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...
Leaf remained silent for a few moments, observing the field without looking away. She had made the right decision. She had reduced the power of the attack and even tried to deflect it, but it still hadn't been enough. She simply couldn't believe it. Where had Ash gotten such a Pokémon from? What kind of training had it received to be so strong? Ash had won not because his strategy was superior, but because Floette's attacks were devastating, preventing her from reacting in time. But during the battle she realized one thing. Floette's Light of Ruin could only go forward and needed to be charged for at least a second before firing, leaving the user unprotected. In other words, it lacked speed. Unfortunately, she couldn't take advantage of Alakazam's speed because she realized it too late, but… there was still hope.
Floette continued floating in place, completely stable, as if that attack hadn't required the slightest effort.
The difference in level was evident, but Leaf already had a strategy that could completely change the course of this battle.
Leaf sighed, returned Alakazam to its Poké Ball, thanked it, and took out her next Poké Ball. This time things would go as she wanted. She was sure of it.
"Arcanine, I choose you!" she said with determination.
The great fiery Pokémon appeared with a deep roar, its paws hitting the ground hard while its mane shook intensely. Its presence was completely different from Alakazam's. Where there had been calculation before, now there was pressure.
"PARTICIPANT LEAF COMPLETELY CHANGES THE PACE OF THE BATTLE!" Bob shouted.
"ARCANINE IS UNDOUBTEDLY AN EXTREMELY POWERFUL AND FAST POKÉMON! IDEAL FOR THIS UNFAVORABLE SITUATION!" Carl added.
"THAT'S RIGHT! LET'S REMIND EVERYONE THAT PARTICIPANT LEAF ONLY HAS THREE POKÉMON LEFT WHILE PARTICIPANT ASH STILL HAS FOUR, GIVING HIM A SLIGHT ADVANTAGE!" Bob said.
"YES! BUT THE DIFFERENCE IS ONLY ONE POKÉMON, SO PARTICIPANT LEAF CAN STILL COME BACK WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM!" Carl added.
Ash didn't take his eyes off his rival, waiting for Leaf's next move. Arcanine was undoubtedly a powerful Pokémon and Fairy-type attacks were not very effective against it, something that undoubtedly put him at a disadvantage.
Leaf didn't want to waste time and started the battle herself.
"Arcanine, use Extreme Speed!" Leaf ordered without losing a second.
Arcanine practically disappeared instantly, closing the distance in a fraction of a second and hitting Floette before it could fully react. The impact wasn't devastating, but it was clear enough to mark the difference in speed.
Surprisingly, before Floette could react, Arcanine landed a blow that made it retreat several meters.
"INCREDIBLE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! FOR THE FIRST TIME, PARTICIPANT LEAF HAS MANAGED TO HIT PARTICIPANT ASH'S FLOETTE!" Bob said, impressed.
"AND IT WAS A DIRECT HIT!" Carl added.
Ash wasn't going to give up just because Floette had taken a hit. He intended to continue with Floette.
"Floette, recover and use Moonblast!" Ash exclaimed.
Floette prepared its attack and a pink ball of light shot toward Arcanine.
"That won't work anymore, Ash! Arcanine, dodge it and pressure with Extreme Speed!" Leaf said.
Using the speed of Extreme Speed, Arcanine easily dodged the attack and charged at full speed toward Floette.
"Floette, use Protect!" Ash said.
The translucent greenish barrier appeared in front of Floette, blocking Arcanine's charge, but only the first one, because Arcanine kept pressing, landing several blows on Floette that continuously made it retreat.
"THIS IS UNHEARD OF! FOR THE FIRST TIME WE'RE SEEING PARTICIPANT ASH'S FLOETTE BEING DOMINATED!" Bob exclaimed in surprise.
"PARTICIPANT LEAF IS MAKING VERY GOOD USE OF EXTREME SPEED, PUTTING PARTICIPANT ASH'S FLOETTE — WHICH HAD BARELY TAKEN ANY DAMAGE THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE POKÉMON LEAGUE — IN A TIGHT SPOT!" Carl added.
Ash was surprised. Leaf had perfectly understood Floette's weakness and was using it to her advantage. Continuing like this wouldn't fix anything at all. It would only wear Floette down uselessly.
"Floette, return!" he said quickly.
The red light enveloped it before Arcanine could chain another attack. Ash already had the next Poké Ball ready.
"Blastoise, I choose you!" he ordered.
Blastoise appeared with a solid impact against the ground, adopting a defensive posture from the first instant while fixing its attention on Arcanine.
"SMART SWITCH FROM PARTICIPANT ASH!" Bob shouted.
"BUT PARTICIPANT LEAF'S ARCANINE HAS PROVEN TO BE EXTREMELY POWERFUL!" Carl added.
