Pokémon: Simultaneous time travel, this Ash is too versatile

Chapter 382 Serena vs. Aldebaran, Ash's uncanny foresight!

The Violet Gym is located on the other side of Violet City, in a completely different direction from the Petalburg Gym and Bellsprout Tower, Violet City's iconic landmark.

So it took the group a while to get to the Kikyo Gym, only to find that the gym was already closed.

So the group had no choice but to go to the Pokémon Center near Violet City to rest for the night and then challenge the Violet City Gym the next morning.

"I looked it up online and found that the Kikyo Gym allows one-on-one battles. The Gym Leader, Asahi, is not the original Gym Leader of the Kikyo Gym. He inherited his father's position and uses only his father's Pokémon. Therefore, his trainer level is probably not as good as the original Gym Leader."

Xiao Gang was looking up information about the Violet Gym on the computer at the Pokémon Center. The information showed that the Gym Leader of the Violet Gym had changed. The former Gym Leader had stepped down and gone on vacation. The current Gym Leader was a young man in his twenties named Asu.

Asu's trainer skills are definitely not as good as his father's, because Asu himself has not been able to train a single Gym Leader-level Pokémon. His strongest fighter is only at the Elite level, which is about the same as Misty when she first started her journey.

Therefore, although Asu's level is stronger than that of the average trainer, Serena is not without a chance to bridge the gap. It all depends on the level of the Pokémon Asu sends out and how much Serena has learned from Ash.

"This guy looks so much worse than Dad! If it weren't for inheriting his father's Pokémon, he probably wouldn't even be qualified to become a Gym Leader! Why would they choose someone like this as a challenger? It's so boring." Xiaosheng said with a hint of disdain after looking at the information.

He was already very familiar with the level information of Pokémon. Trainers like Asu were no match for his father. Choosing someone like that as a challenger would not improve his skills at all!

"Xiaosheng!!" Xiaoyao shouted coldly, making Xiaosheng tremble all over. Don't be fooled by Xiaoyao's usual gentleness; when she gets angry, she is a force that Xiaosheng fears even more than his parents.

It is said that an elder sister is like a mother, and Xiaoyao usually treats her younger brother quite well, which is why Xiaosheng has developed a flower-like personality that grew up in a greenhouse.

In other matters, Haruka would turn a blind eye and gently guide and smooth things over, but this time, what Kacchan said involved insulting the dignity of other trainers. Therefore, even Haruka, who was always gentle with Kacchan, became cold.

"No matter how much you admire your father, or how high you think you can reach in the future, none of these are reasons for you to insult other trainers!"

"Besides, you're not even a Gym Leader yet, so what right do you have to insult other Gym Leaders? I know you're upset about your father's defeat, but do you feel better by belittling other Gym Leaders?"

"Moreover, Asutari, the Gym Leader of Kikyo Gym, is only in his early twenties, just starting out as a trainer. Having inherited his father's responsibilities, he will undoubtedly work even harder to move forward for these responsibilities. Sooner or later, he will become a true Gym Leader!"

May's cold words made Masaru unable to lift his head. He realized his problem: he had taken his anger out on other gym leaders because of his father's defeat. This was something he should never have done, but he still belittled other trainers because of a moment of anger.

It's fortunate that Asu wasn't there, otherwise he would probably be prostrating himself before the other party to express his gratitude.

Ash, who was just about to say something to Max, smiled when he heard May's words, and swallowed his words.

With an older sister like that, even if Xiaosheng's personality is a bit arrogant and mean, she will definitely be able to walk in the right direction in the future.

Besides, it's normal for a ten-year-old child to have a bad temper. Although he might not be bad in terms of trainers and Pokémon when he's ten, he might be even worse than Max in other aspects.

It can only be said that his love for elves suppressed his bad side on the elf side; otherwise, he would have been a troublemaker when he was young.

"Alright, now that we know the information about the Kikyo Gym Leader, let's devise a battle strategy." Ash clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back.

"Develop a strategy? Is it necessary? I only have one elf right now." Serena pointed to herself with her finger, a slightly embarrassed smile on her face.

All told, she's been traveling for almost two months. During that time, Ash has caught several Pokémon, while she hasn't caught a single one. It's almost impossible for an ordinary trainer to have only one Pokémon after two months.

"One-on-one is where tactics really come into play! To ensure you win your first battle, Serena, we need to devise a strategy. I was thinking that if we were to fight today, we would let you experience defeat first, and also gather information about your opponent."

"But since we didn't have a battle today, and we even found information about Kikyo Gym Leader online, let's devise a good strategy with victory in mind."

Serena: ————

So, Ash, you challenged me from the very beginning with the intention of making me lose the match? That's a bit too treacherous!

The next morning at 10 a.m., the group arrived in front of the Kikyo Gym. When the staff at the entrance saw Ash and his friends, they almost thought they were there to cause trouble. Fortunately, Ash's face was still somewhat recognizable. Just as the staff were about to call the police, they recognized Ash, chatted for a while, and then let everyone in.

The Kikyo Gym is a huge tower, and gym battles take place on the top floor of the tower.

The group took the elevator straight up, and when they arrived at the top floor, the scene inside surprised them to some extent, because the Kikyo Gym's area was not only spacious, but also had no roof to block the view.

-

Ash has challenged many gyms in the past, most of which were indoors. This is the first time he has seen a gym with no overhead obstructions like this.

Serena, seeing the actual gym grounds for the first time, couldn't help but open her cherry-like mouth wide, shocked by the grandeur of the Kikyo Gym.

"Welcome to the Violet Gym. I am Asahi, the gym leader of the Violet Gym. Are you Ash here to challenge the gym this time?" Asahi's eyes were fixed on Ash upon their first meeting.

