The result was a knockout, but it was my own Pokémon that got knocked out!
Who the heck can I complain to?
Is he battling a Champion today? Even against a Champion Trainer, he wouldn't be beaten like this!
Ash's last choice, that Bulbasaur, is absolutely insane. It's beyond words. If Koga were to describe what kind of feeling Bulbasaur gave him, he would have to say... Legendary Beast!
It's a Legendary Beast disguised as a Bulbasaur! Could this thing be Mew in disguise?
Having already cemented his defeat, Koga started to slip into madness. If he ended up going crazy from this battle, Bulbasaur would bear ninety-nine percent of the blame.
After a deafening silence, Ash called out to Bulbasaur, who then lifted the Frenzy Plant, revealing the Crobat that had been wrapped inside.
But it had completely lost the ability to fight. Although there were no visible injuries on its body, nobody knew the extent of its suffering while trapped inside the Frenzy Plant.
Grass Type Moves are supposed to be four times resistant to Crobat, being a Flying and Poison Type!
Which means any Grass Type Move should deal only a quarter of damage, yet this quarter of damage managed to directly knock out Crobat!
One move, really just one move!
Anyone with basic Trainer knowledge would instinctively feel it's impossible. What kind of level difference must there be to knock out a Pokémon with quad resistance in one hit?
Crobat is at Elite Peak; to pull this off, you'd need to be at least Champion Advanced Level!
This Bulbasaur at Champion Advanced Level? Ridiculous!
...
Oak's Research Institute—
Professor Oak and Ash's Pokémon were all in a state of shock. Although they weren't able to see everything clearly through the broadcast, the glimpse they got was enough to understand how exaggerated the last move from Bulbasaur was!
The barrier set up by the League Mechanical Institute was directly blown apart! If it weren't for a final blue barrier stopping the expansion of the Frenzy Plant, all those cameras would probably be destroyed by now.
It's hard to imagine, the terrifying power of that Frenzy Plant was unleashed by that petite Bulbasaur, does this align with Pokémon science?
Professor Oak, after a lifetime of researching Pokémon, experienced a moment of doubt for the first time.
He felt his research had no value in Ash's world.
Because it didn't match any of Ash's Pokémon.
Whether it was Charizard, Pikachu, Gengar, or the Bulbasaur currently on the field.
With the Frenzy Plant lifted, the situation appeared back on TV. Looking at the fallen Crobat, Professor Oak remarked, "Champion Peak... Ash, you've completely put yourself in the spotlight. If you still plan to challenge the Viridian Gym... I'd better warn that old man."
Professor Oak's eyes remained on the TV, but his thoughts had drifted to somewhere unknown.
...
Blackthorn Gym of the Johto Region—
A man and a woman sat in the gym's hall, watching the live broadcast on TV. The man had red hair, and the woman had blue hair. Their clothing style was quite similar, and both wore cloaks.
The man's name was Lance, also known as... Dragon Envoy Lance!
Lance, Kanto's strongest of the Elite Four, Johto Champion, renowned as the Dragon Envoy, dubbed as the Invincible Dragon Envoy.
The woman, Lance's cousin named Clair, was also the Gym Leader of Blackthorn Gym in the Johto Region.
Today Lance had come by to catch up with Clair and see what progress his cousin has made lately. Although they were cousins, their relationship was quite good.
It happened that news came of a Newbie Trainer from Kanto challenging the Johto Elite reserves, and it involved an Elite Level battle.
Since it involved Johto, naturally they wanted to see who was so overconfident.
Lance was aware of the Kanto Gym's involvement with a reserve Johto Elite, he even knew him.
A Newbie Trainer challenging Koga, the Gym Leader, was normal, but challenging Koga's main Pokémon was not. He wanted to see who was being so reckless.
Throughout the three battles, the always wise and calm Lance found himself exclaiming in shock multiple times.
Clair was even more exaggerated than Lance.
None of these three matches were normal, especially the last one, it was like a match from outside the Pokémon world.
"Brother, the strength of that Bulbasaur is…"
"Champion Peak, and among Champion Peak, it's the kind that ranks in the top tier, possibly even confronting Leon's Charizard." Lance easily determined Bulbasaur's true strength.
Only the most elite Trainers could determine Bulbasaur's actual strength at a glance without being onsite.
Even Koga in battle with Ash wasn't able to see how far Bulbasaur's strength had reached.
He only knew his opponent could knock out Crobat instantly, meaning he was at least Champion Advanced Level.
However, Lance could directly judge its level.
"Champion Peak… Can Bulbasaur be trained to Champion Peak? Isn't that Trainer named Ash a rookie? How is this possible?" Clair exclaimed, full of disbelief.
Having a Champion Peak Pokémon as a Newbie Trainer was already astonishing, and that Pokémon turned out to be Bulbasaur, which hadn't even evolved!
Is there a way to train a non-evolved Pokémon to Champion Peak in this world?
People often say the power of bonds can create miracles. Having a deep bond with a Pokémon can break through talent and bottlenecks!
In reality, though, achieving this is extremely difficult. Miracles are called miracles because they happen so rarely.
The principle that Pokémon not evolving makes strengthening difficult stands in the real world.
Choosing to leave a Pokémon unevolved and train it to a high level takes unparalleled effort and faith, far beyond that of ordinary Trainers!
And training a Pokémon to Champion Peak in its initial form is almost impossible.
Lance shook his head and said, "That Bulbasaur isn't actually Champion Peak. Did you notice its level? Or did you see it but were afraid to admit it?"
Clair:...
"Exactly, its level is Advanced Level, meaning Bulbasaur forcibly elevated its strength to Champion Level with Advanced Level power, which is far more astonishing than if Bulbasaur were Champion Level itself. Though we don't know what that Trainer did, his means of enhancement, if noticed by others, would certainly attract attention."
Lance spoke slowly, his tone calm, but unable to hide the awe in his voice.
Even using special methods to enhance strength to such a degree, it is more extraordinary than just leveling up to that degree, isn't it?
What kind of method allows a Pokémon to increase its strength so immensely, and still have the body withstand it?
The standard measure of a Pokémon's prowess is the Six-dimensional Ability; leveling up primarily aims to improve the Six-dimensional Ability.
Suppose an Elite Level's Six-dimensional Ability totals five hundred, if you achieve five hundred at Advanced Level, then what's the difference from Elite Level?
Furthermore, upon reaching Elite Level, your Six-dimensional Ability could reach six hundred, seven hundred, rendering you invincible at the same level!
This is why powerful Trainers don't focus excessively on leveling up, but on improving Six-dimensional Ability.
Leveling has its limits, and once those are reached, the contest is in each other's exercise in Six-dimensional Ability.
Ash's ability to augment Bulbasaur's Six-dimensional Ability without leveling up will definitely invite countless eyes.
This isn't good news for Ash.
However, saying this, not all Trainers have the discernment Lance possesses, so most might not notice, and the broadcast isn't widely watched, Ash's method of enhancing the Pokémon's power shouldn't be widely known.