Mushroom Evolution

Chapter 377 Mushroom Evolution

The day after May caught the Wurmple, Ash and his friends boarded a luxury speedboat and embarked on their journey to Dew Island.

The journey was quite pleasant, with calm seas and sunny skies.

Ash went up to the deck of the speedboat, picked up four rings in one hand, and threw them into the air.

The Turtle, which had been waiting in mid-air for a long time, quickly swooped down in an arc, hitting the rings one after another and knocking them back to Ash's position.

"Well done, Aoguyan! Your accuracy is superb, but you need to be a little faster!"

"Spar!"

Ash is currently training Taillow with a new Flying-type move, U-turn.

As a Flying-type Pokémon, Taillow's Flying-type moves are severely lacking in both power and quantity.

Although Taillow has amazing perseverance and is often used by Ash as a meat shield, it has always had an offensive heart.

Every now and then, Taillow would come to protest to Ash, saying that it was too much to treat it like that in battle. It has a high ability to withstand damage, so you can't just make it take all the damage.

"Spa, Spa~"

After sensing Taillow's will, Ash fully respected the Pokémon's idea and decided to train its offensive abilities.

The first step is to teach Swallow Return with Taunt, and then use that as a foundation to master powerful Flying-type moves like Brave Bird.

Once Ash and his friends make a decision, they immediately devote themselves to it wholeheartedly, so they don't miss any opportunity to train, even while traveling.

Similarly, May was training her Pokémon on the other side.

The news about Musashi really spurred Haruka on, motivating her to put on a strong performance in the next Grand Tournament.

"Now that we've decided to participate, we must aim for victory!"

"Turkeys, mushrooms, and worms, is everyone ready?"

"Chama!"

"Mushroom!"

'

'

"Spiny tailworm----"

The first two little cuties responded enthusiastically to Xiaoyao's call, but the worm looked sleepy the whole time, as if it had eaten its fill.

Xiaoyao's stinging beetle has shown an amazing appetite ever since the night it was captured.

It not only ate all the Pokémon food prepared for it in one go, but also ate all the food in the bowls of its other companions.

For a moment, Ash thought he had seen Snorlax.

So much so that even though Wurmple isn't a problem child who disobeys its trainer's orders, the fact that it always eats or sleeps whenever it comes out of its Poké Ball still gives May a headache.

"But it does match Haruka's foodie nature quite well."

"No way! I'm not the kind of person who does nothing but eat and sleep!"

Unconvinced, May angrily went to wake up Wurmple and dragged it into the Contest training session.

The scene on the deck was vibrant and energetic, with young men and women gathered together, moving towards their respective dreams—a truly touching sight.

Amidst this joyful scene, however, some people seemed rather unhappy.

"Hey, is it really appropriate for you to let a little kid hold the steering wheel of a speedboat so casually?"

While Ash and May were busy training with their Pokémon, Max's resentful voice came from inside the cockpit.

That's right, Xiao Sheng is the only one piloting the entire luxury yacht right now.

Since Ash and May were both on the deck training their Pokémon, only Max was in the cockpit.

Sailing on a calm sea is actually a tedious and arduous task, and Xiao Zhi certainly wouldn't want to do it.

So he took full advantage of his excellent trainer's initiative, and after teaching Xiaosheng some basic common sense, he immediately handed over his responsibilities!

(Xiaosheng: Do excellent Pokémon Trainers have this kind of initiative?)

"These are all necessary trials in life, Xiao Sheng!"

"This is clearly a trial you forced upon me!"

However, this is indeed a sign of Ash's trust in Max.

Thanks to Ash's training, the bespectacled kid has gradually developed muscles in his arms, and with his current strength, maneuvering a speedboat is not a problem.

Ash felt especially at ease knowing that Zz'awk would help him level up his Pokémon navigator for free.

Besides, he has Pikachu watching over him and providing support, so nothing will happen.

But then, the speedboat suddenly began to shake violently, and May quickly picked up her Pokémon and gripped the railing on the deck.

"Oh, Xiaosheng, what happened? Did the boat malfunction because you didn't operate it properly?"

"No, it's because something inexplicably hit the bottom of the ship!"

Unexpectedly, a large group of bright blue dorsal fins suddenly rose from the originally calm sea.

The sharks, their dorsal fins protruding from the water, frantically circled their speedboat, completely surrounding them.

Ash sensed something and thought, "Are these Sharpedoes?"

"Ah, Megalodons! How come there are so many? Have we trespassed into their territory? Kacchan, are you sure you didn't drive to the wrong place?"

The speedboat was rocked from side to side by the giant sharks, and Xiaoyao could only continue to hold tightly to the railing.

Xiao Sheng quickly held up the navigator to prove his innocence: "No, I guarantee I strictly followed the route specified on the navigator."

But his expression as he looked at the surrounding sea was quite solemn.

"Sharknadoes are fierce and territorial, but they're supposed to be solitary Pokémon, so how could there be such a large group of them moving together!"

Normally, encountering just one of these giant sea monsters on the seabed would be troublesome enough, but now there were at least twenty or thirty of them appearing in dense numbers.

