A gray figure streaked across the sky not far away.
Aerodactyl had been patrolling high overhead, but the moment it heard the word "battle," its ears perked up.
It circled once, then landed steadily in a large tree at the edge of the farm, looking down over the battlefield.
Then Aerodactyl saw the Pokémon Ash brought out.
Bulbasaur.
A tiny Grass-type Pokémon stood on all fours in the middle of the field, a flower bud on its back, its head raised and its expression serious.
Aerodactyl's excitement vanished without a trace.
It looked away, gave a bored yawn, folded its wings, and lay down in the fork of the tree for a nap.
This would hardly even count as picking on someone smaller.
Aerodactyl even doubted whether this Bulbasaur could withstand the wind from a single flap of its wings.
Three heads poked furtively out of a distant thicket.
"It's that twerp!" Jessie whispered.
"And Pikachu! We're definitely catching it today!" James rubbed his hands together.
Meowth suddenly stiffened, its gaze passing over Ash and landing on the large tree at the edge of the farm.
The gray figure lying in the tree had its eyes lazily closed.
Meowth's pupils abruptly contracted, and the entire cat instantly curled into a ball of fur.
"Meow... meow... th-that..."
Jessie and James followed its gaze and saw Aerodactyl too.
All three remembered that horrifying sight at once.
Aerodactyl holding Omastar's tentacles in its mouth, crunching away with its jaws stained blood-red.
"Retreat, retreat, retreat-!"
The Team Rocket Trio scrambled and tumbled back into the depths of the thicket, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Their plan to capture Pikachu?
That could wait for another day.
On the battlefield, Ash was ready.
Bulbasaur stood in front of him with a determined gaze, its four short legs planted firmly on the ground.
Lu Chen looked at Bulbasaur and raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Just a Bulbasaur?" Lu Chen remarked casually,
"And judging by its condition, this Bulbasaur could evolve at any moment, couldn't it? Why hasn't it evolved yet?"
Ash rubbed his nose and smiled a little sheepishly.
"It's because Bulbasaur doesn't want to evolve! It wants to get stronger without relying on evolution."
Lu Chen gave Bulbasaur a careful look.
It had been raised passably, its strength had roughly reached the threshold of the advanced level, and it could skillfully use various moves, giving it considerable fighting ability.
Still, having a level approaching that of a Venusaur while remaining a Bulbasaur was certainly novel.
Back in ancient times, Lu Chen had never seen a Pokémon unwilling to evolve.
Evolution was an instinct etched into every Pokémon's DNA.
Evolution meant becoming stronger, and Ancient Pokémon unwilling to evolve had most likely died in the brutal competition.
That made the Bulbasaur before him rather interesting to Lu Chen.
But that raised a question.
Who should he send out?
Lu Chen glanced at Aerodactyl. That fellow was already asleep in the tree.
Sending it out would be pointless. A single sneeze could blow Bulbasaur away.
Then Lu Chen glanced at Gabite in the distance.
Gabite was carrying a watering can toward the Starf Berry orchard without looking back.
Gabite gestured to indicate that it was time to water the Starf Berry trees, and that he had little interest in picking on little kids anyway.
Lu Chen scanned the farm, his gaze finally settling on Zorua, who was sunbathing in the yard.
Zorua lay sprawled on the stone slab that got the most sunlight, belly up and tail swaying intermittently, fast asleep.
Lu Chen walked over, caught Zorua by the scruff, and lifted it.
"Wuh?"
Zorua opened its eyes groggily, still unaware of what was happening.
"Don't spend all day sleeping in." Lu Chen tossed it onto the battlefield.
"Get some exercise."
Zorua somersaulted in midair and landed firmly on its four little paws, looking around in confusion.
Then it looked up at Bulbasaur opposite it before looking back at Lu Chen.
Looking at the two Pokémon on the field, Lu Chen estimated that Ash's Bulbasaur was roughly at the threshold of the advanced level.
Zorua, meanwhile, was only at the intermediate level.
