[Bonus chapter for Powerstones]
For the first time in history, a dual-typed move had just been used—and it was Rowlet who pulled it off.
Every trainer in the world was stunned.
And more and more people were starting to feel something was off.
Why did this Rowlet… also feel like a total cheat?
Don't tell them it was another Pikachu-style wall-hacker?!
The footage continued—
Having just been humiliated once, Braviary was burning with shame.
He was Braviary, hear him roar. And he'd nearly gotten shot out of the sky… by a mascot.
Unforgivable. Absolutely unforgivable!
"Not bad at all! Braviary, use Steel Wing!"
"Braviiiii!"
Braviary's wings gleamed with metallic light as he dove straight toward Rowlet from above at high speed!
"Use Seed Bomb again!"
"Hoo-gu!"
The gray Everstone shot out of Rowlet's beak again,
wrapped in an orange glow as it fired like a bullet straight at Braviary!
Braviary couldn't dodge in time and took another direct hit to the head!
He didn't crash this time, but—
Second bloom.
He now had two lumps on his head.
"Braviiiii!!"
The already hot-headed Braviary completely snapped.
His expression twisted into pure rage as he went wild, charging at Rowlet like a missile.
Rowlet had just gulped the Everstone back down, and when he saw that crazy face zooming in on him, he panicked and spat out another Seed Bomb on reflex!
This time, Braviary saw it very clearly.
He swatted it right back with Steel Wing!
Rowlet flapped up in surprise, caught it again,
then spat it out once more.
Braviary smacked it back again.
Just like that, the two bird Pokémon started playing ping-pong in midair.
…
"Pff—Ash's Rowlet is hilarious! I kinda want one now."
Cynthia couldn't hold back a laugh.
In her heart, she was already thinking: Okay, but… I really do want a Rowlet.
"This Rowlet… is way stronger than I imagined,"
Lance admitted, feeling his own face sting a bit.
Just a moment ago, he'd still been pontificating about how Ash sending out Rowlet here was basically throwing.
And in the very next second, Ash hit him with:
"Surprise, my Rowlet is also broken."
"Rowlet's level probably isn't low at all. It's just that the Everstone kept it from evolving. Stat-wise, it is at a disadvantage, but… not so much that it can't be compensated for."
Leon analyzed calmly.
Ash's Alola roster was looking way better than it did on paper.
He'd originally assumed the real core would just be the two 'mons classed as gods.
But the three "non-legendary" teammates had all just given him huge pleasant surprises.
"Shame, really. If the final divine opponent weren't Tapu Koko, but some other legendary… or if Ash still had a Z-Move up his sleeve, there might've been some comeback potential. As it is…"
Diantha sighed, a little regretful.
With Z-Moves and Pikachu, she could've believed in a miracle.
After all, the nickname "God-Slaying Pikachu" didn't exist for no reason.
But now? Ash had already lost one god-tier Pokémon, and the other side still had Tapu Koko in reserve. Winning this… was impossible.
"I still believe in Pikachu!"
"Pika pika!"
I am the carrier, thank you very much!
"Haha, confidence is good. I believe in you two as well, Ash, Pikachu!"
"Leon…"
Ash was genuinely moved.
Right now, he wasn't the fully mature Alola champion version on the screen—he was just a newbie kid who hadn't even finished the Indigo League yet.
And yet the world's top trainer was putting that much faith in him.
How could he not be touched?
"Come on, let's keep watching. I don't know why, but every time I watch your battles, I get all fired up. I really want to battle you myself someday, in the future."
Leon's eyes held clear anticipation.
If he and Ash fought one day… what kind of match would it be?
On screen—
Ash's Rowlet and Braviary kept trading Seed Bombs back and forth.
After one more volley, Braviary finally made the first real move!
He refused to let Rowlet get another chance to fire a Seed Bomb.
His metallic wings flared as he rocketed forward—
In the blink of an eye, his Steel Wing smashed into Rowlet's tiny body!
Rowlet's eyes bulged as he plummeted straight down,
slamming into the arena floor.
"Rowlet! You okay?!"
"Hoo… gu!"
Rowlet beat its wings once. The dust cleared—
And he stood there with barely a scratch.
The entire stadium exploded.
What was this Rowlet?!
Getting shot down from that height by a Steel Wing, and he looked nearly untouched?!
"No wonder they call him Sleepy God Rowlet. That defense is insane!"
"Of course, Professor. My Rowlet isn't going down that easily!"
"In that case, let's try this then! Rock Slide!"
"Braviiiii!"
At Kukui's command,
Braviary let out a shrill cry as a dozen or so jagged rocks floated around him,
then, with a beat of his wings,
those sharp stones came crashing down, screaming through the air toward Rowlet.
