"After evolving, it learned a lot of Steel-type moves, and its strength has also reached Gym-level." Ash looked at Scizor's stats and nodded with satisfaction. And because of the hidden ability Light Metal, Scizor, despite its new metal armor, hadn't gained any weight. In fact, its weight was now half of what it would have been. This meant Scizor's speed wouldn't decrease because of its weight. The red armor also increased Scizor's Attack and Defense, making it a powerful, high-Attack, high-Defense, and high-Speed Pokémon—a true assassin.
Besides its 4x weakness to Fire, the Bug/Steel-type Scizor has eight resistances and is immune to poison. Although it's terrified of fire, the many resistances are a huge advantage, especially the immunity to poison, which is the most frustrating status effect. Its Bullet Punch move gives it priority, which is another big plus. Even if the damage isn't great right now, once Scizor mega-evolves, it will get the added bonus of the Technician ability. Once Scizor is fully trained, it will be able to take down opponents with ease.
"Nice, Scizor! Your strength has changed so much," Ash said, patting its red armor. "You might be the one I use for the Gym battle!"
"Scizor!" Scizor raised its pincers in response, its eyes filled with a fighting spirit. After evolving, it could feel its power growing, and it was filled with gratitude towards Ash. Wasn't the reason it traveled alone in Viridian Forest to find more opponents and gain more strength? It realized after encountering such a powerful Pikachu that it should follow a powerful trainer. Now, under Ash's guidance, it had indeed surpassed its past self and gained immense power. The only thing it could do was pave the way for its trainer and defeat any challengers.
"Huh, Ash, did your Scyther evolve?" Brock said as he brought his Pokémon to the Pokémon Center's backyard to let them play. He noticed a red Pokémon and immediately realized it was Ash's Scyther, now a Scizor. From its appearance, the tough armor suited the hardworking Scyther, and it looked very powerful.
"Yep, I just called Professor Oak and we did a trade evolution," Ash said.
As they spoke, Scizor left its spot and went over to Pidgeot, challenging it to a battle to get used to its new body.
"Pidgeot!" Naturally, the proud Pidgeot accepted the challenge. As the leader of the Pidgey flock in Viridian Forest, its pursuit of strength was no less than that of the newly evolved Scizor. From its battles with the Spearow flock, it knew that strength was the most fundamental guarantee of survival. Even after returning to its trainer's side, it needed to maintain its powerful strength.
"Pidgeot and Scizor are really competitive, aren't they?" Brock said, watching Pidgeot and Scizor move to a more open area.
Ash nodded in agreement, watching the two Pokémon. Several other Pokémon were also watching. Of course, among all of them, Aipom was the only exception. It didn't seem particularly interested in the intense battle between Pidgeot and Scizor. Instead, it was more interested in the flashy performances of Dawn's Piplup and Buneary. However, the fierce battle occasionally caught Aipom's attention, and it seemed to be torn between Dawn's Contest battles and Pidgeot's and Scizor's duels.
"This little guy is really greedy, isn't it?" Ash could see that Aipom was a bit greedy. It seemed interested in both Contest battles and fierce duels. Perhaps it was because two strong Pokémon, Pidgeot and Scizor, had joined the team that Aipom was acting this way. It wasn't about making a choice; it was more like a kid's mindset of wanting everything.
"This is a bit tricky," Ash thought. He was at a loss as to what to do about Aipom's choice. If Aipom had, like in the original story, only been interested in Contests, he would have handed it over to Dawn without hesitation. But now that Aipom was so indecisive, he couldn't just give it to Dawn. He had to train it himself.
"Ah! This is bad! This is bad!" Just then, Dawn's frantic voice reached their ears.
"What's wrong, Dawn?"
"I forgot to sign up for the Pokémon Contest! Today is the last day to register, and the competition starts tomorrow!" Dawn said, her legs already warming up, ready to run to the Pokémon Center.
"No problem, no problem!" Ash used Dawn's catchphrase to calm her down. He left all his Pokémon except Pikachu and Aipom in the backyard of the Pokémon Center and went with Brock to the Contest hall to register.
Soon, the three of them arrived at the Contest venue in the northern part of Jubilife City. Nurse Joy was there, seemingly serving as the registration clerk.
"My dear Nurse Joy, my name is Brock. It's an honor to—"
"Gah!" But before Brock could finish, Croagunk, the "third successor" who was immune to Brock's flirtation, burst out of its Poké Ball and gave him a powerful poisoned jab, paralyzing him. It then dragged the "numb, numb" Brock to the side.
"Hehe~" Dawn covered her mouth and chuckled at the sight of the humiliated Brock. It wasn't until Ash reminded her that she snapped out of it and went to the registration counter.
"Please fill out this contestant application form first," Nurse Joy said with a sweet smile. "Once you've filled it out, please insert your Pokédex into this slot to register."
"Okay!" After getting everything ready, Dawn took back her Pokédex and was about to leave. She looked back and saw Ash also inserting his Pokédex into the slot and handing a contestant application form to Nurse Joy. This made Dawn curious. "Ash, are you participating in the Contest, just like Mr. Contesta?" she asked.
"Yeah," Ash nodded, pointing to Aipom. "This little guy seems to like Pokémon Contests, so I guess I'll participate with it!"
"I see!" Seeing the excited Aipom, Dawn nodded in understanding. But inside, she felt both more excited and more nervous.