If Bayleef had been at its peak, then Growlithe would have been knocked out instantly.
Even so, Growlithe now lay collapsed on the ground, barely able to move.
"Now's our chance—Bayleef, use Take Down!" Ash seized the opening and gave the order.
Boom!With a heavy thud, Bayleef rammed into Growlithe and sent it flying. The next moment, Growlithe crashed hard onto the ground, its eyes rolling white as it completely fainted.
Brock immediately raised his hand and shouted, "Growlithe is unable to battle! Bayleef wins!"
"Yes!" Ash finally secured a victory. He couldn't help but cheer aloud, while Bayleef's small face bloomed with delight, as if a flower had opened.
With Growlithe's fall, the intimidating aura it carried faded, and Bayleef's fear vanished as well. Entering its peak state, its fighting spirit surged even higher—so much so that it seemed to break through another threshold, faintly reaching the upper Commander-tier level.
But on Yozora's side, he remained unshaken, calm as a mountain. To him, Growlithe is only a recent Capture, not a true source of power.
If his main forces were to take the field, it would naturally be an entirely different story.
"Return, Growlithe." Yozora recalled his Pokémon with steady composure, then casually drew another Luxury Ball and tossed it. "Your turn—Crystal Onix!"
ROOAAR!With a thunderous bellow, Crystal Onix entered the field.
"Huh? That's…!" Ash and Misty froze in surprise. They had once seen a Crystal Onix on a small island in the Orange Islands—could it possibly be the same one?"How interesting! We never got to battle back then. Now's the perfect chance!"
Excitement flickered across Ash's face, and Bayleef raised its head, spirit ignited.
"Bayleef, use Razor Leaf!"
At Ash's command, Bayleef flung two gleaming blades of leaves, slicing through the air toward Crystal Onix.
But Crystal Onix didn't dodge at all—it simply absorbed the hits. When the leaves struck its crystalline body, they shattered harmlessly, leaving not a single mark.
"What?!" This time it wasn't Ash, but Brock who gaped.
Back during Ash's Orange Islands journey, Brock hadn't been traveling with him. This was his first time seeing a Crystal Onix—and he was stunned.
What shocked him even more was this: an Onix… not weak to Razor Leaf?! That was unthinkable!
Onix was supposed to be quadruple weak to Grass.
No matter how strong it was, there was no way it should shrug off Razor Leaf completely.
"Unless… Crystal Onix isn't even Rock and Ground-type at all…? Good grief… it must mean not only its appearance, but its typing and base species have been completely changed!" Brock muttered, eyes locked on Yozora's shining Onix, utterly fascinated.
Onix had been his very first Pokémon, the birthday gift he received at ten years old. Naturally, he loved it dearly—and by extension, he couldn't help but feel utterly captivated by Crystal Onix.
"Crystal Onix, use Icy Wind!" Yozora commanded coolly.
Whooosh!
At once, Crystal Onix opened its great crystalline maw and unleashed a wave of chilling wind, enveloping Bayleef completely.
Shivering under the cold blast, Bayleef found its body paralyzed by the frost, unable to move.
"Now—Take Down!" Yozora seized the moment, and Crystal Onix barreled forward, slamming into Bayleef with crushing force. Bayleef collapsed instantly, knocked out.
With that, Ash had lost three battles in a row—Totodile, Cyndaquil, and Bayleef, all down for the count.
"Go, Noctowl!" Ash decisively sent out his fourth Pokémon—a golden Noctowl, his one and only Shiny Pokémon.
But its level was only at Senior-tier's peak. Against Crystal Onix, it didn't last a moment. One blast of Icy Wind froze it solid into a block of ice. Noctowl fell to the ground with a crash, completely out of the fight.
"Ash…" Brock gave him a sympathetic look.
Throughout their journey, he had already seen Ash's strength firsthand.
It wasn't Ash's fault. It was simply that the man before them was far too strong—on an entirely different level.
"Go, Heracross!" Ash finally played his fifth card.
Heracross had been captured back in the Orange Islands, and nearly a year had passed since then. Its level was high, reaching Gym Leader mid-tier. For Ash, Heracross was absolutely one of his main forces.
In the Johto League, Charizard was undoubtedly Ash's ace. Snorlax and Heracross followed closely behind.
"Heracross, huh? Crystal Onix, return."
Yozora spared Heracross a glance, then recalled Crystal Onix. Instead, he sent out Eevee.
Among Yozora's five Pokémon—Dragonite, Eevee, Crystal Onix, Ampharos, and Growlithe—Dragonite was unquestionably the strongest, sitting at Gym Leader peak level.
Next was Ampharos, already at Lord-tier peak.
Eevee came third, at high Lord-tier. Though newly surpassed by Ampharos, once Eevee evolved into Flareon, Vaporeon, or Jolteon, its power would skyrocket to Gym Leader tier instantly—and thanks to Adaptability, its combat power would far exceed what its level suggested.
"Oh, it's so cute!" Misty's eyes lit up the moment she saw Eevee, unable to take her gaze off it. If not for the battle, she would have rushed over to cuddle and pamper it immediately.
"Don't let your guard down, Ash. This is Yozora's Pokémon—it won't be simple." Brock warned gravely, unmoved by Eevee's fluffy charm.
"I know!" Ash's expression was deadly serious now. With only two Pokémon left, he couldn't afford any mistakes.
"Heracross, start with Earthquake!" Ash ordered.
"Heracross!" With a confident grin, Heracross stomped the ground, sending a massive shockwave sweeping across the battlefield. The range was so wide, dodging was impossible.
"Jump, Eevee!"
Yozora's voice synced perfectly with Eevee's mind. Before his words had even finished, Eevee had already leapt into the air.
