This time, Noctowl couldn't escape from the Flamethrower because its physical strength was not as abundant as it was at the beginning. Plus, it had already been burned once by the flames before, and now it was suffering injury upon injury. As it was hit by the Flamethrower, Noctowl let out a very pitiful growl!
"Noctowl!!" Falkner's worried shout didn't save Noctowl from the flames. It was only after the intensity of the fire gradually weakened that Noctowl managed to escape from the flames.
However, by this time, Noctowl was already covered with scorch marks, and its overall mental state was very poor.
"The final blow, use Psychic!!"
"Noctowl, don't give up, use Air Cutter!"
Falkner still wanted to put up a final struggle. As per Falkner's expectations, Noctowl released an Air Cutter. The sharp blades cut into Braixen, making it show a bit of pain, but such a skill wasn't enough to stop Braixen from using Psychic!
The powerful telekinesis acted on Noctowl, then suddenly exerted force. The superpower eroded Noctowl from within, and externally, the tremendous force formed by the superpower desperately squeezed it.
The damage from both inside and outside made Noctowl suffer greatly. Under another attack of the superpower, Noctowl's head tilted, its eyes completely lost focus, and it lost consciousness.
"Noctowl is unable to battle, Braixen wins! The winner of this match is — Serena!"
"Yay!! We won!!" Hearing the victory announcement, Serena, after being stunned for a second, jumped up joyfully. The Braixen on the field also returned and hugged Serena to celebrate.
The first official match victory was a very good start for Braixen. Under this victory, all those tough training sessions and those painful and bitter memories now turned into a sense of accomplishment.
So this is what victory feels like!
Previously, she didn't understand why Ash's Pokemon trained so hard. She had professional guidance in her training, but in reality, each time she barely completed her goals.
But Ash's Pokemon were different. They would always exceed their training volume by one or even two times!
That kind of all-out training style made Braixen feel very puzzled. Clearly, even regular training was exhausting enough to make her want to spit blood, and she couldn't understand why there were Pokemon who voluntarily increased their training volume. For what!
Now Braixen somewhat understood that the sense of accomplishment brought by victory is so captivating, that victory is such a wonderful thing. This was her first formal battle victory, but it won't be her last. In the future, she will fight countless times and win countless times for her Trainer!
"Congratulations, this is the Violet Gym's Feather Badge, please accept it." Falkner, after recalling Noctowl, took out the badge of the Violet Gym from his pocket and handed it to Serena, with a somewhat helpless yet relieved smile on his face.
"Thank you!" Serena took the badge with both hands and politely bowed to Falkner.
"Actually, I'm a bit curious how you could predict every move of Noctowl so accurately... It feels like every step I took was within your control. Do you often battle with Pokemon like Noctowl?" Falkner couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked the question that had been lingering in his mind.
From the beginning of the match to the end, all his actions were seen through by Serena: the Flamethrower feint, the attack after dodging the Flamethrower, and the subsequent counter using Flamethrower, and ultimately taking the Air Cutter head-on to deliver a fatal blow to Noctowl.
Everything seemed like it had been calculated, giving Falkner the feeling of standing on a woven web from the start, becoming a prey waiting to be slaughtered.
It's hard to imagine how a Newbie Trainer could achieve such precise calculations.
"Actually, it's all thanks to Ash. Yesterday, he supplemented me with some of Falkner Gym Leader's habits and a few tips about the battle, so today I was able to battle so smoothly."
"Ash..." Serena's words left Falkner stunned, then he instinctively looked in Ash's direction. Common sense told him that this was impossible.
Someone who hadn't battled him, only relying on theory from paper, how could they predict the battle's outcome to such an extent? But in reality, it was actually a more reasonable explanation than a Newbie Trainer being able to accomplish what had just happened.
This explanation, although outrageous, still had a certain possibility of realization. But a Trainer who could do such a thing must be already standing in the highest domain. Could it be... Ash's current Trainer level has already reached a standard comparable to a Champion Trainer?
If that's true, then it really is a terrifying thing!
"Totally beaten, huh. I haven't even faced you, Ash, directly, just some remote guidance, and I've lost so completely. If I really had to face you, Ash, I might be beaten even worse than now." Falkner said, seemingly relieved.
Admitting one's inadequacies is not scary; refusing to acknowledge failure is what's scary. After understanding the reason for his failure, Falkner did not dwell on it excessively and came to terms with it immediately, because he had high expectations for Ash's Trainer level from the start.
Besides, losing to Ash was actually better than directly losing to a Newbie Trainer, even though Ash was not directly participating in the match.
...
After receiving the Feather Badge, everyone gathered around Serena to cheer and celebrate for her. Serena was humble in her words, however, her heart was full of satisfaction. Since coming out on this journey, her original intention was just to find Ash, to follow Ash's footsteps, but now she seems to have found something else she can do, something she wants to do.
And that is to win battles!
This was the first, and there will be a second, third, and the competition will get stricter and stricter; she has to put in more effort!
"Ash, which Gym will you head to next?" At the city exit of Violet City, May and Victor bid farewell to Ash and his companions, and the former asked curiously about Ash's next destination.
Ash thought for a bit and then said, "Next, I'll head to Azalea Town. It's said there's a very strong Fighting Type Gym Leader there, and also he uses a Lucario, plus I have to deliver Pokeballs to Mr. Kurt; it's on the way."
In the data given by Professor Oak, a strong Gym Leader also resides in Azalea Town, and the attribute that Gym Leader uses is Fighting Type, furthermore, it's a very rare Fighting Type Pokemon — Lucario.
Aside from him, Ash hadn't seen other Trainers using Lucario. Since he heard there is a Trainer using Lucario, and moreover, that it's a Gym Leader, how could he not go take a look?
Furthermore, there's also the expert in Pokeball manufacturing, Mr. Kurt, in Azalea Town. Ash hadn't forgotten his task of delivering the GS Ball to Mr. Kurt.
"Azalea Town... Oh, I remember, it's a Gym Leader who came from the Kalos Region, said to be quite an old man, but his strength is not weak! I'm not leaving Violet City so soon, otherwise, I'd go with you." May lightly tapped her snow-white chin with her finger, expressing regret on her face.
She just returned to Violet City, so naturally, she wants to stay with her father for a while. With her father around, he could guide her in the direction of becoming stronger. Having been defeated by Ash does not mean her father is weak; it's just that Ash is too strong.
So, she wouldn't be leaving Violet City for a while, and besides, there were already three people with Ash, adding herself and Victor would make five, one of whom was a complete drag, which wouldn't be suitable, so they had to part ways for now.
"It's fine; we might meet again on the journey in the future. And... at the Silver Conference, we'll surely meet again, right?" Ash extended his hand, with a bright smile on his face.
May was stunned for a moment, then nodded firmly, grasping Ash's wide hand with her soft one: "We will! At the Silver Conference, I intend to take my revenge fiercely!!"
The two made a promise of a future rematch, and by the time they met again, both Ash and May would have undergone qualitative changes, and awaiting them, would be an even higher stage!