"Tree!"
After being struck by Gastly's Night Shade, Ash Ketchum's Treecko lost nearly 20% of its stamina. Its breathing became noticeably heavier.
"Very good. The Night Shade hit. As long as Gastly lands one more powerful move, victory will be ours."
Seeing the attack connect, Morty finally relaxed a little.
Being pushed this far by an opponent who wasn't even an Elite-level trainer was something he hadn't expected. After calming down slightly, Takahashi gave another command.
"Gastly, use Shadow Ball!"
"Gast!"
Gastly let out a strange laugh as a black sphere of dark energy formed instantly and shot toward Treecko.
"Use High-Speed Flash."
Seeing the incoming Shadow Ball, Ash remained completely calm. Treecko's speed was one of its greatest advantages.
In an instant, Treecko's body turned into a streak of white light, moving rapidly back and forth across the battlefield.
High-Speed Flash was a technique combining Quick Attack and Agility. It possessed the burst speed of Quick Attack while retaining the flexibility and continuous acceleration of Agility.
Treecko had endured a lot of harsh training to master this move.
Boom!
Gastly's Shadow Ball slammed into the ground where Treecko had been moments before, shattering the floor—but the attack completely missed.
"What?!"
Morty stared in shock.
"He combined Quick Attack and Agility? And the speed already reaches Quasi-Elite level!"
Both Quick Attack and Agility were extremely common moves among Pokémon, but no one had ever thought to fuse the two techniques together like this.
It clearly showed how limited most trainers' thinking still was.
"Treecko, use Mega Drain!"
As Ash's command rang out, Treecko vanished in a flash of speed and suddenly appeared right in front of Gastly. Green energy gathered around its fist before it slammed forward with tremendous force.
"Gast!"
Gastly screamed as Mega Drain struck.
Fortunately, because Gastly possessed the Levitate ability, it wasn't knocked flying by the blow.
Mega Drain not only damaged the opponent but also absorbed part of their stamina. This was exactly what Ash intended—to restore Treecko's lost energy.
"Now finish it—Cross Cut!"
As Treecko recovered some stamina, Ash issued another command.
Before everyone's shocked eyes, Treecko crossed its arms over its chest before slashing outward violently.
Two streams of green energy formed a glowing cross-shaped blade, instantly striking Gastly.
"Gaaast!!!"
Gastly let out a sharp scream. The power of the attack was obvious—it clearly possessed B-rank destructive strength.
"I've never seen that move before…"
Morty's pupils shrank sharply as he stared at the technique Treecko had just used.
He had heard many rumors about Ash's strength and had even watched the Indigo Plateau Conference battles, yet this self-created technique had never appeared before.
"That move just now looked like a Fighting-style technique, but it still managed to damage a Ghost-type Pokémon…"
Watching closely, Emiya Shirō spoke with a thoughtful expression.
Because he specialized in close-combat techniques, his understanding of battle mechanics was even sharper than Takahashi's.
"What exactly is going on?"
Ash smiled faintly.
"This is a combat technique I developed myself. In the Kanto region, most moves focus on elemental attacks. Compared to that, true combat techniques are far too few."
"And since my apprentice is following a Fighting-style battle path, I naturally needed to develop something suitable for him. Otherwise, what would I even teach?"
Hearing Ash's explanation, everyone around him was stunned.
In truth, Ash had only recently begun thinking about this more seriously. Looking back, it felt a little ridiculous.
As a transmigrator, he had knowledge from countless worlds, yet he had been overly focused on abilities from Naruto.
There were many powerful techniques in other worlds as well.
Especially one classic series from his previous life—
The King of Fighters.
"Master…"
Hearing Ash say this, Emiya Shirō felt deeply moved.
Because he followed the path of combat techniques, Ash had actually created new fighting moves specifically for him.
How could he not be touched?
"As expected of the strongest champion…"
Morty muttered, his heart in turmoil.
"A Grass-type Pokémon using a Fighting-style technique like this… truly unbelievable."
"Although it's called a Fighting technique, it still strikes Gastly with energy. Pure physical attacks wouldn't damage a Ghost-type Pokémon. It seems speed and continuous pressure are the key."
Unlike the others' surprise, Ash Ketchum understood the situation very clearly.
Ghost-type Pokémon were almost completely immune to direct physical attacks. Unless the ghost revealed its true body during an attack, physical strikes would pass right through it.
Because of this, most trainers only relied on elemental techniques when facing Ghost-type Pokémon—just like the Cross Cut Treecko had used earlier.
"Although Treecko's stamina has improved a lot after training, its level still isn't higher than Gastly's," Ash thought as he looked at the smiling Gastly across the battlefield.
"If Treecko wants to win, it needs to keep the pressure up with a chain of attacks Gastly can't defend against."
After reaching this conclusion, Ash gave his command.
"Treecko, use High-Speed Flash!"
"Gastly, go invisible—quick!" shouted Morty.
"Gast!"
Gastly let out a strange laugh before suddenly disappearing from sight.
However, Treecko didn't stop moving.
It continued flashing across the battlefield at incredible speed, darting back and forth across the arena in streaks of white light. The spectators couldn't help but wonder what Ash was planning.
"Sharingan."
Seeing Gastly vanish, Ash immediately activated his Sharingan.
The spinning crimson eyes allowed him to clearly perceive Gastly's position within the arena. However, even though he could see it, Gastly hadn't fully revealed its true body. That meant only energy-based attacks could hit it.
"Three o'clock direction—use Bullet Seed!"
Treecko instantly fired a barrage of glowing seeds toward the indicated direction.
Under Morty's shocked gaze, the invisible Gastly was suddenly struck and forced out of hiding.
"Gaaast!"
Gastly cried out as the attack connected.
Being continuously pressured by the Elite-level Treecko, Gastly was beginning to feel overwhelmed.
From the start of the battle, Treecko's attacks had clearly been far more effective than its own.
(End of Chapter)
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