Ash was in a predicament.
Charizard Y had just been switched out, and its condition, to be honest, wasn't particularly good anymore.
Dragonite had already lost its ability to battle.
Pikachu he planned to use as his trump card, and Greninja... Greninja was special, and he wasn't in a hurry to send it out.
As for his last Pokémon, Ash was still hesitating.
"Lucario, I'm counting on you!"
Ash took a deep breath and once again threw Lucario's Poké Ball.
A flash of white light, and Lucario appeared again, standing before Ash.
The aloof Aura hero slowly straightened up, his calm eyes fixed on the Shiny Pheromosa opposite him.
It was clear that Lucario still bore wounds from its battle with Marshadow, having been hit by Shadow Sneak.
The battleground, scorched black by Charizard Y's fiery assault, now had two Pokémon standing in confrontation.
Shiny Pheromosa elegantly shifted its steps, slowly walking back in front of Mammon. However, despite the graceful posture and movements of this Shiny Pheromosa, anyone could feel it.
Shiny Pheromosa's eyes were cold and fierce; it was in a very bad mood at the moment.
"Using Lucario to battle this Pheromosa?"
Misty was a bit nervous. Charizard Y was definitely a core ace among Ash's Pokémon.
But Charizard Y was almost taken down by this Shiny Pheromosa. If it hadn't unleashed a burst of Fire Blast, it probably would have truly lost its ability to battle.
So Misty was genuinely a bit worried about Lucario.
Because Lucario was weak to Fighting-type attacks.
"While theoretically, Lucario can't be a match for Mammon's Pheromosa, but..."
Brock analyzed in a deep voice. This wasn't him boasting for the opponent and diminishing his own side.
What type of Pokémon was Lucario? A fragile, mixed-attacker burst type.
And Pheromosa? The same type... And what's more, in terms of Physical Attack and Special Attack, Pheromosa completely overpowered Lucario, not to mention speed. In terms of speed, Lucario was completely outclassed by Pheromosa.
How could Lucario possibly compare to Pheromosa in speed?
If there had to be an advantage, it was that Lucario's type combination was better than Pheromosa's.
Furthermore, Lucario's defenses were a bit higher than Pheromosa's, but in this type of mirror match, what was the point of comparing defense?
After all, both were weak Pokémon. Pheromosa was just a bit fragile, but for a high-speed, mixed-attacker burst Pokémon like Pheromosa, defense wasn't really important.
Because either it defeated the opponent, or the opponent could counter its fast attacks and take it down. That was all.
"But Lucario has Extreme Speed!" Brock whispered.
Indeed, Lucario's biggest advantage over Pheromosa was that Lucario knew the priority move Extreme Speed!
With the boost from Extreme Speed, Lucario could be faster than Pheromosa!
On the field.
"Lucario, Extreme Speed!"
Ash, of course, also placed his hope of defeating Shiny Pheromosa on this point.
Lucario let out a low growl, a white light glowing behind it, and instantly charged towards Shiny Pheromosa.
"Extreme Speed, it certainly is a very annoying move."
Mammon chuckled. Seeing Lucario, he roughly guessed Ash's intentions.
"But Ash, Extreme Speed doesn't mean it's unsolvable."
Lucario didn't attack immediately but used the Extreme Speed of Extreme Speed to run around Shiny Pheromosa, choosing the most opportune moment to attack, and also to confuse Shiny Pheromosa's vision.
Pheromosa didn't act rashly, its eyes constantly darting, its gaze fixed on the blurry black and blue afterimage.
In its Extreme Speed state, Lucario's movements were indeed astonishingly fast.
Even if Pheromosa attacked with full force, it couldn't catch up to Lucario at this moment.
Ash's expression was grave, and he didn't refute Mammon's words.
He knew Mammon was right; Extreme Speed was indeed a very annoying move, but Extreme Speed wasn't unsolvable.
So the question was... did Shiny Pheromosa have a solution?
"Lucario!" Ash called out.
Lucario sprinted to Shiny Pheromosa's blind spot behind it, then suddenly charged.
"Quick Guard." Mammon's lips curved slightly.
Shiny Pheromosa, as if foreknowing, instantly turned around, a white glow appearing on its arms.
Bang!
Extreme Speed struck, but Shiny Pheromosa's Quick Guard steadily absorbed the impact of Extreme Speed.
The Fighting-type Quick Guard could defend against the opponent's priority attacks!
"Oh no!"
Almost simultaneously, these two words rose in the hearts of everyone watching from Ash's perspective.
Ash's pupils also instantly contracted.
"Brick Break!"
Shiny Pheromosa bared an malicious grin, its blade-like sharp legs glowed white, and it swung them fiercely at Lucario.
The Fighting-type Brick Break!
Lucario had no time to dodge and could only cross its arms in front.
Bang!
The powerful Brick Break heavily slammed into Lucario's arms. Lucario grunted, its entire body sent flying backward by the whip-kick known as Brick Break.
It slid back a full ten meters before finally steadying itself.
However, before Lucario could catch its breath, Shiny Pheromosa had already closed in, and another Brick Break tore through the air, striking.
Fast, accurate, and ruthless!
"Lucario, Detect it!"
Ash quickly shouted.
Dodging was impossible; only Detect!
A glint flashed in Lucario's eyes, and its body bent at an almost unbelievable angle, narrowly avoiding the horizontal sweep of this Brick Break.
The Fighting-type Detect!
