20demayo Chapter 197 Groudon's Crimson Orb
Chapter 197 Groudon's Crimson Orb
Chapter 197 Groudon's Crimson Orb (Part 2)
[Ding! Circle Bear: Affection +2; Intimacy +2]
"That Ursaring challenger is really strong!" The gym leader was actually in a tough battle, and the apprentices behind Asu forgot to shout "Show your guts!"
"After all, they are the champions of the league tournament, so this level of strength is to be expected."
After recalling Dodori, Aso quickly deployed his third Pokémon.
"Now it's up to you, my strongest Pokémon! Show your Flying-type Pokémon prowess!"
"Compare, compare!"
The next one to appear was the same enormous Pidgeot from before, whose massive wings immediately created a whirlwind on the battlefield.
"That's quite impressive."
The strong wind made it impossible for the circle bear to open its eyes; it could only support itself with one paw and use the other to protect its face.
Ash decided to switch out Ursaring because it had already taken a lot of damage in the previous two battles.
"Circle Bear, come back and rest first."
Generally speaking, sending out Pikachu would be the most appropriate choice at this time, but Ash suddenly remembered the dream that Ash had mentioned.
"Asu, since you said you want to become the strongest Flying Pokémon Trainer..."
"Then let's have a fair and square battle between Flying-type Pokémon!"
"Okay, no problem!"
Asu was also very happy to be able to have such a battle.
Next up, Ash sent out another Pokémon that was enormous and imposing.
"I choose you, Charizard!"
"roar!"
A true flying machine, the old-school jetpack!
The current situation is somewhat similar to Ash's previous battle in the League Tournament.
However, now Ash is the one using Charizard.
"Pidgeotto, take off!"
"Charizard, let's fly up too!"
After their initial confrontation, the two enormous creatures immediately began racing in the air.
Both sides were neck and neck, chasing each other at similar speeds, each focused on finding the other's weakness.
At this point, A-Speed launched the first attack.
"Hibiscus, Swallow Return!"
"Charizard, stay alert."
It's too difficult to dodge a move like Aerial Ace, so Ash simply chose to take it head-on.
Pidgeot's figure vanished instantly in front of it, then suddenly reappeared behind Charizard.
"So fast." Yan Fan always appears in such a tricky location.
Fortunately, this wasn't the first time Charizard had faced this situation.
"Charizard grabs Pidgeot's wing and explodes!"
After Pidgeot's Aerial Ace hit, it tried to escape, but Charizard turned around and grabbed both of its wings.
It struggled frantically but couldn't escape; the massive, close-range blast hit it directly.
boom!
"Compare, compare!"
After the painful cries of the birds, a huge explosion occurred on the eagle's body.
"Hold on to Pidgeot, use Storm!"
The power of the Big Bang wasn't enough to completely bring Pidgeot down. It braced itself and flapped its wings, creating an astonishing tornado that swept towards Charizard.
"Charizard uses Flame Vortex!"
The fire tornado released by Charizard and the storm of Pidgeot collided fiercely, canceling each other out, but the resulting hurricane left the entire rooftop battlefield in a mess.
"Charizard, now's the time! Charge into the center of the explosion and grab Pidgeot!" Ash keenly observed the opportunity; now was the perfect moment to attack.
"What?! Get out of the way, Eagle!"
Unfortunately, it was too late. The speed difference was not much to begin with, and Pidgeot, which was a step slower, was unable to dodge Charizard's grab.
"Right now, on Earth!"
Holding Pidgeot's body, Charizard drew a graceful circle in the air.
During this time, Pidgeot even attacked Charizard's arm with its sharp beak, but Charizard held on tightly and wouldn't let go.
"Roar, roar!"
The mission was successfully completed on Earth, and Pidgeot was slammed from high above into the battlefield.
The impact of the fall created a large crater in the field.
As the smoke in the pit dissipated, the eagle struggled to its feet, seemingly trying to get up even more.
At that moment, the dojo students all shouted together to show their courage and cheer for Pidgeot.
"Bi~"
Unfortunately, after flapping its wings a few times, the Pidgeot finally passed out completely.
"Pidgeotto is unable to battle, so Ash from Pallet Town has won this challenge!"
"Ah, we've lost."
"Losing so badly, Ash, isn't my dream ridiculous?"
Asu couldn't hide his disappointment at taking back the Pidgeot.
