"Honestly, these guys never learn!"
Brock, Misty, and May all looked speechlessly in the direction where Team Rocket had been blasted off. Ash nodded in agreement.
"Mr. Scott, please take us to the Battle Factory. I know that Mr. Noland has a very powerful Articuno as his partner, and that's the one I want to challenge!" Ash's eyes were full of determination.
"Roar!" Charizard, who had just been nuzzling Ash with its head, perked up with fighting spirit at the mention of Articuno.
"Alright, Ash, I hope you can become the first Trainer to conquer the Battle Frontier. Let's go; the Battle Factory is this way."
Before long, Scott led Ash and the others to the Battle Factory. Scott had already informed them ahead of time, so Noland was waiting there for them.
"So, you're Ash. Scott seems to think highly of you. Well, our battle will begin shortly, and Articuno just returned!" Noland was full of energy. As he finished speaking, an icy-blue Pokémon with a bright white belly soared into the sky behind him.
"Screech!" With a crisp cry, the ice-blue Pokémon revealed itself to be Articuno!
One of the three legendary birds of Kanto—Articuno! Its presence caused the surrounding temperature to drop slightly.
"So, this is Articuno!" Ash looked at the Articuno, his heart racing. The Battle Factory was the first battle facility, known to be even harder to win than gym badges.
At the same time, Ash used his Auro Vision on Articuno:
[Pokémon]: Articuno
[Category]: Freeze Pokémon
[Type]: Ice, Flying
[Ability]: Snow Cloak
[Potential]: Purple
[Level]: 75 (Champion level)
[Moves]: Gust, Powder Snow, Haze, Ice Shard, Hail, Agility, Ice Beam, Freeze-Dry, Blizzard, Hurricane, Sheer Cold...
"What a beautiful Articuno," Misty and May murmured, captivated by its graceful appearance.
"Don't be fooled by its elegance," Brock warned calmly. "Articuno is still a legendary Pokémon. If you're careless, it will definitely be a painful lesson."
On the other side, Noland's apprentice, Suga, stepped forward to act as the referee for this battle.
"So, Ash, which Pokémon will you use to challenge my Articuno?" Noland asked, looking at Ash.
"Charizard, it's time to fight alongside you again!" Charizard appeared and let out a mighty roar. Its voice echoed powerfully.
"Roar!!!"
Ash's Charizard was now at level 68, giving it the strength of an average Elite-level Pokémon.
"Oh? So it's Charizard." Noland observed its aura and build, recognizing the training it had gone through. "I'm looking forward to this battle, Ash. Come at me!"
The moment Charizard appeared, Noland knew it was no ordinary Pokémon, but he believed that he and Articuno were even stronger.
"Now, the one-on-one challenge battle between Master Noland and challenger Ash begins! No specific rules. The battle starts!" declared Suga.
The ceiling above the battlefield slowly opened up. "Both Pokémon have the Flying type, so I'll activate the aerial battlefield. The entire sky above the arena is within the battle area. You attack first!"
It began, my first Battle Frontier battle!
"Charizard, take to the sky and use your powerful Flamethrower to greet the opponent!"
"We'll use Ice Beam!"
Both Pokémon quickly ascended, with Charizard launching Flamethrower. Noland's Articuno countered with Ice Beam. The two moves clashed!
Since Ice Beam is an Ice-type move and Flamethrower is a Fire-type move, Flamethrower directly melted through Ice Beam and hit Articuno!
Articuno, an Ice and Flying type, took double damage from the Fire-type move.
Flamethrower hit Articuno directly, but Ash didn't relax. He knew Noland's Articuno had extraordinary endurance.
"Charizard, ascend rapidly!"
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T/N:
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