"Am I seeing this right, Mr. Koga actually lost again?!"
"Unless my eyes are playing tricks on me, you saw it right."
"Who on earth is that boy, to be so formidable and already defeated two of Mr. Koga’s Pokémon?!"
"And the second one was taken down with just a Pikachu, that’s just too crazy!"
"It looks like that Arbok was Mr. Koga’s main force, doesn’t it?"
"Haha, that’s a good joke, but it’s not very accurate. Mr. Koga’s main force is an Elite! Are you telling me an Elite-level Pokémon got beaten by a little boy with a Pikachu? Ridiculous!"
"..."
The audience on the surrounding rooftops were all chattering, discussing amongst themselves.
Koga’s consecutive losses indeed took them by surprise, as previously, challengers who could defeat Koga were very rare, and they generally seemed to be much older than Ash.
Ash is just over two months into his journey now, with the innocence still on his face, and his age is pretty easy to ascertain at a glance.
So it’s not surprising at all to tell Ash’s age.
However, when it came to understanding Pokémon levels, the amateurs around weren’t quite clear.
Although they felt the destruction caused in these two battles was somewhat outrageous, many people didn’t think in the direction of Elite, at most they wondered if Koga used Professional Level Pokémon.
Koga’s previous battles were basically on the Elite Level, and now the fight was more intense and destructive, so guessing it’s Professional Level was reasonable, but as for Gym Level... how could a Trainer of his age defeat Gym Level?
Not to mention Ash, even a Trainer traveling for two years could rarely reach Gym Level, those people are usually considered geniuses.
And from Ash’s appearance, he didn’t seem like a Trainer who’s been traveling for two years.
So many thought this battle was a clash between Professional Levels, and even so, they were quite amazed.
A seemingly very young Trainer, using a Pikachu to defeat a Professional Level Pokémon, that level of skill is definitely among the top in Kanto’s young generation.
But... in the crowd, there were still a few who were exceptionally perceptive, they noticed that in these two matches, the Pokémon Koga used were his main force, meaning... Elite Level!
This meant Ash defeated two Elite Level Pokémon!
This result made those who realized the level of Koga’s Pokémon a bit incredulous, when did Elite Level become so easy to beat? And the one defeating them was a little boy who looked at most sixteen!
Isn’t it possible this guy looks young but is actually in his twenties or thirties?
That speculation is far-fetched, but compared to Pikachu bursting out Elite Level prowess and beating Elite Level Pokémon, that ridiculous guess doesn’t seem too outrageous.
Even if Ash was in his twenties or thirties, a Pokémon like Pikachu isn’t something that can be nurtured just by training for a long time.
As a common Pokémon in Kanto, among the known powerful Trainers, none of them use Pikachu as their main force, and no Pikachu has surpassed Professional Level.
Even if there were Gym Level or Elite Levels, they would have evolved into Raichu, which Trainer with powerful Pokémon would constantly use Pikachu! Isn’t that just asking for trouble?
Yet, today we see someone not asking for trouble... to be able to train Pikachu to this level is absolutely unheard of, unprecedented, just this alone is enough to leave the surrounding Trainers speechless with shock.
...
The backyard of Oak’s Research Institute —
After seeing the ’charred’ Arbok, Professor Oak and the observing Pokémon around Ash all cheered in unison.
"This kid, he actually won! That was one of Koga’s main Pokémon, and among his mains, Arbok is above average. He actually won with a type-disadvantaged Pikachu, truly worthy of... truly worthy of being a Trainer from Pallet Town!"
Professor Oak praised, and the words that nearly slipped out seemed to be abruptly stopped and changed to something else, sounding a bit odd.
But with only Ash’s Pokémon around, no one cared about Professor Oak’s awkward phrasing.
Butterfree, Primeape, Gengar, they were all cheering and celebrating for Ash, with Gengar even tearing up slightly and murmuring something like ’The kid’s grown up, and no longer needs him.’
These words added a touch of oddness to Professor Oak’s excited expression, like ’as if you raised Ash.’
But then again, previously when Ash faced Elite Level Pokémon, his only option was to send out Gengar.
If Gengar hadn’t stepped in, even if Ash combined all his Pokémon, they couldn’t have beaten an Elite Level Pokémon.
But now, Ash defeated two Pokémon commanded by an Elite Trainer without relying on Gengar, indicating a difference in information, the predictive ability of Aura Power, the bursts of power from the Pokémon, and various other factors.
Perhaps if Ash were to challenge again, he wouldn’t necessarily win.