"Sceptile, I choose you!"
Ash's fourth Pokémon was Sceptile.
"Sceptile, another burst-type Pokémon."
Mammon sized up the Sceptile and couldn't help but chuckle.
Lucario, Dragonite, Charizard, Sceptile—Mammon didn't even need to guess, because Ash's last two Pokémon would definitely be Greninja and Pikachu.
Out of its six main Pokémon, only Dragonite had decent defense due to its inherent strength; almost all of his other main Pokémon were squishy.
But that made sense. Although Ash wasn't a Trainer specialized in one particular type, he was actually skilled at commanding high-attack, high-speed Pokémon.
Well, except for Snorlax.
The most obvious example was the Turtwig Ash caught in the Sinnoh region. Before it evolved, Turtwig had a very good record under Ash's command.
But after evolving into Torterra, well, Torterra seemed to have a winless streak, didn't it?
It always got knocked out!
Was Torterra weak? Actually, among all Grass-type starters, Torterra was definitely not bad. Besides its slow speed, Torterra had no obvious strength flaws.
The biggest reason was that before evolution, its small size made it flexible for speed attacks, but Torterra couldn't do that. Torterra was a heavy-tonnage, counter-attacking type of Pokémon, and with its size, it simply couldn't play a speed game.
And Ash was actually not very good at commanding large, less agile Pokémon; he couldn't use counter-attacks. Ash himself leaned towards actively attacking and then creating combat opportunities, and his occasional flashes of brilliance in battle were the main reason for his unpredictability.
So even if Paul's Torterra gave Ash's Torterra some special training, it didn't really help.
This directly led to Ash's Torterra's 'legendary record.' In contrast to Torterra, Sceptile was different.
Although Sceptile's mind was confused for a while when it first evolved due to not adapting, its strength was perfectly fine afterwards.
At the Lily of the Valley Conference in Sinnoh, Sceptile even helped Ash defeat Tobias's Darkrai, making it one of the few Pokémon among Ash's main team to have a record of defeating a Legendary Pokémon.
It's no exaggeration to say that, aside from the first-generation Bulbasaur having sentimental value, Sceptile was definitely Ash's No. 1 Grass-type throughout its journey.
Whether it was its record during the Hoenn period or its subsequent return, Sceptile was always very powerful.
"However, without Mega Evolution, Sceptile won't be a match for my Pheromosa."
Mammon tilted his head slightly, not looking down on Ash's Sceptile.
It was simply the truth: for a high-speed offensive Pokémon of the same type, if its speed couldn't match Pheromosa's, it couldn't defeat his Pheromosa.
Instead, it would be kicked to death by Pheromosa, not to mention that Sceptile was also weak to Pheromosa's type.
Yes, Sceptile had priority moves, but that was useless. With Quick Guard, priority moves wouldn't work against Pheromosa; they would just create an opportunity.
"melo~"
Shiny Pheromosa put her hands on her hips, her malicious eyes fixed on Sceptile.
Sceptile seemed oblivious, still coolly chewing on a twig.
"Mega Sceptile's weakness is too obvious, so I don't use it much, but..."
Ash certainly understood this point. Mega Sceptile was a very powerful high-speed special attacker, but Mega Sceptile was 4x weak to Ice.
However, Mammon was right about one thing: without other means, Sceptile wanting to defeat Pheromosa was not very realistic.
So, Ash made his move.
He raised his Poké Ball and recalled Sceptile.
"Oh?" Mammon raised an eyebrow at this opening move.
The Dynamax Band glowed crimson, and Dynamax energy continuously flowed, entering Sceptile's Poké Ball.
Dynamax!
"Sceptile!"
In an instant, the Poké Ball had become extremely huge, and Ash forcefully threw the Dynamax Poké Ball.
The previously clear sky quickly darkened, and a black vortex spun above.
Sceptile, glowing with red light, reappeared.
Once, twice, thrice!
Sceptile's body rapidly expanded three times, reaching tens of meters in size, a result of Dynamax.
"Dynamax Sceptile, huh."
Mammon looked at the Dynamax Sceptile. Terastallized Dragonite, Mega Evolved Charizard, Dynamax Sceptile—that meant the remaining Z-Moves would definitely be for Pikachu.
Looking at the Dynamax Sceptile, whose body filled her vision, Shiny Pheromosa secretly cursed it for not fighting honorably.
"Sceptile, Max Airstream!"
Ash commanded with an unwavering swing of his arm.
Dynamax Sceptile raised its head and let out a low roar, as a translucent white aura continuously swirled in front of it.
Max Airstream, converted from the Flying-type Aerial Ace!
Although Aerial Ace's power wasn't strong, this Max Airstream wasn't particularly powerful either.
