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Since participating in the Indigo Plateau Conference, Ash had not encountered a Gym Leader Level opponent. Although none of the opponents he faced were weak, and they were all good Trainers among those participating in the Indigo Plateau Conference.
However, compared to himself, there was indeed a vast difference. He hardly needed to use his main Pokémon, and even when he did, they couldn't unleash their full power.
If he hadn't later found Chimchar and used those opponents as Chimchar's whetstones, the previous battles would have been quite uninteresting.
Even so, Ash's main Pokémon had no opportunity to participate. If Ash had battled with his main Pokémon at full power before, then Ritchie yesterday would have been the best example.
That's why Ash was so excited to face Conway in tomorrow's battle—it was the thrill of encountering a strong opponent!
As for Conway himself... let's not talk about it. The more said, the more tears.jpg.
Some rejoice, some worry—this is the matching mechanism of the Indigo Plateau Conference. Being strong doesn't guarantee a good ranking, and being weak doesn't necessarily mean early elimination, as long as your luck in the draw is good.
Gary was just like that. His luck in the draw was absolutely impeccable. Every opponent he was matched with was either on par with him or only slightly stronger, and he was able to make breakthroughs, surpass limits, defeat his opponents, and improve himself during the battles.
In this Indigo Plateau Conference, Gary's progress was undeniably significant. Ash's main Pokémon didn't improve much, but his second team saw considerable improvement.
The opponent Gary drew for this battle was still around his level. The match was scheduled for tomorrow's third round, while Ash and Conway's battle was in the first round, as the opening match!
The opening match featured two of the most popular contenders for the championship. This news spread like wildfire throughout the entire Indigo Plateau.
Tickets for the Top 16 battles had to be purchased separately, as did those for the Top 8, Top 4, and so on. However, you could choose to buy tickets for specific matches or purchase a full pass to watch all the battles.
There were also some people who bought tickets for the first match and then lingered in the venue, refusing to leave. Such people were difficult to manage, but as long as they didn't obstruct others' seats, the administrators would turn a blind eye.
Therefore, tickets for the first match were always more expensive. Coincidentally, this match was also Ash's opening battle, and his opponent was not weak, so the tickets for this match exploded!
Countless people began scrambling for tickets to the first match of the Top 16! Even standing tickets sold out! The scalpers went crazy!
Moreover, the scalpers themselves also wanted to watch the first match of the Top 16, so the tickets were hyped to an exorbitant price!
Even if you looked for scalpers, you might not be able to get tickets for this match. If you couldn't, you could only honestly watch the big screen outside the Indigo Stadium.
Unless you were well-connected.jpg... The next day at nine in the morning, the entire Indigo Stadium was packed, with not even standing room left!
With crowds of people pressing against each other, the popularity of this match was definitely among the top three in the Indigo Plateau Conference. The only matches that could possibly surpass its popularity would likely be if Gary or Paul faced Ash.
One of them was Ash's childhood friend, also from Pallet Town, and the other was one of the biggest favorites to win this time, arguably second only to Ash in terms of reputation.
Their strength was currently unknown, as no one had been able to force Paul to unleash his full power, just like Ash.
Therefore, the explosive popularity of this match was inevitable.
"The next match to begin is the Top 16 battle of the Indigo Plateau Conference!"
"This competition will adopt a full six-on-six format, allowing Trainers to display their skills to the fullest! And the two contestants in this match are probably familiar to everyone. One is Trainer Conway from Celestic Town in the Sinnoh region. It's worth noting that Celestic Town is also the hometown of Sinnoh Champion Cynthia!"
"And the other contestant is even more familiar to everyone—that's Trainer Ash from Pallet Town!!!"
Under the host's warm-up, the entire venue erupted in wild cheers, deafening and overwhelming, with sounds like mountains and seas continuously echoing in the stadium. The entire field even vibrated slightly from the explosive cheers.
