Apart from Monferno's improvement, the other participating Pokemon have all improved to varying degrees. After all, the fastest way for Pokemon to improve is through battle, isn't it?
But the precondition for rapid improvement through battle is that the Pokemon must have a good foundation. If it weren't for Ash's usual training of his Pokemon, they wouldn't have been able to improve so swiftly after battles.
Even so, their speed of improvement is still somewhat surprising.
Ash's third match will be against Gary. Compared to the previous two matches, this one is much more intense. Both sides have battled down to their last Pokemon, and Gary's opponent has finally revealed his long-hidden trump card — a Gym Beginner Level Alakazam!
Gary's own trump card, of course, is his Blastoise. With MEGA Evolution, Blastoise now possesses power that rivals Gym Level.
Yet, against the very tricky Psychic-type Alakazam, Gary found himself at a disadvantage. The data of MEGA Blastoise has been completely analyzed by the opponent, while Gary has no information on the opponent's Alakazam at all. In such circumstances, even after MEGA Evolution, Blastoise's Level is still one tier lower, making it very challenging to handle.
Ultimately, Gary's Blastoise made a breakthrough on the spot, reaching Gym Beginner Level, and a critical Water Pulse hit Alakazam after it used Teleport, defeating the opponent in one blow!
Blastoise was so exhausted by this effort that it reverted from its MEGA Evolution state, yet it did not lose its fighting ability.
Thus, Gary secured victory in this match!
After the fourth match ended, the time was only three o'clock in the afternoon, and the draw for the semifinals took place immediately after the match. Ash's opponent for the semifinals is... Gary!
The two competitors from Pallet Town finally face each other in the semifinals. When Gary saw that his opponent was Ash, his expression remained quite composed.
There are only three opponents in total; if not Ash, it's bound to be Paul. In the best-case scenario, they might encounter the fourth contestant named Tyson.
But with a two-thirds chance, avoiding Ash isn't that simple, and when it comes to the results, meeting Ash is at least better than meeting Paul.
Even if he loses, Gary would rather lose to Ash than to Paul. After losing, he could at worst prepare for the third-place playoff.
Unless Paul has a sudden urge to target him and deliberately loses to that Tyson, then comes down to the third-place match to snipe him, Gary still feels confident about defeating that Tyson from the Kanto Region.
As for facing Ash... he could only leave it to fate. Even someone as confident as Gary didn't believe he had much chance of winning against Ash. Despite his talk about not fearing Ash and wanting to fight him again.
In reality, he's well aware of both his own strength and Ash's. At this point, achieving a slight success in Gym Level competitions would already be a stroke of luck, whereas Ash can compete against Champions.
Unless Ash uses his second-tier Pokemon, Gary has no chance of winning.
Yet, despite that, Gary hasn't planned on giving up!
"Perfect timing, Ash. Let me see how much you've changed from before," Gary taunted with an arrogant tilt of his chin.
"Hey, we haven't battled in a long time. Having a full six-on-six match in the semifinals sounds like a decent stage, so don't lose too embarrassingly!"
"Are you so sure you'll win? The battle hasn't even started yet; who wins, who loses is still up in the air!"
"Then let's see the truth tomorrow. I'll show you my new power."
New power? A new MEGA Evolution perhaps? Ash's words left Gary deep in thought as Ash departed from the field.
Battling Gary tomorrow... Honestly, facing him in the semifinals isn't all that surprising for Ash. However, facing Gary again doesn't leave him entirely composed.
No matter how large the gap in strength between them, they are lifelong rivals who grew up together. If not for the appearance of the chat group, he might not even surpass the current Gary.
In the past competitions, he usually lost more than he won. The reason he can surpass Gary after traveling is thanks to the teachings of the experts in the group and the skills he acquired from it.
The teachings from the group experts transformed him from a complete novice to a Super Trainer who can now name almost all Pokemon and understand all their attributes.
The knowledge about Breeders he obtained from the group also had excellent results for nurturing Pokemon.
Power of Viridian, Aura Power – these two forces are also crucial. Without them, he wouldn't be where he is today.
The support from the chat group is truly beyond measure. Without it, he might have been eliminated at the round of thirty-two or even the round of sixty-four.
Ash is confident in his talent. Before acquiring the chat group, he already believed he would become a Pokemon Master in the future, but he needed time.
The most important thing about the chat group is that it compensated for his lack of time, allowing him to achieve in just half a year what normally takes a year, or even two to three years.
Now he has successfully passed the most challenging phase with the help of the chat group, and even without its support, he is a mature Trainer.
In contrast, Gary, even without any outside help, raised a Gym Level Pokemon in just half a year, something more than remarkable talent.
Unfortunately, his opponent has an edge!
...
The next day, for the opening match, Ash vs. Gary, the audience seats of Quartz Arena were packed!
The excitement surrounding this match even surpassed Ash's previous top sixteen match against Conway.
These are the only two competitors who can currently MEGA Evolve, and they are from the same hometown. If not for a potential final with Ash against Paul, this match's excitement might surpass the finals.
But if the finals are Ash vs. Paul, the excitement could be even more overwhelming, not just because Paul is stronger, but also because Paul comes from the Sinnoh Region.
If someone from Sinnoh were to win the Kanto Region's Quartz Conference, it would indeed be somewhat embarrassing for Kanto.
A tournament hosted in the home region, won by someone from outside, would suggest Kanto has no standout talents.
If not for Ash's exceptional emergence in this year's Quartz Conference, Kanto indeed wouldn't have anything that stands out...
"Both competitors for today's match are from Pallet Town!"
"They are Professor Oak's grandson, Gary! And Kanto's Superstar, Ash, who also traveled from Pallet Town!"
"These two have been childhood friends playing together since they were little and have now both made it to the semifinals, meeting at Quartz Arena, with both possessing the recently acclaimed MEGA Evolution. Which way will this match swing? Let's all stay tuned!"
Amid the host's introduction, Ash and Gary slowly walked onto the field from the competitors' area.
Ash had an eager look of excitement, while Gary's expression was slightly more serious.
This match isn't the most important, but it's one he wants to win the most, despite his odds being the slimmest.
When both stood on the competitors' platforms, the referee waved the flag, signaling the start of the match. Both Ash and Gary simultaneously reached for their Pokeballs.
"Go, my precious!!" With a flash of light from Gary's Pokeball, a golden fox appeared on the field, the Psychic-type Pokemon, Alakazam!
"It's decided, go, Primeape!!" On Ash's side, he chose—Primeape!
When Primeape appeared on the field, Gary was stunned. He knew all of Ash's lineup, so he understood that Primeape ranks only third even in Ash's second-tier team.
And it's now used in the semifinals against him — is he being treated as a practice partner?!