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"My guess was indeed correct!" Seeing that it was Muk who had taken the field, Jeanette seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. She raised her head slightly to look at Ash and spoke.
"Huh?" Ash appeared somewhat confused by her reaction.
"The Pokémon you registered for this tournament don't include Moltres, right?" Seeing Ash's puzzled expression, Jeanette continued.
"No, they don't," Ash replied after a brief pause. There was no reason to be suspicious about it—he genuinely hadn't registered Moltres for the competition.
"Just as I thought! The more others expect you to use Moltres to dominate your opponents, the less likely you are to actually use it. You want to prove that you can still win even without Moltres!" Jeanette said, looking at Ash with confidence in her deduction.
After listening to Jeanette's words, Ash was momentarily stunned. After a moment, he couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.
A particular phrase came to his mind unbidden—something about people who think they understand others perfectly. He really didn't know where Jeanette had gotten the confidence to believe she knew him so well.
"Ha! I think you've misunderstood. The fact that I didn't send out Moltres just means you're lucky. Don't presume to know what kind of person I am," Ash stated flatly.
Ash himself was a confident person, but the things he felt confident about were matters within his capabilities.
Why would he need to prove he could win without using Moltres? Being able to capture Moltres was already a demonstration of his skill. What right did others have to demand he prove his strength in any particular way? Who had such audacity?
Jeanette was slightly taken aback by Ash's words.
She had been outstanding since childhood, and her appearance was equally exceptional. She had never encountered anyone who spoke to her the way Ash did. His response left her momentarily unable to formulate a reply.
It was fortunate for her that Ash didn't know what she was thinking. If he did, his assessment of her would probably drop even further.
Although Ash didn't have the same level of social obliviousness as his anime counterpart, he also wasn't about to become overly accommodating either.
He was quite attentive to girls he knew well and cared about, but it was a different matter entirely for strangers. He certainly wasn't like Brock, who would act like a lovesick fool around any attractive girl.
"Could you please stop wasting time?" Ash said, looking at Jeanette as she stood there stunned.
Hearing this, Jeanette snapped out of her daze and gritted her teeth slightly. Listening to Ash's words, she felt somewhat embarrassed. His observation was accurate—her earlier assumptions had been rather presumptuous.
"Win with grace, lose with dignity. Come on out, Beedrill!" she muttered to herself, finally throwing her Poké Ball.
There was a flash of light and a buzzing sound filled the air as a Beedrill materialized above the field.
The Grass Field was also home territory for Bug-type Pokémon, and Beedrill was a Flying-type that could completely ignore terrain limitations.
However, Beedrill held no particular advantage against Muk. Neither Bug-type nor Flying-type attacks were effective against the Poison-type Pokémon.
Ash quickly analyzed the Pokémon Jeanette had sent out. She must have been relieved that he hadn't sent out Moltres. He suspected that the Pokémon she planned to use in this match were most likely either Grass-types or Bug-types.
"The match begins! Player Jeanette will attack first!"
"Beedrill, use Fury Attack!" After confirming she had the first move, Jeanette immediately gave her command.
Beedrill was extremely fast, sprinting forward quickly before continuously swinging the twin needles on its arms, launching a relentless assault against Muk.
Faced with Beedrill's attack, Ash took no action, and Muk simply remained in place without moving.
Thrust! Thrust! Thrust! Thrust!
As Beedrill launched its Fury Attack, its twin stingers kept stabbing into Muk's body like rapid-fire bullets.
Muk's soft, gelatinous body was constantly being punctured with circular indentations under Beedrill's continuous assault.
However, with each of Beedrill's attacks, every time the Poison Bee Pokémon withdrew its stingers, Muk's body simply returned to its original shape. Muk seemed to feel no pain whatsoever, remaining motionless in its position.
Unconsciously, nervous sweat began forming on Beedrill's forehead.
"Muuuk!"
Muk seemed to be growing bored with the assault. It let out a roar, then expanded and tensed its body. When Beedrill's stingers came up again, Muk's body compressed like a balloon.
No matter how sharp Beedrill's spikes were, the balloon-like surface wouldn't rupture. After a moment of compression, Beedrill's body was forcefully repelled, and it had to beat its wings frantically to stabilize itself in the air.
"Incredible! Beedrill's Fury Attack is completely unable to inflict any damage on Muk!" the commentator exclaimed.
"How is this possible? In that case, Beedrill, use Poison Jab!" Jeanette called out from the battlefield, equally surprised by what she was witnessing.
Beedrill's most formidable weapons—its twin stingers—had proven utterly ineffective. She had no choice but to change tactics.
Upon hearing the command, Beedrill beat its wings again and flew toward Muk. As it approached, it instantly switched its angle of attack, extending the stinger on its tail forward.
Purple energy glowed around the spike as it drove directly toward Muk's body.
Ash still showed no concern. Beedrill's Poison Jab attack struck Muk's body directly, and Muk's form compressed once again under the impact.
Beedrill continued increasing the force behind its attack. However, when it raised its head slightly, it found itself looking directly into Muk's eyes. Muk was staring right back at it, but there was no expression of pain whatsoever on the Sludge Pokémon's face.
"Once more, Muk—bounce it away!" Ash said with a slight chuckle, giving Muk its first actual command of the battle.
"Muuuk!"
Muk called out, tensed its body once more, and then forcefully repelled Beedrill through the air.
"How can this be?" Seeing Beedrill's attack fail yet again, Jeanette displayed an expression of disbelief.
"Muk, use Sludge Bomb!"
"Muk!"
The instant Beedrill was bounced away, Ash seized the opportunity to counterattack. After hearing the command, Muk opened its large purple mouth and began releasing projectiles of toxic sludge.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sludge attacks struck Beedrill repeatedly, causing continuous explosions in the air. The toxic mud splattered across Beedrill's face, blocking its vision. With its wings coated in the heavy sludge, it began falling from the sky.