Indigo League - Grass Venue - Fourth Round
Seeing the timing was right, Red immediately used Teleport to extract Gary from the Rock venue, bringing him and Ash's group to the Grass venue to watch Ash's upcoming fourth-round match.
"The fourth-round match at the Grass venue has begun! On the green side, contestant Ash from Pallet Town!"
As the announcer finished speaking, the green command platform extended from the field. Ash stood alone on the platform, without Misty and Brock to serve as his coaching instructors.
"Finally, it's Ash's turn," Brock said with emotion, not expecting the usually reckless Ash to achieve such excellent results.
"No matter what, this kid is my brother. He couldn't be that mediocre," Red stated calmly, curious what placement Ash would ultimately achieve.
"Ash said he won't need our guidance anymore. I wonder if he'll be alright," Misty remarked, not expecting the stubborn Ash to actually face future matches alone. She inevitably worried about the upcoming battles.
"Ash probably wants to test his own capabilities. Always relying on you must feel awkward," Leaf speculated.
"Based on Ash's habits, he'll probably send out Bulbasaur to lead at the Grass venue," Gary predicted, analyzing Ash's likely lineup.
"Then, the red side's trainer is..."
Just as Brock prepared to check the match list, curious about Ash's opponent, a red carpet suddenly unfurled from the red contestant entrance. As music played, a beautiful girl wearing a flowing red kimono appeared, accompanied by a man scattering cherry blossoms beside her.
"Kaoruko from Maiden Town! Please treat me well!" she announced gracefully.
"She's absolutely gorgeous!" Brock shouted excitedly, his face instantly flushing crimson as he worshipped Kaoruko's stunning appearance.
"Victory, victory, Miss Kaoruko victory!" Her fan club in the audience immediately erupted in cheers, completely overwhelming the momentum from Ash's entrance.
"We're completely outnumbered. The only ones actually supporting Ash are probably just us," Misty said with a sigh, caught off guard by Kaoruko's fan club turnout.
"Actually, make that one less person," Red remarked, glancing at Brock with exasperation.
'So beautiful, Miss Kaoruko,' Brock murmured, lost in romantic fantasies about Kaoruko, oblivious to his companions' disgusted looks.
"Brock, snap out of it!" Misty snapped.
"Ash's travel companions are quite the group," Gary teased.
"The match begins!" the referee shouted.
"Go, Bulbasaur!" After the referee's signal, Ash immediately threw his Poké Ball, releasing Bulbasaur.
"Winners are brilliant flowers, losers are withered petals. Go, Beedrill!" Kaoruko declared poetically, throwing her Poké Ball to deploy Beedrill.
"It's Beedrill!" Ash exclaimed in surprise, subconsciously comparing Kaoruko's Beedrill to Red's specimen.
After observing Beedrill's relatively weak presence, Ash relaxed. When facing Red's Beedrill, even without battling, Ash could vaguely feel invisible pressure restricting his movements.
"Beedrill, use Tackle!" Kaoruko commanded.
Beedrill quickly flapped its wings, ramming forcefully toward Bulbasaur. The agile Grass-type easily dodged the assault.
"Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf!" Ash countered.
Countless leaves erupted from Bulbasaur's back, streaking toward the airborne Beedrill like flying blades.
"Beedrill, dodge then use Twineedle," Kaoruko ordered.
Beedrill flapped its wings to evade the incoming Razor Leaf barrage. After Bulbasaur's attack concluded, Beedrill immediately descended toward Bulbasaur, continuously stabbing with its sharp twin needles, attempting to overwhelm it.
Fortunately, Bulbasaur relied on its speed advantage to perfectly dodge Beedrill's consecutive Twineedle attacks, surprising the Bug-type.
"Use Poison Sting!" Kaoruko continued commanding, denying Bulbasaur any respite.
Seeing Twineedle proved ineffective, Beedrill immediately deployed the poison stinger at its tail's end, but Bulbasaur still easily evaded.
"That girl looks so sweet, but her tactics are ruthless," Misty complained, not expecting Kaoruko's assault methods to be so aggressive.
"I want to become Miss Kaoruko's assistant," Brock said dreamily, continuing to indulge in romantic fantasies.
"Which side are you even supporting!" Misty demanded angrily. Even Togepi in Misty's arms chirped disapprovingly at Brock, not expecting him to defect so easily.
"In that case, use Leech Seed!"
Beedrill's consecutive fierce attacks inevitably drained its stamina. Ash seized the opportunity and, observing Beedrill's obviously decreased speed, immediately commanded Bulbasaur.
Bulbasaur released a Leech Seed from its back, easily striking the exhausted Beedrill.
The Leech Seed rapidly sprouted, growing vines that firmly bound Beedrill's body, restricting its wings and preventing flight. It tumbled to the grass while the Leech Seed continuously absorbed its stamina.
"Bulbasaur, finish with Tackle!" Ash shouted excitedly.
Bulbasaur charged forcefully toward Beedrill, delivering a devastating Tackle that knocked it down decisively.
"Beedrill is unable to battle!" the referee announced.
Witnessing Bulbasaur easily defeat Beedrill, some spectators switched to cheering Ash on, completely abandoning their earlier enthusiasm for Kaoruko.
These casual fans had only been infatuated with Kaoruko's appearance, possessing no genuine loyalty.
"Looks like someone's cheering Ash on now," Leaf teased.
"There's still another one!" Kaoruko's dedicated fan club continued their support.
"Go, Scyther!" After recalling the fainted Beedrill, Kaoruko immediately deployed Scyther.
"Scyther, use Fury Cutter!"
The instant it materialized, Scyther flapped its wings rapidly, appearing before Bulbasaur in a blur. It slashed rapidly with its scythes, but Bulbasaur dodged first.
"Could Ash's Bulbasaur have specifically trained dodging speed?" Gary wondered aloud.
"Scyther, use Swift!" Seeing Fury Cutter miss completely, Kaoruko immediately adjusted tactics.
Scyther crossed its scythes and swung forcefully, releasing countless glowing stars toward Bulbasaur's position.
After realizing he couldn't dodge Swift's guaranteed-hit attack, Ash immediately commanded Bulbasaur to use Vine Whip to deflect the incoming projectiles. He attempted to follow up by striking Scyther with Vine Whip, but due to Scyther's Fury Cutter defense, Bulbasaur reluctantly abandoned pursuit.