"THAT'S RIGHT! PARTICIPANT ASH SHOULDN'T GET COCKY JUST BECAUSE HE HAS THE TYPE ADVANTAGE!" Bob added.
Leaf wasn't surprised. She had already expected this switch after seeing Floette struggling.
"Arcanine, keep the pressure!" she ordered.
The battle began immediately. Arcanine moved with superior speed, attacking and repositioning constantly, forcing Blastoise to play defensively. Still, Blastoise wasn't an easy opponent. It withstood the first blows and responded with well-placed attacks, managing to land hits on more than one occasion.
"Blastoise, use Hydro Pump!" Ash exclaimed.
A powerful Water-type attack hit Arcanine by pure luck. It retreated after the impact, breathing more heavily. It wasn't critical damage, but it had been quite effective. While Ash's Blastoise was slow, its defense and attack were very high. Any mistake and Arcanine would lose without a doubt.
"Use Extreme Speed and keep pressing! I refuse to believe that Blastoise won't fall!" Leaf said.
The exchange continued for a few more moments, intense and balanced, but with a clear tendency. If it dragged on, Blastoise would eventually prevail. Ash understood this fact. Blastoise's resistance and powerful attacks would win against Leaf's Pokémon under other circumstances, but not in these, so it was foolish to continue with Blastoise in the battle.
"Blastoise, return!" he said.
A red beam of light and Blastoise returned to its Poké Ball.
Ash threw his next Poké Ball. In it was a Pokémon that would undoubtedly end this battle. One of his strongest Pokémon.
"Charizard, I choose you!" he ordered.
Charizard appeared on the field with a powerful flap of its wings, rising slightly before fixing its gaze on Arcanine with a furrowed brow and a challenging look. The air around it immediately tensed.
"PARTICIPANT ASH BRINGS OUT HIS CHARIZARD! ONE OF HIS STRONGEST POKÉMON!" Bob shouted.
"YES! THROUGHOUT THIS POKÉMON LEAGUE IT HAS PROVEN TO BE AN EXTREMELY POWERFUL POKÉMON WITH IMMENSE STRENGTH! I THINK THIS TIME PARTICIPANT LEAF IS GOING TO HAVE A HARD TIME!" Carl added.
"FIRE-TYPE POKÉMON VERSUS FIRE-TYPE POKÉMON! TWO POWERFUL POKÉMON FACE OFF! WHO WILL EMERGE VICTORIOUS FROM THIS MATCHUP?" Bob said.
Ash already knew Arcanine was strong and fast, but he fully trusted his Charizard. Unlike the original Ash's Charizard, his was not only several times more powerful, but it obeyed him without question. Obviously it had its moments, like all of them, but during battle it never disobeyed an order from Ash. Never.
Charizard was going to win. He had complete confidence.
On the other hand, Leaf frowned. She had seen firsthand the immense strength of that Charizard. If they put it on a scale, Ash's Floette would undoubtedly be his most powerful Pokémon, followed by Charizard himself and then Pikachu. Besides, her Arcanine was heavily damaged from Blastoise's attacks. Winning a prolonged battle would be difficult, but she had an idea, an idea that might work.
"Arcanine, use Wild Charge!" she shouted.
Electricity enveloped Arcanine's body as it charged forward with everything it had left.
Ash was surprised because he had completely forgotten that Arcanine could learn that move.
Ash reacted instantly.
"Dodge it!" Ash said.
Charizard barely dodged it.
"Keep pressing!" Leaf said.
Arcanine didn't stop there. It kept pressing while Charizard dodged blow after blow, putting Ash in a tight spot, not knowing what to do.
[Attention, Charizard is trying to learn the move Flare Blitz but it already has five moves! Do you want to forget one of its current moves and replace it with Flare Blitz?]
The system message had arrived just in time, as if destiny itself wanted him to win the battle.
"Yes, replace Flamethrower!" he nodded.
Right now that move wouldn't be useful. Flare Blitz was better.
[Charizard has forgotten Flamethrower and learned Flare Blitz!]
"Perfect. This ends here!" Ash smiled.
Arcanine continued attacking wrapped in electricity, but this was about to end.
"Charizard, use Flare Blitz!" Ash ordered.
Charizard wrapped itself in fire and charged forward at impressive speed, leaving a trail of fire behind. Both Pokémon collided, causing the electrical energy and flames to explode in the center of the field, enveloping both Pokémon in a violent explosion.
"IMPRESSIVE CLASH OF POWERS!" Bob said.
When the light dissipated, both remained standing… for an instant.
Then their bodies gave way. Arcanine fell first while Charizard barely managed to stay up a second longer before collapsing.
The referee raised both hands.
"Arcanine and Charizard are unable to continue!" he declared.
"DOUBLE KO!" Bob shouted.
