Instructor Ai Beat Ash to Pieces

As Instructor Ai accepted Ash's challenge, Pikachu was ready to run away, but before it could take more than a few steps, Ash grabbed the back of the neck with one hand.

"Pikachu is my strongest Pokémon, my Ace Pokémon!"

Ash grabbed Pikachu and pushed it in front of Instructor Ai, smiling and proudly introducing the Pi-God's power, saying, "Its Thunderbolt has knocked away Team Rocket so many times, and its speed is so fast you can't even see it!"

"Really?"

Aisha gave a surprised look.

Then, with a smile, he reached out and patted Pikachu on the head.

"That's really something."

"P... Pikachu~"

Looking at Instructor Ai's smile, Pikachu, who had been reluctant and struggling frantically to escape Ash's clutches, and who was almost ready to be discharged, instantly became more obedient, and its cries became softer, as it rubbed against the palm of the beautiful boy in front of it with a happy face.

"Pi~"

Pikachu shook its body and got out of Ash's hands.

Then, it fell on top of Instructor Ai's arm, climbed up to his shoulder, and sat down skillfully.

"This is really..."

Feeling the weight of Pikachu on his shoulder, Instructor Ai, who was standing upright, was dumbfounded.

Pikachu was really good as Pikachu, in terms of cuteness, there were not many Pokémon that could surpass it.

"Huh?"

A question mark appeared on Ash's head.

It's not even a fight yet... the general on his side had already turned to the enemy?

Looking at Pikachu's face as if it loved Instructor Ai so much, Ash was deep in thought.

"Hey, you two brats."

Professor Oak, who had been ignored by the two of them for a long time, shook his head, walked up, and said, "It's still early, let's go back to the institute."

"Uh-huh!"

Ash nodded.

He looks over to Professor Oak, showing a look of gratitude, saying, "Thanks, Professor, for lending me the backyard to fight Instructor Ai!"

Professor Oak: "?"

Now Professor Oak was puzzled.

He didn't remember saying anything about lending the backyard to Ash.

Ash, on the other hand, was thrilled and ignored the strange look on Professor Oak's face.

With an excited grin on his face, he ran ahead of the others in the direction of the Institute.

Pikachu jumped off Instructor Ai's shoulders and, with a sigh, reluctantly followed.

"Instructor Ai, come on!"

"Pika..."

Ash hurriedly greeted Instructor Ai as he followed him.

Pikachu was saying "Please, handsome, go easy on him".

Instructor Ai was amused by the pair's behavior, and after retrieving his Charizard, he followed Professor Oak in Ash's footsteps.

"This kid is really talking to himself..." Looking at Ash's back that ran further and further away, Professor Oak shook his head helplessly.

"This just shows that Ash is a qualified trainer."

Instructor Ai responded to Professor Oak's complaint with a smile, saying, "Focusing on his own path and not caring too much about other people's voices, even though it may make this kid look a bit foolish, in the end, he is only ten years old, so he will always mature."

"You're an old-fashioned talker."

Professor Oak revealed an emotional smile, looking at Aisha with relief.

He always liked polite and understanding juniors.

This was the case with Crystal who was titled 'Catcher', and this was also the case with Aisha.

Especially when there were more and more children around who didn't know what they were doing, the younger generation like them was a big relief to Professor Oak.

"Since, after collecting all eight badges, what are you going to do next, Ai-chan?"

Professor Oak asked with curiosity, saying, "It's still a bit of time before the Indigo Plateau Conference, so if you want to continue to train Pokémon on my side, I'd welcome it."

"Thank you, Professor."

Aisha smiled and thanked him.

The fact that Professor Oak had provided him with a place to train Pokémon for free was a great help to him.

During this period of time, the team's strength had increased rapidly due to Professor Oak's backyard.

Various types of workout environments, strong opponents of various levels.

It's got it all.

Sometimes, Instructor Ai thought that if Professor Oak sold the time he spent exercising Pokémon in his own backyard, it would attract all kinds of trainers to come and grab it, and make a huge profit in one go.

However, Professor Oak didn't need to make money this way.

The backyard here was a bargain for Instructor Ai.

This is really a holy place for practicing.

"I'll take a look." Aisha pondered for a while, then spread his hands and said, "Normally, I have nothing to do at this moment, so I can prepare for the Indigo Plateau Conference in peace."

"However, if something unexpected happens, I might even go out..."

That was the truth.

Instructor Ai had a lot on his plate right now, even though he seemed to be free.

