Pokémon: Simultaneous time travel, this Ash is too versatile

Chapter 346 Ash's Growth as a Trainer, Next Match: Kecleon vs. Snorlax!

Chapter 346 Ash's growth as a trainer, next match: Kecleon vs. Snorlax!

The two beams of frozen light clashed in mid-air, eventually ending in a draw. The arena, however, became the ultimate victim, as what was originally a pool of water was transformed into a sheet of ice in the center.

"Laplace, use Ice Shards!"

"We also use ice chips!"

Countless tiny ice fragments gathered around the two Laplaces, and then flew out together. The size and number of the ice fragments were almost identical.

Ice blocks collided in mid-air, shattering into countless pieces. The shards fell like raindrops, eventually landing on the ice surface with a tinkling sound.

Ash finally understood why Yonex's Ditto was so difficult to deal with—it was because of Yonex's leadership skills as a trainer.

If you don't know the opponent's skills, and you use the exact same skills to fight, the result will almost always be a draw if both sides have the same ability values ​​and use the same skills.

Once Yuuji has thoroughly dealt with the opponent's Pokémon, he will use his own trainer Pokémon to give Ditto a different command.

This is indeed a fairly correct way to use Ditto, but sometimes this method can backfire.

"Laplace, use Thunder!"

"We also use thunder!"

Lapras is a Water/Ice type Pokémon, and Thunder is one of the moves it can learn. If Thunder hits an opponent, the damage will be extremely terrifying, and Thunder is not a move that can be easily canceled out.

Yuji thought for less than a second before deciding to do the same as Ash and have Ditto use the Thunder move.

Because in terms of physical strength, he has the advantage. Ditto is of a higher level and has more stamina. Even if both are hit by the Thunder attack, Ditto will be able to take the Thunder attack completely because of its higher level!

But the other party is a different story.

This single thunderbolt could potentially render the opponent incapable of fighting; that's the difference that comes with a level gap!

However, after Yūji and Ash gave the commands, both Pokémon froze in place and did not move. No thunderclouds were summoned in the sky due to the electricity, and everything seemed as if nothing had happened.

Yuji was stunned for a moment. Before he could react to what was going on, Ash's Lapras showed an understanding expression, and at the same time, its body was instantly filled with golden lightning!

On the other side, Yuji's Ditto was frozen in place, his face even showing an expression of holding his breath too hard, as if he was trying his best to use the skill, but no matter what he did, he couldn't use it.

Yuji was dumbfounded. Wait, how come the opponent can use Thunder, but his Ditto, which he transformed into Laplace, can't? This has never happened before!

"Now! 100,000 volts!"

"Ooh!!" Laplace cried out, and bolts of electricity surged from its body, striking the Laplace that Ditto had transformed into. Golden currents coursed through Ditto's body, causing it to let out a miserable scream.

The massive amount of electricity was continuously poured in, and finally, after Ditto was electrocuted until it was smoking, Laplace stopped, panting a little.

"I see—your Laplace doesn't know how to use Thunder at all. From the beginning, you wanted Laplace to use Thunderbolt, right? But you took advantage of my lack of this information, so you made Laplace use Thunder from the start to trick me into making Ditto use the same move as Laplace."

"If the same move hits, Ditto will definitely have the advantage, so are you sure I will use the same lightning-type move as Lapras? But in reality, Lapras doesn't know how to use lightning, so Ditto can't use it either."

"Snap!" Ash chuckled and snapped his fingers in response, "That's right, Mr. Yuji truly lives up to his reputation as the top trainer. He can see things so clearly right away. My Lapras doesn't know the Thunder move, which is why I'm so sure that Lapras will understand what I mean."

After Ditto transforms, it can only use the skills that the opponent has learned. If it doesn't have the skill, it can't use it even if Ditto's level is high.

Ash's Lapras did grow very quickly, but not fast enough to learn Thunder. To increase its coverage, Ash taught it Electric-type moves, but only mid-to-high-level moves like Thunderbolt.

Laplace isn't going to learn top-tier electric skills like lightning very quickly; he's still in the learning and cognitive stage and definitely can't use it yet.

Yuji's idea of ​​using the same moves as Ash to figure out Lapras's moveset before using different moves is not wrong, but against a trainer of Ash's caliber, he can easily be misled, just like now.

In other words, Ash and Lapras don't have the same level of teamwork as Pikachu. If it were Pikachu, it would immediately realize the move Ash doesn't know and use a different, super effective move to counter it.

Although Laplace paused for a moment, she reacted faster in the end and used 100,000 volts to strike her opponent first.

"Let's press our advantage! Lapras, use Freeze-Dry!" Freeze-Dry is an Ice-type move, but it is super effective against Water-type Pokémon. In other words, Lapras, which normally has four times the Ice resistance, will only take normal damage after being hit by this move!

"Whoa!" Laplace took a deep breath, and icy cold air condensed in his mouth. The next second, a cold beam of light shot out from Laplace's mouth, heading straight for Yuji's Ditto.

Ditto was still in a limp state. The damage from that Thunderbolt attack was indeed considerable, and he hadn't recovered yet.

"Boom!" Freeze-dry hit Ditto squarely, the special energy corroding Ditto's body, causing it to let out a painful howl once again.

"Ditto, pull yourself together and use Thunderbolt!!" Yuuji shouted at Ditto, trying to use an Electric-type move to counterattack.

"Let's use Freeze-Dry again!" Ash continued to use the Ice-type Freeze-Dry.

