Pokémon: Simultaneous time travel, this Ash is too versatile!

Chapter 163 Next up is Pikachu in its partner form, surfing away!
After Blaine recalled Nine-Tails, he did not use the Nine-Tails to fight, but instead took out a second Pokémon, Arcanine.

Arcanine is extremely rare in the wild, and in the League, Growlithe and Arcanine are mostly assigned to security personnel, making them even rarer than the starter Pokémon.

Furthermore, the cost of training Arcanine is extremely high. Growlithe needs a Fire Stone to evolve, and the quality of the Fire Stone determines the improvement after evolution, as well as whether it is possible to increase the upper limit of its abilities.

Raising a top-tier Arcanine costs significantly more than raising a regular Pokémon.

However, as the saying goes, high effort yields high reward. Although Arcanine consumes a lot, its returns are also considerable. It only needs one Fire Stone to evolve directly, without having to go through the hard training and evolution process like other Pokémon.

Furthermore, the extent to which its stats improve after evolution depends on the Fire Stone. Most importantly, one evolution of this Pokémon is equivalent to two evolutions of the starter Pokémon, making it a rare and highly sought-after Pokémon.

It's not surprising that a trainer of Blaine's caliber would own an Arcanine, but Blaine's Arcanine is at the Elite Four level!

This level is beyond what Gardevoir can currently handle.

Don't be fooled by Gardevoir's ability to suppress Nine-Tails head-on. That's because Blaine mistakenly allowed Nine-Tails to use its Psychic ability to resist Gardevoir's Psychic. If Nine-Tails had used its own Fire-type move, with the addition of Ignite and the terrain, the Psychic would probably have been burned away.

Intangible forces can be resisted by tangible forces; otherwise, wouldn't psychic powers be invincible?
However, Blaine felt that the Nine-Tailed King's intermediate power was sufficient to break Gardevoir's attack with non-STAB moves, so he recklessly used his psychic powers.

If Gardevoir uses Fire-type moves, it will find it difficult to break through the opponent's moves with Psychic abilities, just like when it first faced Flame Abyss.

Now that they've switched to a high-level Arcanine, it'll be even harder to beat them...

"Gardevoir, come back first!" Ash chose to recall Gardevoir.

If you encounter an enemy you cannot defeat, continuing to fight head-on is simply reckless behavior.

There's no need to let Gardevoir waste its stamina here. Mega Evolution and Aura Fusion are similar in that they increase all aspects of power, but not stamina.

Therefore, Gardevoir is also very afraid of prolonged battles. With its strength increasing but its stamina not increasing, each use of a move is a huge burden for Gardevoir, whose stamina remains unchanged.

After recalling Gardevoir, Ash crouched down and placed his hat over Pikachu's head: "It's your turn now, Pikachu."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded, then leaped onto the field from Ash's feet. But as soon as it got on the field, it frantically crossed its left and right feet, shouting incoherently.

Because this place is just too hot!

It was much hotter than where he had just been standing; after all, this was directly above the crater, and standing there felt like stepping into a steamer.

After a long while, Pikachu finally adjusted to the temperature on the field and stood steadily.

……

"Ash switched to Pikachu. Is he using his ace Pokémon so soon?" Gary was also a little confused after seeing Pikachu enter the field. If Pikachu is already in the field, what will Ash use next? Does he have a Pokémon stronger than Pikachu?
"Didn't you hear what Xiaozhi said? This 3-on-3 match includes his own, so Xiaozhi is definitely going to be the last one to go on stage," Xiaoxia said matter-of-factly.

However, this sentence immediately made Xiao Mao look like he had seen a ghost.

"No, is he serious? Is he really not joking? I know he has some special abilities, but to go head-to-head with a Champion-level Pokémon? You can't be kidding!"

When Ash said he was going to battle, Gary was listening nearby, but Gary didn't take Ash's words seriously. After all, it just didn't make sense to think about someone using their physical body to fight against a Champion-level Pokémon!
No matter how strong humans are, it's already absurd that they can even contend with ordinary Pokémon, let alone fight against Elite Four level Pokémon!

