"Now we proceed to the second match of this tournament! Facing the confident Machop, what kind of Pokémon will our newcomer Ash bring out?" the announcer shouted.
"Primeape, I choose you!"
Ash turned the cap on his head and threw the Poké Ball in his hand.
As the white light faded, Primeape appeared on the arena. It looked at the Machop in front of it with full confidence, waving its fists repeatedly in provocation.
"Ding—"
The referee rang the bell, signaling the start of the match.
The opponent's Machop was clearly very experienced. As soon as the bell rang, it rushed in before Primeape could react and began launching a series of Karate Chops.
Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, Primeape tried to block the attacks with its fists. However, Machop's Karate Chop assault was simply too fierce. In the end, Primeape was forced back into a corner before struggling to get back up.
"It seems Machop has the upper hand in this fight against Primeape. Although it's smaller, Machop's strength is incredible," the announcer continued his commentary.
Enraged, Primeape completely ignored Ash's attempt to stop it. It leaped into the air in one go, planning to deliver a fatal blow to Machop. Unexpectedly, the battle-hardened Machop seized the opportunity and grabbed Primeape's right leg, spinning wildly and making Primeape dizzy.
"Amazing! Machop used its tremendous strength to grab Primeape and spin it around!"
Seeing that Primeape could no longer remain conscious, Machop on the arena followed its trainer's command and viciously threw Primeape out of the ring.
"Primeape!" Ash shouted anxiously. He rushed forward and used his own body as a cushion, catching Primeape so it wouldn't slam into the ground.
Ash struggled to stand up, ignoring the pain from the impact. He looked at Primeape with concern.
"Primeape, are you okay?"
Primeape looked at Ash, who had just protected it, deeply moved. Tears nearly slid from its eyes. Soon after, flames of anger burned in Primeape's eyes—it was determined to win this match for Ash.
"Alright, now it's your turn to counterattack. Be careful of Machop's Karate Chop. You need to strike first," Ash instructed Primeape.
"So amazing~" Misty said in surprise from the audience stands.
"What happened?" Emi asked in confusion.
"Primeape has never listened to Ash's commands before. But this time, it actually listened," Misty explained.
Although this was a fighting tournament, the match rules still followed Pokémon battle principles. Victory was determined by whether a Pokémon fainted, so even though Primeape had been thrown out of the ring, it didn't count as a loss.
"Use Cross Chop!"
Primeape seized the initiative. Before Machop could react, it rushed forward decisively and crossed its arms, unleashing Cross Chop. The powerful attack forced Machop to raise both hands to defend.
Using its strength cleverly, Primeape pushed Machop to the brightest part of the arena. Ash immediately noticed the opportunity.
"Primeape, jump up and use Mega Kick!"
Using the blinding light to its advantage, Primeape leaped into the air the moment Machop raised its arms to block the light. Then it delivered a fierce Mega Kick, defeating Machop.
"The match is decided! Machop can't get up. Ash's Primeape wins the battle!" the announcer declared.
"That Primeape is pretty capable," Anthony praised, though a small scheme began forming in his mind.
"Ash risking injury to catch Primeape with his own body really moved Primeape's heart," Misty sighed.
"The third match is Hitmonlee versus Geodude! How will the sturdy Geodude resist Hitmonlee's Flying Kicks? Let's wait and see!"
"Alright, the match begins!"
"Ding—"
"Emi, I'll fight for you!" Brock confessed passionately, ignoring the awkward sweat of those around him.
"Watch out!" Emi warned.
On the arena, Geodude was struck by Hitmonlee's Double Kick and was cleanly kicked straight toward Brock, smashing directly onto his head and leaving a painful bump—serving as quite the lesson for Brock.
"Kid, getting distracted during a battle is a huge taboo for fighters," Giant said with a disdainful shake of his head.
"Ouch…" Brock rubbed the large bump on his head and said to Geodude beside him, "Geodude, let's counterattack too!"
"Still refusing to give up? What a foolish kid. Hitmonlee, keep using Double Kick!"
Hitmonlee seized the initiative. On the arena, Geodude could only cross its arms and keep defending against the barrage of kicks.
"If this keeps going, Geodude will be kicked into pieces!" Ash said worriedly.
"Brock, isn't Geodude your cherished partner?"
At that moment, Red walked over to Ash and Brock and began persuading him.
"Letting your partner stay on the arena and get beaten up isn't like you. Even if it was a moment of foolishness, I believe you wouldn't let Geodude get seriously injured."
After Red said this much, Brock understood his meaning. He took the red cloth Red handed him and threw it onto the arena, signaling surrender.
"Geodude has forfeited! The winner is Hitmonlee!"
Brock hurried onto the arena and picked up Geodude, looking at it with guilt.
"I'm sorry, Geodude. It's my fault for losing my head for a moment. Please forgive me. I'll polish all your injuries until you shine."
"We'll handle the rest, brother and I!" Ash said.
"Then I'll leave it to you and Red."
The subsequent matches continued one after another. Hitmonchan relied on its superb boxing skills to easily defeat numerous opponents, and both Red and Hitmonchan quickly advanced into the semifinals.
Anthony's match against Giant also ended thanks to Hitmonchan's effort. Hitmonchan barely defeated Giant's Hitmonlee, allowing Anthony to enter the semifinals as well.
Meanwhile, Ash advanced to the semifinals with his increasingly fierce Primeape, becoming Anthony's opponent in the semifinal match.
"Now we have the first semifinal match of this tournament! On one side is last year's champion Ankaku, and on the other is the dark horse contestant, Red!"
"You're impressive, but my Machamp won't be so easy to deal with."
Ankaku stepped forward to shake Red's hand, praising Hitmonchan's excellent boxing technique.
"I'm looking forward to the match," Red replied.
"Ding—"
As soon as the battle began, Hitmonchan immediately used Mach Punch and rushed directly toward Machamp, intending to deliver a heavy blow.
"Bang—"
Machamp blocked Hitmonchan's Mach Punch with two of its hands. Its other free pair of arms launched a cross Karate Chop, forcing Hitmonchan back several steps.
"Not bad. As expected of last year's champion," Red nodded, then looked at the injured Hitmonchan.
"Don't get careless just because of your previous winning streak."
"Hitmon!"
Hearing this, Hitmonchan calmly nodded, took a slow deep breath, and prepared to face the next exchange seriously.
"Machamp, use Cross Chop!"
Seeing that Hitmonchan had no intention of attacking, Ankaku ordered Machamp to strike first.
Machamp's four arms simultaneously glowed white as it aggressively closed in on Hitmonchan.
"Comet Punch!"
Now that Machamp had entered its attack range, Hitmonchan decisively unleashed Comet Punch. The rapid flurry of punches clashed against Machamp's double Cross Chop, continuously weakening its power.
"Counter!"
With the power of the double Cross Chop already reduced by more than half, Hitmonchan gave up resisting and directly endured Machamp's attack.
Immediately afterward, a red aura spread from Hitmonchan's body. Its glowing right fist slammed heavily into Machamp's abdomen, nearly knocking it to the ground.
"The power of Counter really can't be underestimated…" Ankaku said with a grim expression, thinking about how to deal with Hitmonchan's next offensive.