Chapter 130

Brock of Kanto and Falkner of Johto were chosen this way.]

Professor Oak: "The Chairman's eye for people is still flawless."]

To be the Chairman of the League, one must have some skills; when it comes to judging people, no one is better than Goodshow.]

[Because Casey performed quite well in the first battle, in the subsequent battles, Falkner appropriately increased the difficulty of the assessment, but even so, Casey still successfully handled it.]

[After defeating Falkner's last Pokémon, Casey excitedly sang a song of victory.]

[Casey's challenge was over, and next it was Ash's turn. Just as Ash stepped onto the battle field, Falkner's expression changed instantly.]

["Ash is the Indigo League Champion, right? In that case, I will go all out."]

["The battle rule is three-on-three, and both trainers can freely switch Pokémon. No problem, right, Ash?" Falkner asked seriously.]

["Eh? When challenging a Gym, isn't it only the challenger who can switch Pokémon?"]

[Isn't this the rule of the world? Casey was a bit confused.]

["That's because Falkner treats Ash as an opponent of the same level." Brock explained.]

[In principle, during a challenge, Gym Leaders are not allowed to switch Pokémon, but when a Gym Leader meets an opponent who is difficult enough, this rule can also be broken.]

["But it shouldn't make a difference whether you switch Pokémon or not."]

[In Casey's view, whether one can switch Pokémon during a battle is not important at all; anyway, she basically doesn't switch Pokémon when she battles; her main style is being stubborn.]

["How is that possible? Casey is still too naive." Erika shook her head, "Whether you can switch Pokémon is a very important matter. If you are not allowed to switch Pokémon, even the strongest trainer can capsize in the gutter if they are countered."]

Diantha: "Eh, if only I could switch Pokémon during a battle, I would have the confidence to beat Leon."]

Steven: "Beat Leon? Heh, I don't believe it."]

Steven would believe it if she beat others, but beating Leon, he could only say it was impossible.]

Leon's Charizard is simply too domineering. Even if he isn't allowed to switch Pokémon during a battle, who can deal with his Charizard?]

Cynthia: "Sigh, it's really a headache. Why is there such a powerful Charizard in the world?"]

Cynthia isn't afraid of Leon's other Pokémon at all. Even without using Garchomp, her other Pokémon are a 50-50 match against Leon's Pokémon other than Charizard, at most 40-60. But once Charizard is added, the balance is instantly lost.]

Lance: "Who knows."]

It's really powerful to the point of despair.]

Wallace: "Do you think Black Ash's Charizard might become stronger than Leon's Charizard in the future?"]

Steven: "If you were to compare other Charizards with Leon's Charizard, I would definitely say you are living in a dream, but Black Ash's Charizard, you never know, it really has a chance."]

Cynthia: "Black Ash is a miraculous trainer, and besides, his Charizard has just been tempered by the Rainbow Wing and Entei. There's a chance, a big chance."]

Alder: "I can't wait to see Black Ash's Charizard battle Leon's Charizard."]

Ash: "What about my Charizard? Does my Charizard have a chance?"]

Ash's words instantly silenced everyone in the chat room.]

Don't you know whether you have a chance yourself? With that Charizard of yours that was beaten up by Lisa, you say you have a chance?]

["Go, Skarmory."]

[After the opponent became Ash, Falkner's state changed instantly.]

[The Pokémon he sent out was no longer a low-level Pokémon, but he brought out his trump card.]

[Sensing Falkner's serious attitude, Ash didn't slack off either; he summoned Aerodactyl, which he had transferred from Professor Oak's lab early this morning.]

["The precious Aerodactyl."]

[Falkner didn't expect that the first Pokémon Ash sent out would be so explosive; it was actually the rumored extinct Aerodactyl.]

["Luckily my Skarmory is a Steel-type Pokémon."]

[Falkner is an expert on bird Pokémon; all the Pokémon in his hands are bird Pokémon, and as everyone knows, one of the attributes that bird Pokémon fear most is Rock-type Pokémon.]

[If he hadn't sent out Skarmory but Pidgeot or Noctowl, this battle would have become quite difficult.]

[Falkner struck first, directly ordering Skarmory to use Steel Wing on Aerodactyl.]

[Actually, when the opponent uses Steel Wing, Aerodactyl avoiding the edge is the best choice, but the fierce Aerodactyl clearly didn't want to dodge during the battle, so Ash could only follow its wishes.]

["Aerodactyl, Double-Edge!"]

["Double-Edge? Why use Double-Edge?" Casey didn't understand. Although Double-Edge's power is great, the recoil is also very exaggerated; it's a move that hurts the enemy by a thousand and damages oneself by eight hundred. Is he going to fight so hard at the start?]

["Because Ash's Aerodactyl has the Rock Head ability."]

[Seeing that Casey was still confused, Brock had to continue explaining: "Pokémon with the Rock Head ability will not take damage when using moves that would otherwise cause recoil damage."]

