The next day.
8 a.m. sharp!
Silas had barely woken up when he overheard Cynthia and Suzie chatting and laughing in the other room. He couldn't help giving a helpless sigh—he truly couldn't figure out what went on in Cynthia's head. Not only had she not blown up at all yesterday, she even asked if she could move in.
Although Silas wanted to refuse, when faced with Cynthia's half-smiling, half-menacing look, he could only give in with a reluctant nod.
After washing up, Silas opened his door to find Cynthia and Suzie sitting at the breakfast table. Suzie wore a wry smile, seemingly trying to persuade Cynthia, who was staring at her breakfast looking seriously troubled. Silas strolled over, raising a brow, and curiously asked Suzie, "What's up with her?"
"This is kind of my fault." Suzie offered Cynthia an apologetic smile, then explained with the same sheepish tone, "I didn't know what Miss Cynthia likes for breakfast, so I made both rice porridge and noodles. Turns out Miss Cynthia likes both, and now she's agonizing over which to eat."
Paralysis by choice.
That was the expression that sprang to Silas's mind, making him roll his eyes. He knew Cynthia had this flaw, but he'd always thought it only cropped up when she was picking ice cream. He didn't expect she could get stuck deciding over everything.
If it'd been someone else, Silas might've tried to help, but for Cynthia—who he held no special feelings for—he just shrugged at Suzie, "Leave her to it. We'll eat, and when we're full, we'll head out. If she can't decide, she can just stay hungry!"
"Hmph!" Cynthia shot Silas a fierce glare, then went back to brooding over her breakfast.
"Isn't that kind of harsh?" Suzie protested with another wry smile.
"Nope. That's just how it is." Silas sat down, scooping up a bowl of porridge as he talked. "What, are we supposed to wait for her to decide? What if she takes an hour? Am I just going to skip my match?"
As reasonable as Silas's logic was, kindhearted Suzie still felt bad ignoring their guest, even if she and Silas were both Trainers—who starts eating and leaves the guest behind? But since Silas was already eating, all she could do was keep tossing Cynthia apologetic looks as she helplessly waited for her to make up her mind.
...
9 a.m.
Rock field.
Silas climbed up to the platform alone. Suzie stayed back at the hotel to finish breakfast with Cynthia; as for whether they had really started eating, Silas had no idea—when he'd left, Cynthia was still hung up on her choice.
The moment he stepped onto the platform, Silas was hit by a wave of cheers so loud even his cool, mature self felt his blood start to boil.
"Silas!" Ash called out from the other side, giving a weak smile. "Never thought we'd face off so soon."
"What's wrong?" Seeing Ash's awkward grin, Silas arched an eyebrow. "Not thrilled to be my opponent?"
"Nah!" Ash shook his head quickly, still wearing that embarrassed smile. "I do want to battle you, bro, but I was hoping we'd fight in a full no-holds-barred 6v6 at the finals—not a 3v3 here."
"Heh…" Silas chuckled. "There'll be other chances. For today, though, let me see if you actually used this time to get stronger—or if you've just been coasting."
"I will definitely not let you down!" Ash declared immediately!
As Ash and Silas chatted, the commentator announced, his amplified voice sweeping the arena: "Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to day four of the Indigo tournament—Top 32, Round of 16, first match on the Rock field! Let's kick things off with an intro of today's competitors!"
"Blue Corner: Silas! Most of you probably already know him, but in case you're new—ever since the tournament started, Silas has swept every opponent with overwhelming ability! Even former champ Sasaki Ono, who ruled this very field six years back, was crushed beneath Silas's onslaught! Most of all, he possesses the legendary, fabled Pokémon! He's Kanto's hope—the future Champion—the pride of Kanto itself!"
"Silas!"
"Silas!"
"Silas!"
The crowd took up the cry, their thunderous roar shaking the entire sky!
Once the energy reached a fever pitch, the commentator continued:
"In the Red Corner—Ash! Like Silas, Ash hails from our own Kanto, from Pallet Town—the home of Champions! Though he's rarely made a huge splash, his skill is nothing to sneeze at! Yesterday, in a tight spot, his Charizard swept three opponents in a row to secure a comeback victory!"
Charizard?
Three-on-one?!
Silas frowned slightly. He remembered from the original timeline that Ash's Charizard had potential, but during the Indigo tournament, it didn't even listen to Ash—costing Ash the match and knocking him out early. Charizard was only impressive later; in the early stages, it was a lost cause. So for Ash's Charizard to listen and dominate now, that was definitely odd.
While Silas puzzled this over, the referees stepped in wielding their flags: "Match rules are standard three-on-three. Both Trainers can switch out their Pokémon at will. Whichever side loses all Pokémon first loses the match. Understood?"
"Got it." After hearing the rules for three straight days, both Silas and Ash nodded.
