Ash's Snorlax was tough and powerful. As a Normal-type, it was only weak to Fighting-type moves, and with its Thick Fat Ability, it was the perfect Pokémon to lead off with.
Luther decided to test the waters first and see how Ash planned to handle Darkrai.
"'Dark Void'."
Darkrai released the move incredibly fast. Compared to its previous appearance, its speed had improved even further.
"Use 'Mega Punch' on the ground!"
Snorlax slammed its fist into the ground, creating a crater beneath its feet. Fist-sized rocks shot out in every direction, blocking the incoming 'Dark Void' with flying debris.
"I see."
Although Snorlax was agile for its size, it would be difficult for it to dodge 'Dark Void' against a fast Pokémon like Darkrai because of its massive body. As long as 'Dark Void' couldn't directly hit Snorlax, Ash could fully utilize its explosive power.
"Then use Dark Pulse."
Luther wanted to continue testing Snorlax's capabilities, but Ash suddenly shouted, "Charge straight through it and use Heavy Slam!"
The greater the weight difference, the stronger the move became. After locking onto Darkrai, Snorlax broke into a full sprint, charging forward with astonishing speed.
Darkrai's hand trembled slightly as it fired Dark Pulse. Anyone would instinctively shudder when a thousand-pound giant barreled toward them hard enough to shake the ground, arms spread wide as if asking for a hug.
The Dark Pulse disappeared into Snorlax's belly, failing to slow its charge in the slightest, let alone make it flinch. Just before Heavy Slam connected, Darkrai gracefully spun aside, dodging the attack and leaving Snorlax to crash face-first into the ground.
"'Thunderbolt'."
After seeing Snorlax's momentum, Luther chose to play it safe, wearing down its stamina while steadily dealing damage.
"'Giga Impact'!"
Ash's command caught Luther completely off guard.
The Snorlax that had just been intimately introduced to the floor suddenly began glowing and charged at Darkrai once more. By then, it was too late to withdraw the 'Thunderbolt'.
The 'Thunderbolt' successfully struck Snorlax, but Darkrai was sent flying far away by 'Giga Impact'.
No wonder Snorlax was one of Ash's highest-win-rate Pokémon. Its transition between moves and execution speed were simply outstanding.
Even Paul in the stands frowned. Judging from this Snorlax's strength, the Pokémon Ash had trained in the past should all be quite formidable. So why had he never seen Ash use any of them before?
"'Dark Void'."
Since Ash had chosen to trade away his freedom of action in exchange for damage, Luther was more than happy to take advantage of it. This time, Snorlax could only watch helplessly as 'Dark Void' flew straight into its face. A moment later, it collapsed onto the ground, snoring loudly.
"Come back, Snorlax." Ash smiled at the Poké Ball in his hand. "You did great. We've already managed to stack some pretty solid damage on Darkrai."
Brock and Dawn both nodded repeatedly. Ash had fought this battle very flexibly; he hadn't stubbornly insisted on letting Snorlax decide the entire match by itself. Once 'Dark Void' landed, Darkrai would most likely use 'Dream Eater' to recover. Ash hadn't given Luther that chance, and it was an excellent decision.
Even Team Rocket, who had been busy selling merchandise, stopped to watch.
Meowth clicked his tongue in admiration. "The twerp's got some skills. That Snorlax looks pretty strong too. How about we catch it next time?"
Jessie kicked him. "Wake up. If Luther wins, there won't be a next time."
"But Luther only took a small advantage just now. It's still too early to tell who's gonna win," Meowth replied.
Ash's second Pokémon was Charizard. The moment it entered the field, it fired a stream of flames into the sky as if warning Darkrai to stay in line.
Luther had no intention of switching, which surprised Ash a little. In his memory, Luther wasn't the type of Trainer to force a single Pokémon through an entire battle.
As Luther looked at Charizard, aside from a bit of nostalgia, he was mostly thinking about the rest of Ash's lineup. His own team was only partially hidden. With some educated guesses, Ash could probably come up with a fairly effective counter-lineup. That was the advantage Ash had gained from traveling through so many regions.
That's why Darkrai's job as the lead wasn't just to deal damage and secure an advantage. Like any good lead Pokémon, it needed to gather as much information as possible about the opponent's team. Luther needed to be a little greedier.
Setting nostalgia aside and looking at Charizard's actual record, this version of Charizard had narrowly defeated Articuno, but later lost to Brandon's Dusclops. That was another advantage Luther held in this battle.
He knew quite a bit about the Pokémon Ash was using and had a decent grasp of their general strength at this stage. All he needed to figure out was how much damage they could take before reaching their limits.
Snorlax's durability had required repeated testing, but Charizard was different. After Ice Beam landed on Charizard's neck, Luther got all the information he wanted from Charizard's expression, though the price was Darkrai taking a direct Flamethrower hit.
That was something Luther hadn't anticipated. Darkrai had been moving while firing Ice Beam, changing directions unpredictably, but Charizard simply didn't care.
The moment Ash shouted, "Don't let him get away!"
Charizard craned its neck forward and swept Flamethrower across the battlefield, chasing Darkrai the entire way. The relentless pressure eventually forced Darkrai into a positioning mistake, and the attack connected.
'Besides the basic information, I also need to account for the Pokémon's toughness, Ash's ability to bring out their potential, and his battle instincts,' Luther silently reminded himself again.
His opponent was Ash, and Ash always managed to pull off something unexpected. Even before meeting him and gaining all the experience he'd accumulated since then, Ash had defeated Dakota's Darkrai through sheer determination and even taken down Latios.
Now, Ash had grown rapidly throughout this tournament thanks to all the experience he'd gained and shared with others. Luther couldn't afford to be careless.
Darkrai retreated back into Luther's shadow, and Azumarill entered the field.
"Steel Wing."
Just as expected. Type disadvantage meant almost nothing in Ash's eyes. If there was a fight to be had, he'd take it.
Charizard dove from the sky, its wings gleaming like sharpened blades as it slashed toward Azumarill.
Azumarill calmly covered herself with 'Aqua Ring' first, surrounding her body with a restorative ring of water. Then, under Luther's command, she clapped her hands together and waited for Charizard to come closer.
The moment 'Steel Wing' collided with Azumarill's arms, she was pushed backward several steps. But Azumarill immediately struck the ground with Iron Tail, using her tail as support to shift her entire weight onto it. Like an anchor driven into the battlefield, the tail gave Azumarill the leverage she needed.
By the time Charizard realized something was wrong, it was already too late. Azumarill grabbed Charizard's left wing and slammed it straight into the ground. Charizard instantly lost its balance and crashed heavily onto the battlefield.
This was Azumarill's terrifying strength. As she continued to grow, that power had only become more frightening.
That was why Paul had warned Ash beforehand. He knew Ash had a habit of getting fired up and challenging opponents head-on. Against Azumarill, that kind of hard clash could easily end in disaster.
Ash quickly recalled Charizard. Azumarill, who had already prepared 'Aqua Tail' for a follow-up attack, looked visibly disappointed. For a moment, she wondered if she should start training her move activation speed as well.
"Thanks, Charizard. Just as expected, Azumarill came out. Get some rest for now." Smiling, Ash pulled out his third Poké Ball.
A horrible stench immediately spread across the battlefield. Luther and Azumarill instinctively covered their noses, while Ash nodded in satisfaction.
To deal with Azumarill, Ash had prepared two Pokémon. One of them... was Muk.
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395