Chapter 387: Battling Ash, 1-vs-7!

"One against seven."

Misty and Brock widened their eyes, their faces filled with disbelief.

Should they call it boldness, or confidence?

At the very least, they dared not say it aloud.

Ash did not feel insulted; on the contrary, his entire being ignited with fervor.

Battling Mr. Luo Mu equals gaining vast experience equals becoming stronger equals easily defeating Gary at the Silver Conference!

Refusing such a battle would make me a puppy! Thinking this, Ash shouted loudly, "I wouldn't have it any other way!"

During his journey through the Kanto region to challenge the Shi Ying Conference, Ash as a Trainer was undoubtedly immature.

Even many of the badges he obtained along his travels were gifted out of friendship by Gym Leaders.

Although, under the Delibird's spur, before Charizard and Ash fully opened their hearts to each other on the Ju Zi Islands, Pikachu shouldered the responsibility of the team's ace, preventing Ash from losing to Ritchie in the round of sixteen.

However, in the subsequent matches, even an improved Pikachu could no longer carry the team forward.

To put it bluntly, there were simply too many baby Pokémon in Ash's team at this time.

The Ash of this period was far from as mature as he would be in the future; rather, he even harbored a sense of inferiority deep in his heart, with the sole goal of surpassing his rival Gary, instead of viewing Gary as a necessary hurdle to overcome on the path to becoming a Pokémon Master.

Even though these flaws would be remedied in future journeys, viewing the current Ash through Luo Mu's eyes, apart from a sincere heart for Pokémon and a love for battle, he did not see much resemblance to the world's strongest Trainer of the future.

Allowing Ash to use seven Pokémon, including the Charizard that had not yet returned from Charicific Valley, served two purposes: first, to gauge Ash's current strength, and second, to see if he could be made to "have a breakthrough" ahead of schedule.

Luo Mu also knew that since becoming a teacher, his train of thought tended to veer toward "education," but he truly did not dislike this feeling.

Finding a clearing that would not damage the beautiful green vegetation of Greenfield, Luo Mu stood on the left, Ash on the right, and with Brock acting as referee, this makeshift 1-vs-7 battle commenced in a rudimentary fashion.

"Oh oh oh, claim victory, Cyndaquil!"

Ash threw a Poké Ball; red light flashed, and a Pokémon colored ink-blue and cream-yellow, with a pillar of fire erupting from its back, appeared before Luo Mu and the Delibird.

The Fire Mouse Pokémon, Cyndaquil, naturally possessed the Fire type, its Ability was likely Blaze, and it was one of the three starter Pokémon distributed in the Johto region.

Both Misty and Brock were dumbfounded.

Was this still the Ash they knew? He actually remembered type matchups clearly and had specifically sent out Cyndaquil to counter the Delibird.

The moment Cyndaquil landed, the pillar of fire on its back, symbolizing its emotions and state, burned fiercely; its eyes, narrowed into slits, fixed intently on the Delibird as if facing a great enemy.

It could clearly perceive the gap between itself and the Delibird, thus becoming even more vigilant.

But Ash, whose battle style was purely reckless, hadn't considered this; brimming with confidence, he shouted, "Cyndaquil, use Quick Attack on the Delibird!"

Cyndaquil obeyed Ash's command faithfully; even though it knew that rashly approaching the Delibird might entail unforeseen dangers, it still cloaked itself in Bai Guang and charged at the Delibird with extreme speed!

Luo Mu neutralized this attack with just a single, brief command.

"Fly."

The Delibird lifted its tail; as a current of air rippled outward from the ground, it instantly soared into mid-air.

Seeing Cyndaquil miss its target, Ash commanded again, "Swift!"

Cyndaquil twisted its body, and numerous golden five-pointed stars, trailing brilliant tails, flew straight toward the Delibird.

"Use Aerial Ace."

Facing Swift, which possessed a degree of "guaranteed hit" characteristics.

The Delibird ascended high into the sky, swirling sky-blue, fluff-like air currents around its body; at the very instant it was about to make contact with the relentless Swift pursuing from behind, it suddenly halted its flight, executing a difficult, rapid descent to dodge the Swift, and like a bird of prey diving from the heavens to hunt, it struck Cyndaquil with a speed the latter could not react to, sending it flying heavily!

Boom—! "Cyndaquil!"

