Returning to the first-floor lobby of the Athlete's Village with Erika, the two sat down on a sofa in the lounge area, ordered cocktails, and leisurely began watching Ash and Gary's match.
In the final tournament stage, after each group of competitors entered, the battlefield would be randomly changed.
There were four types of fields: Grass, Rock, Water, and Ice. Depending on the field, trainers' tactics and strategies, and even Pokémon performance, could vary greatly, significantly increasing the uncertainty and spectator appeal of the matches.
For instance, during Natsui's earlier match against Casey, they had drawn the Grass Field, and the entire battle took place on lush grass. Unfortunately, neither competitor utilized the field characteristics much in their strategies.
On the screen, the announcer was currently introducing Ash and Gary.
His voice boomed, "...What's surprising is that competitors Ash and Gary both hail from Pallet Town in the Kanto region and began their journeys together. It's unexpected that in today's final tournament, these two, who are both rivals and friends, have met in this fateful encounter!"
It was worth noting that Gary's long-lost cheerleaders had reappeared from somewhere, performing a cheer dance in the friends-and-family section behind him.
These tall, beautiful girls captured the attention of almost all the male spectators, leaving a deep impression of Gary.
After a pause, the announcer added, "And according to our information, competitor Gary is the grandson of the highly esteemed Professor Oak in the Pokémon scientific community! Competitor Ash also reached the Top 16 in the Indigo Conference. Their battle today is bound to be one of the most anticipated and exciting matches of this conference! Alright, both competitors are ready, the flames of a heated battle are about to ignite, let's wait and see!"
Following the introduction, the camera panned to Professor Oak. Seeing himself on screen, Professor Oak was initially startled, clearly not expecting his name to be mentioned. Sitting next to Delia, he looked quite embarrassed. However, being experienced in the public eye, his face quickly settled into a slightly stiff smile as he waved at the camera.
Once the enthusiastic applause from the audience subsided, the announcer brought the focus back to the match.
"Before the battle begins, let's see which field will be drawn for this match!"
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the roulette on the big screen began to spin. When it finally stopped, the pointer landed on the Rock Field.
In the next moment, the field in front of Gary and Ash began to transform. The ground opened to the sides, revealing a dark pit below. As a huge lifting platform rose, a battlefield covered in massive rocks was brought up by machinery.
Next, they determined the attack order. Ash luckily drew the second move, meaning Gary, on the red side, would send out the first Pokémon.
However, seeing Gary's nonchalant expression, it seemed the order didn't matter much to him.
When the match began, Gary sent out Nidoqueen first. Ash thought for a moment and countered with Tauros. Both Pokémon possessed immense strength; a clash of power was inevitable!
Watching the two on the screen, Erika couldn't help but turn to Natsui and ask, "Who do you think will win?"
"Probably Ash," Natsui said, rubbing his chin, giving his answer.
Truthfully, without the anime as a reference, just based on his interactions with both, Natsui wouldn't be sure who would win. But with the anime's context, he favored Ash.
"Ash..."
Erika frowned slightly, mentally calculating their strengths.
As a Gym Leader, she had battled both Ash and Gary when they challenged the Celadon Gym before the Indigo Conference. Based on their strength back then, Gary had the upper hand. And now, after such a long journey, Gary had shed his impulsiveness and clearly become much calmer, likely making him even tougher to beat.
But compared to him, Ash was a more unpredictable child. Especially having traveled with Natsui for so long, the more she understood him, the more she felt this boy could create miracles, even though his performance fluctuated and he could be slow and reckless at times.
Therefore, although she herself didn't know who would win, she was willing to trust Natsui's judgment.
On the screen, Nidoqueen and Tauros were already clashing.
Nidoqueen started with a powerful blow. As it slammed its fist onto the ground, a wide fissure formed and raced towards Tauros. The towering rocks nearby shattered from the impact, sending debris raining down on Tauros.
Although Tauros took some damage, under Ash's command, it charged head-on towards Nidoqueen with incredible momentum, aiming its two horns fiercely!
However, Gary's Nidoqueen was no weakling. It grabbed Tauros's horns with brute force, stopping its charge dead in its tracks!
But it wasn't over. At point-blank range, Nidoqueen unleashed a Hyper Beam, hitting Tauros directly and sending it flying. It crashed through several large rocks before collapsing, unable to get up.
Seeing Tauros faint, the referee immediately raised the flag.
The audience gasped, shocked by how easily Tauros was taken down. No one expected this result!
Didn't the announcer just say this match would be exciting!?
This is it?
Even the announcer hadn't anticipated this outcome and stood awkwardly silent.
How could it end so quickly, right after starting? The audience hadn't even gotten into it yet.
Fortunately, Ash wasn't affected. He calmly recalled Tauros and immediately took out his second Poké Ball.
This time he sent out Heracross. However, facing this Pokémon, whether out of caution or for other reasons, Gary recalled his Nidoqueen and took out his second Poké Ball as well.
After the blue light flashed, a Magmar appeared before Heracross.
This was indeed a good choice. The Fire-type Magmar had a double type advantage over the Bug-type Heracross. This also showed that Gary was giving this match his all, with no intention of holding back.
-----------------------------
Access more than 400 chapters across more than 7 different novels on Patreon!
For this novel, there are already over 100 chapters available, and we're only 3 subscribers away from unlocking up to chapter 150!
And many more projects are in progress!
If you find any mistakes or inconsistencies, don't hesitate to leave a comment — your feedback helps me improve and fix them!