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Ash was absolutely overjoyed. After challenging all the disciples in Muramasa's dojo, including Muramasa himself, not only did Heracross and Bayleef's bond values greatly increase, but he also gained 3000 exchange points. He could now exchange for another special ability!
Psychic abilities, Aura Sphere, Vitality, Dragon Force... Among them, Psychic abilities branched out into several sub-abilities, such as Telekinesis, Future Sight, Teleportation, and so on. In Saffron City in the Kanto region, Ash had encountered a Psychic girl, Sabrina, the Gym Leader of Saffron Gym. She seemed to possess various Psychic powers, and her strength was terrifying.
The branches of Vitality were even more numerous: Healing Power, Nurturing Power, Evolution Power, Hatching Power, and a series of other abilities closely related to Pokémon. Of course, Ash could also choose to further strengthen his already mastered Aura Power, saving himself the trouble of training it. If he had money, he should definitely use it; just leave a little for Snorlax to buy system feed.
After some thought, Ash realized that after his last Bond Transformation with Charizard, his Aura Power had made significant progress and was still sufficient for now. It would be more worthwhile to exchange for a new ability to enrich his arsenal. Thus, after careful consideration, Ash made his decision. He used the hard-earned exchange points to exchange for a Psychic ability!
Telekinesis! Simply put, Aura Power enhanced Ash's close-combat and sensory abilities, allowing him to pummel Charizard. Telekinesis, however, gave him countless ethereal hands, comprehensively enhancing his combat and support abilities.
"Pikachu, don't panic!" After exchanging for Telekinesis, Ash smiled faintly. As Telekinesis was deployed, Pikachu slowly floated upwards.
"Pika?"
Hearing Ash's words, Pikachu, after a moment of initial panic, actually became happy. Seeing Ash manifest another ability, Brock and Misty were no longer surprised.
"Ash, you're practically becoming a human Pokémon!" Brock could only shake his head and smile wryly. Since coming to Johto, Ash's changes had truly grown more and more significant. Only Misty was worried sick. "Ash, you don't overexert yourself! Quickly put Pikachu down!"
Hearing this, Ash chuckled, "Don't worry, Misty. After awakening Telekinesis, my mental strength is much stronger than before. I won't be fainting at the drop of a hat anymore!" This was truly an unexpected bonus.
"I can't just faint whenever now!" Ash's two previous near-fainting incidents had worried Misty greatly.
"Pika!"
Pikachu, suspended in mid-air, seemed to have discovered something and cried out, pointing in that direction.
"Come back, Pikachu!" Ash pulled Pikachu back, and the trio quickly rushed over. After only a few steps, they arrived at the base of a rock wall. This rock wall was full of caves, which were surely interconnected.
"Quilava, stop resisting! I'm going to catch you!" As they got closer, they heard an angry voice. A boy, a few years older than Ash, with a Sandslash, was forcing a Quilava out of a cave. Sandslash was a Ground-type, giving it a type advantage over the Fire-type Quilava. Having also lost the geographical advantage of the cave, the latter's situation was clearly dangerous. This Quilava was the evolved form of Cyndaquil, one of the Johto region's Fire-type starter Pokémon. Compared to the timid and gentle Cyndaquil, the evolved Quilava was much braver. And the final evolution, Typhlosion, its personality could be inferred from its name alone. Pokémon evolution was indeed mysterious; even their personalities changed accordingly after evolving.
Facing the Sandslash, which had a type advantage against it, Quilava was indeed very brave.
"Sandslash, use Slash!"
Sandslash's claws were very long, perfectly suited for a move like Slash. Indeed, Sandslash's Slash carried a strong momentum. After Quilava dodged, the Slash struck a nearby tree, and a tree as thick as a man's waist was cleanly severed!
"The Slash move, that Sandslash is so powerful!" Brock, who was watching from the side, genuinely praised. At this moment, the trainer noticed Ash and the others observing. "Hey, you over there! I've been looking for this Quilava for a week, and I finally managed to force it out. You better leave quickly, or don't blame me for being impolite!"
"This person really doesn't understand manners at all!" Hearing these words, Misty became displeased.
"That Quilava isn't something he can catch! He's not even a match!" As if confirming Ash's judgment, the Quilava seemed to have grown tired of playing. It curled into a ball, easily creating distance from Sandslash, then hot flames appeared on its head and tail. A Flamethrower completely engulfed Sandslash.
"Damn it!" The trainer, seeing his Sandslash defeated by the Quilava despite the type disadvantage, recalled it and then threw out two more Poké Balls. From them emerged two Pokémon: a massive Golem and a Water/Poison-type Tentacruel. Both of them had a type advantage against the Fire-type Quilava. He had said earlier that he had been chasing this Quilava for a week, clearly having made thorough preparations, as all his Pokémon had type advantages against Quilava.
"Two against one, that's so sneaky!" Misty exclaimed indignantly; his actions were indeed excessive. While there were no clear written rules for capture battles, trainers generally preferred one-on-one. If one Pokémon was defeated and the wild Pokémon they wished to capture was still willing to fight and didn't flee, then they would send out the next one for a gauntlet match. The so-called capture battle was also a process of acknowledgment. A Pokémon would only be willing to be captured if it acknowledged you as its trainer. In this manner, even if Quilava was eventually captured by him, it would absolutely not be obedient.
"Since he's going two-on-one, we can certainly step in!" Ash smiled confidently, an empty Poké Ball already in his hand. "Such a great Pokémon, isn't it only fair that everyone gets a share?" Whoever catches it, it's theirs!
"Pikachu, go! Iron Tail!"
"Pika!"
Pikachu responded with a cry, leaping directly from Ash's shoulder. Its tail glowed with a metallic sheen, and it slammed down towards the Golem!
"Golem, quickly dodge!"
Boom!
Pikachu's Iron Tail was growing increasingly powerful. This tail strike landed on the ground, creating a large crater!
"Who is that, so underhanded!" The other person shouted furiously.
"As a trainer, of course, I'll catch a Pokémon I like!" Ash said dismissively, completely ignoring the person. "If I were catching Quilava today, would you just stand by obediently?" If this person weren't so domineering, Ash might actually have waited for him to fail before intervening. But considering his personality, even if Ash intervened after his failure, he'd still be targeted, so why not just act directly!
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt, attack Tentacruel!"
Heracross: 145/251
Bayleef: 165/200