Pokemon: This Ash Is Too Versatile-Chapter 714 - 382: Parting, Promise, Next Target, the Gym Leader Who Uses Lucario!

The scorching flames formed a vortex rising from Braixen’s feet, creating a solid barrier of fire. Given Braixen’s inherent strength over Noctowl, this barrier of fire was able to block each of the incoming Air Cutters.

Falkner was momentarily stunned, not because the Fire Spin blocked the Air Cutter, but because of Serena’s reaction... Her response was so swift, almost unusually fast.

Normally, when a Newbie Trainer sees the barrage of light blades, regardless of their power, they would definitely panic at first. In their panic, they wouldn’t know how to command their Pokemon, and the final instructions they come up with would probably be as simple as dodging quickly or standing their ground in defense.

But Serena was different. Not only did she not panic like ordinary Newbie Trainers, but she also thought of the best way to respond the instant she was attacked, almost as if she had simulated the scenario in her mind beforehand.

It’s hard to imagine that this was the maneuver of a Newbie Trainer. The strength of a Pokemon can be attributed to their talent, but such a composed response in battle cannot simply be described with talent alone.

Falkner didn’t think Ash would lie to him about the travel time. Could it be that this girl who looked like a novice had experienced countless battles in just two months?

Of course, that was impossible.

It’s not just about having experienced countless battles; in these two months, Serena hadn’t engaged in any official battles at all, at most just sparring with Ash informally many times, and that’s about it.

The feeling from informal battles is completely different from official ones, and battling Ash is not the same as battling others. Of course, battling Ash comes with greater pressure...

But ultimately, Serena’s nearly perfect response now was entirely due to the tactical analysis Ash conducted for her last night.

"...Falkner has quite a few Pokémon, but since Serena, you have only been traveling for two months and are taking on Falkner one-on-one, the Pokémon he’ll deploy is sure to be—Noctowl!"

"That Noctowl is a Pokemon personally trained by Falkner, currently in its ascending phase, which means using it comes naturally to him. Plus, its level is just right for a trainer who has been traveling for two months. Considering that typically a trainer who has been traveling for two months and has an Advanced Level Pokémon is already a great achievement, he won’t expect you to have an Advanced Peak Pokémon."

"At the start, use the level advantage, don’t hesitate, directly use long-range attack skills. The opponent’s Noctowl will definitely be caught off guard and not dodge in time, getting hit directly. Of course, relying on this hit to defeat the opponent would be a fool’s dream, but at least it allows us to seize the initiative."

"After injuring Noctowl, Falkner will undoubtedly think about retaliating quickly. Noctowl’s physical attack is quite weak, so he’ll definitely use a powerful move of the same type that is ranged, which pretty much confirms he’ll use Air Cutter. At that moment, just use Fire Spin to forge a fire barrier to block that move."

"Then immediately seize the gap after the opponent uses their move to counterattack; a Pokémon of this level will surely have an opening after using a skill, and that will be the best counterattack opportunity."

Ash’s voice flashed through Serena’s mind, and the scene unfolding on the field was almost identical to what Ash had described. From the start of the fight until now, it perfectly matched Ash’s words.

It was as if Ash had experienced such a battle before... which of course was impossible.

This actually demonstrated that Ash’s Trainer level was far superior to his opponent’s. Although Falkner was a pretty decent Trainer, compared to Ash, he still seemed somewhat inferior.

For Ash, who has been through countless battles, predicting Falkner’s actions, even without having battled him before, is not difficult.

But being able to predict to such an extent was still beyond Serena’s imagination.

However, now was not the time to admire Ash; she needed to focus on the present and win this match first.

"Braixen, use Flamethrower again!" As the Air Cutters like a meteor shower began to weaken, Serena decisively gave a command to Braixen.

The flames around Braixen instantly dissipated, and the remaining Air Cutters that struck Braixen caused no damage. Those Air Cutters were now spent and held no significant power.

Braixen took a deep breath, accumulating the intense fire energy in its mouth. Seeing this, Falkner shouted, "Noctowl, dodge quickly!"

"Braixen!" A scorching line of fire shot toward the sky, targeting Noctowl. Noctowl tried to dodge but having just been flapping its wings to create Air Cutters, it barely stopped its move and had no extra strength to dodge the rapidly approaching Flamethrower.

So, unsurprisingly, Noctowl was struck directly by the Flamethrower again.

The first time Flamethrower hit, Noctowl was at full strength and managed to fly out of the flames directly. Without suffering the continuous burn damage from the flames, Noctowl didn’t endure much harm, but this time was different.