Brock shook his head, his squinting eyes looking at Gary with pity: "Gary, you haven't seen enough of the world, and your thinking is too naive. Only when you've seen the vastness of the world will you truly grow into a capable trainer!"

"Jiaoji Duyi~" Togepi, nestled in Misty's arms, also chimed in, making its presence known.

Xiaomao:......

Do you want to hear what nonsense you're spouting?
Am I too naive? This is what you call normal human thinking! Anyone who thinks about humans battling Elite Four Pokémon is definitely out of their mind!
However, since Xiaoxia and Xiaogang had both said so, Xiaomao couldn't help but feel a little hopeful.

Could it be... that Ash is really that strong? Is he really, as he says, the strongest member of the team?
……

On the battlefield, Blaine's expression turned slightly serious when he saw Pikachu enter the fray.

Ash's Pikachu was the main focus of his observation in the video, but no matter how many times he studied the footage of Pikachu battling Arbok, he couldn't figure out what move Pikachu used.

It is certain that all of Pikachu's moves are moves that have not yet been discovered.

It has two Electric-type moves, one fast and one powerful, and one that seems to be a Flying-type move that allows Pikachu to float and fly briefly in the air. These three moves are what make this Pikachu so unique.

As for strength...

"Huh? Dojo level???"

After Xia Bo clearly saw the level of power displayed by the other party, his eyes behind his sunglasses almost popped out!
Is this level too low? No, it's too high!
Previously, when he watched Pikachu battle Arbok, its level was only around beginner to intermediate professional level. How come it's already at the Gym Leader level?!

Wait, no, this level isn't a gym, it's the pinnacle of a profession, but its aura is in no way inferior to a gym level.

This is outrageous! How long has it been since then? How could Pikachu level up so quickly!
It's extremely difficult to advance even one level in the professional tier. Now, only a month has passed, and Pikachu has already reached the peak of the professional tier. It probably won't be long before it reaches the gym level.

Is this still Pikachu? Is it really not a legendary Pokémon?
However, what Blaine didn't know was that Pikachu had already reached its peak half a month ago.

He's been stuck at the peak of his career for half a month. For other Pokémon, it's normal to not be able to reach the Gym Leader level from the peak of their career in half a month, but it's very unusual for Pikachu.

Compared to its previous speed, Pikachu's current speed increase is like a snail's pace. Ash also senses that Pikachu has hit a bottleneck. He and Pikachu tried various methods to break through this bottleneck recently, but all to no avail. Now, they can try to see if defeating this Elite Four member, Arcanine, can help Pikachu break through its current limitations!
"Let's begin, Blade, the second battle!" Ash said, his Aura merging into Pikachu's body. Instantly, shockwaves of energy rippled around Pikachu's body, even blowing the fur off Arcanine.

Compared to Gardevoir, Pikachu is much smaller, but the aura it exudes is even stronger!
"It's really strong, but it's still a bit weaker than my Arcanine." Blaine was shocked by the aura emanating from Pikachu, but he was very confident in his Arcanine.

Even though Pikachu has raised its strength to the Elite Four level with Ash's help, judging from its aura, it's probably only between the early and mid-level Elite Four, not exceeding the mid-level.

This level of power is easily overcome by Arcanine; just be careful of Pikachu's special moves.

"Growlithe, Extreme Speed!" Growlithe stomped its paws on the ground and instantly disappeared from its original spot!
Extreme Speed ​​is a move that's even faster than Quick Attack, and combined with Arcanine's already exceptional speed, it's so fast that you can't even see Arcanine on the field.

"Pikachu!" Ash didn't give any command, he just called Pikachu's name, but Pikachu instantly understood and jumped up on the spot.

The next instant, Arcanine appeared below Pikachu and charged out at incredible speed, creating terrifying shockwaves.

The sheer force of the speed alone was enough to cause the shockwave to materialize and bombard the inner walls of the volcano, shattering them completely. Even with Pikachu's current strength, it would probably be half-dead if it were hit directly.

"Surf!" Ash's voice rang out again.

