Listening to Cynthia's experience, Ace barely managed to suppress his laughter, not wanting to hurt her feelings.
He hadn't expected Cynthia to be so reckless, attempting an inter-regional flight without a map, navigation, or even a Water-type Pokémon capable of crossing the sea.
It was truly a testament to the world subtly protecting this future Sinnoh Champion; otherwise, any ordinary person would have drowned long ago.
"Something must have happened in Sinnoh, so you'd better stay here quietly and wait for the air routes to open before heading back," Ace said, comforting her and temporarily dispelling Cynthia's plan to return to Sinnoh.
"Alright, this spot will do."
Professor Oak didn't join their conversation. Instead, after leading Ace and Cynthia to a flat piece of land, he decided this was where their battle would take place.
Ace surveyed the surroundings, nodding. "Then this it is. Blue's main Pokémon is undoubtedly Blastoise, so I suppose mine will be Blastoise too."
With that, Ace swung his Poké Ball, and Blastoise landed heavily on the ground. Blastoise's shell opened, two water cannons extended, pointing directly at Professor Oak.
"Pidgeot."
Glancing at Ace's Blastoise, Professor Oak consciously moved his hand away from Fearow's Poké Ball and instead opened the one containing Pidgeot.
"Air Slash!"
Professor Oak attacked first. Pidgeot flapped a wing, unleashing a blade of wind that rapidly slashed towards Blastoise.
"Water Gun."
Since this was just a sparring match, Ace didn't intend to use his full power. He just wanted to help Professor Oak reactivate his body and re-familiarize himself with his old battling style.
Blastoise's cannons swiveled, and two jets of water blasted towards the wind blade.
The water jets and wind blade collided, instantly bursting into a shower of water droplets.
"Bubble!"
Blastoise opened its mouth, spraying out a large amount of bubbles that immediately obscured Pidgeot's vision.
"Feather Dance!"
Pidgeot quickly danced in the air, shedding numerous old feathers that drifted downwards into the bubbles. Seeing this, Ace immediately waved his hand.
Blastoise understood instantly. Its cannons aimed at the feathers, and Water Gun fired again, scattering the feathers before they could even land.
But Professor Oak's Feather Dance, like Ace's Bubble, was just a feint to obscure the opponent's vision.
The moment Blastoise dispersed the feathers, Pidgeot rapidly moved in close to Blastoise, landing a Wing Attack.
Blastoise was tough, but even so, the Wing Attack sent it skidding back half a meter, leaving two marks on the ground.
"This Pidgeot's attack power is quite strong," Ace murmured, dispelling any lingering underestimation. Although Professor Oak hadn't battled in over twenty years, his timing, a champion's timing, far surpassed Ace's.
"Alright then, don't blame me for using my special move." Ace waved his hand, telling Blastoise, "Dual Pulse!"
As soon as Ace's words fell, two projectiles suddenly shot from Blastoise's cannons, attacking Pidgeot from left and right.
"Too slow."
Professor Oak watched the simultaneously fired Water Pulse and Dark Pulse, a hint of surprise in his eyes. But at this speed, for Pidgeot, it was merely a snail's pace!
"Double Team."
In an instant, nearly thirty Pidgeot appeared in the sky. Such a terrifying number showed just how fast Professor Oak's Pidgeot was!
"Too bad, my attack isn't what you imagine it to be." Ace smiled faintly, unconcerned.
The Dual Pulse collided in mid-air, creating a fierce explosion. A powerful shockwave instantly surged outwards in all directions.
The created illusions instantly distorted upon impact from the shockwave. Ace's eyes rapidly darted, quickly locking onto Pidgeot's true form.
"Fifty degrees to the upper left, Water Gun!"
As Ace spoke, Blastoise's Water Gun instantly fired, precisely hitting one of Pidgeot's wings.
Unfortunately, Blastoise's Water Gun was aimed at Pidgeot's body, but Pidgeot was too fast. What was aimed at the body hit the left wing instead.
However, it was effective. Pidgeot's feathers were slightly dampened, and its speed visibly dropped.
"Again!"
Blastoise opened its mouth and fired another jet of water, rapidly shooting towards Pidgeot.
"Mirror Move!"
An energy shield appeared in front of Pidgeot. The Water Gun hit the energy shield and immediately reflected, returning the way it came, shooting towards Blastoise.
"Finally using that move? But it's a bit too late!"
A gleam flashed in Ace's eyes. With a snap of his fingers, Blastoise's cannons lifted, and two Ice Beams instantly shot out.
Before Pidgeot's energy shield could dissipate, the beams bypassed the shield and directly struck both of Pidgeot's wings.
Ice adhered to Pidgeot's wings, and the increasingly weak Pidgeot, flapping helplessly, plummeted downwards.
"Bubble."
Just as Professor Oak was about to recall Pidgeot, Blastoise was even faster, spraying out a huge bubble.
The bubble shot towards Pidgeot. Pidgeot fell straight into the bubble, then was enveloped by it, slowly descending to the ground.
"Pop."
The bubble burst, and Pidgeot lay on the ground. Although it still wanted to fight, its frozen wings simply wouldn't allow it to continue.
"Ah, I'm old now," Professor Oak sighed. He hadn't touched a Pokémon battle in over twenty years, and now he found himself unable to defeat even a young trainer who had only recently acquired Pokémon.
After lamenting the passage of time, Ace walked over to Pidgeot, glanced at its ice-bound wings, and said to Professor Oak, "Professor Oak, your Mirror Move is strong. It can withstand minimal damage while reflecting others' attacks. However, once you encounter an opponent that can fire two attacks simultaneously, they can easily bypass the energy shield and attack the Pokémon behind it."
"A dual attack, only you, you mischievous kid, could think of that up."
Professor Oak rolled his eyes, saying helplessly, "Making a Pokémon focus on two things at once isn't that simple. I'm already very pleased that you've trained your Blastoise to this extent. But Blue, she probably doesn't know this move, does she?"
"Definitely not." Ace nodded. For Blastoise to learn to focus on two or even three things at once, the prerequisite was extremely high learning aptitude and the presence of additional energy organs to assist.
When Blastoise was a Squirtle, Ace had it develop an extra small Water-type energy organ to train Bubble Beam.
When it was a Wartortle, he even added Fire and Grass-type energy organs.
This meant that for Blastoise to use two or three attacks simultaneously, the training had to begin when it was a Squirtle.
If one waited until it became a Blastoise to start training, it would be too late, and it would be very difficult to raise a Blastoise capable of such simultaneous multi-tasking.
"Continue?" Ace asked Professor Oak. His Blastoise could still battle.
"Continue."
Professor Oak nodded, recalled Pidgeot, and tossed a Poké Ball. A Dodrio appeared before him.
The next moment, Dodrio and Blastoise began their battle...
Working hard on saving drafts. Once it's published, I'm ready for a burst of chapters. Also, I want to prove to you all that I'm just tired, not suffering from kidney deficiency!!!