"One against seven…?"
Misty and Brock's eyes went wide with disbelief.
Was it boldness or confidence?
Either way, it wasn't something they'd dare say themselves.
Ash didn't feel insulted at all. On the contrary, he was completely fired up.
Battling Mr. Lucas = gaining a ton of experience = becoming stronger = easily defeating Gary at the Silver Conference!
A battle like that—if he turned it down, he'd be a coward!
With that in mind, Ash shouted:
"That's exactly what I wanted!"
Back in Kanto, when he traveled to challenge the Indigo League, Ash had unquestionably been immature as a Trainer.
Many of the badges he collected on that journey were essentially gifted by the Gym Leaders out of kindness.
Although Pikachu had taken on the ace role of the team under Delibird's constant "training," filling the gap left by Charizard's rebellious nature before it fully reconciled with Ash in the Orange Islands—and although Pikachu's growth meant Ash didn't lose to Ritchie in the top-16 match—
In the later rounds, even a stronger Pikachu alone could no longer carry the team.
To put it plainly, Ash's team back then had far too many baby Pokémon.
At this stage, Ash was far from the mature Trainer he would one day become. Deep down he even carried a bit of inferiority, with his only goal being to surpass his rival Gary—not to treat Gary as a necessary hurdle on the road to becoming a Pokémon Master.
These problems would all be gradually corrected on his future journeys. But from Lucas's perspective, looking at the Ash standing before him now, aside from a sincere love for his Pokémon and passion for battle, there wasn't much that resembled the future world's strongest Trainer.
Having Ash use seven Pokémon, including Charizard who had not yet returned from the valley, served two goals: first, to gauge Ash's current strength; and second, to see whether he could "open his eyes" a little earlier.
Lucas knew that ever since becoming a teacher, his thinking had started gravitating toward "education." But he didn't dislike that feeling.
They picked a patch of open ground where they wouldn't damage the lush grassland, and the improvised one-on-seven battle began with simple arrangements: Lucas on the left, Ash on the right, and Brock acting as referee.
"Okay, let's win this, Cyndaquil!"
Ash threw his Poké Ball. With a flash of red, a dual-colored Pokémon—ink-blue and creamy yellow—appeared. Jets of flame erupted from its back as it landed in front of Lucas and Delibird.
The Fire Mouse Pokémon, Cyndaquil. Naturally a Fire-type, likely with the Blaze ability, and one of the three Johto starter Pokémon.
Misty and Brock were stunned.
Was this really the same Ash they knew?
He'd actually remembered type matchups and sent out Cyndaquil, which had a type advantage over Delibird.
The moment it hit the ground, the flames on Cyndaquil's back—reflecting its mood and condition—roared fiercely. Its line-thin, squinting eyes were locked on Delibird as if facing a formidable enemy.
It could clearly sense the gap between its own power and Delibird's, and thus it was all the more wary.
But reckless-style Ash didn't think that far. Full of confidence, he yelled:
"Cyndaquil, use Quick Attack on Delibird!"
Cyndaquil followed Ash's orders obediently. Even knowing that charging Delibird recklessly could be dangerous in ways it couldn't foresee, it wrapped itself in white light and dashed forward at high speed!
Lucas countered the opening attack with just one short command.
"Fly."
Delibird grabbed its tail, a ring of air rippling out from the ground beneath it, and shot up into the air.
Seeing Cyndaquil miss, Ash shouted again:
"Swift!"
Cyndaquil twisted its body mid-run, unleashing a storm of gleaming golden stars, each trailing a shining tail as they shot straight toward Delibird.
"Aerial Ace."
Faced with Swift, which had a practical "never miss" effect, Delibird soared higher into the sky. Surrounded by sky-blue, wispy air currents, it suddenly cut its flight short and dove in a steep, high-difficulty drop. At the last possible instant, it slipped past the pursuing stars and, like a falcon stooping on its prey, smashed into Cyndaquil at a speed too fast for it to react!
Boom—!
"Cyndaquil!"
Knocked flying, Cyndaquil tumbled several times across the ground before finally rolling to a stop. Ash shouted in concern, but the flames on its back flickered a few times and then went out completely as it lost consciousness.
