Chapter 166: I Want to Be #001, Not #002
2024-05-15 Author: Samsung Charmander (Author Name)
"Saur?"
The Totem Venusaur looked at Ash. As an elder, it was capable of understanding human speech.
Seeing the fiery determination on the youth's face and the resolute expression on the unique Bulbasaur beside him, the Totem Venusaur's heavy gaze softened, inspired by them.
Then, amidst the storm, it nodded at the boy and his Pokémon.
Ash's eyes lit up. "Alright! Get ready, Bulbasaur. Follow the plan I told you about."
"Saur!"
Ash surveyed the massive suction vortex. Ultimately, the incident could be resolved by simply destroying the source at the top.
But the hot air balloon was high in the sky with ample power. Therefore, they had to be unpredictable and decide the outcome with a single move!
With this in mind, and looking at his Bulbasaur, Ash already had a complete plan. He was full of confidence.
"Totem Venusaur, you know Petal Blizzard, right?" he suddenly shouted.
He had seen Erika use this move during his battle at the Celadon Gym. It could create a massive storm of petals and leaves around its body, which was exactly what he needed right now.
"Saur!"
Venusaur nodded.
Although it didn't understand the point of using Petal Blizzard in this situation. It would have preferred for Ash to distract Team Rocket from the outside while it charged a Solar Beam on the spot and blasted them out of the sky. However, it was the middle of the night, the darkest hour. Charging a Solar Beam would take far too long.
"Don't worry, just follow my lead!" Ash said, brimming with confidence.
Aboard the hot air balloon, Team Rocket was baffled but impressed, though they didn't dare to be careless. They once again increased the engine's power. At this point, the patch of ground Venusaur gripped with its four limbs had already begun to crack and break apart. It probably wouldn't last another thirty seconds.
However, to everyone's surprise, Ash suddenly hoisted his Bulbasaur onto his shoulder.
He held its belly with one hand and gripped its hindquarters with the other, looking as if he was about to throw it.
"That's hilarious," Meowth snickered.
"Trying to throw a Pokémon up here again?"
"Can't you come up with something new?"
The Team Rocket trio jeered coldly.
The last time, Ash had used his Qilin Arm to hurl a Metapod into the sky and smash into them. Now that they were prepared, that move was useless.
But Ash simply smirked, the muscles on his arm bulging. He took a large stride forward and, with a powerful heave, threw his Bulbasaur back into the suction vortex, launching it straight toward the Totem Venusaur.
The move even stunned his own side.
"Now, Venusaur, use Petal Blizzard toward the sky!" Ash quickly commanded.
This maneuver startled the Totem Venusaur. Though baffled, it was still a worldly elder. It quickly calmed down, let out a roar, and instantly, countless leaves and petals erupted from its body, swept skyward by the terrifying suction.
"Keep using it, don't stop!" Ash prompted again.
Venusaur nodded, continuously generating leaves and petals around itself.
Meanwhile, as Bulbasaur re-entered the suction vortex and was thrown toward Venusaur, its trajectory began to shift. Due to the pull, it went from being parallel to the ground to perpendicular to it.
By the time it was about three meters from the Totem Venusaur, it was completely vertical to the ground.
And at that moment, what Bulbasaur's four feet were stepping on was not air, but countless leaves and petals.
Five days ago, he had copied a new Grass-type move from the Celadon Gym. Its activation condition was that the user had to be stepping on grassy ground or leaves, which would cause its speed to skyrocket.
Ash's eyes shone brightly. Raising his arm above his head, he roared, "Now! Use Grassy Glide!"
Although his Bulbasaur couldn't perfectly master Grassy Glide before, the arrow was now notched on the bow. A crisis was the perfect time to master a move!
An extreme battle was the best training for a breakthrough!
"Saur!"
Bulbasaur's eyes were clear. They were no longer wild and chaotic, having returned to the reserved and steady nature unique to Grass-type Pokémon.
Stepping on the leaves and petals, while not a complete Grassy Terrain, was more than enough. A verdant green light began to glow around its body.
"Whoosh!"
The green light flashed to its peak, completely enveloping and concealing Bulbasaur's form. Right now, it was less a green light and more like a green energy shockwave. With a "whoosh," it shot toward the sky.
Its speed was even a tier higher than Pikachu's Quick Attack.
Grassy Glide!
"Swoosh!"
In the next blink of an eye, the green shockwave had already slammed into the suction intake. Propelled by the leaves and petals beneath its feet, the powerful impact immediately shattered the intake mechanism, creating a crack and sending sparks flying.
"Beep. Bulbasaur has mastered a new move: Grassy Glide."
The Pokédex on Ash's waist chimed in, making its presence known.
"Bzzzt... bzzzt..."
The powerful engine above was still running, and the entire hot air balloon began to tremble violently.
"This is lookin' a little bad, meow..."
"How could we lose to this? I'm gonna be sick..."
Before the trio could utter three more sentences of complaint, the engine exploded with a "BOOM!" The large net on the back of the hot air balloon tore open, and countless Ivysaur fell from the sky.
The experienced Totem Venusaur instantly erected a large net of Vine Whips, safely catching all of the Ivysaur.
"Saur!"
"Saur!"
"Saur!"
"Saur..."
Surviving the close call, Bulbasaur also landed on the net of vines.
The hot air balloon in the sky could no longer hold itself together and exploded violently. The terrifying explosion and flames didn't leave the slightest wound on the physically-trained Team Rocket trio, but the powerful shockwave was about to blast them high into the sky.
"Totem Venusaur, help me grab that Meowth," Ash suddenly called out.
"Saur!"
Venusaur instinctively shot out a Vine Whip, precisely snatching Meowth from the trio. The next second, the remaining Jessie and James turned into twinkling stars in the sky, quickly disappearing from sight.
Meowth: "?"
Landing back on the ground and surrounded by everyone, Meowth scratched its head, completely bewildered.
"Meow~"
It quickly licked its paws, pretending to be a harmless housecat.
Ash scratched the pads on Meowth's paws, then placed his Bulbasaur in front of it. Smiling like a proper, upstanding Trainer, he said, "Meowth, I mean you no harm. I just want you to help me translate Bulbasaur's true thoughts."
That's right. The truth was, he still didn't know what Bulbasaur was thinking. Since that was the case, he would just find a translator cat!
"Oh, so that's what this is about, meow."
Seeing that they were asking for a favor, Meowth's courage grew. It crossed its legs, its attitude a bit arrogant.
But looking at the menacing Totem Venusaur and the crowd of Ivysaur "saur-saur-saur-ing" endlessly, it quietly uncrossed its legs.
"Saur saur..."
Bulbasaur stepped forward and slowly stated its reasoning.
"Oh, oh, I see now."
Meowth nodded and began its real-time translation.
"Bulbasaur says its Pokédex number is the most noble #001 in the entire Pokémon World. Once it evolves, it will become #002, losing its noble status. Besides, #002 sounds like an idiot."
Ash: "?"
"Saur saur..." Bulbasaur continued to explain, glancing at the nearby Pikachu.
So Meowth translated again, "For example, that electric mouse over there is #025. That number's one zero away from '250'—a number for a real dummy, meow."
Pikachu: "?"
(end of chapter)