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

"They're really impressive, breaking my ninjutsu so easily." Nihei shrugged helplessly, accepting the defeat.

"It wasn't just a simple solution. Ash's Meganium is incredibly strong!" Ippei solemnly admonished. "This battle was already over when Venusaur's Vine Whip was stepped on."

Having witnessed the entire battle, Ippei couldn't help but marvel at Ash's strength.

Swords Dance for buffs, Petal Blizzard for full-field attacks, Iron Tail Earthquake for cover... Geranium's playstyle is so simple that it's easy to see at a glance.

Despite its monotonous tactics, the giant geranium displayed extremely violent power!

Ippei was certain that it was a power that could only be obtained through relentless hard work and countless hours of training!

"It's my turn next." I-Ping stepped onto the field with great excitement, his Greninja ready for battle. "Mr. Ash, please let me experience your Pokémon, trained in the style of a ninja!"

"No problem!" A Great Ball quietly appeared in Ash's hand. "Crobat, let's battle!"

A purple streak of light flashed by, and before everyone could see anything, a silent purple bat had appeared in the arena!

It flapped its wings and hovered in the air, yet strangely, it made no sound.

“This cross bat…” Ippei was stunned.

After a long pause, he exclaimed in amazement, "Absolutely perfect!"

"You flatter me," Xiao Zhi said modestly, though he couldn't help feeling proud inside.

This is the kind of reaction that justifies the efforts Crobat has made!

“I’m telling the truth, this is absolutely the best Crobat I’ve ever bred!” Ippei said seriously.

Whether it's size, shape, wingspan, the bone spurs on its wings, or the absolute silence during flight, Ash's Crobat is as if it were meticulously crafted by a master craftsman, achieving the best in almost every aspect!

When Ippei arrived in Johto, he had seen Kiyo's Crobat, but in his current opinion, Kiyo's Crobat might be stronger, but its future development might not be as good as Ash's.

"Hoo... Let the battle begin! Water Shuriken!" "Knock!"

Composing himself, Ippei immediately directed his partner to launch an attack.

Greninja clasped its hands on its outer thighs and suddenly unleashed five shurikens made of flowing water, which shot towards Crobat from various tricky angles!

The opening act was a climax; Greninja's shuriken-throwing skills alone instantly captivated a large audience.

"Crossbat, dodge!"

Water Shuriken is a preemptive move with extremely high explosive power when it is used, so Ash doesn't need to let Crobat compete with the opponent in terms of attack speed.

The cross-bat flapped its two pairs of wings and nimbly dodged and weaved in the air, managing to dodge four shurikens that came from different positions with incredible speed!

"Use Tailwind!" Just as the last shuriken came hurtling towards them, Ash gave the command at the perfect moment.

In an instant, the cross-bat took to the air, not only dodging the final water shuriken with even greater speed, but also transforming into a mysterious purple light!

It circled the Greninja frog incessantly, moving at a speed so fast that only a blurry afterimage could be seen, waiting for its chance to strike.

"Greninja Frog, track its movements and shoot it down!"

Ippei was not fooled by Crobat's speed. Under his instructions, Greninja also began to hold its breath and try to use its senses to lock onto Crobat's location.

Suddenly, it glared at the crossbowman and hurled a stone at the direction the crossbowman was flying!

However, the Crobat's flight speed was too fast, and the Greninja's attack missed.

"Don't be discouraged, keep using the shot-down attack!"

Ippei refused to give up, and Greninja continued to throw out several stone projectiles, changing their direction and force through constant collisions, filling the sky with intricate trajectories!

"Now!" "Knock on the card!"

I-Pin finally found an opportunity. Just as Crobat barely dodged an attack, Greninja suddenly raised its hand and fired a stone bullet. The spinning stone accurately struck the side of the stone bullet that had just been dodged, causing it to shoot straight at Crobat's back at an even faster speed!

"Slash with the air!"

hum~

However, Ash's Crobat was exceptionally agile. Sensing something was wrong, it twisted its wings and abruptly stopped and changed direction. At the same time, it unleashed a sharp wind blade that split the rock bullet in two!

...

"What an amazing battle!" A little girl named Haruhi exclaimed from the crowd of spectators. "That Crobat is so fast, and the Greninja... How does it manage to make its shurikens and projectiles trace arcs to chase its target? If I could learn that, I wouldn't have to worry about embarrassing myself, right?"

"What you should really learn is how to throw a shuriken onto a target," Ayame said helplessly, rubbing her forehead.

Honestly, with Greninja's ninja tool throwing skills, not even her own brother could do it, let alone her!

Aside from them, Misty and the others were curious as to why Ash didn't let Crobat use his usual Haze tactic.