Moreover, although megalodons are generally ferocious, they do not actively target large yachts.

It's unclear why these Sharpedoes surrounded Ash and his friends' speedboat. Did they mistake the Pokémon training on the deck for food?

The little cuties were trembling with fear.

Ash and his friends encountered something so extremely rare; it's hard to say whether they were lucky or unlucky.

At this point, the ship began to rock violently again, and the megalodon sharks started tearing at the bottom of the hull.

"Oh no, Ash, Sister, think of something quick! We're still halfway to Dew Island!"

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu immediately leaped from Ash's shoulder, summoning powerful lightning.

Surprisingly, the group of megalodons worked together skillfully, quickly determining the point of impact before the 100,000 volts struck and using water jets to dodge far away.

Several Megalodons that can use freezing winds can even cooperate to freeze the sea surface to help the group resist Pikachu's electric shocks.

"Such a tactical wild megalodon—"

Ash was slightly surprised and immediately tried to sense the deeper part of the shark swarm.

Sure enough, a huge megalodon was found hiding deep within the net surrounded by a large group of sharks. Its keen eyes were fixed on the surface of the sea while it used ultrasonic waves to direct the group.

"It seems that this shark prodigy is the one who gathered such a large group of lone wolves together."

Ash noticed that the boss Pokémon he encountered in Hoenn seemed to be very good at group command.

"Xiaosheng, I've already looked at the navigator's map. Immediately steer the boat to the right front."

"There's a crescent-shaped island over there. We need to drive into the bay inside the island to prevent the speedboat from suffering further damage."

These megalodons were exceptionally stubborn, refusing to flee even after witnessing Pikachu's powerful attacks.

The yacht was a valuable gift from someone, and Xiaozhi would still feel heartbroken if it were to be scrapped for no reason.

Moreover, Sharpedo is fierce, powerful, and the final evolved form. Its initiative to surround Ash is like throwing good money after bad.

"They attacked first, so don't blame me!"

Excitedly, Ash decided to first gather the beasts in a suitable location before giving them a good time.

Immediately, Pikachu used Thunderbolt to clear a path again, and Max followed Ash's command and sped towards the gap.

The megalodon sharks immediately gave chase, and the yacht quickly sailed into the island's natural harbor.

At this moment, Ash quickly jumped off the boat, then carried the yacht out of the sea and flew to the beach.

The yacht's bottom was bitten with several holes by the megalodon sharks, but fortunately, the crucial skeletal structure was not damaged and could be repaired later.

However, when Ash picked up the yacht, the group of Sharpedoes that were chasing closely behind him were clearly taken aback.

After all the Sharpedoes entered the harbor, Ash immediately threw a boulder to block the narrow entrance to the island.

"Ash, what are we going to do now?"

"What are we doing? We're going to start a massacre, of course!"

Ash tapped May's innocent-looking forehead and immediately rushed forward with his Pokémon.

This is all valuable experience; wasting it would be a terrible mistake!

At this point, the Megalodons realized something was wrong and, under the leader's command, began frantically firing water guns at the boulder blocking their path.

However, the water in the natural harbor was shallow, and the Megalodon could no longer quickly dive to a safe depth. It was instantly knocked over by Pikachu's 100,000-volt electric shock.

"While you're here, May, let's release the mushrooms and use the seed bomb together."

"oh!"

Now, Xiaoyao gets excited whenever this happens, and she also commands her mushrooms to go forward.

Standing on a high point on the shore with Ash's Mushroom, they launched a bombardment of the Megalodon army below.

If a conscious Megalodon tries to retaliate, it will immediately be paralyzed by Pikachu's electric shock and can only obediently let the Mushrooms gain experience.

"Hey Ash, why don't you let the other Pokémon battle with you? This isn't like you at all."

"Xiaosheng, have you forgotten that the Megalodon's characteristic is its rough skin?"

"Both the Tauntlet and the Forest Lizard primarily use contact-based skills; attacking the Megalodon will also injure themselves."

"By deploying Mushroom and Pikachu like this, we can maximize our profits!"

"Oh, I see." Xiao Sheng looked enlightened.

The innocent, battle-loving boy who once adored Pokémon has now become someone who actively asks Ash why he doesn't send more Pokémon to gang up on him.

So sad, so sad, so sad~

With the help of two Mushrooms and Pikachu, the Megalodons quickly lost their fighting ability one by one, turning their snow-white bellies up on the surface of the sea.

Of course, they didn't completely sit idly by and wait for their doom.

The megalodon leader, who had been hiding among the sharks, finally couldn't hold back any longer.

With a burst of water, it charged ashore, carrying the seed bomb, and with astonishing force, it bit directly at the mushrooms.

Fortunately, Ash's leader, Shroomish, reacted quickly and knocked aside a Shiny Shroomish, allowing it to avoid a fatal injury.

"Wow, this megalodon can actually float on the shore!" Xiao Sheng had never seen such a peculiar megalodon before.

Ash was also observing the Megalodon with great interest. "If Misty saw this, she would be overjoyed."

