Chapter 235

"Want to battle again?"

"Ash adjusted his hat brim, lifted his head, a hint of blue light appeared in his eyes, surging aura emanated from his whole body, his clothes lightly fluttered in the breeze."

"Pika pi!"

"Pikachu immediately jumped to the ground, tiny currents continuously flickered in its electric cheek pouches."

"Entei glanced at Ash, seemingly conveying some message silently, then it lightly nodded, turned and leapt, its figure instantly disappearing into the dense forest."

"Is that it?"

"Following the direction Entei left, Ash felt Entei was showing him the way."

"Damn, failed again!"

"The trainer of that Vaporeon helplessly pounded the ground; even using a Water-type Poké Ball that counters Entei was useless, it was still so easy to be defeated by Entei."

"They all wanted to capture Entei, but Entei's strength overwhelmed them, making it impossible."

"Another four trainers came to this area, after asking about Entei's whereabouts, they rushed off nonstop."

"Returning to the Poké Ball Center, he found many trainers gathered here."

"They had heard the Legendary Beasts appeared in the Yunying Mountain Range, so they came right away, still aiming to capture them."

"Fantasy is beautiful, reality is cruel; the Legendary Beasts are far stronger than they imagined, each time they went out full of confidence, they returned covered in wounds."

"Facing Entei and Raikou, or Suicune, it's all the same—only Suicune's strikes aren't as heavy; anyone who fights Entei and Raikou ends up with scorching wounds all over, their fur smelling of burnt."

"【Liu Bo: No need to be so obsessed with the Legendary Beasts; just be like Ash, casually catch Poké Balls, train them, winning in battles is what truly brings joy.】"

"【Xiba: That's right, winning with Poké Balls you raised yourself feels especially rewarding; if you chase legendary Poké Balls, you not only waste a lot of time, even if you catch them they may not acknowledge or obey you.】"

"After looking around, Ash met Chengzi and Zongji."

"Zongji aimed to become a Poké Ball Professor, much like Miss Joy; for any Poké Ball matter, he could basically handle it."

"Now they are traveling around, collecting legends about people and Poké Balls."

"Chengzi wanted to gain her mother's approval, to let her know her daughter was also formidable."

"The three of them traveled together, heading to Azure Mountain."

"Again a trio, Ash dazed for a moment, recalling when Xiaoxia and Brock were together."

"On the road they encountered many Poké Balls, battled trainers, and their rapport with their Poké Balls further improved."

"Along the way they also encountered strange things; some Poké Balls would suddenly attack Ash indiscriminately, as if being controlled."

"Latias, which had been hidden, was right beside Ash; it struck out and drove those Poké Balls away."

"Thanks, Latias."

"Ash stroked Latias."

"Latias showed a happy expression and let out a cheerful cry."

"Celebi is like a nursemaid; if a Poké Ball gets injured, a light touch from it can help them recover."

"Only he can beat the Legendary Beasts!"

"Chengzi and Zongji thought, seeing Ash's Poké Ball lineup, they concluded Ash was not an ordinary person."

"Can ordinary people capture Legendary Poké Balls like Latias and Celebi?"

"Along the way they saw that only he could defeat the Legendary Beasts!"

"Chengzi and Zongji thought, seeing Ash's Poké Ball lineup, they concluded Ash was not an ordinary person."

"Can ordinary people capture Legendary Poké Balls like Latias and Celebi?"

"Along the way they saw Ash take out the Rainbow Wing, which suddenly emitted a soft, dazzling light; that light seemed to cross the limits of time and space, pointing straight to the summit of Azure Mountain ahead."

"Instantly they understood Ash was the Rainbow Hero chosen by Ho-Oh; this mountain climb was to battle Ho-Oh, and if the battle went well, Ash could capture Ho-Oh."

"Instantly they understood Ash was the Rainbow Hero chosen by Ho-Oh; this mountain climb was to battle Ho-Oh, and if the battle went well, Ash could capture Ho-Oh."

"No wonder Raikou and Suicune appeared beside them; turns out their focus was on Ash, to monitor whether the chosen one had the qualification to become the Rainbow Hero."

"Rather than saying it's surveillance, it's more like guardianship—to ensure the Rainbow Hero's safety, they have been protecting Ash and his companions all along."

"When they reached the summit, they finally saw the 'mastermind'; it had been hiding in the darkness, controlling the Poké Balls on the road to launch probing attacks on Ash, to assess whether he had the strength to challenge Ho-Oh."

"Marill emerged from Ash's shadow; now it was its turn to act."

"【Shota: What kind of Poké Ball is this? I've never seen one like it!】"

"【Professor Oak: I've looked through many materials; records on Marill are scarce. Marill is the Poké Ball that guides the Rainbow Hero to meet Ho-Oh; this time it personally stepped forward to test the Rainbow Hero's strength, right?】"

"【Xiba: No wonder it hid in Ash's shadow; even Ash, who possesses aura power, couldn't detect it, and neither did the Legendary Beasts.】"

Everyone looked toward Marill, a human-shaped Poké Ball, seemingly composed of smoky gray shadows.

Is it a Ghost-type Poké Ball?

If we defeat it, we can see the Phoenix King, right...... Ash sent out Pikachu to battle Marill, immediately unfolding Wave Guide, and Pikachu entered the Wave Guide Fusion state.

Pikachu's eyes also showed the same blue fluorescence as Ash's, and even the area around its body likewise emitted blue fluorescence.

Marill's whole body emitted a purple light, creating multiple Shadow Balls, and it immediately launched an attack at Pikachu.

Iron Tail.

Pikachu started running, first dodging two Shadow Balls by moving, avoiding direct damage, then used Iron Tail to hit back the other two Shadow Balls.

Seeing that Pikachu was going to engage in close combat, Marill flicked away the incoming Shadow Balls with one hand, rushed forward and entered close-quarters Battle with Pikachu.

Is that Poké Ball that strong?

Chengzi looked at his Bagon; if Bagon went up to fight, it would likely be defeated in two or three moves, unlike how Pikachu could trade blows with it.

Lucario...... Zongci intently watched how Ash and Pikachu would deal with that unattractive-looking Poké Ball.

Also Fighting-type...... Ash suddenly realized, Marill is a Ghost plus Fighting type.

Pikachu also knows Fighting-type moves, but Marill is Ghost-type, so Fighting-type moves have no effect on Ghost-type Poké Balls, and Ghost-type is immune to Fighting-type moves.

Having no choice, they had to use Electric-type moves against Marill; Pikachu used the electric field to boost its own Electric-type move power, while Marill, not to be outdone, consecutively released Wave Guide Bombs to counterattack.

Pikachu unleashed an electric net, binding each wave missile fired by Marill one by one, detonating them simultaneously, forming a dazzling sheet of flashing electric light.

Pikachu absorbed the current from the electric field, the current around its body becoming even more turbulent and surging. Immediately afterward, Pikachu prepared to unleash a Volt Attack.

The current surged forth like a raging torrent, covering Pikachu's entire body, as if it had become a ball of shining electric light.

Even more astonishing, blue-white electric arcs began to mix within the golden-yellow current on Pikachu's body, a sign that the current intensity had reached an extremely high level.

The blue-white electric arcs spread wildly in all directions with Pikachu's movement, indiscriminately attacking everything around, including Marill.