Chapter 45

Bruno: "Ash must have had Professor Oak give him a heads-up in advance; otherwise, based on my understanding of Koga, he probably wouldn't even have answered Ash's call."

Koga: "Nonsense, unlike you, I'm a very busy person. If I answered every call, I'd have to sit by the phone all day."

【Once Koga arrived, things became easy. He gave the construction workers a good scolding, and after he finished, he told them to get lost and go home.】

【The workers didn't dare to talk back. Not to mention Koga's status in Fuchsia City, just Koga's profession was enough to make them tremble with fear. Don't offend anyone, but definitely don't offend a ninja; otherwise, who knows when you might kick the bucket.】

【Koga, who had solved the trouble, was originally planning to return to the Fuchsia Gym, but Ash called out to him.】

【"Mr. Koga, please have a Pokémon battle with me!"】

【His purpose in coming to Fuchsia City was to challenge Koga and get the Soul Badge of the Fuchsia Gym. Since he had already met Koga, Ash naturally wouldn't let Koga leave just like that.】

【"You must be Ash; Professor Oak's evaluation of you is quite high."】

【On the phone, Professor Oak had already hyped Ash up as a once-in-a-millennium genius trainer, and Koga was also curious what kind of magic Ash had that could make Professor Oak hype him up like that. That was Professor Oak!】

【"Not at all, not at all." Ash hurriedly exchanged some polite pleasantries.】

【Koga was already very interested in Ash, and since Ash happened to challenge him, he naturally had no reason to refuse.】

【Koga accepted Ash's challenge, but he made a suggestion—a suggestion for the battle.】

【"How about we hold the battle in the forest?" Koga said with a smile.】

【"No problem." Ash agreed immediately.】

【Koga raised his hand and smiled, saying: "Don't be in such a hurry to agree, wait until I finish explaining the rules."】

【"The battleground is the entire forest. The rules are: you must use every means possible to protect this bell from being taken away by me." As he spoke, Koga took a bell from his waist.】

【"Note that I said any means, which naturally includes launching attacks on the trainer."】

【"In other words, you will also use every means possible to snatch the bell from my hands," Ash said with a solemn face.】

【Koga snapped his fingers, his smile becoming even brighter. "Talking to smart people is so easy. How about it, are you interested?"】

【Battling in a fixed location with fixed rules was just too boring. What Koga craved was a real battle—a "slaughter" where everything was abandoned; this was the kind of duel that belonged to a ninja.】

【"You won't actually kill me, right?" Ash suddenly blurted out.】

【"Ah?!"】

【Misty and Brock were full of question marks. Isn't this supposed to be a Gym challenge match? Why does it sound more and more terrifying?】

【What shocked Misty and Brock even more was yet to come. Koga's smile faded, and he said coldly: "Who knows?"】

【Misty and Brock were almost having a breakdown. Maybe we should just forget it, Ash.】

【"Then let's begin."】

【Although it was said to be a no-rules battle, there were actually still a tiny bit of rules.】

【Ash could enter the forest half an hour before Koga, and as long as he protected the bell in his hand within twelve hours, he would win the battle.】

【After entrusting Mew to Misty's care, Ash took Pikachu and his other Pokémon and entered the forest without looking back.】

Chat room.

Ash: "Is Mr. Koga letting 'me' win on purpose? Half an hour is enough for me to find a hidden place to hide; as long as I wait for 12 hours, won't I automatically win?"】

Lance: "Don't be naive, Ash. Hiding in front of a ninja is not that easy."】

Bruno: "Is Black Ash crazy? He actually dares to play a no-holds-barred battle with Koga, and the battleground is the forest, which is most suitable for ninja operations."】

On open ground with a clear view, Koga was just an ordinary Elite Four member, and his strength was in the lower tier among the Elite Four, but in the forest, without restricted battle rules, Koga's strength would at least double.】

And that was on the premise that Koga himself didn't make a move; if Koga himself made a move, even a Champion wouldn't be his match.】

Lorelei: "Ash is really reckless this time."】

Steven: "Is it as exaggerated as you guys say?"】

Lance: "You'll know soon enough."】

【Outside the forest, Koga, who had been closing his eyes to rest, opened his eyes and gave a sinister smile. "Time's up, the hunt begins."】