The blown-away Cyndaquil rolled several times on the ground before barely coming to a stop; Ash shouted in worry, but the flame on Cyndaquil's back flickered a few times before extinguishing completely as Cyndaquil lost consciousness.

Silence—

Charizard and Pikachu, standing on his shoulder, immediately displayed Solemn expressions.

That flying technique... "Cyndaquil didn't even get a chance to use its signature Flamethrower?"

Misty hugged the Togepi in her arms tight, murmuring to herself.

After Ash hurried forward to pick up Cyndaquil, Brock's slightly heavy voice rang out: "Cyndaquil is unable to battle!"

"De-li~"

The Delibird landed before Luo Mu, lifting its head to Yao Gong.

Luo Mu smiled, patted the Delibird's head, then turned to look at Victini on his own shoulder.

"Ti-mi~"

Victini shook its head slightly.

How to put it? If it hadn't been focusing with its entire being, the wave of victory brought by the Delibird defeating Cyndaquil was so faint that it might not have been detected at all.

Luo Mu understood the meaning Victini wished to convey and looked at Ash, who had recalled Cyndaquil and become slightly quieter, his face written with unwillingness.

He said nothing, waiting for Ash to send out his second Pokémon.

"Chikorita!"

Ash's second Pokémon was a little cutie with a single deep-green leaf growing on its head, a pale-green body, and red eyes.

The Leaf Pokémon, Chikorita, possessed the Grass type, its Ability was likely Overgrow, and it was the second of the three starter Pokémon distributed in the Johto region.

As soon as Chikorita left its Poké Ball, it ran to Ash's side, happily rubbing against his calf.

Its large red eyes were full of affection, a sight that left Luo Mu utterly shocked.

As expected of a formidable character who, after evolving, was jokingly referred to by netizens as "Concubine He Yue."

This Chikorita was quite competitive; it was evident that it was fighting entirely for Ash's sake.

"Chi-ko-li!"

Chikorita tried its best to make a fierce expression, letting out a cute, soft scold at the Delibird, and under Ash's command, immediately unleashed its signature move.

Razor Leaf!

Numerous crescent-shaped, sharp leaves, whipped up by Chikorita flicking the leaf on its head, whistled rapidly toward the Delibird at no slow speed.

"Air Blade."

On Luo Mu's side, he had the Delibird use a move that was essentially no different.

The Delibird mobilized Flying-type energy and flapped its wings.

Half as many translucent Air Blades as the Chikorita's Razor Leaves whistled forth, yet the instant they made contact, the Razor Leaves were shredded by the Air Blades without offering the slightest resistance.

After shredding the Razor Leaves, the Air Blades did not lose momentum and flew straight toward the Chikorita.

The Chikorita, standing still in place, had no time to dodge; the instant it was hit by the super-effective Air Blade, it lost the ability to battle.

Ash hurriedly picked up the Chikorita, which had swirls for eyes, and seeing him recall the Chikorita, Brock spoke again: "Chikorita is unable to battle."

At this moment, both Brock and Misty, who was hugging Togepi tightly, realized that for the Delibird, the levels of Ash's newly caught Cyndaquil and Chikorita were simply too low.

They were so low that enduring just a single attack from the Delibird would cause them to lose the ability to battle.

Having lost two teammates in succession, even the short-tempered Charizard wanted to jump directly into the fight.

Those two little ones were under its protection, the Charizard; how could they be defeated so easily by the Delibird?

If Pikachu hadn't blocked the Charizard, it would have definitely entered the match directly.

After consecutive defeats, a change appeared in the reluctance on Ash's face, and he sent out his third Pokémon.

The Water-type Pokémon Totodile, one of the three starter Pokémon distributed in the Johto region.

This Totodile was extremely lively and active, loving to jump while making "wa-ne wa-ne" sounds and dancing its unique dance steps.

Ash had intended to use the Totodile's talent to dodge the Delibird's overwhelmingly oppressive attack, but under Luo Mu's command, the Delibird fired an Ice Beam that froze the Totodile solid, instantly making it behave.

With this, all three of the starter Pokémon Ash had caught since arriving in the Johto region had lost the ability to battle.

A crushing defeat similar to this was something Ash had only experienced against Elite Four Lorelei.

Churning with feelings of reluctance, an unwillingness to lose, and the thought that he could not end the battle without achieving anything, he sent out his fourth Pokémon.