Although this was their first time meeting in person, he had seen countless news articles about Ash online, and with the reports from his staff, it was only natural that he would get to know Ash.

As for why they thought Ash was the one challenging the gym—that's because Asoo wanted Ash to be the one challenging the gym.

Battle against powerful trainers is something every trainer dreams of. Among the six people who came, Ash was the only relatively powerful trainer he knew.

"No, the one who came to challenge the Violet Gym isn't me, it's my partner." Ash said, stepping aside to let Serena step forward.

"She's still a novice trainer, with only one Pokémon. She's only been traveling for less than two months. Please, Gym Leader Aso, have mercy on her."

Upon hearing this, Asu looked Serena up and down, without much disappointment in his eyes. Although Serena did indeed exude the aura of a rookie trainer, Asu could sense a hidden danger emanating from her.

"Then let's begin. I'll battle you at the lowest possible level. But let me make this clear: even if you pass the lowest level battle and get the Kikyo Gym Badge, you need to be mentally prepared when you challenge the gyms later on. Firstly, the more gym badges you have, the more difficult it becomes. Secondly, no one will hold back at the Silver Conference."

Just as Ash thought, even though Serena only has one Pokémon, Falcon still has a strategy to deal with it. Just like when Ash challenged Brock, the Gym Leader has a special difficulty level to deal with beginners, so there is no need to worry about facing an overly strong opponent.

Even if the Pokémon's skill levels are similar, there are significant differences in strategies, command skills, and so on. Even though Asu has only been a Gym Leader for a short time, it doesn't mean that Asu's skill level as a Trainer is mediocre.

No matter what, Asu is a trainer with elite-level Pokémon, so he is bound to be stronger than a novice trainer like Serena. If the Pokémon they send out are of the same level, then Asu will definitely have the advantage.

"Please stand on the battlefield. All spectators, please move to the back of the field and do not get too close to avoid being affected by the aftershocks of the battle. The battle is about to begin." A referee stood in the middle of the field and first directed Ash and his friends, as well as the students from the Kikyo Gym, to step back, leaving the field to Serena and Ash.

After both sides stepped back to a safe distance, the referee waved his flag and announced the start of the match.

"Then I'll use it here. Go, Noctowl!" As Asu threw the Poké Ball, a gray-brown Pokémon with a cat's head and an eagle's body appeared on the field.

"Noctowl, the owl Pokémon, the evolved form of Goo-Goo. It has special eyes that can see the dark as if it were daytime, even in the slightest light. It has extremely high intelligence and sometimes rotates its head 180 degrees to activate its brain cells." Serena took out her long-unused Pokédex and checked Noctowl's information.

Previously, with Ash by her side, no matter what unfamiliar Pokémon she encountered or what she didn't understand, Ash could always answer her questions immediately. But this battle belongs to her, and Ash had already done everything he could for her last night. The rest is up to her.

"It really is Noctowl. If Ash is right, then I should be able to gain the upper hand from the very beginning—Go for it, Serena!" Serena muttered the first part to herself, but she shouted the last part out loud.

Along with Serena's shout, the sprite she threw out also appeared. With a flash of light, a fox standing on two legs, with a long, fluffy yellow tail and yellow fur all over its body, appeared on the field.

This is Serena's initial Pokémon, and also her only Pokémon: the Long-tailed Fire Fox!

"I've never seen this Pokémon before—it shouldn't be one that lives in the Kanto or Johto regions, right?" Asu stared at the long-tailed Fire Fox, finally saying with some surprise.

He was very familiar with the Pokémon in the Kanto and Johto regions, but he had never seen or even heard of the Pokémon that Serena sent out, which meant that this Pokémon must be from a more distant region.

"Yes, this is one of the three starter Pokémon from the Kalos region, and also my starter Pokémon. I'm going to bring out the Astana Gym Leader, Fennekin, use Flamethrower!" Without much formality, Serena simply greeted her before decisively commanding Fennekin to use Flamethrower to attack.

The decisiveness of the move surprised Asu. Was this the kind of action a novice trainer could take? The move was far too decisive.

Without hesitation after receiving the order, the long-tailed fire fox gathered her breath and then suddenly exhaled a burst of scorching flames, which transformed into a long line that shot straight toward the owl nighthawk in mid-air.

If Serena's decisiveness in commanding the Longtail Fire Fox to attack surprised Asu the first time, then the speed at which the flamethrower forced its way in surprised Asu the second time!

"This speed—how is this possible?! Peak advanced level?! Night Hawk, get out of the way!!" Asu's voice rang out, but it was too late.

The jet of flame struck the nightjar in mid-air with incredible speed, turning it into a roasted bird.

However, after a short while, the night owl emerged from the flames, looking somewhat disheveled, but not seriously injured.

Asu's Night Hawk was only at the intermediate advanced level, two levels lower than the Longtail Fire Fox. However, the level difference between low levels is not too huge, so even though there was a two-level difference and the Night Hawk was hit directly by the opponent's STAB move, it was not able to lose its ability to fight.

However, this initial show of force immediately put Asu on the defensive.

"I never expected that you could train a Pokémon to reach the peak in just two months. It seems that another new star is about to rise. But don't think you can get the badge of the Kikyo Gym so easily! Noctowl, use Air Blade!" After praising Serena, Asu also decisively retaliated.

The night owl in the sky decisively flapped its wings, and more than a dozen sharp air blades tore through space and attacked the long-tailed fire fox on the ground!

Facing the dense barrage of sharp blades, Serena's face showed no panic, only shock and decisiveness: "It's actually—just as Ash said—Fennekin has used a flame vortex to envelop itself in defense!"