"Then… battle begin!"
As soon as they confirmed, the refs signaled and exited the arena.
"Silas!" Ash suddenly dropped his forced smile, his energy flaring. "We didn't meet in the finals, but you're still gonna see my absolute best!"
"Looking forward to it!" Silas nodded, grabbing a Master Ball.
"Gengar! I choose you!"
A spectral shape—Gengar, evolved from Gastly, known for signature moves like Hypnosis and Shadow Ball. Its main color was deep purple.
The second Gengar appeared, Ash whipped out his Pokédex. Silas just shook his head—after all this time traveling, Ash still needed a Pokédex to ID Gengar? Seriously?!
While Silas shook his head, Gengar whispered, "Want me to go easy?"
"Yeah," Silas nodded. "Just make sure his Pokémon all lose the ability to fight—don't go all out!"
You couldn't blame Silas for the direction. Without Pikachu available, all his remaining Pokémon were basically top of the food chain, while Ash's Pikachu was only elite-tier. If Gengar actually cut loose, Pikachu would be knocked into the afterlife before you could blink.
While Silas gave Gengar his instructions, Ash commanded, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
'Pika-chu!'
Pikachu leaped up, blasting a huge surge of electricity at Gengar—no hesitation, just pure fighting spirit!
"Alright…!" Ash saw the Thunderbolt connect perfectly and was about to shout with joy—when his words stuck in his throat. His face froze in absolute disbelief. Gengar wasn't even twitching inside the Thunderbolt; it was as if his whole body turned see-through and the lightning didn't touch him at all!
"H-how's this possible?" Ash gasped. "Why didn't Thunderbolt work?"
"Idiot." Silas tossed out a single word, then explained, "Gengar's a Ghost-type Pokémon. Basic attacks just don't work. You've been traveling this long and you still haven't learned the basics?"
As Silas delivered his little lecture, Gengar floated right up to Pikachu, his eyes flashing an eerie purple light. Ash's nerves shot through the roof—he shouted, "Pikachu, run!"
'Chu~'
Pikachu gave a faint cry—then instantly collapsed.
The entire crowd—including Ash, the commentator, referees, and fans—was stunned. It only took a brief stare, a single purple flash from Gengar's eyes, and Pikachu was out of commission. The battle ended instantly—too fast for anybody to even process!
While everyone stood frozen, Gengar picked up the sleeping Pikachu and drifted over to Ash, cradling the little mouse in his arms.
Ash took Pikachu and, realizing he was only asleep, sighed in relief. Then he turned to Silas: "Bro, what just happened? Why did Pikachu go down so fast?"
Everyone perked up to hear the answer.
But Silas just gave a cheeky grin and said, "Secret!"
"You—!" Ash nearly exploded in frustration, but quickly threw out another Poké Ball. "If I need special attacks to win, then Muk, I'm counting on you!"
'Muk!'
A glob of purple sludge—Muk—slid onto the field. Its arrival made the air thick with a… certain aroma.
"Muk!" The moment Muk arrived, Ash ordered, "Use Sludge Wave!"
'Muk!'
Muk's gelatinous body straightened up; a jet of purple sludge blasted from its mouth, engulfing Gengar in a wave!
But again, Ash was left speechless—the same scene as before played out!
Gengar drifted serenely through the Sludge Wave, completely unaffected. He slid closer and closer to Muk.
"Muk!" The sight triggered memories of Pikachu going down; Ash called out in panic, "Get out of there, quick!"
'Muk!'
Muk tried to hustle—but sluggish as he was, he barely got moving before Gengar arrived, purple gleam shining in his eyes once more.
Muk went completely still.
Then collapsed into a puddle, totally out cold.
Again, the crowd was left gaping. What was going on? Two knockouts in two moves—this was just weird!
The commentator's shaky voice came over the speakers: "What… what's going on? Both battles ended after just a few seconds—and in the opening faceoff! Is this really a Top 32 Indigo tournament match? What are we witnessing?!"
"Dang it!" Ash slammed his fist on the railing, seething with frustration. He hadn't even had a chance to fight back—two rounds lost in nothing flat. He'd always known there was a massive gap between himself and Silas, but this was ridiculous!
"Want to keep going?"
Silas's calm voice drifted over as Ash fumed in silence.
"Of course I'm not giving up!" Ash answered fiercely, recalling his sleeping Muk and grabbing his last Poké Ball. "Charizard! I choose you!"
'Charizard!'
A scrappy-looking Charizard shot from the ball, landing in front of Ash and eyeing Gengar warily, tension and caution written all over its face.
Silas blinked, then nodded in understanding. This Charizard, despite looking scrawny, was in fact mid-Elite Four level—far above the rest of Ash's team or even Ash as a Trainer. No wonder it managed to sweep three in a row yesterday!
