Mandi wasn't participating in the League Conference for the first time, having accumulated over a year and a half of travel experience. He initially joined the Quartz Conference aiming for a top-three finish, otherwise, with his experience, he would've disregarded such a conference.
However, in this seemingly insignificant conference emerged a super dark horse!
Ash's appearance made all the participants feel as if they were walking on thin ice. Anyone encountering Ash was basically assured of stopping at their current rank. Even the most confident contestant would definitely not want to face Ash.
Even if they did manage to defeat Ash, they would have to reveal their trump cards and the types, attributes, and species of their Pokémon, putting them at a disadvantage against any equally matched opponents later on.
Therefore, in the early stages of this match, everyone, whether they were strong or weak Trainers, absolutely didn't want to face Ash. There was no benefit at all in facing Ash.
And Mandi was the first unlucky contestant.
Me against Ash? Seriously? Am I supposed to be playing the market here? Might as well just forfeit!!
Though he said that, Mandi certainly couldn't opt for surrender. Even if there was only a slim chance, he had to give it a try!
It's Dragon Island, after all. Any normal Trainer would want to visit it and capture a Pokémon, right!
After all, not only is Dragon Island full of Dragon Pokémon (though whether they all have Dragon Attributes is unknown), but they are also highly gifted. Who wouldn't want to capture a Quasi-God from there?
Apart from the Kanto Quasi-Gods, there are Quasi-Gods from other regions as well on Dragon Island, but they are rarer compared to those from Kanto. In short, for Dragon Island, it's worth the fight!
When Ash saw his opponent, he glanced around and noticed Mandi, who looked rather displeased. So, Ash gave Mandi a friendly smile as a greeting upon their first meeting.
As a result, Mandi interpreted Ash's smile as a provocation, immediately feeling uncomfortable, as if confronting Ash wasn't enough—it felt like a provocation. Does he really think he's invincible?!
So what if he defeated alternate Elites or stood on par with Elite Lorelei? Is that supposed to be impressive?
… Well, it is indeed quite impressive, but that's no reason for him to provoke me!
After all, he is an experienced Trainer with Elite Peak Level Pokémon. What if Ash has to concede unexpectedly?
If it weren't for encountering Ash, with his strength, reaching the top 16 of the Quartz Conference wouldn't have been an issue.
But there was no choice. The matching system of the Quartz Conference was so superb that it matched him up against such an extraordinary opponent right from the start!
Now Mandi could only brace himself to fight this battle!
...
At two o'clock in the afternoon, the match began. The audience seats were almost fully occupied. The battle between Ash and Mandi was highly anticipated by the crowd!
As for the reason, it goes without saying, everyone was there for Ash, eager to see which Pokémon Ash would use in his first battle—is it the Charizard, the unique Pikachu, or perhaps the Bulbasaur that easily defeated the Elite's main forces.
Soon, under the watchful eyes of countless onlookers, Ash released his first Pokémon—Kingler!
The first field was the Water Field, making it reasonable to use Kingler. This was Kingler's debut battle, having never fought a formal battle when it was Krabby; of course, there were battles, but they were just practice matches with Pokémon from his own team.
Now, having evolved into Kingler, it was his first official battle appearance in front of everyone. Kingler was understandably a bit nervous, but for Ash's sake, he quickly calmed himself, focusing his gaze on the opponent.
Mandi took a deep breath and then threw out his Pokémon—a multi-headed creature with large green leaves growing on it, the Psychic and Grass Type Pokémon—Exeggutor.
"On the Water Field, it comes as no surprise that contestant Ash decided to use a Water Type Pokémon!"
"Conversely, contestant Mandi took a different route, bringing out a Grass Type Exeggutor, anticipating that his opponent would use a Water Type Pokémon!"
"It's evident that contestant Mandi has prepared extensively for this match! I wonder how contestant Ash will respond to the Grass Type Pokémon Exeggutor?"
On a typical Water Field, Trainers generally opt for Water Type Pokémon, because with just a few floating platforms on the water, many Pokémon find it difficult to move, as their agility is greatly compromised.
Mandi aimed at this point, specifically choosing the Grass and Psychic Type Exeggutor!
Whether strong or weak, the travel experience he accumulated over the year wasn't in vain!
The commentator had some experience as well, quickly deducing the purpose behind Mandi bringing Exeggutor.
Though Exeggutor is not a Water Type Pokémon, making movement challenging on the Water Field, Exeggutor possesses Psychic Type skills. If used wisely, this field can also turn into Exeggutor's weapon!
"Exeggutor… a Grass Type Pokémon, is it? Looks like the opponent guessed we'd use a Water Type Pokémon. But Kingler, attribute disadvantage is merely a small hurdle for us, right!"