Chapter 214: The Turtle Invites You to Drink Some Scald!
Author: Samsung Charmander
"Warto!!"
On the Rock Field, Wartortle roared, dragging its weary body as it raised its palm.
*Gurgle...*
The next moment, a mysterious current of water surged from the rocky ground beneath its feet. The blue stream shot up and clung to its body, fitting it snugly.
Soon, the surging water vanished as if it had merged into its body. In its place, Wartortle's blue skin became exceptionally azure, and a deep blue film of energy covered its surface, emitting an imposing might.
"Pokedex Beep. Wartortle's Ability: Torrent. Has a chance to activate when Hit Points are very low. It boosts the power of Water-type moves. The degree of the boost varies by individual."
The Pokedex prompted.
Torrent, Blaze, and Overgrow are the signature Abilities of the Starter Pokémon, and their effects are similar.
"Warto..."
Having activated Torrent, Wartortle panted heavily. Its stamina was already at its limit.
"That's the way, Wartortle! You did it!"
Ash's eyes lit up as he shouted encouragement from behind, his own blood boiling with excitement without him realizing it.
A faint but tangible Bond suddenly connected the two in their hearts. The gazes of both human and turtle changed in an instant. They looked up at the Ninetales before them, their aura becoming extremely aggressive.
"This power... it's back again?"
Red, who had been quietly watching the show from within Ash's soul, was startled. Beside his Grand Master's Chair, a blue, circular phantom had suddenly appeared out of thin air. It had a round head and a pair of vortex-like ears on the side.
It was a turtle's head.
"Is this Wartortle's willpower?"
This feeling of Bond was something he and Charmeleon had also unintentionally entered into before, during Ash's challenge at the Fuchsia Gym against that Elite Four-level Arbok.
Synchronizing their thoughts, the two would become perfectly in sync.
The effects of this power went even further. It allowed them to perceive each other's spiritual conviction, which in turn stimulated their own, greatly enhancing their mutual willpower.
Willpower has many names in battle—Guts, Fighting Spirit, and so on—and is a crucial element in determining a Pokemon's strength.
"So it wasn't a coincidence. Is this Ash's unique ability?"
Red focused his mind, secretly sensing this turtle's head and the strange power it carried.
*Nice. I'm going to copy it.*
It was always Ash copying him before. Today, he finally had a chance to steal this special ability from Ash.
In reality, Ash had already launched another attack.
"Wartortle, use Water Gun!"
"Warto-poo!!"
An incredibly thick, deep-blue pillar of water erupted forth. Boosted by the Torrent ability, its power and momentum were at least three times stronger than its previous Water Gun.
But after shooting out three meters, the pillar of water abruptly burst apart, scattering in all directions. It flew past the Rock Field and fell as countless droplets onto the magma below.
*Sizzzzzzle*
The moment the water touched the scorching magma, it let out a sharp hissing sound of evaporation. A vast cloud of white mist and steam instantly billowed up, shrouding the entire Cinnabar Gym and blanketing both Ninetales and Wartortle. The line of sight on the arena dropped dramatically.
"A good judgment call."
Blaine couldn't help but smile in admiration as he looked at the gray mist before him.
A simple attack with Water Gun, even with the Torrent boost, would have been impossible to block Ninetales's instantly-charged, sun-powered Solar Beam.
After all, the base power of Water Gun was too low.
Using the magma field to create a blind spot before attacking was an excellent choice.
"It seems this Wartortle hasn't mastered any higher-level ranged attacks."
Blaine raised his hand to feel the surrounding mist. Hearing a faint sound from somewhere within the water vapor, he smirked and commanded:
"Ninetales, use Extrasensory to perceive it!"
"Niiine~"
Ninetales's gem-like eyes flashed. Blue psychic energy spread across the entire field, its formless telekinesis sensing every change on the battlefield.
Perceiving objects was a classic trick for Psychic-type moves.
"Nine!"
As the psychic energy spread, Ninetales's gaze fixed. It had sensed it—a figure was rapidly closing in.
"Then bind it with Extrasensory!"
The blue light in Ninetales's eyes flared. The psychic energy spread across the field contracted sharply towards a single point, forming an invisible hand to grab Wartortle.
*Sss-CRACK!*
However, the very instant of contact, the large hand of psychic energy was torn to shreds by something.
"What?"
Blaine pushed up his sunglasses, slightly startled. He knew the sound coming from the mist wasn't that of Rapid Spin, but something more like a wild beast tearing at something.
*That goofy-looking Wartortle can make a sound like that?*
"Warto!!"
Soon, Wartortle's figure shot out of the mist, now less than half a meter away from Ninetales. It kicked off with its short legs and lunged onto the fox Pokémon.
"This is..."
Blaine's gaze sharpened, only to find that Wartortle's head had completely changed.
Just like him, it was now wearing a pair of pointed-frame sunglasses over its eyes. Its mouth stretched wide like a Gengar's, revealing a row of terrifyingly sharp teeth that snapped open and shut.
"Niiiine—"
Wartortle clamped down hard on Ninetales's foreleg. Its sharp teeth sank several centimeters deep, drawing blood.
Sunglasses. An item that boosts the power of Dark-type moves.
And the move Wartortle was using now wasn't the ordinary-powered Bite it had used before.
"Pokedex Beep. Wartortle has learned a new move: Crunch!"
The Pokedex's automated voice announced.
Crunch. It was already considered one of the major Dark-type moves.
The Sunglasses-boosted Crunch tore viciously into Ninetales, inflicting massive damage. A sinister, insidious power flowed through the teeth and into the wounds, taking full effect on Ninetales.
"..."
Just as Ninetales was about to struggle and use a move, its mind went blank for no reason. Its movements stopped, and it froze on the spot.
It had entered a state of Flinch and was unable to use any moves.
Dark-type moves more or less all carried some fear-inducing effect.
Seeing this, Ash's eyes shone. He knew that with Wartortle's gaping maw at zero-distance—or even negative-distance—from Ninetales, this was the perfect moment to use a Water-type move.
"Wartortle, now! Use the move you just learned last night!" Ash pointed forward and roared:
"Use Scald!!"
"Warto!!"
Remembering the hot spring from last night and feeling the scorching magma flowing beneath its feet, Wartortle felt its stomach grow hot, as if something scorching was about to erupt.
"PFFWOOOSH!!"
The next second, a massive pillar of water shot from Wartortle's mouth. Dangerous, scorching steam rose from the water column as it scored a direct hit on Ninetales at point-blank range. The powerful force of the water jet sent it flying back several meters, and the ensuing wave of Water-type power dealt a ton of damage.
This wasn't a stream of cool water; it was 100-degree boiling water!
The turtle invites you to drink some scalding water!
*BOOM—SZZZZLE*
The pillar of Scald slammed into Ninetales. It was a dual assault: a Water-type strike combined with scorching heat that seared its fur and skin.
Super effective!
"Niiiine..."
When the scalding water subsided, Ninetales collapsed to the ground, its eyes swirling, clearly unable to battle.
On the other side, Wartortle was also panting heavily, propped up on the ground. Its mouth was open, constantly exhaling white steam, looking a bit overheated itself.
"The first battle goes to Wartortle!"
(end of chapter)