Silence fell over the field.
Charizard, as well as Pikachu perched on Ash's shoulder, were both suddenly tense.
That kind of aerial maneuver…
"Cyndaquil didn't even get a chance to use its signature Flamethrower…?"
Misty hugged Togepi tighter, murmuring in disbelief.
When Ash hurriedly ran up to pick Cyndaquil up, Brock's voice rang out, heavier than before:
"Cyndaquil is unable to battle!"
"Deli~"
Delibird landed in front of Lucas, tilting its head up proudly to claim credit.
Lucas smiled and rubbed Delibird's head, then shifted his gaze to Victini on his shoulder.
"Ti-ni~"
Victini shook its head slightly.
How to put it… If it hadn't been paying close attention, it might not even have sensed the Victory aura Cyndaquil's defeat had generated. It was so faint as to be almost negligible.
Understanding what Victini was getting at, Lucas turned his eyes to Ash, who had grown noticeably quieter after recalling Cyndaquil, his face full of unwillingness.
He said nothing, merely waiting for Ash's second Pokémon.
"Chikorita!"
Ash's second choice was an adorable little Pokémon: a pale green body, a single dark-green leaf atop its head, and red eyes.
The Leaf Pokémon, Chikorita. A Grass-type, likely with Overgrow, and the second of the three Johto starters.
The moment it came out, Chikorita ran straight to Ash's feet and nuzzled happily against his leg.
Her big red eyes were full of adoration, which actually startled Lucas.
This Chikorita was very competitive and it was clear she was battling for Ash's sake.
"Chikori!"
Putting on her fiercest expression, Chikorita let out a cute, soft war-cry at Delibird. Under Ash's command, she immediately went to her best move.
Razor Leaf!
Countless crescent-shaped, razor-sharp leaves whooshed forth as Chikorita snapped her head, sending them slashing toward Delibird at a considerable speed.
"Air Slash."
Lucas, for his part, had Delibird use a move that was essentially the same in nature.
Delibird gathered Flying-type energy and beat its wings.
Half-transparent blades of compressed air—fewer in number than Razor Leaf by about half—screamed out to meet the attack. But the instant the two sides collided, Razor Leaf didn't have the slightest resistance. It was torn apart by Air Slash.
The Air Slash kept on going, its momentum undiminished, and shot straight for Chikorita.
Standing motionless, Chikorita didn't even have time to dodge before she was struck head-on by the super-effective hit and instantly knocked out.
Ash hurriedly scooped up the fainted Chikorita. After he recalled her to her Poké Ball, Brock once more announced:
"Chikorita is unable to battle."
By now, both Brock and Misty—who was clutching Togepi tightly—had realized that Ash's newly-caught Johto Pokémon were far too low-level compared to Delibird.
So low that they were being taken out in a single clean hit.
After losing two teammates in a row, even hot-tempered Charizard felt like stepping in himself.
Those two little guys were under his protection; how could Delibird crush them that easily?
If not for Pikachu blocking him, Charizard would have barged onto the field then and there.
Faced with consecutive defeats, the unwillingness in Ash's expression deepened as he sent out his third Pokémon.
The Water-type, Totodile—the third of the Johto starters.
This Totodile was extremely lively, bouncing as it danced its distinctive little crocodile dance while yapping excitedly.
Ash had wanted to use Totodile's natural agility to dodge Delibird's crushing attacks, but under Lucas's direction, Delibird simply fired off an Ice Beam and froze Totodile solid on the spot.
All three of Ash's Johto starters had now lost their ability to battle.
The only other time Ash had been beaten this badly was by Lorelei of the Elite Four.
His heart churned with emotions: unwillingness, refusal to lose, the thought that this battle couldn't end with him having accomplished nothing. He sent out his fourth Pokémon.
"I'm counting on you, Noctowl!"
With a flash of brilliant animation sparkles, a Noctowl took wing—a bit smaller than a typical Noctowl, but with brighter plumage, and eyes that glinted with sharp intelligence.
Ash's only other Flying unit at present, and a shiny Noctowl at that!
