Chapter 204: Ash's Pokémon
In the afternoon, Ryan and his group arrived at Venue B, where Ash would be playing his first tournament match.
They found Brock and Serena and sat down next to them. Ryan asked Brock, "Brock, which two Pokémon is Ash using this time?"
"Primeape and Pidgeotto," Brock replied. "Ash brought back two of his main Pokémon from the Kanto region. They've been training with Ash for two months, and they're very strong now."
Ryan nodded: He hadn't expected Ash to use them as his first team, but a ground-air combination is common in doubles, so it wasn't a problem.
As for Ash's opponent, he was also from Cinnabar Island in the Kanto region, named Blaine Jr., who specialized in Fire-type Pokémon. But after Sapphire's long battle yesterday, Ryan couldn't guarantee he wouldn't use some strange combination.
As the competition progressed, it was soon Ash's turn.
Ash walked out of the player tunnel and stood in the arena, while Blaine Jr. stood on the other side. At the referee's signal, both players simultaneously threw their Poké Balls.
Four Pokémon appeared on the field. Ash indeed used a combination of Primeape and Pidgeotto, while Blaine Jr.'s combination was somewhat incomprehensible: a Raticate and a Crobat.
Even Ryan was a bit confused: What kind of combination was this? What was its purpose?
Not only Ryan was confused, but the audience and Ash were also bewildered. Seeing Ash's confusion, Blaine Jr. said, "Since you won't attack, I'll go first. Raticate, Crobat, Hyper Fang!"
Raticate and Crobat suddenly accelerated, and before Ash could react, Primeape and Pidgeotto were simultaneously bitten by Hyper Fang, losing half their health.
Ash reacted instantly, shouting, "Pidgeotto, Tailwind! Primeape, Cross Chop on Raticate!"
Pidgeotto broke free from Crobat's bite and flapped its wings at Raticate and Crobat, creating a strong gust of wind that sent Crobat tumbling through the air several times. Primeape instantly flew into a rage, its Cross Chop striking Raticate, which was biting it, and sending it flying.
Then, using the tailwind to accelerate, it charged at Raticate, unleashing a Close Combat attack. Its fists flashed, leaving a trail of afterimages, and the sound of each punch landing echoed as it knocked Raticate to the ground, rendering it unable to battle.
Ryan, realizing what was happening, said, "I think I've figured it out. Ash's Suicune put too much pressure on them. The opponent wasn't sure if Ash would actually use Suicune, so they resorted to using Hyper Fang to instantly reduce the opponent's health to half."
"Uh...yeah. If it were me, since I couldn't beat you, I'd at least make things difficult for you," Ruby nodded, confirming Ryan's assessment.
Only Serena asked, "If the goal is to drag the enemy down, wouldn't it be better to choose a Ghost-type Pokémon?"
Lillie looked at Serena and Brock and said, "Didn't you guys check the contestant information? None of Blaine Jr.'s registered Pokémon are Ghost-type! So this is probably the best method he could come up with. Hyper Fang reduces HP, and then Crobat's mobility and Poison-type moves will wear him down."
As if confirming Lillie's words, Blaine Jr. immediately had Crobat use Toxic on the attacking Primeape. Primeape was attacking Raticate and didn't notice Crobat at all. Pidgeotto, because of using Tailwind, allowed Crobat to create distance from Pidgeotto, preventing Pidgeotto from interfering with it.
Ryan looked at the poisoned Primeape and shook his head, thinking: Ash is still Ash. Although his strength has become very strong, his careless personality and hot-blooded fighting style haven't changed.
Having successfully poisoned Primeape, Crobat instantly gained altitude, creating distance and preventing Primeape from attacking it. The poisoned Primeape, unable to recover, was in serious trouble.
Seeing Crobat ascend, Pidgeotto let out an angry cry, powerfully flapping its wings and launching an Aerial Ace at Crobat.
"Crobat, use Poison Sting!" Blaine Jr. shouted.
Hearing Blaine Jr.'s voice, Crobat immediately sprayed a large number of poisonous barbs at Pidgeotto. However, Pidgeotto's agility was no joke; during its rapid dash, it skillfully adjusted its direction, dodging the poisonous barbs and landing its Aerial Ace directly on Crobat.
"Crobat, use Leech Life and then Poison Fang!" Blaine Jr. shouted.
Crobat endured the pain and bit Pidgeotto hard on the shoulder. Pidgeotto cried out in pain, its blood staining the sky. Then, Crobat unleashed its Poison Fang, a large amount of venom flowing into Pidgeotto's body through the wound, successfully poisoning it.
"Pidgeotto, use U-turn! Knock it down!" Ash shouted.
Fighting through the pain and discomfort, Pidgeotto used U-turn to send Crobat hurtling downwards.
"Crobat, Poison Jab!" Blaine Jr. panicked.
Falling from such a height, Crobat might not be able to withstand it! Crobat immediately used Poison Jab to attack Pidgeotto, but Pidgeotto didn't care about the injuries. It couldn't lose its first battle after returning!
"Now, Pidgeotto, break free from Crobat!" Ash shouted. "Primeape, Reversal!"
With Ash's words, Pidgeotto obeyed unconditionally, spreading its wings and breaking free from Crobat, simultaneously shattering U-turn's momentum and gliding to the side. Meanwhile, the waiting Primeape had already condensed a white energy ball and slammed it down in the direction Crobat was falling!
"Boom!" A violent explosion occurred. After being poisoned, the nearly defeated Primeape unleashed its Reversal attack, its power maximized to blast Crobat away, rendering it unable to battle.
"Raticate and Crobat are unable to battle! Primeape and Pidgeotto win! Therefore, the winner is Ash from Pallet Town!" With the referee's announcement, the match ended.
Although both Pidgeotto and Primeape were severely poisoned, neither collapsed. This was their first official match since their return, and they had every reason to fight!
Pidgeotto was alright; it had fought alongside Ash in the Indigo League when it was still a Pidgey, but Primeape had been gone for far too long. It desperately needed a resounding victory to prove to everyone: it, Primeape, was also Ash's ace Pokémon!
Seeing Primeape and Pidgeotto still showing off their skills even while poisoned, Ryan felt a pang of emotion for some reason. In the original series, Ash released far too many of his main Pokémon, but now Ash was bringing them all back. This different Ash brought Ryan a completely different feeling.
He could only say that the regrets he felt while watching the anime were somewhat alleviated!
(End of Chapter)
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