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"Screech—"
An ear-splitting sound rang out in the arena, so sharp that Misty, A Ya, and others couldn't help but cover their ears.
Although the defensive barrier could block energy, it couldn't block sound. That kind of piercing noise was truly unsettling to the core.
Even Koga couldn't help but cover his ears. Such a piercing sound was indiscriminate; apart from the initiator, everyone who heard it would feel a sense of irritation and pain from within.
And within this piercing sound, Supersonic, which carried a power to cause confusion, was also integrated.
To defend against this combination skill, one either had to interrupt it directly before the opponent used it, or completely block one's ears to hear nothing.
Otherwise, once hit, falling into confusion and having defense lowered would be a very bad outcome for a Pokémon.
However, Ash let Bulbasaur use Growth without any regard.
Growth is a skill that can increase both of a Pokémon's attack stats by one stage, and under Sunny Day, this increase doubles directly.
The moment Bulbasaur used Growth, its body seemed to grow a size larger.
But at this moment, that sharp sound entered Bulbasaur's ears. Bulbasaur's face showed a hint of pain, and its eyes began to spin, seemingly already in a state of confusion, unable to distinguish directions.
"Excellent, Crobat, use Brave Bird Attack!" Seeing that both skills had hit Bulbasaur, its guard was completely down, making it the best time to attack!
Not only had the opponent's defense been lowered by two stages, but Crobat was also most skilled at physical moves. If this attack hit, the damage caused would be incomparable to the Air Slash from before!
Ash shook his head, and his voice slowly rang out: "Maximum power, Frenzy Plant."
Koga was stunned. Frenzy Plant? Wasn't this a move that only fully evolved Grass-type Pokémon could use? And only those from the Starter Pokemon of Grass-types could use it. Did this Bulbasaur know that too?
But it didn't matter, Bulbasaur was currently in a confused state. Not to mention whether it could even use it, even if it did manage to use it in a daze, the power would be ordinary, and the speed of releasing the skill would definitely be very slow... Koga had just thought this when the entire arena suddenly began to shake violently, as if some enormous creature was awakening beneath the earth.
The next second, countless cracks burst open, and amidst flying dirt, thick roots shot out from the ground like mad pythons breaking free from their restraints!
The previously empty arena was directly covered by countless roots, as if the ground had transformed into a forest!
The barrier that had just been erected was instantly shattered by the roots emerging from the ground!
'Ash' frowned slightly. He raised his arm, and a light blue glow appeared on his hand. A new blue barrier rose around them, firmly protecting the surrounding defenses and the spectators.
The Crobat in the arena plummeted like a meteor. By the time he saw the thick roots and branches emerging from the ground, it was completely too late to brake.
"Boom!!"
Countless roots and trees danced in mid-air as if they had a conscious life, directly enveloping the Crobat, which was covered in a layer of blue energy.
A dull roar echoed from within the roots and trees, but it failed to tear apart the wrapped grayish-brown wood.
The movement within the vines grew smaller and smaller, and after a few seconds, it quieted down.
Besides the cessation of movement within the vines, everyone around, including Koga, Misty, and those in front of their TVs and computers, also fell silent.
People eating dropped their bowls and chopsticks, people walking on the road unknowingly bumped into lampposts, and people lounging on sofas slumped down. Although the previous matches were somewhat unexpected, they certainly wouldn't have caused such expressions and emotions in the crowd. But now, everyone watching the match had a blank mind, completely devoid of thought.
Koga, as the person involved, was even more dazed, his eyes vacant. If not for his Elite Four Class dignity supporting him, he probably would have sat down on his backside right now. Even so, he felt completely weak, his hands and feet cold.
What kind of match was this? In the previous two matches, he had at least maintained a superior position throughout, but the opponent's use of special abilities led to quick reactions, making attacks difficult to land.
If he had managed to hit the opponent even once, he could have won the first two battles. Unfortunately, he ultimately failed to do so.
