Chapter 181. Can It Even Inspire the Opponent?
"Ash, go for it!"
In front of the TV, Serena and Delia Ketchum waved the snack wrappers in their hands like support flags.
Delia stared at the screen, astonished.
To be honest, her impression of Natsume had been stuck at "a researcher whom Pokémon didn't like."
She never expected the Pokémon he trained to be this strong.
What's more, from beginning to end, Natsume hadn't even gone all out.
"Pikachu, are you ready?"
Ash looked at Pikachu with a grave expression.
Getting swept six straight by Natsume would be way too embarrassing.
"Pika!"
Pikachu clenched its tiny fists.
Pikachu was inspired, and its fighting spirit rose.
As the last Pokémon on its team, Pikachu inherited all of its teammates' fighting spirit.
Pikachu's fighting spirit broke past its limits, and something miraculous could happen at any moment.
It can inherit that?
Natsume blinked and gained a new understanding of the Authority that resides with Ash.
"Curse Ball!"
Natsume gave the command on the spot.
Right now, he was intensely curious what that "miracle at any moment" would be.
As far as he knew, the basics were that Pokémon endowed with fighting spirit by Ash would see their evasion rate and critical-hit rate greatly increase.
"Pikachu, dodge!"
The violet beam grazed past, and in a nimble flip Pikachu reached Mewtwo Ball Rotom's flank.
"Now!"
Ash shouted.
In an instant, pitch-black light flashed along Pikachu's tail, and the whole tail turned matte.
"There it is—Ash Ketchum's modified Iron Tail!"
Magnet Storm Sword Tail struck Rotom, ignoring Rotom's defenses.
"Rotom!"
Mewtwo Ball Rotom cried out and staggered back again and again.
The green HP bar overhead plunged in a flash to half.
Natsume's eyes widened.
Wasn't this the "true damage" unique to Legendary Pokémon bearing Divinity?
Pikachu's fighting spirit was building.
As the announcements kept coming, Natsume hesitated for a beat.
Past the peak already?
And it can still keep building?
"Extinction Ball!"
Natsume swept his hand down, keeping the pressure on.
In an instant, the nearby Pikachu froze in midair.
Its colors began to fade, turning into eerie black and white, and in a heartbeat it was absorbed into Mewtwo Ball Rotom.
Mewtwo Ball Rotom drew itself into a compact sphere, the purple-gold tracery over its body dimming, and floated there in silence.
"Pikachu, hang in there!"
Ash clenched his fists.
Pikachu's fighting spirit was building.
Outside, Natsume arched a brow.
This Rotom's move completely seals the foe.
Only by attacking Rotom to transfer the damage onto Pikachu until Pikachu is defeated might Pikachu be released.
Unless the opponent, like Charizard, collapses on its own from exhaustion.
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack to break out!"
As if something had just occurred to him, Ash shouted.
Natsume shook his head slightly.
"Don't be silly, Ash. Pikachu can't use moves right now."
Pikachu used Quick Attack, but it failed.
Natsume waved a hand.
"See—"
He didn't finish before the next announcement cut in.
The current running over Pikachu's body disrupted Mewtwo Ball Rotom's circuitry, and Pikachu used Quick Attack.
Pikachu broke free of the sealing state.
Natsume: "???"
What the heck is this?
"Great chance—Pikachu, use Magnet Storm Sword Tail!"
"Pika!"
The heavy, forceful blow came crashing down.
Before it could recover, Mewtwo Ball Rotom was smashed out of the air and sank into the ground.
So as not to make its Trainer sad, Mewtwo Ball Rotom held on.
As if an HP-lock were active, the HP bar over Mewtwo Ball Rotom plummeted, then froze at a sliver.
"Volt Switch!"
Mewtwo Ball Rotom turned into a streak of lightning that struck Pikachu, then immediately rebounded and returned to the Poké Ball on Natsume's belt.
It was out of PP, and keeping Mewtwo Ball Rotom on the field no longer made sense.
"Go, center-parted!"
The Poké Ball in Natsume's hand opened, and a Pikachu with a center-parted fringe, clutching a little blanket and looking completely bewildered, appeared on the field.
Trainer Natsume sent out center-parted.
"Pika pika?"
Center-parted glanced back at Natsume.
Wasn't it agreed it would go on last?
Center-parted looked decidedly unenthusiastic.
"Center-parted, show your fighting spirit and battle Pikachu!"
Ash shouted.
"Pika!"
Pikachu also raised a tiny fist toward center-parted.
Center-parted yawned.
No way—battling was never happening in its lifetime.
Just as it was about to pull the blanket over itself and flop down to sleep, a surge of boldness rose in its heart.
Center-parted was inspired, and its fighting spirit began to build.
Hey—wait a second!
Natsume was dumbfounded.
"Ash, try praising center-parted a few times."
Natsume spoke, suspicious.
Ash nodded and kept cheering center-parted on.
"Come on, center-parted—show your fighting spirit!"
Center-parted's fighting spirit kept building.
Natsume fell silent.
It can even inspire the opponent's Pokémon?
That it could affect itself didn't surprise him.
But if it could also affect the opponent, then there was a lot to unpack here—and a lot of tactics to develop.
For example, right now:
Center-parted wanted to fall asleep, but was too worked up to sleep.
Center-parted tugged the little blanket into place, already fully posed, yet drowsiness never came.
"Pika pika?"
Bewildered, it suddenly looked up—only to see a giant black tail, like a great blade, chopping down at it.
"Pika!"
Startled, center-parted hurriedly tucked the little blanket under itself as a shield.
Boom.
With a thunderous roar, center-parted—curled up around the blanket like a ball—rolled across the ground like an embroidered orb, bumped into the battle platform steps at Natsume's feet, and finally stopped.
Natsume's gaze darkened.
Because of Ash's influence, center-parted didn't seem able to sleep.
"Oh my—could the decisive match nerves be too much?"
"Center-parted's Sleep move failed!"
The announcer cried.
"Huh? Strange—center-parted doesn't seem to have taken much damage!"
The announcer added, spotting another blind spot.
Ash clenched his fists.
Shrouded by the battle field, he could see center-parted's condition more directly.
The green HP bar over its head plunged, but soon rose back up again.
In the end, Pikachu's attack had only dealt a sliver of damage.
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"
Ash suddenly realized center-parted's Ability wasn't the same as his own Pikachu's and switched moves at once.
"I've got it—center-parted must have Lightning Rod, so Ash chose the plainest Steel-type Iron Tail!"
"Center-parted, we'll use Iron Tail too!"
Natsume started.
In this state, Ash's thinking seemed sharper than usual.
He had thought the kid would foolishly go for Thunderbolt again.
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