There were two reasons why Beedrill's earlier barrage of Poison Sting had failed to hit Bulbasaur.
First, the area covered by Poison Sting wasn't particularly large.
Second, Bulbasaur was genuinely fast and nimble, making it extremely difficult to hit through sheer aim alone.
Now, however, the situation had completely reversed.
Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf was attacking Beedrill.
Unlike Poison Sting, Razor Leaf was an area-of-effect attack, covering a much larger zone.
Of course, Beedrill's flight speed was far faster than Bulbasaur's movement on four legs, and with the vast space available in the air, it might have been able to dodge under normal circumstances.
The problem was—
Under the command of its Trainer, Beedrill had already committed itself to a forward charge.
Facing Bulbasaur's perfectly timed counterattack, it felt as though Beedrill had voluntarily thrown itself into the line of fire.
"Not good!!"
The moment the leather-jacketed boy saw Bulbasaur stop and unleash Razor Leaf, his face instantly changed.
"Buzzbuzzbuzzbuzz—!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The incoming Razor Leaf storm was unavoidable.
"?!!"
The sharp leaves slammed into Beedrill one after another.
Although its Bug/Poison typing granted it double resistance against Grass-type attacks, the sheer volume of incoming blades still forced Beedrill to let out a painful screech.
However, the greatest threat of this Razor Leaf barrage wasn't the direct damage.
It was the danger posed to Beedrill's thin insect wings.
Beedrill possessed wings and could fly.
But compared to a true Flying-type like Pidgeot...
Its body wasn't as sturdy.
Its flight speed wasn't as fast.
And most importantly—
Its wings were far more fragile.
If Pidgeot lost the ability to fly and fell to the ground, it still had its sharp beak and deadly talons.
Beedrill, on the other hand, would find attacking far more difficult.
Its ground mobility was particularly poor.
Pidgeot could still run on two legs like a Dodrio.
Beedrill couldn't.
Thus, while enduring the Razor Leaf barrage, Beedrill was forced to fold its wings inward and protect them as much as possible.
As a result—
It ended up taking even more direct hits.
"At least Beedrill has strong resistance to Grass-type attacks..."
The leather-jacketed boy could only comfort himself internally.
"Bulbasaur!"
"Jump and use Tackle!"
As soon as the Razor Leaf barrage ended, Ash immediately seized the opportunity.
Because Beedrill had folded its wings, its flight altitude had dropped dramatically.
Ash didn't hesitate for a second.
"Crap!"
"Beedrill, get back into the air! Dodge it!"
Seeing Bulbasaur charging forward at full speed, the leather-jacketed boy panicked.
"Bzzz!"
Beedrill also noticed the incoming Bulbasaur and frantically tried to gain altitude.
But Ash had carefully engineered this entire situation.
The Razor Leaf attack had forced Beedrill lower.
The timing of the follow-up assault was perfect.
If Beedrill escaped so easily, then all of that setup would have been meaningless.
BOOM!
Bulbasaur launched itself into the air.
Its entire body slammed violently into the struggling Beedrill.
"?!!"
Tackle was a Normal-type move.
Even against a target that resisted its Grass-type attacks, it still dealt full neutral damage.
Combined with the fact that Beedrill was only Level 13—
A direct hit from a Level 14 Bulbasaur was painful.
Especially after it had already been battered by Razor Leaf.
"Beedrill!!"
"Beedrill!!"
The leather-jacketed boy shouted anxiously.
"Bulbasaur, don't let it get away!"
"Use Vine Whip and grab it!"
After the Tackle connected, Bulbasaur bounced backward from the impact and landed smoothly.
Ash immediately issued his next command.
"Bulba!"
From beneath the leaves surrounding the bulb on its back, two long green vines shot out like twin bamboo pit vipers.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
In an instant, they wrapped around the tumbling Beedrill.
"Beedrill!"
"Break free!"
"Use Bug Bite on the vines!"
Seeing Beedrill become trapped, the leather-jacketed boy's expression changed once more.
In the heat of battle, inspiration struck him.
He had finally found a possible way out.
Unfortunately for him—
After going through so much effort to turn a fast-moving aerial opponent into a helpless captive, Ash had no intention of letting it escape.
"Bulbasaur!"
"Don't let it break free!"
"Keep holding it and smash it into the ground!"
Almost simultaneously with the Bug Bite command, Ash gave his own order.
"Bulbaaa!"
Bulbasaur roared powerfully.
Like a warrior swinging a giant flail, it whipped its vines through the air.
The Beedrill attached to the end became a living meteor hammer.
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
Again and again, Beedrill was slammed brutally into the battlefield.
The heavy impacts echoed throughout the arena.
Even the surrounding spectators couldn't help but twitch at the sight.
It was simply too violent.
"Beedrill!!"
The leather-jacketed boy's face was filled with worry and panic.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The merciless smashing continued.
"That's enough, Bulbasaur."
Using his Aura to monitor the battlefield, Ash observed the situation closely.
After several more impacts, he finally saw that Beedrill had completely lost consciousness.
Immediately, he called for a stop.
"Bulba."
Bulbasaur obediently nodded.
The vines loosened.
Beedrill dropped onto the ground.
Completely motionless.
It had lost the ability to battle.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! Defeated LV.13 Beedrill.]
[Experience gained: 260]
[Ding! Bulbasaur has met the requirements to level up.]
[Bulbasaur leveled up!]
[Current Level: LV.15]
"Beedrill is unable to battle!"
"The winner of this match is Ash's Bulbasaur!"
The referee immediately announced the result.
"Bulbasaur, you did great."
"This was your first official battle, and you performed wonderfully."
As soon as the result was declared, Ash stepped onto the battlefield.
He first praised Bulbasaur and gave it well-deserved encouragement.
Then he walked over to the unconscious Beedrill.
After all, the leather-jacketed boy had willingly acted as a sparring partner for Bulbasaur's debut battle.
Now that Beedrill had been injured and knocked out, Ash naturally wouldn't leave it untreated.
"Healing Grace."
A soft green glow gathered in his hands.
He placed them gently upon Beedrill's body and began healing its injuries.
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T/N:
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