But for the first two Pokémon, he could still use excuses like not being fast enough or being too careless. However, this battle featured his ace Pokémon, Crobat, and it was among the fastest of his Pokémon!
Under multiple boosts, even a low-level Champion Pokémon would be left far behind by Crobat's speed!
Coupled with its superior inherent strength among all his Pokémon, this battle was almost a guaranteed win.
But in this very battle, he encountered an even more terrifying monster.
Air Slash couldn't cause any effective damage to that Bulbasaur. He finally managed to increase his speed, then used that increased speed to deploy Supersonic and a piercing sound to disrupt the opponent, and prepared for a sure-kill move!
The result was a sure-kill, but it was his own Pokémon that was sure-killed!
Who could he complain to about this?
Was he fighting a Champion today? Even if he were fighting a Champion Trainer, he wouldn't be beaten to this extent!
The Bulbasaur Ash sent out last was simply too abnormal. This abnormality couldn't be described with words. If Koga had to describe what this Bulbasaur felt like, he could only say... a Legendary Pokémon!
This was a Legendary Pokémon disguised as a Bulbasaur! Could this guy be Mew transformed?
Koga, already facing defeat, began to think wildly and frantically. If Koga went mad at the end of this battle, Bulbasaur would be 99% responsible.
After the silence, Ash called out to Bulbasaur, and only then did Bulbasaur dispel the Frenzy Plant in the arena, revealing the Crobat that had been enveloped by it.
But he had completely lost his ability to battle. Although there were no obvious external injuries on his body, no one knew how much pain he had suffered while being enveloped in the Frenzy Plant.
Grass-type moves are four times resisted by Flying and Poison-type Crobat!
This means that any Grass-type move could only cause one-fourth of the damage, yet this one-fourth damage instantly killed Crobat!
One move, truly only one move!
Anyone with a basic understanding of Trainer common sense would instinctively think it was completely impossible. How big must the level gap be to instantly kill a Pokémon with four times resistance in one move?
Crobat's level was Elite Four Class peak. To achieve this, it would require at least a high-level Champion and above!
This Bulbasaur is high-level Champion? Are you kidding me?!
...Oak's Laboratory—
Professor Oak and Ash's Pokémon were all dumbfounded at this moment. Although they were watching the live broadcast and couldn't see the situation in the arena completely, they could see enough to realize how exaggerated the move Bulbasaur used at the end was!
The barrier set up by the League's machinery was directly burst open! If it weren't for a final blue barrier blocking the expansion of Frenzy Plant, all the cameras would probably have been destroyed by now.
It's hard to imagine that this terrifyingly powerful Frenzy Plant was released by that small and exquisite Bulbasaur. Does this conform to Pokémonology?
Professor Oak, who had spent his life researching Pokémon, for the first time felt a sense of doubt about his own research.
He felt that his research was completely useless when it came to Ash.
Because it didn't match any of Ash's Pokémon.
Whether it was Charizard, Pikachu, Gengar, or the Bulbasaur currently in the arena.
As the Frenzy Plant was dispelled, the situation in the arena reappeared on the TV. Professor Oak looked at the fallen Crobat and sighed, "Champion peak... Ash, you're really putting yourself in the limelight. If you're still going to challenge Viridian Gym... I'll have to warn that old guy."
Professor Oak's eyes were still on the TV, but his thoughts had already drifted to who knows where... Johto Region, Blackthorn Gym—
A man and a woman sat in the Gym's hall, watching the live broadcast on TV. The man had red hair, and the woman had blue hair. Their clothes were similar, and both wore cloaks.
The man's name was Lance, also known as... Lance!
Lance, Kanto's strongest Elite Four, Johto's Champion, known as the Dragon Master, nicknamed the invincible Dragon Master Lance.
The woman was Lance's cousin, named Clair, and she was also the Gym Leader of the Blackthorn Gym in the Johto region.
Today, Lance happened to come to catch up with Clair and see what progress his cousin had made recently. Although they were cousins, their relationship was actually quite good.