"No, Asu, your dream is great." Ash was puzzled as to why Asu would say that.
"I will never laugh at anyone who is determined to pursue their dreams."
At this moment, the apprentices behind Asu also started beating the drums again and shouted, "Show your backbone!"
"Ah, you all—"
"Even if you fail, we will still support you steadfastly."
Asu was deeply moved. This was a slogan he usually asked his students to shout, but they used it to encourage themselves.
"I never expected that I would be the one to do something embarrassing first."
"Asu must have had his self-esteem hurt by someone in the past, which is why he craves recognition so much."
After observing the situation closely, Xiaoxia, who had been watching from the sidelines, immediately transformed into a psychology expert and spoke.
"He may have lost a match against someone, and not only did he lose badly, but his dream was also mocked by his opponent."
Misty, who aspires to be a Water-type Pokémon Master, suddenly feels empathy for Asu, since Water-type Pokémon are often said to be doomed if hit with an electric shock.
"Who on earth went so far as to go to such lengths?"
"Could it be that he was mocked after failing to challenge the Elite Four?" Ash suggested.
"How could that be? The Four Heavenly Kings were selected through a rigorous process by the Alliance. Only those with great strength and a strong sense of responsibility are qualified to serve as these leaders."
"It's impossible for the Four Heavenly Kings to go so far as to mock someone else's dream!" Xiaoxia immediately retorted.
In her heart, the Four Heavenly Kings have always been respectable and formidable figures, just like her idol, Kona.
But at this moment, Pear Blossom's expression looked somewhat abnormal.
"Yeah, how can there be such a person—"
Encouraged by his students, Asahi regained his spirits and approached Ash, handing him a white badge.
"Congratulations, Ash. I accept my defeat wholeheartedly. Here is the Wing Badge, please keep it safe."
[Ding! Congratulations on completing the main quest: Wing Badge! : Please defeat the Kikyo Gym Leader, Soma.]
[Rewards: Alliance Coins +5000; Stamina +2; Free Attribute Points +3]
[Wing Badge: When you have this badge, the power of Flying-type moves increases by 5%]
Ash took the badge from Asahi and put it away. Ash had finally obtained his first Gym Badge in the Johto region.
"Okay, I got the Wing Badge!"
"Pikachu!"
After Ash and Pikachu struck a standard pose, Ash was about to go over to Ash's side to talk when the system notification sounded again.
[Ding! Detected that the host has acquired a gym badge in a new region. The system will automatically upgrade.]
【3, 2, 1 – Upgrade complete】
[New rule: Only the first eight badges obtained in each region will provide a bonus to move power. If badge attributes are duplicated between regions, the bonus effect of a newly obtained badge will be reduced to half of the previous effect for each duplicate badge, with a minimum of 1%.]
"What? You only upgraded this little thing?"
Xiao Zhi stared speechlessly at the new notification that popped up in the system.
"It would have been better not to upgrade at all!"
Unfortunately, it was done automatically by the system, and there was no way to refuse.
[Ding! New Poké Ball types will be unlocked in the Johto area shops: Great Ball, Ultra Ball, Level Ball, and Umbreon!]
This is alright. Before, you could only buy regular Poké Balls and Master Balls in the shop, so having more options now is good.
Unfortunately, after looking around, Ash didn't find the Sweet Ball he had used to catch Cauliflower.
"What a pity."
How can Xiaozhi properly educate those potentially evil female cadres who might appear in the future?
[Ding! The system will now add a Pokémon ability conversion function! (100,000 per use, can convert any ability)]
"Finally, something useful has arrived!"
With this feature, Ash's Pokémon can now have their abilities adjusted to suit his preferences.
"Just once out of 100,000—"
Now that his wallet is fully recovered, Xiao Zhi can barely manage to say that it's not very expensive.
Although he was a stingy person, he was still heartbroken.
"We still need to earn more money."
As Aso and his apprentices were cleaning up the battlefield, Ash came over again.
"Hey, Ash, you guys haven't left yet?"
"Aso, I need your help with something." Ash still has a mission to complete, soaring through the skies.
Over the years, in order to realize his dream of flying in the sky, Asu has tried almost every possible device that can be put into flight.
They are quite proficient in the relevant machines.
When Ash heard that he wanted to learn how to pilot those flying machines from him, Asoo naturally agreed.
