Pokémon, Ash is going to become a perfect man from now on.

"Very good! Continue using petrochemicals like this..."

"Use Leech Seed!" Just as Ayame was about to seal the Vine Whip, Ash suddenly changed his move, commanding Bulbasaur to spray a seed from the flower bud on its back!

"Quickly use mental interference to control it!" Ayame exclaimed in alarm upon seeing this, and hurriedly had Motha allocate a sliver of her superpower to control the seed...

"Absorb billions!"

boom!

The absorption storm blew again, and Bulbasaur actually controlled the energy vortex to envelop the seed, blowing it onto Mothora!

"The moth has entered! Damn it... Use the petrification technique!"

Having been tricked again, Ayame was so angry she stomped her feet.

She finally realized that Bulbasaur's energy attack was just as disgusting as its vine whip, so she decided to seal it away first.

"It's alright, then you can rest for now."

"Wha...what?!"

Ash's sudden nonchalance once again left Ayame bewildered.

Chapter 137 Post-War Messages and Tests

The situation on the field reached a stalemate again, but Ayame soon realized that she seemed to have stepped into a trap once more...

Although the petrification technique sealed its growth and gigabyte absorption, Bulbasaur's Vine Whip, which grants it +3 attack, is still incredibly powerful.

If the moth dares to relax its control over mental interference, it will surely be rendered unable to take care of itself by the other party.

If they continue in this stalemate, the moth will soon exhaust its strength due to the parasitic seeds!

Furthermore, the petrification effect is not permanent…

"Dana!" "Growth!"

Soon, with Bulbasaur's first struggle, the seal on the Growth move disappeared, and Ash easily secured the fourth boost.

"Oh no... Use the petrification technique again quickly!" Ayame panicked and hurriedly had Moth seal the growth technique once more.

"Then... yes! Submerged Moth, unleash the full power of your Illusion Beam!"

After racking her brains for a while, Ayame decided to launch a desperate attack!

Suddenly, a burst of colorful light shone from Moth's eyes, which then coalesced into a dazzling ray that shot towards Bulbasaur!

"Bulbasaur, get out of the way!" Ash gave a command that sounded very unreliable.

"Impossible!" Ayame clearly thought so. "Your Bulbasaur couldn't possibly have escaped this... How could this be?!"

But the next second, reality slapped her in the face.

Because of the distraction, the psychic interference of the Venusaur was no longer able to control the Bulbasaur's four-stage attack boost. The Bulbasaur easily tore apart the psychic power that was restraining it, and then used its vine whip to tightly bind Venusaur!

With a swinging motion in the air like a giant pendulum, the moth was completely disoriented, and the illusionary beam it had painstakingly condensed naturally went blank.

Throughout the entire battle, including when fighting Zubat, Bulbasaur's limbs never left their original positions, yet it did indeed 'dodge' the attack from the Ambipom.

In this battle, Ash took the "Immovable Mountain" technique to its extreme, and this is exactly the path Bulbasaur should take in the future!

It is a fortress, standing there clearly, neither retreating nor dodging!

But no matter what kind of opponent they are, anyone who dares to charge at them will only end up with a bloody head!

"The final moth! In that case..."

"Sister Ayame, wait a minute!" Just as Ayame was about to unleash another random special move, A-Xing quickly stopped her. "Now we should use Insect Chirp!"

"Insect chirping...that's right!" Ayame suddenly realized that Suirimo had mastered this all-pervasive sound-making technique.

No matter how strong the opposing Bulbasaur is, it's impossible for it to defend against this...

"Good suggestion, but it's too late." Ash shook his head slightly. "Seal that special move, then finish it off with Vine Whip!"

boom!

Just when Ayame thought she could turn the tide, Bulbasaur swung its vine whip and slammed Moth to the ground!

After that, it transformed its vine whip into two stabbing spears and unleashed a barrage of attacks on the fallen moth!

For a moment, the dull thuds of blows were deafening, and each stab was a clear replica of the Virtue Angel's brutal attack on Unit-01!

Unfortunately, the Moth isn't EVA; without arms, it can't tear off the vines to retaliate...

It could only endure the attacks until the ground beneath it cracked and its entire body was smashed into the ground!

"Match over! Mothrope is unable to battle. The winner is Ash from Pallet Town!"

Ayame was unable to give any more effective instructions until the referee announced the result of the match.

The moths could only scream in agony, unable to muster any resistance by gathering their chirping.

Ash's method of sealing his opponent's special move is clearly much more violent than petrification.

"Undead, come back..." Ayame blankly recalled Undead, and slowly moved in front of Ash, lost in thought.

“I lost…you can take the crimson badge.”

