Chapter 10: Challenge From Card No. 2The battle lasted only two minutes.

Ariados' trainer was just like the others before him. After hearing Ariados' miserable Growl from the Smokescreen, he immediately panicked. In addition, Ash Ketchum was standing by, saying some disturbing words. In the end, he was so scared that he swapped number cards and admitted defeat.

Once the smokescreen dissipated, Ash looked at the intact Ariados and listened to his explanation.

Ariados' trainer was so angry he almost vomited blood. He muttered something harsh and stormed off.

"You're cruel, kid!" he yelled. "I admit defeat this time. But I hope you can continue to use that clever trick to win in the future." He muttered under his breath, clearly furious. It seemed like he was on the verge of leaping up to strangle Ash, who had tricked him into giving up his number card.

"Very good. At this rate, we'll have the number 1 card in no time," Ash said, holding up number 12.

In a good mood, Ash started searching for the trainer with number 9. He needed a new challenge.

After searching for about five minutes, he finally found the trainer in the far corner of the park. This trainer was currently in a battle with the trainer holding the number 7 card.

Ash waited quietly by the side.

But after a while, a man and a woman approached.

"Hey, do you want to have a battle?" The boy pushed Ash's shoulder with a grin.

Ash turned his head and raised an eyebrow. To his surprise, the girl next to the boy was the Breloom trainer who had been tricked by Mew using the Number 2 strategy earlier.

"Are you still bitter about your defeat and looking for revenge?" Ash asked jokingly.

The girl glared at him and said angrily, "Stop talking nonsense. I just want to know if you dare to have a fair fight with my brother."

Ash shrugged. "Of course, I'm up for it. But if we're battling, there should be something at stake, right? Is it a bounty or a number card? Let me tell you, if it's a bounty, I hope it's 10,000; it'll make the fight more interesting. If it's a number card, I'll only accept challenges from cards 1 to 8."

As soon as he finished speaking, the boy calmly pulled out the number 2 card.

"I don't know if this one qualifies to challenge you," the boy said with a smirk. "The owner of number 1 has already entered the gym to challenge. As long as you can beat me, you'll be the next one to enter the gym. Of course, if you lose, I don't want anything from you, except for one thing... your Quilava. My sister's Breloom could use a Pokémon like that."

Ash chuckled after hearing this.

So it wasn't about revenge after all—he was more interested in his Quilava.

"Of course, we can do that, but it'll cost extra," Ash said with a sly grin. "If I win, in addition to your number 2 card, I'll also take your bounty."

Ash couldn't help but think of a few bad ideas. If they dared to ask for his Mew, he wouldn't rest until he'd tricked them both.

"How much?" the boy asked, clearly not backing down.

"All of it," Ash said, his tone becoming serious. "If I win, I want all your money, except for your number card. How about it? Do you dare? After all, I'm using my main Pokémon, and your sister's Pokémon is... well, let's just say, not very strong."

Ash fixed the boy with a direct gaze. If he hesitated for even a moment, Ash would seize the opportunity to provoke him further.

"Fine," the boy said without hesitation. "I'm confident."

This swift response made Ash pause. Something about the boy's confidence didn't sit right with him. His eyes shifted from the boy to the girl.

Had she given him all the money? If so, why would he agree so readily?

The boy noticed Ash's suspicious look and pulled out his phone to show Ash his savings of 148,000 yuan.

Ash immediately accepted the challenge without hesitation. After all, not making money was simply foolish. Since the boy hadn't given the money to his sister, that meant he had a Pokémon under his command that he believed was extremely powerful. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so confident.

But no matter how confident he was, could he be more confident than Mew?

Unless he also had a legendary Pokémon—though that was unlikely. If he had a divine beast, he wouldn't be interested in Quilava at all.

No, just like Ash, he only valued legendary Pokémon. Everything else was just trash in his eyes. It was the mindset of someone arrogant to the extreme.

Two minutes later, Ash followed the brother and sister to an empty area where the boy released his Pokémon first.

"Come out, Feraligatr."

A red light flashed, and a blue-skinned upright crocodile with a sturdy body and a mouth full of fangs appeared. It had serrated red bone plates on its head, back, and tail. Feraligatr was the final evolution of the water-type Totodile, one of the three starter Pokémon of the Johto region. Known for its terrifying bite force, it was rumored that a single bite could kill its opponent.

"No wonder he's so confident," Ash muttered under his breath, releasing his Quilava, which had been transformed by Mew.

"Quilava, use Smokescreen to cover the entire area," Ash ordered.

Quilava complied, beginning to spit out a thick black cloud that filled the field.

"Is that all? You think that trick will work on me?" the boy said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

He knew his sister had told him about Ash's previous tactics. If he fell for it again, he would be a fool.

"Feraligatr, use Agility! Once you're close to Quilava, use Aqua Tail," the boy ordered. Confident that Ash wouldn't fall for his trick again, he wasn't about to just stand there and watch Quilava cover the entire area with Smokescreen.

Feraligatr howled, lowering itself onto the ground and preparing to spring into action. Its sharp eyes fixed on Quilava, and in an instant, it lunged forward, moving at an incredible speed.

The moment it was close enough, Feraligatr swung its massive tail, which crashed toward Quilava like a massive wave.

Ash watched, calm and collected. He had seen this kind of thing before. The boy had clearly underestimated him.

"You're wrong," Ash said, a smirk playing on his lips. "Did you really think my Quilava wouldn't dodge if I didn't give the order?"

The boy's expression froze in confusion. Quilava dodged the Aqua Tail effortlessly, moving like a slippery eel.

"What's going on?" the boy muttered, completely taken aback.

Ash chuckled, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Stupid head, you should train your Pokémon to think for themselves. You can't just tell them what to do in every battle. Let them use their heads and adapt to the situation."

The boy's face flushed with anger. "What do you think you're doing?" he spat.

"Feraligatr, use Ice Fang! Follow up with Aqua Tail!" the boy ordered, clearly flustered. Feraligatr's teeth began to freeze over, and with a howl, it launched itself at Quilava.

Ash wasn't worried. Quilava could handle it.

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