"ROOOAR!!!"
A furious roar echoed through the sky as a gray-brown pterosaur Pokémon made its entrance!
[Pokémon: Aerodactyl]
[Type: Rock / Flying]
[Level: 46]
[Ability: Rock Head]
[Moves: (omitted)]
Compared to the last time everyone saw it on stream, this Aerodactyl had leveled up by one.
That was already pretty impressive.
If not for the existence of The Masked Royal, Ash might really have had a chance to win the League Conference.
[Holy crap, I thought that was edited before—turns out there really IS an Aerodactyl!]
[I remember Aerodactyl is basically a rite of passage for Kanto trainers, right? Red, Blue, and Lance—all three big shots have one.]
[True.]
Everyone nodded. They all knew about Aerodactyl.
After all, when all the major Kanto elites own one of these, you end up learning what it is whether you want to or not.
"ROOOAR!!!" (So you're the exceptionally strong Trainer that kid was talking about? Even that young Gengar around my level worships you—looks like you can finally make this old legend go all-out!!!)
Aerodactyl roared at Grey so loudly that even the dojo's glass trembled.
"Oh? Now that's an Aerodactyl with presence."
Grey raised an eyebrow.
Of course, he understood what Aerodactyl meant.
He hadn't expected Ash to use this kind of method to make Aerodactyl follow commands, but… it was actually pretty clever.
As for Ash hyping him up as some "boss" to Aerodactyl, Grey didn't mind at all.
If that was what it took to get Aerodactyl to listen, Grey practically wanted to give Ash a thumbs-up.
"Since it's Aerodactyl, then my Pokémon will be this one."
Grey tossed out a Poké Ball.
When it hit the ground, a Poliwhirl popped out.
Among the Pokémon Grey had, Poliwhirl was the only one whose strength was roughly comparable to Ash's Aerodactyl.
The rest were either way too strong… or far too weak.
"Poliwhirl?"
Outside the ring, Gary looked surprised.
Grey was actually using a Poliwhirl—a Pokémon that hadn't even reached its final evolution—to fight Aerodactyl?
Sure, Poliwhirl had the type advantage, but its base stats were… kind of a burden. If it could evolve into Poliwrath, then sure, no problem.
But Poliwhirl…
Gary closed his eyes and thought it through.
No matter how he looked at it, Poliwhirl's chances of winning seemed slim.
Could it really win?
"Poliwhirl." (Hello.)
Poliwhirl greeted first, gauging the other side's attitude.
"ROAR!" (That little tadpole that hasn't even fully become a frog wants to fight your dragon elder? Back when I ruled the skies in prehistoric times, your ancestors might not even have been born yet!)
Aerodactyl liked judging a Pokémon's strength by its size.
A small little Pokémon like Poliwhirl would've been at the very bottom of the food chain back then.
"…"
Poliwhirl lifted its gaze, staring quietly at Aerodactyl.
"Seriously, this Aerodactyl's mouth is filthy too."
Grey pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed.
Of all the targets to trash-talk… it picked Poliwhirl?
Poliwhirl was the type that would curse out even Articuno and Zapdos.
If you treated it well, it treated you well.
But if you ran your mouth at it?
Yeah. Aerodactyl had just chosen the narrow road.
"ROAR!" (What are you looking at? Don't think staring at me means your dragon elder will go easy on you! Dream on!)
Aerodactyl burst into laughter.
It completely looked down on the Poliwhirl below.
"Poliwhirl." (If you're going to lean on your age, stop flapping your gums all day. You've lived this long and you're only as strong as me? Actually—no, you're a bit weaker than me. That's hilarious.)
Poliwhirl liked telling the truth.
And that single sentence instantly shattered Aerodactyl's composure.
Worse, it couldn't even refute it.
"Ahem."
Grey cleared his throat. The referee, Bumiao, understood immediately.
"The third battle officially begins now!"
The moment Bumiao gave the order, Ash didn't act recklessly.
Poliwhirl hadn't battled much.
The only time was against Daisy back then.
At the time, Poliwhirl had still been a Poliwag. As for how it performed after evolving… Ash honestly didn't know.
He also had no idea how Grey had trained Poliwhirl.
But…
If it were Red's Poliwrath, Ash at least knew a little about that.
Thinking of that, Ash took a deep breath.
After steadying himself, the fighting spirit in his eyes burned again.
He threw his arm forward and pointed ahead. "Aerodactyl—use Stone Edge!"
"ROOOAR!!"
Aerodactyl spread its wings as rock energy flowed between them.
Twelve sharp, angular stone blades suddenly appeared around its body, spinning at high speed with its movement.
Then Aerodactyl snapped its wings forward!
Thud-thud-thud!
All the stone blades, like shots fired from a siege launcher, poured down toward Poliwhirl's position!
"Poliwhirl, Hydro Pump."
Grey's command was short and decisive.
Ripples of water suddenly shimmered across Poliwhirl's round belly, and a swirling blue glow gathered between its palms.
"Poliwhirl!"
After it inhaled deeply and exhaled—
A massive water column, nearly ten feet wide, detonated outward!
The moment Stone Edge collided with Hydro Pump, it instantly lost momentum, fell slack, and smashed into the ground—crumbling into powder.
"Rrr…" (This Poliwhirl really does have some strength…)
After that single exchange, Aerodactyl finally realized Poliwhirl wasn't some easy prey.
It wasn't just a loudmouth—it had real power.
"ROAR!" (Kid, do you even know how to command? Using a Rock-type move on a Water-type Pokémon—what were you thinking?!)
Aerodactyl couldn't out-talk Poliwhirl, so it redirected its anger at Ash instead.
"Huh?"
Ash didn't really get it, but Aerodactyl sounded so fired up that he thought it was encouraging him. "Aerodactyl, I won't let you down! Trust me—Red also has a Poliwrath. Just listen to me and we'll be fine!"
"Rrr." (Is that so? Fine.)
Aerodactyl turned its head back, dodging the Hydro Pump.
And inside, it felt smug again.
It was the ruler of the skies. Poliwhirl couldn't even fly—so what could it do? Come up here if you can~
As if it had heard Aerodactyl's thoughts, Grey gave the order: "Poliwhirl—Surf!"
Water suddenly seeped up from beneath Poliwhirl's feet.
In an instant, the streams converged into a wave several meters tall, lifting Poliwhirl and rocketing it into the air.
Its round body stood steady as a boulder atop the crest, while the rotating water energy between its palms grew denser and denser as it rose—until it became a compressed water sphere a full meter across!
Water Pulse!
Aerodactyl's eyes went wide. It hadn't expected Poliwhirl to actually have a way to get into the sky!
But for Aerodactyl, that might actually be a good thing.
"Aerodactyl—Thunder Fang!"
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