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"Okay, we're almost ready to leave! We've been struggling for quite some time, but we still haven't managed to capture any Pokémon properly!"
"Wait! I just remembered I left all my things back there," Misty exclaimed.
"Mine too!" Brock added, both of them suddenly recalling that their belongings were still at their previous location.
Suddenly, a figure appeared before Ash and the others, waving one of its bladed arms and pointing in Ash's direction. Both Misty and Brock were startled by its sudden appearance.
"It's that Scyther from before. What's going on? It helped us earlier, but now it looks so aggressive!" Misty observed the Scyther with confusion. Thanks to this Pokémon, Dragonair and the others had been saved. Its sudden change in attitude was surprising.
"It wants to challenge me to a battle! I like this Pokémon more and more!" Ash smiled, his excitement building.
This Scyther had a clear sense of honor and didn't prey on the weak. Earlier when they hadn't fought back, it had refrained from attacking. It also possessed a strong sense of justice, not hesitating to help rescue Dragonair when needed.
Now, feeling Scyther's fighting spirit, Ash felt his own excitement rising.
"But you can't battle in the Wild Area!" Misty glanced nervously at Kaiser. If they fought here, he might intervene.
"It's true that battling isn't allowed here, but if it's the Pokémon's own will, then that's a different matter," Kaiser said with a surprising smile.
Technically, this wasn't permitted either. Even if it was the Pokémon's intention, Trainers who came here were supposed to avoid battles. But both Scyther and Ash had helped the Wild Area and Dragonair, so Kaiser chose to make an exception in this case.
Everyone was surprised by Kaiser's words. They hadn't expected this stubborn warden to actually allow them to battle.
"In this case, whether you can capture Scyther depends entirely on your skill, Ash! Good luck!" Tommy said, though in his heart, he was confident Ash wouldn't lose.
"Of course! Let's go, Scyther!" After getting Tommy's approval, Ash addressed the Scyther before him.
The Scyther let out a battle cry and prepared to give the fight everything it had. Seeing this, Ash smiled and reached for a Poké Ball.
"Your fighting spirit is strong! I'll respond with my strongest attitude! The choice is yours!"
Throwing the Poké Ball forward, there was a flash of light, and a fiery red figure emerged, accompanied by a powerful roar.
The roar created waves of air that spread throughout the area. Scyther sensed this power, its eyes narrowing slightly. The warrior's instinct told it that the opponent before it was extremely strong.
"It's Charmeleon! That gives Ash a type advantage!" Misty sighed with relief. Ash usually didn't prioritize type matchups, but this time he was using them to his advantage.
"Yes, but Scyther is still a formidable opponent! Ash shouldn't get careless just because of the type advantage," Brock remarked with a nod. The fact that Ash had chosen Charmeleon demonstrated how seriously he was taking this battle.
First was the type advantage. In the past, Ash rarely paid much attention to this aspect. They had seen him turn situations around even with type disadvantages. But facing Scyther, he had chosen Charmeleon. Beyond the type advantage, this choice showed that he genuinely wanted to capture this Scyther.
Since Ash had caught Charmander, it had never lost a battle. After evolving into Charmeleon, its strength had improved dramatically, making it indeed the strongest Pokémon in Ash's team.
Seeing that Ash had released his Pokémon and the battle could finally begin, Scyther grew excited. It spread its arms, the scythes flashing with light as green energy enveloped them, and rushed toward Charmeleon.
"We won't lose in a head-on confrontation! Charmeleon, use Thunder Punch!"
Charmeleon roared, then rushed forward as well. It clenched its fist as lightning energy gathered there in an instant.
When the red and green figures intersected, their moves collided, instantly releasing an astonishing amount of power. An explosion sounded, and smoke spread, engulfing both combatants.
Two figures retreated from the smoke simultaneously, both planting their feet firmly on the ground. Their backward movements left long tracks in the dirt as they shook themselves to dispel the lingering smoke.
"Are you okay, Charmeleon?"
Charmeleon responded with a confident growl.
"Very good, use Flamethrower!" Listening to Charmeleon's response, Ash continued looking ahead. Although smoke still obscured his view, Ash launched an attack based on instinct alone.
Charmeleon's fire power had been honed to its limit. In terms of flame temperature and raw power, it wouldn't lose to any Fire-type Pokémon.
The moment the pillar of fire was released, its power and the accompanying airflow instantly dispersed the smoke before it, rushing toward Scyther on the other side.
Scyther's eyes narrowed, and then its body shimmered. Just as the flames approached, Scyther seemed to split into multiple images. Misty and the others watching the battle were surprised as they saw many Scyther figures appearing from all directions.
"Double Team?" Brock exclaimed in surprise.
Ash had recently experienced a similar situation at the Fuchsia Gym. When he had battled against Koga, the Gym Leader's Double Team had been difficult to counter. At that time, Ash had to use a special strategy to successfully defeat Koga's Double Team tactic, so he knew this move was particularly challenging to overcome.