"Of course, it's my honor to battle against you, Mr. Ash. I hope all of us can fight a battle today without leaving behind any regrets," Mr. Morkel said from across the field, his eyes burning with fighting spirit.
Ash's growth had been nothing short of astonishing. In just half a year, he had successfully raised the Pokémon of his First Squadron to the Gym-Class. Such a terrifying rate of improvement left countless people speechless.
Back then, when people referred to Ash as the "Light of Kanto" and "The Future Champion of the Indigo League," most did so because they admired his extraordinary talent as a Trainer and respected the noble character he displayed through his free online Pokémon Clinic.
But now, after learning about his true strength, even the proudest Trainers wholeheartedly acknowledged those titles. To them, Ash becoming the future Champion of the Indigo League was no longer a possibility—it was an inevitability.
As a result, battling Ash had become something Trainers eagerly anticipated.
Unlike before, no one sought to step on his reputation to rise to fame or borrow his popularity for personal gain.
Nowadays, people challenged him simply because they believed Ash would one day stand at the pinnacle of the League. By then, opportunities to battle him would become exceedingly rare.
And when that day came, being able to proudly say, "I once battled the future Champion," would become an achievement worth boasting about for a lifetime.
"..."
"...."
"The upcoming match is between Contestant Ash and Contestant Mr. Morkel. The battle format is 3-vs-3. Victory will be awarded when all of one side's Pokémon lose their ability to battle or when one Trainer forfeits the match."
"...Now, please send out the Pokémon for the first round of battle!"
The referee raised his signal flags and loudly announced the rules of the match.
"Pikachu, I choose you for this battle!"
"Rhyperior, prepare for battle!"
As soon as the referee gave the signal, neither Trainer hesitated in the slightest. Both immediately threw their Poké Balls and released the Pokémon they had chosen for the opening round.
Bang!Bang!
"Pika~!"
"ROOOARRR~!"
The two Pokémon instantly appeared on the battlefield. On Ash's side stood an adorable little mascot-like Pokémon, while on Mr. Morkel's side towered an enormous armored behemoth covered in thick stone plating.
"System, scan Rhyperior's data," Ash silently instructed.
[Ding! Scanning in progress. Please wait...]
Rhyperior
Level: LV.55
Attribute: Ground / Rock
Nature: Calm, Resolute
Ability: Reckless
Potential: Red (Elite)
Moves (Copyable):
[Mastered] (1/5000):
Tackle
Stomping Tantrum
Horn Attack
Rock Blast
Drill Run
Take Down
Earthquake
[Proficient] (1/1000):
Smack Down
Stomp
Stone Edge
Megahorn
Rock Wrecker
[Skilled] (1/500):
Scary Face
[Novice] (1/100):
Tail Whip
As the system's notification faded away, a translucent status panel appeared before Ash's eyes, displaying all of Rhyperior's information.
Ash wasn't particularly concerned about Rhyperior itself.
As a Ground-type Pokémon, it naturally possessed complete immunity to Electric-type attacks while simultaneously dealing super-effective damage against Pikachu.
However, Rhyperior's massive body came at the cost of mobility, whereas Pikachu was extraordinarily agile and nimble. As long as Rhyperior couldn't land its attacks, its type advantage might as well not exist.
Moreover, Pikachu had long since become one of Ash's independent ace Pokémon. Its battle framework was already incredibly complete. Even when facing opponents that countered its typing, both Ash and Pikachu had plenty of ways to deal with them.
Looking over Rhyperior's status panel, the only things Ash truly paid attention to were its level and Ability.
The fact that Mr. Morkel had been matched against him in Arena Number One proved that this Rhyperior possessed Gym-Class strength. However, at only LV.55, it was still three levels below Pikachu.
Overall, after reviewing Rhyperior's data, Ash immediately gained a clear understanding of his opponent's capabilities.
He already had a rough plan for how this match should proceed.
Unlike Ash, however, Mr. Morkel didn't possess a System. And after seeing that Ash had chosen Pikachu as his lead Pokémon, his expression immediately became extremely solemn.
As one of Kanto's most famous young Trainers, Ash appeared at the City Arena every evening to battle. While not everyone knew every detail about him and his Pokémon, Trainers throughout Kanto were already very familiar with his reputation.
After all, everyone knew that Ash possessed a mysterious power that allowed Pokémon to comprehend and master new moves.
Consequently, every single Pokémon under his command possessed astonishingly deep move pools.
Pikachu alone had already faced numerous Ground-type Pokémon in previous battles. Time and time again, his opponents would confidently believe they had secured victory—only for their expressions to instantly darken when Pikachu unleashed Surf.
And Pikachu wasn't the only one.
Every Pokémon on Ash's team possessed similarly versatile move pools.
Whether facing opponents that heavily resisted their own typings or Pokémon that outright countered and completely nullified their STAB attacks, Ash's Pokémon had repeatedly delivered shocking surprises to the audience—and horrifying shocks to their opponents.
Time and time again, Ash would triumph despite severe type disadvantages. Even in the rare instances where he couldn't secure victory, he would force his opponent to pay a tremendous price for their win.
In short, regardless of whether he held the type advantage or disadvantage, Ash was rarely ever the one suffering losses in battle.
His opponents almost never managed to gain any meaningful advantage against him.
The overwhelming dominance Ash displayed in his battles made Trainers throughout Kanto realize one very important truth.
A Trainer's talent wasn't the only thing that mattered.
A Pokémon's move set was equally important.
Because of Ash, two major trends gradually swept through Kanto's Trainer circles.
The first was a growing obsession among Trainers whenever Ash appeared in battle. Whether he fought at the City Arena or accepted challenges elsewhere, countless Trainers online eagerly anticipated which Pokémon he would send out and what new move it might reveal.
The second trend was the pursuit of comprehensive move-set optimization for Pokémon.
This movement sparked an unprecedented boom in the Pokémon move-learning industry. Countless Skill Discs and move-learning devices that had once sat forgotten on store shelves suddenly became highly sought-after commodities overnight.
Ironically, the person who benefited the most from both of these trends was none other than Ash himself.
The first brought him even greater popularity and influence throughout Kanto.
The second resulted in an overwhelming surge of orders flooding into Ash's online Move Mastery Shop.
Unknowingly, Ash had already begun changing Kanto's entire battling culture through his philosophy of overcoming type disadvantages and maximizing a Pokémon's full potential.