Chapter 120

["Uh, my Ralts doesn't battle." In order not to dampen Casey's confidence, Ash could only find a tactful reason.]

[After hearing Ash say that Mew doesn't battle, Pikachu, Misty, and Brock all couldn't help but roll their eyes.]

[He's really lying with his eyes open.]

["Alright then," Casey pouted and accepted Ash's reason.]

[Professor Elm's lab backyard.]

[After the referee Brock briefly introduced the rules of the match, the battle began.]

[Although Casey is a newcomer and a girl, her battle style is very aggressive. As soon as the battle started, she had Chikorita launch a fierce attack.]

[Razor Leaf, Vine Whip, Tackle—all kinds of moves were thrown at Ash's Mankey.]

["What a fierce battle style," Misty exclaimed from the sidelines.]

["However, did Casey choose the wrong starter Pokémon?"]

[Casey's battle style doesn't fit Chikorita at all. Her aggressive battle style should have chosen Totodile.]

["Casey was originally planning to choose Totodile, but she came too late, and Totodile was chosen by other newcomers," Professor Elm explained.]

Gary: "Because she was late, she didn't choose a suitable Pokémon. She's a bit like someone."]

Brock: "Not to mention, Casey and Ash are really quite similar, and their battle styles are also very similar."

The same hot-bloodedness, the same aggressiveness.

[Although the levels of the Pokémon on both sides were about the same, the gap between the Trainers was too large. Casey's blind aggression was soon found to have flaws by Ash.]

[Seizing the flaw, Mankey went up and used Scratch, directly scratching Chikorita's face.]

["Next is Leer."]

[Mankey's fierce gaze intimidated Chikorita, and even Casey was startled. Without the Trainer's reminder, Chikorita stood still in place, at a loss.]

["Final Scratch."]

["I lost," Casey said dejectedly.]

["No need to be dejected. Ash is the Indigo Plateau Champion; it would be strange if you could win," Professor Elm stepped forward to comfort her.]

[Under Professor Elm's comfort, Casey slowly recovered.]

["Ash, you're simply too powerful. Why don't I take you as my master!!!" Casey suddenly said.]

["Ah?" Ash suspected his ears were having problems.]

[Take him as a master? No mistake, right? His age is about the same as Casey's, maybe even younger than Casey. How can he be a teacher!]

118: Erika chased all the way to Johto, there are three beauties in the team!

[Under Casey's pestering, plus the teasing of others, Ash finally accepted Casey.]

["Ash, congratulations on being promoted to Master," Misty said while laughing out loud.]

Karen: "Misty is indeed a big fool."

Lorelei: "That's right. Doesn't she realize that Casey is also a great beauty?"

Diantha: "Although her personality is like a boy's and her dress is strange, Casey is also a cute girl. Facing a threat, she doesn't actively push her out, but desperately brings her home. I'm really defeated by Misty."]

Daisy: "Sigh, it's all because the eldest sister didn't teach Misty well, that's why Misty became a big fool."

Lily: "Hey, what does it have to do with me? Isn't teaching Misty Violet's job?"

Violet: "Please, I'm the third one, why should I do it?"

["Chikorita is a very average Pokémon; its six base stats are very balanced."]

[Among the six starters in Kanto and Johto, Chikorita's stat distribution is the most balanced. There is no outstanding one, and similarly, there is no one that drags it down.]

Bugsy: "But sometimes average means mediocre—good at everything, but not proficient in anything."

Whitney: "How can you say that about your own region's starter? Chikorita is still pretty good."

Bugsy: "Venusaur, Meganium, Sceptile—choose one, who do you choose?"

Jasmine: "That's sophistry. Kanto and Hoenn starters are the most popular; of course, Chikorita can't compare to them."

Whitney: "Then let's do this: Meganium, Torterra, Chesnaught—choose one, who do you choose?"

Bugsy: "Chesnaught? Who is Chesnaught?"

Grant: "You're done for, Bugsy. You actually don't know Chesnaught; you've offended hundreds of millions of Chesnaught fans worldwide!"

