Sunlight spilled onto the ground of the battlefield, casting the shadows of the two figures clearly onto the earth.
Dawn stood at the edge of the field holding Piplup, her heart pounding and her cheeks flushed with excitement.
This was the first time she had watched an official Pokémon battle up close since starting her journey as a Trainer. Tension and anticipation intertwined in her eyes as her gaze remained locked onto the two people on the field, ready to begin.
Furthermore, the two opponents were the powerful Shinji, whom she knew well, and Ash, whom she had just met but was full of passion.
"Piplup?" Piplup sensed Dawn's nervousness and gently patted the back of her hand with its small wing.
"I'm fine, just a bit excited," Dawn responded with a smile, feeling Piplup's concern.
"Let's go!" Ash was the first to break the silence, suddenly raising his hand to toss a Poké Ball into the air, shouting loudly, "Starly, I choose you!"
A flash of white light erupted, and a small, delicate Pokémon with grayish-brown wings took to the sky, its crisp cry of "Starly—" echoing across the field.
It was the Starly that Ash had captured not long ago.
Seeing this, Shinji's dark purple eyes lifted slightly. With a thought, the pale blue system panel instantly materialized in his mind, precisely scanning the Starly in the air.
The panel data refreshed rapidly, clearly presenting the detailed information of this Pokémon:
[Starly ♦]
Level: 12 (Advanced)
Type: Normal + flying
Ability: Keen Eye
potential: Medium
base stats: 245
Moves: Tackle, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Sand Attack
Seeing this Starly's mediocre potential and low level, an unmasked arc of disdain immediately curled at the corner of Shinji's mouth.
He said coldly, "To think you'd actually spend effort catching and training a Pokémon with such mediocre potential that can be found anywhere—how nonsensical. A Trainer's time is precious; it should be focused on partners with more potential."
"What did you say!" Ash was instantly enraged by Shinji's words, retorting loudly, "Even if my Starly isn't strong enough now, as long as we work hard together, it will definitely become amazing! I won't let you look down on it!"
"Hmph, naive." Shinji snorted dismissively. He tossed the Poké Ball held between his fingertips lightly and caught it steadily, his tone as cold as frost. "Since you're so confident, I'll let you see for yourself how hollow so-called effort is in the face of an absolute gap in strength."
"Murkrow, prepare for battle."
"Krow—!"
A flash of white light passed, and a Murkrow with sharp eyes and glossy black feathers appeared in mid-air. Its piercing gaze instantly locked onto Starly, emitting an invisible sense of pressure.
On the sidelines, hearing Shinji's merciless mockery, Dawn helplessly raised her hand to her forehead and let out a heavy sigh.
This guy, no matter when, could never fix that toxic-tongued and arrogant bad habit of his; he just had to make the atmosphere so stiff before a perfectly good battle.
Beside her, Piplup also seemed to half-understand, knitting its little brow and letting out a few "Piplup" sounds at the Murkrow in the air, as if expressing its dissatisfaction.
Seeing Shinji release Murkrow, Ash immediately pulled out his Pokédex and aimed it to scan, wanting to learn more information.
Seeing Ash's familiar action, Shinji's expression turned into a sneer. Just like in the anime, this guy's first reaction upon encountering an unfamiliar Pokémon was to rely on the pokédex.
However, this kind of basic information gathering was of little significance in a real battle.
"To have to look up basic information about your opponent on the spot—your preparation is far too lax," he mocked indifferently.
"You take the first move." Shinji had his hands in his pockets, his tone as casual as if he were talking about something trivial.
Given Murkrow's strength, even if he gave Ash the first move, the result wouldn't change. He simply wanted to see what kind of decent tactics Ash could come up with.
"Fine! Then I won't hold back!" Ash's fighting spirit was ignited by Shinji's attitude. He raised his hand and shouted with a spirited expression, "Starly, show him our strength! Use Quick Attack!"
"Starly—!"
Starly cried out loudly, its wings snapping shut as its body instantly turned into a streak of silver-white light. With the sound of breaking air, it charged straight toward Murkrow.
However, in Shinji's eyes, this was still not worth mentioning.
His gaze didn't even flicker as he calmly uttered three words: "Aerial Ace."
With a soft shua, the silver-white light passed straight through Murkrow's form, but it only struck a black afterimage.
At the same time, the real Murkrow had already appeared behind Starly. With its wings slightly tucked and carrying a sharp wind, its entire body lunged forward to attack Starly.
"Behind you! Starly, dodge it!" Ash was quite sharp at catching the changes on the battlefield and immediately called out a warning.