"Now—Flamethrower!" Yozora barked.
"Huh?"
"???"
Ash, Misty, and Brock froze in disbelief.
No way… Eevee could use Flamethrower?
But before their stunned eyes, Eevee's body flashed with light midair—transforming into Flareon.
A searing wave of fire erupted from its jaws, crashing toward Heracross like a blazing tide.
"!!!" Ash's eyes bulged in shock.
Heracross, caught off guard without a command, panicked. Sweat rolled down its forehead as the fiery wave swallowed it whole.
"Heracross!" Ash shouted desperately.
But when the flames cleared, Heracross lay fallen, defeated.
With Adaptability boosting Flareon's power, its fire was overwhelming. Worse still, Heracross was Bug-type—double weak to fire. The result had been inevitable.
"Ouch… that was brutal. In just a short time, Ash is already down to his last Pokémon…" Misty shook her head, sighing at the sight of Ash's grim expression.
Beside her, Brock nodded heavily. "Yeah. Compared to last year, Yozora's training skills have grown even stronger."
As they lamented, Ash called out his final Pokémon—Pikachu.
As his partner since the beginning, Pikachu wasn't weak. At Gym Leader's early stage, it was only just below Charizard, Snorlax, and Heracross in strength.
"Let's go, Pikachu—use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.
Sharing his resolve, Pikachu unleashed its full power, hurling a torrent of lightning at Flareon.
But Yozora remained calm. "Flareon, take it head-on. Then—use Flame Charge."
Instead of dodging, Flareon charged directly into the storm. Mid-sprint, its form flashed again—transforming into Jolteon.
Jolteon absorbed the Thunderbolt with ease. As an Electric-type itself, the attack was heavily resisted, reducing most of its power.
That was the terrifying strength of Eevee's free-shifting ability.
Not only did it enhance power and coverage, but it could also swap types strategically—Jolteon against Electric, Flareon against Fire, Vaporeon against Water!
"What?!" Ash, Misty, and Brock all shouted in unison, dumbfounded.
Through the lightning, Jolteon sprinted unscathed. Mid-run, its body flared again—transforming back into Flareon. Flames burst around it, turning it into a living fireball as it slammed into Pikachu and sent it flying.
"No way… That wasn't evolution… Could it be that Eevee has the ability to freely transform?!" Ash muttered in disbelief.
Misty and Brock were just as shaken. A Pokémon able to switch forms at will—its battle power was terrifying, far beyond what mere levels could measure.
"This guy's a monster… Yozora's become a complete monster! Last year, his Pokémon were just rare. But this year… they're outrageous!" Brock's mouth twitched as he muttered.
On the field, Pikachu staggered, badly burned from Flareon's Flame Charge.
"Now—Fire Fang!" Yozora gave the finishing blow.
Fwoosh! Flareon lunged, biting down hard on Pikachu. Flames erupted, and Pikachu crumpled, unable to fight.
"Battle over! Yozora is the winner!" Brock announced, though his eyes flicked worriedly toward Ash.
This match had been a crushing defeat for Ash.
In a full six-on-six, he had only managed to win one battle—against a baby Growlithe that seemed freshly born. Nothing more.
It was an absolute rout.
Brock thought Ash would fall into despair, but after a few moments of gloom, Ash lifted his head again.
After all… this wasn't the first time he had lost to Yozora.
He had already grown used to defeat, hardened against it.
Besides, Yozora was the reigning Champion of the Quartz Conference. Losing to him wasn't shameful—only the scoreline was.
"Hmph. If only Charizard were here…" Ash muttered under his breath.
What he didn't know was that at Charizard Valley, his Charizard was being beaten down daily by Yozora's Charizard…
The battle ended, and soon it was lunchtime.
Everyone gathered for a meal together.
During the meal, Ash and his friends finally caught sight of Yozora's Dragonite—and were left even more shocked. It was obvious that Dragonite was far stronger than Eevee or Ampharos, yet it hadn't even taken the field earlier.
"Ash, give it up already. The gap between you and Yozora is just too wide," Misty said bluntly. Harsh words, but meant to comfort.
Before long, Ash perked up again.
In their conversation, Yozora learned that Ash and his friends had just returned from that mysterious island shown in the anime. They had already met Lugia.
A flicker of envy stirred in Yozora's chest.
Ash truly had the destiny of a protagonist—always stumbling into encounters with Legendary Pokémon. His fortune was unmatched.
If Ash had such luck, then Red's must be even greater. Otherwise, how could he have captured Moltres?
As for Yozora, he had only a Buzzwole. Though comparable to a Legendary, it wasn't truly one. He still longed for a real Legendary Pokémon of his own.
Ding-ling-ling…
Suddenly, a strange chime rang out.
Everyone turned their heads, meeting Nurse Joy's eyes. The sound came from the Bell Tower.
Nurse Joy's face clouded with worry. "Normally, no matter how strong the wind, the tower's bell should never ring. I don't know what's happening now…"
As the saying went, when something unusual occurs, there must be a reason.
Her concern was well-founded.
"In that case, let's go check out the Bell Tower!" Ash volunteered eagerly.
Everyone recalled their Pokémon and hurried toward the tower.
Elsewhere, Morty and Eusine had also heard the sound, and they too were heading that way.
Minutes later, both groups met inside the Bell Tower.
After some investigation, they discovered that the Clear Bell had been stolen. Yozora, familiar with the anime's story, knew at once who the culprits were—Team Rocket's trio.
"Gengar, go investigate the whereabouts of the Clear Bell!" Morty ordered.
At his command, his Gengar emerged halfway from the floor, its trademark grin flashing as it nodded, then sank back into the shadows.
(End of Chapter)