Chapter 155

They had even come to regard Ash as the leader of the new generation in Kanto and Johto.

This also aroused Karen's curiosity and competitive spirit. She really wanted to know what kind of sacred person this Trainer named Ash was, to be able to attract so many people to stand up for him.

"Ash, come and have a Pokémon battle with me!"

Trainers duel when they meet eye to eye; Karen could no longer suppress the desire to battle in her heart.

"Um, I'd love to battle you, but we have things to do right now."

Ash politely declined Karen's invitation to battle; he hadn't forgotten why they came into the forest.

A battle is fine, but he had to find Misty's backpack first.

"Leave it to me. I'm very good at communicating with Dark-type Pokémon."

Karen wasn't bragging. As soon as she approached, the Houndour that were just baring their fangs and brandishing their claws all turned into well-behaved babies.

"So, so amazing."

Misty was very curious about how Karen did it.

You have to know that Houndour were never easy Pokémon to talk to.

"Ms. Karen is an expert specializing in Dark-type Pokémon. There is news that she is very likely to become the next Elite Four member," Erika quietly dropped a bombshell.

"The next Elite Four?"

"The Dark-type Elite?"

139: Simple trash talk, ultimate enjoyment, Karen is furious!

After hearing that Karen was very likely to become the next Elite Four member, Ash became interested. Opportunities to battle the Elite Four didn't come every day; missing one would be a sin.

On the other side, Karen, who was communicating with the Houndour, suddenly turned serious.

"Ash, sorry, the battle will have to be put on hold. I have more important things to do now."

The Houndour had been frequently stealing food from travelers recently to help their sick and injured companions recover their strength. They targeted Misty's backpack only because it contained a large amount of bread.

After learning the truth, Misty also forgave the Houndour. In order to help the sick Houndour recover as quickly as possible, Karen decided to take the Houndour to the nearest Pokémon Center.

"Let me do it," Ash volunteered to take on the task of carrying the Houndour.

This Houndour was seriously injured and had to be sent to the Pokémon Center as quickly as possible. In this situation, it was most appropriate for him to carry it.

After picking up the Houndour, Ash started his "mad dash" mode.

The others could barely keep up with Ash's pace at first, but after persisting for ten minutes, they couldn't hold on anymore and had to helplessly slow down, letting Ash rush to the Pokémon Center alone.

Karen: "Is this guy Ash too much of a freak?"

Unlike them, Ash was running with a load, yet he could still leave them far behind. No one else had this kind of physical fitness.

Among the people Karen knew, the only one with this kind of physical fitness was Bruno.

Lance: "Karen is still giving Bruno too much credit. In reality, even Bruno can't compete with Dark Ash in terms of physical body."

Bruno: "If I had Dark Ash's physical talent, I would be the number one person in Kanto now."

Dark Ash's talent, combined with his combat skills, is absolutely invincible.

By then, let alone ordinary Pokémon, he would have the confidence to even touch a Legendary Pokémon.

Brawly: "Stop dreaming, do you think it's possible? Not everyone can be the protagonist."

By the time Karen and the others arrived at the Pokémon Center, the Houndour's treatment was already over.

In Nurse Joy's words, it was fortunate that Ash sent it over in time; if it had been a few hours later, the Houndour might not have been saved.

"That's great." Hearing that the Houndour was saved, Karen finally let go of her anxious heart.

It was also because of Ash's act of carrying the Houndour all the way to the Pokémon Center that Karen's favorability toward Ash rose to the maximum level.

Karen's favorite Pokémon were Dark-type Pokémon. The biggest reason she became a Trainer specializing in Dark-type Pokémon was to let everyone know that Dark-type Pokémon were not as scary as people imagined.

They were also cute and kind Pokémon.

Ash had no prejudice against Dark-type Pokémon and could even provide rescue when they were in danger. Karen liked such a person the most.

The Houndour stayed in the hospital for observation for a whole day. After confirming there were no more problems, it was sent back to the pack by Ash.

