Pokémon: Simultaneous time travel, this Ash is too versatile!

Chapter 278 Battle against Shinji, Ash's first Pokémon - Infernape!

Besides having a Torterra that is at the peak of the Gym level, Shinji also has a high-level Electivire that is at the Gym level, which was not mentioned in the information.

Information about Shinji online seems to stop at the level of a high-level Torterra in a gym. The known information is that he has an Electabuzz, but according to the estimates given to the informant online, the Electabuzz's level is only around the peak of its class to the beginner level of a gym.

In reality, his Electabuzz not only evolved into Electivire, but also possessed the strength of a high-level gym leader. This was far different from the information he had received. If he had believed that information, he probably would have remained a legend for life.

Ash successfully forced out one of Shinji's cards, giving Ash a clearer understanding of Shinji's strength. However, that was the end of it. Ash's Pokémon and main Pokémon were subsequently defeated by Shinji's Electivire.

Compared to the slow-moving Torterra, Electivire, though also large in size, is exceptionally agile, so the method of trading damage by hitting targets is not applicable to Electivire.

Following Ash, Shinji also performed a 2-in-6 feat. Moreover, unlike Ash, who had one of his Pokémon lose its battle ability, Shinji's team was even more exaggerated, with not a single Pokémon losing its battle ability.

Moreover, the two spirits Shinji sent out didn't suffer much damage; their stamina was probably less than half gone.

This has led to a growing consensus that Shinji is favored to win the championship.

Although Ash has a precedent of defeating a Champion-level opponent, his performance at the Indigo League was simply not as good as Paul's. Even though Ash used Mega Evolution and the now-discussed evolution of Primeape, Abandoned, this has nothing to do with Ash's own strength.

It can only be said that Ash is creative, but his performance in terms of strength is slightly weaker than Shinji's.

Look at Shinji's matches from the round of 16 to the semifinals. Before the semifinals, he only used one Torterra. In the semifinals, he only used one more Pokémon. On the other hand, Ash basically had one of his Pokémon seriously injured in every match from the round of 16 to the semifinals.

In terms of performance, Ash is still a notch below Shinji. Past glory does not mean forever. Just because he defeated a Champion in the past does that mean he has Champion-level strength now? Of course not, right?

That's the prevailing opinion, but it only barely accounts for half of the discourse; the other half consists of relentlessly attacking them.

To say that Ash's performance is inferior to Shinji's, one must look at the Pokémon Ash used: Blastoise, Lucario, Forsaken... These are Pokémon that have never appeared in previous battles against the Elite Four.

Speaking of expressiveness... take a look at that Mega Gardevoir. If it weren't for the League's barrier (according to the League), many people felt that the entire field might have been blown up by Gardevoir's move!

Why not talk about expressiveness at a time like this?

As for Pikachu, Charizard, and that amazing Bulbasaur, Ash has either not sent them out yet, or they haven't shown their true power at all.

Pikachu and Charizard only made their appearances in the battle against Hiroshi and in their first battle, and both times they defeated their opponents in one move, so they didn't have a chance to show their strength. So why do you say that Ash's performance is not as good as Shinji's?

It's more accurate to say that Ash is better at hiding his true strength!
The two opposing views were arguing fiercely online, while Ash and his friends were enjoying a feast prepared by Hanako at home. To celebrate Ash's advancement to the finals, Hanako and her Mr. Mime prepared a table full of dishes, which the group thoroughly enjoyed.

Although Xiao Mao lost the match, he still had to come to the celebration banquet. Speaking of which, Xiao Mao deserves a third of the credit for Xiao Zhi's advancement to the finals. If he hadn't lost, would Xiao Zhi have made it?

So he ate without any guilt at the celebration banquet.

After eating and drinking their fill, Ash and Misty sat in the yard outside the house, looking up at the moon. Gary and Professor Oak had already gone back, saying they would come back tomorrow to cheer them on, and now Ash should get some rest.

