Chapter 342: Ash's Predicament
There was no doubt—the sudden gathering of dark clouds was caused by an Electric-type Pokémon's special move.
And the familiar presence below could only belong to someone Hikaru knew.
Among the people Hikaru was familiar with, the one who had an Electric-type Pokémon was none other than Ash.
On the island below, there were nine people in total.
Ash's group of three was facing off against two teams of three.
Besides Ash himself, the other two were:
– A tanned girl with fluffy, wavy hair,
– And a boy with short green hair tied into a small ponytail.
Their Pokémon were a Dragonite and a Simisage, both at the Master Rank level.
Given that Ash was a friend, and that it was two teams ganging up on one, it was clear who Hikaru would side with.
"Let's go check it out!"
Following Hu Yan'er's call, Hikaru leaned forward, and Latias shot downward at high speed.
Latias deployed a Protect shield as she dived swiftly towards the island...
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On the island below—
Ash looked grim as he faced the advancing enemies.
In terms of pure 1v1 strength, their side was superior.
But 2v1?
His Pikachu and Lili's Dragonite could hold their ground for a while—Dragonite could even dominate.
However, Wutong's Simisage was struggling to cope with the pressure.
Given time, they would surely lose.
And worse—
The opponents' Pokémon could protect their trainers.
Meanwhile, the energy on Wutong's energy wristband was already half depleted.
Ash's and Lili's wristbands also showed varying degrees of energy loss.
The battle paused briefly.
Ash stared at his panting Pikachu and shouted:
"Teaming up like this against fewer opponents—is that even fair? If you've got the guts, let's have a proper Pokémon battle, one-on-one!"
From the conversations earlier and their matching school uniforms, it was obvious:
The six opponents all came from the same school—Tianzhong University.
On the opposing side, a sneering trainer with a monkey-like face burst out laughing,
"You're too naive, kid! Venusaur, keep using Protect!"
A massive Venusaur narrowed its eyes, standing firm like an immovable wall.
Their team wasn't just Venusaur.
They also had a Machamp, Infernape, Staraptor, Kingler, and an elite Weavile.
All powerful Pokémon.
The woman trainer, caked in makeup and wearing skimpy clothes, also jeered,
"Little boy, why don't you just surrender? Smash your own energy wristbands nicely, or else you'll suffer some serious pain later!"
"Bastards!"
Ash clenched his fists.
Beside him, Wutong, the green-haired boy, muttered grimly,
"This stinks..."
Ash threw a quick glance at his two teammates,
"Fight! Even if we get eliminated, we'll drag them down with us!"
A desperate rabbit will still bite!
Ash wasn't called "Mad Dog Ash" for nothing!
"Pikachu—Quick Attack!"
he roared.
His teammates responded instantly:
"Dragonite—Dragon Rush!"
"Simisage—Seed Bomb!"
The sudden, all-out counterattack startled the other side.
They hesitated for a moment.
After all, they were only loosely allied; trust between the teams was paper-thin.
One careless move and they'd be backstabbed themselves.
The overconfident woman from earlier paled as she realized:
Ash's team wasn't aiming at random—they were coming straight for her!
And her Pokémon—the only elite Weavile on their side—was supposed to counter Dragonite.
Now, it was the weak link.
"Protect!"
she shrieked.
Her Weavile hastily deployed a shimmering white barrier.
The woman barely sighed in relief when she turned—
Only to see three of her own so-called allies also targeting Ash's team instead of helping her!
Their Pokémon launched:
"Staraptor—Aerial Ace!"
"Kingler—Ice Beam!"
The three opportunists clearly decided:
Let Ash eliminate her first.
As for her official teammates—seeing the situation, they hesitated.
Instead of acting quickly, they lagged behind.
That tiny hesitation spelled disaster.
Dragonite, moving faster than anyone else, came roaring down from the sky—
A shimmering Dragon Rush carving a path straight at Weavile's Protect.
Meanwhile, Pikachu slammed in with Quick Attack.
CRACK!
The Protect barrier shattered under the double assault!
The next instant, Dragonite's mighty Dragon Rush smashed straight down.
Pikachu zipped aside nimbly as waves of energy exploded outward.
Dust and debris surged into the air like smoke.
BOOM!
[Youth League Contestant: Yao Yue—First Layer Energy Shield Destroyed. Waiting for teammate activation of Second Layer.]
LoTom overhead swiftly broadcast the outcome.
If within half an hour, no teammate activated the next shield,
it would mean forfeiting the match.
Each contestant had three layers of defense.
Lose them all = total defeat.
Seeing her shield break, the woman Yao Yue swore violently,
"Sh*t!!"
Then she turned and roared,
"What the hell were you doing?! Fighting over kills even at the cost of teammates?!"
Her "allies" exchanged glances.
Silent agreement flickered between them.
Meanwhile, her own teammate sheepishly ran over to her side and muttered:
"Ahem… didn't react in time, sorry..."
—
Ash, Lili, and Wutong watched nervously as the energy explosion dust began to settle.
The trainer commanding Venusaur frowned heavily.
He stared up at the hovering LoTom, muttering,
"Why hasn't it announced anyone else's shield breaking yet…?"
The smoke slowly cleared—
Whew...
(Continued...)
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