly difficult!