Xiao Gang went to wash the dishes, while Hanako watched TV in the living room, so it was just the two of them outside in the yard, along with Togepi and Pikachu.

"The finals are tomorrow, how are you feeling?" Xiaoxia turned her head and asked Xiaozhi.

She had been by Ash's side since the beginning of his journey, and watched Ash grow from a clueless boy into a powerful trainer. The boy who used to ask Ash about type advantages was now about to stand on the stage to become the champion, even if it was just the tournament championship stage.

"Feelings? I'm pretty excited and thrilled, but it also feels a little unreal." Ash said, his hands behind his back, looking up at the bright moonlight, as if talking in a dream.

Let alone others, even he himself felt like he was dreaming. He had made it to the finals of the Quartz Conference in just half a year, and he had even made it in with a crushing victory. When he first started traveling, he would never have dared to dream of such a thing.

Despite his claims of becoming a Pokémon Master, he is actually very clear about his own limitations.

Although I have a deep love for Pokémon, I am completely clueless about the theoretical knowledge of Pokémon. The only advantage I can mention is that I am physically strong, but who cares about physical strength when it comes to Pokémon battles?
Being physically strong is only advantageous for exploring the wild; otherwise, it's practically useless, at least that's what Ash thought before.

Therefore, although he keeps saying he wants to become a Pokémon Master, he himself has no idea how likely this wish will come true.

His life was completely changed until the emergence of chat groups...

In just six months, he not only collected eight badges, but also entered the finals of the Quartz Conference and had a great chance to win the championship. He even fought against two top players and a champion along the way.

He had imagined this scene before, but he thought he would have to wait until he was at least eighteen to fight against a champion. But now he was only fifteen, yet he could already spar with a champion.

The difference between his condition six months ago and six months later is like night and day; the progress is so great that even he, the person involved, feels it's unreal.

"It's not very realistic... If I hadn't been by your side all this time, I wouldn't have believed that a complete newbie could get to this point in just six months." Xiaozhi sighed, and Xiaoxia sighed even more.

The people involved all felt as if they were dreaming, while the onlookers felt as if they were watching the protagonist in a movie, witnessing Xiao Zhi rise from humble beginnings, his journey smooth and uninterrupted, with negligible setbacks along the way.

The only two setbacks came from the Elite Four and the Champion, and that Elite Four member wasn't just any Elite Four member, but Lorelei, the Ice Elite Four member. In other words, both of Ash's defeats were inflicted by the Champion Trainer; even Kikko, who possesses normal Elite Four level strength, was completely outmatched by Ash.

For a trainer who has only been a trainer for half a year, losing to the champion is not shameful, right? It can't be considered a setback; it's just that he was taught a lesson.

Moreover, Xiaoxia always felt that Xiaozhi hadn't used his true power when he was fighting those two.

To understand Ash's true power... please refer to the battle against Mewtwo.jpg.

Even the God-level opponents were defeated by Ash, but when they went to fight the Champion, they were defeated instead. Isn't this ridiculous?
For Xiaoxia, Ash's true strength is still a mystery. He can compete with the God Realm, but he can also lose to the top Elite Four members. She doesn't know why.

"If you win the game tomorrow, come on a date with me~" Xiaoxia suddenly changed the subject. One second she was reminiscing about Xiaozhi's journey, and the next second she suddenly turned to the topic of dating.

The word "date" made Xiaozhi pause. Was this the kind of date he understood?
Before Ash could ask, Misty had already stood up, her hands behind her back, and disappeared from Ash, Pikachu, and Togepi's sight.

A somewhat bewildered Ash looked at the two Pokémon beside him. Togepi didn't understand anything, but just smiled happily when Ash looked over. Pikachu, on the other hand, looked innocent and confused, and shrugged, indicating that it had no idea what was going on.

Why did Xiaoxia, who had always been timid and hesitant, suddenly become assertive? This left even the electric mouse, who had been trying to bring the two together, completely bewildered.

