Pokémon: Simultaneous time travel, this Ash is too versatile

Chapter 383 Separation, Agreement, Next Target, Gym Leader Using Lucario!

The blazing flames swirled up from beneath the long-tailed fire fox's feet, forming a solid barrier of fire. Even though the long-tailed fire fox was already stronger than the owl, this barrier of fire was able to deflect all the incoming air blades.

Asu was taken aback, not because the vortex of flames had blocked the air blades, but because of Serena's reaction—

Her reaction was so fast, it was almost unusual.

When novice trainers see those densely packed light blades, regardless of their power, they will immediately panic. In their panic, they will not know how to command their Pokémon. After thinking it over, the final command they can come up with is probably just a simple command like "dodge quickly" or "defend in place".

But Serena was different. Unlike most novice trainers, she didn't panic. In fact, she thought of the best way to deal with the attack the moment she was attacked, as if she had already simulated the scene in her mind.

It's hard to imagine that a novice trainer could pull off such a feat. While a Pokémon's strength can be attributed to its talent, this kind of composed handling during battles cannot be described simply by talent.

Ash didn't believe that Ash would lie to him about the travel time. Could it be that this girl, who looked like a novice, had experienced countless battles in just two months?

That's of course impossible.

Not to mention experiencing countless battles, Serena hasn't had a single official battle in the past two months. At most, she's practiced with Ash quite a few times in informal settings, and that's about it.

The feeling of an informal battle is completely different from a formal battle, and battling Ash is different from battling anyone else. Of course, battling Ash is much more stressful.

Ultimately, Serena's near-perfect response was entirely due to Ash's tactical analysis for her last night.

"—Asu has quite a few Pokémon, but since you, Serena, have only been traveling for two months and will be having a one-on-one duel with him, the Pokémon he'll send out will definitely be Noctowl!"

"That Noctowl was a Pokémon that Asu personally trained. It's currently in its growth phase, making it easier for Asu to use. Plus, its level is just right for a beginner who's been traveling for two months. Normally, a trainer who's been traveling for two months would consider it an excellent achievement to have an advanced Pokémon. He wouldn't expect you to have a Pokémon at its peak."

"At the start, take advantage of your level and don't hesitate to use ranged attack skills. The opponent's Nighthawk will inevitably be caught off guard and unable to dodge, resulting in a direct hit. Of course, it's wishful thinking to expect to defeat the opponent with this one strike, but at least we can gain the upper hand."

"After injuring Noctowl, Asahi will definitely want to retaliate as soon as possible. Noctowl's physical attacks are quite weak, so it will definitely use a powerful STAB move that is long-range. That basically confirms that the move it uses will be Air Blade. At this time, just use Flame Vortex to create a Flame Barrier to block that move."

"Then you should seize the opportunity to counterattack after the opponent finishes using their move. Pokémon of this level will inevitably have an opening after using their skills, and that is the best opportunity to counterattack."

Ash's voice flashed through Serena's mind. The scene on the field was almost exactly as Ash had described, from the start of the battle to now, it was completely consistent with what Ash had said.

It was as if Ash had experienced such a battle—which was of course impossible.

This actually shows that Ash's trainer level far surpasses the other's performance. Although Frost is a very good trainer, he still pales in comparison to Ash.

For Ash, who has been through countless battles, predicting Frye's behavior is not a difficult task, even though he has never fought against Frye.

But to be able to predict this outcome was still far beyond Serena's imagination.

However, now is not the time to admire Ash. Let's focus on the present and win this match first.

"Long-tailed Fire Fox, use Flamethrower again!" Seeing that the meteor shower of air blades was beginning to weaken, Serena decisively issued the command to Long-tailed Fire Fox.

The flames around the long-tailed fire fox instantly dissipated, and the remaining air blades that struck the long-tailed fire fox did not cause any damage. Those air blades were already at their last gasp and had no power to speak of.

The long-tailed fire fox took a deep breath, its mouth brimming with intense fiery power. Seeing this, Asu shouted, "Nighthawk, get out of the way!"

"Fox!!" A blazing line of fire burst through the air, aimed directly at the night owl. The night owl tried to dodge, but it had just been flapping its wings to create air blades and had only just stopped its attack. Where would it find the extra strength to dodge that incredibly fast-moving jet of fire?

As expected, the Night Hawk was once again directly hit by the flamethrower.

When the Nightjar was first hit by the flames, it was still full of energy and was able to fly right out of the flames. Without sustained fire damage, the Nightjar didn't suffer much harm, but this time was different.

This time, the nightjar couldn't escape the flames. Its stamina wasn't as high as before, and having already suffered burns from the flames, its injuries were now compounded. When hit by the flames, the nightjar let out a pitiful cry!

"Nighthawk!!" Asu's worried shouts did not save the Nighthawk from the flames. Only when the flames gradually weakened did the Nighthawk escape from the fire.

However, the night owl was now covered in burn marks and was in very poor condition.

"The final blow, using psychic power!!"

"Nighthawk, don't give up! Use Air Blade!"

Asu still tried to make a final stand, and the Night Hawk, just as Asu had hoped, released an air blade. The sharp blade cut into the Long-Tailed Fire Fox, causing it to show a slight pain, but this powerful skill could not stop the Long-Tailed Fire Fox from using Psychic!

The powerful telekinesis acted on the Nighthawk, and then suddenly exerted force, the Nighthawk's body was eroded by the superpower, and its exterior was desperately squeezed by the powerful force formed by the superpower.

The internal and external injuries caused Night Hawk to suffer greatly. Finally, under the attack of his superpowers once again, Night Hawk's head tilted to the side, his eyes completely lost focus, and he lost consciousness.

