Chapter 4: First Battle! Ash VS Leader

"Blue……"

Clemont, who had finally discovered the blind spot, excitedly pushed up his glasses, his face showing admiration,

"This energy, and the detection effect—could this be the legendary Waveguide Power?!"

Yurie showed starry eyes,

"Wow, it can glow, and it can detect places behind that can't be seen—so awesome, so awesome, brother, I want it too, I want it too!"

"Ash..." Serena's expression was no better than the two of them's; likewise, it was also her first time seeing such an Ash, and her eyes shone with unusual light,

Second-floor balcony,

Been discovered?!

The Croak Bubble Frog was somewhat surprised by Ash's excellent perception ability,

Although I don't know what the blond human meant by 'waveguide,' it doesn't prevent the Croak Bubble Frog from sensing a similar aura from Ash.

In fact, it's not only Lucario and a few humans who can possess Waveguide,

Other Pokémon also have the potential to awaken Waveguide; this Froakie is such a case,

Precisely because they mastered Waveguide Power, enabling them to see what outsiders cannot, they ended up being dispatched to cut trees for n years.

Just as Clemont thought this wild Froakie, being unsociable toward humans, would completely ignore Ash and directly escape the scene,

"Croak~"

The Froakie actually jumped directly down from the second-floor balcony and came to the side of the four.

Originally not paying attention to its slit-like pupils, they quietly widened at some point; its gaze toward Clemont was full of fighting spirit, seemingly intending to battle in Ash's stead!

This surprised Clemont quite a bit,

Just as he arrived, there was a wild, unbothered first partner who eagerly defected; even without needing a battle, Ash's luck is terrifyingly great!

How come I don't have this kind of luck.

【Pokémon】: Froakie (♂)

【Attribute】: Water

【Trait】: Bond Evolution (when the Koga Ninja Frog and Trainer share the same belief, they can activate Bond Evolution to enter Bond Form)

【Level】: lv7

【Skill】: Pound, Cry, Foam

【Special Ability】: Froakie Foam, Waveguide Power (weak)

【Individual】: HP31, Attack31, Defense31, Sp. Atk31, Sp. Def31, Speed31,

【Species Total】: Total314, HP41, Attack56, Defense40, Sp. Atk62, Sp. Def44, Speed71,

……

【Can Be Strengthened】

【Trait】: Bond Evolution 1 (when the Koga Ninja Frog and Trainer are present, they can activate Bond Evolution to enter Bond Form)

【Strengthening Mission】: In a 1v1 battle, defeat Clemont.

The system panel, besides being able to see the Pokémon's species name and trait, can also see other attributes.

The individual with all six stats maxed made Ash unable to not praise this Froakie's extraordinary talent,

The strengthened Bond Evolution 1 is indeed tempting,

From requiring belief to be united, to only needing to be present, the fault tolerance has greatly increased.

This also makes Ash all the more determined to obtain the Froakie before him!

Clemont opened his phone map, searched for a guide to enter the neighboring forest park, walked down the steps paved with large blue stones, and what came into view was an outdoor battle arena,

The arena also had large trees providing shade on both sides, with benches set up under the trees,

At this time, it was morning, and the sun was strong,

Serena, who had a virtuous wife and motherly demeanor, keenly noticed the sweat on Yurie's forehead,

She actively took Yurie's hand and came to the bench under the tree to watch the battle,

Facing the steadfast Ash and Froakie, Clemont excitedly pushed up his glasses,

"Please give me your guidance, go! Diggersby!!!"

As Clemont opened the red-and-white ball in his hand, a red light beam suddenly shot out and coalesced on the field,

The light faded,

A rabbit with gray-brown fur, a pair of large ears, signature buckteeth, and eyes full of wisdom appeared on the field.

