"Everyone, let's go all out to win the Championship!"
With the host's encouragement, the audience and contestants all began to roar, determined to seize the Championship.
Ash joined the crowd in shouting, but his eyes kept scanning the information of the surrounding Pokémon.
To know oneself and one's enemy is the key to a hundred victories!
He needed to understand the level of the strongest opponent in this match first.
With a glance, the strongest Pokemon in the field appeared to be Hitmonchan belonging to Anthony. There was also a Hitmonlee on the same level, while the remaining Pokémon, although many were Advanced Level, none had reached Advanced Peak.
In battles, level advantages do not determine the match's outcome. Ash, who has battled out of his league multiple times, naturally wouldn't consider level to be everything.
However, the Ability Values of those Pokémon were average as well. In terms of perception and commanding skills, Ash didn't think he would lose to these individuals, so for this match, he was about 80% confident of victory.
But just winning wasn't enough; he needed to completely shatter Anthony's confidence and ambition.
To achieve that level, some tactics were required...
As the competition officially started, the battle on the stage was intense, with the audience below cheering vigorously!
In truth, there weren't many strong contestants in the match; the Advanced Level ones could be counted on one hand, and they were all considered favorites for the championship.
The competition, in general, was like a pecking match between chickens. Ash, with an Elite Level Primeape, stood out and dominated the field.
The smooth progress amazed Ash; he couldn't remember when he'd last participated in such a low-intensity competition. He didn't even need Aura Fusion, as even an Advanced Peak Hitmonlee was easily defeated by Primeape.
The consecutive victories made Primeape extremely excited. Although the opponents weren't strong, each one was defeated with solid punches, and the continuous wins were the reason for Primeape's exhilaration.
Compared to Ash's ease, Anthony's progress was quite cautious. He was also winning continuously, but his approach was very conservative and careful.
In terms of spectacle, there was no comparison with Primeape's battles.
However, Hitmonchan's level was relatively low, and Anthony's command skills were far behind Ash's. The former was a Fighting Master, while the latter was a Trainer.
Their approaches to battles were different. Ash had guidance from numerous prestigious trainers, while Anthony, despite his age, had command skills not matching his years.
So, even as Anthony cautiously advanced, Hitmonchan suffered considerable damage reaching the finals, while Ash's Primeape had only depleted some Physical Strength at most.
"I guessed it; the finals would definitely be against you. You're called Ash, right? You seem to be a well-known Trainer." Anthony, standing below the stage, said with a look of reflection while listening to the cheers around.
Amidst continuous victories, he roughly understood from the discussions around how accomplished Ash was. Apart from other experiences, the fact that Ash had only traveled for two months was enough to surpass him.
Two months... In just two months, Ash had surpassed three years of his hard work!
This is what they call Talent; you must admit that people with and without Talent really do live in different worlds.
But today, Anthony was determined to challenge the gifted and become Kanto's premier Fighting Master!
These three years of effort were definitely not in vain!
"Uncle Anthony, chasing ideals and giving everything for them is not wrong. But if your ideals require sacrifice not just from yourself, but from those around you too, I hope you'll reconsider."
"In this battle, I'll make you see reason, Uncle Anthony." Ash took a deep breath, his eyes turning sharp.
"Aura... is in my heart!" Ash's soft whisper made Primeape's body shudder on stage.
"Primeape?" Has its strength improved? No, it's not just improved strength. It felt as if its vision had expanded, and everything around seemed to be within its grasp, akin to entering a profoundly mystical state.
If it could enter this state from the beginning of the battle, it might have reached the finals unscathed!
"Bring it on, Uncle Anthony." Ash said calmly.
"... Hitmonchan, Power-Up Punch!" Ash's words clearly affected Anthony; distractions are a definite no-no in battle.
If Ash had suddenly attacked earlier, Hitmonchan couldn't possibly react to defend.
But Ash didn't choose to strike first; instead, he reminded Anthony to attack.
Upon regaining his focus, Anthony suppressed his thoughts and launched an attack on Primeape.
Hitmonchan advanced, its red fists swirling powerfully, countless fist shadows appearing in front of Primeape, but Primeape slowly closed its eyes!
"Hitmonchan has initiated the attack; how will Primeape respond? What! Primeape actually closed its eyes—is it planning to forfeit?" The host's excited shout echoed on stage, sparking intense discussion among the audience.
Closing one's eyes during a boxing match—what was this? Throwing the match?
However, before anyone could question it further, Primeape preemptively sidestepped, dodging Hitmonchan's punch, and the following dozens of punches didn't land on Primeape at all!
"My heavens, dear audience, what am I seeing? Primeape, with its eyes closed, dodged all the opponent's attacks; this is simply a miracle!" exclaimed the host, echoing the thoughts of numerous spectators.
How was it dodging the attack with eyes closed? On stage, Hitmonchan's fists had created countless afterimages, yet none could land on Primeape.
Seeing this, Anthony couldn't help but recall the fear instilled by Riolu yesterday.
Yesterday, it was because Riolu used Detect, so none of its punches landed, but now Primeape used no skills and closed its eyes; how was this possible?!
Could it be that the difference in their abilities was so vast?
Hitmonchan halted its attack, panting heavily, its vigilance high, as it anticipated a counterattack from its opponent.
Yet Primeape remained motionless.
"Uncle Anthony, is this the end? Doesn't Hitmonchan still have strength left? Let it keep attacking." Ash gestured, speaking calmly.
Anthony noticed that Ash, too, had his eyes closed—why did he know Hitmonchan's attack had paused?
Primeape on stage made a provocative gesture, signaling Hitmonchan to keep attacking. Hitmonchan's expression sank—was this opponent trampling on its dignity?
"Hitmonchan, use Close Combat!" Hitmonchan swung its fists, delivering a barrage of attacks towards Primeape, faster than before, but still failing to graze Primeape's fur.
Subsequently, Anthony commanded Hitmonchan to keep attacking, never landing a hit on Primeape—Primeape, remaining with eyes shut the entire time.
Until Hitmonchan, exhausted, knelt on the ground, Primeape remained unscathed. This massive disparity filled Anthony with despair.
What was he thinking before...was Primeape easier to deal with than that Riolu? Easier, my foot; this one is a heavyweight boss!!