Chapter 40: Being roasted by Black Satoshi, reverse‑attribute battle

Seeing Xiaomao's remark, Ash pondered while earnestly watching the Black Light Screen.

In the past, when he traveled, he didn't know what to do, didn't know how to handle certain matters, would be misled by novelties, and only regretted and corrected after things happened.

Now with Black Satoshi as a travel benchmark, Ash knows how to handle journey matters ahead, strengthen his strength, and step onto the competition stage in a better posture.

It seems I need to learn well from Black Satoshi; next time I show my strength, I will surely amaze them.

Black World—

Ash walked onto the battle field, and Pikachu came down from his shoulder to watch.

"The rule is three‑versus‑three, no switching Pokémon mid‑battle, and a side that admits defeat or can't fight ends the battle."

Lily's first Poké Ball is a Vine Monster.

Its body is completely covered in blue vines, only its eyes and feet visible.

Ash then sent out Charmander.

"Paralysis Powder."

Lily moved first.

"Flame Jet."

Charmander reacted to the shout, violently opening its mouth as scorching heat gathered in its maw like a fireball about to explode, emitting terrifying temperature.

"Boom—"

Accompanied by a muffled blast, the fireball in Charmander's mouth finally shot out, forming a dazzling flame column that surged straight toward the incoming Paralysis Powder.

Under the scorching wash of Charmander's fierce flame, the Paralysis Powder, like snow meeting fire, instantly burned away without a trace.

Moreover, the Flame Jet's power went far beyond that, continuing forward to ravage and directly engulf the unprepared Vine Monster whole.

The flames finally faded, the Vine Monster collapsed on the ground, its body scorched all over, clearly losing combat ability.

Witnessing this, Lily furrowed her brows tightly. She carefully examined Ash's Charmander beside him.

Those big, bright eyes flashed with fervent, resolute light; its sturdy body revealed extraordinary strength, and its tail burned with even fiercer flame.

This Charmander… so strong!

Its actual strength doesn't match its outward appearance at all.

Lily's second sent out was a Mouth‑stupid Flower.

Charmander still defeated the Mouth‑stupid Flower with a single Flame Jet.

After training, Charmander's speed and strength have greatly increased.

"Charmander is awesome!"

Xiaoxia rested her chin on her hands, smiling with eyes crinkled.

The nearby staff were also stunned dumbfounded by the scene before them, never expecting that this seemingly young boy would be so capable, easily defeating the Gym Leader's first two Poké Balls with just one Charmander.

They needn't worry too much, for their Gym Leader still has a formidable Stinky Flower as the final trump.

Basically, no Poké Ball can withstand the Stinky Flower's odor.

They had also doubted the Stinky Flower's ability, but whenever a challenger came to the Gym, their Poké Balls would instantly lose combat ability upon smelling its strong stench, no matter how valiantly they had performed before.

However, they saw Ash looking relaxed, and his companion was the same.

"Ash, be careful—my Stinky Flower is no ordinary thing."

Lily's released Stinky Flower immediately unleashed its stench.

This stench is something hardly any Poké Ball can endure.

Ash knew how potent this stench was, but he had no intention of letting Charmander bear it.

Because he still had a move specifically for dealing with Stinky Flower.

"Fire Vortex!"

Flames beneath his feet swiftly gathered into several rotating fire columns.

These flames, incredibly hot, forcibly burned away the stench surrounding the Stinky Flower.

Faced with the sudden Fire Vortex, the Stinky Flower was clearly caught off guard.

The Stinky Flower realized it was tightly encircled by the Fire Vortex, which acted like an inescapable cage, sealing off all its escape routes.

At the vortex's center, the Stinky Flower struggled helplessly, its body occasionally touched by the ravaging flames within, emitting pained cries.

"The stench has been neutralized—did he predict this?"

Lily's face grew grave; for the first time she felt powerless, a Charmander beating her with no chance to retaliate, and moreover her earlier stench attack had been anticipated.

"After training, Charmander has become this strong—its first‑move speed far exceeds the Stinky Flower's, and the Fire Vortex can neutralize the stench."

Brock quietly watched Charmander's performance.

Since being caught by Ash, Charmander has trained hard, wanting to boost its strength and repay Ash with victory after victory.

"Charmander, give it your final move—Flame Jet!"

Charmander gathered its strength, its whole body's flame seeming to condense to a peak at this moment.

He opened his mouth and blasted out a huge fireball scorching hot, which merged with the Fire Vortex to form a more fierce and violent fire storm.

Instantly it engulfed the Stinky Flower entirely.

When the flames faded, the Stinky Flower lay unconscious on the ground, clearly having lost combat ability.

"Phew!"

Lily took back her Stinky Flower, looked at Ash with a complex expression: "Ash, your Charmander is strong, giving me great pressure; it seems you usually train it diligently, consecutively defeating my three Poké Balls!"

"You also understand Pokémon type match‑ups well, unlike some trainers who are obstinate, insisting on using reverse‑attribute Pokémon to beat me by brute force."

"But they all failed!"

"Reverse‑attribute battles—such trainers are mostly arrogant, though some may have unique insight into their own Pokémon and believe reverse‑attribute fighting can also unleash great power."

Having said that, Lily took out the Rainbow Badge, and Ash received his fifth badge.

Xiaoxia: How does what Miss Lily said feel like it's hinting at someone!

Lily: No way, just casually complaining, you know Gym Leaders encounter all kinds of trainers, and those who challenge with reverse types are not few; either they don't understand type effectiveness among Poké Balls, or they are very confident in their own Poké Balls.

Brock: Lily is right, especially new trainers, many of them are like that.

Xiba: I seem to have some impression of that reverse-type trainer.

Qíbànà: It's Ash, right? The first Gym battle was like that.

Ash:....... My mistake.

He was roasted by Black Satoshi, but indeed it's his own problem; not battling according to the actual situation, otherwise he would have won more easily!