"May I ask how you know about Ho-Oh?" Ash stepped forward, asking with a slightly solemn expression.
Times had changed. He was no longer the same as when he first started his journey. Back when he'd begun, his strength was weak and his knowledge shallow. Apart from a very few individuals, no one knew about him meeting Ho-Oh and becoming the Rainbow Hero.
But it was different now. He already possessed the strength of the world's top Trainers, and even without relying on Mewtwo, he could exchange blows with god-level entities using the Pokémon in his hands. Not to mention that Mewtwo was also here.
So he didn't particularly care whether others knew about the Rainbow Hero matter. But as the saying went, it's not the thief stealing you should fear, but the thief plotting against you. Even with today's level of strength, he still hadn't casually gone around telling others that he was the Rainbow Hero. So Ash was still very curious as to why Morty knew about his relationship with Ho-Oh.
"Have a battle with me and you'll find out. Oh, and you don't need to worry about these kids. They won't talk about this matter. Let them watch this match from the side as well." Morty pointed at the children nearby.
Ash looked at those children and received eager, chicken-pecking nods in response. In reality, those children hadn't even processed what was happening. But no matter what it was, nodding right now was the right thing to do. The Trainer in front of them actually had a connection with Ho-Oh.
Watching him battle with Gym Leader Morty would definitely be extremely exciting. How could such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity be missed? Not to mention they didn't fully understand what was going on. Even if they knew the specific details, they would definitely agree on the spot. In short, just agree to it first.
Seeing this, Ash scratched his head in confusion, then said to Morty. "In that case, let's do it, Gym Leader Morty. I hope I can find the answer in battle."
Morty nodded, then walked to the other side of the Gym and pressed a button on the wall. A transparent barrier visible to the naked eye appeared across the entire Gym battlefield.
"This is the latest battle equipment issued by the League to us Gym Leaders. Sufficient to withstand the aftermath of Elite Four Peak level. So you can fight without holding back."
Serena blinked curiously, gently touched the barrier with her finger, and found that her finger passed right through it effortlessly. Was this barrier the same as Mewtwo's? The aftermath of the battle inside couldn't get out, but things from the outside could go in.
Seeing Serena's action, Morty continued to explain. "This is a defense device newly researched by the League. It's different from previous devices. Things from the outside can still pass through freely, and the Pokémon inside can also come out freely.
It will only block forces powerful enough to shatter mountains and rocks, while weaker forces won't trigger its defense. Therefore, you spectators also need to step back a bit to avoid being hit by flying gravel."
Hearing this, even Ash showed an expression of amazement. "So amazing! It actually autonomously chooses which forces to defend against. How advanced!"
Hmph. It's just because it needs to use all its power to guard against higher-level attacks, so it deliberately allocates the energy assigned to low-level defense to high-level defense. This is merely a manifestation of insufficient power.
Mewtwo's proud voice rang out in Ash's mind. Such a thing, I can also do effortlessly. If you want to experience the impact of gravel in the future, I can also release those low-level aftermaths for you to enjoy.
"That's not a bad idea actually." Constraining all power inside the barrier was certainly effective, but having some impact sensation was also nice. At least for Ash, that was.
In response to this, Mewtwo remained silent, merely noting down what Ash said. In the future, it would definitely modify the way it deployed barriers. Just a broken barrier modified by the League, with no comparability to its Psychic powers whatsoever.
"Ash, what are you muttering about?"
"It's nothing, nothing. By the way, are we starting now?" Ash waved his hand, brushing off the talking-to-himself matter.
Morty nodded, then walked to the corresponding Trainer position. "Let's start now. The referee hasn't come to work yet. Lily, can you temporarily serve as the referee?"
A little girl sitting on the ground sprang up with a joyful expression on her face. "Yes, yes! Let me be the referee! I've completely memorized the Gym rules!"
"Alright, then I'll leave it to you, Lily."
As Lily walked to the referee's stand, Ash had also arrived at the challenger's position. Immediately after, Lily announced the battle rules. "The match rules are three-on-three. The Gym Leader is not allowed to switch Pokémon. The Trainer who defeats three of the opponent's Pokémon first wins!"
As her voice fell, Morty threw out his first Pokémon.
A flash of light, and a dilapidated Pokémon resembling an abandoned puppet appeared on the field. Banette, a Ghost-type Pokémon, born from resentment possessing a discarded puppet. Its body was gray, with a zipper-like protrusion on its head, and the zipper at the corner of its mouth was unzipped, revealing a pitch-black space inside as if it could swallow all light.
Banette, a relatively rare Pokémon. A Ghost-type Gym would indeed use Ghost-type Pokémon. Through his Breeder Sight, Ash could see it had reached Elite Four High.
"It seems today will be a very interesting showdown. I choose you, Venusaur!"
A flash of light, and a massive Venusaur appeared in the center of the field.
"Venu!"
Venusaur let out a deep roar, his four feet stepping firmly on the ground, causing the floor of the entire Gym to tremble slightly.
"Venusaur? Not using a type-advantage Pokémon. It seems you have a lot of trust in this Venusaur's strength." Morty felt the aura emanating from Venusaur, and his expression also grew solemn.
Although he still had some reservations in his heart regarding Ho-Oh's choice, he had to admit that Ho-Oh's eye for people was indeed quite good. At such a young age, Ash could actually cultivate such a powerful Pokémon, and this wasn't even the main Pokémon he'd brought out when battling Lorelei.
That Pikachu, and that Charizard, were both potential opponents. Besides that, there was also Ash's ability to amplify a Pokémon's strength. These were all points to be careful of.
Lord Ho-Oh, you haven't appeared in human sight for hundreds of years. Now that you have chosen this young man, just what is so special about him? Let me properly help you review him.