This Noctowl was highly intelligent—even capable of commanding other Pokémon in battle.
Why a Pokémon like this would choose to follow Ash and accept his orders remained a mystery.
At least, having fully evolved, it lasted longer than the three Johto starters.
At first, Ash still wanted to have Noctowl charge straight in. Noctowl did follow that order, flying to slam into Delibird.
But being clever, it actually used the extra speed from Tackle to close the distance in a blur. Then its eyes gleamed with a psychic light that muddled the mind—it was trying to sneak a Hypnosis in on Delibird while it was supposedly off-guard.
Unfortunately for it, Delibird's Ability was Vital Spirit—it simply couldn't be put to sleep.
Lucas didn't even bother ordering Delibird to dodge, instead instructing it to use Ice Beam again.
Realizing that Hypnosis had no effect at all, Noctowl twisted its body at the last second, trying to dodge the beam of ice.
It wasn't completely hit, but its wings still froze over with a heavy crust of ice that drastically affected its flight.
In response, Noctowl tried to use Confusion to hold Delibird in place.
But the moment its psychic power wrapped around Delibird, the bird simply broke free—Noctowl didn't have the raw mental strength to contain it.
The instant Confusion shattered, Delibird landed a direct Ice Punch, knocking Noctowl out of the sky and out of the fight.
Four of Ash's seven champions were down.
To be honest, Lucas actually felt somewhat disappointed.
Judging by the four Pokémon that had appeared so far, Ash—both in terms of strength and in all other aspects as a Trainer—had shown almost no distinguishing traits.
Their levels, movesets, and raw strength were all far too weak. With the basics themselves not up to par, never mind advanced tactics; even basic strategy didn't really enter into it. His commands were straightforward to a fault. Only Noctowl's surprise Hypnosis had been even mildly impressive.
Lucas didn't quite understand. They were already close to the fourth Gym—under normal circumstances, Totodile, Cyndaquil, and Chikorita, which should be relatively easy to train, showed not the slightest sign of evolving.
Unlike Bulbasaur, they had no reason to resist evolution.
They had traveled through three Gyms by now, and yet these starters didn't even meet the vague functional threshold for evolution. This world had no visible "levels," but from a Pokémon's power, you could roughly gauge their stage.
Totodile, Cyndaquil, and Chikorita were perhaps only slightly stronger than a starter Pokémon just picked up from a professor by an ordinary Trainer.
If all the reasons were distilled down into one simple point, the truth was clear.
At least for now, Ash's methods of training his Pokémon were a complete mess.
Brock was only just beginning his path toward becoming a Breeder; at this point, he was basically just better at cooking.
Misty, the "leftover tea dregs" among the Sensational Sisters of Cerulean Gym, was also still growing.
The help the two of them could provide to a completely clueless beginner like Ash—who had zero theoretical knowledge—was extremely limited.
So then, was there a way to massively boost this area of his growth in one go?
An idea surfaced in Lucas's mind, but he didn't voice it—he simply waited for Ash's fifth Pokémon.
From here on, things would finally get a bit more interesting.
"I'm counting on you, Bulbasaur!"
Ash pulled the brim of his limited-edition League cap down and tossed his fifth Poké Ball with a gloved right hand.
In the next instant—
The red light faded, revealing a green-skinned Pokémon with dark green patches, a plant bulb on its back that grew together with it, and a body somewhat reminiscent of a toad.
The Seed Pokémon, Bulbasaur!
As an old veteran on Ash's team, this Bulbasaur was by far the most distinctive: it refused to evolve.
Its strength was no joke, either; even while remaining a Bulbasaur, it had managed to learn one of the big Grass-type finishing moves, SolarBeam.
The moment it appeared, Bulbasaur fixed a steady gaze on Delibird, as if carefully assessing it.
After all, it had fought Delibird multiple times during their Orange Islands journey.
Noting that Ash had finally sent out a worthy opponent, Delibird flapped its wings and landed right in front of Bulbasaur. Locking eyes with Bulbasaur's red pupils, it showed a hint of interest on its face.
