"By the way, Brock, has Ash decided on his third Pokémon yet?" Misty asked.
"I'm not sure either. I saw Ash coming back very late last night, so it's probably one of the Pokémon left with Professor Oak," Brock replied, full of curiosity. Still, given Ash's recent string of performances, Brock had complete confidence in him. He had already planned everything out before the match: just like in the battle against Mimey, every matchup would favor their Pokémon's type advantage, and coupled with Ash's current commanding ability, facing Jackson shouldn't be too much of a problem.
"Trainer Jackson attacks first, and Ash chooses to counter. Both trainers, send out your Pokémon!" Following the referee's declaration, the second match of Group H in the Silver Conference officially began.
"Go! Azumarill!" A blue water mouse with white markings appeared on the field. True to Ash's prediction, Jackson had indeed sent out Azumarill.
"In that case, I choose you, Pikachu!" At Ash's command, Pikachu immediately dashed onto the field and assumed a battle stance.
"Azumarill, use Water Gun."
Azumarill immediately leaped into the air and spat a jet of water from its mouth, which looked quite powerful. However, Ash had an immediate countermeasure.
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack to close in on Azumarill."
Pikachu instantly transformed into a streak of white light, changing directions repeatedly across the field to successfully evade Azumarill's Water Gun attack.
"Looks like he wants close combat with Azumarill. My Azumarill's Ability is Huge Power! Azumarill, use Iron Tail!" Jackson shouted loudly. Right now, Jackson had immense confidence in Azumarill's strength. Even though he was at a disadvantage in type, Azumarill had the high ground and the Ability boost, so it would definitely knock Pikachu down. He wanted to throw cold water on Ash's momentum right at the start, and thinking of this, Jackson couldn't help smiling.
"Pikachu, we'll use Iron Tail too! Don't lose to him!" Ash roared. Although Ash now possessed over twenty years of experience, whenever he faced a head-on confrontation, he always responded in kind.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried out, charging toward the descending Azumarill with its tail gleaming with a metallic sheen.
With a loud bang! Pikachu's tail collided fiercely with Azumarill's tail, generating sparks at the point of contact that demonstrated just how immense the power behind these two moves was. After holding their ground for a moment, Pikachu and Azumarill quickly separated as they fell, landing respectively in front of Ash and Jackson.
"How is this possible? It's a tie!" Jackson disbelief was evident.
"Hmph, my Pikachu's tail strength is matchless. It can even take a blow from a Steelix's tail!" Ash shouted with confidence.
"Pikachu, follow up with Thunderbolt."
"Azumarill, use Bubble Beam to block it."
"Pika—chu!" Pikachu immediately unleashed Thunderbolt, sending a thick, yellow current surging toward Azumarill at high speed. To everyone's astonishment, Bubble Beam actually blocked the Thunderbolt. Ash was deeply shocked—how could Thunderbolt still be blocked? Pikachu scratched its head, signaling that it had already given its absolute all.
"Azumarill, take this chance! Use Icy Wind."
Seeing Ash momentarily stunned, Jackson reacted instantly, hoping to use Icy Wind to drop Pikachu's speed and then finish it off in close combat. Blocking that Iron Tail earlier must have been pure luck.
"I was prepared for this! Pikachu, rush in and use Counter Shield to block it!"
Pikachu was eager to try this out, having long wanted to test this move it had seen in its dreams. With a focused thought, Pikachu immediately began spinning its body while simultaneously releasing multiple streams of electricity from within, which crossed and spun together like a web spun by an Ariados.
Boom! The Icy Wind struck the Counter Shield, dealing no damage to Pikachu whatsoever. At the same time, Azumarill was hit by the Counter Shield and let out a cry of agony.
"Azumarill, break free!" Faced with this sudden new technique, Jackson had no other choice but to urge Azumarill to break away with all its might, but it was all in vain. Battered by the continuous barrage of electricity, Azumarill was nothing more than a helpless target.
"Azumarill is unable to battle! Pikachu wins!"
"Great job, Pikachu!"
"Pika!"
However, Pikachu was panting slightly now; it wasn't yet fully proficient in this technique, and combined with the earlier clash of Iron Tails, a good deal of its stamina had been consumed. At this point, Jackson sent out his special Magneton, while Ash recalled Pikachu so it could rest properly.
