Pokemon: This Trainer is Too Cautious!

"Did I lose...?"

Ace sighed, recalling Zubat.

Misty gestured to a maid, who quickly took Zubat's Poké Ball away for treatment.

Meanwhile, Ash, who had just watched the battle, couldn't help but gulp. "Misty is that strong?!"

Misty rolled her eyes. Before, she had been quite injured from the Gyarados incident and then further consumed by anger. Now, calm and with her mind clear, this was her true self.

"To summarize, your Pokémon are very well-trained, with strong overall stats," Misty said to Ace. "However, your control over their moves is a bit lacking. Forget about move variations; even in their normal use, you're just at the beginner level."

"Move variations, is that what you did with that Bubble Beam earlier?" Ace asked. If that Bubble Beam hadn't changed like that, it wouldn't have defeated Zubat so quickly.

"Something like that," Misty nodded. "I personally categorize moves into three types. The first is Beginner, which are moves just learned. Generally, these moves aren't as powerful as imagined, and they're easily interrupted or fail. The second is Proficient, where the move is skillfully mastered, allowing it to deliver its original power and effect. As for the third, that's Mastery. The move is fully understood, used effortlessly, and can be varied according to the situation, rather than being rigidly applied in battle."

"Beginner, Proficient, Mastery..." Ace nodded, indicating he understood.

What Brock referred to as "the use of force" and what Misty called "move variations" were, at their core, both forms of technical combat.

Compared to Brock's rough explanation, Misty's was much more detailed.

However, for Ace and his Pokémon, this was a bit premature.

Zubat and his team hadn't yet completed their attack coverage. Asking them to forgo learning new moves in favor of refining move variations would be putting the cart before the horse.

He could only consider move variations and skill research once Zubat and the others had a complete range of offensive moves.

Ace listened intently, while Ash also listened with great interest, occasionally letting out a silly grin, presumably thinking of something fun.

After explaining to Ace and Ash, Misty left first.

After all, she had gotten up in a hurry and hadn't even had time to wash up.

Ash, however, didn't mind. He turned to Ace and said, "I have some ideas. How about we try them out? Want to have a match?"

Ace glanced at Ash. Honestly, he both wanted and didn't want to battle him.

"Side Quest (Man of Battle): Before you stands the Man of Battle personally endorsed by Professor Oak, but to you, without experiencing the harsh realities of the world, he is no true fighter. Make Ash understand the cruelty of battle, and defeat him. Quest Reward: 10,000 Gold, Energy Cube Maker, Mission Points based on quest completion evaluation."

A second quest with an extra item appeared, and it was something completely useless to him.

For someone who could directly purchase specially formulated Energy Cubes from the system, an Energy Cube Maker was simply a white elephant to Ace.

However, the meticulous Ace knew that the system wouldn't just give him useless items for no reason; the items it provided were usually things he urgently needed.

Realizing this, Ace instantly understood the system's intention.

"Still don't trust me completely, Misty...?"

Ace's mind raced, but on the surface, he offered a slight smile and said to Ash, "Alright, as long as it makes us stronger, more battles are always better."

With that, Ace beckoned to Aerodactyl, the seemingly quietest yet most ferocious of his Pokémon. It flapped its wings and landed before him.

"Aerodactyl, huh... Then I choose you, Bulbasaur!"

Ash flung his Poké Ball, and Bulbasaur burst out, landing in front of him.

Bulbasaur looked at Ace with a puzzled expression. It had a feeling it knew this boy.

But before Bulbasaur could react, Aerodactyl flapped its wings and lunged at Bulbasaur. Its maw opened wide, and Fire Fang viciously aimed for Bulbasaur!

"Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf!"

Faced with Aerodactyl's sudden assault, Ash wasn't caught off guard. Instead, he calmly commanded Bulbasaur to use Razor Leaf to suppress Aerodactyl as much as possible.

Seeing the flying leaves, Aerodactyl didn't dodge. It charged directly through the Razor Leaf, closing in on Bulbasaur, and fiercely bit into it.

"Now! Vine Whip!"

Ash showed no panic. Following his command, the Vine Whips, already hidden in the grass, instantly unfurled, descending upon Aerodactyl!

"Hehe, Vine Whip, Spider Web formation!"

Seeing Ace's Aerodactyl ensnared by Vine Whip, Ash chuckled.

But Ace sighed and said to Ash, "You should use these flashy tricks less. They're not very practical."

As Ace's words fell, the bound Aerodactyl bit into the Vine Whip, and a bone-chilling cold erupted from its mouth.

The Vine Whip quickly froze and became brittle. Aerodactyl flapped its wings fiercely, directly breaking free.

Looking at the somewhat dazed Ash and Bulbasaur, Aerodactyl let out a sinister grin, fiercely flapped a wing, and with extreme speed, collided with Bulbasaur.

"Oh no, it's Wing Attack!"

Ash watched Bulbasaur get knocked back, and the energy shimmering on Aerodactyl's wings. He immediately understood that this attack would deal immense damage to Bulbasaur!

But what Ash didn't know was that Ace was not someone who showed mercy.

Strike while they're down, that was the truth Ace firmly believed in this world!

Aerodactyl caught up to the flying Bulbasaur, opened its maw, and its Fire Fang savagely bit into Bulbasaur.

Flames erupted, directly scorching Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur didn't even have time to cry out before it was thrown to the ground by Aerodactyl, charred black, and lost its ability to battle.

This was still a restrained attack from Aerodactyl. If Aerodactyl had unleashed its full ferocity, that attack might have torn Bulbasaur apart, taking its life!

"Bulbasaur!"

Ash rushed forward to check on Bulbasaur's injuries, while Ace recalled Aerodactyl and coldly said to Ash, "Ash, this world is very dangerous. Your battles are too naive."

Ash held his severely burned Bulbasaur, momentarily lost in thought.

One could say that such a scene, for Ash, was too much to take in at once!

"Side Quest (Man of Battle) completed. Quest evaluation: C. Reward: 10,000 Gold, Energy Cube Maker sent to inventory, two Mission Points."