[Ash: Nice! Took out two in a row! Hey, Gary—say something now!]
[Gary: …What are you celebrating for? That wasn't you doing the sweeping—Black World me did! Win the Silver Conference yourself first, then talk!]
[Ash: Hmph! When my Pidgeot comes back, I'll use mine to take out two of yours too!]
[Misty: Ash, are you an idiot? Who tells their opponent what Pokémon they're using ahead of time?!]
In Pokémon battles, raw strength matters—but so do information, calling, and tactical planning.
The biggest information gap is usually the Pokémon each side plans to use.
If you can predict your opponent's lineup and counter-pick, even a smaller strength gap can be flipped.
Black World Ash's Pidgeot taking down two Electric-types wasn't "luck."
That Pidgeot had been one of the first Pokémon he caught on his journey—one of his main training targets from day one.
And even though Gary's Electabuzz and Jolteon had type advantage, they still struggled to keep up—especially in speed.
Without slowing Pidgeot down first, Jolteon couldn't even stay on it.
Still… type advantage is type advantage.
Even with the level gap, Pidgeot took heavy damage after eating multiple Electric moves—
especially Thunder, a high-power finisher.
If Pidgeot had been even a little weaker, that Thunder would've ended the match instantly.
So Misty wasn't being dramatic—she was being realistic.
Black World Ash could afford to brute-force two Electric-types because he was far ahead.
But their world's Ash wasn't. If he gave Gary free info like that, it'd be handing Gary a winning blueprint.
[Gary: Hmph. Even if he told me in advance, I wouldn't bother counter-picking. Do you really think he's Black World Ash?]
…And yet, Gary was already flipping through his options.
Electabuzz was good.
Magnezone might be even better.
What? Didn't he just say he wouldn't counter-pick?
Relax—this was called strategy.
In a Black World —
Gary recalled Jolteon, which had fainted.
Ash also recalled Pidgeot—now barely holding itself together.
Even with the level advantage, taking two Electric beatdowns back-to-back—one of them Thunder—was too much.
Pidgeot had only evolved recently.
"Why not keep using Pidgeot?" Gary sneered.
"Heh. I'm not in the business of feeding you free knockouts," Ash shot back.
"Tch… Fine. Go, my—"
Gary almost kissed the Poké Ball again, paused, and tossed it out normally.
Better not to be so flashy.
Two beams of light burst onto the field—
Gary sent out Arcanine.
Ash answered with Infernape.
No major type advantage either way.
The only question now was: who was stronger?
"Infernape… your Close Combat tricks are sharp," Gary said coldly, "but in front of my Arcanine's speed? They're nothing!"
"Arcanine—Extreme Speed!"
Whoosh!
Arcanine vanished.
Gary's mouth curled in a confident smile.
Extreme Speed wasn't a move most Pokémon could learn, and it demanded a high level of mastery.
Arcanine had only learned it recently.
Gary had hidden it this whole League—specifically so Ash couldn't study it beforehand.
Now, he finally unleashed it.
Arcanine reappeared in a gust of wind—charging straight for Infernape.
And at that exact moment…
Infernape closed its eyes.
Gary's expression froze.
Infernape tilted slightly—barely moving—and Arcanine blew right past it.
Arcanine skidded behind Infernape, turning with a confused look.
What… just happened?
"Heh. Again, Gary," Ash taunted.
Gary's face darkened.
He hadn't understood the first exchange at all.
"Again!"
Arcanine kicked off the ground, whirled around instantly, and slammed in with Extreme Speed again—
Same result.
Infernape didn't open its eyes.
It simply shifted its body at the last moment and avoided the hit cleanly.
Arcanine refused to stop—Extreme Speed, again and again, red blur flashing across the field.
The crowd could barely follow Arcanine's movement.
But Infernape?
It looked almost lazy—eyes closed, body swaying in tiny arcs.
And the terrifying part was—
Infernape hadn't even moved more than a meter from where it started.
How?
Livestream Chat
[Bruno: Th-This… what move is that?!]
Bruno stared like he'd been struck by lightning.
This wasn't an elemental move. It wasn't some strange new Fire technique.
This was clearly Fighting-type combat technique.
From the posture, it looked similar to Detect—a move that can evade attacks reliably if the opponent isn't overwhelmingly stronger.
But Detect has a limit.
Repeated uses in a row can fail, and the failure chance grows each time.
Yet Infernape…
It looked like it could "Detect" forever—
with its eyes closed.
[Lance: It dodged Extreme Speed like it was nothing… That shouldn't be Detect. Can Infernape even do that?]
[Korrina: That's so cool! I used to think Infernape just looked fierce—this is straight-up stylish!]
[Bea: Dodging Extreme Speed repeatedly… what's the stamina cost, though?]
[Kaoruko: …That's my Bellsprout's martial arts.]
[Ash: Huh—yeah! It's different, but you can still see the shadow of it.]
[Cynthia: Wait… how long has it been? Black World Ash taught Infernape that already?]
[Kaoruko: That's ridiculous… My Bellsprout trained for years to reach that level without even evolving. How did he teach Infernape so fast?!]
