Chapter 39: Superpower Showdown

Chapter 39: Superpower Showdown

At that moment, footsteps sounded, and a middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap, sporting a full beard and casual clothing, walked over.

"Do you need something?"

"Hello," Xia You said friendly. "I am here to challenge the Gym Leader, Sabrina. Is she in?"

The man nodded, his gaze shifting toward Kirlia.

"Do you also like Psychic-type Pokémon? Though, looking at you, you don't seem to possess any potential to trigger psychic powers at all."

"Huh?" Xia You said, puzzled. "I don't need to perform magic tricks; what would I use psychic powers for?"

"What!? Magic tricks!?" The man felt a surge of indignation rise in his chest. After coughing a few times, he turned and walked toward the depths of the Gym. "Follow me. But don't say I didn't warn you—someone without psychic powers cannot bring out the full potential of Psychic-type Pokémon!"

*Cannot bring out their full potential?*

Xia You patted Kirlia's head, choosing not to argue on the spot.

He was clearly implying that a Trainer without psychic powers cannot achieve a mental connection with their Pokémon.

For other Trainers and their Psychic-type Pokémon, this might indeed affect their strength, but for Xia You and Kirlia, it wasn't an issue at all!

Walking through a long corridor, Xia You arrived at the battlefield.

The floor was paved with marble tiles, and two rows of stone pillars stretched toward the ceiling. Torches burned along the sides of the field, making it look less like a Gym and more like a temple.

On the other side of the field, a beautiful woman with long, straight black hair, a tall stature, and fair skin sat in a chair. She wore a tight red leather skirt suit and long black stockings, watching him with a calm gaze.

This was the Gym Leader of the Saffron Gym—Sabrina.

"Sabrina, someone else is here to challenge you," the middle-aged man said. He walked to the center of the field to act as the referee.

Sabrina's body slowly drifted upward, floating toward the Trainer's command area.

To be able to do this using only her own psychic powers was something that left Xia You both envious and amazed.

"I have already foreseen your arrival." Sabrina's voice was steady and cold, as if there were no significant emotional fluctuations within her. "And upon you, besides psychic power, there is a lingering, annoying aura of mischief."

*As expected of a woman with powerful psychic abilities—she can even see the Gastly hiding in the shadows!*

Because it was so memorable, Xia You still remembered her story quite clearly.

When Sabrina was young, she had awakened powerful innate psychic abilities. Unfortunately, her obsession with practicing those powers caused her to gradually close off her heart. She stopped making friends, destroyed her own home, used her powers to drive away her father who tried to stop her, and turned her mother into a doll.

It was from that point on that Sabrina split into two personalities: one was the powerful Sabrina who was second to none, and the other was a lonely Sabrina who loved mischief and longed for friends.

However, Xia You had arrived at the perfect time. A few days ago, Ash had used a Haunter brought from the Pokémon Tower to successfully restore Sabrina to her normal self. Although she still appeared cold and emotionless, she was no longer closed off, had reconciled with her family, and would occasionally show a smile on her face.

Thinking of this, Xia You stole a quick glance at the middle-aged man.

*He must be Sabrina's father, right?*

"Excuse me..." Xia You pulled his thoughts back and asked, "What are the battle rules?"

Sabrina said, "A one-on-one match. If you defeat my Pokémon, your challenge is successful."

As she spoke, Sabrina slowly produced a Poké Ball. With a flash of red light, a Pokémon that looked like a golden fox with whiskers appeared in the arena.

*It really is Abra, the one that accompanies Sabrina in the anime!*

Pokédex: *[Beep] Abra, the Psychic Pokémon. A Psychic-type. The evolved form of Ralts. Strange phenomena, such as time reversing, occur around Abra. It can also emit special alpha waves from its body to cause pain to nearby enemies. It has very high requirements for its Trainer; a Trainer without high mental strength will not be recognized by it. Additionally, it is said that without a spoon, it can only use half of its usual psychic power.*

Xia You closed the Pokédex and pointed forward. At his feet, Kirlia slowly walked toward the battlefield.

"Are you not sending out your Ghost-type Pokémon?" Sabrina asked.

Xia You shook his head without much explanation. After all, Gastly's strength was too great, and it held a type advantage. Using it against Abra would neither allow his own Pokémon to train nor give the opponent any chance to fight back.

At that moment, a Haunter flew out from the side. It circled around Sabrina first, then, seemingly spotting the Gastly in Xia You's shadow, it hurried over.

Seeing it, Xia You's Gastly also drifted out from the shadow. The two Pokémon flew toward each other, making funny faces and looking quite joyful.

Haunter was indeed the evolved form of Gastly. To be so intimate upon their first meeting suggested that this evolutionary line truly loved to play.

*However...*

*That must be the Haunter Ash brought from the Pokémon Tower!*

*It really didn't go back to the Tower, but stayed by Sabrina's side!*

Seeing that both Pokémon were ready and that Sabrina had no intention of making the first move, Xia You couldn't help but call out first: "Kirlia, use Confusion!"

Kirlia raised its hands, and Confusion was instantly activated as a preemptive strike. An invisible force surged toward Abra.

Sabrina did not speak, but Abra raised its arm holding the spoon and released Confusion as well.

The two waves of psychic energy collided in mid-air, erupting in a brilliant light. However, as both sides continued to output power, Kirlia's expression gradually became one of strain.

Even though both had evolved once, Kirlia's psychic power was inevitably suppressed by Abra!

Ultimately, Abra's Confusion struck Kirlia heavily, causing Kirlia to lose its footing and stumble back several steps.

Fortunately, since both had the same type, the psychic moves hitting each other were relatively inconsequential.

"Kirlia, use Magical Leaf!"

Following Xia You's command, a green light formed in Kirlia's hands. Immediately after, a continuous stream of Magical Leaves shot toward Abra at high speed.

Sabrina's expression remained unchanged, but at the critical moment, Abra suddenly used Teleport to dodge the attack.

Without needing to speak, Sabrina could communicate with Abra through telepathy to issue commands.

And that was the true strength of Sabrina!