If Iono and Elesa had any other joint activities, he might have to make a trip to Unova or Paldea.

Ghetsis, who's been hiding in the shadows, is going to make a move, and as a White Hero, he should step up to the plate.

And the plan to collect the four Treasures of Ruin...

"Uh-huh." Professor Oak nodded.

"Understood."

Professor Oak didn't ask Aisha what he was busy with.

As a good elder, he also knew that the secrets of the younger generation should not be offended.

Professor Oak didn't want to be a pedantic, old-fashioned, and annoying elder.

"Hey..."

Confirming that Aisha would still stay on his side when he had nothing else to do, Professor Oak revealed a delighted smile.

"Well, I'll be able to eat Ai-chan's cooking for two more days, that's great!"

"As a way to prevent you from eating instant ramen all day long, Professor, I can't just walk away."

The old man and the young man walked into the institute with a smile on their face, and went to the backyard.

By now, Ash was already waiting impatiently.

He was standing at the end of the field, with Pikachu at his side and five Poké Balls in his hand, apparently forming a team to challenge Instructor Ai.

"Too slow, Professor and Instructor Ai!"

Ash grumbled, and held up the five Pokémon balls in his hand with a smile, saying, "These are my hand-picked partners, Instructor Instructor, and I'll definitely show you just how much better I've gotten since I was at the Cameran Palace!"

"Don't you think?"

Ash turned his head towards Pikachu, calling out to his partner, saying, "Pikachu, you're looking forward to having Instructor Ai recognize your strength, aren't you?"

"..."

Pikachu took a few steps back very shamelessly.

Just kidding...

Ash, you don't care, but I remember it very well.

When we were inside the Tree of Beginning, Instructor Ai had used six Pokémon to take down the terrifying Three Legendary Pilllars; later on in Grampa Canyon, he had even defeated Haunter J's Salamence with a single sword, and that fierce Aerodactyl, and before that, he even led his Pokémon to calm down a beast tide... You want me to fight him?

"..."

"Right?"

Pikachu's hopeless eyes met Ash's expectant ones.

Eventually, Pikachu sighed, and pulled itself together.

"Pika-chu!"

"Yes!"

Ash happily zoomed in on a Poké ball, saying, "First up, this!"

He threw the Pokémon.

The Pokémon opened up, and a magnificent Pidgeot took to the air with wide, thick wings.

"Oh?"

Instructor Ai's eyes lit up.

This Pidgeot had evolved and hadn't been released, but Ash seemed to have gotten the hang of it.

Congratulations, Pidgeot.

You've avoided the sad fate of being lost in Viridian Forest for twenty years.

"Whoosh!"

The feathers on Pidgeot's head were so brightly colored that they fluttered in the wind.

His sharp eyes looked toward Instructor Ai, and it flapped its wings a little more vigorously, with an air of vigor.

"Oh... this Pidgeot."

Professor Oak showed a thoughtful expression on the side, saying, "As I recall, it has some Pidgey and Pidgeotto as minions in Viridian Forest."

"In that case, I'll send it up on my side."

Instructor Ai also went to the other end of the field, and threw out Haunter's Poké Ball.

"Jie..."

The Soul Temple Elder smiled as it emerged, floating at the same height as Pidgeot.

It licked the air in front of it with its big red tongue, and it looked silly.

"..."

Instructor Ai was watching from below, and he had a headache.

He always felt that the style of his Haunter was a bit strange and too silly.

Like a character from a funny movie.

Uh-huh.

I wish it could have the same high and outrageous combat power as the characters in the funny movie.

"Wow, Instructor Ai's Haunter!"

Looking at the Haunter, Ash was pleasantly surprised, then nostalgic, saying, "Back in the day, I briefly took in a Haunter to help me fight Sabrina from the Saffron Gym."

"Oh?"

Instructor Ai frowned, and followed up, saying, "What happened back there?"

"Back there, because Haunter likes to be free, I released him."

Ash responded to Instructor Ai's inquiry very honestly.

"Oh..."

Aisha thought for a moment, but still issued a lecture to him, saying, "Ash, when you take in a Pokémon, you have to take responsibility for it."

"You and Haunter are in a temporary partnership with a mutual agreement, I won't say anything about this, but... If you take in any other Pokémon that truly wants to travel with you, you must not release them or give them to anyone else, understand?"

"Uh, oh... got it!"

Although Ash didn't know why Aisha said such words to himself.

However, he, who adored Instructor Ai, decidedly chose to recognize Aisha's words.

And, he memorized it in his heart.

"Uh-huh."