"The reason why flying is not prohibited in Kikyo City is because of your orders, Asahi."
"Yes, after all, the sky is so beautiful, people should be able to fly freely."
Unfortunately, it seems that he is the only one who usually enjoys the blue sky, and the lack of like-minded people is a great regret for him.
"Then I'd like to hold a flying racing competition in Violet City where humans and Pokémon can participate together. What do you think?"
"This competition will allow more trainers to experience the joy of flight with their Pokémon."
"Furthermore, it can attract enough flying enthusiasts to Kikyo City, which will greatly benefit the city's tourism."
"Really?" Asu was overjoyed, not expecting Xiaozhi to suddenly say something like this.
Seeing the other person's expression, Xiaozhi knew that his suggestion was a sure thing.
"Ash, do you understand me—"
"Of course! After all, I'm a Pidgeot trainer too!"
"Your dream is my dream!"
"Ash!"
"Asu!"
The two held hands tightly, and Xiao Zhi's oratorical nature made every word he spoke full of genuine emotion.
And Ash wasn't lying; he really approved of Itsuki's dream.
He also longs to fly, and he really wants a powerful Flying-type Pokémon.
Although his main purpose in organizing the competition was to sell more goods and make more money.
"How about checking out the newest Poké Ball from the Crimson Group, sir?"
Upon hearing Ash's suggestion, Aso was initially excited but quickly calmed down.
"Actually, I've always wanted to hold a similar flying competition, but issues like personnel and funding are just too much to ask. After all, he wouldn't squander public funds for his own personal hobby."
After paying for the dojo's daily expenses, Asu really didn't have much money left and had to reluctantly give up.
"Don't worry about that, I'll take care of it!" Ash took out the tournament procedure plan that he had asked Kojiro and the others to prepare in advance and showed it to Ash.
Funding and personnel were naturally contracted out to the Crimson Group.
In any case, in the Pokémon world, any competition that can be related to Pokémon is never short of participants.
As long as the safety of the competition is guaranteed and no personnel injuries occur, there will be no loss.
Moreover, the effect of contracting these matches to win is top-notch!
After Ash took out James's phone and had a detailed conversation with Ash, he happily promised to take care of things at the Kikyo City government.
"It seems there are no problems."
Then, Ash followed Sora to experience the feeling of flying in various flying machines while preparing for the competition with James and the others.
As for Pear Blossom, poor thing, Ash assigned her to help with cleaning in the city.
Before officially entering a city, they would send their subordinates to do good deeds, visit citizens, and deliver gifts to build a good reputation.
Then, bribing the local media to report extensively on these events full of humanitarian concern is Xiaozhi's winning formula in business.
"Our Crimson Group is a reputable company with a strong sense of humanistic care and corporate ethics!"
"Would companies like Silvercorp or Devon employ their staff to sweep the streets?"
"Such a good company with high-quality products at reasonable prices, please give it your support!"
In short, I'm fine, just send me the money!
But this made Pear Blossom particularly unhappy.
"Are they making me a cleaning lady?"
Not only did he make them do hard labor, but he also didn't pay them. Xiao Zhi is utterly wicked!
"What a despicable bastard!"
But there was nothing she could do; the Poké Ball was in someone else's hands, so Rinka had no choice but to obey.
As one of the Four Heavenly Kings, he was forced to sweep the streets.
This was the first time Rika had made a positive contribution to the Johto Alliance since becoming one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
However, the thing she usually does most is help clean up the big crater that Ash made when he fell from the sky.
Every now and then she would see Ash descending from the sky on some secluded roadside, landing on the ground in an extremely wild manner and creating a large crater.
Then she stared in disbelief as Xiaozhi climbed out of the pit unharmed.
"Hmm, the wind speed here is quite erratic. We'll need to avoid it a bit when planning the race route later."
Ash is using his body to test the safety of the racecourse.
He was learning to pilot aircraft while also doing other things, since he was confident he wouldn't die in a crash.
But seeing Ash climb out of the pit, Rin was really scared.
Ash's physical performance was at least within the normal range before, and many people, such as the Elite Four's Shiba, can also smash a wooden wall with one punch.
But now, Ash jumped straight down from a great height, dusted himself off, and was completely unharmed, which utterly shocked Rika's worldview.
At the same time, it left a strange feeling in her heart.