The fact that fish-shaped Pokémon can only move in water has always been a weakness for Water-type Pokémon in battles.

It's quite remarkable that this megalodon was able to overcome it.

Ash stopped Pikachu from stepping forward to help deal with the boss, Sharpedo.

"Wait a minute, Pikachu, look at that guy's eyes. He wants a fair battle with my Mushroom."

Perhaps it was a connection between the dominant Pokémon, but Sharpedo and Shroomish forgot everything around them and stared intently at each other.

Suddenly, the Megalodon took the initiative, its massive body slicing through the flat beach like a missile and crashing into it.

"Shark!"

"That's a powerful charge! Mushroom, let's not back down! Use a headbutt to ram back!"

"Mushroom!"

Two enormous creatures from their respective tribes collided violently on the beach, instantly kicking up countless grains of sand.

After a stalemate, it was the mushroom that finally ran out of strength and was pushed back.

"The opponent has the advantage in strength, so let's use mushroom spores!"

The mushroom that was knocked away was unwilling to accept it, so it puffed up its round body and released spores from its head at high speed.

But then the Megalodon suddenly opened its gaping maw, and a chilling wind blew out.

"That's a freezing wind attack! This boss can do that too!"

Ordinary Megalodons don't easily learn this skill, and Ash had wondered before how there were so many Megalodons that could do it.

It seems that this shark was the first to learn this technique from the Megalodon and then taught it to its own kind.

"Ash, it wants to use the power of the freezing wind to blow the mushroom spores away."

Seeing that all of the mushroom spores of the mushroom mushroom were blown away, May worriedly picked up her own shiny mushroom, hoping that it could release mushroom spores to help Ash and the others.

But Ash immediately stopped him.

"You can't do that, Haruka. This isn't a street fight anymore. Since it's a fair fight, we have to respect the rules."

Although Ash's moral bottom line is flexible, he won't easily compromise in situations like this.

"The mushroom-like creature faces the enemy head-on, unleashing its seed bomb!"

Although the mushroom spores didn't work, Ash believed that with the mushroom's level and type advantage, there was still a good chance of victory.

But the Megalodon on the other side seems to be of a high level as well, and its speed is much faster than Mushroom's.

It sank its body, gathered its energy, and immediately launched itself forward, opening its huge mouth to crush the incoming seed bombs one by one.

"Mushroom, mushroom?!"

"What an amazing Megalodon!"

"The other individuals in the group are completely incomparable to it."

Xiaoyao and Xiaosheng were stunned.

No wonder he was able to subdue so many Megalodons and successfully bring them under his command.

This was the first time Ash's Mushroom had been compressed like this since birth, and it finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"Mushroom!!!"

It puffed up in anger, steam rising from its head, and suddenly its whole body emitted a dazzling light.

It began to evolve.

Before meeting Ash, the leader, Shroom, had already accumulated a lot of experience and could have evolved long ago, but it was just lacking a trigger.

Now its opportunity has finally arrived.

Suddenly, the mushroom's body grew taller, from 1.2 meters to 2 meters.

The short, mushroom-shaped creature, which originally had two short legs, has become like a kangaroo.

The mushroom head turned into a hat, two red claws grew from its upper body, and a long white tail appeared behind it.

"This is a Breloom!" Haruka exclaimed excitedly, taking out her encyclopedia and scanning it.

"The 'hat mushroom' prefers a warm and humid climate and feeds on grasses and trees in grasslands or forests."

"They will approach the enemy with light footwork and knock them down with a punch at a speed invisible to the naked eye."

[Ding! Hatsune Mushroom: Affection: +2; Intimacy: +2]

[Ding! Congratulations, host! The Breath-shroom has learned a new skill: Sonic Punch]

After evolving and gaining the Fighting attribute, Breloom has finally reached its Ultimate form. Its huge body jumps around without appearing clumsy at all.

At this moment, the leader Megalodon realized that something was wrong and charged over with another ramming attack.

"Shark!"

"Alright, Breloom, let's use Headbutt again!"

"Straw hat!"

The two Pokémon clashed violently once again, and this time Breloom was finally able to hold its own against the leader, Sharpedo, in terms of size and strength.

Even with its head restrained, the Breloom still possesses two claws capable of launching attacks.

"Hold on, Breloom! Use Mach Punch!"

With a powerful push from its feet, the velvet mushroom's head still held firm against the megalodon's charge.

But its two seemingly short claws suddenly extended, and a powerful sonic punch slammed directly into the Megalodon's chin.

Breloom, a Grass/Fighting type, completely dominates a Water/Dark type Sharpedo.

At the same time, Ash's Breloom activates its Expert ability, which increases the power of a move by half when its power is less than 600.

Sonic punches can give users the speed and power to strike before they can react, often allowing them to strike first, although their power is slightly less.

Breloom's skillful play compensates for this disadvantage, coupled with Fighting's advantage over Dark-types.

With this attack, the Megalodon was sent flying into the air, seeing stars.

"Well done, Mushroom!"

"Straw hat!"

[Ding! Hatsune Mushroom: Affection: +1; Intimacy: +1]