"Go!" This time, Ash sent out his Johto starter—Cyndaquil. Bathed in white light, the plump little Cyndaquil looked as if it had just woken up, appearing lazy and drowsy.
"Ash has the type advantage again? But my Magneton isn't going to be so easy to deal with," Jackson said confidently, choosing not to make a substitution once more.
"Magneton, use Thunder Wave."
Long, thin yellow electromagnetic waves shot from the magnets on both sides of Magneton. Seeing this, Ash thought to himself that Cyndaquil couldn't afford to be caught by that Thunder Wave. From what he remembered seeing in his visions, Cyndaquil had been trapped by Thunder Wave and then defeated by Tri Attack. Lacking any other immediate ideas, Ash could only have Cyndaquil use SmokeScreen for defense.
"Cyndaquil, use SmokeScreen!"
Hearing the command, Cyndaquil instantly ignited its fighting spirit as the flames on its back flared up. Then, a massive cloud of smoke billowed from Cyndaquil's mouth, colliding with Magneton's Thunder Wave and triggering an explosion. The shockwave from the explosion pushed Magneton back several yards.
"Great opportunity, Cyndaquil! Use Flamethrower!"
Seizing the moment instantly, Ash commanded a raging torrent of fire to be shot toward Magneton. However, Jackson was not about to surrender without a fight.
"Magneton, use Double Team!"
"Cyndaquil, don't stop! Sweep the area!"
Ash reacted immediately. Just as Cyndaquil's flames blasted away one of the illusions and prepared to sweep sideways, Magneton began rubbing its magnets together, emitting a piercing, screeching sound. Hearing the noise, Cyndaquil stopped its Flamethrower, clutching its ears in discomfort as a flash of light washed over its body, lowering its Special Defense.
"Magneton! Tri Attack, right now!"
"Cyndaquil, dodge!" Ash shouted helplessly.
Magneton's Tri Attack launched at incredible speed toward Cyndaquil. Affected by the Supersonic noise, Cyndaquil hadn't heard Ash's command clearly, but fortunately, its agility was maxed out. It managed to react, though a bit too late, and was clipped by the edge of the Tri Attack, knocking it back a short distance before it finally managed to steady itself. Scars now marred Cyndaquil's body.
Right at that moment, Magneton's Thunder Wave struck Cyndaquil, causing the Pokémon to cry out in pain from the electrical current.
"Ash, how do you like this combo? Now, Magneton, use Tri Attack!" Jackson looked as though he could already taste victory.
"Hang in there, Cyndaquil! Use Flame Wheel to break free!" Ash shouted quickly.
Cyndaquil began struggling to execute Flame Wheel, the flames on its back blazing fiercely once more. This battle successfully ignited its fighting spirit, and the Flame Wheel was unleashed. With a loud boom, an explosion of fire and electricity echoed out as Cyndaquil successfully broke free from the Thunder Wave's grip. The Tri Attack missed its mark, though the trade-off was a few more scrapes on Cyndaquil's body.
Before the smoke from the explosion could clear, Ash immediately ordered Cyndaquil to charge at Magneton using Flame Wheel. Jackson and Magneton were still waiting for the smoke to clear when Cyndaquil's Flame Wheel slammed heavily into Magneton.
Magneton was driven straight into the ground by the Flame Wheel, and Ash immediately instructed Cyndaquil to use the recoil from the impact to put some distance between them.
"Cyndaquil, use Flamethrower at full power!"
Jackson ordered Magneton to counter with Thunderbolt, which it did. However, the explosion of the colliding Flamethrower and Thunderbolt occurred far too close to Magneton; the resulting shockwave and flames engulfed it entirely. Magneton slumped forward, unable to continue battling.
"That was too close! Ash and Cyndaquil almost lost that one," Misty said, patting her chest in relief as the tense battle left her heart pounding.
"Indeed! Cyndaquil was pressured throughout the early stage, but Ash managed to turn the tables using that SmokeScreen—classic Ash style. This match really highlights the difference in experience between Jackson and Ash," Brock analyzed as usual.
Meanwhile, on the field, Jackson recalled Magneton and sent out his ace—Meganium.