Every battle Conway fought seemed dangerously close, but anyone with an eye for details could tell he was intentionally hiding his strength because every battle process was too similar.
Almost always, he battled with the opponent until the last Pokemon, then Conway would effortlessly take down the last Pokemon.
Moreover, up until now, Conway had never used the same Pokemon twice, seemingly having a reserve even larger than Ash's!
So the outcome of this battle is really unknown.
"Next, let's welcome Trainer Ash and Trainer Conway to the stage!"
After warming up the atmosphere, the host enthusiastically invited both competitors to the stage. Ash and Conway both slowly emerged from the contestants' passage.
The former had an excited look on his face, while the latter appeared slightly solemn and serious. As a data-driven trainer, the most difficult part was not having any data on the opponent.
Not only was Ash immensely strong, but he was also one of the few competitors Conway couldn't gather accurate data on. If his understanding of other trainers was over ninety percent, then his understanding of Ash was likely less than fifty percent.
The same was true for Paul.
These two were the opponents Conway least wanted to face upfront. Winning offered little gain, but losing could spell disaster.
So it's no surprise that Conway's expression was less than cheerful.
"Then the first Pokemon... it's decided, Blastoise!" Ash sent out Blastoise as his first Pokemon, making its debut in the competition!
At the same time, Conway also released his first Pokemon, Dusknoir!
The moment Dusknoir appeared, Ash was also momentarily stunned because this was a Pokemon Conway had never used in previous matches.
Dusknoir is the final evolution of Duskull, and its evolution item, the Reaper Cloth, is quite rare. Raising a Dusknoir must have required significant effort from Conway.
Although Ash had learned a lot about Pokemon from the experts in the group, Dusknoir, being a Pokemon that resided far away in the Sinnoh region, was still quite unfamiliar to Ash. Thus, he could only rely on the Eye of Insight to gather as much information as possible.
"Speed is only E grade... that slow?" Ash murmured after checking Dusknoir's information. Conway didn't hear this; otherwise, he might have shown a shocked expression at this point.
The fact that the opponent could even decipher Dusknoir's speed! If he had eyes like Ash's, who knows how much smoother the path of data collection would be for him.
In Ash's view, all of Dusknoir's skills, attributes, and abilities were fully displayed. Apart from speed being an E grade, the other attributes were outstanding.
Both attack and defenses reached A grade, while the other two attributes were at B grade, and its level had reached Gym Beginner Level. This Pokemon should be one of Conway's trump cards, yet he's using it right at the start; clearly, Conway places tremendous importance on this match.
"Trainer Ash has brought out a new Pokemon, Blastoise, which he's never used before, while Trainer Conway has revealed Dusknoir, a Pokemon rare in the Sinnoh region, for the first time. The top sixteen battle is already entering a fever pitch right from the start!"
The host's voice rang out appropriately. This opening match is undoubtedly going to be much more exciting than any previous matches. Just the fact that Ash introduced a new Pokemon and Conway also introduced a new Pokemon demonstrates their high regard for this match.
"Dusknoir, make the opponent's held item appear!" Conway adjusted his glasses and shouted to Dusknoir.
Dusknoir's ability is Frisk, which can reveal the opponent's held item. However, real life isn't like video games; even if the opponent's item is revealed, they still need to recognize what it is.
It depends on the trainer's knowledge. Conway was confident in his information stores, guessing that the item Blastoise might carry was either a Mystic Water or some defensive-boosting item.
However, when Dusknoir's Frisk activated, Blastoise's item appeared—a smooth gem with entwined blue and brown stripes within it came into Conway's view.
The gem completely baffled Conway... What is this thing?
Prideful in his knowledge, Conway searched his mind for any item knowledge but couldn't match it with what Blastoise was holding.
Conway certainly didn't expect to recognize every item held by Pokemon around the world, but he didn't think he'd fail to recognize one in the first match!
Frisk's reveal not only allowed Conway to see, but the surrounding audience, including Paul, could also see, yet no one could identify Blastoise's held item.
Except for the Elite Four in the special spectator seats.
"That item... is Blastoise's MEGA Evolution Stone, right?"
"Hmm, it shouldn't be wrong. Did Ash just get lucky, or did he have this collected in advance? How does he have so many MEGA Evolution Stones? Besides Venusaur, now he has Blastoise... Could there be more?"
"Heh, he was the first to discover MEGA Evolution, so it's normal to have a few more MEGA Evolution Stones. Just not sure how many more he has."
"We went to Kalos, and only Lance here found one; the rest of us came back empty-handed. Wonder if Ash has any extra he doesn't need that might just suit me." Bruno folded his arms in anticipation as he spoke.
Lance and the others: …
Are you stacking armor here?
That said, maybe Ash really does have such MEGA Evolution Stones? We could ask him after the match.
They hadn't thought of asking before, believing that with their skills, learning about MEGA Evolution ahead of time, finding a MEGA Evolution Stone should have been easy?
But after seeking out MEGA Evolution Stones, they realized just how difficult they were to find. By the time Ash revealed MEGA Evolution at the Quartz Conference, it might have become more challenging, so asking Ash for an extra one and offering a fair reward in return is not a bad plan!
...
On the field, Ash wasn't too concerned about the reveal of Blastoise's MEGA Evolution Stone. He had planned to evolve in these matches, particularly now since Conway's first Pokemon was Gym Level.
Blastoise should be able to put up a decent fight against it in its normal state, but to quickly suppress and defeat the opponent, MEGA Evolution is necessary.
However, Dusknoir's speed is only E grade. Even for the relatively slow Blastoise, it should likely outpace the opponent, and with the advantage in speed, defeating the opponent shouldn't be difficult.
"Dusknoir, use Trick Room!" Just as Ash was pondering the speed issue, Conway commanded Dusknoir.
Hearing the Trick Room command, Ash's expression immediately shifted, and he quickly shouted to Blastoise, "Blastoise, use Hydro Pump to stop him!"
"Blastoise!" Blastoise lowered its body, and the two large water cannons on its back blasted out torrents of water, rushing violently towards Dusknoir.
Dusknoir continued uninterruptedly, rubbing an energy cube with its hands. When the Hydro Pump struck, Dusknoir's body was sent flying a few dozen meters away, its face showing visible pain.
Yet it did not give up on the energy cube in its hands.
Finally, the Hydro Pump ceased, and Dusknoir stopped at the arena's edge, hurling the cube forward with all its might!
The cube expanded and enveloped the entire arena!
Trick Room, successfully deployed!