Chapter 128: The Doubles Showdown

"Four-on-four, double battle, standard match rules... both sides, load your competition balls!" Professor Cerise announced from the sidelines of the battle arena in his institute's backyard.

Standing on opposite sides, Ash and Arm had long been prepared, both holding their competition balls.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out.

"Pika!"

As soon as Pikachu responded, Ash briefly recalled it into its Poké Ball, then inserted the shrunken ball into the "four-ball slot" of his competition device.

"He always reveals he's sending out Pikachu right from the start!" Goh muttered from the sidelines, sounding rather critical.

On the other side, Arm also loaded four Poké Balls into his device. In truth, he hadn't put much thought into the selection; since Gengar and Clefable had just been "boarded" elsewhere, these were the only four balls he had on hand.

"Both sides, send out your first Pokémon... Begin!"

Following the Professor's announcement, two beams of light flashed simultaneously from Ash and Arm's competition devices.

Pikachu and Charizard appeared on Ash's side of the field!

"Pika-pika!"

"ROAR—"

And on Arm's side... Exeggutor and Electrode!

"Exegg—utor—"

"BOOM!"

Seeing that Arm hadn't brought Venusaur, Pikachu looked slightly disappointed, but it quickly stoked its fighting spirit. It was evident that Pikachu and Ash had matured; at the very least, they didn't lead with [Quick Attack] immediately. [Quick Attack] wasn't particularly powerful for a direct offensive; it was usually reserved for finishing off an opponent on the verge of fainting, interrupting a move, or, once mastered, dodging critical attacks. Leading with [Quick Attack] looked flashy, but it wasn't exactly [Fake Out].

Arm, however, started off with a crafty—or rather, tactical—approach, refusing to engage in a messy brawl.

"Boom! You're the best!"

Electrode lunged at Pikachu. While Electrode's instinct was to collide, at Arm's prompting, it began to weave and dodge instead. A yellow mouse and a wooden orb, both incredibly fast, darted chaotically across the arena. Arm was genuinely surprised; Pikachu's growth was rapid indeed, as its movement speed was now on par with Boom's. In a flash, the two had circled the field several times.

On the other side, Charizard and Exeggutor were locked in a dance of attack and evasion. Charizard started off rather arrogant, but after Exeggutor swayed left and right, using psychic interference to dodge its strikes, Charizard grew noticeably irritable.

At the same time, in terms of move preparation speed, Electrode was clearly faster—after all, Electrode had a base speed of 150 compared to Pikachu's 90, and its level was likely higher as well. If Pikachu had managed to fire off a move first, Arm would have suspected Ash and his "Pikachu-god" of cheating.

"Boom! Cover everyone!"

Electrode’s entire body flashed with light, and suddenly, both it and Exeggutor were bathed in a shimmering radiance. It was a display of "love"—the move [Light Screen]! It effectively reduced incoming special damage and could be applied to multiple targets, though the effect weakened as more targets were added; two was a practical balance. More importantly, [Light Screen] could naturally be passed on to the next Pokémon without needing the [Baton Pass] move.

With Pikachu and Charizard as opponents, the tactical space for Arm opened up significantly once protected by the [Light Screen].

"Pikachu! Use [Iron Tail] on Exeggutor!" Ash commanded unexpectedly as Pikachu maneuvered close to Exeggutor. Pikachu seemed surprised, but their bond allowed it to react instantly.

With a drifting tail-whip, Pikachu's tail not only swung with momentum but shimmered with a metallic luster, targeting Exeggutor, who had just narrowly dodged Charizard’s pounce! Although Exeggutor reacted in time to form a psychic barrier around itself, it was still struck on one of its heads by the [Iron Tail].

"Exegg... Exegg!"

As Exeggutor cried out in pain, Arm quickly shouted, "Boom! Look out!"

Charizard had already readied its move. Before Ash could even finish his command, Charizard retracted its dragon claws, and flames engulfed its entire right hand.

"Charizard, use Flame... Fire Claw!" Ash had intended to command [Flamethrower], but...

"He said 'Flame' just now, right? He definitely meant [Flamethrower], didn't he?" Goh remarked from the sidelines.

Brock, unlike Goh, kindly acted as if he hadn't heard.

There was nothing wrong with Charizard using [Fire Punch]—although [Flamethrower] had higher power and Charizard favored special attacks, Ash’s Charizard was a "mixed attacker," and more importantly, the opponent was currently shielded by [Light Screen]! As for what "Fire Claw" was? Genetically speaking, it was simply [Fire Punch]. The essence of the move was concentrating fire-type energy into the hand; because most Pokémon used fists, it was named [Fire Punch], but it worked just the same for Charizard’s claws.

Exeggutor took the [Fire Punch] head-on, sliding backward with a faint, claw-shaped scorch mark on its chest. As Exeggutor moved, the mark flickered with residual heat, causing it to wince again.

"Nice! It burned! And the opponent’s [Light Screen] was a waste!" Goh cheered from the sidelines. Despite his grumbling, he still wanted Ash to win—otherwise, it would be embarrassing for him too.

Brock was calmer. "No, it wasn't a waste. Without [Light Screen], Charizard could have used [Flamethrower] directly, causing much greater damage. Since Exeggutor doesn't rely on physical attacks, the burn isn't as devastating."

Indeed, "forcing" the opponent to use a less destructive physical attack was proof that the [Light Screen] was indirectly doing its job.

Charizard’s base speed was higher than Pikachu’s, but its move readiness was slower, suggesting a gap in their levels. Furthermore, Exeggutor’s speed was truly lacking. Against three fast attackers, it was struggling, and it was actually Electrode that readied its second move first!

Seeing Electrode sparking with electricity while tangled with Pikachu, Ash grew tense. "Pikachu, watch out!"

"Pika!" Pikachu’s eyes narrowed, halting its pursuit to read the opponent's move. But then, Electrode’s body flashed once more, and Exeggutor followed suit—[Reflect], which weakened incoming physical attacks, the counterpart to [Light Screen]!