The problems were all solved, and next was the Pokémon battle between Ash and Karen.

The battle field at the Pokémon Center.

"Both sides will use one Pokémon. The side whose Pokémon loses the ability to battle declares the end of the match."

"Then, the match begins."

After Brock called out the start of the match, Ash and Karen threw their Poké Balls at the same time.

"Go, Houndoom."

The Pokémon Karen used was the Houndoom Ash had seen earlier.

Karen's Houndoom looked very ordinary at first glance—ordinary size, ordinary coat color, basically no different from a Houndoom living in the wild.

However, if you observe carefully, you can discover its special features.

A terrifying ferocity was buried in its red eyes, and as the battle began, its eyes started to glow.

Ash took this battle very seriously, and for this reason, he specifically traded Lucario over from Professor Oak's laboratory.

Lucario vs. Houndoom.

This was a duel between dogs.

Malva: "It's worth watching. This battle is truly full of highlights."

Both sides' Pokémon are canine Pokémon, and more importantly, Lucario and Houndoom represent righteousness and evil respectively.

Siebold: "Who do you think will win this battle?"

Will: "Karen, no explanation needed!"

Volkner: "Yo-ho, has the missing person returned to the live stream? Hmph, I choose Dark Ash. Don't forget, Dark Ash's Lucario's ability is Justified."

The Justified ability is specifically designed to deal with Dark-type Pokémon.

With Justified, Volkner doesn't know how Dark Ash could lose.

Lillie: "I also support Dark Ash."

Lillie definitely supports Dark Ash blindly; after all, Dark Ash is her benefactor. Because of Dark Ash's teaching, her double battle skills were able to reach a new height.

Lance: "I'm more optimistic about Karen this time. Karen's strength is very strong, and her Houndoom's level is quite high."

The new Elite Four planned by the League are Karen, Bruno, Koga, and Will.

Yes, you read that right, Karen's ranking is first.

Being able to suppress Bruno and Koga to sit in the first chair of the Elite Four, Karen's strength can be imagined.

Lucario's appearance made Houndoom's eyes even more terrifying. It could be seen that Houndoom didn't have a good impression of the enemy in front of it.

Similarly, Lucario didn't like Houndoom either. The sinister and strange aura flowing from Houndoom made Lucario frown.

Both sides disliked each other.

The ones who chose to attack first were Karen and Houndoom.

Ash had originally intended to use the Justified ability to deal with Karen, but unfortunately, Karen didn't give him the chance.

"Houndoom, Flamethrower."

Karen isn't stupid. Why use a Dark-type move that does half damage when she can use a Fire-type move that does double damage? If that's not being dim-witted, what is?

"Lucario, Life Dew."

Karen's Houndoom brought too much pressure; Ash didn't dare let Lucario take Houndoom's Flamethrower head-on.

After careful consideration, Ash chose to use Life Dew to weaken Houndoom's Fire-type offensive.

Circles of water droplets surrounded Lucario. Under the protection of the water droplets, the damage Lucario received dropped significantly, and because Life Dew also had the effect of restoring HP, Houndoom's attack didn't cause too much damage to Lucario.

The defensive round ended, and it was Lucario's turn to attack.

When dealing with Dark-type Pokémon, the most suitable move must be a Fighting-type move.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere."

"Houndoom, Dark Pulse."

Karen's original plan was to use Dark Pulse to clash with Aura Sphere to see if she could cancel out the Aura Sphere; if that didn't work, she could at least greatly weaken the power of the Aura Sphere.

But what she never expected happened: Ash pulled a sneaky move.

Her Houndoom's Dark Pulse was fired, but Lucario's Aura Sphere was slow to be released.

It wasn't until Houndoom's Dark Pulse hit Lucario that Lucario released the Aura Sphere that had been condensing all along.

Gary: "What is Dark Ash doing? Why let Lucario slow down the release of Aura Sphere?"

He could have clearly let Lucario fire the Aura Sphere earlier, so why wait until the Dark Pulse hit Lucario to release it?

Gary didn't understand.