In terms of tactics, Ash in the Hoenn region was like a child in front of Brandon. However, when it comes to bonds... even the Ash who just started his journey has a love for his Pokémon that is second to none!
Not to mention the Ash in this video, who has been traveling for almost two years. Speaking of the deep connection between a trainer and their Pokémon, you will struggle to find anyone in the whole world like Ash!
In the Footage—
Bulbasaur completely regains its focus under Ash's loud shout! At this point, the situation is completely reversed! Just a moment ago, due to an unexpected setup, Bulbasaur was hit by the Confuse Ray from Dusclops.
But now, a guarded Ash and Bulbasaur will not fall for that trick again! And no matter how dense Brandon's Dusclops is, it does not change the fact that its residual health is low.
After taking so many attacks and launching so many moves, it is a miracle that Dusclops is even standing right now. Brandon's first Pokémon is truly an immovable little wall!
"Bulbasaur, give him the final blow, Razor Leaf!"
"Saur!!"
Several sharp leaves spin and shoot out from the sides of Bulbasaur's bulb at high speed! Brandon orders Dusclops to make a final struggle by using Protect. The green shield blocks the flying leaves; however, it fails to stop the Leech Seed's final health drain!
Dusclops, which defeated Charizard and caused massive damage to Bulbasaur, finally faints! Ash wipes a bit of sweat from his forehead. Just the first Pokémon was this difficult to handle. What kind of strong enemy will come next?
Pop!
A yellow insect that looks like a ninja appears on the field. Ninjask! After Ash pulls out his Pokédex to check the information, he learns that it possesses extreme speed and high attack power.
"High speed and attack, plus it is a Bug and Flying-type..."
"Pika-pi!"
Pikachu pats his chest, signaling that he wants to fight! He is an electric mouse well-known for his incredible speed! Plus, the Electric-type holds a natural advantage over Flying-types, so sending him out seems like the best choice.
"Pikachu, you want to go? Wait a bit, I want you to be our final anchor! For this round... let's leave it to Squirtle!"
"Come back, Bulbasaur!"
Ash recalls Bulbasaur and throws his next Poké Ball.
"Squirtle, I choose you!!"
The leader of the squad arrives! Pikachu sees Ash deploy Squirtle, and after hearing that he will be the grand finale, he happily steps back. Usually, the strongest assets are sent out first or kept for the very end! This finale spot shows how much Ash trusts him!
[Brandon: Confronted with a sharp spear, you chose to respond with a solid shield? An excellent tactical choice, young man.]
[Diantha: Although Squirtle has not evolved, his hard shell is the real deal. Fighting speed with a solid defense is a classic way to handle a fast threat. Ash suddenly opened up his strategic mind!]
[Anabel: Leaving the final mistake aside, Ash's command level has actually been highly online throughout this set. At the absolute end, he was simply pushed too hard by Mr. Brandon, which led to that unusual command.]
In the Footage—
Brandon takes the initiative to attack! Ninjask uses Aerial Ace to launch a rapid assault! It moves so fast that it is hard to see with the naked eye! This is completely normal for its species. Although Ninjask's overall base stats are not the highest, its speed is right at the top of the entire Pokémon world!
"Squirtle, Rapid Spin!"
"Squirtle!!"
Squirtle pulls its limbs into its shell, boosting its defense, and begins to spin at high speed! The rushing Ninjask slams directly into the spinning shell and is bounced away! In the first clash, Squirtle gains the upper hand!
"Beautifully done, Ash! Meeting change with stability! That is exactly how you utilize Squirtle!"
Brock cheers loudly from the stands. May also relaxes and starts rooting for Squirtle. She owns a Squirtle as well and met Ash's Squirtle not long ago.
The only difference is that the size gap between the two Squirtles is quite big. In fact, looking at both Squirtle and Bulbasaur... May's team roster looks a lot like Ash's early team!
On the battlefield, after the first strike fails, Brandon unleashes a relentless wave of non-stop attacks!
"Use Fury Cutter!"
"Keep using Rapid Spin!"
One of Ninjask's claws glows with a light green energy as it slashes continuously at Squirtle! However, every single strike is cleanly deflected by the high-speed spinning shell! Yet, Ninjask continues to strike without pausing!
As the claws hit the shell repeatedly, Squirtle remains completely unharmed. Instead, Ninjask absorbs a notable amount of recoil damage from the sheer kinetic force of the Rapid Spin! Ash feels a bit puzzled. Why does Brandon keep attacking when the moves are clearly ineffective?
Suddenly, the situation shifts! The light green energy coating on Ninjask's claws grows several times larger in an instant! Ash's eyes widen as he shouts:
"Squirtle, hurry, get out of the way!"
But Squirtle is spinning so fast that it is completely dizzy inside its shell. How can it react and dodge that quickly?
The fully powered Fury Cutter slams heavily into the spinning shell, violently breaking the Rapid Spin and sending Squirtle flying across the dirt!
"You are too naive, boy. Fury Cutter is a move that doubles in power with every consecutive hit. Even if your Squirtle has an outstanding defense, I can simply raise my attack power until it shatters your guard."
This is an official challenge match, not a fight to the death, so Brandon kindly explains the mechanics of the move. Immediately after, Ninjask charges forward like a bolt of lightning, leaving a white streak of light behind its tail! It arrives right in front of Squirtle's face!
"Use Hydro Pump just like that!"
"What?"
Squirtle, who was struggling mid-air, pulls back into its shell the moment it hears the command! In the next frame, massive torrents of water blast out from the five openings of the shell! The immense pressure of the water jets causes the shell to spin fiercely once again!
This is Squirtle's signature unique skill—the spinning Hydro Pump! It is a move that provides even greater defensive and offensive power than a standard Rapid Spin!
