After the battle, Mai began checking the Pokémon.
Marill, whom she had poked twice, finally rolled over. The little girl was actually snoring, looking so carefree that it was ridiculous. She could even fall asleep in this situation!
Mai quickly wet her hands and smoothed down Espurr's bristled fur, not bothering with Marill anymore.
As for Jumpluff, she had already started rummaging through Luther's backpack to find a healing patch. After all, her job was to bait moves and take hits. She had seen this kind of situation countless times.
Chansey was chugging Luther's favorite drink. Only after gulping down half the bottle did she pull her mouth away with a satisfied smile and let out a loud "Puh-ha."
Looking at the bottle that had been put back in Luther's backpack, Mai smiled.
Brock was also tending to Ash's Pokémon that had participated in the battle. After seeing Ash talk with Luther and then walk away, Brock fed Infernape a berry. Once he confirmed that all the Pokémon were fine, he asked Dawn to help with another check before heading over to Ash.
Ash sat with Pikachu on a rock, staring up at the night sky, seemingly lost in thought.
"What are you thinking about?" Brock asked.
Ash rubbed Pikachu's head and replied with a smile, "I'm thinking back on the battle that just happened."
Having traveled with Ash for so long, Brock felt that this battle had shocked him greatly. As a former Gym Leader and a spectator of the battle, Brock could see far more than Ash could.
Ash faced a fully formed team lineup, with each Pokémon having a clearly defined role. As a Pokémon Trainer, Luther coordinated exceptionally well with his Pokémon.
The only part of the lineup that felt slightly off was Espurr's contest over the weather. Logically, Luther's team should have had a Pokémon of the corresponding type to take advantage of strong 'Sunny weather' or 'Rain Dance'.
Yet, only Marill took the field.
The Houndoom that was lying at the edge of the battlefield never entered the fight. This allowed Luther to freely swap pieces within the system, which was a strong display in itself.
Since Brock had never met Hakuya, he didn't know what his battling style was like or what it felt like to battle him. But the pressure Luther showed, and his control over the rhythm of the fight, had already made Ash extremely uncomfortable.
Staraptor was first hit with 'Stun Spore' and 'Poison Powder' by a Jumpluff fighting against type advantage and was then defeated by Marill.
When Ash tried to press the advantage by sending out Pikachu, Chansey appeared.
No matter how Pikachu attacked, Chansey defended tightly and only used a weak 'Flamethrower' through the occasional opening. When Pikachu couldn't break through, Ash successively sent out Grotle, Gible, and Buizel.
Thinking back now, Chansey was clearly there just to drain the stamina of Ash's Pokémon, and Ash had indeed fallen for it.
After Chansey left the field, Espurr and Marill took turns coming out, one to control the weather and the other to take advantage of it. Each of Luther's switches perfectly cut off Ash's momentum.
"He's stronger than Paul," Brock said, voicing his thoughts as he looked at the pensive Ash.
Ash nodded before speaking. "Battling him really felt awful. My strategy was working, but I just couldn't win."
Pikachu let out a sigh. As a battler himself, the feeling was especially unpleasant.
He could clearly sense that Espurr, Marill, and Jumpluff had already lost a huge amount of stamina, yet through constant switching and coordination, they had forcibly exhausted themselves to the point where they couldn't deal with the fourth Pokémon to appear... Mismagius.
Mismagius was far faster than the previous three. If they had had full stamina, there might have been some hope, but in that situation, firing off a single Thunder was already the limit.
Brock asked curiously, "What did he say to you?"
Ash recalled what Luther had said to him, feeling a bit at a loss, and irritably scratched his head.
"He told me not to deliberately mimic his system. But his battle system is amazing. I feel like it's something I could definitely train with."
Brock froze for a moment. Luther's words couldn't have been clearer. He wanted Ash to truly understand his style of battling, not just copy the surface-level form.
A system only works when supported by solid techniques and long-term coordination between a trainer and their Pokémon. Ash didn't lack bonds with his Pokémon; what he needed was battle technique.
However, blindly mimicking others would cause him to lose his unique characteristics. After all, every outstanding Pokémon Trainer has something uniquely their own.
Seeing Ash deep in thought, Brock decided to break down his understanding and explain it clearly to Ash. If Ash still had doubts, Brock believed Luther would be more than willing to explain things thoroughly.
At the same time, Luther was spacing out as well.
Milcery had already used Luther's bent back as a slide several times, yet he showed no reaction. Thinking that Luther might be upset, she climbed up onto his shoulder and tried hard to rub against his cheek.
In truth, Luther was very happy. He had fulfilled his first obsession since coming to this world.
When he carefully explained his battling style to Ash, Ash sincerely thanked him.
When he first arrived, his mind was completely foggy; he was dazed and confused with no idea where he was headed. Seeing Ash in the newspapers brought back long-buried childhood memories that became the driving force that pushed him forward.
Before finding a new direction, he relied on those memories to help him navigate this strange world.
In fact, it was Luther who should have been the one saying thank you.
People are constantly growing and changing their goals as they strive to realize their own value.
For Luther, the Ash from the animated world had come alive. Ash had pointed out a path for Luther, giving him direction, even though Luther had already rejected it and no longer needed it.
When they shook hands, they both knew the next time they would meet would likely be at the Lily of the Valley Conference.
Luther didn't want to lose. Not even a little.
The Pokémon who had accompanied him all the way could not be let down. Together, they had put in countless hours of hard work, faced innumerable dangers, and only then made it this far.
There were still many ways to use Darkrai. Luther told Ash about them and said he could help him get familiar with them. Ash agreed.
This was Luther's gift to his childhood self.
Whether it was Dakota, Ash, or Luther, everyone now had only one identity: Pokémon Trainer.
On the battlefield of the Lily of the Valley Conference, the loser could only admit that they simply weren't skilled enough.
As for battle systems, Luther was worried that Ash might hit another mental roadblock... Ash had a history of that, after all.
A system may be good, but its effectiveness depends on who is using it.
The hot-blooded Ash who charged forward, relying on love and bonds, was one of a kind. Rashly adopting a rigid, system-based style might result in nothing more than a poor imitation.
The correct approach was to extract the battle techniques Luther had demonstrated, learn how to control rhythm, master the timing of Pokémon switches, judge Pokémon condition, and finally integrate all of that into one's own style.
Learning and applying it in practice; that was exactly how Paul did it.
And as for Ash, Luther believed that he could do it too.
(End of Chapter)
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