Feeling Gardevoir's will to keep fighting, Xinhai's fingers paused on the Poké Ball for a moment before withdrawing.
He said nothing more, merely replying with a soft "Okay" through Telepathy. Then he raised his head and looked toward the opposing command area, his gaze gaining a new certainty.
Seeing the resolute looks in Xinhai's and Gardevoir's eyes, Wallace said nothing more and ordered, "Slowpoke, Psychic."
"Ya-don—"
Slowpoke let out a deep, sluggish cry, and its seemingly vacant eyes suddenly lit up with a profound blue glow.
Surging psychic power poured from its body, crushing toward Gardevoir like a tide.
That psychic power was not violent, yet it carried an inescapable weight, as if the entire space around Gardevoir were closing in.
Gardevoir's red eyes lit up as well. Psychic power burst from within her, meeting Slowpoke's Psychic head-on.
The two invisible forces collided in midair, and the air seemed to freeze at that instant.
There was no violent explosion, no dazzling flash—only a deep, continuous hum echoing through the arena, like two enormous bronze bells vibrating at once.
Gardevoir frowned and instinctively poured more psychic power into the clash, finally stabilizing the situation.
But anyone with a discerning eye could tell that her psychic power was no longer as abundant and enduring as it had been at the start of the battle. Even her resistance seemed strained.
Xinhai's gaze sharpened. Before the aftershocks of the psychic clash had fully faded, his voice rang out decisively. "Gardevoir, Teleport, then Magical Leaf!"
In the next instant, Gardevoir's figure turned into a blurred afterimage, breaking free from Slowpoke's psychic suppression and appearing behind and to its side.
She raised her right hand, and dozens of emerald energy leaves condensed in her palm. Like green flying blades swept up by a gale, they shot