"Wild and powerful—"
"No, I won't admit it, you bastard!"
"Hmm, Lily, what's wrong?"
"Your complexion doesn't look right."
"None of your business!"
After saying that, Lihua picked up her broom without looking back and continued sweeping the streets.
Through this hands-on learning, Ash quickly mastered all the piloting methods of the aircraft owned by Asu before the flight racing competition officially began.
[Ding! Congratulations on completing the side quest "Soar Through the Skies": Please learn how to pilot all flying vehicles from the Flying-type Gym Leader, Aso.]
【获得奖励：联盟币+2000；速度+1；体力+1；自由属性点+2；特性「飞行」等级+1
]
[Special Feature "Flight" lv2→lv3: Fly higher and faster!]
Ash also took the time to test his current flying ability.
Now he can fly forward at a speed of 25 km/h while being nearly eight meters off the ground. Although it is still quite slow, it is much better than his previous comical floating.
[Ding! Congratulations on triggering a new side quest, "Ambition for Flight": Please upgrade your flight ability to its maximum value!]
【奖励：联盟币+8000；体力+2；攻击+2；自由属性点+3；传说道具「朱红色的宝珠」+1】
[The Crimson Orb: An orb radiating a red glow, said to have deep roots in the legends of the Hoenn region.]
"The Red Orb, a legend of the Hoenn region—could it be the gem used to control Groudon?"
That's something you absolutely can't miss. Ash already longed to fly, and now he has an even stronger reason to practice.
The competition held a week later was a great success, with 5000 people signing up to participate.
Moreover, the flight path was determined by Ash's repeated aerial acrobatic experiments, and no accidents occurred throughout the entire journey.
The winner of the first competition, unsurprisingly, was Alfredo, the Gym Leader of Kikyo, and his Pidgeot.
Asuna looked ecstatic when he received the award; you could tell he was genuinely happy.
"It seems the cooperation is basically secured." Xiao Zhi's plan is complete!
After the match, Ash officially negotiated with Ash.
From now on, a flight racing competition will be held in Kikyo City every year, and we will strive to make it a traditional event in Kikyo City.
Just like the aerial ring race.
The event organizer was, of course, the Crimson Group, which has a proven track record of successfully hosting such events.
Of course, the subtext of holding this event every year is that the Crimson Group will be doing business permanently in Kikyo City in the future.
I'll have to trouble you to take care of things in this regard, otherwise how would the Crimson Group have the money to host the competition?
"This is all so that more people can understand the beauty of Flying-type Pokémon soaring through the sky!"
Moved by Ash's heartfelt words, Aso quickly agreed to this win-win cooperation.
Ash won twice!
With the Gym Leader's protection, Red Group's business in Violet City will surely be worry-free in the future.
Xiao Zhi was so happy that he gave his subordinates bonuses that very day.
Follow Xiao Zhi and you'll be able to eat nine meals in three days!
The loyalty of his subordinates increased again, and even Rika received money from Ash.
"Here, your allowance." Ash gave her 5 League Coins.
"Hey, what do you take me for, your pet?"
"I don't want it, I don't need the money!" Pear Blossom pushed him away; she wasn't the kind of woman who would bow down for money.
"You're using my food and drink now, how dare you say that?"
"It's all because you, you bastard, wouldn't let me go. Otherwise, why would I need you to take care of me?" Pear Blossom said irritably.
"I haven't been able to confirm whether you've truly reformed yet. I won't let you go until you've completed a hundred good deeds."
Bad women must be punished for their mistakes.
"So, I've been sweeping the streets for free for so many days, does that count as doing a few good deeds?"
"Just one item." Xiao Zhi's face was like a skin-peeling mask.
"What?! Ash, you bastard!"
In the end, Pear Blossom accepted the 50,000.
After dealing with the situation in Violet City, Ash and his friends continued their journey.
"Xiaoxia, which dojo is the nearest one?"
"It's the Hinoki Dojo in Hinoki Town."
At that moment, Xiaoxia suddenly remembered something.
"When Ash gave you the Gold and Silver Balls, wasn't it to take them to Azalea Town to give to Mr. Steel for research? That's perfect."
Without Xiaoxia's reminder, Xiaozhi would have almost forgotten about it.
"Yeah, let's hurry up and head to Azalea Town!" Ash was now really curious about what the Gold and Silver Balls were for.
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