Aisha nodded.

This directly snuffed out Ash's habit of releasing Pokémon in the cradle, saving this kid from releasing good seedlings all over the world.

In the beginning, this kid released Butterfree, then sent Primeape; sent away Larvitar, then forgot about Gible's operation, which really raised Instructor Ai's blood pressure.

You're only doing yourself a disservice by letting everything out!

"Enough of this, Instructor Ai, let's play!"

Ash looked up to Pidgeot in the sky, and gave the order to attack, saying; "Pidgeot, Aerial Ace!"

"Screech!"

Pidgeot swung its wings violently.

The huge raptor burst into a powerful speed, and shot towards the smiling Haunter like a cannonball.

Aisha just watched, not moving, not speaking.

Haunter didn't even need to command, he just hid his body and disappeared.

"What?"

Pidgeot's attack fell short.

It hit the ground head on, and like Ash on the ground, it looked around, not knowing what to do.

"What to do... I've got it!" Ash had a flash of insight and said, "Pidgeot, use Gust on a wide scale, force it out!"

"Go!"

Pidgeot immediately did as Ash said, a pair of large wings flapped powerfully, and a hurricane whistled out from under its wings.

Aisha nodded secretly.

Compared with the original series, I could only stick to a few old-fashioned moves with little power, and engage in straight-forward battles. All I could think about was "hold on", "dodge quickly", and "stand up". Now Ash can at least think of using AOE attacks to suppress a large area when facing invisible enemies, and his thinking is not slow. This kind of growth is undoubtedly gratifying.

But, Gust?

Who's a good guy who uses Gust for AOE?

As Instructor Ai has made clear, Pidgeot can level up to learn Hurricane, which is a flying move.

Ash is still using Gust, so it's obvious that his main Pokémon is still under-practiced.

This guy...

Let's let him lose and learn a lesson.

"Haunter!"

Instructor Ai gave the order without hesitation, "Sludge Bomb!"

"Jie..."

Haunter's voice came out from Pidgeot's head.

That was where Pidgeot's Gust couldn't attack.

When it appeared, it was holding a ball of venom that smelled differently in each of its ghostly hands.

"Pidgeot, get out of the way!"

"..."

Ash's order in the moment of crisis made Instructor Ai cover his face.

The praise he had just given him in his mind was also withdrawn.

"Screech!"

Pidgeot bared its eyes and flapped its wings.

However, before it could fly even a little bit, the Sludge Bomb thrown by Haunter was right in front of its eyes.

"Jie..."

With Haunter's grin, two Sludge Bomb shots hit Pidgeot's left wing and chest, one after the other.

Pidgeot screamed and fell to the ground, incapacitated.

"This... Pidgeot!"

Ash was stunned.

He couldn't believe it.

Pidgeot had been his general, had brought him countless victories, and had now evolved into the Final Evolution.

However, against Instructor Ai's Haunter, Pidgeot had lost so badly.

Even though Ash was aware of Aisha's power, he never thought that he would be defeated so quickly, perhaps because of a slight chance.

"..."

The huge gap between reality and his heart immediately made Ash freeze in place, his hands and feet cold on a hot day.

Until, that is, he was interrupted by a stern voice.

"What are you doing over there?"

"Ah!"

Ash jerked his head up, and met Aisha's expressionless, yet oppressive face.

"Too childish, Ash."

Aisha mercilessly criticized Ash's question, saying, "Winning and losing are commonplace, a trainer will always encounter all kinds of setbacks, being defeated and suppressed by others is something even as strong as Blue will encounter, let alone you who have traveled for such a short time."

"Moreover, this battle was a request from you, whether it's Pikachu or Pidgeot, your Pokémon have always supported your choice wholeheartedly even if they were reluctant, and when faced with Haunter, Pidgeot fought with all its might, but you showed such a face because of Pidgeot's defeat..."

Aisha's expression turned serious.

"What's with that look?"

He questioned Ash, saying, "Your inexplicable loss and despair can't make anyone stronger?"

"Since you chose to fight, as a Pokémon trainer, even if you know you can't win, you must fight beautifully, or at least you can't apologize to the Pokémon who fought for you, so get your spirit up, and take out that fearless look you usually have, and fight!"

Instructor Ai's voice was like thunder in Ash's ears.

He froze for a few seconds, and then his breathing gradually became heavier and heavier.

A few moments later, Ash wiped his eyes violently.

"You were right, Instructor Ai!"

"I was stupid and arrogant!" Ash retrieved Pidgeot with his Pokémon.

