Chapter 326: Victory Road, Let's Charge!
Author: Samsung Charmander (Author Name)
West of Viridian City, there was a harsh and straight mountain road, flanked by towering cliffs with no other path forward.
This road was once called Victory Road, signifying the final leg of the journey to become a Champion. At the end of this mountain path lay the true Indigo Plateau.
The venue for the Indigo Plateau Conference was located in the deepest part of the Indigo Plateau.
At this moment, many Elite Trainers were already wandering along this mountain road, which stretched for several hundred meters. Some had collected all eight Badges and earned their qualification, now looking for people to warm up with.
Others were losers trying to trip people up, seeing if they could run into a few fools and swindle some Badges.
The method of communication between Trainers here was also incredibly simple.
If your eyes met, you had to battle.
"Damn it all! If we have to fight, then let's fight!!"
After several failed attempts, Ash finally gave up, roaring in anger on the spot to build up his own momentum.
He had previously tried to dart past a Trainer standing on the only path while they were looking away, attempting to avoid a battle.
But he didn't know if these Trainers had eyes in the backs of their heads. The moment he got close, his opponent would immediately turn around, making direct eye contact with him.
Ash even vaguely saw an exclamation mark appear above their heads.
"Kid, since our eyes have met, let's have a battle!"
An Elite Trainer with an obscured face, named Elite Trainer A, spoke with fiery passion, having already thrown a Poké Ball.
A red light flashed, and a giant, yellow-and-blue, man-eating-flower-like Pokémon appeared before him. Its slender vines waved like arms, and its whole body emitted a fragrance that made one want to dive headfirst into its gaping maw.
"Beep. Victreebel, the Flycatcher Pokémon. It has a gentle personality. There's nectar in the pouch on its body, which humans can stick their heads into to get," the Pokédex advised.
There was no choice. Since he couldn't avoid it, Ash's gaze sharpened. This was a good opportunity to test the results of his training.
Victory Road, let's charge!
"A Grass-type, huh... In that case, I choose you, Pikachu!"
Ash flicked his thumb, and the Pikachu on his shoulder twitched its ears. It ran a few steps along his outstretched arm, then leaped high from the tip of his hand, performing three spectacular backflips before landing in front of the Victreebel.
This was a special entrance move that Ash and Pikachu had prepared during their month of special training. It was very stylish.
"An Electric Mouse? Heh, what can a dime-a-dozen Electric Mouse do? Besides, my Grass-type has good resistance against the Electric-type..."
Elite Trainer A was still mocking him, but Ash had already launched a preemptive attack.
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!!"
"Swoosh!!"
Pikachu kicked off the ground with all four limbs, its body cloaked in a white light. It transformed into a white afterimage, moving with extreme speed, and slammed headfirst into Victreebel's stomach. The powerful force dented its body on impact, and the plant-Pokémon slid backward, scraping its behind along the rocky ground.
In one month, Pikachu's weight had been brought under control, and its Speed had increased considerably.
"Pikachu, now! Use Thunderbolt!"
Ash pressed his advantage.
Pikachu's Quick Attack hit its mark. It then used the recoil to bounce into mid-air, flipping twice in the sky to stabilize itself. The electric current in its cheeks was already charged and ready to go.
"Pika, chu!!"
"BOOM!!"
The Thunderbolt erupted on the spot, transforming into a massive lightning pulse that shot out and struck the Victreebel below. An explosion of smoke and dust immediately billowed up, and the commotion attracted the attention of several other nearby trainers.
Ash was confident that this combo attack could one-hit KO many trainers.
"*Chaaa!*"
However, when the smoke and dust cleared, Victreebel's fierce figure was revealed. It flicked the two large leaves on its sides; the man-eating flower's body still stood tall, indicating the damage wasn't serious.
The Grass-type's resistance to the Electric-type was indeed very strong.
"Haha, you want to participate in the Indigo Plateau Conference without even fully learning about type effectiveness?" Trainer A laughed heartily, unable to resist taunting him. He then swiped his thumb through the air.
"Our turn! Victreebel, use Leaf Storm!!"
Victreebel began to whip the green leaf vines on its sides, instantly conjuring countless sharp leaves from thin air, wrapped in a violent gale. The two forces churned and merged, becoming an incredibly powerful green Leaf Storm that shot forward with tremendous momentum.
Right off the bat, he used the Grass-type's ultimate move.
Leaf Storm has power similar to Solar Beam, but it doesn't require time to gather energy. Its only drawback is that using it once greatly lowers the user's Special Attack.
You can only charge once.
But that wasn't a problem. An Electric Mouse's durability couldn't possibly withstand a single blow. After the opponent fainted, he could just switch his Pokémon, and the Special Attack drop would be reset. Thus, the drawback was effectively nonexistent.
It had to be said, the Trainers who had made it to Victory Road all had a few tricks up their sleeves.
However, Ash didn't choose to face it head-on. His eyes darted as a new plan formed in his mind.
"Pikachu, use the surrounding cliff walls to dodge!"
Pikachu's ears twitched. Its small body scurried across the ground before leaping onto the towering, nearly 80-degree vertical cliff wall.
*Tap tap tap...*
The Electric Mouse simply ignored gravity, leaping back and forth between the two cliff walls. The ferocious Leaf Storm was half a step behind, constantly chasing its silhouette.
"Tch... this cunning yellow mouse."
Trainer A frowned. The first Leaf Storm had failed to land, which was a major blow for Victreebel.
"Hmph, but it's not a big problem."
Against a Grass-type with excellent resistance, all Pikachu could do was dodge...
Just as he thought this, he suddenly seemed to sense something. He snapped his head up and saw the yellow mouse high in the sky, now having left the cliff walls. It spread its four limbs and tail into a star shape as it fell, as if it intended to land right on Victreebel's face.
"Hmm? Body Slam?"
Jia was a bit baffled. Wasn't that a move that only a Pokémon with Raichu's tonnage could learn? Can Pikachu use it now?
But soon, a fierce glint appeared in his eyes. A mid-air Body Slam turned it into an immobile target.
"Victreebel, aim for it! One more Leaf Storm!"
Soon, a storm of leaves once again gathered in front of Victreebel. After mixing together, it blasted out, although its power was a bit weaker than the first shot.
Still, it was a serviceable charge.
"BOOM BOOM BOOM!!"
The Leaf Storm surged upward, but a strange energy fluctuation seemed to appear on the surface of the rapidly falling Pikachu's body. It caused its body to tremble rapidly, giving off the visual illusion of a double image, like something seen while drunk.
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh!!"
It was as if Pikachu had mastered the ability to fly. It lifted its left paw and leg, and its body tilted to one side, gliding and easily avoiding the Leaf Storm entirely.
Then, its body trembled once more, and its falling speed suddenly increased several times over.
Seeing this, Ash's eyes lit up and he roared:
"That's it, Pikachu! Use Flying Press!!"
That's right, this wasn't some rustic Body Slam. A month of training had allowed Pikachu to perfectly master this move.
A type disadvantage?
No, the Ash of today had changed. He was all about exploiting type advantages now.
"BOOM BOOM BOOM!!"
Pikachu, using the Flying-type move Flying Press, slammed down squarely on Victreebel's head. The immense force spread downwards, detonating on impact!
(end of chapter)