"I'm counting on you, Noctowl!" Amidst a flash of special effects, a Noctowl that was much smaller than an ordinary one, yet possessed more vibrant colors and eyes that exuded wisdom, danced in the sky.

Currently the only one of Ash's two Flying-type units, this was a Shiny Noctowl! This Noctowl was extremely intelligent, even capable of commanding other Pokémon in battle.

Why it was willing to follow Ash and accept his commands remained an unsolved mystery to this day.

Having at least completed its evolution, it lasted longer against the Delibird than those three Johto starters.

Initially, Ash still intended to have the Noctowl charge without a second word, and the Noctowl indeed followed Ash's command and charged toward the Delibird.

However, being clever, it was actually using the speed gained from the Tackle to rapidly approach the Delibird, then its eyes glowed with the light of Psychic power that would blur one's thoughts; clearly, it intended to take the Delibird by surprise and hypnotize it with Hypnosis.

But what it did not know was that the Delibird's Ability was "Vital Spirit," meaning it could not fall asleep.

Luo Mu had no intention of letting the Delibird dodge and directly issued the command for Ice Beam.

Sensing that the Delibird was completely unmoved by the Hypnosis, the Noctowl sidestepped at the critical moment, attempting to dodge the Ice Beam.

Although it was not hit squarely in the end, a thick layer of frost still formed on its wings, severely affecting its flight.

In response, the Noctowl attempted to use Psychic to bind the Delibird.

However, the Psychic that had just captured the Delibird was broken free from by the Delibird because the Noctowl's mental energy strength was insufficient.

After the Psychic was broken, the Noctowl took a direct Ice Punch from the Delibird and immediately lost the ability to battle.

Four of Ash's seven great generals had clearly been taken out.

To speak honestly, Luo Mu actually felt a bit disappointed.

Judging by the four Pokémon that had appeared so far, Ash, as a Trainer, possessed not a shred of uniqueness in terms of strength or any other aspect.

Whether in level, move set, or raw power, they were simply too weak; they couldn't even guarantee basic strength, let alone discuss tactics, and his command style was straightforward and blunt—the only thing stunning was that sudden Hypnosis trick from the Noctowl.

Luo Mu was somewhat puzzled; logically, since he was about to challenge the fourth Gym, the easily trainable Totodile, Cyndaquil, and Chikorita showed not a single sign of evolution.

They shouldn't be like Bulbasaur, who rejected evolution.

Having traveled through three Gyms, currently Totodile and the others had not even met the requirements needed for evolution; although this world lacked concrete, clearly-defined levels, one could roughly judge what stage they were at based on a Pokémon's strength.

Chikorita, Totodile, and Cyndaquil were probably only slightly stronger than the starter Pokémon ordinary Trainers just received from the Professor.

If all the reasons were attributed to a single point, then only one truth remained.

At least at this current stage, Ash's method of training Pokémon was a complete mess.

Brock was currently just walking the path of a Breeder, nothing more than making slightly tastier food.

Misty, as the dregs of tea left over from the four sisters of the Cerulean Gym, was also currently in the process of growing.

As companions, the help these two could provide to Ash, a pure novice who knew nothing about theoretical knowledge, was extremely limited.

So, was there any way to improve this aspect of ability all at once? An idea floated through Luo Mu's mind, but he did not speak it immediately, instead waiting for Ash's fifth Pokémon.

Only from here on would things become slightly more interesting.

"I'm counting on you, Bulbasaur!"

Ash lowered the brim of his limited-edition League cap and, with his right hand wearing fingerless gloves, threw out the fifth Poké Ball.

The next moment.

The red light dissipated, and a Pokémon with green skin, dark green patterns, carrying a miraculous seed on its back that could grow alongside it, and an appearance somewhat resembling a toad, appeared on the ground.

The Seed Pokémon, Bulbasaur!

As a veteran in Ash's team, this Bulbasaur, which was unwilling to evolve, could be said to be the most maverick existence among them.

Its strength was quite good; it could even learn Solar Beam (Solar Flare), one of the great Grass-type moves, while still in the form of a Bulbasaur.

The moment it left the Poké Ball, Bulbasaur cast a steady gaze upon the Delibird, as if sizing it up.

After all, during their travels in the Orange Islands, it had clashed with the Delibird many times.

