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Ritchie's Happy started with Tailwind, preparing to gain a speed advantage, but Ash was much more direct. With a complete level suppression, there was no need for fancy tactics.
A major tier level suppression was enough for Butterfree to ignore the opponent's doubled speed, so Ash chose to attack directly!
"Butterfree, use Acrobatics!"
"Woo~" Butterfree danced and spun in the air, as if performing a ballet, then swayed from side to side, making its figure almost impossible to catch.
After Happy finished Tailwind, Ash's Butterfree had already arrived in front of it, then violently flapped its wings, even producing a series of whooshing sounds in the air.
"Happy, dodge quickly!" Ritchie's voice sounded in time. Happy flapped its wings, and a strong wind propelled its body from behind, making its movements even faster, even surpassing the speed of a typical Professional Level.
This speed allowed Happy to barely dodge Butterfree's Acrobatics attack, but before Happy could relax, it felt a sense of danger from behind.
"Bang!!" Acrobatics hit Happy on the back, directly blasting it to the ground.
Happy's movements after Tailwind were indeed fast, but compared to Butterfree, it was only on par. Ash's Butterfree's ability was Compound Eyes, which made the opponent's movements appear slower and easier to predict in its vision.
Therefore, it could anticipate some of the opponent's dodging spaces; Happy's movements had been Detect.
The moment the opponent dodged, it also adjusted its attack, allowing Acrobatics to hit Happy after its evasion.
Although the move Acrobatics is not powerful enough, it has the advantage of being light and easy to change, making it easier to adjust one's body when changing moves, and also easier to hit the opponent's vital points.
Seeing Happy hit by the super-effective move Acrobatics, Ritchie's face also showed concern: "Happy, are you okay?!"
"Woo..." A faint cry came from the smoke rising from the ground. Happy's figure flew out from the smoke on the ground. From its speed, it should still have the ability to fight.
But anyone who understood Pokémon battles could tell that Happy's current state was not good. Compared to before, its movements were much stiffer, and it seemed the pain it suffered was not ordinary.
After all, Acrobatics was a super-effective move against Happy, and Ash's Butterfree was also a major tier higher than it. If it weren't for the fact that this major tier's quality wasn't as high as Pikachu's and Charizard's, this attack should have directly knocked out Happy.
Even so, Happy's stamina was now running low.
Just one Tailwind took half of Happy's life; subsequent battles were practically unwinnable. Ash's three Pokémon were still at full health, while Ritchie only had one last Happy, like a candle in the wind. How was he supposed to fight?
But from Ritchie's gaze and expression, he hadn't given up!
"Happy, use Air Slash!" Not only did he not give up, but he also chose to attack proactively!
Happy chirped softly, flapping its wings. A dozen white blades of air burst from its body, falling like rain towards Butterfree.
"Acrobatics!" The move Ash used was still Acrobatics, but this time, Acrobatics was used to dodge the opponent's attack.
Butterfree danced gracefully amidst the dozen Air Slashes, dodging all of them with extreme elegance.
And while dodging, Butterfree also approached Happy at an extremely fast speed. In just a few seconds, it arrived in front of Happy.
"Bug Buzz!" Seeing Butterfree already in front of it, Ritchie quickly issued the command for the next move.
Bug Buzz is different from Air Slash; this move is a wide-range area attack and will not have gaps. No matter how much Butterfree dances, it will not be able to dodge this attack!
"Just keep using Acrobatics!" Unfortunately, Ash had no intention of letting Butterfree dodge, because as long as this Acrobatics hit, the battle would be over!
A piercing Growl sounded from Happy's mouth. Visible green sound waves spread in the air. The sound waves collided with Butterfree, causing Butterfree's body to stiffen slightly for a moment, and even a painful expression appeared on its face!
But before Ritchie could show a joyful expression, Butterfree violently flapped its wings, charging out at an even faster speed. Finally, it slammed a wing into Happy, once again blasting Happy down!
"Bang!" The dull sound of colliding with the ground rang out, and a bit of dust was stirred up on the field once again. However, this time the dust was not much, and the surrounding audience could still clearly see the situation on the field.
The situation was... Happy was no longer moving, seemingly unable to get up.
"Butterfree is unable to battle! Since Trainer Ritchie's three Pokémon are all unable to battle, the winner of this match is—Trainer Ash!!"
On the electronic display, Ash's avatar appeared, with a 'win' next to it, indicating that Ash had entered the top 16!
This match was won by Ash without any suspense. The only slight surprise was that everyone originally thought that at the Top 32, Ritchie would at least struggle a bit, right?
After all, in the battles before the Top 32, although Ash didn't lose any Pokémon in any match, he actually didn't have a very easy time. Coming to the Top 32, facing Ritchie, a Trainer much stronger than previous opponents, he should at least have lost one Pokémon.
However, the final result was such a crushing victory. The power of the Pokémon Ash displayed before seemed like child's play compared to this battle; they were simply not on the same level.
Ritchie gritted his teeth, but eventually, he let go and recalled Happy.
In that final clash, he had originally intended to use Bug Buzz to affect Butterfree, preventing Butterfree from successfully using its moves, and then use the speed boost from Tailwind to create distance between them.
But to stop Butterfree's movements, he couldn't use a move that was too weak. Bug Buzz, as Happy's STAB move, coupled with Happy's Tinted Lens ability, which could turn weak effects into normal effects, already made it the strongest move Happy could use.
If even this couldn't stop the opponent, then there was truly no hope. The subsequent idea of using Quiver Dance to sweep the team was purely a pipe dream.
Now, that 'if' really happened. Happy's Bug Buzz failed to block the opponent Butterfree's attack, and it was defeated in one hit.
This defeat was somewhat expected, although the process exceeded Ritchie's expectations. But this was something he knew midway through, so Ritchie wasn't too upset.