Facing such a vicious barrage, Ash stayed calm.
"Use Substitute to dodge, then Brave Bird!"
Substitute to dodge?
Substitute was a move that cost a quarter of your HP to use.
With Rowlet's speed, he shouldn't need to go that far. He could probably dodge just by flying out of the way.
Why burn HP for no reason?
But while people were still confused,
Rowlet put on an absolutely stunning performance.
He shook his wings—
And the green cloak he wore suddenly slipped right off, while his actual body vanished on the spot.
The sharp stones shredded through the empty green "hoodie," tearing it in a few places,
but by then, Rowlet had already reappeared right in front of Braviary.
His whole body flared with an orange-blue aura, taking the shape of a great bird.
With one powerful flap of his wings, he rocketed forward at blinding speed,
slamming straight into Braviary's chest!
Braviary took the hit like a truck to the face, spinning out of control and slamming down into the arena,
kicking up a huge cloud of dust.
The spectators were stunned speechless.
What was that?! Is that how Substitute works now?!
Every one of Ash's Alola Pokémon was rewriting their understanding of battle.
And poor Professor Kukui, who was actually battling Ash, was probably completely numb inside.
He only had one "broken" mon—Incineroar.
Ash? Every single one of his Pokémon was built differently.
How were you supposed to play against that? You just don't, that's how.
When the dust cleared, Braviary's body was covered in new injuries.
And everyone watching finally grasped just how ridiculous this Rowlet really was.
Tanky. Fast. Hard-hitting. With a busted "Substitute" that was basically a fake skin on top.
You call this a Rowlet?
Even a fully-evolved Decidueye would have to kneel and call him big bro.
"As expected of Ash's Rowlet. He's a nightmare to handle. In that case… Braviary, use Tailwind!"
Kukui had already seen Rowlet's "fake skin" trick in previous matches,
but seeing it again now still made his brain short-circuit.
He decided to stop messing around and buff Braviary's speed instead.
Braviary pushed himself back up with his wings,
then flapped hard. A roaring gale whipped up behind him.
Tailwind active. Braviary's speed doubled.
[Lance: Tailwind only now? Isn't that a bit late?]
[Leon: He probably got rattled by those Seed Bombs at the start. You can tell that throughout the battle, it's basically been Ash dictating the tempo.]
[Leon: Ash in Alola… has really grown. His commanding ability might already be beyond some champions.]
"…Am I really going to become that strong?"
Ash stared at the comment, a little dazed.
He'd always aimed to be a Pokémon Master,
but he wasn't delusional. He roughly knew his own current level.
It was hard to picture that in the future, he'd have command skills like that—
and such insanely strong Pokémon.
Any one of the partners on screen could probably stomp his entire current team, including Charizard.
Unless Pikachu popped off again.
"Believe in yourself, Satoshi-kun! You might be underestimating yourself. Getting eight badges in under a year—there really aren't that many in the entire world who've done that!"
"And honestly, in this League, I think there's a pretty good chance you can win it all."
"In other words, you have the makings of a champion. You should be confident, Ash!"
Alder encouraged him, seeing the doubt on his face.
In terms of raw talent, Ash might not be the absolute strongest Alder had seen,
but in terms of ceiling…
Ash had the highest potential he'd ever encountered.
In the future, he really might become the strongest trainer in the world.
"Alder, don't hype him up too much! He's already full of himself half the time. If you blow too much smoke, he'll get lost in it!"
Misty stepped in right away to pour cold water on him.
When it came to truly looking out for Ash, she was always near the top of the list.
To keep him from getting too big-headed, she was always the designated bad cop.
But to be fair, she really was the only one who could keep him grounded like that.
"I am not full of myself! Don't just say stuff, Misty!"
"Heh, only a certain someone knows the truth about that~~."
(Future Ash was calm and steady, almost always the one comforting others. Only "Original Series" Ash was this much of a hotheaded gremlin. That's also why later heroines rarely played the "constant tsukkomi partner" role like Misty—especially Serena, who basically said yes to everything he did.)
"Haha, you two really get along well!"
"We do not get along!"
Misty and Ash answered in unison, then turned away from each other with matching huffs.
"Alright, alright, back to the battle. Kukui just made another move."
Steven gently reminded the two pseudo-lovebirds,
then turned his gaze back to the screen—
"Braviary, use Sky Drop!!"
Sky Drop—a move that grabs the target, drags them into the air, then slams them down.
At his command, Braviary shot forward like an eagle snatching a chick,
closing in on Rowlet in a single bound thanks to Tailwind.
His talons clamped tight around Rowlet.
Rowlet immediately panicked, flailing his stubby wings, tears welling up in his eyes.
