Pokémon: Starting as a Farmer Instead of a Trainer

Chapter 323 Pikachu vs. Ponpo, Zekrom Reappears (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

As the final battle approached, Ponpo finally made her appearance, without a mask on her face, revealing her cute little tiger teeth, and her starry eyes staring fiercely at Pikachu who had stopped in front of her.

"Mmm~"

Upon seeing Ponpo appear, not only the audience but even Ash on the other side looked surprised, tilting his head and typing a question mark.

"Huh? So it's a Pokémon!"

"I always thought she was his sister, because I always saw him holding her hand and running around with her."

"She looks like my own daughter to me..."

"Because it's so similar to Yuu's expression."

"That looks like a rare Pokémon called Evil Pine. I can find its name and type information in the Pokédex, but everything else is unknown."

"Ponpon is so cute, I want to hug her and sleep with her..."

The audience discussed among themselves, because Ponpo always wore a ghost mask when she ran around and always followed Mingyou like a close little cotton-padded jacket. People who hadn't specifically looked into Ponpo would generally regard her as a strangely dressed little girl.

This is Ponpo's first real appearance in front of the public. This was arranged by Naruto, who not only made it his starter Pokémon to battle Ash's starter Pokémon.

This is also to allow Ponpo to become a popular star Pokémon on this high-profile stage, so that everyone can know about it!

Meanwhile, in the audience, Alice and her friends belatedly realized what was happening, their faces filled with disbelief: "Ponpo is a Pokémon?"

"This topic is over."

Danyu responded with a smile, feeling as if she suddenly had something to brag about.

Xiao Zhao smiled wryly, surprised that she hadn't known about this after spending so many days together.

Is it that Ponpo's disguise was spot-on, or that these people were just too stupid? But let's put that aside for now and keep watching the game.

As the darling of the family, no one could dislike Ponpo. Upon seeing its official appearance, Latias and the others immediately began to cheer it on, and even Meloetta couldn't help but want to go over and play a battle song.

Meanwhile, outside the competition venue.

The Rockets trio were pushing a cart, hawking their Flying Cloud Ice Cream. Because they arrived too late, they were unable to enter the venue and could only wander around outside, continuing to observe the surroundings.

Just then, Meowth's attention was suddenly drawn to the big screen broadcasting the match, and it pointed over there with its paw: "It's that brat and Pikachu, Meowth!"

Hearing the voice, the two looked over and said, "It really is them! They're here too. Since they've delivered themselves to our doorstep, let's go catch Pikachu and give it to Boss Giovanni as a greeting gift!"

"Good idea... but the guy he's fighting looks familiar."

"It's the boss! Ponpon's meowing too!"

"Then let's capture Ponpo and Pikachu together! We'll leave Ponpo with us, and hand over Pikachu!"

"But the cats still have a mission..."

"That's true..."

The Rockets trio were immediately dejected and had no choice but to temporarily abandon their plan and continue hawking their Flying Cloud Ice Cream.

Back inside the venue, as the two Pokémon locked eyes, the battle finally began!

"Moving at high speed!"

Ash waved and shouted. He didn't know the specifics of Ponpo. He had just taken a picture with his phone's Pokédex and saw that it was a Grass-type. Although he had the advantage in the type-reversal battle, it was better to play it safe and wait until he could find out the opponent's abilities before making a move.

Seeing Pikachu moving around quickly, Ponpo immediately went into battle mode, took out the Green Grass Mask from under her cape, and put it on her face.

Its aura changed in an instant, the power contained in the mask enveloped its body, and then a vine and a thorny braid suddenly stretched out from the cloak and extended at an extremely fast speed, chasing after it, while Mingyou's voice fell a step too late.

"Strong whipping!"

Pikachu, being chased by the vines, noticed what was happening behind it, but instead of panicking, it met Ash's gaze and responded with a smile.

"Pikachu!"

Using its speed, Pikachu suddenly flipped over, lightly patted its cheeks with its little hands, released electricity, and then began to spin rapidly like it was breakdancing.

Not only did it dodge the powerful whipping, but it also used its speed to twist the vines and thorns chasing it from two directions into a knot.

"Hmm?"

Ponpon tugged at it, but it seemed impossible to separate them.

Mingyou was also slightly surprised, muttering to herself, "Is this a counter-punch shield? You can use it like this? I think I've learned some new tricks."

