Elf Trader: My trump card is the Light/Dark Mantis.

Soon the gym doors slowly opened, and A-Ju, dressed in ninja attire with a trench coat draped over her back, looked at the trainer in front of her with a curious expression.

Gathering intelligence was also part of the ninja's job.

Aju knew that the seemingly sunny and silly boy in front of her was holding the cosmic spirit that was currently causing a great stir around the world!

Moreover, it is said that this boy named Xiaozhi also has two alien Pokémon!

Ah Ju immediately felt...

This time, I might have to do something excessive.

He's ready to unleash his true power! He'll use a Gym Leader-level Pokémon to face this challenger!

This is against the rules, because the duty of a gym leader is to test trainers, not to make things difficult for them.

Ash currently has enough badges; once he defeats an elite-level Pokémon, he can obtain the crimson badge. ... ...

But for Aji, gathering intelligence was already second nature to him as a ninja.

This person learned through investigation that Ash had two Space Pokémon.

One of them is a professional-grade pink flying-type Pokémon named Pokel.

One of them is an elite Ghost-type Pokémon named Sabik.

These two Pokémon have been shining brightly on Ash's recent journey!

Almost all the trainers who battled him on the roadside suffered a crushing defeat against the two Cosmic Pokémon!

Aju desperately needs to know everything about the Cosmic Spirits.

Therefore, he plans to use his ace Gym Leader Pokémon to force out all of Togekiss and Sarpice's trump cards and moves!

Chapter 121: Shadow Leap

Inside the crimson dojo.

A-Ju and Xiao-Zhi stood facing each other.

The two stood on the battlefield, each holding their Poké Ball, ready to fight.

Xiaoxia and Xiaogang cheered on their teammates.

"Go, Ash!"

"Win this game!"

"Get the Scarlet Gym Badge to prove your current strength!"

The two seemed very confident about the gym battle, believing that their partner had a high chance of winning.

Ash himself had an expression of absolute certainty of victory.

"No problem, watch me and Sabik put on a show!"

The Pikachu on his shoulder also stood up and confidently tossed its head.

"Pika pika!"

And Ah Ju said loudly.

"The rules for this match are 2v2, is that alright?"

"The gym leader cannot change their Pokémon, but the challenger can change their Pokémon at will."

The challenge rules are fairly standard.

However, if Jiang Gu were here, he would realize it.

This gym battle is actually different from the original work.

In the anime, Ash gets the Fuchsia Gym Badge through a 3-on-3 battle.

Moreover, in a sense, due to Team Rocket's interference, Kikyo only managed one 1v1 match against Ash in the end, significantly holding back.

Ash easily obtained the badge in the end.

So much so that in the original work, Misty even complained that Ash got his badge by doing favors and letting him win...

But this time it's different!

A-Ju's goal was very clear: to test the strength of Ash's Pokémon!

Therefore, instead of maintaining the 3V3 battle rules, they chose 2V2 and prepared to battle only Ash's Space Pokémon.

This was something that A-Ju had mentioned before when Ash asked to challenge the gym.

And the silly thing, true to its good temper, readily agreed to the request.

So this gym battle is a clash between A-Ge's two ace Pokel and Ash's evolved Saripe!

Ash is essentially going head-to-head with a Gym Leader's all-out effort!

The area around the battlefield was now deserted.

The challenges at the Scarlet Gym are open to the public and can be watched on weekdays.

But today is clearly different.

Ah-Ju doesn't plan to broadcast this match to the public.

The reason is simple: he was collecting information about the cosmic spirits for his ninja clan.

As for the relevant information, A-Jie doesn't plan to reveal it. Of course, Xiao-Zhi has no idea about all that...

He was bursting with enthusiasm, eager to win this gym battle! "Go, Crobat!"

Aju immediately dispatched a Gym Leader-level ace Pokémon! This Pokémon was the childhood friend of this crimson Gym Leader... which is why it evolved to its final form through friendship!

Their entrance was immediately imposing, as they soared through the air.

Ash was pleasantly surprised. "Wow! What kind of Pokémon is this?" It was the first time he had ever seen Crobat.

"That feels amazing! But my Sabic won't lose either!" Ash threw out a Pokémon capsule.

A-Ju seemed to be deep in thought. Just as Professor Oak's paper had stated, the Space Pokémon didn't use Poké Balls. ...Then a Pokémon jumped out of the capsule.

Aju frowned slightly. Although he knew that this Sabik was a Ghost-type Pokémon, Sabik was different from ordinary Ghost-type Pokémon.

Its appearance is much stranger.

Its main body consists of three dark spheres filled with strange energy connected together. The middle sphere is the largest and is engraved with azure energy patterns, which form the eyes of this elf.

Sabik does indeed give the impression of an alien creature from outer space.

Ash, brimming with confidence, encouraged his Pokémon. "Go, Sabic!"

The Shadow-type Pokémon cried out joyfully a few times. "Shak!" "Shak!"

It seems to be telling its trainer that everything is fine!

This Pokémon and Ash really made the right choice in choosing a partner!

Shapiro's nature and his silly nature are really in sync. At this moment, the Pokémon's mental state is many times more sunny and healthy than when Jiang Gu saw him on the Byron!

However, when A-Ju saw the heartwarming scene of the trainer and his Pokémon encouraging each other, he frowned.

The cosmic spirit before us is of elite strength.

Even when A-Ju used a gym-level Crobat to deal with the situation, his expression remained serious.

He was not an ignorant person; he was well aware of the cosmic spirits' ability to challenge opponents of higher levels!

The Grass-type Gym Leader, Rika, who recently rose to fame, gained immense power because she obtained a Cosmic Pokémon! When using a Cosmic Pokémon, she once defeated a Pokémon a level higher than her... and Archie's Sharpedo and Lance's Logiras are even stronger Cosmic Pokémon!

Taking on challenges beyond your level is a piece of cake!

Ah-Ju earnestly instructed the cross-bat, "Be careful."

“If we underestimate our opponent, we may fail…” and the Crobat nodded steadily.

This Pokémon is quite similar in personality to its trainer, and it is extremely cautious even when facing a Sabik that is much weaker than itself!

There's something strange about Crobat; this Ghost-type Pokémon is something else!

Of course, its feeling was correct.

At least... Sabik is actually a Shadow-type spirit... but caution is one aspect.

A-Ju really didn't think that the Pokémon in front of her could defeat her Crobat!

The reason is simple: Ash isn't a very strong trainer!

A-Ju analyzed the information about this lucky guy who obtained the cosmic spirit.

Especially Ash's performance in battles...

Ah Ju was speechless afterward!

He discovered that Ash clearly knew about type advantages and disadvantages and the effects of status moves, but he only paid attention to these factors when he was defeated.

Otherwise, we'll just recklessly go all the way!

A-Ju thinks the Cosmic Pokémon is strong, but the trainer in front of her definitely lacks experience. 0...Requesting flowers...

Battles are never just about relying on Pokémon.