Hearing the command, a flash of panic crossed Starly's eyes. It hurriedly tried to flap its wings to turn and evade.
But the gap in strength between it and Murkrow was simply too vast. Before its wings could fully unfurl, Murkrow's attack landed solidly on its body.
"Bang!"
A dull thud of impact rang out, and Starly let out a cry of pain. Its body instantly lost balance, and it began to fall toward the ground, dizzy and disoriented.
Hearing Ash's voice, Shinji gained a clear understanding of Ash's battle instincts.
His judgment of the battlefield situation wasn't slow, but unfortunately, Starly's own reaction speed and physical stamina were simply insufficient to support a timely evasion of Murkrow's strictly trained, lightning-fast attack!
"Aerial Ace."
Murkrow flapped its wings and instantly surged upward, rapidly gathering energy high in the sky. A layer of dazzling white light gradually shimmered around its body.
Then, like a diving bird of prey, it charged toward the falling Starly with an aura of world-ending power.
"Starly, pull yourself together! Dodge it!" Ash was sweating with anxiety, shouting desperately at Starly, his voice filled with urgency and worry.
Perhaps sensing Ash's feelings, a trace of stubbornness flashed in the falling Starly's eyes. It used the last of its strength to flap its wings hard, trying to change direction.
But its speed was far too slow compared to Murkrow's.
Shinji's gaze turned cold as he added a command: "Follow it. Don't give it a chance."
Murkrow's speed surged again, instantly closing the distance to Starly.
"Bang—!"
Another heavy thud echoed. Starly had no way to dodge and was sent flying by a direct hit from the Aerial Ace.
Its body smashed into a tree trunk at the edge of the field like a kite with a broken string, slowly sliding down. Its eyes had already turned into swirls, and it had lost the ability to battle.
"Starly is unable to battle. Murkrow wins!" Brock walked quickly to the center of the field, his gaze sweeping over the fallen Starly as he announced the result in a low voice.
But there was a bit more gravity in his gaze as he looked at Shinji. This boy's command was terrifyingly calm, and his Pokémon's execution was extremely high.
"Return, Starly." Ash quickly pulled out a Poké Ball and recalled Starly. Gently stroking the Poké Ball, he comforted it in a tender tone, "You worked very hard. Now, get some good rest."
On the other side, Shinji also raised his hand to recall Murkrow. A flash of red light passed, and Murkrow's figure disappeared from the air.
He turned his head and looked at Ash, his gaze filled with undisguised contempt. "This is your battling? Attempting to use so-called effort and bonds to make up for the massive gap in strength? Truly foolish."
"Hmph, you arrogant jerk!" Ash was completely incensed by Shinji's mockery, his cheeks flushing red as he clenched his fists.
The Pikachu on his shoulder also glared angrily at Shinji. The electric sacs on its cheeks crackled, and yellow sparks of electricity kept jumping—it was clearly enraged by Shinji's words.
Seeing Pikachu's spirited appearance, Ash instantly made a decision.
He took a deep breath, suddenly swung his arm, and shouted, "Pikachu, I choose you!"
"Pika!" Pikachu let out a powerful cry.
Then, its hind legs suddenly exerted force, and its body leaped forward agilely, landing steadily on the battlefield. Its pair of bright black eyes stared intently at Shinji, its entire body radiating a fierce fighting spirit.
"Oh?" Seeing the pikachu god take the stage, Shinji raised an eyebrow slightly. A flash of hard-to-detect surprise flickered in his dark purple eyes, only to be replaced by contempt once more.
"This Pikachu's fighting spirit is decent, but unfortunately..." He paused, the mockery in his tone growing stronger.
"To be raised by an idiot like you who only knows brute force and understands nothing of scientific training—it's truly a pity for it. I even feel sympathy for this Pikachu."
"Pika! Pikachu!" Hearing this, Pikachu became even angrier, its tail standing high. It clearly would not allow anyone to slander Ash, whom it trusted most.
"Pikachu, don't let him get to you!" Ash gave Pikachu a look of trust. "Let's show him the power of the bond between us!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded heavily, the anger in its eyes gradually turning into a determined fighting spirit.
Shinji curled his lip in disdain. Without another word, he skillfully tossed another Poké Ball. "Elekid, prepare for battle."
"Bi-bi—!"
A flash of white light appeared, and the agile Elekid landed steadily on the field. It rotated its arms, staring at Pikachu with an excited and bellicose gaze.
Powerful currents of electricity faintly surged around its body, subtly forming a confrontation with the electric field emitted by Pikachu.
The ions in the air seemed to become restless; a new round of confrontation was on the verge of breaking out.