Viola: "Hundreds of millions? Heh, even in our Kalos region, you can't find a few Chesnaught fans."

Clemont: "Chesnaught is the evolution of Chespin, the Grass starter of the Kalos region."

Under Clemont's reminder, many audience members suddenly realized: Oh, right, it seems the final evolution of the Kalos Grass starter is called Chesnaught.]

[Since Chikorita's Attack and Special Attack are very balanced, there's no need to specialize in one direction. A dual-wielding style is more suitable.]

[In terms of Special Attack, Chikorita has already mastered two moves: Razor Leaf and Vine Whip, which are enough for the current stage. What needs to be strengthened next is the Physical Attack aspect.]

[The move Ash chose for Casey's Chikorita is Slash.]

[The leaf on Chikorita's head is not for show; it can be used as an offensive tool. Don't look at its soft appearance; it's actually quite sturdy.]

[After arranging the special training tasks for Casey's Chikorita, Ash also started training with Mankey.]

[Rage. A move that gets more powerful the higher the anger value. This move is simply tailor-made for the Mankey family.]

[Other Pokémon might need to be attacked to accumulate anger, but the Mankey family is different. They are angry all the time, making them most suitable for the ultimate move "Rage."]

[Entering the state, Mankey started destroying frantically. After kicking down two trees, smashing four rocks, and hammering the floor tiles under its feet, its anger finally dissipated.]

["Still can't control anger well."]

[Ash shook his head, not very satisfied with Mankey's performance.]

[His goal is to let Mankey control itself while in the rage state, and even release various moves.]

[Turning Rage into a boosting move instead of an attack move—this is Ash's goal.]

[But now it seems it's still too far away. Mankey simply can't effectively control its emotions. Once it enters rage, it only attacks randomly.]

Bruno: "Turning Rage into a boosting move? Hiss, isn't this idea too wild?"

Brawly: "How is that possible? Rage has been an attack move since ancient times; how could it become a boosting move?"

In Brawly's view, Dark Ash is really thinking too much, completely doing useless work.

Roxanne: "Don't talk big too early. He is Dark Ash; there is nothing he can't do."

A few months ago, didn't Dark Ash just create a new move? He can even create moves, so what's improving a move?"

Brawly: "Heh, then I'll wait and see."

["Right, I have to go to the Pokémon Center to register first," Ash suddenly remembered an important thing. To challenge the Johto League, one must complete registration at the Pokémon Center; otherwise, one doesn't have the qualification to challenge Gyms.]

[Accompanied by Misty, Brock, and Casey, Ash came to the New Bark Town Pokémon Center.]

["Long time no see, Ash."]

[What Ash never expected was that he actually met an old acquaintance in the Pokémon Center.]

——

[Ding!]

[Entering the prize-winning quiz session!]

Just then, a question appeared on the big screen.

[Question: Who did Ash meet at the Pokémon Center?]

[A: Sabrina.]

[B: Erika.]

[C: Lorelei.]

[D: Flora.]

[E: Luana.]

[F: Serena.]

Wallace: "Can answer questions again, that's great. This time I definitely won't waste the opportunity."

Steven: "The big talk is louder every time, but we don't see you getting the reward. Can you be more spirited, Wallace? Don't lose face for our Hoenn region."

Roxanne: "Heh, ever since getting a reward once, Steven has become more and more arrogant."

Phoebe: "That's for sure. He has a legendary Pokémon; he's not on the same path as us anymore."

Sidney: "What's there to be proud of? It's just good luck to answer correctly once. Ash has answered correctly so many times, and he's not as arrogant as you."

Glacia: "Don't argue, don't argue, the three-second penalty period has ended, you can start answering."

Diantha: "This question is a bit difficult; it's basically luck. However, option F can be directly excluded. Serena only returned to Kalos a few days ago; it's impossible for her to come to Johto again."

Malva: "That's not necessarily true. Maybe Serena found out she couldn't live without Ash after returning home, so she decided to charge for love. I choose F!"