"THIS IS INSANE!" Carl added.
Ash was surprised. How could he have made such a stupid mistake?! How could he make such a foolish move?! But no matter how much he blamed himself, he couldn't fix the stupid move and took it as a lesson. Never charge recklessly in battle. The truth was that, upon learning the new move, he got too excited and didn't think carefully about the consequences of his actions, resulting in what had just happened — a double KO.
After returning their weakened Pokémon to their respective Poké Balls and thanking them for their effort, Ash and Leaf didn't waste time. Both prepared their next Poké Balls immediately, completely focused on the battle.
"THIS BATTLE IS GETTING MORE AND MORE EXCITING!" Bob shouted as he leaned forward.
"AND EVEN THOUGH PARTICIPANT LEAF IS AT A DISADVANTAGE, SHE STILL HAS MANY OPTIONS TO TAKE THE VICTORY!" Carl added.
"THAT'S RIGHT! THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM IS VERY SMALL!" Bob continued. "TWO POKÉMON FOR PARTICIPANT LEAF AND THREE FOR PARTICIPANT ASH… BUT AS THINGS ARE GOING, THAT CAN CHANGE AT ANY MOMENT!"
"THIS BATTLE IS SIMPLY EXCITING!" Carl finished.
Without thinking twice, both threw their Poké Balls.
"Garchomp, I choose you!" Leaf said as she extended her arm with confidence.
"Venusaur, I choose you!" Ash responded while keeping his gaze fixed on the field.
Garchomp appeared with a deep roar, imposing its presence from the first instant. In front of it, Venusaur settled firmly, fixing its gaze on Garchomp.
Ash observed Garchomp for a moment. After the previous battle against Blastoise, he had already seen enough. Not only was it fast, it also maintained constant pressure and gave no room to react.
Dragging out the battle under those conditions would only put Venusaur in an increasingly worse position, so the matchup would have to be as short as possible. Not giving Leaf time to think was the key.
On the other hand, Leaf was also analyzing Venusaur. Throughout the League she had seen its battles. She knew that even when it hadn't shone too much, it was due to unfavorable situations, not lack of level, so if she got cocky, she would undoubtedly pay the price. After all, she was at a disadvantage in terms of remaining Pokémon. Still, her expression remained relaxed. The advantage wasn't too great, and she could undoubtedly close the gap.
"Garchomp, use Dragon Claw!" Leaf ordered as her Pokémon practically disappeared instantly.
The attack arrived in the blink of an eye.
"Venusaur, endure it and respond with Energy Ball!" Ash said as his Pokémon partially received the impact and gathered energy.
The blow hit, pushing Venusaur back, but the counterattack shot out immediately, forcing Garchomp to retreat slightly.
"DIRECT EXCHANGE FROM THE FIRST MOMENT!" Bob shouted.
"NEITHER OF THEM WANTS TO GIVE GROUND!" Carl added.
Leaf didn't give any space. She didn't want to give Ash time to react. Ash thought the same. It seemed this matchup wasn't destined to be passive, but offensive.
"Keep pressing! Use Earthquake!" she ordered as Garchomp struck the ground hard.
The terrain shook violently. Venusaur tried to stay firm, but the impact forced it to give ground, momentarily losing its balance.
Ash quickly assessed the situation. If he kept reacting, he would end up losing control of the battle.
"Venusaur, use Energy Ball!" he ordered firmly.
"Use Protect and then counter with Dragon Claw!" Leaf said.
The green energy sphere was very easy for Garchomp to dodge, who quickly charged toward Venusaur without slowing its assault.
"Let it get close and use Energy Ball!" Ash said.
Leaf didn't believe that was possible. Where would Venusaur find the time while being hit? So she didn't order her Garchomp to retreat. On the contrary, she urged it to charge with more force. But what was Leaf's surprise when, upon being hit, Venusaur managed to form an Energy Ball and launched it, hitting Garchomp squarely, who was too close to dodge it.
"IMPRESSIVE SKILL FROM BOTH TRAINERS!" Bob shouted.
"THAT'S RIGHT! BUT BOTH POKÉMON HAVE ALREADY TAKEN QUITE A BIT OF DAMAGE! WILL THEY BE ABLE TO CONTINUE AT THIS PACE OR WILL THEY FALL?" Carl responded.
Leaf saw it clearly. Garchomp had taken damage… but it was still in position to close the battle.
"Garchomp, use Dragon Claw!" she ordered without hesitation.
Garchomp charged with all its strength and speed.
"Do the same as before!" Ash said.
But this time it couldn't be. Garchomp seemed to have suddenly become stronger and the blow made Venusaur feel quite a bit of pain, preventing it from forming the Energy Ball.
Venusaur was pushed violently to the ground, raising a cloud of dust that covered the field.