[Lance: Can you see Pidgeot's strength now?]
[Lance: Well, although through many blessings it has reached a level comparable to the intermediate level of the Elite Four, the actual level should be below that of the Elite Four.]
At this time, Pidgeot and Articuno were still fighting inseparably in the picture, but Lance could still judge Pidgeot's original strength—for no reason other than that he was the Champion!!
Although… maybe… probably… the weakest among all the Champions.
But that was still a Champion!
Therefore, Pidgeot's true strength could not be hidden from him!
[Lorelei: Well, my judgment is that it is also a level below the Elite Four, but it should be just one step away. Otherwise, even with a bunch of buffs, Pidgeot would not be able to fight the mid-level Elite Four Articuno to a standstill.]
[Cynthia: Wait… below Elite Four… a final push… Does Black Ash want to use the Articuno to help Pidgeot break through? Is that why Black Ash isn't using Aura Fusion?]
After a simple reminder, Cynthia immediately understood what Black Ash was thinking.
He was… using a Legendary as a whetstone!
[Lorelei: Really… Articuno only gave Black Ash one chance to catch it, right? Did he use this opportunity as a whetstone for Pidgeot? If he loses, he loses the chance to catch Articuno!]
[Bruno: His nerve… is incredible!]
[Bruno: A path never imagined...]
[Diantha: It's unbelievable… Would an ordinary person use the chance to catch a Legendary Pokémon as a whetstone for their own Pokémon?!]
Articuno had said before that it only gave Black Ash one chance to catch it.
If Pidgeot lost this time, Articuno would definitely leave directly, unless Black Ash forced it to stay!
However, Black or White, Ash would never do such a thing.
If he would, he wouldn't be Ash Ketchum!
So… this opportunity truly was a one-time chance!
And yet, Black Ash was actually using this opportunity as a whetstone?!
Taking the chance to catch a Legendary and betting that his Pokémon would break through to the Elite Four level… was this something a normal person would do?!
An Elite Four-level breakthrough could come later.
If the chance to catch Articuno was missed, who knew when the next one would be!
It was even possible he might never meet it again in his lifetime!
This was also the reason the previous Champions hadn't considered this possibility.
Who would have thought… Black Ash would make such a huge gamble?
[Gary: Do you think there's a possibility… when he was about to lose, Black Ash would directly use Aura Fusion, and then Pidgeot, with its greatly increased strength, would attack with a Brave Bird and defeat Articuno in one hit?]
[Lance:...]
[Cynthia:...]
[Professor Oak:...]
Damn!
What Gary said made so much sense! Yes!
Who stipulated that you had to use all your strength from the beginning?
It was true that bringing out Pidgeot was for a breakthrough, but if it couldn't break through… then it would be a direct showdown!
No more pretending! Directly open up and go all out!
So… breaking through and catching Articuno weren't actually conflicting matters.
This was also the reason many Champions felt like cursing.
So… they had just analyzed so much, and yet a ten-year-old boy had seen right through it!
[Professor Oak: Gary is indeed Ash's rival! Even an Ash from another world, you can see through his thoughts.]
[Melody: Hee hee, is this Gary's sincere love for Ash?]
[Gary: ? ? ?]
[Gary: I love a hammer! This is based on my careful observation of my rival?!]
Gary couldn't stand this talk of friendship, what the hell was this about love!
...
In the Black World—the battle between Pidgeot and Articuno had entered a fierce stage!
As all the Elite Four and Champions had judged,
Ash really wanted to use Articuno to help Pidgeot break through!
With the power of Aura, he could see Articuno's general strength from the beginning.
After a rough judgment, Ash believed that this Articuno was the best whetstone for Pidgeot!
Currently, the only Pokémon in his hands that had reached the Elite Four level were Charizard, Infernape, and Pikachu.
Using Aura Fusion and their own skills, each of these three Pokémon could compete with a Champion!
But this was not enough…
To become a real Elite Four member, you needed to have at least six Elite Four-level Pokémon in your hands!
Blastoise, Bulbasaur, Pidgeot, Aerodactyl, and even Snorlax were all stuck at the peak Gym level!
Aerodactyl had actually been at the Elite Four level once, but now its strength had regressed. In addition, it had experienced relatively few battles and had no divine aid to assist it.
This was why it had only returned to the peak Gym level, while the other four were… Currently, Pidgeot was the most likely to break through!
This threshold from Gym to Elite Four was truly a pain!
Charizard relied on Mega Evolution,
Pikachu relied on the Light Ball, and
Infernape relied on perfect Mega Evolution plus Evolution.
Everyone had entered that realm by a form of cheating!