Both were curious to see just how much the other had grown since the Shamouti Island incident.
Once Brock announced the battle's continuation, Ash didn't hesitate.
"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip to grab Delibird! Don't let it take off!"
Compared to how awkward he was when battling with his Johto-caught team, Ash clearly knew exactly how to handle Delibird when commanding this "veteran" Bulbasaur.
"Daa-na-hu!"
Bulbasaur's twin vines shot out like lightning, reaching Delibird in the blink of an eye. Like two flexible green snakes, they snapped forward, aiming to coil around Delibird.
During its time with Mewtwo, Delibird had learned many moves, covering a wide range of types.
Even Steel-type moves were no exception.
"Steel Wing."
Delibird's eyes sharpened. A silvery glow sheathed its red wings, their edges turning razor-sharp.
With cross-cutting slashes, Delibird chopped down at the vines. Bulbasaur cried out in pain as its vines were neatly sliced into segments. The moment it lost its restraining grip, Delibird soared up high, taking aerial control in the blink of an eye.
"Still as tricky as ever…"
Ash clenched his fists and punched the air.
"Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf!"
"Daa-na!"
Bulbasaur dipped its head in acknowledgment, then began zipping unpredictably across the ground, all while whipping up storm after storm of Razor Leaf at the Delibird above.
This was its combat experience at work—so long as it stayed on the move instead of standing still like a sitting duck, the odds of being instantly knocked out were much lower, even if its Razor Leaf got shredded by Air Slash.
"He really does know how to be crafty," Lucas said with a faint smile. Having spotted the same thing, he shouted up to the sky, "Use Hail Scene, then tank it!"
"Deli!"
Ignoring the Razor Leaf shrieking up from below, Delibird called out to the sky.
In an instant, heavy gray clouds rolled over the heavens, and countless fine, intricate snowflakes drifted down. Under a magnifying glass, each snowflake would have looked exquisite, but gathered together, they quickly turned into a dense flurry that blanketed one corner of the warm green plain in thick, swirling snow.
Delibird could clearly feel it: in this "snowy weather," distinct from the usual "Hail," the snowflakes at its side formed a thin yet reliable barrier, bolstering its defenses.
A second after Hail Scene was complete, Razor Leaf struck home as scheduled. The razor-sharp leaves sliced at Delibird, but the snowflakes weakened their edges, significantly dampening their power.
Seeing Razor Leaf fail to produce the expected result, both Ash and Bulbasaur were momentarily at a loss.
Brock cried out in surprise:
"A weather move!"
Beside him, Misty felt a twinge of unease.
At least in her memory, during their Orange Islands scuffles, Delibird had never once used a weather move when battling Ash.
Her misgivings were realized a second later.
Lucas suddenly spoke:
"Let me see Bulbasaur's SolarBeam. If you don't, there won't be another chance after this next move."
Ash froze for a heartbeat. He wanted to argue, but in the end he still took Lucas's advice to heart. With a tight-throated shout, he gave the command:
"Bulbasaur, charge up for SolarBeam!"
"Daa-na!"
Bulbasaur stared up at Delibird like it was facing down a final boss, and began charging power.
Under sunny, bright conditions, SolarBeam would require hardly a few seconds to be ready to fire.
But now, with heavy snow clouds blotting out almost all sunlight, Bulbasaur had to charge for a very long time.
It was only after about thirty seconds that it finally felt like it had enough energy to release the attack.
Aiming the bulb at Delibird in the air, Bulbasaur, without the slightest hesitation, unleashed its ultimate move.
"Daa-na-hu!"
With Bulbasaur's full-force cry, a blazing emerald light—brilliant as the sun itself—compressed into a beam and blasted skyward!
After waiting patiently, Lucas gave his final command.
"Blizzard."
With a single beat of its wings, Delibird summoned Ice-type energy that gathered like a miracle in this snowy weather. In a heartbeat, a massive storm of howling wind and snow exploded forth, like an avalanche crashing down from a collapsing mountain.
Bulbasaur felt only a single wave of killing cold sweep across its body before its consciousness went dark. Together with its SolarBeam, it was frozen into a solid block of ice.