【Pokémon】: Diggersby (♂)

【Attribute】: Normal

【Trait】: Cheek Pouch (regardless of the type of tree fruit, eating it restores HP)

【Level】: lv12

【Skill】: Tackle, Mud Slap, Double Slap, Mud Shot, Dig

【Individual】: HP31, Attack31, Defense31, Sp. Atk7, Sp. Def20, Speed31,

【Species Total】: Total237, HP38, Attack36, Defense38, Sp. Atk32, Sp. Def36, Speed57,

In terms of attribute, Water and Normal do not affect each other,

In terms of trait, the unevolved Froakie is roughly a blank slate, while Diggersby has the advantage,

In terms of level, Diggersby leads by 5 levels!

In terms of skills, Diggersby has more and greater power!

In terms of individual stats, the Froakie with all six stats maxed leads!

In terms of race value, a total of 314 points already leads, and it's not evenly distributed; the croak-croak bubble frog, which excels in double attack speed, is undoubtedly much stronger!

He silently reviewed the attribute comparison of both sides in his mind.

Overall, because individual and racial values largely made up for the disadvantages in level and skills, this will be a fifty-fifty battle!

However, Ash still has a trump card,

Unlike before, when he just went with the flow, the ten-year-old Ash now has over twenty years of battle experience,

Now Ash is extremely competitive; this isn't limited to making money and training Pokémon, but also includes his self-discipline,

Not only does he have a normal 18-year-old age and a height of 185 cm, but he also possesses a perfect, strong physique and fully developed Waveguide Power!

Nowadays, Ash's Waveguide Power has been developed to the point where he can manually forge Waveguide bombs,

He can even imitate Nana's psychic ability to link and share with Pokémon,

By connecting with the Pokémon's Waveguide, he achieves a 1+1=2 effect and can also help Pokémon awakened to Waveguide master Waveguide bombs.

Adding to that, Fighting-type moves are doubly effective against Normal-type,

It can be said that before the battle even begins, Ash already stands in an invincible position.

For him, the biggest use of this battle is to help Ash better understand his current Croagunk and, incidentally, strengthen its trait.

"Diglett, Strike!"

Facing the long-famous Ash,

Clemont puts himself more in the challenger's role, so he didn't put on the Gym Leader airs as Ash remembered, letting Ash go first,

but instead took the initiative to attack,

Diglett's body was agile as it sprinted, with a white light shining above its head.

"Use Croagunk foam to stick him."

Croagunk's foam isn't a skill, but it doesn't hinder using it in battle,

Moreover, Croagunk can actively control the foam's viscosity, achieving an adaptive effect that benefits battle,

"Croak~"

Croagunk leapt into the air, plucking foam from its neck and tossing it downward, successfully trapping Diglett in the foam,

"What?!" Clemont stared wide-eyed in shock,

"I can't believe it still works like this!" Serena and Yurie opened their small mouths, their faces full of surprise!

Ash and Croagunk have only just met, yet they've already managed to grasp and reasonably utilize Croagunk's habits to this extent?

Not far away on the tree trunk,

a man, a woman, and a cat wearing white uniforms with a big "R" on their chests were hiding there, holding binoculars to observe the battle.

"Tsk tsk, truly living up to being a little brat!"

"Yeah, yeah, it wasn't for nothing that we followed you all the way from Kanto."

"Great opportunity—when the battle ends and the little brat lets his guard down after winning, we'll snatch Pikachu from the little girl's hand, how about that, meow?"

"Good idea, let's do just as you said, Meow."

At the same time,

"Foam!"

While issuing the attack command,

Ash, sensing something, felt three streams of Waveguide so familiar they'd be recognizable even if turned to ash.

One has to admit, Waveguide is truly useful.

In the real world, the Team Rocket trio's disguises are practically seamless,

far from the cartoonish disguises meant for viewers to see through; early on he was fooled several times,

Fortunately, after awakening Waveguide,

with an unchanging Waveguide alert, the trio's disguises are naturally exposed, and Ash discovers them every time,

Good,

Now not only can Croagunk complete its strengthening,

but even the task to strengthen Pikachu's trait has been settled.