Seeing the excellent effect of his warm-up, the host couldn't help but nod, then continued: "So far, Trainer Ash has not had a single Pokémon lose the ability to battle. I wonder if Trainer Conway can break Ash's undefeated record?"
Conway, like Ash, was a Trainer who constantly rotated Pokémon during battles, unlike someone like Paul who would sweep through with a single Pokémon.
However, Ash continuously swapped Pokémon to give his Pokémon ample training, while Conway continuously swapped Pokémon for strategic arrangements.
Another difference between the two was that Ash's swapped Pokémon rarely repeated, and not a single Pokémon had lost the ability to battle. The most intense battle was when Monferno evolved.
But in the end, he won that battle without any major problems, and Monferno also didn't lose the ability to battle, though it was almost exhausted.
On the other hand, Conway's Pokémon had more than one that had lost the ability to battle, but the final outcome was still a victory.
Conway's every battle seemed to be won with a slight element of danger, but anyone with a keen eye could tell that he was deliberately hiding his strength, because the process of each battle was too similar.
He almost always fought to the opponent's last Pokémon, and then Conway would defeat the opponent's last Pokémon with seemingly little effort.
Furthermore, up to this point, the Pokémon Conway had used had not repeated, appearing to have a larger Pokémon reserve than Ash!
So, the outcome of this battle was truly unknown.
"Next, let's welcome Trainer Ash and Trainer Conway to the stage!"
After livening up the atmosphere, the host cordially invited both Trainers to the stage. Ash and Conway slowly walked out from the Trainer's aisle.
The former had an excited expression, while the latter's expression was slightly solemn and serious. As a data-driven Trainer, the most difficult aspect was not having the opponent's data.
Ash was not only powerful, but he was also one of the few Trainers for whom he couldn't collect accurate data. If he understood other Trainers to over ninety percent, then his understanding of Ash was probably less than fifty percent.
Including Paul, it was the same.
These two were the opponents Conway least wanted to face in the early stages; winning brought no benefit, and losing meant everything was over.
So, it would be strange if Conway's expression was good.
"Then, for my first Pokémon... I choose you, Blastoise!" Ash's first Pokémon was the never-before-seen Blastoise, and this was Blastoise's debut!
At the same time, Conway also released his first Pokémon, Dusknoir!
The moment he saw Dusknoir, Ash was also stunned, because this was a Pokémon Conway had never used in previous battles.
Dusknoir is the final evolved form of Duskull, and its evolution item, the Reaper Cloth, is a very rare item. To raise a Dusknoir, Conway must have put in a lot of effort.
Although Ash had learned a lot of Pokémon knowledge from the experts in the group chat, Dusknoir is a Pokémon that inhabits Sinnoh, which is quite unfamiliar to Ash. Therefore, Ash could only use his Insight ability to understand as much information about the opponent as possible.
"Speed is only E-rank... Is it that slow?" Ash murmured after seeing Dusknoir's information. This voice was not heard by Conway, otherwise, Conway's face would probably show a horrified expression right now.
The opponent could even discern Dusknoir's speed. If he had Ash's eyes, it would pave the way for his data-driven path to an unimaginable extent.
In Ash's eyes, all of Dusknoir's moves, type, and Ability were fully displayed. This Pokémon, apart from its E-rank speed, had excellent stats in all other aspects.
Its Attack and both Defenses reached A-rank, and its other two stats were B-rank. Its level had even reached Gym Leader Level, early stage. This Pokémon should be one of Conway's trump card Pokémon. It was unexpected that he would bring it out in the first battle. It seems Conway takes this match unusually seriously.
"Trainer Ash has brought out a Pokémon he has never used before, Blastoise, while Trainer Conway's Dusknoir is also a very rare existence in the Sinnoh region, and this is also the first time Trainer Conway has used it. The Top 16 battle has already entered a white-hot state right from the start!"
