Back in the video—
Ash clung to the mechanical arm, squeezing with all his might,
trying to break it apart!
"Don't worry, Sceptile! Pikachu! I'll protect you! I swear!"
But even with Ash's superhuman strength—
Team Rocket's mechanical arms were built extremely well.
Crushing one by grip strength alone was basically impossible.
And to make matters worse—
Jessie sent out Dustox!
"Dustox, use Poison Sting!"
Finally, Team Rocket acted like actual villains for once.
Dustox opened its mouth, releasing sharp, purple, glowing poisonous needles—
raining endlessly onto Ash!
Since they were made of energy, they didn't embed into Ash's skin—
But Ash's body became covered in wounds instantly!
Still—
He did not let go!
Even in such pain, Ash kept struggling to save Sceptile and Pikachu!
"Bro, what kind of determination is this!?"
"That physical defense is terrifying! Those are Poison Stings! And he's tanking all of them!?"
"This is the power of someone fighting for his Pokémon… I was wrong about you, Ash, you deserve your partners!"
"It's not just Pokémon going all-out for Ash—Ash also goes all-out for them! This is a two-way bond!"
"Damn it, now I'm starting to hate Team Rocket!"
"…"
Viewers were stunned by Ash's physical toughness
and even more moved by his willingness to suffer for his Pokémon.
Now they finally understood—
Why Ash's Pokémon always responded to him at critical moments.
A Trainer who literally risks his life for his partners—
Which Pokémon wouldn't answer that kind of devotion?
On screen—
Jessie also couldn't help but praise Ash's endurance,
Then had Dustox struck him with a powerful Tackle!
Ash could no longer endure it—
He was knocked loose and thrown downward!
Falling from dozens of meters in the air!
Everyone looked away instinctively—
At that height, even the Super Rookie would either die or be crippled!
"Cha!!!"
Sceptile's pupils shrank—
His mind replayed every moment with Ash.
His body erupted in brilliant green light!
Emerald blades formed on his arms!
With a flash of green—
The mechanical arms holding him and Pikachu were sliced apart!
Pikachu landed onto Sceptile's back safely!
Then Sceptile stepped as if on air—
His legs bent, and he launched himself like a white streak descending from the sky like a meteor!
Quick Attack!
In an instant, he caught Ash in a princess carry mid-air
and used Bullet Seed to slow their fall and land safely!
For Ash's sake—
Sceptile regained the ability to use moves again!
And with Chansey's healing (the guardian of the Battle Palace),
Sceptile fully recovered.
Facing Seviper and Cacnea,
one Leaf Blade—
a double KO!
Then Pikachu blasted Team Rocket away as usual.
Having reclaimed his power, Sceptile seemed stronger than before—
This was truly a rebirth from death.
…
[Diantha: So this is the power of love?]
[Bruno: Love? This is the power of their bond!]
[Lorelei: Idiot. Diantha meant the love between Ash and Sceptile!]
[Cynthia: Heh. Once Ash gets serious, no female Pokémon stands a chance. Sceptile regained his moves because… a wounded heart was filled by someone else.]
[Lance: Hey! All of you! Enough shipping! It's a bond, not LOVE!!]
[Caitlin: Narrow-minded. Isn't love and bond basically the same? "Ash × Sceptile" — wonderful pairing!]
[Aaron: We're getting off-topic!! Shouldn't we discuss Sceptile's strength?! His power in the Lily of the Valley Conference finally makes sense now!]
[Cynthia: After going through something like this… if I were Sceptile, Ash would also be the only light in my heart.]
Misty: Dangerous. I feel like someone unbelievable is about to join the competition…
…
Hoenn — Millennium Old Tree
Treecko sat on a branch, a twig in his mouth,
watching Ash and his future self smiling together.
For a moment, he felt… jealous.
That future Sceptile—
was himself!
The future him had found a Trainer who cherished him so deeply.
Treecko had never imagined
he would one day envy himself.
From the beginning until Sceptile's evolution—
He saw everything with his own eyes.
Ash had already maxed out Treecko's affection meter…
Watching these scenes felt almost like he had personally lived them.
Because of that,
he fully recognized the Trainer
who risked his life for him.
Treecko glanced at the ancient tree beside him.
In the distant future, this great tree would reach the end of its life.
But until that day, Treecko would still guard it.
But this time,
he wasn't here only to guard—
He was waiting.
Waiting for his future Trainer to arrive.
He wanted to travel with Ash!
So he needed to train hard—
After all… losing his moves because of romance?
He refused to let that happen again!
Women only slow down his blade.
Only Ash is his true love—
Wait, no—
His true bond!
…
The video continued—
After recovering his strength, Sceptile immediately faced a fierce battle—
Against the Battle Palace's leader, Spenser!
Ash even returned to Professor Oak's lab to swap Pokémon.
This made viewers sigh—
So he can swap Pokémon!?
Then why didn't he swap any for the Ever Grande Conference?!?!
Soon, viewers saw the meaning of "old yet strong."
The Battle Palace's battlefield—
was the entire forest!
Trainers had to run alongside their Pokémon while battling!
Ash led with Sceptile,
Spenser led with Shiftry.
Both Pokémon unleashed incredible speed among the trees—
And the most unbelievable part—
Old, white-bearded Spenser
kept up with them!!
Ash, even with Pikachu on his shoulder, also kept pace!
So Ash wasn't the only inhuman person in this world…
Even at his age, Spenser could match Sceptile's speed—
utterly insane!
Shiftry and Sceptile clashed intensely across the forest.
Shiftry used a tricky move to blast Sceptile into the waterfall's basin,
collapsing rocks and shaking the river with a thunderous crash!
Everyone assumed Sceptile was gravely injured—
But then—
At the top of the waterfall, a green figure appeared!
He dove down, striking Shiftry with a perfectly timed X-Scissor—
Bug-type ×4 effectiveness,
Plus Sceptile's revitalized strength!
Shiftry was instantly defeated.
After defeating Shiftry, Spenser next sent out Venusaur.
Sceptile, with access to Bug-type moves, could still handle it.
But Ash took note of Venusaur's heavy, slow-to-move body,
so he directly sent out his high-damage dealer—
Heracross, the king of Bug-types!
Unfortunately, Heracross didn't perform very well in this battle.
No, really, it wasn't Heracross's fault.
The main problem was—this Venusaur was somewhat illegal.
Under Ash's command, Heracross used Horn Attack, Fury Attack, Tackle,
and even two Megahorns!
Forget the smaller attacks.
Megahorn—base power 120, Bug-type STAB, super-effective…
Yet even two of them failed to beat Venusaur.
Absolutely outrageous—so outrageous it's ridiculous beyond ridiculous,
ridiculous opening the door, and ridiculous walking all the way into the house!!
(Seriously—this Venusaur is absurd. Bug-type STAB, double super-effective, 120 power—
How high does its level have to be to tank that?!)
But the ridiculous part wasn't over.
After defeating Heracross, Ash sent out Swellow to battle Venusaur.
Flying-type is also super-effective against Venusaur!
However… Spenser suddenly said he wanted to pause the battle and eat a Berry first.
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