Ash's overwhelming presence left Shingo completely stunned.
Just as he was about to act all high and mighty and refuse.He swallowed his pretentious words. In the end, he could only grumble, "Since you're so eager to humiliate yourself, I have no reason to stop you."
The young master actually agreed to the battle. The dojo disciples were even more excited than Muramasa himself, quickly clearing out the battlefield for the two to face off.
Ash, with Heracross by his side, turned to the gathered disciples and said confidently, "After this battle, I'd like to spar with each of you as well!"
That statement sounded as if victory was already in his pocket—like he didn't even register Shingo, who was sitting opposite him with a laptop in hand, as a threat.
Shingo fumed. "Damn it, I'm going to teach you a lesson!"
With a burst of anger, he threw out his Poké Ball. Out emerged another Scizor!
"This is Blade—my strongest Pokémon! His speed, strength, and stamina surpass even Dad's Scizor. He's the perfect Scizor in this world!"
Ash blinked, utterly speechless. "Shingo… how small is your world, exactly?"
Calling this the strongest Scizor in the world? Seriously? What about the Steel-type Elite Four member from Kalos and his Scizor? Where does that place in your grand delusion?
Shingo didn't immediately register what Ash meant.
"Master, he just called you a frog at the bottom of a well!"
It wasn't until one of his lackeys pointed it out that Shingo's face turned beet red with fury.
Watching the expression twist on Shingo's face, Muramasa gave a slight nod. Before the battle even began, Ash had already gotten under his skin. That kind of mental pressure would definitely throw off his judgment in the fight.
Muramasa turned to Ash and noticed that the boy still wore a faint, mocking smile, but his eyes were calm—crystal clear, and disturbingly composed.
Where in the world did he find a kid with such terrifying depth?
"Enough talk! Blade, use Quick Attack!" Shingo had lost his composure. He struck first, shouting the command.
To be fair, Blade really was well-trained. Its speed and explosive power were excellent. In the blink of an eye, it struck Heracross hard, sending him skidding backward.
"Hmph! You can't even keep up with Blade's speed, and you say you'll defeat me?" Shingo sneered, his eyes filled with contempt.
Ash gave a slight chuckle. "Heracross, Aerial Ace."
The seemingly stunned Heracross suddenly snapped to action. His hidden wings burst open, and with a fierce flap, he spun midair and slammed into Blade with a devastating strike, sending the Scizor flying.
"Blade!"
Shingo gasped and immediately turned to his laptop. It showed a shocking metric—Heracross's reaction time was measured at 0.18 seconds!
That was way above the standard for Heracross!
"Your Scizor is fast, no doubt," Ash said with the smile of a predator who's already tasted blood, "but can it keep moving like that forever?"
"And you still have time to look at your laptop?" Ash's grin suddenly vanished. "Brick Break!"
Bam!
Before the words even finished leaving Ash's mouth, Heracross had closed the distance in a flash and delivered a crushing chop right to Blade's head!
Suddenly, Shingo's computer flashed a new alert—a new record. Heracross had just beaten its previous reaction time.
"Impossible! How is he this fast?!"
Shingo was still trying to process the data. But before he could react, Blade was already taking another beating.
"Blade, get up and use Flash Cannon!"
Despite being dazed, Blade staggered to his feet and activated the move—his metallic pincers glowing bright with concentrated energy.
"Focus Blast!"
The beam of metallic energy and the surging sphere of pure fighting force collided midair, triggering a thunderous explosion that sent both Blade and Heracross flying backwards.
"Blade, get up!"
"Heracross, use Push Charge!"
Even as the smoke still lingered from the explosion, Ash didn't hesitate. His voice cut through the chaos like a blade. Heracross's eyes sharpened—unyielding. He shot forward without fear.
With his armored body shielding him, Heracross charged through the still-raging blast, emerging from the smoke and landing a devastating slap right into Blade's side!
"Blade, move! High-Speed Move!"
Just as Heracross was about to strike again, Blade vanished—finally executing a high-speed evasion.
Finally, Shingo realized he should've been relying on Blade's speed advantage from the start!
Blade zipped around Heracross, leaving afterimages in every direction, completely surrounding the beetle Pokémon.
"Heracross!"
A series of impacts and Heracross's pained cries came from within the ring of afterimages—Blade had turned the tide!
"Heracross, Mega Horn—aim at the ground!"
Despite the pressure, Ash remained utterly calm. His command seemed strange at first, even to the onlookers.
But in the next instant, Heracross slammed his massive horn into the earth with full force!
BOOM!
The ground shook violently. Heracross's raw strength combined with a full-power Bug-type attack caused a mini-quake!
Everyone staggered on their feet from the tremor.
Blade, still mid-speed maneuver, was caught completely off guard. The tremor knocked him off balance and sent him tumbling!
"How is that possible?! He used Mega Horn to create a shockwave?!"
"This guy… who is he?!"
"He's insane! Absolutely insane!"
Shingo's brain could only repeat four words:
Does not compute!
Does not compute!
Does not compute!
Before Shingo could even come back to his senses, Ash gave the final command. "Heracross, Brick Break!"
With a flap of his wings, Heracross launched into the air and brought his arm down squarely on Blade's head.
"Blade is unable to battle. The winner is Ash!"
Muramasa declared the result, glancing toward his son—who now looked completely out of it, like his soul had left his body. His laptop screen was filled with a mess of question marks.
Muramasa could only shake his head. Let's hope this defeat doesn't break him completely.
Originally, he had hoped that bringing in a fellow youth to defeat Shingo would help him realize that battles are more than just numbers. But who could've guessed that the one he found would be someone like Ash?
Of course, Muramasa didn't blame Ash in the slightest. If anything, it was his own son's fragile ego that was at fault.
He had Shingo escorted back to his room and followed along himself, planning to have a heartfelt talk once his son recovered.
He believed that this crushing defeat would serve as a turning point for his boy. From the ashes, he'd rise stronger, with a deeper understanding of Pokémon, battles, and what it truly meant to be a Trainer.
As for Ash? Since he said he wanted to battle all the dojo disciples—then let the disciples entertain him for now.
Heracross: 115/251