Xia You also walked over to the window with interest and looked outside.
He wanted to see whether Ash would still lose to Trip as he had in the anime.
Under their watchful eyes, Ash and Trip entered the Open-Air Battle Field and took their places in the Pokémon Trainer's Battle Areas on opposite sides.
The two exchanged few words. Once they saw that the other was ready, they sent out their respective Pokémon.
Trip went first, sending out a Snivy. As a complete beginner who had left the laboratory less than three minutes ago, it was also his only Pokémon.
Since they barely knew each other, he had not even built up any bond or friendship with Snivy yet.
As for Ash, the Pokémon he sent out was naturally his Pikachu.
Before they began, however, Trip did not rush to battle Ash. Instead, he took a few photos of Pikachu with the camera in his hands. Only after he finished did he direct Snivy to face Pikachu.
Ash had long since grown impatient. As soon as the battle began, he was the first to order an attack.
Pikachu displayed its experience and strength right then. It opened with Quick Attack, knocking Snivy to the ground before it could react, then dodged Snivy's counterattack. But just as it was about to use Thunderbolt to try to finish Snivy off, something unexpected happened.
Pikachu gathered its power as usual, but electricity merely flickered across its cheeks a few times before instantly dissipating.
Not only did this leave Pikachu itself momentarily stunned, but Ash froze for a moment as well.
At that very moment, Snivy charged forward, slamming into Pikachu with tremendous force and sending it tumbling backward several times before it finally stopped.
With no time to think, Ash hurriedly ordered