As it happened, they heard that a Rookie Trainer in Kanto was challenging a prospective Johto Elite, and it was an Elite Four Class battle.
Since it was related to Johto, they naturally wanted to see who was so overconfident.
Lance naturally knew that there was a prospective Johto Elite in a Kanto Gym, and he even knew him.
It was normal for a Rookie Trainer to challenge Koga, a Gym Leader, but challenging Koga's main force was a bit abnormal. He wanted to see who was so foolish.
After three battles, the usually wise and composed Lance had exclaimed in shock countless times mid-match.
Clair's exclamations were even more exaggerated than Lance's.
None of these three matches were normal, especially the last one, which hardly seemed like a match that could happen in the Pokémon World.
"Cousin, what is the power level of that Bulbasaur...?"
"Champion peak, and among the top tier of Champion peak. It can even go head-to-head with Leon's Charizard." The knowledgeable Lance revealed Bulbasaur's true strength in one sentence.
Only the most top-tier Trainers in the world could instantly discern Bulbasaur's true strength like this, even without being present.
Even Koga, who was currently battling Ash, couldn't discern Bulbasaur's current power level.
At most, he only knew that the opponent could instantly kill Crobat, so its strength was at least high-level Champion.
But Lance could directly determine its level.
"Champion peak... Can Bulbasaur be trained to Champion peak?! Isn't that Trainer named Ash a rookie? How did he do it?" Clair's gasp rang out, her words full of incredulity.
It was already incredible for a Rookie Trainer to possess a Champion peak Pokémon, and this Pokémon was even a Bulbasaur, a Pokémon that hadn't evolved!
Does such a person exist in the world who can raise an unevolved Pokémon to Champion peak?
Although people always say that the power of bonds can create miracles, and as long as there is a deep bond with a Pokémon, both talent and bottlenecks can be broken!
But in reality, this is very difficult to achieve. Miracles are called miracles precisely because they occur so rarely.
It is simply more difficult for a Pokémon to increase its strength without evolving; this is the rule of the real world.
Those who choose not to evolve their Pokémon and then train them to a very high level, their efforts and beliefs are definitely more than a hundred times that of ordinary Trainers!
And raising a Pokémon to Champion peak in its initial form... this is almost impossible.
Lance shook his head and said, "That Bulbasaur is not truly Champion peak. Didn't you see its level? Or rather, you saw it, but you dare not admit it."
Clair: ... "That's right, its level is Superior. That is to say, that Bulbasaur forcibly raised its strength to Champion level with Superior level power. This kind of strength increase is even more incredible than Bulbasaur itself being Champion level. Although I don't know what that Trainer did, if his method of increasing strength is seen by someone with ulterior motives, he will likely be targeted."
Lance said slowly, his tone flat, but with an undeniable hint of admiration.
Even if it's a level increase achieved through special means, being able to boost to this extent, isn't that more exaggerated than naturally reaching this level?
What kind of method could allow a Pokémon to increase its strength so terrifyingly, and also allow its body to withstand it?
The benchmark for a Pokémon's strength, in essence, is its six stats. The fundamental purpose of increasing level is also to increase the six stats.
Assuming an Elite Level Pokémon's six stats add up to five hundred, then if you reach five hundred at the Superior level, what difference is there between you and an Elite Level Pokémon?
Furthermore, after reaching Elite Level, your six stats might reach six hundred, seven hundred, making you invincible at the same level!
This is why powerful Trainers don't focus too much on increasing levels, but rather on increasing the six stats.
Level increases ultimately have an upper limit. Once that limit is reached, it's a competition of how well both sides have trained their six stats.
A method like Ash's, which can increase Bulbasaur's six stats without increasing its level, will definitely attract countless people's covetous gazes.
This is not good news for Ash.
However, on the other hand, not every Trainer's eyesight can reach his, Lance's, level. So, ordinary people probably wouldn't notice, and this live broadcast isn't watched by everyone, so Ash's method of enhancing Pokémon should not be widely known.