【With a flash, Koga disappeared from where he was, and when he appeared again, he was already ten meters away.】

【Koga, who had just entered the forest and was preparing to call out Arbok to help him search for Ash, suddenly heard a crisp bell sound directly in front of him.】

【Koga smiled upon hearing the bell sound. It seemed this battle would end even earlier than he had estimated.】

【Following the bell sound, Koga arrived at the destination.】

【He didn't see Ash's shadow; all he saw was a Bulbasaur eyeing him covetously. The bell was hanging around its neck.】

【"Using Bulbasaur as bait?"】

【Koga smiled. Did this Ash forget that the bell was the key to this mission? Even if Ash hid to the ends of the earth, as long as the bell was taken by him, then he would be the winner.】

【"Go, Arbok."】

【The gap in level was too large; Bulbasaur didn't even have the qualifications to contend with Arbok. With just one bite, Bulbasaur exploded.】

【Bang.】

【It really exploded. It turned into white smoke and disappeared without a trace.】

【"It's Substitute?"】

【"That's right, it's Substitute!" Ash, hiding in a tree, hurriedly ordered Charmeleon and Bulbasaur, who were lying in ambush nearby, to launch a fierce attack on Arbok.】

【"Arbok, ignore those attacks, just snatch the bell back." Bulbasaur was fake, but the bell was real. As long as he got the bell, the match could be declared over immediately.】

【Ash smiled. It wouldn't be that easy.】

【He pulled hard, and the bell returned to his hand.】

【"This is bug silk I borrowed from a Caterpie; it really helped a lot."】

【"I've been played," Koga shook his head.】

【Not only did he not get the bell, but his Arbok also took a beating for nothing.】

【"However, don't get too cocky, Ash."】

【"Golbat, Confuse Ray."】

【Koga's hand speed was just too fast; Ash didn't even notice when he summoned Golbat.】

【The crooked light shot towards him; once hit by Confuse Ray, he would have no choice but to surrender.】

【If you're not ruthless, you can't stand firm. Ash gritted his teeth.】

【"Go, Wartortle."】

【Wartortle stepped forward and took Golbat's Confuse Ray.】

【After confirming that the Confuse Ray had been completely absorbed by Wartortle, Ash hurriedly recalled Wartortle.】

【"Pikachu, Thunderbolt."】

【Koga hadn't taken Pikachu's attack seriously at first; the attacks from Bulbasaur and Charmeleon made him mistakenly believe that Ash's Pokémon were all low-level.】

【As a result, this hit was a disaster.】

【Golbat was electrocuted into a mess, not even lasting a second before losing its ability to battle.】

【"Good."】

【Having taken down Koga's Golbat, Ash didn't linger. After recalling the ambushing Charmeleon and Bulbasaur with Poké Balls, he called out Pidgeot and ran away directly.】

【Without a flying tool, Koga could only watch Ash leave.】

【"Yeah, this is really troublesome now."】

【Golbat was not only his team's manned flight unit but also his number two scout.】

【Only with the cooperation of Golbat and Arbok could he find his opponent in the shortest time.】

【It's over now; without Golbat, it wouldn't be so easy for him to find Ash again.】

【What's even more headache-inducing is that Ash also has Pidgeot; as long as Ash doesn't want to fight him, he can't catch up to Ash at all.】

Lance: "GG, announced, Koga is finished."】

Bruno: "Koga didn't take Ash seriously enough; he fell for such a simple trap."】

Lorelei: "Without Golbat, Koga has lost his ability to hunt."】

Koga: "Hmph, actually I still have a way to turn defeat into victory."】

Steven: 'Say it, let's hear it.'】

Koga: "Poisoning. The poison I concocted is enough to cover the entire forest; no matter where Ash escapes to, he won't be able to escape my poison."】

Lance: "Are you preparing to spend the rest of your life in prison?"】

Bruno: "If you lose, you at most lose some face, but if you poison the entire forest, have you thought about how you're going to die?"】

Koga: "Just joking, I don't intend to actually do that."】

【Koga was preparing to surrender.】

【He was a bit rushed when he left home this time; he only brought three Pokémon: Golbat, Arbok, and Venomoth.】

【Once Golbat was down, he basically had no chance of winning. To avoid wasting time, Koga prepared to surrender.】