The Lumiose Conference, Lumiose City Battle Arena.
Ash and Sawyer's battle had reached its middle stages.
Facing Aegislash's King's Shield for the first time,
Ash's lack of experience
had caused Pikachu's attack power to drop sharply.
Fortunately, Ash's Pikachu only had Quick Attack, Iron Tail, Thunderbolt, and Electro Ball in its moveset.
Ash wasn't flustered.
If physical moves wouldn't work,
he could just use special moves.
"Aegislash, Sacred Sword!"
"Pikachu, dodge with Quick Attack!"
Even with Quick Attack, Pikachu still took a Sacred Sword and tumbled across the ground.
Dawn asked in confusion, "That's strange. Why did Pikachu run in such a straight line?"
Usually, Pikachu's Quick Attack followed intricate, unpredictable routes that thoroughly confused its opponents.
This time, however, Pikachu's Quick Attack had taken it straight toward Aegislash.
That left Dawn deeply puzzled.
Cynthia said softly, "Take a closer look at the field."
Tierno spotted the key detail. "So that's it! That was to limit Pikachu's speed!"
The felled trees had not only opened up the view, but also left the ground cluttered.
Even Pikachu had to avoid certain spots, which limited its speed.
Some of those crucial spots also became ideal points for Aegislash to attack Pikachu.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Once more, King's Shield!"
This wasn't a contact move, so Pikachu's attack power wasn't lowered.
And in the brief instant when Aegislash used King's Shield, Ash caught a crucial detail.
Though Ash was usually quite reckless, he could also show his attentiveness and powers of observation in battle.
Most importantly, he had good eyesight...
Someone nearsighted wouldn't even have seen it.
"Pikachu, I've got a great idea!"
"Pika?"
Ash was about to exploit a bug.
"Let's take a gamble and try it!"
"Pika!"
Although Pikachu didn't know what Ash was planning,
it trusted him completely.
Bug-finding expert-Ash.
Bug-exploiting expert-Pikachu.