Chapter Eight: First Battle with the Lightning Beast

"So that's what it is... It's just a match ball... Of course I knew that, hahaha..." Ash feigned ignorance, hoping to bluff his way through.

But Am saw right through his act. "A match ball is a special kind of Poké Ball used during official battles. It can hold multiple Poké Balls, and its main function is that when you recall one Pokémon, you can simultaneously send out another at the exact same moment and place."

This was the importance of knowledge. Now Am, who had crossed over into this world, was explaining the concept of a match ball to the local Ash.

"Huh? But what if you recall your Pokémon while dodging an opponent's attack..." Ash's face was one of surprise.

"That's exactly to prevent sneaky people from doing just that." Am fixed his gaze on Ash.

Yes, its greatest use was to stop people from dragging out time or dodging damage by swapping Pokémon.

Am glanced at Pikachu...

If it was the same as in the animation, this electric mouse should hate Poké Balls. But in this world, at least during official battles, it had to stay inside the ball!

"I see, that explains why on TV..." Ash muttered, as if he'd finally understood why people didn’t just recall their Pokémon to avoid damage during matches.

"And actually, switching Pokémon in battle isn’t easy. Unless you’ve got special combo moves, you can only recall a Pokémon when it’s in a ‘ready to act’ state—meaning it can use a move. That’s when the Poké Ball’s recall function works... Otherwise, it only works if the Pokémon has fainted and lost the ability to fight." Am was pretty sure Ash didn’t know that either.

"Huh? So if you swap Pokémon, you’re basically sacrificing a move?" Ash looked completely shocked.

Sonoko and Shinichi were already rolling their eyes at the ‘future greatest Pokémon Master,’ and Ran could only smile awkwardly but politely.

"Isn’t this all just common sense?" Sonoko said bluntly.

Having finally caught a rookie, Sonoko seized the chance to show off. "In official tournaments, the standard is the ‘6 choose 4 plus 3’ singles and doubles mixed rule...

Before the match, you choose four Pokémon from the six you brought and put them into the match ball. Then you start a doubles battle, commanding solo, with free swaps allowed. Battle continues until one side’s four Pokémon are all defeated. In doubles, you earn two points for each opposing Pokémon you knock out.

After doubles, you then pick three Pokémon for singles, place them into the match ball, and begin a one-on-one match—which means at least one Pokémon has to be in both formats, your so-called ‘ace.’

Singles go until one side’s team is wiped out, earning three points for each knockout. Afterward, the total score determines the winner!"

"That sounds so complicated. Regular matches are better," Ash muttered.

For non-official matches, the rules were much simpler.

Now, Am and Ash’s duel was not only informal but also a straightforward one-on-one, so there was no need for a match ball.

They arrived at a simple battlefield outside the research lab...

Am released Bulbasaur. "I choose you! Garlic!"

"Garlic!" Bulbasaur roared.

"Wow, you bonded with him so quickly..." Professor Oak remarked, seeing that Bulbasaur had already accepted his new nickname.

"Pikachu! We can’t lose! Go!" Ash called out, fired up.

"Tch." Pikachu turned his head away with a pout.

Ash: ...

"Hey, you don’t want to lose either, right? Come on, get out there!" Ash hurried over and urged him.

"Pika." Pikachu, still unimpressed, turned away again.

But at that moment, Am’s Bulbasaur called out excitedly, "Garlic, garlic!"

Clearly, he was still riding high from mastering that powerful move the night before.

Seeing his ‘opponent’ so full of fighting spirit, Pikachu, provoked, finally stepped onto the field.

"One-on-one rules. No switching Pokémon. Begin!" Professor Oak announced, serving as the referee.

"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Ash immediately commanded, having just heard Professor Oak’s explanation.

Both Pokémon were already prepared and in a ‘ready to act’ state, since they hadn’t just been released from their Poké Balls.

Normally, when both Pokémon are released from their balls at the start, their move gauge is empty.

"Tch..." Pikachu snorted disdainfully.

Clearly, Pikachu wasn’t listening to Ash’s commands. Instead, he launched a Quick Attack.

A colorless, faintly glowing aura shimmered around Pikachu’s body, and in a flash, he moved with astonishing speed!

"Garlic, brace yourself!" Am reminded him.

This wasn’t a turn-based game; if the opponent used Quick Attack, sometimes it was best just to let them land a light hit...

Under the pure power of life force—Normal-type energy—a Pokémon using Quick Attack would maintain extremely high speed for a short time. It was entirely possible to use Quick Attack to dodge moves!

Prompted by Am, Bulbasaur quickly became alert, while Pikachu darted circles around him...

With such swift movement, Bulbasaur—no matter how focused—had trouble locking onto his target, and was finally struck hard from the side by Pikachu, even rolling over once.

In terms of abilities outside of pure moves, Bulbasaur’s actual combat ability was relatively low among Pokémon of equivalent theoretical strength. Its body just wasn’t suited for battle!

No sharp fangs or claws, no scales or armor, and with four legs on the ground and a large bulb on its back, it looked rather clumsy and couldn’t use its physical strength efficiently...

By contrast, Pikachu’s nimble yellow mouse body at least gave it agility!

Fortunately, compared to the games, Pokémon battles in this world had much higher endurance; it wasn’t so easy to get knocked out in one blow.

At that moment, the Normal-type energy on Pikachu faded slightly, but in a single bound, the aura shimmered again—another Quick Attack!

It wasn’t that Pikachu was ready so quickly, but rather...

Quick Attack, as a priority move in this world, could be used before the move gauge was full—before the Pokémon was ‘ready to act’—and the ‘cost’ would be paid after it filled up!

Pikachu effectively chained two Quick Attacks, maintaining incredible speed.

Soon, Bulbasaur took another hit...

After that, Pikachu’s speed finally returned to normal. He was still faster than Bulbasaur, but no longer at that blinding Quick Attack pace!

Having withstood Pikachu’s flurry, Bulbasaur, a little out of breath, stood up and fixed his small eyes on the yellow mouse across from him...

"Garlic! Now! Use Power Whip!" Am ordered.

"Huh?" Professor Oak was puzzled. This Bulbasaur was good, but it shouldn’t have inherited Power Whip.

Did Am make a mistake? Was it just Vine Whip?

But then, from beneath the bulb on Bulbasaur’s back, two vines stretched outward...

Under a surge of vibrant green Grass-type energy, the vines quickly swelled to nearly the thickness of Bulbasaur’s legs, and the knots at their ends were almost as big as Bulbasaur’s own head!

"Pika?" Pikachu was taken aback.

Was that really just Vine Whip? That’s cheating, isn’t it?