Ash's sliding entry stunned the surrounding audience; it was the first time a Trainer had rushed straight into the field without a care, and Ash's speed was unbelievably impressive.
His speed was almost faster than a Pokemon's. At least, it seemed faster than Annihilape before; it was like Teleport, appearing beneath Annihilape in the blink of an eye.
Gary saw Pidgeot fall to the ground and couldn't help but smile wryly. Even if he wanted to catch Pidgeot, he simply didn't have the speed and strength to do it!
Instead of him catching Pidgeot, it would have been Pidgeot knocking him out.
"Good job, Annihilape, come back." Seeing that Annihilape was completely unconscious, Ash took out a Pokeball and lightly tapped it on Annihilape. The earlier Outrage had drained all of Annihilape's strength; that attack was its swan song.
After the strike, regardless of whether the opponent lost their combat ability, Annihilape no longer had the strength to fight.
This was the first time Ash had a Pokemon lose its combat ability, and though it was completely avoidable, Ash didn't care about any undefeated legend. He would do anything beneficial for his Pokemon.
Like this time, although Annihilape lost its combat ability, it unleashed all its evolved strength, and even in the last moment, Annihilape fell standing. It didn't lose because of the opponent's attack but because it was exhausted.
Annihilape's temperament and resolve grew exceptionally well, so Ash willingly accepted this loss.
After recalling Annihilape, Ash stood up from the ground and looked at Pidgeot nearby. At first, Ash thought Pidgeot was hit too hard by Annihilape and temporarily lost its strength, falling from the sky.
But now he realized, Pidgeot seemed... unable to stand up again?
Had it really lost its combat ability? Defeated in one blow by Outrage? Seriously?!
Even with Reflect halving the attack, it was still taken down in one hit. Just how high was Annihilape's attack power?
Gary and the referee noticed this as well. Gary's initially wry expression turned even more bitter, and the referee directly announced the result: "Pidgeot, Annihilape, both have lost combat ability. Please send out your next Pokemon. Also, Ash, please return to the player's seat, or you will be penalized for a foul."
The referee gave Ash a slight warning; theoretically, Trainers aren't supposed to interfere in Pokemon battles, but Ash's actions weren't considered interference since he just went to retrieve his Pokemon.
Additionally, since Annihilape was already ruled out of combat, there was no issue with Ash rushing in. Some Pokemon that dislike entering Pokeballs need to be personally retrieved by their Trainers when they can't fight anymore.
Ash's actions were similar, so it wasn't considered a foul, but if Ash stayed on the field, it would be a foul.
"I understand. Sorry, I just got a bit anxious," Ash apologized to the referee with a smile, then quickly ran off the field.
At that moment, he wasn't thinking; he was just afraid of the damage Annihilape might take from falling to the ground after just evolving. Even if it could recover later, damage was damage.
That's why he rushed out without thinking. Thankfully, he wasn't penalized with a foul loss; otherwise, he wouldn't even have a place to cry.
When Ash returned to the player's seat, Gary recalled Pidgeot. Now he still had three Pokemon left, excluding Blastoise, leaving him with his two weakest team members. Winning was nearly impossible.
Bad news, he couldn't win at all. Good news, he at least defeated one of Ash's Pokemon, even if Annihilape wasn't defeated by him but lost its battle ability due to exhaustion.
But Annihilape's stamina was worn down because of him, wasn't it? So technically, it was indeed his victory over Annihilape.
He had achieved a record none of Ash's opponents at the Quartz Conference managed, although it was partly because Ash didn't return Annihilape to its Pokeball.
If Ash had recalled Annihilape, it would have been like when he withdrew Blastoise against Conway in the round of sixteen, and Annihilape wouldn't have lost its fighting ability.
In silence, both sides took out their next Pokeball and threw them simultaneously.
"Let's go, Umbreon!"
"It's up to you, Lucario!"
With a flash of light, the blue Lucario and the jet-black Umbreon appeared on the field.
Gary's Umbreon was captured midway through his journey. This Eevee had exceptionally high talent, and in a short time, it caught up with the level of his main team, successfully becoming part of the top combat ranks. Although its level was only at the Professional Junior Level, its 'age' was the youngest among Gary's main Pokemon.
Aside from Umbreon, all of Gary's main Pokemon were those who had been with him from the beginning, only Umbreon caught up midway, highlighting how strong Umbreon's talent was.