Chapter 144: Bulbasaur vs. Tangrowth!
2024-05-15 Author: Samsung Charmander (Author Name)
"Tangrowth, that's Sister Erika's main Pokémon!"
"It looks like Sister Erika is really angry this time."
Hearing the shocked and doubtful murmurs around him, Ash didn't panic. On the contrary, the more intense the battle grew, the more his blood boiled with excitement at the thought of fighting a powerful opponent.
And although this Tangrowth had a goofy expression, its aura was immense, which was very much to Ash's liking. Watching it chaotically waving its vines, an idea formed in his mind.
"Come back, Pidgeotto."
To the crowd's disbelief, he suddenly recalled Pidgeotto, then threw out another Poké Ball without hesitation.
Red light flashed, revealing a curious blend.
"Saur! Saur!"
It was Bulbasaur!
"To battle a Grass-type Pokémon, of course you have to send out a Grass-type Pokémon!" Ash shouted, boosting his own morale.
"Huh?"
"Does he even know anything about Pokémon?"
"He's cracking me up."
The girls burst out laughing, clearly baffled by Ash's strategy.
Meanwhile, Misty, who was watching from the side, turned livid at this scene. She wished she could go up and give Ash a couple of slaps. In the end, she could only viciously stomp the ground twice before reluctantly pulling two candies with fancy wrappers from her pocket and handing them to Brock beside her.
"Ash even used that classic line, so you owe me five Rare Candies."
Brock's eyes were profound, an aura of compassion radiating outwards.
That's right, the two were gambling.
Misty had bet that Ash would send out Wartortle, while Brock had bet on Bulbasaur.
As the man who understood Ash best, he had already thought 50 layers ahead on Ash's behalf.
This swap also made Erika's beautiful eyes widen in surprise. *Could he have some sort of strategy?* she wondered.
Using a Grass-type against a Grass-type... to put it nicely, you could call it the Bushido Spirit—a direct, epic, and moving confrontation.
To put it bluntly, it was just reckless.
And this Youth before her seemed to fit the latter description better.
"Huh, this Bulbasaur..."
Erika lowered her gaze. As an expert in Grass-types, she quickly noticed something was off.
Normally, the energy aura of Grass-type Pokémon tends to be reserved and steady, focused on endurance, wearing down enemies with their sheer durability. But this Bulbasaur was different. Its energy was extremely wild and chaotic, as if it could trigger an explosion at any moment.
"Is it about to evolve, using this battle as the catalyst for its evolution?"
Erika guessed. If that was truly his goal, then this battle would be interesting.
"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!"
"Tangrowth, use Vine Whip!"
The battle began. Both trainers gave the same command at almost the same time. The two Pokémon shuddered, each sending out two Vine Whips lashing towards each other like mirror images.
*Crack!*
*Crack!*
The two Vine Wips entangled in the middle, but the stalemate lasted less than a second. An immense force traveled along the vine, and Bulbasaur's small body was sent flying, yanked up by Tangrowth.
"What incredible strength..."
The massive difference in their physical abilities was clear from their sizes alone. Ash quickly changed his strategy and commanded:
"Retract the Vine Whip! Use its momentum and unleash Razor Leaf!"
"Saur!"
Bulbasaur's vines, not thick, retracted flexibly. It used its upward momentum, stepping on Tangrowth's own Vine Whip to propel itself further, and then leaped high into the air. Immediately, countless Razor Leaves shot out from the bulb on its back.
*Swish swish swish*
With its mountain-like physique, Tangrowth was completely unable to dodge. The point-blank Razor Leaf inflicted devastatingly minor damage.
"No damage, huh? Then try this Move! Use Leech Seed!" Ash attacked again.
Bulbasaur nodded, and a brown seed shot from its back, landing on the grass in front of Tangrowth. In the next second, as if it had been doused in super-fertilizer, the seed grew explosively, sending out countless branches and vines to wrap around Tangrowth.
*Sss... sss...*
The red light of draining energy lit up on its body.
Seeing this, the corner of Erika's mouth lifted into a beautiful smile.
"You want to play at draining energy? Then try this Move of ours! Tangrowth, use Giga Drain!"
"Nngh~~"
Wrapped by Leech Seed, Tangrowth let out a low groan. Its two vine arms were suddenly covered in a layer of green light, then abruptly shot out tens of meters, like two swift serpents, and bound Bulbasaur.
*Sss... sss...*
The light of draining energy also lit up on its body, but its intensity was countless levels higher than that of Leech Seed.
The combination of the energy drain and the immense force of the vine's grip made Bulbasaur let out a pained wail. A faint white light began to appear on its body.
