"How is it, Brock? We aren't late, are we?"
"Not at all. Looking at the field right now, the match has just barely started."
With that, the two immediately looked toward the battlefield. Standing on the field right now were Misty's Togetic and her opponent's Venusaur. The opponent's lineup choice was obviously tailored specifically for Misty's Water-type Pokémon. The opponent's Venusaur immediately kicked off with Sunny Day, and a Solar Beam was unleashed in a flash. After taking the brunt of the first Solar Beam, Togetic began dodging frantically.
"Is Misty going to be alright? I wonder how she'll have Togetic handle this," Ash watched the arena with concern.
"Don't worry, Ash. Did you forget? Togetic is one of Misty's aces," just as Brock finished speaking, Togetic made its move on the field. Togetic used Psyshock, instantly interrupting Venusaur's Solar Beam. Since Venusaur has a Poison-type sub-property, the super-effective damage was devastating. However, the opponent refused to accept defeat, and Venusaur lashed out with a flurry of Vine Whips, attempting to disrupt Togetic's moves. Misty had a countermeasure ready, telling Togetic to fly upward and out of the Vine Whip's reach. Seeing this, Venusaur deployed Razor Leaf, launching countless leaves toward the sky. Although Togetic managed to dodge repeatedly thanks to its maneuverability, there were simply too many leaves, and it kept getting struck. Suddenly, however, an explosion echoed right above Venusaur's head, instantly cutting the Razor Leaf attack short. The opponent was clearly stunned, having seen no visible commands issued by the trainer.
Venusaur took heavy damage, and the effect looked remarkably potent.
"Misty had Togetic use Future Sight," Ash, being a veteran, recognized it at a glance. But Misty's opponent clearly lacked Ash's experience; both the trainer and his Venusaur fell into a panic. Seizing the moment, Misty immediately ordered Togetic to use Psyshock again, dealing another heavy blow to Venusaur and successfully knocking it out.
Seeing this, the opponent hurriedly recalled Venusaur and sent out Raichu. It seemed the opponent had done their homework on Misty, determined to play the type advantage all the way to the end. Yet Misty was already experienced in fighting against type disadvantages; she immediately recalled Togetic and sent out Quagsire. Raichu's Electric-type moves were completely sealed and could only rely on Dig and Mega Punch. In the end, however, Quagsire successfully froze it with Ice Beam, and Misty secured another win.
*Why didn't the opponent switch Pokémon this time and just keep fighting with Raichu?* Ash felt puzzled after watching the opponent recall Raichu, but that question was answered right away. Because the opponent's remaining Pokémon was Azumarill, and facing Quagsire's Water Absorb ability, it was going to be even harder to fight.
Upon seeing the Azumarill sent out by her opponent, Misty recalled Quagsire and sent out Starmie. Starmie successfully struck Azumarill with Thunderbolt.
"Misty, you were amazing out there! The opponent was caught in your rhythm the entire time," Ash said happily, congratulating Misty as the three of them reunited.
"Pika-pi!" Pikachu jumped onto Misty's shoulder and rubbed cheeks with her.
"What are you talking about? It was just luck. I just happened to guess the opponent's lineup this way," Misty said as she stroked Pikachu, her face flushed with a rosy hue. Every time he won a match, Ash would congratulate her with this kind of passionate enthusiasm. Although it was always the same praise about doing a great job, Misty knew that for Ash, this was already the highest form of compliment.
"Should we go check out Gary's match? It looks like his battle is still underway," Brock said after congratulating Misty.
However, just as the three reached the stadium entrance, a roar of cheers rolled out from inside. They heard the announcer shouting that Gary had defeated his opponent's three Pokémon with Arcanine, completing a three-sweep. Watching the crowds filing out, Ash and his friends abandoned the idea of going in to satisfy their curiosity and decided to head to the Pokémon Center to heal their Pokémon instead.
"Nurse Joy, I'm counting on you to take care of my three Pokémon," Ash said.
"Mine too," Misty chimed in after Ash.
"Little ol' me is counting on you too, Nurse Joy!" Brock jumped in ahead of Ash, striking his signature pose. True to form, the outcome remained the same: he was dragged away by Misty.
At that moment, the three heard a familiar voice. Glancing toward the videophone terminal, they caught sight of a boy in green clothes talking to Professor Elm.
"Come to think of it, that guy on the phone looks like Ash's next opponent," Brock remarked.
"Really? He looks a lot like Professor Elm," Misty observed.
*My next opponent must be Jackson, the one with that special Magneton,* Ash recalled from his memories.
With that, the trio walked up to say hello. "Hello, Professor Elm!" the three said in unison.
Jackson was startled by Ash's booming voice, having no idea who had suddenly run over to greet him. But Jackson recognized Ash and introduced himself.
"Hello, I'm Jackson from New Bark Town! You're Ash from Pallet Town, right?"
"That's right, our match is up next," Ash said.
"Then I'll let you see my true strength! The one who advances to the championship tournament and faces Kenta will be me!" Jackson declared with absolute confidence, striking a frustrated-loss gesture right after.
Suddenly, a cry rang out that a fight had broken out—saying that a Meganium and a Bulbasaur were brawling. Hearing this, Jackson bolted outside.
*How bizarre. Back then, it was my Bulbasaur and a Meganium fighting, and now it's someone else's Bulbasaur and Meganium,* Ash thought to himself.
"Let's go take a look too," Brock reminded them.
Ash and the others ran outside as well. As soon as they reached the grass, the situation played out just as it had originally—except this time, it wasn't him involved. Shortly after, Vincent stopped the fight using Miltank's Heal Bell.
"Let's get out of here quickly. Officer Jenny is going to be here any second," Ash warned.
"Ash is right, let's hurry away," Brock remembered the rulebook stating that Pokémon battles were strictly prohibited during the tournament.
As it turned out, just as everyone was about to leave, Officer Jenny arrived—right on schedule, just after the trouble had been resolved. Unlike the original turn of events, this time Ash stepped forward to explain that they had just been training. With Gary appearing shortly after to corroborate Ash's story, Officer Jenny listened to their explanation, issued a warning, and then stylishly rode off on her motorcycle.
"Come to think of it, I honestly thought it was Ash's Pokémon fighting here. I never expected Ash to be the one stepping up to explain things—I'm quite surprised," Gary immediately launched a verbal offensive against Ash the moment Officer Jenny left.
Hearing Gary's remarks, Ash rolled up his sleeves, ready to launch into a proper debate with Gary. But Gary simply turned and walked away, leaving behind a parting remark telling Ash not to get eliminated too soon.
*I just thought Ash had grown a lot more level-headed, but Gary managed to bring out his true colors in just a few sentences,* Misty thought to herself as she watched the scene unfold. *Still, an Ash like this feels even more interesting than before.*
With the incident resolved, everyone bid each other farewell. Walking back to the athlete village, Ash and his companions began discussing which Pokémon to use tomorrow.
"As for me, I've decided to use Pikachu and Cyndaquil tomorrow, and I'm still thinking about the third one. If possible, I'd love to let all my Pokémon step onto the field and give it a try. But wait, why are we all talking about my opponent? Misty, don't you have a match too?" Ash asked.
"Me? I'm fighting with a type disadvantage either way, so I'll just check out what Pokémon the opponent has when we get back."
"You really know how to take things in stride, Misty," Ash said with a smile.
"Of course! I'm the world's prettiest girl, after all, and I'm going to become a Water-type Pokémon Master!" Misty declared with confidence.
"Alright, let's pick up the pace. I'll put on a grand show later to celebrate both of your first wins!" Brock urged.