A Psychic Showdown

Just then, footsteps sounded, and a middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap and casual clothes, with a full beard, walked over.

"Can I help you?"

"Hello," Xia You said pleasantly. "I'm here to challenge the Gym Leader, Sabrina. Is she here?"

The man nodded, his gaze shifting to Kirlia.

"Do you like Psychic-type Pokémon too? But you don't look as though you have any potential to awaken psychic powers yourself."

"Huh?" Xia You asked, puzzled. "I don't need to do magic tricks. What would I need psychic powers for?"

"What!? Magic tricks!?" The man felt his breath catch in his chest. After coughing a few times, he turned and headed deeper into the Gym. "Follow me. But don't say I didn't warn you. Someone without psychic powers can't bring out a Psychic-type Pokémon's full strength!"

Can't bring out their full strength?

Xia You stroked Kirlia's head without arguing on the spot.

He just means that Pokémon Trainers without psychic powers can't connect telepathically with their Pokémon.

For other Pokémon Trainers and their Psychic-type Pokémon, that might indeed affect the Pokémon's strength. But for Xia You and Kirlia, it wasn't a problem at all!

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

Marble tiles covered the floor, and two rows of stone pillars reached all the way to the ceiling. Torches burned along the sides of the battlefield. Rather than a Gym, it looked more like a temple.

On the other side of the battlefield, a beautiful woman sat in a chair, watching him calmly. She was tall and fair-skinned, with long, straight black hair, wearing a tight red leather outfit with a fitted skirt and long black stockings.

This was Sabrina, the Leader of the Saffron Gym.

"Sabrina, someone else has come to challenge you." With that, the middle-aged man walked to the center of the battlefield to serve as referee.

Sabrina's body slowly rose into the air, and she floated over to the Pokémon Trainer command area.

Seeing her accomplish that with her psychic powers alone left Xia You both envious and amazed.

"I foresaw your arrival." Sabrina's voice was even and cold, as though there were little fluctuation in her emotions. "And besides psychic power, you carry an unpleasant air of mischief."

She really is a woman with powerful psychic abilities. She can even see Gastly hiding in my shadow!

Her story had left such a deep impression on Xia You that he still remembered it fairly clearly.

Sabrina had awakened her formidable innate psychic powers as a child. Unfortunately, her obsession with training those powers had gradually caused her to close off her heart. She refused to make friends, destroyed her own home, drove out her father with her psychic powers when he tried to stop her, and even turned her mother into a doll.

It was then that Sabrina had split into two personalities: one was the powerful Sabrina who would lose to no one, while the other was a lonely Sabrina who loved mischief and longed for friends.

Xia You's timing was fortunate, however. A few days earlier, Ash had used a Haunter he brought from Pokémon Tower to restore Sabrina to normal. Though she still looked cold and emotionless, she had at least stopped closing off her heart and reconciled with her family. Occasionally, a smile would even appear on her face.

At that thought, Xia You stole a quick glance at the middle-aged man.

He must be Sabrina's father, right?

"May I ask..." Xia You gathered his thoughts and asked, "What are the battle rules?"

"A one-on-one match," Sabrina said. "Defeat my Pokémon, and your challenge will be considered successful."

As she spoke, Sabrina slowly took out a Poké Ball. A red light flashed, and a mustached Pokémon resembling a golden fox appeared on the battlefield.

Sure enough, it's the Kadabra that accompanied Sabrina in the anime!

Pokédex: "Beep. Kadabra, the Psi Pokémon. Psychic type. The evolved form of Abra. Strange phenomena, such as clocks running backward, occur in Kadabra's vicinity. It can also emit special alpha waves from its body, causing pain to enemies that approach it. It has high expectations of its Pokémon Trainer and will not acknowledge a Pokémon Trainer who lacks sufficient mental power. Additionally, it is said that without its spoon, it can only use half its usual psychic power."

Xia You put away the Pokédex and pointed forward. Kirlia slowly walked from beside his feet onto the battlefield.

"Aren't you going to send out your Ghost-type Pokémon?" Sabrina asked.

Xia You shook his head without offering much explanation. Gastly was far too strong and had a type advantage as well. Using Gastly against Kadabra would neither give his own Pokémon meaningful training nor leave the opponent any chance to fight back.

Just then, a Haunter flew out from the side. After circling Sabrina, Haunter seemed to notice Gastly in Xia You's shadow and hurried over.

Upon seeing Haunter, Xia You's Gastly floated out of the shadow too. The two Pokémon flew together, making faces at each other and looking utterly delighted.

Haunter was Gastly's evolved form. For them to get along so well on their very first meeting, it seemed this entire evolutionary line really did love to play around.

But...

Is this the Haunter Ash brought from Pokémon Tower?

So Haunter really did stay with Sabrina instead of returning to Pokémon Tower!

Seeing that both Pokémon on the battlefield were ready, and that Sabrina showed no intention of making the first move, Xia You called out first, "Kirlia, use Confusion!"

Kirlia raised both hands and immediately unleashed Confusion, taking the initiative. An invisible force surged toward Kadabra.

Sabrina said nothing, but Kadabra raised the arm holding the spoon and unleashed Confusion as well.

The two psychic forces collided in midair, erupting in a brilliant flash. But as both sides continued pouring out power, Kirlia's expression gradually grew strained.

Though both Pokémon had evolved once, Kirlia's psychic power was still inevitably overwhelmed by Kadabra's!

In the end, Kadabra's Confusion slammed into Kirlia, throwing Kirlia off balance and forcing a few steps backward.

Fortunately, they shared the same type, so their psychic moves did little damage to each other.

"Kirlia, use Magical Leaf!"

At Xia You's command, a green glow formed in Kirlia's hands. An endless stream of magical leaves then shot toward Kadabra at tremendous speed.

Sabrina's expression remained unchanged, but at the critical moment, Kadabra suddenly used Teleport and evaded the attack.

Without needing to speak, she could communicate with Kadabra telepathically and issue commands.

And that was where Sabrina's true strength lay!