I have added this story to my Patreon. You can support me and read the 40 latest and advanced chapters there. It also fed and motivate me to write more chapters!
Free Members will get 10 Chapters Ahead of the schedule on Patreon!!!
Link: Patreon.com/AVRKingsTL
—------------------—
Arbok used Dig to burrow underground, finally temporarily escaping Pikachu's continuous beating.
But at this moment, Koga was questioning his life.
No, who the hell is Elite Four Class? My Pokémon are Elite Four Class, right? Why am I being unilaterally beaten? Is there some mistake here?
What was that Electric Terrain just now? Not only was it fast, but its power was also ridiculously strong.
Being able to hit Arbok's defensive barrier and crack it meant that the power of that move just now had already reached Elite Four Class!
If that move had directly struck the barrier, it probably would have shattered the defensive barrier!
When Charizard used that colorful flame to hit Toxicroak earlier, the cracks Toxicroak caused on the barrier were actually similar.
But Koga still wanted to say... Why?!
A Professional Level Pikachu, even with Ash's special ability, why could it achieve Elite Four Class attack power?!
Could it be that a Trainer with special abilities provides such an absurd boost to their Pokémon? In the future, will top Trainers not only need to train Pokémon but also possess powerful special abilities themselves?
Otherwise, if everyone is Champion level, and you give your Pokémon a buff, wouldn't that make them invincible?!
In reality, Pikachu's ability to be boosted to such an extent was not as simple as Koga imagined; this was not just the buff from Ash, but also the effect of the Partner Form.
In Partner Form, the level can stably increase by one minor stage, and all ability values increase by one grade.
With Pikachu's current ability values, his dual attacks, in the most extreme circumstances, could be boosted to S-rank!
And Ash's current Aura is the combined Aura of all Bo-do Warriors in the group, plus his own enhanced Bo-do.
To put it bluntly, even for a God-Tier Pokémon, if Ash's Aura could be fully applied, it could help it advance one minor stage.
For a Pikachu of this level, an increase of one major stage is normal; if Pikachu's body could withstand it, Ash could even elevate its overall power to Champion, though that is clearly not very realistic.
With dual buffs, Pikachu's overall strength could almost rival a peak Gym Leader, but there is still a significant gap between a peak Gym Leader and Elite Four Class.
Pikachu eliminated these gaps with the Light Ball.
The Light Ball's effect is to double Pikachu's dual attacks! In terms of offense, Pikachu is definitely not inferior to Arbok.
As for the disadvantage in speed, that was compensated for by Electric Terrain.
Therefore, although Arbok had increased by one minor stage compared to Toxicroak in this battle, the difference was not as great as in Charizard's battle against Toxicroak.
Koga did not know the various reasons behind it, only feeling that it was extremely absurd, but his composure as an Elite Trainer quickly allowed him to gather his thoughts and begin contemplating battle strategies.
First, he would use Dig to attack Pikachu.
No matter how strong Pikachu's offensive capabilities were, his defensive power must be weak!
He refused to believe that a Pikachu whose strength was forcibly boosted could still reach Elite Four Class in defense.
So, if Dig could land a hit, the situation would be completely different.
As Arbok burrowed into the ground, only a gentle breeze rustled the dust on the field, and the silent scene allowed even the slightest vibrations from underground to be heard by those around.
However, the sound of the vibrations seemed to come from the entire ground, making it impossible to pinpoint Arbok's location from it.
Pikachu stood still until several seconds later, when he suddenly jumped up!
The ground where he stood instantly cracked open, and Arbok shot out from beneath, opening its gaping maw and nearly swallowing Pikachu whole!
If Pikachu had jumped even a moment slower, he might have been hit by Dig, and even taken a bite from Arbok!
Koga's expression darkened; his worst fear had come true. Pikachu also possessed a super strong perception ability, similar to Charizard's.
This ability was most likely the power called Aura from Ash.
Arbok, while underground, continuously emitted vibrations to interfere with Ash and Pikachu's judgment of Arbok's position, but since Pikachu was not moving, the attack location was fixed.