Ash looked up at the half-moon hanging high in the sky and for some reason thought of a sentence—"The moonlight is beautiful."

……

The next morning at nine o'clock, the Indigo Stadium was packed to capacity, with no standing room left. Tickets for this match were sold at exorbitant prices after it was confirmed that Ash and Shinji would be rivals.

Even the most distant standing tickets are priced exorbitantly, because some scalpers aren't selling them themselves; they need to watch the game too!
This kind of competition might be even rarer than the championship match. The duel between two prodigies—who will win this championship match? Countless people are waiting to see whether they are at the venue or watching on television.

"Let's welcome our two finalists to the arena: Shinji from Veilstone City in the Sinnoh region, and Ash from Pallet Town in the Kanto region!"

As the rousing voices faded, Ash and Shinji stepped out from the contestant selection platform. Ash still wore that infectious, sunny smile, while Shinji remained expressionless and indifferent.

The two people looked like complete opposites.

"The Indigo League finals are now officially underway. Both players, please bring out your starting Pokémon!"

"I choose you, Infernape!"

"Prepare for battle, Magmar."

Both sides released their first Pokémon at the same time. Ash's first Pokémon was unexpected. No one would have thought that Ash would choose to use Infernape in the final!
Although Infernape is strong, it simply can't keep up with the intensity of the Indigo League. It has been with Ash for too short a time. When it came to Ash's tutelage, it was only at the advanced level. It is already extremely incredible that it has reached the elite level in just over a week.

However, in the finals, the opponents should be at least professional level or even higher. What can an elite-level Infernape do?
Even with Ash's special ability, it's still just a roadside creature.

Ash's decisions always surprise everyone. He not only sent out Infernape in the finals, but it was also his first Infernape!
Why Ash made this decision is perhaps only known to Ash himself. At least even Lance and others couldn't figure out why Ash would let Infernape be the first in such an important competition.

On the other hand, Shinji's Pokémon Magmortar is an evolved form of Magmortar, which was only recently discovered in the Sinnoh region.

Magmar has a wide habitat, with some found in every region. The Sinnoh and Kanto regions have a larger population, but it was the former that discovered Magmar's evolved form.

Like Electabuzz, Magmortar requires a special item to evolve. Its discovery time was basically the same as Electivire's, perhaps they were discovered by the same research.

Regardless of the reason for the discovery, Shinji was keeping up with the times. Not long after the evolution of Magmar appeared, he made Magmar evolve.

It seems that Shinji possesses not only the talent of a trainer, but also abundant resources, enabling him to obtain this new type of evolutionary item immediately.

Ash glanced at Magmortar's stats: it was a mid-level gym leader, but its stats weren't at their maximum potential. Given Shinji's training methods, this shouldn't be the case. So there was only one explanation: Magmortar had only recently reached this level.

Shinji hasn't had time to train his abilities to the limit of his current level.

"Infernape? You're really persistent." Shinji was also taken aback when he saw Infernape. He hadn't expected Ash to send out Infernape as his first Pokémon.

According to his calculations, Ash's first Pokémon would most likely be Bulbasaur, which had never appeared before, because that's Ash's personality; a Pokémon that hasn't appeared before is likely to be the first to appear in a new battle.

Just like Blastoise and Abandoned Monkey before.

Unexpectedly, Ash dared to lead his Infernape even when facing him, which is no different from suicide.
With Shinji's intelligence, how could he not understand why Ash sent out Infernape? It was simply to make Ash acknowledge Infernape's strength in a formal battle. This may have become a knot in Infernape's heart, even if Infernape becomes stronger.

Ash chose to have Infernape battle him in this highly anticipated match, on this stage where everyone was watching.

The prerequisite for resolving this inner conflict is... you have to win!
"With its current Infernape, it's no match for Magmar. Let's recall it." Shinji said something that surprised even Ash. Shinji actually asked him to recall the Pokémon.
(End of this chapter)