Ash didn't miss such a good opportunity and immediately shouted, "Thunderbolt!"

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu jumped onto the knot that had been tied in front of it, and its red cheeks immediately crackled with electricity. Its tail and cheeks burst with electricity, enveloping its entire body and releasing a dazzling yellow electric light along the vines.

"Great teamwork, but it's our turn now!"

Mingyou smiled slightly, waved her hand, and shouted, "Just charge over there and whack-a-mole!"

"Mmm!"

Despite the minimal effect of the Thunderbolt, Ponpo didn't retract its vines but immediately rushed forward. Ash noticed this and quickly told Pikachu to dodge, but this amazing move wasn't very useful here.

The vines and thorns that were originally tied in a "dead knot" were suddenly grabbed by Ponpong, who rushed over and the thorns automatically wrapped around them. She then demonstrated the process of making a thorny vine stick to everyone and held it in both hands.

"Mmm!"

Ponpo swung downwards with force, delivering a devastating blow to Pikachu, who was caught off guard by the weapon. The damage was significant; a Pokémon hit like that would usually fall into a deep, infantlike sleep.

Pikachu fell to the ground and rolled twice, while Ponpo swung its thorny vine again. This time, however, Pikachu's quick dodge technique finally worked, and it successfully dodged the attack with Quick Attack, creating distance between itself and Ponpo.

At this moment, Xiao Zhi also hurriedly asked.

"Are you alright?"

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu nodded somewhat reluctantly. This opponent was indeed very strong, even feeling no weaker than Latios, whom they had fought at the Lily of the Valley Conference. They had to take it seriously.

"Okay, let's go again!"

Ash smiled again and waved.

At this moment, Pikachu unleashed an even stronger current than when it used 100,000 volts, covering its entire body, and then charged forward at full speed.

With the increased speed of high-speed movement, the speed at which the Volt attack was released even left faint arcs of electricity in the air, making it impossible for Ponpo to dodge.

But it had no intention of avoiding it at all. Instead, under Mingyou's command, it immediately put on the well mask to increase its water attribute...

At this point, some people will definitely ask, Pikachu is an Electric type and Ponpo is a Grass type, so why add a Water type to eliminate the effect when it is minimal?

General Mike Mingyou, a five-star hatching master in the Unova region, commented: "To deal with a master of reverse attributes, you should do the opposite!"

Although the effect was no longer significant, Ponpo gripped the blue-turned thorny vines with both hands and was only knocked back half a meter before successfully blocking the Volt attack!

"Pikachu?"

"Mmm!"

The thorny part of the thorny vine in Ponpo's hand emitted a blue-green light and was wrapped in light to resemble a wooden stake. Pikachu had no time to dodge and was hit hard on the face by the wooden mallet that the thorny vine had turned into.

With a loud bang, Pikachu was sent flying, severely injured, while Ponpo was also hit by shards of the broken mallet. The recoil also caused considerable damage to Ponpo, but a current flashed through its body, and Ponpo was paralyzed due to Pikachu's static electricity.

Both sides suddenly found themselves at a disadvantage, causing the audience to hold their breath once again...

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu struggled to its feet and, after telling Ash that it was alright, looked ahead.

Now is the best opportunity to attack. Triggering static electricity is actually part of the tactical considerations. Anyone would have a headache if they were paralyzed, and no one knows if they will be controlled in the next second.

Ash gently adjusted his hat, took a breath, and knew that if Pikachu continued to be hit in this state, it would be difficult for it to continue fighting. So this was a last-ditch effort!

"Defeat it in one fell swoop before it recovers from the paralysis!"

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu raised its tail, but suddenly, the once clear sky turned into a stormy cloud, and cold raindrops began to fall with the sound of rumbling thunder. This sudden scene caught everyone off guard. Shouldn't the weather forecast be working properly?

"Why is it raining?"

"I haven't gone back to collect the laundry yet..."

"Damn it, let's watch the game first!"

The game is at its most crucial moment, and not a single spectator is willing to leave, even though it's pouring rain today, they want to stay until the very last moment!

Zhu Lan looked up and murmured something like, "This omen is not good," before turning to look at Adek and exchanging a glance.

Listening to the complaints of those around her, Xiao Zhao looked up at the sky, her eyebrows furrowed slightly. She vaguely sensed something, but it wasn't worth worrying about now. She simply took off her headscarf, put it in her bag, and let the rain fall on her tied-up long hair.

