"The first match of Group H in the preliminary league is about to start, featuring Xiaomeng from Cinnabar Town and Ash from Pallet Town."
"Challenger Xiaomeng will make the first move."
"Ash, I won't hold back! Come on out, Slugma!" Energized by yesterday's events, Xiaomeng was brimming with confidence.
"I wouldn't have it any other way. Totodile, I choose you!" Ash said with complete confidence.
"Slugma, use Flamethrower!"
"Totodile, use Aqua Jet to disrupt its rhythm!"
Totodile immediately gathered a surge of water and dashed forward, striking Slugma squarely. The flames Slugma had been preparing to unleash instantly dissipated.
"Damn it, don't underestimate us! Slugma, use Yawn."
"Totodile, use Scary Face to stop it, then follow up with Water Gun."
Just as Slugma prepared to use Yawn, it caught sight of Totodile's terrifying expression and froze in place, too scared to move. Seizing the opportunity, Totodile immediately blasted a powerful Water Gun straight at Slugma.
Recalling Slugma, Xiaomeng quickly withdrew the Pokémon. Ash's combo had caught her completely off guard; she had expected Ash to be hot-headed and reckless, not this sharp and experienced. Good thing she still had a backup plan.
"Come on out, Electabuzz! Didn't expect that, did you, Ash? I don't only use Fire-type Pokémon," Xiaomeng said with a smug smile.
Xiaomeng's words momentarily stunned Ash, leaving him at a loss for words. *All Pokémon had to be registered for the Silver Conference ahead of time,* he thought. *If you registered it at the last minute, that would be one thing, but you registered Electabuzz ages ago—how is that supposed to be a secret weapon?*
"I anticipated that, and I've prepared a foolproof strategy."
"Is that so? Then bring it on! Electabuzz, use Thunderbolt!"
Electabuzz's Thunderbolt struck swiftly, but Totodile quickly formed an ice wall with Ice Fang. The Thunderbolt hit the ice wall, shattering it and kicking up a thick cloud of smoke that obscured the vision of both sides.
"Now's our chance! Totodile, use Water Gun."
Xiaomeng was prepared as well; Electabuzz successfully blocked the Water Gun attack with Light Screen. Seeing this, Ash immediately recalled Totodile and sent out Tauros, intending to launch an assault while the opponent was caught off guard.
"Tauros, use Rock Climb!"
Tauros let out a mighty roar, its hooves slamming heavily into the ground, instantly raising a small rocky mound that lifted Electabuzz into the air. Electabuzz looked around in a panic.
"Electabuzz, don't be afraid! Get ready to use Brick Break to block Tauros's attack!" Xiaomeng shouted loudly.
*Hmph, doesn't Ash know the lesson of Rock Climb by now?* Xiaomeng thought. *I've experienced similar situations many times. I've already prepared a new countermeasure.*
"Tauros, don't go up there! Use Earthquake right where you are and bring Electabuzz crashing down!" Ash bellowed.
Tauros roared again, its hooves stomping viciously into the ground. A massive fissure tore across the earth, and the rocky mound formed by Rock Climb instantly collapsed. Xiaomeng tried to recall Electabuzz immediately, but flying debris and smoke unfortunately blocked the red recall beam, failing to bring it back. Electabuzz crashed heavily to the ground, losing the ability to battle.
"Electabuzz is unable to battle! Tauros wins!" The referee was utterly stunned by the scene before him, never expecting Tauros's Earthquake to pack such immense power.
"Well, Xiaomeng? How's that for a powerful move?"
"The match isn't over yet! I'll win this back right now—go, Quilava!"
"Return, Tauros. You've worked hard. Squirtle, I choose you!"
Both of Xiaomeng's remaining Pokémon were Fire-types, and Slugma was practically on its last legs, barely hanging on. Ash also wanted to give Squirtle, who had just returned to his team, a chance to shine.