The difficult part to predict was when Arbok would attack.
If he jumped too early, he would be hit by Arbok's attack upon landing, with no way to move.
If he jumped too late, he would be directly attacked by Arbok.
Therefore, timing the jump was extremely crucial. For other Pokémon, even Elite Four Class Pokémon and Trainers would find it difficult to judge the timing, relying only on extensive experience to control it.
But Ash was different... This guy was practically cheating!
His perception ability could definitely clearly sense Arbok's situation underground, which is why he could so precisely grasp the moment Arbok emerged.
"Arbok, Gunk Shot!" Koga commanded coldly.
Even if he dodged Dig, what then? How would he dodge in mid-air?
Arbok, having just emerged from the ground, violently swung its tail, firmly planting its body in place, alleviating the feeling of weightlessness after coming up from underground. At the same time, it opened its sharp-toothed mouth, and a column of dark purple energy shot out from it!
This was one of the strongest Poison-type moves, extremely powerful!
Furthermore, being used by an Elite Four Class Arbok, the moment the move was unleashed, the entire space seemed to be contaminated, and the dark purple energy appeared to corrode even space itself!
Pikachu, in mid-air, seemed to have no space to dodge, but Ash shouted at this moment: "Floating Fall!"
"Pika!!" Pikachu spread his arms and legs; at this moment, he seemed to ride the wind!
An invisible breeze made him float in mid-air, his descent speed became very slow, and Pikachu even drifted horizontally for a distance.
The Gunk Shot, which should have been a sure hit, actually missed just like that!
Koga tilted his head, a bewildered expression he had never shown before appearing on his face. He felt like this battle today was going to completely shatter his worldview.
Why... why can Pikachu fly?!
Who can tell him why Pikachu can fly!!
At this moment, Pikachu seemed to be floating in the air as if riding the wind; wasn't that flying?!
He could even move his body in mid-air. Although not as swift as Flying-type Pokémon, he still managed to dodge Gunk Shot with these subtle movements!
Gunk Shot is a powerful Poison-type move, but it also has some drawbacks, namely its relatively slow attack speed, making it easier for fast Pokémon to dodge.
But Koga never dreamed that an electric mouse in mid-air could dodge Gunk Shot in such a way—this was clearly a cheat!
Dodging Gunk Shot was only one aspect; the Floating Fall that Ash just called out wasn't just using Flying-type power to dodge attacks—this move... was an attack move!
Pikachu changed his posture, from having all four limbs spread wide to bringing them together, then plummeted like a rocket, aiming directly at Arbok, who had just finished unleashing its big move and was slightly stiff!
"Bang!!"
Arbok was hit by Floating Fall, and its body, which had been embedded in the ground, was directly sent flying outwards, tumbling continuously across the ground until it finally stopped, scraping against the edge of the field.
This was the third time Pikachu had attacked Arbok, but Arbok hadn't even touched Pikachu once.
And this time, the attack pattern was so strange; it looked like a Flying-type move.
How could Pikachu have a Flying-type move? Is this a ghost?!
"Pikachu, Electric Terrain!!"
"Arbok, Glare!!" Koga was well aware of the boost Electric Terrain gave to Electric-type Pokémon, but he still wanted to force a buff onto Pikachu!
The move Glare, if it hits, can directly paralyze the Pokémon. For a speed-type Pikachu, this would definitely be a critical blow!
Once Pikachu lost that annoying speed, it would be easy for Arbok to deal with Pikachu. What if Electric Terrain was activated? At that point, Pikachu wouldn't even be able to hit Arbok with moves, and might even be swept and knocked out by Arbok!
And Ash, knowing that Pikachu would be paralyzed by Glare, did not take any other defensive actions, still letting Pikachu use Electric Terrain.
Pikachu's entire body erupted with dazzling lightning, which poured into the ground. In an instant, the entire field faintly emanated streaks of electricity, turning the whole area a light golden color.
On the other side, Arbok's eyes were also fixed on Pikachu, and the terrifying large eye patterns on its body generated a strange power that affected Pikachu, causing him to fall into a paralyzed state.