But it didn't matter; as long as it hit Shiny Pheromosa, she definitely wouldn't be able to withstand it!
Because Shiny Pheromosa was 4x weak to Flying, and due to Shiny Pheromosa's pitiful defense, this Max Airstream was almost equivalent to true damage!
"Lunge!"
Mammon didn't hesitate and immediately gave the order.
As Dynamax Sceptile condensed Max Airstream, Shiny Pheromosa moved her long legs and charged forward rapidly.
The Bug-type Lunge!
Shiny Pheromosa, enveloped in greenish-yellow energy, slammed hard into Dynamax Sceptile's leg.
The super effective Lunge dealt high damage, and Dynamax Sceptile let out a cry of pain.
But the next moment, the enormous Max Airstream transformed into a spiraling pillar of air and surged downwards.
Boom!
With a loud boom, the Max Airstream directly impacted Shiny Pheromosa without any obstruction.
Shiny Pheromosa was completely blown away and fell to the ground, lying limply and motionless.
Well, she simply couldn't withstand the damage.
"Pheromosa is unable to battle. Sceptile wins."
The referee announced the battle result.
Seeing Shiny Pheromosa unable to battle, Ash finally let out a sigh of relief. He had finally defeated her.
"That wasn't easy. Finally dealt with Shiny Pheromosa."
"If you ask me, he should have used Dynamax earlier. If he had used Gigantamax Charizard, he would have defeated Pheromosa long ago."
"That's just hindsight. Who knew Charizard Y wouldn't be able to defeat Pheromosa?"
"Anyway, this is good news. Go, Ash!"
In the live stream, seeing Ash defeat Shiny Pheromosa, Ash's supporters also breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, Shiny Pheromosa had put too much pressure on them. Charizard Y was heavily injured, Lucario was defeated, and if Sceptile hadn't even dealt with her, it would have been truly difficult.
In the audience.
"Finally defeated Pheromosa." Misty wiped the sweat from her forehead, honestly.
When she saw Ash send out Sceptile, her heart was truly in her throat.
After all, Sceptile was weak to Shiny Pheromosa.
"We can't be careless yet. I don't know what Mammon's third Pokémon will be. It would be great if he could defeat two of Mammon's Pokémon."
Brock also relaxed a bit, but he remained much calmer.
Even Pheromosa was so difficult to deal with; he didn't know what Mammon's next main Pokémon would be like.
On the field.
"Being able to defeat my Pheromosa, that's really good, Ash."
Mammon recalled Pheromosa.
"Ha~ The real battle only begins now, Mammon!"
Ash grinned widely, clearly in a very good mood at the moment.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Mammon chuckled lightly and threw out his third Poké Ball with a flick of his wrist.
"So, how will you deal with this one?"
"Tyranitar, prepare for battle!"
"Ban~!"
A deep, violent roar echoed as the gigantic, ferocious green-armored beast, Tyranitar, landed heavily in front of Mammon.
It was indeed the Johto pseudo-legendary Tyranitar!
"Tyranitar..."
Looking at the wild and ferocious Tyranitar in front of him, Ash's expression instantly became serious.
Tyranitar, previously a pseudo-Legendary Pokémon in the Kanto region, on par with Dragonite. However, now that Kanto and Johto were separated,
Tyranitar was assigned to the Johto region because its main habitat was Mt. Silver.
Ash owned a Dragonite, so he was actually very clear that, disregarding its 4x weakness to Ice, Dragonite's strength was indeed very high.
And Tyranitar, also a pseudo-legendary, naturally had undeniable strength, not to mention that this Tyranitar was Mammon's main Pokémon!
'Beep~ Tyranitar, Rock + Dark type, Armor Pokémon.
It possesses immense power within its body, capable of collapsing mountains and causing Earthquakes with just one hand.'
Listening to the pokedex's description, Ash's gaze became even more solemn.
"This Tyranitar..."
In the audience, Steven looked at this Tyranitar, his expression also somewhat unusual.
He clearly remembered that back in Rustboro City, he, Cynthia, and Giovanni had teamed up to fight, and their main opponent was a Tyranitar.
The Mega Evolved Mega Tyranitar's wild and fierce fighting style had truly left a deep impression on Steven.
"This is a Pokémon I caught during my travels in Kanto, Ash. You'd better be careful."
Mammon said to Ash with a smile.
Ash's heart tightened. Did Pokémon Mammon catch during its travels? This also meant that it was one of Mammon's veterans.
Its strength would definitely be much greater than the Shiny Pheromosa from just now.
But... it was precisely such an opponent that made it exciting!
Ash's eyes burned with fervor. At this moment, he had only one thought: defeat this Tyranitar!