But now… Pidgeot might be the only one in his hands who could truly rely on the pressure of battle to break through!
Although it hadn't succeeded yet…
This was why Ash didn't use Aura Fusion with Pidgeot.
If he used it… there would be no need to fight at all.
You didn't even need to set up Sunny Day. With the power of Aura, even if Snow Cloak was useless to say!
Now Ash was really using his commanding skills, vision, and judgment to direct the battle!
But… Pidgeot seemed to have begun to gradually fall into a disadvantage.
Although it had the power to control the wind, this power could even be said to be close to a Legendary's power!
But… the physical exertion was too great, and the high-speed movement and high-altitude flying also consumed stamina.
If Pidgeot hadn't been carrying heavy loads all year round, it would have collapsed from exhaustion by now!
As for Articuno…
It was of a higher level than Pidgeot, and it was also a Legendary Pokémon, with outstanding stamina among those of the same level!
Even now, it still had plenty of energy!
"Legendary Pokémon and stuff… what a tough opponent!"
Ash said with some emotion.
Brock on the side wiped the cold sweat left from the ice and snow, and slandered in his heart.
Still a tough opponent? Pidgeot is the tough one… What the hell is that wind control ability!
Whenever Articuno used wind-related skills, such as Gust, Blizzard, or even Twister, they were all controlled by Pidgeot and then used to fight back.
As a result, Articuno no longer dared to use wind skills.
On the field, Pidgeot's figure was moving continuously at high speed.
Because it couldn't use wind skills, Articuno could only rely on single-target skills like Ice Beam to fire continuously, thus forcing Pidgeot's position and making Pidgeot fight head-on.
Although this could also deal with Pidgeot, compared to directly using Blizzard for area denial, this undoubtedly consumed more energy.
This also caused Articuno, which was very physically strong, to start panting a little.
"That's almost it… Agility and then Brave Bird!"
After Ash murmured, he shouted to Pidgeot.
Articuno's stamina had been consumed a lot.
Now he could try to use frontal skills to attack!
The so-called speed is power.
After many Agility boosts, Pidgeot's speed had reached the extreme!
Coupled with Brave Bird and Agility, Pidgeot's strength had reached its peak!
Moreover, with Pidgeot's speed, after stacking Agility and Brave Bird, there was no way Articuno could catch it!
"Swish——"
Pidgeot flipped in the air and disappeared instantly!
Articuno's eyes showed a little panic, and then it hurriedly looked around, but did not see Pidgeot at all.
This speed… was faster than before!
Could it be that this bird had been holding back before?
What the hell kind of monster was this?!
This was the first time it had been fought to a standstill by a Pokémon of a lower level!
It was obvious that it could crush the opponent in terms of hard power!
Which link was the problem?!
But now, there was no time for Articuno to think so much!
An extremely terrifying sense of oppression came from its side!
Articuno subconsciously moved upwards, but the next second, that terrifying oppression was above its head again!
What the hell?
Articuno only had time to say these words in its heart, and then, its head seemed to be slammed down by a marble hammer, and the huge force caused it to fall from the air like a cannonball!
"Boom!!"
The huge sound resonated throughout Snowpoint Mountain. The white and delicate snow covering the mountain was constantly shaking, and it seemed that it would collapse and roll down at any time, forming an avalanche.
"Win… win?"
Todd put down the camera in his hand, his palms shaking a little, and he was hesitant to speak.
To be honest, it was the first time in his life that he had seen such a fierce battle.
Ah… maybe it was because he was short-sighted and had never seen an Elite Four Champion.
But this did not prevent Todd from being shocked! He had never imagined a head-on confrontation between Pidgeot and the Legendary Pokémon Articuno!
Besides, it was no longer just a head-to-head confrontation. That bird, even if Articuno wasn't seriously injured, it should have suffered a lot of damage, right?
Fortunately, during the battle just now, he had already taken a lot of photos.
Originally, Todd mainly wanted to take pictures of Articuno. But as he kept taking pictures… he ended up taking pictures of Pidgeot.
There was no way, in terms of performance and image, Articuno was obviously slightly better, but Pidgeot exuded an inexplicable temperament,
That temperament was even more noble than that of Articuno!
This was why Pidgeot attracted Todd's attention so much.
Sabrina on the side heard Todd's words and slowly shook her head.
"How can a Legendary Pokémon… be so easy to defeat?"
As if to confirm what Sabrina said, the entire snow mountain began to tremble slightly, from a little trembling to violent trembling, and then white snow spurted out, and the ice-blue figure emerged from the snow again!
