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"Move! Keep moving! Run as fast as you can! If you slow down even a little, you'll get hit again!"
Lt. Surge gripped a Voltorb cannon in his hands, firing it wildly at Ash like a child who had just discovered a fascinating new toy.
Except this toy could kill.
Countless lightning bolts tore through the air, and the floor was riddled with massive holes that resembled a hornet's nest. Hot steam rose from many of the craters, and in some places, you could see the cooled steel bars and concrete transformed into crystallized slag.
This showed just how powerful the super Voltorb cannon truly was. Lt. Surge had definitely held back when he first struck Ash. He must have lowered the power at the beginning just to give Ash a taste of what it could do.
However, as the battle progressed, Lt. Surge cranked the power up to maximum, leaving Ash completely unable to fight back. All he could do was dodge the relentless attacks.
The only thing Ash could do now was run. Keep running. He had to run. If he slowed down even slightly, he would die.
He desperately wanted to close the distance with Lt. Surge and land a solid hit, but he couldn't. Lt. Surge's Voltorb cannon fired too quickly. He only dared to let the faster Pikachu attempt to get close, and he didn't dare release any other Pokemon.
Furthermore, he didn't dare use his Aerodactyl.
Did he really think that the Zapdos perched on Lt. Surge's shoulders was just a power bank? If he let his Aerodactyl attack from the sky above, it would probably be electrocuted by Zapdos and turned into a 'Fossil Charred Dragon' in an instant.
Therefore, Ash had been running since the very beginning of the battle. Forget counterattacking—he didn't even have a chance to stop and catch his breath. If he relaxed for even a moment, he would be greeted by a lightning ball from the Voltorb cannon.
From start to finish, Lt. Surge hadn't moved a single step. He had combined technology and the power of Pokemon to nearly their absolute limit, leaving Ash completely helpless.
The clothes on Ash's body were already torn and tattered, and his forehead was bleeding from accidentally striking a piece of rubble during his frantic dodging.
The blood flowed across one of his eyes, making it difficult for Ash to see clearly.
But even so, he didn't dare wipe the blood from his forehead, terrified that he would be pierced by the Voltorb cannon if he let his guard down for even a second.
At first, he had planned to wait for Lt. Surge to drain its power, but when he saw that Zapdos's power was barely depleting, Ash now suspected that the Pokemon could supply power to an entire power plant without any problems. The speed of its power recovery was absurdly fast!
Even though Ash was a capable battler, Lt. Surge's attack clearly wasn't a proper Pokemon battle—it was outright cheating.
No matter how quick-witted he was, it was useless in this situation.
He only hated that he wasn't strong enough yet.
Otherwise, if he had one or two Pokemon strong enough to withstand the Voltorb cannon, the battle wouldn't be so one-sided.
Unfortunately, he didn't have such a Pokemon. Although he had accidentally obtained a defensive Snorlax before, that Pokemon hadn't been trained yet. Ash wouldn't gamble with a Pokemon's life, so all he could do now was run.
Ash was beaten without any chance to fight back, while Lt. Surge felt completely refreshed after the fight, having thoroughly avenged his defeat on the S.S. Anne. For someone who was originally a soldier, this kind of overwhelming and destructive style of attack was exactly his favorite.
"Kid, you're just an ordinary person, not a superman. I wonder how long your stamina can last. I still have half a box of ammunition left, so you better be careful."
Lt. Surge "kindly" reminded him, and the Electabuzz and Raichu behind him began to help reload the ammunition. A circle of Magneton generated an electric field around him for protection, and with Zapdos on his shoulder providing electricity, Lt. Surge was fully armed.
"Alright, everyone, let's continue..."
"Mega Garchomp! Dragon Dive!"
Lt. Surge was interrupted by Eddie, who suddenly burst through the window before he could finish his words.
Eddie was seen riding on Mega Garchomp, charging directly toward Lt. Surge himself—no, actually charging toward Zapdos.
"Oh no! Zapdos! Thunderbolt, stop it!"
Lt. Surge saw through Eddie's plan at a glance—the strategy to separate Zapdos from him.
Although he reacted quickly, Eddie's attack had already arrived, so no matter how fast his reaction was, it was too late!