"Nighthawk is incapacitated, Longtail Fire Fox wins! The winner of this match is—Salina!"

"Yay!! We won!!" Upon hearing the victory announcement, Serena jumped up happily after a second of stunned silence.

The long-tailed Fiery Fox on the field also turned back and hugged Serena in celebration.

This first official match victory was a great start for Longtail Firefox. With this victory, all the arduous training and painful memories of the past transformed into a great sense of accomplishment.

So this is what victory feels like!

Previously, she had no idea why Ash and his Pokémon trained so hard. Although she received professional guidance, she only barely managed to achieve the goals each time.

But Ash's Pokémon are different; they always train them to double or even triple the usual amount!

The relentless training methods puzzled Longtail Firefly. She was already exhausted from regular training, and she couldn't understand why any Pokémon would voluntarily increase their training intensity. What was the reason?

Now, Fennekin understood a little better. She realized how captivating the sense of accomplishment from victory was, how wondrous it truly was. This was her first official battle victory, but it wouldn't be her last. In the future, she would fight countless times for her trainer, and win countless more!

"Congratulations, this is the Wing Badge of the Kikyo Gym. Please accept it." After recalling his Noctowl, Asu took out the Kikyo Gym Badge from his pocket and handed it to Serena, with a smile of helplessness and relief on his face.

"Thank you!" Serena accepted the badge with both hands and bowed politely to Asu.

"Actually, I'm a little curious. Why can you predict all of Noctowl's movements so accurately? It feels like every step I take is under your control. Do you often battle with Pokémon like Noctowl?" Asu couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked the question that had been lingering in his mind.

From the start to the end of the match, Serena saw through his every move: his feint with Flamethrower, his subsequent attack after dodging Flamethrower, his counterattack with Flamethrower, and finally, his attempt to deliver a fatal blow to Nighthawk by taking the air blade head-on.

Everything seemed to be calculated, giving Asu the feeling that he had been standing on a carefully woven spider web from the very beginning, becoming prey waiting to be slaughtered.

It's hard to imagine how a novice trainer could make such precise calculations.

"Actually, it's all thanks to Ash. Yesterday, he gave me a crash course on your habits, Gym Leader Ash, as well as some tips on battles, which is why I was able to have such a smooth battle today."

"Ash—" Serena's words startled Asu, who then instinctively looked in Ash's direction. Common sense told him that this was impossible.

How could someone who has never actually battled him, and only relies on theoretical information, possibly predict the outcome of a battle to this extent? But in reality, this is a more reasonable explanation than the novice trainer being able to do what he just did.

While the reason is absurd, it still has a certain possibility of being realized. However, a trainer capable of such a feat must have already reached the highest level. Could it be that—Ash's current trainer level is already comparable to that of a champion-level trainer?

If that's really the case, then it's a truly terrifying thing!

"I'm completely defeated. I didn't even have a match with you, Ash. It was just remote guidance, and I was defeated so thoroughly. If I had actually faced you, Ash, I probably would have been beaten even worse," Ash said with a hint of relief.

It's not terrible to admit your shortcomings; what's terrible is refusing to admit failure. After realizing the reason for his failure, Asu didn't dwell on it too much but let it go, because he had always had extremely high expectations for Ash's trainer level.

Besides, losing to Ash is better than losing to a novice trainer, even though Ash didn't actually participate in the battle.

After receiving the Wing Badge, everyone rushed to Serena's side to cheer and celebrate. Serena spoke modestly, but her heart was filled with satisfaction. Since embarking on this journey, her only intention had been to find Ash and follow in his footsteps; now, it seemed she had found something else she could do and wanted to do.

That is winning the game!

-

This is the first round. There will be a second and a third round, and the competition will get tougher and tougher. She needs to work even harder!

"Ash, which gym are you going to next?" At the exit of Violet City, May and Max saw Ash and his friends off. May asked Ash curiously where he was headed next.

Ash thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to Azalea Town next. I heard there's a really strong Fighting-type Gym Leader there who also uses Lucario. Plus, I need to deliver a Poké Ball to Mr. Steel there, so it's convenient to go there anyway."

According to Professor Oak's information, a powerful Gym Leader has also moved into Azalea Town. That Gym Leader uses the Fighting type, and it is the extremely rare Fighting type Pokémon Lucario.

Aside from him, Ash had never seen any other trainers who used Lucario. It was rare to hear of a trainer who used Lucario, and who was also a Gym Leader. How could he not go and see him?

Furthermore, there's also Mr. Steel, the master craftsman who makes Poké Balls, in Azalea Town, and Ash hasn't forgotten his mission to deliver the GS Ball to Mr. Steel.

"Azalea Town—I remember now, he's a Gym Leader from the Kalos region. He's supposedly a rather old man, but he's quite strong! I'm not leaving Violet City anytime soon, otherwise I would have gone with you." May lightly tapped her snow-white chin with her delicate fingers, looking regretful.

She had just returned to Violet City, so naturally she wanted to spend some time with her father. Besides, his presence would guide her towards becoming stronger. Her father being defeated by Ash didn't mean he was weak; it simply meant Ash was too strong.

Therefore, she won't be leaving Violet City anytime soon. Besides, Ash already has three people with him, and with the two of them, one of whom is a real burden, it's not really suitable. So they can only separate here for the time being.

"It's okay, we might meet again on our journey in the future. And—we'll definitely meet again at the Silver Conference!" Ash said, holding out his palm with a bright smile.

Haruka paused for a moment, then nodded firmly, her soft little hand grasping Ash's large one: "I will! At the Silver Conference, I'm going to get my revenge!!"

The two made a promise to fight again in the future. When they meet again, both Ash and May will have undergone a qualitative change, and a higher stage will await them!