—
"Pika…"
The prey had walked right into the trap—now, it was time to finish the hunt.
With Pikachu's foot stuck to the Frubbles on the ground, its once agile body was rendered motionless. What was once a nimble moving target had now become a sitting duck.
Ash didn't hesitate. His voice was firm and resolute:
"Froakie—use Bubble! End it!"
"Froa!"
"Pikachu, don't panic—fight back with everything you've got!" Tess shouted urgently, his nerves visibly unraveling.
Crackle! Zzt!
Fwip! Fwip!
Both sides launched their attacks simultaneously—Pikachu's electric bolts clashing with Froakie's high-velocity bubble shots.
But unlike before, they didn't collide mid-air.
Rooted to the ground by the Frubbles, Pikachu couldn't adjust its aim. Froakie, on the other hand, was free to leap, run, and reposition.
Deliberately delaying its own attack, Froakie used its mobility to predict the direction of Pikachu's Thunder Shock and swiftly sidestepped the blast before firing its bubbles.
Zzzzt—!
Bang bang bang bang!!
The Thunder Shock missed entirely, scorching the dirt instead. In contrast, Froakie's bubbles landed squarely, bursting against Pikachu's body with wet, popping force.
"Pika~!"
"Don't stop, Froakie! Keep firing!"
Ash's command was cold and precise.
The tide of battle had completely turned.
Tess and his Pikachu, once dancing across the field with flair, were now the ones cornered and flailing.
When Froakie was launching Frubbles, Pikachu had easily dodged. But now? Pikachu's electric attacks were being effortlessly evaded, while Froakie's Bubbles landed one after another.
Two more direct hits, and Pikachu finally collapsed to the ground—completely drained, no longer able to battle.
Electric types had the advantage over Water types.
Froakie had already endured four matches. Its stamina was running low. Everyone watching thought this would be the match where Ash would finally fall.
When Tess stepped forward with an Electric-type Pokémon, no one doubted Pikachu's victory.
But what followed completely shattered their expectations.
Using Aqua Ring to regenerate health…
Using Frubbles to restrict movement…
Creating a battlefield where Pikachu had no room to dodge…
Laying an invisible minefield beneath its feet…
Ash had turned the quick-footed Pikachu into a trapped beast—completely helpless, unable to avoid the final strike.
With agile repositioning and overwhelming bubble fire, Froakie delivered the finishing blow.
The Pikachu—expected by all to win—had fallen.
"Pikachu is unable to battle! The winner of this match is Ash and his Froakie!"
The referee's voice rang loud and clear.
"Oh my god… Pikachu had the type advantage and still lost?"
"Wasn't Froakie out of stamina? How did it keep fighting?"
"FIVE straight wins?! Ash and his Froakie actually did it! This is unreal!"
"Tch tch… Ash is terrifying. Even after four matches with declining condition, he still took down an Electric-type Pikachu!"
"Thank Arceus I didn't go up against him… I would've been humiliated!"
"Ash is so cool! I bet he's going to become a top-tier Trainer in the future!"
"For real! He's handsome and strong. Do you think he has a girlfriend?"
"Dude, we're six years old! Why are you even asking that?!"
"So what? I'll be an adult in four years! And don't all guys like cute girls with potential? Aren't I adorable Mwah!"
A match no one thought Ash could win had ended in resounding victory.
The audience of young Trainers burst into cheers and excited chatter.
At the far end of the training ground, mounted on the wall, a digital scoreboard updated:
[Trainee Rankings]
1st Place: Ash (10 points)
2nd Place (0 points): Gary, Puff, Rento, Jeanette Fisher, Tess
With five straight wins, Ash stood alone at the top—his score reaching the maximum of 10 points.
The two-week Pokémon Summer Camp, hosted by Professor Oak, included ten assessment tasks in total. Each trainee could earn up to 10 points per challenge.
Today marked the start of camp, and the very first challenge was a warm-up series: a mandatory five-match introductory battle round.
This not only served to get the campers acquainted, but also allowed Professor Oak to evaluate their potential as Trainers—especially when battling with freshly received, unfamiliar Pokémon.
Ash didn't just demonstrate mastery of commands—he also showed strategic brilliance, expertly utilizing Froakie's innate abilities to construct flawless tactics and claim five dominant victories.
Unsurprisingly, Professor Oak's evaluation of Ash's talent was extremely high.
The five Trainers who battled Ash—including Gary—were also quite gifted, but the gap between them and Ash was clear.
….
As the crowd of trainees stared at Ash with admiration and awe, he quietly walked off the field carrying Froakie in his arms.
He gave a friendly nod to Gary and the others, then skipped the rest of the matches entirely—heading straight to Nurse Joy's temporary Pokémon Center to help Froakie recover.
[Pokémon: Froakie]
Level: 8 (72/88 EXP)
Type: Water
Nature: Serious
Abilities: Torrent
Hidden Ability: Protean
Ethereal-Gifted Ability: Bond Transformation
Stats:
· HP: 41
· Attack: 56
· Defense: 40
· Special Attack: 62
· Special Defense: 44
· Speed: 71
· Total: 314
Potential: Purple (Supreme)
[Chosen by the fate of Kalos; bearer of the destiny to protect the region from an impending crisis.]
Skill:
· Proficient: Pound (37/1000), Bubble (36/1000)
· Skilled: Growl (23/500)
· Novice: Aqua Ring (1/100), Quick Attack (0/100)
After five matches, Froakie had leveled up from LV.5 to LV.8. Defeating Pikachu had just earned another 50 EXP, leaving only 16 points needed to reach the next level.
"With the help of the Ascension Trainer System, Froakie's growth is insane," Ash murmured with anticipation as he looked over the stat panel.
"If this keeps up, Froakie might reach LV.16 by the end of camp… and evolve into Frogadier."
He grinned, eyes filled with excitement for what was to come.
….
….
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T/N:
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