"Thank you." Ash took the badge, but then called out to Ayame, who was about to turn and leave.

“I have some suggestions, Miss Ayame, you might want to listen to them… In my opinion, the other lady watching the battle might have better potential to become a gym leader.”

"What did you say?!" Ayame was initially angry, but quickly became dejected. "Fine, I admit I'm not strong enough... Is that alright?"

Having just suffered a crushing defeat, no matter how unhappy she was, she could only accept the other party's mockery.

“You misunderstood. I made this judgment based on my professional requirements.” Ash took out his still-warm ID. “I am a junior Gym Inspector of the Kanto League. In addition to obtaining badges, I am also here to inspect the Fuchsia Gym.”

"The suggestion I just made is a conclusion I reached after the battle. As the acting gym leader, Miss Ayame's abilities are not lacking, but the other lady does have better tactical skills and a better overall perspective."

"Of course! Our A-Xing has been a formidable child since she was little. It's hard to find a match for her among her peers~" Upon hearing what Xiao Zhi said, the straightforward Ayame immediately put aside her previous displeasure.

"Aunt Ayame, stop talking..." But looking at the girl A-Xing, her expression seemed somewhat gloomy.

"Miss A-Xing, is there something you're having trouble telling us?" Xiao Zhi asked curiously.

"It's nothing... it's just that such evaluations are meaningless to me." Ah Xing shook her head. "Anyway... I won't go traveling, and I certainly won't become a gym leader..."

“Is that so? That’s a real shame.” Ash shook his head, then changed the subject, “I have something else I need you two to pass on… I came here to check out Mr. Kikko, but he’s not at the gym.”

"Therefore, please convey to Mr. Aju that I hope he can personally go to the Indigo Plateau to report on his work before the convening of this Kanto Alliance Conference!"

"A...a report on my work?" Ayame was taken aback. "It's just a coincidence that I didn't happen to be on duty during the inspection. Does it have to be such a big deal? Besides..."

Besides, Ash is only a junior inspector; in principle, he has no right to order the gym leader around…

"Please do not doubt the authority of this verbal message. The League will issue an official document soon after I leave. Also, please help me emphasize this..." Xiao Zhi said, looking at the two female ninjas, one tall and one short.

"This is Ash from Pallet Town making a request to Mr. Kiku!"

“This…” Ayame and A-Xing stared at each other, seemingly not understanding why Xiaozhi suddenly emphasized his origins.

...

"Ash, what do you think? Are those two suspicious?" After leaving the Fuchsia Gym, Blue asked Ash curiously for his opinion.

“They probably don’t know about Team Rocket, otherwise they would have understood my subtext,” Ash said after thinking for a moment. “Now, let’s see if Mr. Kikko is willing to go to Indigo Plateau.”

Ayame and A-Xing might not have any problems... unless they are really very cunning and their acting skills are so good that they can fool Xiao Lan, who is a natural-born drama queen.

If that is indeed the case, Ash may need to reconsider his attitude towards Kikyo.

Using family ties as leverage, there might be a chance to persuade this top-tier expert to change sides and repent.

If this matter succeeds, the league's situation compared to the Rockets will naturally be even better.

But that's all for later. What Ash needs to do now is continue his journey and collect the last two badges!

Chapter 138 The Dark City, The Down-on-His-Luck Guild Master *2

Continuing their journey, Ash and his friends passed through Staunton Town, a place devoid of anything but evolution stones, and set off towards the Dark City ahead…

He hadn't initially planned to go there, but during his journey, the managing elf told him that there was a patch of black sludge in the Dark City.

If a non-poison-type Pokémon carries this item, it will cause it to lose one-eighth of its HP each turn in battle; however, if a poison-type Pokémon carries it, it will restore one-sixteenth of its HP each turn, making it a fairly good item for sustaining its health.

Generally speaking, only wild Grimer or Muk have a very small chance of carrying them in Kanto. Ash hasn't been to Black Cloud City before, so it won't be easy for him to encounter them again.

Now that he has been able to detect this 'treasure,' he is definitely going to go and find it.

Despite being called Dark City, it's really just a small town similar to Lavender Town, the kind you can walk to in a minute.

Upon arriving in town, Ash followed the guidance of the Pokémon manager and began searching, but soon overheard a heated argument.

The townspeople around seemed unfazed by this, and many even showed expressions of great interest.

Furthermore, unlike the original story, there was no one throwing stones at Ash and his friends, nor were there any children chasing them away with sticks.

"Let's go see what's going on." The three followed the sound and finally, when they turned into the town square, they saw two middle-aged men glaring at each other and arguing.

"Damn it... do you have to start a fight?!"

"It's clearly your lack of skill that's holding us back!"