“That trick won’t work,” Xiao Lan explained. “A trick that deprives someone of sight is hard to use against a real master, especially since Ippei is a ninja.”

"But it looks a bit rudimentary... and it doesn't seem to have the upper hand," Xiaoxia said hesitantly.

The two people currently facing off are displaying completely different styles.

Ippei's Greninja is a versatile ninja, with a wide variety of techniques, from throwing shuriken in all directions to changing the trajectory of stone projectiles by colliding in the air, making it a feast for the eyes.

On the other hand, Ash's Crobat is just fast and has a powerful move with strong penetration; it doesn't have any particularly complex variations.

At least from the perspective of the spectators, Ash's battles seem relatively simple, lacking the kind of eye-catching, exciting moments.

Moreover, Crobat rarely attacks proactively, and throughout the entire process it barely dodges between water shuriken and knockdown moves, and was even grazed by water shuriken a few times!

Fortunately, it was covered in black sludge, so this damage was not a big deal.

"It's just a battle, why make it so complicated? It's not like a grand tournament." Xiao Lan said noncommittally. "Just watch, he's waiting for his opponent to go all out before he starts his counterattack."

Blue knows Ash very well, and she knows that Ash desperately needs a rival right now.

An opponent who can take him beyond this simple fighting style and unleash a more complex style similar to the one Xiaoxia suggested, ultimately winning after a thrilling battle!

Such an opponent is really hard to come by. After all, if the opponent is so strong that Ash has to use cheat codes to win, then using fancy tricks is meaningless.

However, if the opponent is too weak, it may not even reach the point where further progress is needed.

Clearly, neither I-Pin nor Greninja could force Ash to reach the next stage...

Chapter 544 Crossbat, The Path of the Ninja

On the training ground, the battle between Ash and Ippin continues.

Yiping's strategy was actually quite clear: Ash's Crobat was too fast, so he had to use a special move to limit its flight ability in order to have a chance to win.

However, in this regard, Ash's choice was much clearer.

You can hit me with a water shuriken, but you absolutely cannot hit me with a knockdown attack!

Greninja, having failed to break through for a long time, has begun to show signs of fatigue, and I-Pin's mentality is also gradually becoming unbalanced.

In contrast, Ash remained calm and composed, methodically directing Crobat to dodge the opponent's attacks.

The Cross Bat seemed to have become familiar with its opponent's ninja tool techniques, and it didn't even need to use Tailwind again, easily dodging the barrage of shuriken that rained down like a shower of flowers.

"In that case... use the Shadow Clone Technique!"

Finding Ash's Crobat really troublesome, I-Pin finally changed his attack method. He ordered Greninja to split into dozens of clones, which occupied the entire field in the sky and on the ground!

"Next, use Shoot Down!" Greninjas across the field simultaneously pulled out stone projectiles and unleashed a barrage of fire at the Crobats encircled in the circle. The trajectories of the stone projectiles intertwined into a giant net, so dense that it was impossible to see anything clearly.

Pretty good…

Ash showed some approval of I-Pin's combined offensive.

"Ultrasound!"

If a tangible ripple spreads out instantly, Crobat is not trying to confuse its opponent, but rather using its instinctive technique to lock onto the real stone projectile that was shot at it... and the location of Greninja's true form!

"Then use air to slash!"

call out!

The wind blade, as sharp as a crescent moon, was unleashed at full power, splitting the stone bullet in two and striking the Greninja frog's body with pinpoint accuracy, instantly putting it into a state of cowering!

"Continuous air slash!"

The opponent was temporarily unable to make a move due to fear, so Ash certainly wouldn't be polite to him. Suddenly, a storm of wind blades erupted without warning, and Greninja was immediately surrounded by a flurry of swords and blades, and was severely injured on the spot!

"Damn it... Greninja, use the Substitute Technique immediately! Then unleash the full power of the Street Test Sword!!"

The situation took an instant turn for the worse, and Ippei had no choice but to make a decision.

Greninja made a hand seal, and then a thick white mist suddenly burst open in mid-air.

Under the cover of the mist, Greninja appeared mysteriously behind Crobat, swinging its dark blade forward in a sword-drawing motion!

"Knock...Cut!!"

"Cross Poison Blade!"

"What?!" "Knock on the card?!"

I-Pin and Greninja were both stunned. Neither of the pair expected that Ash's Crobat could turn its body at such an extreme distance and use the momentum to fiercely slash at them with its purple wings!

Clang!

With a flash of light, Greninja's test sword snapped in two!

It was hit in the chest by the Crobat and was blasted off the ground, landing in a sorry state!

"Greninja!" Ippei exclaimed in surprise. He rushed to his partner's side, only to find that Greninja had lost its ability to battle.