"May I ask, how did you know about Ho-Oh?" Ash stepped forward, his expression slightly solemn as he asked.
The present is different from the past; he is no longer the same as when he first started his journey.
At the beginning of his journey, he was weak and lacked knowledge. Very few people knew about his encounter with Ho-Oh and becoming the Rainbow Hero.
But now it's different; he possesses the strength of the world's top-tier trainers. Even without Mewtwo, he could rely on the Pokemon and Divine Domain Level entities he holds to exchange a few moves.
Not to mention, Mewtwo is with him.
So he doesn't care if the matter of being the Rainbow Hero is known by others.
As the saying goes, "Better fear the thief's obsession than the thief's theft."
Even with his current strength, he never casually revealed that he was the Rainbow Hero.
Therefore, Ash was still curious how Morty knew about his relationship with Ho-Oh.
"You'll know after a battle with me... Oh, you don't need to worry about these children; they won't tell anyone about this. Let them watch the match from the side," Morty said 'considerately', pointing to the children beside him.
Ash looked at the children, who nodded like pecking chickens, though they hadn't actually reacted to what was happening.
No matter what it was, nodding now was right. This trainer was connected to Ho-Oh, after all!
Watching him battle with Gym Leader Morty would definitely be exciting, a once-in-a-lifetime chance not to be missed!
Regardless of whether they knew what was going on, they would agree—it's best to say yes first.
Seeing this, Ash scratched his head in confusion and then said to Morty, "In that case, let's go, 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 visible transparent barrier appeared over the entire gym field.
"This is the latest battle equipment provided to us Gym Leaders by the League, strong enough to withstand the aftermath of Elite Four Peak Level battles, so you can fight freely."
Serena blinked curiously and lightly touched the barrier with her finger, finding it easily passed through.
Could this barrier be the same as Mewtwo's? The battle's aftermath inside can't come out, but things outside can go in.
Seeing Serena's actions, Morty continued to explain, "This is the League's latest defense device, different from previous ones, things outside can still pass through freely, and the Pokemon inside can come out if they wish."
"It only blocks power strong enough to shatter mountains and rocks; weaker forces won't trigger its defense, so you observers should keep your distance to avoid being hit by debris."
Ash showed surprise at this: "That's amazing! It even selectively defends against the aftermath, very advanced!"
'Hmph, it's only because they want to allocate all their power to prevent higher-level attacks and deliberately transfer energy from low-level defenses to high-level defenses. It's just a sign of inadequate power,' Mewtwo's arrogant voice resounded in Ash's mind.
'I can easily do such things too. If you ever wish to feel the strike of debris, I can let some low-level aftermath through to give you a real taste.'
"It's not unacceptable." Although keeping all power within the barrier is great, the impact sensation can be quite nice—for Ash, at least.
To this, Mewtwo remained silent but took note of Ash's comment, determining to change her way of deploying barriers in the future.
A League-reformed broken barrier is nothing comparable to her superpower, right?
"Ash, what are you muttering to yourself?"
"Nothing, nothing. So, should we start now?" Ash waved his hand, brushing off the self-talk.
Not far away, Morty nodded, then went to the spot designated for the trainer: "Let's begin now; the referee hasn't come to work yet. Maggie, could you temporarily be the referee?"
A little girl sitting on the ground 'whizzed' to her feet, face full of excitement: "Sure, sure! I'll be the referee! I've memorized the gym's rules completely!"
"Great, then I'll leave it to you, Maggie."
As Maggie went to the referee's seat, Ash took the challenger's position. Maggie announced the battle rules: "The match rules are three-on-three; the Gym Leader cannot switch Pokemon. The trainer who defeats all three of the opponent's Pokemon wins!"
With that announcement, Morty threw out his first Pokemon.
Light flashed, and a Pokemon with a worn-out appearance, like an abandoned rag doll, appeared in the arena.
Banette, a Ghost-type Pokemon, born from grudges possessing an abandoned doll.
Its body is gray, with a zip-like protrusion on its head, and the zipper at its mouth opens wide, revealing a black void inside that seems to swallow all light.
Banette, a relatively rare Pokemon, a Ghost-type gym indeed uses Ghost-type Pokemon.
Moreover, this Banette's Level was incredibly high; in Ash's Eye of Insight, it had already reached Elite Four Advanced Level.
This Ecruteak Gym was not listed among the powerful special Gyms Professor Oak had given him; looks like it had deliberately hidden its true strength, only showing an outside standard between Gym Peak and ordinary Elite Four Level.
Now, facing Ash, Morty didn't slack off in the slightest and brought out all his strength, opening with an Elite Four Advanced Level Pokemon—this was definitely not Morty's ace.
"Looks like today's going to be a very interesting battle. I choose you, Venusaur!"
A flash of light, and a massive Venusaur appeared at the center of the field.
"Ba-na!" Venusaur let out a low roar, its four feet stamping firmly on the ground, making the entire Gym floor tremble slightly.
"Venusaur, huh? Coming out second and still not using an attribute-counter Pokemon… seems you trust this Venusaur's strength quite a lot." Sensing the aura spilling off Venusaur, Morty's expression grew solemn.
Although he still had plenty of complaints in his heart about Ho-Oh's choice, he had to admit—Ho-Oh's eye for people was indeed sharp.
At such a young age he could already raise such a powerful Pokemon, and this wasn't even the main force he used when he battled Lorelei.
That Pikachu, and that Charizard, were both potential threats… and besides that, Ash's ability to boost his Pokemon's power—those were all things to watch out for.
"Lord Ho-Oh, you haven't appeared in humanity's sight for hundreds of years. Now you've chosen this young man. What exactly is so special about him… let me help you properly examine him." Morty murmured, and as his words fell, his expression hardened.