Seeing that Ash had finally sent out an interesting opponent, the Delibird flapped its wings and landed in front of the Bulbasaur, locking eyes with Bulbasaur's red pupils, its expression tinged with a hint of interest.

Both sides were curious about to what degree the other's strength had improved after the incident on Shamouti Island in the Orange Islands.

As Brock announced that the battle had resumed, Ash without hesitation ordered: "Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip to grab the Delibird; don't let it take off!"

Compared to the team caught in the Johto region, which was very inexperienced in battling the Delibird, the experienced Ash clearly knew how to restrict it when commanding the Bulbasaur.

"Da-na-hoo-hah!"

The vines on both sides of Bulbasaur shot out like lightning; in the blink of an eye—Zha Yan De Gong—they reached Delibird, resembling two agile green snakes attempting to coil around it.

During the time spent with Mewtwo, Delibird had learned quite a few moves, covering a wide variety of types.

Even Steel-type moves were no exception.

"Steel Wing!"

Delibird's eyes narrowed; a silver-gray aura rose upon its red wings, making even the edges of the wings incredibly sharp.

Delibird flapped its wings, crossing them to slash down; amidst Bulbasaur's cry of pain, it sliced the extended vines into several neat strips, and unbound, it soared high, seizing aerial advantage in the blink of an eye.

"Still so troublesome."

Ash clenched his fists and punched toward the sky.

"Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf!"

"Da-na!"

Bulbasaur nodded slightly, its body moving nimbly and randomly across the ground while continuously launching sharp Razor Leaves at Delibird in the sky.

This was its experience; even if Razor Leaf was shattered by Air Slash, as long as it kept running instead of standing stunned in place, the probability of being directly carried away would be much lower.

"Quite good at playing little tricks." Luo Mu, having noticed the same thing, smiled slightly and shouted toward the sky: "Snowscape, then endure it!"

"De-li!"

Ignoring the Razor Leaves whistling toward it from below, Delibird cried out toward the heavens.

In an instant, the sky was shrouded by thick gray clouds; countless snowflakes, exquisitely detailed under a magnifying glass, drifted down, and when these tiny grains gathered together, they instantly transformed into a heavy snowfall blanketing a corner of this warm green grassland.

Delibird could clearly perceive that in this "snowing weather," which differed from "hail weather," the snowflakes beside it seemed to form a thin yet reliable shield, boosting its defense.

The second after Snowscape was released, the Razor Leaves arrived as expected; the sharp leaves cut against Delibird's body, but due to the obstruction of the snowflakes, they lost some of their sharpness, greatly reducing their power. Seeing that Razor Leaf had not achieved the expected results, both Ash and Bulbasaur were somewhat bewildered.

Brock exclaimed in surprise: "A weather move!"

Beside him, a bad premonition rose in Misty's heart.

At least in her memory, during their journey through the Orange Islands, Delibird had never used such a weather move in battles against Ash.

Misty's premonition came true the very next second.

Luo Mu suddenly spoke: "Let me see Bulbasaur's Solar Beam; otherwise, there won't be a chance for the next strike."

Ash was stunned; he wanted to retort something, but ultimately heeded Luo Mu's reminder and, with a hanging heart, issued the command: "Bulbasaur, prepare Solar Beam!"

"Da-na!"

Bulbasaur regarded Delibird as if facing a great enemy and began charging up.

Under clear skies with abundant sunlight, Solar Beam requires almost no charging time of a few seconds before it can be fired directly.

But now the sky was covered by thick snow clouds, making sunlight nearly invisible, which caused Bulbasaur to spend a considerable amount of time preparing Solar Beam.

After roughly 30 seconds, Bulbasaur finally felt the energy for firing Solar Beam was ready.

Aiming its bulb at Delibird in the sky, Bulbasaur unleashed its ultimate move without hesitation!

"Da-na-hoo-hah!"

Following Bulbasaur's full-force cry, a emerald light shining like the sun shot out as a beam of light!

Luo Mu, who had been waiting for a long time, issued his command at this moment.

"Blizzard!"

As Delibird flapped its wings, in this snowy weather, Ice-type energy gathered with divine aid, instantly transforming into a terrifyingly wide-ranging howling wind and snow; like a collapsing snow mountain, an overwhelming blizzard fell.

Bulbasaur only felt a cold current sweep over its body before its consciousness was completely severed, frozen into an ice sculpture along with its Solar Beam.

(End of Chapter)