"Is it going to evolve?"
Erika's eyes burned with intensity. With a wave of her hand, she signaled Tangrowth to ease up on the pressure slightly.
The white light on Bulbasaur gradually grew denser, shining until it reached its ultimate state.
"Saur!!"
Suddenly, a low cry came from within the white light, and the strange glow instantly dispersed, as if nothing had happened at all.
Bulbasaur was left panting on the spot, covered in profuse sweat, as if it had just gone through something incredibly draining.
"Bulbasaur..."
Ash was a little disappointed. Although he respected its choice, he still hoped Bulbasaur would evolve.
Evolution meant getting stronger. In Ash's mind, it was a simple logic.
"Drat..."
But the current battle left him no time to overthink. The present situation was an incredibly difficult puzzle for him to solve.
In terms of physical strength and prowess, Bulbasaur was completely outmatched.
In terms of the power of their moves, this Tangrowth was also on a whole other level.
"What should I do?"
Ash looked around with a solemn expression, searching for any opportunity to turn the tide.
Beneath his feet was a grassy field. Around them were empty spectator stands and shrubs... and above them, a glass ceiling.
"I've got it!"
Ash's eyes lit up. He looked up at the sky. The roof of the Celadon Gym was a translucent glass ceiling, allowing only about a tenth of the sunlight to filter through.
"If I can get Bulbasaur under more sunlight, there might be an unexpected payoff..."
He recalled Brother Red's past teachings. His gaze burned as he looked at the Tangrowth before him, and his mind instantly leaped to The Fifth Layer.
*Swoosh!*
A Vine Whip swept towards them.
With a decisive wave of his hand, Ash shouted, "Perfect timing! Bulbasaur, use that Vine Whip to launch yourself into the air!"
"Saur!"
Bulbasaur understood instantly. With its nimble body, it stepped on the Vine Whip, using the force to propel itself upward, directly jumping more than ten meters into the air, almost touching the glass ceiling above. From a distance, it looked as if it were flying.
"Now, use Vine Whip to shatter the glass above!"
Ash threw his head back and roared.
Everyone tilted their heads up at a 45-degree angle to watch as the Bulbasaur in mid-air suddenly lashed out with two Vine Whips, striking viciously at the glass ceiling above.
*Klang!* *Klang!!*
The power of the Vine Whip erupted, and it actually managed to shatter two large panes of glass. Immediately, two beams of sunlight shone down, illuminating the Celadon Gym Training Ground.
*Clink, clink, clink...*
Shards of glass rained down. Although no one was hit, it still caused the onlookers to complain bitterly.
It didn't matter. All damages from a Gym challenge would be reimbursed by the Pokémon League.
*Whoosh!!*
Then, using its powerful lung capacity, Bulbasaur exhaled a huge breath towards the ground to land safely.
Just then, a beam of sunlight landed perfectly on its back.
Though it wasn't high noon, it was just past, and the sun was scorching. But under the sunlight's glow, Bulbasaur let out a sigh of comfort, clearly enjoying it.
Of course, the bulb on its back was enjoying it even more. It instantly turned from green to a brilliant white, and the scorching high temperature of the solar energy radiating from it was now truly daunting to behold.
Without hesitation, Ash waved his finger and roared:
"Fire the Solar Beam!!"
With Tangrowth's speed, it's impossible to dodge!
In the bright sunlight, Solar Beam fires instantly!!
*VROOOM!!*
The scorching energy laser shot out abruptly. Its powerful momentum was so great that it even burned a scorched mark into the grassy terrain along its path as it rushed forward with unstoppable, imposing might.
"Heh."
Seeing this nearly unstoppable attack, Erika suddenly let out a light laugh, sounding completely confident.
"You let the sunlight in, but your Bulbasaur isn't the only one who'll benefit, you know."
Hearing this, Ash suddenly had a bad feeling. He fixed his gaze on Tangrowth and saw that a beam of sunlight was also falling on it...
"I forgot to tell you. My Tangrowth's Ability is Chlorophyll. Under the sun's rays, its speed gets a significant increase," Erika said leisurely.
The terrifying laser beam of Solar Beam flashed past, striking Tangrowth head-on.
*Whoosh!*
It was only an afterimage. Solar Beam had hit nothing but air!
And Tangrowth's speed was now like a phantom's. Its heavy legs moved over the grass as if on a slide, and in an instant, it had slipped behind Bulbasaur.
"This is a good chance to try out a Move I recently picked up from the Galar Region."
Erika chuckled.
(end of chapter)