This puzzled Serena, who was behind him: "Why did Ash use an Ice-type move instead of an Electric-type move? Ice-type moves should only deal a quarter of the damage Lapras would normally do, which is eight times less than Electric-type moves!"

Although Serena is still a newbie, she has already memorized the type matchup chart and other information under Ash's guidance.

As Lapras is Ash's Pokémon, Serena naturally knows what type Lapras is. That's why she wondered why Ash would use an Ice-type move that only deals a quarter of the damage instead of an Electric-type move that is twice as effective against it.

Before Xiaoxia could explain, the result on the field had already given Serena the answer.

Both Lapras were seen charging up in place, one gathering ice-attribute power and the other flashing with golden lightning. But a second later, Lapras unleashed the Freeze-Dry power it had been charging up, while Ditto on the other side hadn't even used Thunderbolt yet!

This scene made Yuji's pupils shrink, and he finally understood what was wrong with him, but it was too late!

Freeze-dry penetrated the terrain and struck Ditto hard once again. Ditto's charged Thunderbolt was interrupted, and it was sent flying backward, crashing into a protruding rock. Finally, it slid down helplessly, its body emitting a bright light as it returned to its original form.

"Ditto is unable to battle, Laplace wins!" The referee, seeing Ditto return to its original form, waved his flag and announced the result.

In normal battles, Ditto will only revert to its original form after it loses its ability to fight.

Therefore, when Ditto reverts to its original form, the referee will directly conclude that Ditto has lost its ability to fight. A professional referee should be bold in making such a judgment.

In fact, Ditto had indeed lost its ability to fight. At this moment, the surrounding audience and Yuji himself were still a little confused. This first time had ended so hastily.

Where's the promised fierce battle? How come Yuji seemed to have no chance to fight back and was just taken down?

"Now you understand, right?" Xiaoxia shrugged her shoulders, seemingly having anticipated this scene.

Serena's face was blank, and she shook her head somewhat woodenly: "I...I don't understand..."

"It's actually quite simple. Because Lapras is an Ice and Water type Pokémon, when using moves of the same type, not only are the moves more powerful, but they are also released much faster than moves of other types."

"So that's how it is! That's why Ash didn't let Lapras use Thunderbolt!" Misty's words made Serena immediately understand. Ash chose to use Ice-type moves against Thunderbolt because they were faster.

The opponent is a Ditto in disguise, and everything about it except for its stamina is the same as Laplace's, so there is no way that using Thunderbolt is faster than using an ice-type move.

"As for the eight-fold difference you mentioned—it's not actually that much of a difference. The Freeze-Dry move can deal double damage to Water-type Pokémon, so against a Lapras with both Water and Ice attributes, it can deal the normal one-fold damage."

Serena nodded knowingly. To be honest, she understood this kind of battle much better than the previous battles between gods.

What kind of monsters were we fighting before? They were always going to destroy the world. I don't even know if those skills and moves can be called Pokémon skills anymore. Each skill was more terrifying than the last. If they had hit the island, they would have wiped the entire island out in no time!

This is what a normal Pokémon battle looks like now! And with an experienced gym leader explaining things to her, she can understand it!

"You're really something, Ash! I was careless. I even forgot such basic information—no, I shouldn't say careless. I should say I was a little flustered by your unexpected attack, which is why I made such a basic mistake. You're really amazing, Ash!" Yuji praised Ash as he recalled Ditto.

If Xiaoxia could see the problem, how could Yuuji not see it? It's just that those involved are often blinded, while bystanders see clearly. By the time Yuuji realized the problem, it was already too late.

"Lapras reacted quickly, and he trusts me a lot. Otherwise, he wouldn't have followed my instructions so readily, even knowing he was facing an Electric-type move." Ash smiled and nodded at Lapras, encouraging him.

"Then here comes my second Pokémon—go, Kecleon!!" Yuji threw out another Poké Ball, and with a flash of light, a mixed green Pokémon that looked like a lizard appeared on the field.

Kecleon, a color-changing Pokémon, can change its color according to its surroundings, thus achieving an effect similar to invisibility.

The Pokémon Kecleon has two characteristics. One is color change, but this doesn't refer to the color of its body; rather, it refers to the color change of its type.

When attacked by an enemy, Kecleon's own attribute will change to the enemy's attribute; however, this trait is actually quite useless.

Because this attribute transformation is calculated after taking damage, meaning if the opponent attacks you with fire attribute, you must first take the fire attribute attack with normal attribute before you can transform into fire attribute.

Putting aside the fact that the attribute change is uncontrollable, the fact that the attribute can only be changed after the damage is calculated greatly reduces the value of this feature.

If the damage could be converted to the corresponding attribute before the damage calculation, then when the Kecleon is attacked by the fire attribute, it would have resistance to the fire attribute, although some skills would have an effect against the attribute, such as the dragon attribute.

However, this instant change attribute is clearly better than the change after being attacked.

This brings us to another characteristic of the Kecleon: "Changeable".

Like color-changing, the ability to change one's own attributes is also a characteristic, except that the latter requires enduring attacks, while the former changes its attributes based on the attacks it receives.

Moreover, the ability to freely change attributes means that at the moment of attack, one's own attributes are changed to the corresponding attributes, so that the skill attacks one launches can also receive the corresponding attribute boost.

Compared to color-changing, the ability to change freely is simply a god-like feature!

Yuji's Kecleon only has the ordinary color-changing ability.

Seeing this, Ash recalled Lapras and then took out his second Pokémon: "I choose you, Snorlax!!"