"It's clear, it's clear that everyone is working hard for me, and I'm somehow missing out!" Ash's trembling voice was filled with remorse, but more than that, he was thankful for the support of his Pokémon. His voice suddenly rose, and he said, "Instructor Ai, please teach me in the battle!"

"Good!"

Aisha revealed a smile.

Seeing Ash regrouping immediately, he also felt a sense of relief.

"Bring out your next Pokémon!"

"Go, Snorlax!"

A huge creature popped out of Ash's Poké ball.

It was a big blue bear that was over two meters tall and cute.

"Jie..."

Haunter appeared behind Snorlax and hit it with another Sludge Bomb.

"When your Pokémon doesn't have enough speed to dodge your opponent's attack, remember, don't just yell 'get out of the way', but use a powerful move to block it!"

"I got it!"

Ash immediately gave the order, saying, "Snorlax, Hyper Beam!"

"Snor!"

Snorlax yelled and turned around.

But it was still too slow.

Before it could turn around, Haunter's Sludge Bomb hit it in the neck - even though Snorlax looked like it was too fat to have a neck.

"That... Snorlax!"

"Hyper Beam has no effect on Haunter as a normal attribute move, and although it can block Sludge Bomb, it's useless to keep defending against it, so remember to choose a higher-yielding move when giving orders." Instructor Ai was expressionless as he lectured the fumbling Ash, saying, "Besides, you're letting Snorlax, an physical attacker Pokémon, use Hyper Beam?"

"Uh, Snorlax..."

"A Pokémon should utilize the functions it is good at in a battle, an attacker for attacking things, and a special attacker for attacking things, and Snorlax is exactly a Pokémon that has high blood and defense, and is good for dealing damage head-on, and isn't afraid to trade wounds for wounds."

"So..."

Ash looked around for Haunter's traces, and at the same time, he was using his knowledge-poor brain to select an offensive move.

When his CPU nearly burned out, he finally read out a command, saying, "Crunch!"

"Snor!"

Snorlax immediately grew a large mouth wrapped in evil energy, and bit into Haunter in front of him.

However, before that, Haunter had already received Instructor Ai's command and successfully used Hypnosis.

"Snor- lax..."

Snorlax's movements slowed down, until it completely stopped moving and fell to the ground.

He snored, sleeping soundly.

"Sleep Talk, Snorlax, use Sleep Talk now!"

"Oh?"

Aisha was a bit surprised by Ash's command.

In response, Ash smiled awkwardly and said, "Since Munchlax sleeps a lot, I memorized the move."

"Hmm."

Aisha nodded.

Quite Ash's style.

"Snor!"

The sleeping Snorlax opened its mouth, and crunched down on Haunter above its .

Haunter is startled, and dodges.

"Yay, Sleep Talk got Crunch!"

"What luck?" Instructor Ai laughed.

"Haunter, solve Snorlax."

"Jeez!"

Haunter showed a serious expression, as it raised the altitude of its flight, and a Focus Blast coalesced between its ghostly hands.

"Snorlax!"

An anxious Ash yelled Munchlax's name, saying, "Sleep Talk, Sleep Talk, Sleep Talk!"

"Snor!"

Snorlax fluttered around in the same spot, using all Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, and a set of five lightning whips very skillfully.

In the end, after Haunter above fired his Focus Blast, Munchlax finally used a long-range move - Hyper Beam.

The result was that Haunter's Focus Blast tore through Munchlax's Hyper Beam without mercy, sending it away.

"Your Munchlax has a lot of moves, and they're all on the offensive end of the spectrum... this kid is a Normal-type Pokémon anyway, so maybe you could try to focus on developing its multi-strike strengths, and... well, work on its Rest plus Sleep Talk moves."

Instructor Ai commented appropriately.

Ash scratched his head, withdrew his Snorlax, and, with a thoughtful and puzzled look on his face, said, "Okay, I get it."

Then, he released his third Pokémon, Squirtle.

"Hmm..."

Instructor Ai scrutinized Ash's Squirtle.

After a few moments, he came to the conclusion - this Squirtle's strength was superior, and the effect of its shape on its strength was not an effect.

"Ash."

"What is it, Instructor Ai?"

Aisha looked to Ash, Ash looked to Aisha.

Aisha suddenly revealed a smile.

"The next lesson I'm going to teach you, is... pay attention to attribute restraint!"

"Jie!" Haunter revealed a wild smile.

Looking down on the Abbot standing on the ground, fierce electric sparks crackled between its ghostly hands.