It was a pity that he ultimately failed to defeat any of Ash's Pokémon. Compared to the top Trainers in the Indigo Plateau Conference, he was still far behind!
After the match, Ritchie and Ash shook hands amicably, then the former said goodbye to Ash and rushed to the Pokémon Center. He had many injured Pokémon and didn't have Ash's healing abilities, so of course, he could only go to the Pokémon Center.
Actually, Ash held back quite a bit. Pikachu's Partner Mode wasn't used, and Charizard's Sacred Fire wasn't unleashed. If these two powers had been used, Ritchie's Pokémon would have suffered much more than just these minor injuries.
After defeating Ritchie, the upcoming Top 16 matches will advance to a six-on-six level.
It's strange to say, except for the Indigo Plateau Conference, all other tournaments start with full six-on-six battles at the Top 32. Only the Indigo Plateau Conference still plays three-on-three at the Top 32.
However, this might be related to the Indigo Plateau Conference being a beginner Trainer tournament, as six-on-six battles are more difficult than three-on-three battles.
Six-on-six and three-on-three are completely different levels of competition. Six-on-six not only heavily considers both sides' Pokémon reserves, but also their rotation capabilities, and more tactical cooperation.
Therefore, in some formal large-scale competitions, six-on-six duels are directly adopted at the Top 32. However, in competitions like the Indigo Plateau Conference, which are basically attended by beginners, the Top 32 is still three-on-three, in order to reduce the gap in the contestants' reserves.
However, this preferential treatment for beginners only lasts until the Top 32. At the Top 16, it's an equal six-on-six battle, and that's when the contestants are truly tested.
As Ash's match ended, the seventh match then went to Gary. Reaching the Top 32, everyone was formidable. Even Gary unleashed all his trump cards except for MEGA Evolution, barely winning by a narrow margin.
MEGA Evolution, a crucial skill that can turn an entire match around, Gary naturally wouldn't use it unless in a desperate situation. The opponents later would be even more difficult to deal with. If he used MEGA Evolution here, how would he win against those strong enemies later?
If he couldn't even pass the Top 32 without using MEGA Evolution, then Gary would rather fall here. He wouldn't use MEGA Evolution until Ash used it. This was a show of respect for Ash, the discoverer, and also his persistence.
However, the final result was good; Gary also successfully advanced to the Top 32.
Additionally, the matches for the two people Ash was paying attention to, Conway and Paul, were tomorrow. Today's eight matches all ended before six o'clock. There weren't no other opponents worth noting, but compared to those two, they were still quite far behind... The next day, the Top 16 matches continued. Conway showcased his excellent analytical abilities, still engaging in battles where he completely toyed with his opponents, who were defeated by Conway with almost no resistance.
Paul's battle was even more straightforward. Relying on Torterra's power, he almost steamrolled his opponent. A Gym Peak Torterra simply had no match in a competition like the Indigo Plateau Conference.
Up until now, Paul hadn't encountered a Trainer who could make him use his full power.
For a Trainer of his level, participating in such a competition was no different from fishing in a barrel. If it weren't for formidable rivals like Conway and Ash, he could almost guarantee the Champion title.
In terms of performance in the competition, Conway and Paul were in no way inferior to Ash. If it weren't for Ash's record of battling an Elite, and even winning, then Ash would only be able to surpass the two in age.
However, now Ash not only completely outshines Conway and Paul in age, but also has a complete victory in historical battle records. Regardless of how he won against Koga before, the question is, did he win or not?
And later, Ash also battled Lorelei to prove himself. Though he lost, it was a glorious defeat. In terms of reputation, Ash still completely overwhelms the other two.
But if Ash were to lose to them in a battle, then all of Ash's reputation might become a stepping stone for the opponent. From this perspective, a big reputation is not necessarily a good thing.
The drawing for the Top 16 also took place immediately after the Top 32 matches.
On the main stage of the Indigo Plateau Conference, all the contestants nervously stared at the flickering electronic display board. Although they didn't know who their next opponent would be, they knew that if possible, they absolutely did not want to be grouped with Ash!
After all, Ash's strength was recognized as the strongest in this Indigo Plateau Conference. Even if Conway, Paul, and Gary were given a choice, they wouldn't choose Ash for a battle in the Top 16. If they lost, it would truly be over.
If they lost to Ash in the semifinals, at least there would still be a consolation match to fight.
As the electronic display board rotated, the avatars of the sixteen contestants finally appeared on the electronic display board, and the groupings were made.
Gary's opponent was a young man named Jean. Seeing that his opponent wasn't Ash, Gary let out a huge sigh of relief. If he fought Ash, he truly had no confidence in winning. In a one-on-one, there might be a one-in-ten-thousand chance.
But six-on-six... it's a guaranteed loss, brother!
To enter Dragon Island, he must reach the top three of the Indigo Plateau Conference. He couldn't stop here!
And Ash's opponent was also confirmed; it was none other than one of the big favorites of this Indigo Plateau Conference—Conway!
Facing Ash in the Top 16 was definitely something Conway did not want to see. His stick-thin face was now the color of a pig's liver, utterly black.
He specializes in data, and he basically has all the contestants' data in his grasp. Precisely because of this, he absolutely did not want to meet Ash in the Top 16!
Damn it, even if he could actually beat Ash, he'd probably reveal all his trump cards. For someone who likes to keep everything in his control and always has a backup plan, this was absolutely an unacceptable situation.
However, the draw results were already out. Unless he could become the organizer and declare that this draw result didn't count, he couldn't escape the fate of battling Ash in his next match.
On the other hand, when Ash saw that his opponent was Conway, a hint of excitement appeared on his face.
Finally... finally, he met someone strong in the Indigo Plateau Conference!