Mega Garchomp brought tremendous impact force with it, slamming into Lt. Surge and Zapdos and knocking them both down.
"Ugh! Damn it!"
Lt. Surge was hit and sent flying by Mega Garchomp, and he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.
If it weren't for the electric field generated by the Magneton protecting his body, he suspected that the previous blow would have knocked him unconscious directly.
"Eddie!"
Seeing Eddie arrive and witnessing Lt. Surge and Zapdos finally separated, Ash couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief in addition to his surprise.
He wasn't afraid even if Lt. Surge used Zapdos to attack him directly, but Lt. Surge had chosen to fire an unlimited barrage with the Voltorb cannon, which left him completely helpless.
But it was okay now. Lt. Surge and his 'Power Bank' Zapdos were separated, and Eddie had arrived.
Neither he nor Eddie would let Lt. Surge reunite with Zapdos again. Without that, Lt. Surge's super Voltorb cannon attack would be gone, and the battle would return to the Pokemon battle format he was familiar with.
"You're stronger than Ash, yet you still use such a cheating tactic. You're no less shameless than your boss."
Eddie looked at Lt. Surge, who was surrounded by quasi-Elite level Pokemon, and couldn't help but complain about this guy.
He had thought Lt. Surge was just a Gym Leader-level peak trainer, but he didn't expect that he was actually a quasi-Elite level trainer.
Moreover, the Electabuzz, Raichu, and Magneton around him were all quasi-Elite level, which meant that he wasn't someone who had just broken through like Ash was.
With such strength, if he fought properly with Zapdos, it wouldn't be easy to defeat Ash, but it wouldn't be difficult either. But this guy just loved to play these tricks. He was stronger than his opponent but still cheated. How shameless.
"Hmph! I'm just being cautious. You brats are always full of surprises. Isn't it better to be safe?"
Lt. Surge wasn't ashamed to hear this, and stated frankly that he just wanted to be cautious to avoid being caught off guard by Ash's tricky tactics.
But he wasn't wrong. Ash's moves in battle were no less cunning than Eddie's. Now they were all Gym Leader trainers. Even if Lt. Surge had Zapdos, it would still be possible for Ash to pull off an upset.
After all, this Zapdos was just like the Moltres controlled by Sabrina before—its main strength would be suppressed when it was being controlled.
"Don't think that this is the end. Although I can't use a safe tactic like the super Voltorb cannon anymore, with Zapdos in hand, my chances of winning are still very high!"
As if in response to the truth of Lt. Surge's words, Zapdos cried out, its body emitting dazzling electricity.
"Ash, go fight Lt. Surge. Leave Zapdos to me."
When Eddie saw Lt. Surge toss away the cannon barrel and prepare for a proper Pokemon battle, he stepped forward and faced Zapdos directly.
"...Okay, be careful! I'll defeat Lt. Surge quickly!"
Ash originally wanted to say that it was very dangerous for one person to face Zapdos, but when he saw Eddie's determined eyes and recognized Eddie's resolve, he wiped the blood from his forehead and agreed to Eddie's arrangement.
"You two! Don't underestimate me and Zapdos!"
Seeing that Eddie and Ash were confident they could each defeat an opponent of his caliber, Lt. Surge couldn't help but grow furious.
Think about it—when they were on the S.S. Anne, Eddie and Ash had to work together to defeat him because he didn't use his main Pokemon. Now the weaker Ash could actually fight him at full strength alone, and the much stronger Eddie was even able to battle a Legendary Pokemon directly.
Lt. Surge thought that the progress of these two brats was too extreme. While he was angry that they underestimated him, he was also more determined to eliminate Eddie and Ash.
"Underestimate? No, I never underestimate anyone. Now, I will truly go all out."
"Everyone! Come out!"
Eddie swung his hand and released all the main members of his first and second teams.
They should be thankful for the height of Silph Co. Building, and also thankful that the floor Lt. Surge had chosen to fight on was a special battle arena. There were several such battle floors—the places where Gary and Green had fought were also like this.
Although, even with Eddie releasing twelve Pokemon, this place still didn't seem crowded.
"Twelve Gym Leader Level level Pokemon. This kid has completely surpassed the three of us! This growth rate is too frightening!"