The rain and thunder grew louder and louder. Mingyou's coat was completely soaked. The cold rainwater cooled the white dragon mark on the back of his hand. Meanwhile, not far away, the rainwater did not leave any marks on Pengpeng's cloak. It even seemed as if the rainwater was being absorbed.

Although paralyzed, it still assumed a fighting stance, enduring the occasional strain the paralysis might place on its body, and looked ahead...

Just then, a bolt of lightning suddenly fell from the dark clouds covering the sky and struck Pikachu directly, startling everyone present.

Bathed in lightning, Pikachu not only remained unharmed, but even burst forth with golden flames, as if it had finally regained its power!

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu was in an unprecedentedly high mood, and Ash seemed to completely understand its feelings, immediately smiling and becoming serious as he turned the hat with the Poké Ball pattern around!

"Go all out, Volt Attack!"

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu was enveloped in golden lightning, unleashing a powerful aura and strength ten times... even a hundred times stronger than before.

The raindrops falling from the air connected one after another under the spread of the electric arc, forming a huge electric grid that firmly blocked all escape routes, leaving only Pikachu running wildly on the field!

"Go, Ponpo!"

Go, Pikachu!

Shouts of support for both sides echoed throughout the audience. Danyu and Wuli were almost hoarse from shouting, while Xiaozhao, completely disregarding her composure, stood up and shouted even louder than anyone else.

The support from both sides pierced through the rain and reached them directly. The electric current that cut through the entire field roared and detonated the power grid covering the entire area. The terrifying lightning shot directly into the sky and pierced through the dark clouds that covered the sky!

All the Rotom drones that were filming at the scene briefly lost their signal at that moment. The audience was dumbfounded and could not believe that such power was caused by a Pikachu!

So what about the 'E'gui Pong'?

Some spectators who had come to their senses immediately looked towards the field. As lightning pierced through the dark clouds, the sky cleared instantly, and sunlight streamed down. Only a few puddles of rainwater glistened in the sunlight.

Ponpo stood on the field unharmed. Not only had she not been defeated, but her paralysis had also been completely cured, as if she had secretly taken a full recovery pill.

"Don't look at me, I didn't do it."

Mingyou tried his best to argue...

"...Pikachu!?"

Exhausted and barely able to stand, Pikachu and Ash stared in disbelief at the scene before them—how could they be completely unharmed!

"Hmm..."

Ponpo took off its mask, revealing its adorable face. It hadn't done anything, and the Volt attack had indeed hit. However, the well mask had emitted a dazzling aura, absorbing all the aggressive rainwater and converting it into its stamina. It really hadn't done anything.

Such an explanation may not be convincing, but the fact that it still stands speaks volumes. Such a powerful offensive ended in such an absurd way.

Zhu Lan snapped out of her thoughts, crossed her arms, and said with a smile, "It seems... he's quite an unpredictable player."

"Haha, that's really funny."

Adek smiled and nodded.

On the field, Ponpon tiptoed forward, sneaking up to Pikachu and gazing at it with its adorable starry eyes.

It didn't raise the thorny vine again, but slowly squatted down, reached out and gently poked Pikachu's face. Just like the last Kyogre that crushed Groudon's flightless body, Pikachu finally couldn't hold on any longer, its eyes rolled around, and it rolled over and fell down...

"Mmm~"

So Ponpo won!

The outcome was decided, and after a brief silence came an even more enthusiastic outburst. As the referee announced the result, Xiao Zhao lifted Latias high in his arms, his expression so happy that he was almost speechless.

Meloeta and the others were also calling out to Ponpo. Danyu and her brother even hugged each other happily. Although Xiaoguang and the others had some regrets, they were also happy for Mingyou.

But at this moment...

Mingyou opened his arms and caught Ponpon, who had rushed into his embrace. He picked up the child, but amidst his joy at winning, he looked up at the sky with a hint of worry and glanced at the white dragon mark on the back of his hand.

The dark cloud that appeared just now was undoubtedly caused by Zekrom after activating the overclock drive mode, including the lightning that struck Pikachu. But why would Zekrom, who was controlled by Ghetsis, suddenly pass by here?

"There are still many mysteries. Let's wait until N wakes up before discussing this further... Right now, we should be more focused on tomorrow's final match against Xiao Zhao!"

……

(End of this chapter)