Although Zorua's level was lower than Bulbasaur's, in Lu Chen's view, Pokémon with special abilities like Zorua absolutely had what it took to fight above their level.
Especially under Lu Chen's command.
Ash didn't recognize Zorua and scratched his head. "What Pokémon is that?"
A voice came from the farm entrance nearby.
"That's Zorua, a Pokémon from the Unova Region."
Professor Oak had arrived at some point.
Professor Oak explained earnestly to Ash,
"Zorua can transform into other Pokémon. It's a very rare and special Pokémon."
"Transform?" Ash's eyes lit up.
Brock stood at the edge of the field and raised a hand. "Both sides, get ready!"
Lu Chen nodded to Zorua.
Zorua took a deep breath, its gaze turning from groggy to serious as it bent its four legs slightly and held its tail rigid.
"Begin!" Brock shouted.
"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!" Ash gave the first command.
Two thick green vines lashed out from either side of the flower bud on Bulbasaur's back, whistling toward Zorua.
"Zorua, jump." Lu Chen's voice was unhurried.
Zorua pushed off with its hind legs and leaped high into the air. The vines swept beneath its feet, striking the ground and leaving a shallow mark.
"Transform."
Zorua curled up in midair, and a flash of black light passed over it.
Then its body expanded rapidly, its head crest spread out, and it landed on all fours, dark red flames burning on its tail.
A Gouging Fire radiating terrifying heat appeared in the center of the field.
"E-Entei?!" Ash's eyes widened.
Bulbasaur looked up at the enormous creature before it and unconsciously took half a step back.
Seeing Ash's nervous expression, Lu Chen explained,
"This isn't Entei. It's a special Pokémon called Gouging Fire."
"O-oh, I see."
Even with Lu Chen's explanation, Ash was still a little nervous, but he soon regained his composure.
"Bulbasaur, don't be afraid! Seed Bomb!"
Bulbasaur puffed out its cheeks and spat a huge Seed Bomb from its mouth at Zorua's Gouging Fire form.
The Gouging Fire that Zorua had transformed into merely shifted slightly sideways. The Seed Bomb flew past its body without touching so much as a hair.
Then it opened its mouth.
A stream of scorching flames surged out, sending a wave of heat straight ahead.
Bulbasaur had no time to dodge. The flames struck it head-on, sending it flying and rolling twice across the ground.
"Bulbasaur!"
Bulbasaur struggled to its feet, several blackened marks now on its body, but its gaze remained stubborn.
"All right, Bulbasaur! Use Solar Beam!"
The flower bud on Bulbasaur's back began to glow, gathering the sunlight energy around it.
The golden light grew brighter and brighter, gathering into a dazzling beam that shot toward Zorua.
"Dodge, then close in."
Zorua's Gouging Fire form swayed aside, and Solar Beam brushed past it.
Then it pushed off with all four legs, charging toward Bulbasaur like a burning chariot.
Having just fired Solar Beam, Bulbasaur was at its weakest.
Zorua charged up to it and brought down a Dragon Claw.
Bulbasaur was swatted away and rolled twice more after landing. This time, it couldn't get back up.
"Bulbasaur is unable to battle. Zorua wins!" Brock announced.
"So strong!"
Ash was astonished to see Zorua, whose level was clearly lower than Bulbasaur's, unleash such terrifying power!
This was Ash's first time facing a stat monster.
After all, Gouging Fire had a base stat total as high as 590, while Bulbasaur's was only 310-nearly twice as high.
And among Pokémon of the same level, the higher their base stats, the greater their basic strength.
Ash's baby team could handle ordinary trainers' Pokémon well enough, but when faced with a stat monster like Gouging Fire while also at a type disadvantage,
he immediately felt immense pressure unlike anything he had ever experienced.
Ash recalled Bulbasaur and took a deep breath. "All right, Squirtle's next!"
Dear readers, if you enjoyed this, please leave a positive review and a free Charge tip. Thank you.
Your support is what motivates this humble author to keep updating. ( •̀ ω •́ )✧