That characteristic must have been caused by Sabrina using her powerful superpowers, so the situation is likely as he guessed.
"Gengar, use Confuse Ray!"
On the field, taking advantage of Alakazam being knocked down, Ash had Gengar use Confuse Ray, sending Alakazam into a state of confusion!
After entering confusion, Hypnosis can be used again. As long as both moves succeed, victory in this battle is almost assured!
This is the strategy Ash spoke of — adding as many status conditions as possible. Whether it's poison, paralysis, confusion, or sleep, add whatever you can. Abnormal status conditions are one of the biggest factors in being able to win a battle at a higher level!
As Ash finished speaking, a strange, chaotic ray flew from Gengar's eyes, directly hitting Alakazam!
Alakazam had just recovered from the impact of the damage, only to be hit by Confuse Ray.
Once Confuse Ray hit, Alakazam's eyes immediately started to spin!
In a state of confusion, a Pokemon as unpredictable as Alakazam will have many moves become disordered, and using moves becomes chaotic. It also won't be able to hear the trainer's instructions.
"Well done, Gengar, use Hypnosis!" Seeing Confuse Ray hit steadily, Ash snapped his fingers excitedly and then had Gengar follow up with Hypnosis.
Sleep and confusion can coexist. As long as Hypnosis hits, then victory in this battle is basically assured!
After Alakazam became confused, Sabrina's beautiful eyes flashed with a blue light again!
Alakazam's spinning eyes cleared up the next moment, then it directly used Teleport to disappear from its original spot. Gengar was still manipulating the Hypnosis, but the opponent had vanished!
This time, Sabrina's action was captured by Ash's Aura Power.
"I was just wondering why Taunt suddenly stopped working. It turns out it was your doing. You used your power to remove Taunt and Alakazam's confusion, didn't you?" Ash loudly questioned Sabrina.
Sabrina's superpowers are indeed bug-like; ordinary superpowers don't have these functions!
Having superpowers among humans is rare, and being able to use various strange functions with superpowers is even rarer.
At most, people could use Telekinesis and Teleportation like some Pokemon, which are their limits.
But Sabrina is different. Just the abilities she's shown, like evolving and devolving Pokemon, and breaking transformation-type moves, are things ordinary superpower users could never achieve in a lifetime.
She's truly a pervert!
A strange look passed over Sabrina's face, and then she answered coldly, "So what if I did? A Trainer's abilities are also a part of battle application. I'm not directly participating in the battle, so I'm not breaking the rules."
"Besides, aren't you also a Special Ability User? Didn't you use that special power within your body just now? Otherwise, how could you have anticipated Alakazam's landing spot?"
As a psychic, Sabrina had already sensed something unusual about Ash the moment he stepped into Saffron City.
Treated as a monster since she was young, it was the first time Sabrina had encountered someone as unusual as herself!
This is why Sabrina is so persistent about Ash; she desires to meet someone the 'same' as her.
Those Apprentice Gym Students within the Gym were actually recruited by Sabrina in hopes of developing them into 'abnormalities' like herself, but the results greatly disappointed her.
Even the most gifted among them could at most learn a little superpower, like bending a spoon, which was their limit.
So after sensing the immense power in Ash, Sabrina focused all her attention on Ash. Upon learning that Ash was coming to challenge the Saffron Gym and that her existence had been exposed, she finally shifted her focus away.
Ash's arrival and the power he displayed made Sabrina even more 'crave' Ash.
In the past, challengers would become dolls and be forced to play life-and-death games with Sabrina after failing, but they would only be released after a mere shock and psychological shadow, lasting no more than a week.
But if it's Ash...if he loses, Sabrina intends to keep him by her side forever, just like she did with her dollified mother!
At this moment, although Sabrina's face showed no expression, appearing normal, her mind was completely twisted!
Sabrina's words made Ash purse his lips noncommittally. He could use Aura Power to observe the traces of Sabrina's superpowers, and Sabrina could naturally use her superpowers to observe his aura.
However, compared to the auxiliary abilities of his aura, Sabrina's superpowers were incredibly overpowered!
To offer more assistance to his Pokemon using aura, Ash needed to enter an Aura Fusion state, which required a certain level of intimacy, or rather, a bond.
The deeper the bond, the stronger the power that can be channeled through Aura Fusion.
Currently, except for Gengar, all of Ash's Pokemon can perform Aura Fusion with him because they have all been through certain events together and have spent significant time together.
It's just that the degree of fusion varies.
But Ash had never tried Aura Fusion with Gengar, and he didn't know if the fusion would succeed.
This is why Ash didn't 'cheat' immediately upon discovering Sabrina's 'cheating.'
However, now that Ash had exposed Sabrina's 'cheating,' Sabrina openly displayed no restraint. She directly pushed her superpowers to the limit, elevating Alakazam's level straight to the Elite Peak!
Good grief...this is like shooting yourself in the foot!
Now Alakazam's level was even higher than Gengar's, and its special attack ability value, under the enhancement of Sabrina's superpowers, was almost reaching the level of Gengar's.
There was now no aspect in which Gengar had the upper hand.
"There's no other choice, but to try it...Gengar, if you feel a force, don't resist it. Try to accept it!"
"Huh?"
Gengar was full of confusion, not understanding what Ash was talking about.
Ash didn't have much time to explain to Gengar. The chance for Aura Fusion was only this once. Once the opponent started attacking, there would be no opportunity to infuse his aura onto Gengar.
A blue light gleamed in Ash's eyes as terrifying power surged within him.
The next second, Gengar felt an unparalleled force infuse into its body, attempting to merge with its internal power.
"This power...Aura Power? Kid, you have more tricks up your sleeve!" Gengar showed an expression of excitement, accepting the Aura Power into its body.
Instantly, its strength exceeded its previous level by more than one notch, and it also felt the mysterious effects of aura!
Alakazam's position, for instance, stood out like a beacon in the night, extremely conspicuous!
Now, whether Alakazam used Teleport or other disruptive moves, it couldn't escape his detection!
"This detection range...tsk tsk, no wonder you could immediately find that guy's landing spot earlier. This is practically cheating! When you fought me before, you must have used this skill to predict my attacks, right?" Gengar remarked in awe.
Aura Fusion — successful!
Ash breathed a sigh of relief after sensing the peculiar connection between himself and Gengar; the first attempt at Aura Fusion had succeeded, a feat neither Pidgeotto nor Butterfree had achieved before.
He hadn't expected that Gengar's feelings for him would be so profound, even to the extent where fusion was possible.
It seems, indeed, that engaging in physical confrontations deepens sentiments!