The host's voice also sounded at just the right moment. This opening battle would undoubtedly be much more exciting than the previous matches. Just the new Pokémon Ash brought out and the new Pokémon Conway brought out proved the importance they placed on this match.
"Dusknoir, first reveal the item the opponent is holding!" Conway adjusted his glasses and shouted to Dusknoir.
Dusknoir's Ability is Frisk, which allows it to reveal the opponent's item. However, reality is not like those video games; even if the opponent's item is revealed, one still needs to recognize what item the opponent is holding.
This depends on whether the Trainer's knowledge is sufficient. Conway was quite confident in his information reserves. The items Blastoise could hold would probably be Mystic Water or some defensive items.
However, when Dusknoir's Frisk took effect, the item on Blastoise floated into view. A smooth, round gem appeared in Conway's sight, with blue and brown stripes coiling within it.
This gem completely bewildered Conway... What is this thing?
Conway, who prided himself on his extensive knowledge, searched his mental database of items upon seeing the gem, but found no item that matched what Blastoise was holding.
He certainly didn't believe he could recognize every Pokémon held item in the world, but he shouldn't be unable to recognize an item in the very first battle of the opening match!
The manifestation of Frisk not only allowed Conway to see it but also the surrounding audience. And among the audience, including Paul, no one recognized what item Blastoise was holding.
Except for the Elite Four who were watching from the special spectator seats.
"That thing... is Blastoise's mega stone, right?"
"Hmm, there shouldn't be any mistake. Did Ash get incredibly lucky or did he already collect them in advance? How does he have so many mega stones? Besides Venusaur, now he also has Blastoise... Surely there aren't more?"
"Heh heh, he was the first to discover MEGA Evolution, so it's normal for him to have a few more mega stones. I just don't know how many he has."
"When we went to Kalos this time, only you, Lance, found one. Everyone else returned empty-handed. I wonder if Ash has any extra Evolution Stones that happen to suit me," Bruno said, his arms crossed in front of him, with a hopeful expression.
Lance and the others: ...Are you trying to make excuses?
But then again, what if Ash really did have such a mega stone? After the battle, they could go ask Ash.
They hadn't asked before because they thought that with their abilities, knowing about MEGA Evolution in advance, wouldn't it be easy to find a mega stone?
But now, after searching for mega stones, they realized how difficult they were to find. Once Ash revealed MEGA Evolution in the Indigo Plateau Conference, it would probably be even harder. So, asking Ash for an extra one and offering corresponding compensation didn't seem like a bad idea at all!
...On the field, Ash didn't pay too much attention to Blastoise's mega stone being revealed. He had already planned to initiate evolution in these few battles. For instance, now, Conway's first Pokémon was Gym Leader Level.
Blastoise could fight on par with the opponent in its normal state, but to quickly suppress and defeat the opponent, MEGA Evolution was necessary.
However, that Dusknoir's speed was only E-rank. Even the relatively slow Blastoise should surpass it. With a speed advantage, defeating the opponent shouldn't be difficult.
"Dusknoir, use Trick Room!" Just as Ash was thinking about speed, Conway took the lead in commanding Dusknoir.
Upon hearing the move Trick Room, Ash's expression instantly changed. He quickly shouted to Blastoise: "Blastoise, use Hydro Pump to stop it!"
"Kame!" Blastoise crouched low, and the two thick cannons on its back suddenly spewed out surging streams of water. The violent water rushed towards Dusknoir.
Dusknoir ignored it, rubbing an energy cube with both hands. When the Hydro Pump struck it, Dusknoir's body was sent flying tens of meters away, and a clear look of pain could be seen on its face.
However, it still didn't give up on the energy cube it was rubbing in its hands.
Finally, the Hydro Pump slowly ceased, and Dusknoir stopped at the edge of the field, then suddenly threw the cube in its hands!
The cube expanded and grew, eventually covering the entire space of the field!
Trick Room, successfully used!