Pokémon: Rebron as Red, The Strongest Champion - 293

Chapter 293: Ash and Pikachu’s Resolve

“I am counting on you, Muk!”

Ash recalled the fallen Primeape, then, after a brief moment of thought, chose to send out his still-fresh Muk.

White light flashed, revealing Muk’s sludge-formed body, reeking faintly of poison.

The instant Muk appeared, the jagged stones around the arena stirred as if pulled by an unseen force and hurtled toward it.

Bang.

Within seconds, Muk was struck by Stealth Rock.

“How?! Why are those rocks still doing damage?” Ash stared in disbelief, unable to make sense of what he was seeing.

Noticing his confusion, Leaf took the time to explain. “Stealth Rock is a Rock-type move. Its effect is to damage any opposing Pokémon that switches in.”

“So that’s it…”

Ash finally understood and felt the weight of just how bad the situation had become.

“Muk, use Sludge Bomb!” Ash ordered.

“Nidoqueen, push through Muk’s attack and hit it with Drill Run at close range,” Leaf replied coolly.

At Ash’s command, Muk spit out clumps of toxic sludge in rapid succession, hurling them like bombs straight at Nidoqueen.

But the attacks barely scratched her, dealing only a quarter of their normal power. Against Nidoqueen, it was nothing but an itchy annoyance.

Ignoring the Sludge Bombs splattering over her, Nidoqueen charged Muk at high speed. Under Ash and Muk’s shocked gaze, one clean Drill Run slammed square into Muk’s body.

The horn strike hit a vital point, nearly flattening Muk in one blow.

“Muk, use Body Slam!” Ash called.

After a brief pause to steady itself, Muk leapt with all its strength, bringing its full weight crashing down toward Nidoqueen.

“Nidoqueen, Iron Tail.”

Nidoqueen roared, twisted, and whipped her thick tail through the air. It shone with steel energy as it smashed directly into Muk’s bulk.

Powered up by Sheer Force, Iron Tail’s might was boosted a full thirty percent. The blow sent Muk crashing to the ground.

“Muk is unable to battle!” announced the referee.

“Come back, Muk.”

Ash, face tight, withdrew his fallen Pokémon. He had not expected Muk to fold in fewer than three moves.

“Return, Nidoqueen.”

At the same time, Leaf recalled Nidoqueen. She intended to bring Venusaur back in, keeping Nidoqueen in reserve at full strength to finish off Charizard later.

“I am counting on you again, Venusaur!”

Leaf sent Venusaur back onto the field.

“It is up to you now, Pikachu.”

After struggling with the decision, Ash chose to send Pikachu in first, asking it to take Venusaur down and buy even the smallest sliver of hope for Charizard.

“Pikapi.”

Pikachu gave Ash a solemn nod and bounded onto the battlefield.

At once, the Stealth Rock around the arena stirred again and launched itself toward Pikachu. Having watched the sequence play out several times now, Pikachu was ready. It whipped its tail, Iron Tail gleaming.

Bang.

With swift, precise swings, Pikachu shattered many of the incoming stones. But under the unending barrage, it could not avoid all of them and was forced to take some of the damage. Fortunately, the impact was not severe.

“Venusaur, use Synthesis.”

While Pikachu was busy fending off Stealth Rock, Leaf did not waste the opening. She ordered Venusaur to use Synthesis.

Even though Sunny Day’s effect had faded, Venusaur still quickly absorbed the remaining sunlight and restored half of its HP, returning to a nearly full state.

“Not good…” Ash muttered, face grim. He had not expected Venusaur to recover so much health so easily.

“Leaf really did her homework. Looks like Ash just does not have a way to beat her right now,” Gary said helplessly, seeing the likely outcome.

“True. Ash has improved a lot, but Leaf is still out of his reach for now,” Red said quietly. He was not disappointed in Ash. Compared to before, Ash had already grown tremendously. There were limits to how harshly one could judge him.

“Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!”

Pikachu released another surge of high-voltage electricity, sending a thick lightning serpent barreling toward Venusaur.

“Venusaur, take it head-on and use Power Whip!”

Venusaur planted its feet, tanking the Thunderbolt. As the electricity crackled over its body, eight vines shot from its back and twisted together into a single massive green whip. With all its strength, Venusaur brought it crashing down toward Pikachu’s last position.

Bang.

Thankfully, Pikachu had anticipated the follow-up and used Agility to slip clear before the strike. In the same motion, it zipped behind Venusaur and slammed an Iron Tail into its back.

“Venaaaar!”

Even though Pikachu had put its full strength into the blow, the hit barely scratched Venusaur. If anything, it only enraged the massive Grass-type. One more moment and Pikachu would have been crushed under another Power Whip.

“Venusaur, use Bullet Seed.”

Venusaur spat a torrent of thick seeds from its mouth, spraying them toward Pikachu in rapid succession.

“Pikachu, Thunderbolt!”

Pikachu unleashed its electricity. In seconds, the seeds were blasted out of the air and fell to the field as charred husks.

“Pikachu, now go in with Quick Attack!” Ash shouted, seizing the opening.

“Pika… pi!”

Pikachu shot forward like a bolt toward Venusaur. But just as it was about to land the hit, the familiar prickling static crawled over its body again. The paralysis flared.

A faint current flickered across Pikachu’s fur, freezing its body in mid-charge.

“Venusaur, Stomp, now!”

Venusaur brought its massive foot down, the impact sending shockwaves that slammed into the immobilized Pikachu.

“Pikachu, hang in there! We are not going down like this!” Ash yelled, voice raw with emotion.

“Pikapi!”

Hearing Ash’s words, Pikachu drifted into a brief, crystal-clear moment of reflection. It remembered all the days it had traveled beside Ash, every step they had taken together, and the last two months training with Red’s Pikachu.

Believe in your talent. You can definitely master Volt Tackle.

Red’s Pikachu’s voice rang in its mind. Pikachu’s eyes hardened with unshakable resolve.

“Pikachu?!” Ash gasped. He could feel something changing in his partner.

“Venusaur, stay alert!” Leaf said sharply.

“Pikapi!”

A storm of electricity erupted from Pikachu, the current surging so fiercely it shot up into the sky as a massive lightning pillar.

“Volt Tackle…” Red murmured as he watched.

I am going to win this battle for Ash.

Pikachu cried out, cloaking itself in that towering voltage. Then, pushing its body past its own limits, it hurled itself straight at Venusaur.

“Ash’s Pikachu learned Volt Tackle, too?!” Gary said, stunned.

“No… this is not really ‘learned.’ This is it, forcing a breakthrough,” Red said, hearing the dissonance. “Right now, Pikachu is more like it has shattered its limit for a moment and unleashed Volt Tackle from pure instinct. It has not truly mastered the move’s technique.”