Chapter 41

[The hospitality has ended, and it is time for the Gym challenge.]

[There is no more joking around during a challenge. As a top-tier Gym Leader in Kanto, Erika still has her pride.]

[During a challenge, she will absolutely not hold back even a little bit.]

["Ash, how many badges do you have now?" Before the Gym challenge began, Erika asked about the badges currently in Ash's possession as a matter of routine.]

[When Ash revealed all the badges he had collected so far, Erika was stunned.]

[The Boulder Badge, Cascade Badge, and Thunder Badge—these were not the points that surprised her; the difficulty of obtaining these three badges was not very high.]

[What shocked Erika were the Rainbow Badge and the Marsh Badge; she had almost not seen a Trainer who had collected these two badges in nearly a year.]

[Putting aside the contempt she felt due to Ash's age, Erika entered serious mode.]

[The battle rules for the Celadon Gym are three-on-three. After introducing the rules, Erika began to send out her Pokémon.]

["Come out, Vileplume." After Vileplume appeared, Erika thoughtfully explained that Vileplume was originally intended for Trainers with more than 6 badges, but because Ash's strength was greater than that of ordinary challengers, she brought out Vileplume.]

[The opponent was the Grass/Poison-type Vileplume. Ash pondered for a moment and chose to have Charmeleon meet the challenge.]

[In terms of level, Charmeleon was lower than Vileplume, but in terms of attributes, Charmeleon had an absolute advantage.]

[Moreover, Ash's Charmeleon was exceptionally agile, and Vileplume, with its giant flower bud on its head, had no way to catch Charmeleon at all.]

[It wasn't that Erika didn't try to change tactics; she also tried using moves like Stun Spore and Sleep Powder to control the battle.]

[But Ash didn't give her any chance at all. Once he sensed Vileplume using powder-based moves, Charmeleon would immediately distance himself from Vileplume, and then use flames to burn the powder scattered in the air to nothing.]

[Under this relatively underhanded tactic of Ash's, Vileplume didn't have a single chance.]

["Return, Vileplume."]

[Gym Leaders do not have the right to switch Pokémon during a Gym challenge, so Erika recalling Vileplume was effectively Vileplume surrendering.]

[Presumably annoyed by Charmeleon keeping his distance and attacking in such an underhanded way, Erika's second Pokémon was Tangrowth.]

[As soon as Tangrowth entered the field, it launched a barrage of attacks at Charmeleon.]

[Everywhere the eye could see, there were Tangrowth's vines. Charmeleon had nowhere to hide, and after a short while, Charmeleon was whipped until his skin was torn and flesh was exposed.]

[Charmeleon suffered a heavy blow, but Tangrowth didn't fare much better. Realizing there was no way to dodge Tangrowth's attacks, Ash and Charmeleon changed tactics, switching to attacking while being attacked. Thus, while Charmeleon was being beaten and wailing, Tangrowth was also badly burned by Charmeleon's flames.]

[In the end, both Pokémon fell on the battlefield.]

[Erika's last Pokémon was Shiftry, which is rarely seen in Kanto. This is a mysterious Pokémon from the Hoenn region, and it is said that they mostly live on the tops of large trees over a thousand years old.]

[Ash had originally intended to send out Ivysaur, but the moment he saw Shiftry, Ash took back Ivysaur's Poké Ball.]

[Shiftry is a speed-type Pokémon. If he sent Ivysaur out, he would probably only be on the receiving end of a beating, so he'd better let Pidgeot go.]

[Pidgeot vs. Shiftry—this could barely be considered an air-to-air duel.]

[Although Shiftry does not have the Flying attribute, it can also use leaves to summon gusts of wind, using the wind to glide for short distances.]

[Erika's Shiftry was of a quite high level; Ash guessed that this was likely Erika's main Pokémon.]

[In fact, Ash's judgment was quite accurate; Shiftry's strength could firmly occupy a main position in Erika's team.]

[At the start of the battle, Shiftry kept using Air Cutter to try to deplete Pidgeot's health.]

[Air Cutter? Pidgeot thought, how dare it. As a proper Flying-type Pokémon, could it be afraid of you?]

[Just like that, Pidgeot also began to use Air Cutter to fight back.]

[Both sides went back and forth, and soon Shiftry was the first to be unable to hold on. After all, it is not a Flying-type Pokémon, and its proficiency with Flying-type moves certainly cannot compare to the proper Flying-type Pokémon Pidgeot. Plus, it also has the Grass attribute, so taking a hit from a wind blade results in double damage. In this way, even though Shiftry's level was higher than Pidgeot's, it couldn't hold on.]

· 0 Seeking flowers··· ···

[But if it didn't use Air Cutter, its other moves also had no good way to deal with Pidgeot. Helpless, Shiftry could only bite the bullet and use Razor Leaf.]

["Pidgeot, Brave Bird."]

[A move like Razor Leaf was just tickling Pidgeot. Ash seized the opportunity and directly had Pidgeot use Brave Bird to instantly finish off the opponent.]

Brock: "So amazing!"

Misty: "Ash, learn from this. They are the same Pokémon, but your Pidgeotto hasn't even evolved yet, while Black Ash's Pidgeot is already slaughtering everything."

Bruno: "Unlike when he battled the Ash from our world and held back, the Erika from the other world has already used her full strength, yet she still has no way to deal with Black Ash."

Lorelei: "Erika should still have Pokémon with higher levels than Shiftry. But even if she used them, the ending wouldn't change at all. Black Ash's two strongest Pokémon, Pikachu and Lucario, haven't even been sent out yet."