Everyone focused their attention on Articuno and Pidgeot, but did not notice that as Articuno flew out of the snow, the white snow on the surrounding snow-capped mountains slid even more fiercely...
"Finally showing fatigue… Articuno!"
At this time, Articuno was no longer as elegant as before.
The feathers all over its body were messy and the whole bird looked very embarrassed.
Despite the level gap, due to Ash's tactics and Pidgeot's enhanced power, the battle had finally been dragged into the last moment!
At this time, Pidgeot was close to running out of gas, and Articuno's condition was not much better!
In Pidgeot's current state, it was obviously impossible to use Sky Attack, but Articuno was no longer an opponent that required Sky Attack to defeat.
Next… they would bet the outcome on this one blow!
"Pidgeot, use Brave Bird!!"
Pidgeot concentrated all its power on this blow!
The golden light covered Pidgeot's huge body and turned into a mighty divine bird. Then, the eagle struck the sky, golden light flashed, and the golden divine bird made an exploding sound in the air and rushed out as quickly as lightning!
This time, Pidgeot did not use any roundabout tactics and just charged towards Articuno head-on!
Articuno's beautiful eyes flashed with confusion—from the front?
You are really being underestimated!
"Screech——"
A sharp cry sounded, and the temperature between heaven and earth seemed to drop a little again. Articuno's beak gathered a huge amount of ice energy.
Then, an ice-blue light burst out, and the Ice Beam streaked through the air, leaving a beautiful blue streak. Brave Bird and Ice Beam colliding head-on…?
"It's now, Pidgeot, use Twister!"
"Piiidgeot——!!"
A layer of silvery-white whirlwind began to surround the golden divine bird.
Not only that, the divine bird itself also began to rotate at high speed.
Together with the silver whirlwind that appeared, it formed a violent and huge tornado in the sky!
The powerful storm seemed to be able to cut everything in the world!
The Ice Beam collided with the silver-white tornado, but the fierce collision as imagined did not appear.
The silver whirlwind seemed to carry a gravitational force that could absorb everything, absorbing all the blue light!
Articuno was completely confused…
What the hell… was this Twister legal?!
It also had an absorption effect?!
The next moment, Articuno saw dots of icy blue light appear on the opponent's silver tornado, and the light was still expanding!
In just a moment, the two colors of silver and ice-blue mixed together and turned into a silver-blue tornado!
Seeing this, Ash's tense face finally showed a smile—the smile of a successful conspiracy!
"Brave Bird combined with an ice-enhanced Twister, and the control of wind power increases the speed of the tornado… If you have the ability, block it, Articuno!!!"
As Ash shouted,
Pidgeot's triple-combo move also hit Articuno solidly!
An earth-shaking roar exploded in the sky, and the fine snow on the surrounding snow-capped mountains finally couldn't hold on. They all began to roll down, and the overwhelming white snow came towards Ash and the others like a white waterfall!
Everyone was first attracted by the collision between Pidgeot and Articuno, so they didn't notice the avalanche at all.
By the time they reacted, the avalanche was already close at hand!
"Snow… avalanche!! It's over, it's over!!"
Todd looked at the overwhelming white snow and began to despair in his heart.
With so much snow, it was almost certain that there would be no survivors!
To think… he would risk his life just to watch a battle!
"Buzz——"
Sabrina and Ash's bodies lit up with blue light at the same time, and the heavy snow that seemed to be swallowing them was frozen in mid-air.
Todd looked dumbfounded at the heavy snow that seemed to have stopped for a moment, with a confused look on his face.
What happened again?!
While the avalanche was frozen, the battle's outcome was decided in the sky.
The ice-blue Legendary bird fell powerlessly, while the scarred Pidgeot continued to roar in the sky.
Articuno… had lost.
Not only that, Pidgeot had also successfully broken through to the Elite Four level in the combo just now!
Seeing this, Ash slowly calmed down the avalanche with one hand, took out a Poké Ball with the other hand, and threw it towards Articuno!
With Ash's accurate Poké Ball throwing method, the ball accurately hit Articuno.
Then, the Poké Ball shook indicatively and made a crisp ding! in the air!
After seeing that the Poké Ball had truly caught Articuno, the joy on Ash's face finally spread uncontrollably.
"Hahaha! I caught Articuno!!"
"Hey hey hey! Ash, don't let go! Get that snow down first!"
"Ah? Oh, sorry..."
He was so excited just now that he almost let go of the avalanche that was not completely under control.
However… the joy on his face still couldn't be concealed at all!
Articuno had been caught, and Pidgeot had also broken through to the Elite Four level!!
Good things really came in pairs today!
Brock and the others were also happy for Ash's harvest. As for Todd… the man was already stunned.
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