The charging Ninjask cannot break in time to dodge. It hits the wall of water head-on and is violently blasted away by the heavy current! The successful Squirtle performs a perfect flip in the air and lands firmly on its feet!
"Squirtle, Squirtle!"
Don't mess with the squad leader!
"Fascinating... a base-stage Squirtle can project a high-level move like Hydro Pump? And in such a unique spinning style."
Brandon is genuinely surprised by the performance. Looking at the execution, it is clear that this Squirtle's level is exceptionally high. Just like the Bulbasaur from before, it seems they have actively chosen not to evolve.
Brandon can see that for this specific Squirtle, remaining unevolved might actually be a benefit. Compared to a massive, heavy Blastoise, Squirtle is incredibly flexible and agile, while its firepower remains top-tier.
"Ninjask, Double Team!"
In an instant, the entire arena is filled with identical illusions of Ninjask, leaving Squirtle completely dazed.
"Now, use Mud-Slap!"
All the illusions dive straight toward the ground, sliding across the dirt! The impact kicks up a massive cloud of dust and sand, blinding the entire area around Squirtle!
"Squirtle, withdraw into your shell!"
Although Ash gives the command quickly, the incoming sandstorm is too fast. Squirtle cannot pull its head in on time, and the dust coats its face, entering its eyes and completely blinding it!
"Swords Dance."
Taking advantage of Squirtle's temporary blindness, Brandon immediately boosts his stats. Ninjask spins rapidly on the spot, multiplying its offensive power.
"Aerial Ace."
"Squirtle, don't panic! Listen to my voice... right now, use Rapid Spin!"
Since Squirtle cannot see, Ash becomes its eyes! The moment Ninjask's sound signature vanishes, Ash calls out the move. Squirtle trusts him blindly, instantly pulling into its shell and spinning.
However, Ninjask's Aerial Ace has been heavily boosted by Swords Dance. The attack power is now high enough to shatter a standard defense! With a loud, grinding sound, Squirtle's spin is broken, and it is thrown across the field once more.
"Finish it with another Aerial Ace!"
"Squirtle, Hydro Pump!"
"Ninjask, abort the charge! Pull back!"
This time, Brandon remains highly alert. A boosted Aerial Ace can break a physical spin, but running straight into a high-pressure Hydro Pump is a completely different story.
Ninjask is a fragile asset; if it takes a direct hit from a water jet, it will instantly faint. Receiving the emergency order, Ninjask brakes hard mid-air.
Suddenly, massive jets of water erupt from the openings of Squirtle's shell, blasting straight up into the sky!
"Now, Squirtle! Pop your head out and look straight up!"
"Squirtle!"
Squirtle follows the order instantly, tilting its face toward the heavens. In the next frame, the heavy water blasting into the sky rains straight back down onto its face, cleanly washing away all the dust and sand from its eyes! Its vision is completely restored!
"Awesome! Now, Water Gun!"
"Evade and use Aerial Ace!"
With Ninjask's extreme speed, a standard Water Gun is highly unlikely to connect. By the time the stream of water clears, Ninjask has already vanished from its position.
"Stand your ground, Squirtle! Absorb the Aerial Ace and counter with Skull Bash!!"
Bang!!
The word barely leaves Ash's mouth before Ninjask slams hard into Squirtle's torso! Fortunately, Squirtle had secretly boosted its defense with Withdraw earlier, allowing it to endure the impact. It slides back a few meters, stabilizes its footing, and drives forward like an arrow!
Its blue head glows with a brilliant white energy as it slams directly into the buffering Ninjask! Having absorbed a spinning Hydro Pump earlier and now taking a direct Skull Bash, the fragile Ninjask cannot handle the physical toll and faints. Extreme speed assets naturally possess fragile bodies; even without a type disadvantage, two heavy hits are enough to end them.
[Siebold: Ash's Squirtle... its operational level must be incredibly high, correct? It can execute a top-tier move like Hydro Pump with ease. Why has it chosen not to evolve?]
[Ash: I asked Squirtle about it before! He told me that just like Bulbasaur, he wants to prove that even without evolving, he can possess incredible power!]
[Spenser: Oh, a marvelous mindset! I was wondering why that Bulbasaur was so powerful without evolving. It turns out they simply do not want to rely on the path of evolution to gain strength~]
[Morty: While it is true that you can achieve great things without evolving... if your goal is to maximize your strength quickly and raise your absolute ceiling, choosing to evolve is naturally the superior path.]
[Cynthia: Every Pokémon has its own unique thoughts and desires. The fact that Ash is capable of fully respecting and trusting those individual choices... that is what makes him Ash!]
[Ash: Miss Cynthia is completely right! I believe with all my heart that Bulbasaur and Squirtle can achieve great things exactly as they are! Evolution is just an optional choice, not the only path to strength!]
In the Footage—
After Ninjask faints, Brandon recalls it to its ball. Then, he deploys his third asset: Solrock!
From this choice, the global audience can see that Brandon's battle style is incredibly versatile! Dusclops focused on defense and status control; Ninjask focused on high-speed offense; and Solrock is a Rock and Psychic-type that specializes in battlefield control and direct attacks!
"Solrock... a Rock and Psychic-type threat. Squirtle, can you keep going?"
"Squirtle, Squirtle!!"
Squirtle pats its solid chest shell, signaling that it is ready. In reality, its physical stamina is running quite low. Even with its high defense, it has not evolved, and it has already absorbed a boosted Aerial Ace along with prior damage. Its health bar is firmly sitting in the yellow zone!
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed. Claim early access on Patreon: Patreon.com/kazama677
🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:💬 10 reviews ignite 1 bonus chapter🔷 100 Power Stones summon another
🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.