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

"Lapras, well done, come back now." Ash called back Lapras, who had successfully retreated, and sent out his second Pokémon. "Next up, Nidoking!"

"Roar!!" The pink Nidoking roared powerfully as soon as it appeared.

Having only recently evolved and undergone a series of practices, it's eager to show off its abilities.

"Explode with big characters!"

"Armored Bird, wake up! Armored Bird..."

boom!

The large, fiery barrage slammed down, instantly killing the sleeping Skarmory!

"This...how is this possible?!" Asu could hardly believe his eyes.

"Nidoking, well done!" Ash gave Nidoking a thumbs up in satisfaction.

Ash has been consciously training Nidorino to special attack since it was Nidorino, and the results have been quite impressive.

Nidoking, a champion specializing in special attacks, unleashes a powerful burst of energy!

In addition, Ash had Skarmory use Sunny Day in an attempt to take advantage of the weather, and Lapras's Sturdy ability was broken by Psychic...

The final result, of course, was an instant kill without any suspense!

Chapter 343 VS Pidgeot, Destroying Kikyo's Gym!

"Come back, Skarmory..."

Originally thinking he could turn the tide, he was instead knocked out of the game in one fell swoop. The once ambitious Asu now felt as if his spearhead had been broken.

However, this is normal; most people who have battled Ash will eventually have this unpleasant experience.

Furthermore, it's not entirely wrong for Ash to try and take advantage of the weather. Skarmory is indeed a tank, but it's only a physical tank. It gets bombarded by Lapras's Hail and Blizzard attacks, and even with its Steel type, it can't withstand them.

So Asu's real mistake was simply that he subconsciously failed to use weather conditions that would harm flying-type characters.

"Next up is my last one... Pidgeot!"

Barely managing to regroup, Asu sent out his last Pokémon, the Kanto native Bird!

His Pidgeon was a full size larger than its kind, and with its wide wingspan and sharp talons, it looked exceptionally majestic.

"This Pidgeot is really good." Ash nodded approvingly. Ash's Pidgeot is almost as big as those on Ootengu Island, but it has a more imposing aura than them. It is definitely a battle-hardened Pokémon.

Based on what he knew, Ash could roughly determine that Pidgeot's original owner was probably not Frostleaf...

The appearance of Pidgeot did indeed pique Ash's interest, after all, it's a nostalgic Pokémon.

Ash didn't catch Pokémon like Pidgeot and Butterfree. It's not that he didn't like them, but it's really not worth getting one just for nostalgia.

Ash's bond with his companions in the original story is indeed touching, but if you think about it carefully, if Ash were the one who caught them, he could recreate the scenes from the original story no matter which of the same species he caught.

After entering Viridian Forest, Ash can raise the first, third, or twentieth Caterpie he encounters into Butterfree. Then, he can go to the beach in Goldenrod City and have a story with the pink Butterfree, and finally add a scene where he is torn between watching it cross the ocean.

The difference might be whether the caterpillar is male and whether it's willing to rub against Xia's ankle.

So Ash really doesn't need to deliberately catch Caterpie just to recreate this kind of scene... Of course, if he were to encounter a 6V Shiny version, three times the size of its kind, only a fool wouldn't throw a Poké Ball!

He held the same idea for Pidgeot, but neither at home nor on Dapeng Island did he encounter any individuals worthy of his training.

Don't blame Ash for being realistic; he already has nineteen Pokémon, and his future captures will likely focus more on selective training and tactical needs, with nostalgia playing a smaller role.

After all, he's not Ash Ketchum from the original story...

"Let's settle this once and for all, Nidoking, Flamethrower!" After calming himself down, Ash quickly gave the command, and Nidoking unleashed another fierce burst of flames!

"Pidgeotto, use Shadow Clone to dodge!" Asu's Pidgeotto was indeed well-trained and familiar with this response. It quickly created a circle of clones, easily dodging the attack of the flames.

"Next up, let's repay the debt!" "Better than a eagle!"

Pidgeot let out a long cry, and with the remaining illusions, it launched itself, circling from all directions and crashing into the Nidoking, whose true form could not be distinguished!

Using shadow clones as cover before launching an attack is clearly a tactic that Pidgeot is most familiar with!

But what Asu didn't know was that Nidoking didn't need to distinguish which one was the real one!

"Nidoking, use Thunder on yourself!!"

"Roar!"

Just as all the Pidgeots were about to crash into Nidoking's body, a terrifying bolt of lightning suddenly exploded in the arena, instantly obliterating all the illusions and causing Pidgeots to scream in agony!

As for Nidoking... it has a Ground type, so if it strikes itself with lightning, the only ones who will suffer are others~

"Pidgeotto, hang in there! Hang in there!!" Fly shouted hoarsely, trying to encourage his Pokémon. The charred Pidgeotto managed to flap its wings, attempting to take flight again...

"Grab it!" But the eagle had only risen less than ten centimeters before a large hand grabbed its neck!