Just moments ago, he'd been a tiny battle god,
and now he looked like a terrified child.
The contrast made a lot of viewers burst out laughing.
"Hahaha, Rowlet's in real danger, but I can't stop laughing!"
"Rowlet is so funny. I really want to go to Alola and catch one!"
"Yeah, no chance. Rowlet's one of the region starters. You think it just falls into your lap? Go to bed, man."
"…"
Rowlet's current crisis only made him more beloved.
Too bad he wasn't even born yet. If he heard this, he'd probably be thrilled.
Soon, Braviary carried Rowlet high into the sky.
Then the raptor folded his wings in
and dove like a falling star straight toward the ground!
If Rowlet really took that impact at that speed,
he wouldn't just be knocked out—he might be seriously hurt.
Seeing Rowlet in danger, Ash couldn't help getting anxious.
Then suddenly, he remembered something Rowlet had done in a previous match—
Even without the hoodie, he'd still managed to pull it off.
So… might as well try it!
"Rowlet! Use Feather Dance to break free!"
"Hoo…? Hoo-gu!!"
Rowlet froze for a split second, then recalled the time he'd gotten out of Shadow Stitching.
He focused, flapping his wings in a specific rhythm.
And just as he was about to hit the ground—
Rowlet's entire body trembled—
And the scene that followed shocked the whole world.
Rowlet… shed his skin.
Braviary's talons, which had been clamped firmly around his body, suddenly grabbed at thin air.
Because all he was holding now… was a clump of dropped feathers.
Rowlet had literally molted out of his own "coat"—a gold cicada shedding its shell—and slipped free!
[Leon: That's… Feather Dance?]
[Professor Kukui: Don't ask me. I don't know. I've never seen it. I've never heard of it!!!]
Even the present-day Kukui was losing his mind.
What kind of Rowlet was this?!
And on screen, Kukui's eyes were about ready to pop out of his skull.
Feather Dance, his ass. That was a full-on fake skin.
Even Mimikyu doesn't pull stunts this outrageous, and that thing literally has a disguise ability.
"Now! Use Brave Bird!"
"Hoo-guuuu!!"
Freshly "molted" Rowlet appeared above Braviary,
wreathed once more in that blazing orange aura.
He dropped like lightning.
Braviary didn't even have time to look back, much less dodge.
"BOOM!!!"
Brave Bird hit dead-on.
Braviary couldn't take it anymore and went down for the count.
Rowlet—wins!!
[Steven: Lance, you're jinxing people again~]
[Alder: Lance, you're jinxing people again~]
[Diantha: Lance, you're jinxing people again~~]
Lance: ###
Damn it! He really wanted to argue, but… they kind of had a point.
[Lance: What jinxing! I've always said there's no way Ash beats Kukui—no way he beats Tapu Koko! You think a jinx like that is gonna work? No way!]
[Lance: If Ash actually beats Tapu Koko, I'll go home and dig up a Dragon-type egg for him out of my family stash!]
[Professor Kukui: Why do I suddenly feel a mysterious pressure settling over me…?]
[Cynthia: Hahaha, Professor Kukui—your life is in danger.]
Kukui had originally been quite confident about winning.
No one knew better than him just how terrifying the guardian deity's power was.
But Lance's cursed-prophet track record was absolutely terrifying.
If he could buff Rowlet this hard with a jinx… what if Tapu Koko got diarrhea at a crucial moment?
…
On screen—
Kukui managed a twitchy smile as he recalled Braviary.
He really hadn't expected Rowlet to wriggle out of Sky Drop in that way.
"You never stop surprising me, Ash."
"Heh, that just means your teaching is really good, Professor!"
"Ash… you really have grown. Let's keep enjoying this battle to the fullest."
He threw his next Poké Ball.
With a flash of red light,
a massive quadruped Pokémon appeared on the field.
Bluish-green body, frog-like head, and a huge red flower blooming on its back—
Kanto's Grass starter fully evolved: Venusaur!
Venusaur was Grass/Poison. Grass was weak to Flying,
but its Poison typing also hit Grass super effectively.
"Venusaur, huh… That brings back memories. Rowlet, we're not done yet! Use Brave Bird!"
"Hoo-gu!"
Ash doubled down on Brave Bird.
That orange aura flared around Rowlet yet again as he blitzed straight toward Venusaur.
Kukui's counterplay was—
"Venusaur, close the bud and wrap him up!"
The audience: !!!
What the hell kind of play was that?!
Under everyone's astonished gazes, Venusaur's massive flower closed around Brave Bird head-on,
soft petals absorbing most of the impact.
Rowlet thrashed wildly inside, but Venusaur had zero intention of letting him out.
"Just like that—use Solar Beam!"
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