"Haunter, Thunderbolt!"

Instructor Ai belatedly called out the command to attack.

Haunter threw out a fierce bolt of electricity.

"Squirtle, be careful, get into your shell, and Rapid Spin!" Ash barked out a command that was very much in his style.

"Squirtle!"

Squirtle did the same in a hurry.

"It's not working."

Aisha adjusted her stance slightly, standing like some Egyptian vampire, saying, "You know Haunter's firepower well, and with Munchlax's defense and blood it can easily take it down, your Squirtle's durability is really nothing."

"So..."

Aisha smiled brightly, saying, "Now you should remember, in Pokémon battles, attribute constraints play a very significant factor."

"Even if you don't restrain your opponent, at least don't let your opponent's Pokémon restrain you, such as charging at your opponent's Fire-type Pokémon on your Bulbasaur, got it?"

"Ah, I see..."

Ash remembered a lot of things he had done in his previous battles, and he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

If Instructor Ai found out about those things, he would definitely get high blood pressure...

This stupid kid didn't know that his maneuvers had already caused his favorite Instructor Ai and countless others to have high blood pressure hundreds of times.

"Well, it's your turn, Bulbasaur!"

"Danne!"

A very energetic Bulbasaur appeared on the battlefield.

"Bulbasaur, Sleep Powder!"

"Bulbasaur's choice of control is not bad, but I can tell right away that this Bulbasaur is usually used as an attacker. Razor Leaf's mastery of these moves may be considered proficient, but its proficiency with powder moves is abysmally low."

As Instructor Ai commented sharply, Haunter easily avoided Bulbasaur's Sleep Powder.

The powder was sprayed out in a stream, and it was useless against a Pokémon that was stronger than him.

"Hypnotizing, paralyzing, and poisoning a Pokémon, it's all about surprise, and it's all about precision, accuracy, and ruthlessness!"

"Jie..."

Haunter dodged in front of Bulbasaur, and in another familiar maneuver, the light of Hypnosis slammed into its face.

"Da-nnne..."

"This."

Ash looked at his second Pokémon that had died in its sleep, and his state of mind changed in a subtle way.

"I'll just switch Butterfree back to the main team."

"That's right." Instructor Ai smiled a smile of 'I taught you a lesson.'

Suddenly, he froze.

He seemed to have taught a hot-blooded kid to be dirty.

Uh...

Isn't this great?

After that, Ash replaced Charizard and Pikachu.

There's not much to say about these two Pokémon, mainly because they don't have much to play with.

Ash did a good job of training them up, learning and practicing their moves, and their proficiency and power weren't too bad either.

Haunter was able to get rid of them with a little bit of effort.

"Pi..."

Pikachu slumped to the ground, extending its left paw and drawing a furrow in the ground.

The Skin of Hope.

Ash picked up Pikachu, bowed violently toward Instructor Ai, and said, "Thank you, Instructor Ai!"

"Thank you for Instructing me in battle, pointing out my mistakes, and teaching me how to breed my Pokémon next!"

He raised his head, still smiling happily, and said, "There's still some time left, and when the Indigo Plateau Conference comes around, I'm sure to become even stronger... at that time, Instructor Ai must compete with me in the finals of the conference!"

"Good."

Aisha smiled.

If Ash really made it all the way to the Indigo Plateau Conference finals, then, Instructor Ai wouldn't mind giving this kid a serious dose of intensity.

"Ah..."

Professor Oak wailed.

"You two are having a good time, but I'm really hungry watching you two..."

"Professor don't worry." Instructor Ai smilingly toward the Institute inside, said: "It's almost time for dinner, Ash don't go, tonight in this side to eat."

"Okay."

Delia raised her hand, and said, "Then, Auntie will also help Ai-chan to help out, and make a big dinner for everyone tonight!"

"Eh!"

Ash exclaimed.

"When did you get here, Mom?"

"When Ai-chann taught you a lesson."

"Ahhhhhhhh!"

Ash wore a mask of pain due to his excessive shame, and looked like a certain beast ancestor who had drank black tea and fell asleep.

"Coincidence."

Aisha smiled politely, and said, "I just want to learn about outside cuisine, and I'm looking for Auntie Delia to teach me about Kanto's home cooking today."

"Good!"

Delia clenched her fists, the pride of being a housewife made her fight with fire.

"Then, Auntie will learn Dayan's cooking too!"

"Dayan has a lot of good food, even home-cooking..."

As the group talked and laughed, night fell as expected.

The Oak Research Institution was lit up like a million homes at night.