Cynthia: "Right, this is not yet Black Ash's full strength."

Diantha: "9 years old, Black Ash is only 9 years old. When I was 9, I was still playing around."

Cynthia: "Then I'm a bit better than you; when I was 9, I already had a Gible."

Steven: "Do you think it's possible for the Lance of the parallel world to have his Champion position snatched away by 9-year-old Ash?"

Wallace: "That is quite possible! At Black Ash's rate of progress, Lance is in danger."

Lorelei: "Lance, don't worry. Black Ash might not even care for the Kanto/Johto Champion position; his goal is the sea of stars."

Lance: "So I can only pick up what others don't want?"

Bruno: "What else can you do? Who told you your skills aren't as good as his?"

Lance: "Slander, pure slander. We haven't even started fighting yet, how do you know I can't beat Black Ash? Just wait, the me from the other world will prove to you all just how strong I, Lance, really am!"

Actually, everyone was just teasing. Although Black Ash's strength is strong, it is still far from reaching the level of a Champion.

The next Gym will be Black Ash's greatest litmus test, because he will be facing Koga, who is already confirmed to become the next member of the Elite Four.

[After losing to Ash, Erika also readily handed over the Rainbow Badge.]

[When handing the Rainbow Badge to Ash, Erika suddenly spoke: "Ash, why don't we exchange contact information? We can exchange tips on Pokémon battles and training later."]

[What Erika said sounded quite "righteous," but Misty, being a woman herself, saw at a glance that this was not Erika's true purpose.]

[Erika had only one true purpose, and that was that she had taken a fancy to Ash, this fresh vegetable.]

[Damn it. Misty cursed the wicked woman in her heart, but she had no way to stop it. After all, just a moment ago in the guest room, the two of them were calling each other sisters and being all sweet.]

[Wuwuwu, I've been schemed against by a wicked woman!]

[After leaving Celadon City, Ash and his friends successfully solved the hypnosis incident they encountered in the new city, and Misty also "got her wish" and captured a new Pokémon—Psyduck.]

[In the second city, Brock also received a Vulpix from Suzy.]

Misty: "Will Black Ash also participate in the P1 Grand Prix?"

Brock: "It's very possible. Don't forget, Black Ash's Lucario is also a Fighting-type Pokémon."

Bruno: "Isn't it a bit too foul for Lucario to participate in the P1 Grand Prix?"

Although Bruno is a master of fighting, he does not think highly of the P1 Grand Prix.

In his view, this so-called P1 Grand Prix is just a competition for a group of niche fighters to amuse themselves; it's simply not presentable.

Cynthia: "If Black Ash takes Lucario to participate in the P1 Grand Prix, do you think Shoto will target Ash's Lucario?"

Diantha: "That uncle named Shoto has pretty good eloquence. Do you think it's possible he could also trick Black Ash?"

Steven: "Do you think that's possible? Black Ash is not as naive as the Ash from our world."

While everyone was chatting, the plot of the P1 Grand Prix officially began on the screen.

["P1 Grand Prix?"]

[Ash was originally not interested in such small-scale events, but he couldn't resist Brock insisting on participating, so Ash had no choice but to accompany Brock.]

["Don't worry, Miss Stella, for you, I will definitely win the P1 Grand Prix championship," Brock said solemnly.]

["Did you get it wrong, Brock? Miss Stella wants you to beat some sense into her irresponsible father, not for you to win the championship." Misty was speechless. This guy Brock is good at everything, but he is too easily influenced by beautiful women.]

[Also, is he talking in his sleep? With Ash's Lucario around, how is he going to win the championship? Win it in his dreams?]

(First update after launch, seeking subscriptions. If there are more than 500 initial subscriptions, the author will update 15,000 words every day. If there are more than 800, 20,000 words every day. If there are more than 1,000, the author won't sleep!! Really begging everyone, initial subscriptions are really important for a new book's performance! Please!) Da.

66: Will Black Ash send his Pokémon away? Shoto awakened by a scolding!

[In their daily lives, Ash would also call Brock and Misty when he was doing special training, so both of their Pokémon had made great progress compared to when they first started their journey.]

[Brock's Geodude's opponent in the first round was Machop. The rules of the P1 Grand Prix only allow the use of Fighting-type moves and punches and kicks, which is actually a very harsh rule for Geodude. But fortunately, Geodude overcame the difficulties and finally defeated Machop. Perhaps too excited after defeating the opponent, Brock's Geodude successfully evolved into Graveler.]

[Unlike Brock and Geodude encountering trouble in the battle, Ash and Lucario's performance was much more relaxed and easy. There wasn't a single opponent in the P1 Grand Prix who could pose a threat to them, and the two of them marched forward all the way, directly advancing to the finals.]

["Wuwu, I lost. I'm sorry, I failed your expectations, Miss Stella." After losing to Stella's father, Shoto, Brock walked down from the ring crying.]

["What are you crying for? Miss Stella never had any expectations for you in the first place," Misty said with a sharp tongue. "The person Stella asked for help was always Ash."]

["Now that you say that, I want to cry even more."]

Brawly: "Shoto isn't as bad as I imagined; he actually beat Brock."

Maylene: "It would be strange if he lost. Uncle Shoto and Hitmonchan's training are all for the P1 Grand Prix. It would be wrong if they lost to a novice like Brock."

Brawly: "You mean Shoto and Hitmonchan can also win the finals?"

Maylene: "Are you kidding? Their opponent in the finals is Ash and Lucario. It would be good if they could last ten seconds."