"It's over, Ash. Without that terrifying speed and reaction ability, Pikachu won't be a match for Arbok." Koga made a quick judgment.
All this time, Pikachu had been able to seize the initiative everywhere because of his absurd reaction ability and corresponding speed.
But now, paralysis halves a Pokémon's speed across the board, whether it's movement speed, attack speed, or reaction speed.
With halved speed, Pikachu could no longer perform the actions he did before.
Ash did not reply, merely showing a peculiar smile.
"Mr. Koga, when I battled Sabrina, she taught me a valuable lesson. Now I will pass that lesson on to you. You'd better listen carefully."
Koga: ?
"When dealing with Trainers who can apply special abilities to their Pokémon... don't give them status conditions! Pikachu, Electric Terrain!"
Pikachu's body trembled, a current of electricity dispersed from his body, then erupted into dazzling golden light, instantly vanishing from his spot.
"Lay down Toxic all around!" Koga, seeing Ash once again make Pikachu use that frighteningly fast move, quickly responded.
Previously, when facing the move called Electric Terrain, he had commanded Arbok to use Coil, but Arbok's body hadn't even coiled up before it was directly sent flying by Pikachu.
But this time, Pikachu was already paralyzed. Electric Terrain might be a speed-boosting move like Quick Attack, but with halved speed, Pikachu couldn't be as fast as before.
So, theoretically, Arbok's move should be able to be used this time.
As long as Toxic was laid all around, Pikachu's attack this time would be a thousand damage to the enemy, and twelve hundred self-damage!
After several skirmishes, Koga had already noticed that while Ash's Pokémon were excellent at fighting above their level, they all shared a common weakness: extremely low stamina!
To say weak isn't quite right; it should be said that their strength increased, but their stamina did not receive a corresponding boost.
Therefore, they were fighting with their original stamina.
It's obvious that for an Elite Level Pokémon to continuously unleash Gym Leader or even Elite Four Class attacks and speed without its stamina changing, it would be a miracle if its stamina didn't deplete quickly.
So, as long as they went all out and exchanged hits, the opponent would definitely fall first!
The opponent wasn't a true Elite Four Class Pokémon; forcibly raising their strength so much, how could there be no cost?
Arbok's body shimmered with a dark purple glow, and concentrated toxins were about to be discharged from it, but in the next instant, its vision was covered by golden light.
"Bang!!" The purple figure, like a ball, was kicked dozens of meters away!
"Boom!"
Arbok once again crashed into the barrier, and this time the cracks on the barrier were even larger than before. With a little more force, the barrier might have shattered.
Koga was stunned.
What's going on? Why did his speed not only not decrease after being paralyzed, but even increase a little! Is this Pikachu sick!
Suddenly, Koga remembered what Ash had just said about teaching him a lesson. Could it be... "You can use your special ability to clear a Pokémon's status conditions?!"
Ash smiled noncommittally. He neither admitted nor denied it, but with Koga's intelligence and experience, he must have already confirmed this conjecture.
After all, the paralyzed Pikachu was even faster than before; this situation was simply too unbelievable.
The only possibility was that Pikachu was not paralyzed.
The situation was now a bit tricky. Koga had intended to trade the activation of Electric Terrain for Pikachu's paralysis, which would undoubtedly have been a profitable exchange.
But now it had turned into a pure loss!
In terms of speed, as long as Pikachu didn't use that priority move, Arbok could still handle it. But in terms of reaction ability, Ash's special ability was too abnormal!
If that ability wasn't sealed, there seemed to be no way to win this battle except by simply outlasting Pikachu's stamina.
"Arbok, Stockpile!" Koga commanded again after a moment of thought.
Arbok, sliding down from the barrier, propped itself up and began to accumulate power.
"Pikachu, Electric Terrain!"
Stockpile is a stat-boosting move that increases Defense and Special Defense, but Electric Terrain has the effect of guaranteeing a critical hit, which ignores the opponent's defense boosts.
So, this move was useless against Pikachu.