"Brock, Ash's matches are going surprisingly smoothly today. Usually, he'd be running around in a panic by now."
"Yeah, ever since yesterday, he's become much calmer," Brock said confidently. "With only Quilava and Slugma left, Ash can easily win by playing the type advantage. This round is securely in Ash's hands."
"Quilava, use Eruption!" On the field, Xiaomeng immediately issued her command, hoping to use smoke to obscure Squirtle's vision and then secure victory with a single high-power Fire-type move.
Hearing the command, the flames on Quilava's back flared up, and it spewed thick black smoke from its mouth that instantly blanketed the field, enveloping Squirtle. Quilava immediately followed up by charging straight into the smoke using Flame Charge.
"Ash, you're going to lose this match. Water-type Pokémon aren't suited for fighting inside a smoke screen."
"Not yet," Ash said with absolute confidence. If it were Totodile out there, things might be a bit troublesome, but against Squirtle? Firefighters practiced moving through smoke all the time; a little smoke like this was no problem at all.
"Squirtle, use Hydro Pump! Aim at Quilava and blast it out of here!" Ash shouted.
With a swift motion, Squirtle withdrew into its shell and began spinning rapidly as it shot into the smoke. Hearing the sound of steam, Quilava came flying backward out of the smoke, barely managing to stop at the edge of the field with a painful expression on its face. Even though the flames of Flame Charge had helped absorb part of the Hydro Pump, it was still a powerful Water-type ultimate move—super effective, to say the least. The black smoke on the field slowly began to clear.
"How can this be? Squirtle is standing on the field without a single scratch!" Xiaomeng was clearly shocked by the sight.
"Smoke is completely useless against my Squirtle! The match is decided—Squirtle, use Water Gun!" Ash wasn't about to let slip this golden opportunity to beat a retreating opponent.
"Damn it! Hang in there, Quilava—use Quick Attack to dodge!" Xiaomeng hurriedly ordered.
Unfortunately, just as Quilava arched its back to assume the posture for Quick Attack, Squirtle's Water Gun arrived right in front of it and hit dead center. Having taken two Water-type moves in a row, Quilava could no longer support its own weight; its body shuddered and it collapsed, spiral patterns appearing in its eyes.
"All right! Squirtle, you did a fantastic job!" "Squirt-Squirtle!" Ash was overjoyed. Victory in the first match was right within his grasp, and unlike his memories of the past, this battle had gone exceptionally smoothly without any of his Pokémon taking serious damage.
Xiaomeng recalled Quilava and sent out Slugma, which was hanging on by a thread. The rest of the battle was a foregone conclusion: Slugma's Double Team was easily dismantled by Squirtle's spinning Hydro Pump, and it finally collapsed helplessly before Squirtle's Hydro Pump.
"Slugma is unable to battle! Squirtle wins! The winner is Ash!"
"Thanks to you, Squirtle, we won the match!" "Squirt-Squirtle!" Pikachu immediately leaped onto Ash's shoulder to celebrate the victory. "Let's go, Misty's match is next!" Ash bolted out of the arena, eager to watch Misty's match, cheer her on, and see how much her current strength differed from his memories.
"That's strange. Brock, why are you out here alone? Where's Misty?" Ash asked when he saw Brock standing alone by the entrance.
"Misty has already gone to the arena to prepare for her match. She told me to wait here for you. By the way, Ash, you fought really well in that match. Oh, and Gary mentioned to me too that you've improved a lot compared to how you used to be."
"That guy Gary, actually putting on senior airs right in front of me! By the way, Brock, where did Gary go?"
"Sigh, he already left. Anyway, we should go watch Misty's match; it's about to start," Brock urged. Hearing Gary's name still made Ash act just like before—truly the epitome of rivals. Thinking this, Brock picked up his pace toward the arena where Misty would be fighting.
And so, the two of them and one Pikachu hurried along until they finally reached the match arena.