"Charizard!" Ash ordered, voice intense. "Get airborne, use Flamethrower! If Flamethrower doesn't work, bail out fast—don't get caught by Gengar!"
'Charizard!'
Charizard soared into the air, then unleashed a blast of Flamethrower down at Gengar!
Rock field.
A rain of fire!
The stream of flame crashed down, far more powerful than any Thunderbolt or Sludge Wave before. When the flames hit both Gengar and the stone he stood on, the rock instantly glowed red-hot, melting into magma—the spectacle was downright terrifying!
But, unbelievably, the same thing happened again!
Whether it was Pikachu's Thunderbolt, Muk's Sludge Wave, or now Charizard's Flamethrower, none of these moves could even scratch Gengar. Inky black against the inferno, Gengar drifted up through the fire, eyes glowing, at total ease.
Ash immediately shouted, "Run for it!"
'Charizard!'
Charizard roared back and tried to escape!
But before he could get away, Gengar materialized right in front of him, eyes flashing an intense purple—this time, the glow didn't just flicker past, it blazed brighter and brighter!
"Charizard!"
Seeing this, Ash's heart dropped like a stone.
Charizard might be a step up from Pikachu and Muk, but Gengar had KO'd both of them with just a flicker of energy. This time, with Gengar going all-out, there was no way Charizard could hold on.
Sure enough, under that spotlight of purple, Charizard began to sway dizzily—like he hadn't slept in days and could crash to the ground at any second!
"Charizard!" Ash called desperately. "Hang in there! Don't fall asleep—fight it!"
Pointless.
Silas shook his head inwardly—he hated Ash's method. Instead of solid training, he spent his traveling years slacking off, and then tried to make up for it with desperate yelling at the worst possible moment—what good would that do?
But then, just as Silas felt exasperated, Ash's Charizard did something nobody expected. It slashed its sharp claws hard across its own yellow stomach—drawing blood!
In the next instant, crimson blood spurted from the wound!
'Charizard!'
The intense pain ripped through Charizard, and with a roar of agony, he shook off Gengar's drowsiness. The bloodlust in his eyes flared red-hot!
That savage decision made both Silas and Gengar pause—in awe!
Because in this world, whether you're a person or a Pokémon, only those who can be ruthless with themselves deserve to stand among the best. Ash's Charizard had that iron resolve. Sure, it was still young and raw, and Ash himself was still pretty unreliable—but just for that kind of grit, Silas believed Charizard's future would be phenomenal.
It wasn't just Silas and Gengar who respected that move—the commentator's renewed voice was tinged with admiration: "He did it! Ash's Charizard managed to block Gengar's attack and halt his instant KO streak! The way Charizard did it is kind of horrifying, but it sure worked. Let's cheer for that incredible willpower!"
With the commentator's shout, the crowd snapped out of their daze, voices full of respect.
"That Charizard is hardcore—never thought he'd go that far on himself!"
"Yeah, but you can't argue with the results. It snapped him out of Gengar's spell and brought out his fighting spirit! Now this is a match!"
"Charizard is so cool! I wanna cheer for him! But… I'm already a Silas fangirl… what do I do!?"
'Charizard!'
In the midst of the excited chatter, Charizard was in full berserker mode. He didn't even wait for Ash's orders—he set his tail flame ablaze and sent a golden Dragon Rage blasting at Gengar. That wild energy made the temperature in the whole field jump a few degrees!
Gengar started to ready another hypnosis—but Silas suddenly called out, "Shadow Ball!"
Gengar paused for a beat, then grinned.
Truthfully, Gengar hadn't wanted to knock out such a gutsy Charizard with hypnosis anyway. He wanted a real fight—but Silas had earlier warned him to go easy. Now Silas was giving the green light, so Gengar was ready to go full blast.
Gengar's hesitation lasted only a heartbeat—he instantly gathered a jet-black, crackling Shadow Ball between his hands.
Right as Dragon Rage was about to hit, Gengar let out a cackling laugh and hurled the Shadow Ball straight at it!
Shadow Ball vs. Dragon Rage!
By all rights, Dragon Rage should've blown Shadow Ball away—it was a way bigger, more powerful move!
But Gengar's power level was so much higher than Charizard's that, to everyone's shock, Shadow Ball crushed Dragon Rage on contact, barreling straight at Charizard!
'BANG!'
The second Shadow Ball reached Charizard, it exploded—black smoke billowed, swallowing Charizard whole!
'ROAR…!!!'
The violent blast wrung a cry of pain from Charizard. When the smoke cleared, he reappeared—completely unconscious, battered and bloody, tumbling helplessly toward the ground!
"Gengar!"
Seeing this, Silas called softly.
Gengar gave a small nod, instantly appearing beside the falling Charizard and catching him gently from the air.
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