As Morty's murmuring thoughts fell, his expression turned serious. He waved his hand broadly. "Banette, Knock Off!"
Knock Off was a Dark-type move that could directly strip the opponent's held item. Morty didn't know much about Ash's Venusaur, but that didn't prevent him from choosing a tactic to weaken the opponent.
Generally, for a Trainer of Ash's level, Pokémon always carried held items during battles, which was extremely significant for enhancing combat power. Therefore, once the held item was knocked off, it was equivalent to cutting off one of their arms.
Morty's command had just fallen when Banette's figure disappeared in place like a phantom. Its speed was extremely fast, with black Dark-type energy wrapping around that dilapidated puppet's arm, striking toward the held item on Venusaur's body like a snake.
Although held items were hidden on a Pokémon's body, as long as the Pokémon was hit by Knock Off, whether the item was hidden in the fur, carried on the back, or held in the mouth, it would be forcibly stripped away by that Dark-type energy.
"Venusaur, Vine Whip!"
Ash's voice rang out the instant Banette was about to succeed.
"Venu!"
The huge flower on Venusaur's back trembled slightly, and four thick emerald-green Vine Whips sprang out from both sides of the flower like agile serpents. That speed was shockingly fast, even leaving several green afterimages in the air.
Before Banette's Knock Off could touch Venusaur's body, it was solidly whipped on the arm by one of the vines.
A crisp whipping sound echoed in the Gym. Banette's arm, wrapped in black energy, was whipped high up, and its entire body staggered a few steps to the side due to the immense force. The Knock Off was forcefully interrupted.
However, this wasn't the end. Venusaur's remaining Vine Whips lashed out at Banette one after another, and scars appeared across Banette's body. In the end, Banette was whipped flying by a vine, rolling several times on the ground before barely coming to a stop.
Banette, which attacked first, actually got beaten into this state by Venusaur, which moved second?
"Banette, Shadow Ball!" Morty's voice suddenly resounded in the spacious Gym, carrying a hint of urgency.
Banette struggled to float up from the ground, its crimson eyes staring fixedly at the distant Venusaur. Extending both hands, a rich Shadow energy that was almost tangible condensed wildly in front of it, turning into a pitch-black energy sphere in the blink of an eye.
Banette pushed its claws forward abruptly. That pitch-black Shadow Ball tore through the air, dragging a long black tail of energy, and blasted toward Venusaur like a meteor.
Wherever it passed, the stone slabs on the ground were flipped up by the stray energy, gravel splattered, and the light of the entire Gym seemed to dim slightly. An Elite Four High Ghost-type STAB move. The power of this strike was enough to shatter a small hill.
"Venusaur, Energy Ball." Ash chose to go head-on.
"Venu!"
Venusaur let out a deep roar, and the huge flower on his back suddenly bloomed with brilliant emerald-green light. That light contained boundless Grass-type energy, as well as terrifying vitality. An unmatched, powerful force condensed into an emerald-green Energy Ball in front of Venusaur in the blink of an eye.
Two completely different energies collided fiercely in mid-air. A deafening explosion burst open in the Gym, black and green colors intertwined wildly, and the violent shockwave spread in all directions, flipping up the stone slabs on the ground. Gravel slammed onto the transparent barrier of the Gym like a rainstorm, stirring up layers of ripples.
Lily shrank her neck in fright, but her eyes still stared unblinkingly at the center of the field. The children not far away had a similar reaction to Lily, but rather than fear, they felt mostly excitement. A battle of this level was unprecedented for them. Missing this battle, who knew when they would see something like it again?
At the very beginning, the Shadow Ball and Energy Ball seemed evenly matched, locked in a stalemate in mid-air. But one second later, the Shadow Ball's energy had been consumed quite a bit, while the Energy Ball's power still maintained its peak state.
A crisp shattering sound came from inside the Shadow Ball, and Morty's pupils suddenly constricted. Under the suppression of the Energy Ball, spiderweb-like cracks actually appeared on the surface of that pitch-black Shadow Ball, and immediately after, it turned into black spots of light all over the sky, splashing in all directions.
As for the Energy Ball, it only shrank by a circle, still carrying crushing momentum, passing through the wreckage of the Shadow Ball, and slamming solidly onto Banette.
Banette's body was hit head-on by the Energy Ball, and the emerald-green light burst open on its body, completely engulfing that dilapidated puppet. It let out a miserable scream, its entire body flying backward like a kite with a broken string, heavily crashing into the ground and smashing out a deep crater.
Morty blankly looked at Banette lying in the crater, smoking all over, and then looked up at Venusaur, which was still standing steadily in place without even its breathing disordered. A surge of unspeakable shock welled up in his heart.
Why? Both were Elite Four High, and both were head-on collisions of STAB moves. Why was Banette's Shadow Ball as fragile as paper in front of Venusaur's Energy Ball?
This could no longer be explained by a gap in levels. That Venusaur possessed power far exceeding its own level. Could it be that Ash had deployed that power boost capable of enhancing a Pokémon's abilities?
That wasn't right either. If Aura fusion had truly been activated, an Elite Four High Venusaur would only perform even stronger than it was now, not weaker.
"Gym Leader Morty must be wondering why, at the same level, Venusaur was able to suppress Banette using moves of similar power, right?" Ash stated the doubt in Morty's heart.
Without waiting for Morty to speak, Ash continued. "That's because my Venusaur also possesses the power of a god."
Also possesses?
This single sentence not only revealed that Venusaur possessed a different kind of power, but also indicated that Ash had more than one similar special Pokémon in his hands. The power possessed by this Venusaur definitely had no relation to Ho-Oh. In other words, the deity that chose Ash wasn't just Ho-Oh alone?
Just how many secrets was this kid carrying?