The Ghost-type Pokémon was invisible. Even a trainer like Morty couldn't see it, yet Ash spotted it instantly. This alone proved that Ash's perception ability was extraordinarily sharp.
"It's not over yet—Leaf Blade!"
Treecko suddenly leaped high into the air directly in front of Gastly. A green light surged around its entire body, gathering along its arm like a blade. In a flash, Treecko dashed forward at phantom-like speed and slammed Gastly straight into the ground.
Before Gastly could react, Treecko rebounded into the air and struck again, sending the ghost Pokémon flying upward.
"Aerial Ace!"
Before Gastly could recover from the previous blow, Treecko crossed its arms and slashed downward. A crescent-shaped green blade shot forward and struck Gastly directly.
"It's still not over—finish it with Seed Bomb!"
The crescent strike had already slammed Gastly against the wall. Just as Morty was about to issue another command, Ash's voice rang out again.
"That's right!"
Treecko opened its mouth and fired a glowing golden seed. The moment it hit Gastly, a massive explosion erupted.
Boom!
After the continuous combo of attacks, Treecko began to gasp heavily. Its stamina had been consumed rapidly.
However, compared to Gastly, Treecko was still in much better condition.
Gastly's body was now covered in injuries, and the final explosion had completely destroyed its ability to continue fighting.
A Ghost-type Pokémon had actually been defeated by physical attacks.
If word of this spread, very few people would believe it.
Ghost-type Pokémon do possess physical bodies, but they usually remain invisible. Their invisibility comes in two forms: one where they completely disappear from sight, and another where they project their body outward while remaining partially concealed.
In a way, this ability was somewhat similar to Ash's Aura perception, though far less practical.
Physical attacks are not completely ineffective against Ghost-types either. Once they manifest their physical form, they can absolutely be struck.
"Gastly has lost the ability to battle! Treecko wins! Gym Leader, please send out your next Pokémon!" the referee announced.
"That's amazing! Master won! And that combo just now was so cool!" shouted Emiya Shirō excitedly as he watched Ash's Treecko claim victory.
The chain of attacks Treecko had used moments ago was simply too impressive.
"That's enough. Your potential has reached its limit now. You don't need to hold it back anymore," Ash said calmly.
Inside Treecko's body, its cells had already reached saturation. This was the perfect moment to evolve.
"Cha—!"
Hearing Ash's words, Treecko seemed to relax in relief. Then, before everyone's eyes, a bright white light suddenly burst from its body.
It was the light of evolution.
"What?! During that battle, it was actually suppressing its evolution?" Morty stared in disbelief.
When a Pokémon's potential reaches saturation but it refuses to evolve, it enters a forced growth phase. Although evolution can be resisted, enduring it is extremely difficult for the Pokémon.
"Cha—!"
As the white light faded, Treecko evolved into Grovyle.
It now possessed three sharp leaves on each wrist capable of launching blade-like attacks. The leaf on its head had grown much longer and could be used for powerful strikes. Its tail had transformed into twin leaves capable of absorbing sunlight to store energy for powerful Grass-type techniques.
Combined with its exceptional jumping ability and fierce eyes, Grovyle now looked every bit like a warrior—much like Scizor.
With Pokémon like this, Ash's future strength was certain to grow tremendously.
"Champion-level… it actually jumped straight from Elite-level to Champion-level after evolving."
"I finally understand why Ho-Oh believes in him. Not only does he possess extraordinary ability, but he also clearly has incredible talent when it comes to raising Pokémon."
Looking at the recovered Grovyle, Morty could hardly describe the shock in his heart.
Every trainer works hard to cultivate powerful Pokémon.
Within each major rank—Early, Mid, Late, and Peak—countless trainers become stuck at certain stages. Reaching the symbolic Champion-level is already incredibly difficult.
Yet Ash's Grovyle had just crossed an entire threshold in a single evolution.
"This is the Pokémon raised by Master… I'm still far behind," murmured Emiya Shirō as he watched the battlefield.
"As Master once said, with my current talent, as long as I don't take the wrong path, reaching the Champion level is only a matter of time."
"But standing out among Champions from different regions… that's another matter entirely."
"I finally understand what Master meant."
"Champion is only the starting point. If you want to shine among Champions, you must continue strengthening yourself."
Shirō was not the only one shocked by Grovyle's evolution.
Seeing the Pokémon Ash had trained evolve and leap across such a massive gap in strength was simply unheard of.
Although each region does have Champion-level trainers, they are extremely rare. Even among them, standing at the very top is no easy task.
Some trainers manage to reach the Champion level, yet only have one or two Champion-tier Pokémon. That alone becomes their greatest limitation.
Simply reaching Champion-level strength is not the true goal.
What truly matters is cultivating one's Pokémon into the strongest possible combat force.
That is the true value of a Champion trainer.
For Shirō, the road ahead was still very long before he could reach that level.
(End of Chapter)
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