Chapter 290: Smooth Double Battle, Team Rocket Trio Wants to Steal a Chicken!

Ash from Bai Shijie obtained the White Feather Badge, and the Black Light Screen lit up.

Since they had called ahead, Ash knew Professor Oak was at Professor Elm's lab, so he went to meet him.

Misty showed Professor Elm the Powerful Chick; it's now very strong, quite different from its earlier weak and crying state.

Ash then showed his Poké Ball to Professor Oak.

"I've caught all the starter Pokémon in the Johto Region!" Ash catches the starter Pokémon whenever he travels to a new region; Professor Oak has seen him do this three times, and there are also several other Poké Ball that look pretty good.

Professor Oak looked at the Great King Swallow, repeatedly praising it, noticing its extraordinary nature, and even corrected Ash's training method for it, saying its speed could be improved further.

"Ow, this claw looks really strong at a glance."

Professor Oak closely examined the Iron Claw Lobster's large claw, even reaching out to touch it here and there.

The Iron Claw Lobster curiously looked at this many-handed old man.

"Ow!"

Professor Oak shouted in pain; his hand had been pinched by the Iron Claw Lobster.

It really hurt... Xiaosheng had been pinched before.

Ash knew Professor Oak's own strength could withstand Pikachu's 100,000 Volts; such an attack wouldn't hurt him much.

Soon the Iron Claw Lobster let go, but Professor Oak was basically fine; he patted its head and laughed, "Iron Claw Lobster, you're quite strong—looks like you've trained a lot, though you could still improve."

Those who come from Pallet Town are indeed not ordinary; Professor Oak's physique is also strong, probably from training through interacting with Poké Ball.

People's attitude toward trainers from Pallet Town is pretty much the same as their attitude toward Poké Ball.

It's mainly because they're too strong!

The Iron Claw Lobster didn't believe it, saying, "You old man, still want to educate me?"

Seeing this, Professor Oak's mouth corners twitched up slightly, revealing a smile that seemed gentle but hid a hint of sinister intent.

Ash stood aside, keenly catching that subtle change on Professor Oak's face; his heart gave a thump, and he couldn't help but look toward the Iron Claw Lobster, secretly sweating for it.

Professor Oak calmly took out an ordinary Poké Ball from his pocket, which bore an obvious mark, and Ash instantly recognized it as Dragonite's.

Professor Oak lightly pressed the button on the Poké Ball; with a soft "click," the ball slowly opened, and a dazzling light shot out from within.

The light gradually faded, and a majestic Dragonite appeared before everyone.

"Booo~"

Dragonite let out a deep, resonant roar, its gaze lightly falling on the Iron Claw Lobster.

In terms of aura, Dragonite overwhelmed the Iron Claw Lobster.

"What a handsome Dragonite!" Xiaosheng widened his eyes, his face full of surprise.

He stared at Dragonite without blinking, his eyes filled with admiration.

The Dragonite before him differed from the ones he'd seen before—not in appearance, but in the aura emanating from its very bones, an awe-inspiring presence.

"Hehe, to avoid running into danger like last time, I brought this old buddy along!", Professor Oak explained.

"Professor, new equipment?"

Ash saw the equipment worn by Dragonite.

"Yes, newly improved; this new equipment can be adjusted at will, its practicality greatly enhanced, and it's very suitable for your Poké Ball to use."

Professor Oak came over to deliver equipment to Ash; he's now the face of Pallet Town, and he still needs to travel, compete in major tournaments in other regions—steadily improving his strength is essential.

Truly worthy of Professor Oak, his research on Poké Ball has reached the utmost.... Professor Elm greatly admires Professor Oak, not only for his research on Poké Ball information but also for being very familiar with Poké Battle knowledge.

The precious sword hasn't grown old!

After receiving the equipment, the Team Rocket Trio grew bolder, seeing Ash's released Poké Ball and wanting to snatch them all.

Just as they made a commotion, triggered a combo, and finished their lines, they were attacked by all the Poké Ball and successfully flew up!

Later, while continuing their journey, Ash and his friends encountered the Team Rocket Trio in the forest, whose bond was so strong they could fight as a unit.

"Are you guys having internal conflict?"

Ash saw Musashi and Kojiro start fighting, both gritting their teeth.

"Great, you're splitting up!", Xiaosheng happily said.

"Split up? Impossible—they're the elite of Team Rocket; they wouldn't have such a thought before catching Pikachu!"

Musashi glared at Ash: "You little brat, it's you guys again—truly a persistent haunt!"

"Shouldn't we be the ones saying this?"

Ash and his group froze; this line actually didn't come from their mouths.

Meowth's eyes rolled as it told Ash and his group why Musashi and Kojiro were arguing.

"So that's how it is!"

Brock nodded; originally, Musashi and Kojiro were in someone else's Pokémon double battle, lacking any coordination and even hindering each other, which led to their loss.

Although losing the battle was fine, Musashi and Kojiro then started arguing, each recounting what had just happened in the match, blaming the other for interfering.

Now they're still fighting, and Meowth feels helpless too.

"I understand; you're arguing for only one reason?"

Xiaosheng pushed up his glasses.

"What reason, Meow? Meowth hurriedly asked."

"Weak!"

"It's because you're weak!"

Xiaosheng placed his hands behind his back, lifted his head, puffed his chest, and took a few steps: "If you were strong and won that double battle, you wouldn't need to argue!"

"What you say makes sense...... Meowth thinks the same way inside—it's all Musashi and Kojiro's fault for not putting in effort."

At that moment, the two trainers who specialize in Pokémon double battles—a couple—walked over, seeing Ash and Misty, preparing to ask if they wanted to undergo a tense and exciting double battle!

"A couple, a double battle?"

Misty's heart moved, she looked toward Ash.

「Heard you've been doing double battles everywhere, how about a match with us? 」

Before they could finish speaking, Ash issued a battle request to the two of them.

Much to their delight...... the two were thrilled and immediately sent out Nidoking and Nidoqueen!

Ash sent out Iron Claw Lobster, Misty sent out Butterfree.

Iron Claw Lobster charged forward, Butterfree provided support from behind, restricting the melee-focused Nidoking and Nidoqueen, creating an opportunity for Iron Claw Lobster.

Iron Claw Lobster's two large claws can fight both close and ranged; after hitting Nidoking with Crab Hammer, it then hit Nidoqueen with a Water Bubble.

It itself used the recoil from spouting Water Cannon to retreat backwards, because Butterfree was about to use high-speed star to avoid friendly fire.

「See? This is what a double battle is! 」 Xiaosheng looked at the Team Rocket Trio, gesturing for them to learn seriously!

「Tch, if I had that strength, I would have snatched Pikachu long ago! 」

Xiaociao was disdainful, wondering if what they lacked was teamwork?

If one truly had Ash's strength, there'd be no need for double battles; a single person's Pokémon could win!

No, Pikachu!

The Team Rocket Trio suddenly realized, the little brat was in battle, and Pikachu was there watching the battle situation, and no one noticed them!

This was the perfect chance for them to steal Pikachu!

If they presented Pikachu to Boss Sakaki, they'd get a promotion and raise, becoming executives before long!!!

Having decided, the Team Rocket Trio sprang into action!