But Ash still couldn't relax, because Shiny Pheromosa, whose Brick Break had missed, had no intention of stopping!
Its toes moved like an elegant dance, Shiny Pheromosa twisted its body, and another fierce spinning kick ruthlessly struck towards Lucario.
Lucario gritted its teeth, trying to dodge again, but... it was too late!
Bang!
Brick Break heavily struck Lucario's right shoulder, Lucario cried out in pain, its entire body sent flying backward.
"Lucario!"
Ash cried out anxiously. Pheromosa's offensive was too fast and too fierce, and it truly gave no breathing room!
After sending Lucario flying, Pheromosa immediately pursued, preparing to continue its assault.
"Hold on, Lucario, use Dig!"
A flash of inspiration struck Ash.
Lucario painfully opened its eyes, and what came into view was Pheromosa getting closer and closer.
Lucario endured the intense pain in its shoulder, using Dig the moment it landed, and its body immediately went underground.
"Dig? That's suicide."
Mammon raised an eyebrow.
Indeed, Pheromosa didn't know Earthquake and couldn't deal critical damage to Pokémon underground, but if it wanted to produce an effect similar to Earthquake, there were many ways if it had enough strength.
"Stomp!"
"melo~!"
Pheromosa raised its long leg high, then stomped down fiercely onto the ground.
The Normal-type Stomp!
Rumble!
As Pheromosa stomped down with immense force, a large area where Pheromosa stomped directly caved in.
The entire battleground trembled violently, shaking Ash so much that he almost lost his footing, looking at Pheromosa in shock.
A wave of materialized energy swept out, and the next second, the ground not far away broke open, and Lucario directly burst out from underground.
It couldn't hide anymore.
Pheromosa's Stomp was simply too brutal, and the underground compression was too intense.
"Aura Sphere." Mammon chuckled.
Pheromosa pushed with one arm, and a blue Aura Sphere shot out rapidly, heading straight for Lucario.
"Lucario, quick, dodge!"
Lucario watched the incoming Aura Sphere, forcibly twisted its body, and narrowly dodged the attack of the Aura Sphere.
But before it could land, its vision blurred, and Shiny Pheromosa's figure had already appeared before it.
Too fast!
Bang!
Another powerful whip-kick, Shiny Pheromosa's Brick Break heavily struck Lucario.
Lucario was once again kicked away and crashed to the ground.
Ash's expression was extremely grave.
"Lucario is unable to battle, Pheromosa wins!"
The referee observed for a moment and announced the battle result.
Indeed, Lucario finally couldn't hold on and lost its ability to battle, which was not surprising at all.
"Pheromosa! Wow!! So beautiful and cool!"
"Goodness, it was chasing Lucario the entire time... You can tell it's really angry."
"Ash really tried his best, but Lucario couldn't even find a chance to fight back."
"This Pheromosa's pressure is so exaggerated. (wipes sweat)"
In the live stream, many felt sorry for Ash.
Well, the vast majority were netizens from Kanto, after all, Ash was also a Kanto competitor.
Both sides were important, and it didn't stop them from feeling sorry for Ash.
"Thank you for your hard work, Lucario. Get some good rest now."
Ash composed himself, took out a Poké Ball, recalled Lucario, and comforted him.
"Ash, I've already told you, my Pheromosa is not easy to deal with."
Mammon smiled and slowly said to Ash.
"What are you going to do next?"
Mammon asked Ash curiously, arms crossed.
Charizard Y's type advantage, Lucario's Extreme Speed, but neither managed to take down Shiny Pheromosa. Mammon was very curious about Ash's next choice.
Or... Mammon looked at the Electric Rodent at Ash's feet, or should he send out the Electric Rodent now? Gigantamax?
If Ash Gigantamaxed Pikachu, Mammon truly wouldn't have many good strategies to counter it.
After all, frail, high-speed burst Pokémon like Pheromosa truly feared Gigantamax.
"Just you watch, Mammon!"
Ash licked his dry lips, looking at the elegant and proud Shiny Pheromosa in front of Mammon. At this moment, his psychological pressure was indeed immense.
Dragonite and Lucario had both lost their ability to battle, and Charizard Y was also severely injured. The situation was already unfavorable for him.
"Sceptile! I choose you!"
Ash threw out his fourth Poké Ball.
A flash of white light, and a Sceptile, holding a twig in its mouth, landed handsomely in front of Ash, its eyes showing a hint of caution amidst their usual laziness.
It was Sceptile, the final evolution of Treecko, one of the Hoenn region's Grass-type starters!
And this was also the Grass-type ace Ash had chosen to replace Bulbasaur!
Ash was not a Trainer who would easily give up on his Pokémon, but he felt that what Mammon had told him back then made a lot of sense.
In any case, since Squirtle and Bulbasaur didn't like to evolve, he respected their choice.
But he also needed to supplement his Pokémon's fighting strength, and how to put it? Ash felt that his team needed Fire, Water, and Grass-type aces.
He already had Charizard as his Fire-type ace, Greninja as his Water-type ace, and for his Grass-type ace... Ash chose Sceptile!
He had opened the Team Rockets app's Grass-type Pokémon exchange list, and he quickly took a liking to Treecko.
Indeed, it didn't take long at all; he genuinely fell in love with Treecko at first sight. He thought Treecko looked cool.
Perhaps this was what they called destiny.
And now, after raising it, Sceptile had also become one of his frontline aces—it could battle, and it was very cool!