[Brock explained it, and Casey understood.]

[Steel Wing vs. Double-Edge, Aerodactyl actually suffered a big loss.]

[Skarmory looked like nothing happened, while Aerodactyl was baring its teeth, looking like it was in a lot of pain.]

[However, this was also within Ash's expectations. After all, Normal-type moves are also within Skarmory's resistance, and Skarmory is a Pokémon that can take a lot of hits, so it's normal that Aerodactyl couldn't hit it.]

[Aerodactyl, which suffered a big loss in the collision, became honest and didn't dare to continue fighting Skarmory at close range; instead, it hid in the distance and secretly tried to use Rock Slide to kill the opponent.]

[But how could Falkner and Skarmory let it have its way? Skarmory began to approach Aerodactyl continuously, forcing Aerodactyl to fight it at close range.]

["Return, Aerodactyl." If the fight continued, Aerodactyl's chance of winning was really not high, so Ash didn't hesitate and directly recalled Aerodactyl.]

[The second Pokémon Ash sent out was Blastoise.]

[Seeing Ash switch Pokémon, Falkner also hurriedly switched Pokémon.]

[Skarmory is his sharp weapon against Aerodactyl. If Skarmory falls, he won't have any Pokémon to restrain Aerodactyl, so he must protect Skarmory.]

[The opponent was Blastoise; Falkner hesitated for a while and chose to use Noctowl to fight.]

[Falkner's original strategy was to let Noctowl keep its distance from Blastoise, and then use the combination of Hypnosis and Dream Eater to slowly wear Blastoise down, taking advantage of Blastoise's clumsiness. But he miscalculated; he never expected that Ash's Blastoise could also "fly" in reverse.]

[Using the Hydro Pump in its cannons, Blastoise achieved a short glide. On the limited battle field, Noctowl had no way to shake off Blastoise and was directly bitten by Blastoise.]

Steven: "Damn, even Blastoise can fly; who else can't fly?????"

Maxie: "..."

Maxie was so angry; he really wanted to kill Steven, the guy who mocked Groudon, but he didn't have the strength.]

He could only silently endure this insult.]

Just wait, when Groudon returns, see how he cleans up Steven, this guy with a loose tongue.]

124: The battle between Erika and Misty, dominating the Charizard Valley!]

[A major disadvantage of bird Pokémon is that they are not tough enough, especially since Noctowl doesn't belong to the large birds.]

[Noctowl, whose neck was bitten tightly by Blastoise, was nearly fainting and no longer had the strength to flap its wings.]

[After falling to the ground, Noctowl was no match for Blastoise at all and was easily taken down by Blastoise in a few moves.]

Lance: "Falkner miscalculated; he didn't guard against the move that Blastoise could fly at all."]

Wallace: "Normal people wouldn't guard against it; who could have thought that the seemingly clumsy Blastoise could achieve short-term flight by relying on Hydro Pump? It's simply a whimsical idea."]

Diantha: "Black Ash really has many ideas and wild paths; every time I watch his matches, I can always see wonderful scenes we didn't expect."]

Cynthia: "Maybe this is the gap between a genius trainer and mortals."]

[After losing Noctowl, Falkner's expression also became solemn.]

["Go, Pidgeot."]

[Falkner's trump card, Pidgeot, finally entered the field.]

[Falkner, who had suffered a big loss, no longer dared to let Pidgeot stay in the air without moving; he began to fight a mobile battle with Blastoise.]

[He first let Pidgeot use Twister to try to weaken Blastoise's stamina, but the effect was not very good, so Falkner had to change his battle strategy.]

["Aerial Ace."]

[Facing Pidgeot diving straight down, Blastoise had no fear; it chose to meet Pidgeot's Aerial Ace to find an opportunity for a counterattack.]

[Aerial Ace didn't hit Blastoise's most vulnerable head, and the damage caused was quite limited. While being knocked away by Pidgeot, Blastoise began to act.]

[Its palms slowly closed, and Water-type energy gathered into a sphere in its palms; then it made the water ball vibrate.]

[The moment Water Pulse successfully condensed, it was heavily smashed by Blastoise at Pidgeot.]

[A blow to the head.]

[Pidgeot, hit by Water Pulse, not only suffered damage but its entire body's feathers were soaked, which was definitely not good news for Falkner. Feathers are the life of bird Pokémon; once the feathers are soaked, it's difficult for them to fly again.]

[A Ho-Oh that falls into the water is not as good as a chicken, let alone a Pidgeot.]

[Without giving the opponent any chance, Ash immediately let Blastoise use Ice Beam.]

[Pidgeot, which was already soaking wet, began to freeze the moment it was hit by the cold ice ray, and in the blink of an eye, it was frozen into a Pidgeot.]

["Pidgeot, break free quickly!" Falkner shouted anxiously.]