He swung his arm and said coldly, "Banette, Knock Off!"
Knock Off, a Dark Type Skill, can directly knock the opponent's held item off.
Morty didn't know much about Ash's Venusaur, but that didn't stop him from choosing a tactic that weakened the other side.
Generally, by the time you're at Ash's Level as a Trainer, your Pokemon will definitely carry items in battle; those items significantly boost a Pokemon's combat power.
So once the held item is knocked off, it's basically like cutting off one of their arms!
As soon as Morty's order fell, Banette's figure vanished from its spot like a ghost.
Its Speed was incredibly fast; black Dark Type energy coiled around that ragged doll arm of its, like a venomous snake whipping toward the held item on Venusaur's body!
Although held items were hidden on the Pokemon's body, as long as Knock Off hit, no matter if it was hidden in fur, strapped to its back, or held in its mouth, that Dark energy would forcibly rip it off.
"Venusaur, Vine Whip!"
Ash's voice rang out the instant Banette was about to succeed.
"Ba-na!"
The huge flower on Venusaur's back trembled slightly, and four thick emerald-green Vine Whips snapped out from either side of the flower like living serpents!
Their Speed was astonishing, even leaving several green afterimages in the air.
Before Banette's Knock Off could even touch Venusaur's body, one of those Vine Whips lashed solidly across its arm!
"Smack!"
The crisp crack of the blow echoed through the Gym; Banette's arm, wrapped in black energy, was whipped high into the air, and its whole body staggered sideways several steps under that Gigan Strength.
The Knock Off Skill was forcibly interrupted!
But it wasn't over; Venusaur's remaining Vine Whips lashed down on Banette one after another, leaving wound after wound across its body. In the end, Banette was flung away by a Vine Whip, tumbling across the floor several times before it barely came to a stop.
Banette, which had launched the first attack, was actually beaten into this state by the Venusaur that moved second?!
"Banette, Shadow Ball!"
Morty's voice suddenly burst out in the empty Gym, tinged with urgency.
Banette struggled up from the floor, its blood-red eyes locking tightly onto the distant Venusaur. It stretched out both hands, and an incredibly dense mass of shadow energy surged together in front of it, quickly condensing into a pitch-black energy sphere.
The advanced Banette thrust both claws forward. That pitch-black Shadow Ball tore through the air, trailing a long black tail-flame behind it, shooting toward Venusaur like a meteor!
Where it passed, the floor tiles were pried up by the leaking energy, shards of stone flying everywhere, and even the Gym's lighting seemed to dim a shade.
An Elite Four Advanced Level Ghost Type same-type Skill—this single strike was enough to blast apart a small mountain!
"Venusaur, Energy Ball." Ash chose to take it head-on.
"Ba-na!"
Venusaur let out a low roar, and the huge flower on its back suddenly burst into dazzling emerald light.
Within that light surged an immense Grass Type energy, along with a terrifying Life Force!
A mighty power gathered in an instant before Venusaur, condensing into a bright green Energy Ball.
The two completely different energies collided in midair with a thunderous crash—
"BOOM!!!"
The deafening explosion detonated inside the Gym; black and green colors twisted violently together as a raging shockwave spread in all directions, tearing up the floor tiles. The flying debris pelted the Gym's transparent barrier like a rainstorm, sending ripples coursing across its surface.
Maggie shrank his neck in fright, but his eyes still stared fixedly at the center of the field.
The kids not far away reacted almost the same as Maggie, but compared to fear, what they felt more was excitement.
A battle at this Level was something they had never seen before! If they missed this fight, who knew when they'd see a battle of this Level again!
At first, Shadow Ball and Energy Ball seemed evenly matched, locked in a dead stalemate in midair.
But a second later, the Shadow Ball's energy was already heavily drained, while the Energy Ball still maintained full power!
"Crack—"
A sharp shattering sound came from within the Shadow Ball, and Morty's pupils contracted sharply.
Under the pressure of the Energy Ball, spiderweb-like cracks spread over the surface of that pitch-black Shadow Ball, and then it burst apart into countless black motes of light.
The Energy Ball, however, only shrank by one ring; still carrying an overwhelming force, it plowed through the Shadow Ball's remnants and slammed straight into Banette!
"Bang!!!"
Banette's body was struck head-on by the Energy Ball; emerald light erupted across its body, completely engulfing that ragged doll form.
It let out a shrill scream, its whole body blown backward like a kite with its string cut, crashing hard into the ground and gouging out a deep pit.
Morty stared blankly at Banette lying in the pit, smoke curling off its body, then looked up at the Venusaur still standing steady in place, its breathing not even disturbed. A hard-to-describe shock churned in his chest.
Why?
The same Elite Four Advanced Level, both using same-type Moves in a direct clash—why was Banette's Shadow Ball as fragile as paper against Venusaur's Energy Ball?
This was already beyond what could be explained by a mere Level gap.
That Venusaur possessed power far beyond its own Level. Could it be that Ash had unleashed that power that boosts his Pokemon's abilities?
But that didn't make sense either. If he had really used that power, an Elite Four Advanced Level Venusaur would only look stronger than it did now, not weaker.
"Gym Leader Morty is probably wondering why, at the same Level, Venusaur can suppress Banette using Moves of roughly the same power, right?" Ash voiced the doubt in Morty's heart.
Without waiting for Morty to speak, Ash continued, "That's because… my Venusaur also possesses the power of the gods!"
Also possesses?
That single sentence not only revealed that Venusaur held a different kind of power, it also implied that Ash had more than one such special Pokemon.
The power on this Venusaur definitely had nothing to do with Ho-Oh, which meant the gods who had chosen Ash weren't limited to Ho-Oh alone?
What on earth was so mysterious about this boy?
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