"Phidden Eagle...quickly use a bluff! Then take the opportunity to break free and create distance!"

"No matter what, we must not let go! Break its wings, shoot it down!"

Asu is now panicking. He tries to use the tactics he inherited to get out of the predicament, but the results are not satisfactory.

After a struggle, Pidgeot did indeed throw Nidoking into confusion, but the latter never let go and even picked up a rock and smashed it on Pidgeot's shoulder, temporarily depriving it of its immunity to ground-based flying abilities!

Moreover, because of the bluster that boosted his attack by two levels, Nidoking's super-effective strike will definitely cripple Dwarf!

"Take it down, use Poison Sting!" "Roar!"

In the chaos, Nidoking first struck himself hard, but even that didn't give Asud an opportunity. Nidoking's claws glowed with purple light, and with one blow, it slammed Pidgeot directly to the ground!

It's true that Nidoking is better suited for special attacks, but that's because there aren't many physical attack moves with additional effects. In fact, Nidoking is a competent physical attacker by itself.

Especially with the Swagger buff boosting its attack by two levels, the damage output of its STAB Poison Jab can be measured in tons!

"Well done, Nidoking!" Ash applauded Nidoking with satisfaction as he watched his opponent's eyes dart around.

Only by delivering such a dominant and overwhelming performance can one live up to the title of "King" in their name!

"Pidgeot, it's my fault that you lost..." Asu was stunned for a long time before sadly retracting Pidgeot.

"Mr. Ash, this Pidgeot isn't one of your Pokémon, is it?" Ash asked.

“Indeed, this is what I inherited from my father… It is a truly powerful Pokémon, but I haven’t trained enough to fully unleash its power,” Asu said with self-reproach.

“It’s not just a matter of training, but mainly about tactics and teamwork.” Ash shook his head. “Pidgeot is indeed very strong, but its tactics are inherited from your father, Mr. Skaven, which may not be suitable for you. You haven’t been able to fully master these tactics either.”

The shadow clone followed by the gratitude, a feint, then a distanced attack... It's a good tactic, but Asu's use of it is a bit rigid.

"Maybe you're right, I'll reflect on it." Asu nodded and handed over the badge. "Here, take this. It's the Wing Badge from the Kikyo Gym."

"Thank you so much!" Ash said, accepting the badge, but then something occurred to him. "By the way, has any boy ever come here to return the badge?"

"You mean Silver? So it was Mr. Ash who sent him." Ash nodded. "He apologized to me, but I still decided to give him the badge... Practice matches are still battles, and if I lose, I lose."

"That's fine then, we'll take our leave." Ash nodded in satisfaction and said goodbye, leaving the Kikyo Gym.

Little Yin is indeed a very sensible child.

After leaving Violet City, the next stop is Azalea Town, where the second gym is located.

However, as they left, no one noticed that a seven-colored distortion suddenly appeared in the sky behind them, like a black hole about to expand... but it only lasted for a very short time before disappearing into nothingness.

"Ok?"

Lila turned around abruptly, as if sensing something was wrong, but she saw nothing...

Chapter 344 Explaining What Wildness Is

After leaving Violet City, Ash and his friends passed through a place called Nature Park.

"Natural Park Fire-Breathing Dragon Valley... Are there many fire-breathing dragons living in here?" Xiaoxia asked curiously.

"That's right, young lady!"

"A young girl?" Hearing the voice above her, Xia looked up curiously and found a young woman in red with green hair standing on the rocky path, looking down at them.

“In my opinion, you should be a combination of two boys, a girl, and a young man.” The young woman nimbly jumped in front of the group and said to herself.

"No! Please don't call me young man. My name is Xiao Gang. Beautiful lady, please tell me your email address!" Uncle Gang, with a lovesick expression, instantly went online and began to fawn over the other party.

“Two teenagers or something…” Lila’s face darkened.

However, seeing no improvement in her chest, she could only feel depressed to herself, while pondering whether she should try to steal some Moo Moo milk from Xiao Dai...

That stuff is supposedly very nourishing, and I've been consistently taking two small packets a day. My baby is developing very well, and recently even the sacs on my belly are starting to open!

"I'm not interested in you." The young woman ignored Xiao Gang and instead approached Xiao Zhi excitedly. "Hello, are you Mr. Xiao Zhi?"

She even used honorifics... the difference in treatment was obvious.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Xiao Zhi asked calmly.

"Here's the thing, I'm Ji Ke, the manager of Charizard Valley. I've come here to invite Mr. Ash, who is also a Charizard trainer, to visit the valley."

"I see." Xiao Zhi immediately understood.

It seems that, unlike in the original story, Ji Ke did not meet him by chance, but came specifically for him.

It's probably related to the experience in the Orange Islands. At that time, Asia Island experienced various natural and geological changes and magnetic field disturbances, and some images were eventually circulated.

In addition, Ash later challenged Yonex, and Charizard defeated six opponents in a row, which was a real achievement.