[Bruno: …Hold on. If Infernape learned it from Ash, doesn't that mean Ash can probably do it too?]
Everyone went silent.
Training Pokémon like that was insane enough.
Learning that kind of body skill yourself, too?
What even was this guy?
In a Black World —
After repeated Extreme Speeds, Arcanine was visibly winded and had to pause to breathe.
Gary looked stunned.
Is your Infernape even legal?!
Arcanine had nearly exhausted itself.
Meanwhile, Infernape finally opened its eyes—then bounced lightly on its feet like it had been warming up.
As if it had been half-asleep the whole time.
"How?" Gary muttered.
Ash didn't answer.
He just raised a hand.
"Infernape—Cross Chop!"
Infernape launched forward, arms crossing with a sharp, slicing motion.
Fighting energy flared along the strike.
"Dodge!" Gary snapped.
But Arcanine's legs felt like lead from exhaustion.
It couldn't move in time.
WHAM!
Arcanine was knocked backward.
"Grab it—Seismic Toss!"
Infernape caught Arcanine midair, sprang up, flipped, and slammed it into the ground.
BOOM!
With its stamina already drained, Arcanine couldn't endure the combo.
Arcanine: unable to battle.
"Tch… Come back," Gary said, forcing calm, recalling it.
With three of Gary's Pokémon down, the referee called a ten-minute intermission.
The rest area was right behind the field.
Brock and the others—under the excuse of being "the coaching team"—came back to watch.
Not that Ash needed anyone's coaching.
"Gulp… gulp… haaa—!"
Ash downed an entire bottle of water and exhaled.
He'd looked relaxed in battle, like everything was under control…
but Gary was real pressure.
Compared to earlier rounds, Gary had grown massively—and his preparation was even sharper.
The two Electric-types weren't just for Pidgeot.
They were also meant to cover against other targets like Blastoise or Charizard—Pokémon that hate Electric pressure.
Those Electric-types just weren't Gary's primary partners, so their level lagged behind.
If they'd been stronger, that "two-in-a-row" might've been impossible.
Misty and Brock finally couldn't hold it in.
"Ash… what was that move Infernape used just now?" Misty demanded.
"That… it looked like Kaoruko's Bellsprout style, didn't it?" Brock added.
"And it learned it that fast?!" Sabrina murmured.
Ash smiled, glancing at Infernape's Poké Ball.
"Yeah. It's based on Kaoruko's Bellsprout."
"This guy's a genius. I demonstrated it once, and it copied the shape immediately. We trained it these past few days, and it finally formed a rough framework."
The three of them stared at him.
"…Once."
"…A rough framework."
Listen to yourself. Are you even speaking human language?
And that "rough framework" was already dodging Extreme Speed like it was nothing.
So what would the "finished version" look like?
Ash noticed their expressions and explained anyway.
"Kaoruko's Bellsprout dodges by experience and feel. Years of repetition sharpened its danger sense into instinct."
"But Infernape's version is different."
"It uses full-body reflex—pure physical instinct."
"If you have to 'see, think, then react,' there's always delay."
"But instinctive reaction is faster than thought—sometimes several times faster."
"Let your body stay loose, let your mind sink into your movement, and let offense and defense flow naturally…"
Ash paused, then said:
"I call it 'Flow State.'"
"There are two stages. First is 'Guard-Only'—you can react, but you can't counter instinctively yet."
"The next stage is full Flow State—both offense and defense become automatic."
"And if you reach that complete Flow State… even at Infernape's current level, it could threaten an Elite Four-level opponent."
He added quickly:
"Obviously it's not there yet."
(Author note: This is fictional technique logic. Do not try to apply it in real life.)
Misty, Brock, and Sabrina wore the same expression—
an old man staring at a phone on the subway.
They understood every sentence individually…
but put together, it sounded like insanity.
Back On the Field
The ten-minute break ended.
Ash stepped forward, eyes sharp.
"Gary. Give it up. You can't beat me."
"Like hell!" Gary snapped. "I still have three Pokémon left. Three versus your six—easy!"
"Then come on."
Ash flicked a Poké Ball.
"Go—Pikachu!"
"Pika!"
Pikachu hopped down from Ash's shoulder and landed lightly.
This was Pikachu's first appearance in the Indigo League—
and it was the finals.
The crowd blinked.
Pikachu? In the final?
Gary, however, went deadly serious.
He knew better than anyone how terrifying that Pikachu was.
He'd followed Ash since before the journey began.
Six months of training later…
That Pikachu was absolutely Ash's strongest trump card.
"Tch… Pikachu now?!" Gary ground out. "Fine. Go—Nidoqueen!"
Ash had expected this.
Gary had to answer with Ground-type bulk and control.
Nidoqueen was one of Gary's later-trained main partners.
But whether it could stand up to Pikachu…
was still a question.
Ash didn't hesitate.
"Pikachu—Quick Attack!"
"Pika!"
A yellow blur shot forward—
and Nidoqueen was blasted backward before it could even set its stance.
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