Without hesitation, Pikachu unleashed its power in mid-air, creating a towering wave that suddenly formed in the air!

To be able to create water-based attacks of this caliber in a place without water, you'd think Pikachu was a water-type Pokémon if you didn't know better.

The giant wave almost covered the entire field. Although Arcanine was not visible to the naked eye, as long as the field was covered, Arcanine would have nowhere to hide!

"What the heck?! Pikachu knows Surf!! Arcanine uses Flamethrower!" Blaine didn't even have time to be shocked, and immediately commanded Arcanine to use Flamethrower to fight back.

To be able to unleash such a powerful water-type skill above a volcano, with such abundant fire element, and for the user to be a Pikachu—Bair couldn't have imagined this situation even if he racked his brains!

Besides the three skills it showed when battling Aju, this Pikachu actually has hidden moves! It's cheating!
A towering wave swept down from the sky, and Arcanine slammed on the brakes with a piercing screech. Then it opened its massive maw and spewed out a mouthful of flame.

"Chuck! Chuck! Chuck!"

The scorching flames crashed against the waves, causing a large amount of water vapor to evaporate, and the field was instantly covered by a white mist.

But soon, the mournful cry of Arcanine could be heard from within the white mist.

The difference between the hastily used fire-type skill and the well-prepared water-type skill is self-evident.

Although the fire element is very strong here, which reduces the power of water-type moves, water is still the natural enemy of fire. Furthermore, Pikachu's attack power far exceeds its level because it has Electric Ball!

"Falling gently." In the white mist, Blaine could hardly find Pikachu, but under the influence of the Aura Force, Arcanine's figure was nowhere to be hidden.

As Ash gave the command, Pikachu descended from the sky and crashed into Arcanine, who had just stood up. Arcanine let out another mournful cry and was blasted out of the white mist!

"Arcanine, hold on, regroup, and use Flame Vortex to cover yourself!" Blaine finally understood why Aju's Arbok was being beaten like a dog.

This special ability is really troublesome. Not only can it predict the opponent's movements with lightning speed, but it can also accurately locate the opponent's position in areas where visibility is poor. It's pure cheating!
However, if Arcanine uses Flame Vortex to wrap itself up in defense, it can temporarily stop the opponent's attack. Once Arcanine has regained its footing, it can then launch a counterattack.

"Roar!"

Having finally managed to stand up again, Arcanine immediately roared, and then a thick layer of flames instantly surrounded it, forming a fire shield.

He desperately needed to catch his breath. Although the damage from Pikachu's Float Fall wasn't particularly high due to the intimidation effect, the unique force it carried almost prevented him from unleashing his move.

This vortex of fire was barely released by him, as he had to squeeze out all his strength. He really couldn't release any more skills now and needed to catch his breath.

"Surfing!"

Xiao Zhi had no intention of letting his opponent rest; striking while the iron was hot was the best strategy.

Pikachu leaped up again, and a wave of energy rose from beneath its feet, surging towards Arcanine!

The white mist on the field was instantly dispersed by the waves. Pikachu, wearing a red and white hat, stepped on the waves, looking radiant and even with an excited smile on his face.

In the blink of an eye, the wave arrived in front of the flame vortex and directly covered it. The flame vortex, which was barely able to be used, collided with the wave, making a piercing sound.

The waves are being evaporated, but the flames are being consumed much more quickly.

The flame barrier was quickly shattered by the waves, and only then did Blaine's voice arrive belatedly: "Arcanine, use Extreme Speed!"

Arcanine received the command and tried to move its limbs to speed up and dodge, but the side effects of using Flame Vortex while enduring the timidity of falling had not yet disappeared, so it could no longer use Extreme Speed!

And so, in the wide-open eyes of Arcanine, the wave completely engulfed him!
"boom!!"

A deafening sound rang out on the battlefield, and the remaining water flowed into the lava below. Pikachu gracefully rolled a few times in the air and arrived at the battlefield in front of Ash.

Xiao Mao, who was watching Pikachu battle for the first time, was dumbfounded.

This...this is Pikachu?! Where's Pikachu?!

(End of this chapter)