"May I ask, how did you know about Ho-Oh?" Ash stepped forward, his expression slightly solemn as he asked.
The present is different from the past; he is no longer the same as when he first started his journey.
At the beginning of his journey, he was weak and lacked knowledge. Very few people knew about his encounter with Ho-Oh and becoming the Rainbow Hero.
But now it's different; he possesses the strength of the world's top-tier trainers. Even without Mewtwo, he could rely on the Pokemon and Divine Domain Level entities he holds to exchange a few moves.
Not to mention, Mewtwo is with him.
So he doesn't care if the matter of being the Rainbow Hero is known by others.
As the saying goes, "Better fear the thief's obsession than the thief's theft."
Even with his current strength, he never casually revealed that he was the Rainbow Hero.
Therefore, Ash was still curious how Morty knew about his relationship with Ho-Oh.
"You'll know after a battle with me... Oh, you don't need to worry about these children; they won't tell anyone about this. Let them watch the match from the side," Morty said 'considerately', pointing to the children beside him.
Ash looked at the children, who nodded like pecking chickens, though they hadn't actually reacted to what was happening.
No matter what it was, nodding now was right. This trainer was connected to Ho-Oh, after all!
Watching him battle with Gym Leader Morty would definitely be exciting, a once-in-a-lifetime chance not to be missed!
Regardless of whether they knew what was going on, they would agree—it's best to say yes first.
Seeing this, Ash scratched his head in confusion and then said to Morty, "In that case, let's go, Gym Leader Morty. I hope I can find the answer in battle."
Morty nodded, then walked to the other side of the gym and pressed a button on the wall.
A visible transparent barrier appeared over the entire gym field.
"This is the latest battle equipment provided to us Gym Leaders by the Alliance, strong enough to withstand the aftermath of Elite Peak Level battles, so you can fight freely."
Serena blinked curiously and lightly touched the barrier with her finger, finding it easily passed through.
Could this barrier be the same as Mewtwo's? The battle's aftermath inside can't come out, but things outside can go in.
Seeing Serena's actions, Morty continued to explain, "This is the Alliance's latest defense device, different from previous ones, things outside can still pass through freely, and the Pokemon inside can come out if they wish."
"It only blocks power strong enough to shatter mountains and rocks; weaker forces won't trigger its defense, so you observers should keep your distance to avoid being hit by debris."
Ash showed surprise at this: "That's amazing! It even selectively defends against the aftermath, very advanced!"
'Hmph, it's only because they want to allocate all their power to prevent higher-level attacks and deliberately transfer energy from low-level defenses to high-level defenses. It's just a sign of inadequate power,' Mewtwo's arrogant voice resounded in Ash's mind.
'I can easily do such things too. If you ever wish to feel the strike of debris, I can let some low-level aftermath through to give you a real taste.'
"It's not unacceptable." Although keeping all power within the barrier is great, the impact sensation can be quite nice—for Ash, at least.
To this, Mewtwo remained silent but took note of Ash's comment, determining to change her way of deploying barriers in the future.
An Alliance-reformed broken barrier is nothing comparable to her superpower, right?
"Ash, what are you muttering to yourself?"
"Nothing, nothing. So, should we start now?" Ash waved his hand, brushing off the self-talk.
Not far away, Morty nodded, then went to the spot designated for the trainer: "Let's begin now; the referee hasn't come to work yet. Xiao Qi, could you temporarily be the referee?"
A little girl sitting on the ground 'whizzed' to her feet, face full of excitement: "Sure, sure! I'll be the referee! I've memorized the gym's rules completely!"
"Great, then I'll leave it to you, Xiao Qi."
As Xiao Qi went to the referee's seat, Ash took the challenger's position. Xiao Qi announced the battle rules: "The match rules are three-on-three; the Gym Leader cannot switch Pokemon. The trainer who defeats all three of the opponent's Pokemon wins!"
With that announcement, Morty threw out his first Pokemon.
Light flashed, and a Pokemon with a worn-out appearance, like an abandoned rag doll, appeared in the arena.
Banette, a Ghost-type Pokemon, born from grudges possessing an abandoned doll.
Its body is gray, with a zip-like protrusion on its head, and the zipper at its mouth opens wide, revealing a black void inside that seems to swallow all light.
Banette, a relatively rare Pokemon, a Ghost-type gym indeed uses Ghost-type Pokemon.