"Szzzzz"
A crisp sound echoed across the sky, the azure Water Pulse bursting like a pricked soap bubble, scattering tiny droplets in the air, instantly vaporized by the terrifying energy of the Aura Sphere!
"My goodness! That Aura Sphere... is bigger than my Snorlax!" Someone in the front rows of the audience slammed the railing, standing up in disbelief. An Aura Sphere bigger than a Snorlax—how is that even possible?!
The trainers in the back rows craned their necks, eager to get a closer look at the Aura Sphere: "I've seen Lucario use Aura Sphere before, and it's usually the size of a fist. This one's magnified tenfold!"
"This isn't a market competition, it's a leap!"
"Can an Aura Sphere really get that big? Is it a special ability of MEGA Lucario?"
"..."
The audience was abuzz with discussions about the giant Aura Sphere, arguing continuously while on the battlefield, the massive Aura Sphere decisively crushed Blastoise's Water Pulse completely. Its rampaging power even evaporated the approaching rainwater entirely while the distant rain was thrust away, scattering onto the audience.
The close-up spectators turned into drenched chickens, but nobody cared. They widened their eyes, eager to see the final results of this match.
Without the hindrance of Water Pulse, the colossal Aura Sphere, with its buzzing energy tail, slammed into the arena's ground.
"Boom——" A loud bang shook the entire audience, causing minor tremors, the ground covered in thick smoke obscuring the view within.
Gary clenched his fists, tension evident on his face; even with MEGA Blastoise's full recovery of physical strength, it might not withstand this blow.
The previous attacks compared to this Aura Sphere seemed insignificant, raising the possibility of a one-hit knockout.
However, unleashing such an attack must have significantly drained Lucario's physical strength. If this strike doesn't settle Blastoise, it might then be Blastoise's turn for a counterattack.
As the smoke gradually dissipated, the scene unfolded before everyone's eyes, revealing Blastoise in its original form, lying silently in a giant crater on the ground.
The crater's size stretches over ten meters in diameter. Blastoise lay within, as if a baby asleep, motionless. Its shell showed several cracks, indicating damage beyond simple battle incapacity, possibly threatening its life.
For when Blastoise's shell shatters, it signifies damage far beyond what it can endure.
"Blastoise is unable to battle, Lucario wins, the victor of this match is... Ash!!"
The referee confirmed Blastoise's condition, then waved the flag, declaring Ash's victory!
This match concluded with Ash decisively winning two against six!
From start to finish, Gary managed to defeat only one of Ash's Pokemon, and that defeat only occurred because Ash chose not to retrieve it voluntarily. Meanwhile, Ash's two Pokemon took down three of Gary's each, sounding rather embarrassing.
But anyone who watched the match wouldn't think so. Gary gave his best effort and in terms of battle intelligence, Gary undoubtedly surpasses his peers, with many tactics that even surprised Ash.
Unfortunately, Gary faced an overwhelming opponent; Gary's tactics may surprise Ash, but Ash's Pokemon could shock and awe Gary, everyone in the audience, including the Elites and Champions!
This battle demonstrated Gary's maximum capability, even against an Elite Champion; perhaps the process could be more appealing than Gary's, but the outcome wouldn't change.
Hence, Gary's defeat didn't earn any boos but applause instead, for making it this far was commendable.
Post-match, Gary and Ash stepped forward to shake hands. Gary looked at Ash, somewhat unwilling yet mostly wishing him well: "In the finals, give it your best, Ash, don't lose to anyone after beating me—the only one who can defeat you is me!"
"Don't worry, I won't lose!" Ash firmly nodded, promising Gary.
From the start of his journey till now, his short-term goal has been the Quartz Conference Championship. Finally, he's nearing this goal's end; barring surprises, his final opponent should be Paul, who alongside Ash, seems the most formidable trainer in this Conference.
Not considering other augment abilities, Paul's Pokemon nearly matches Ash's, with the strongest Torterra at Gym Peak level, comparable to Pikachu. The rest's levels are unknown but undoubtedly not weak, making the final opponent not easily beaten.
Yet Ash won't lose!
"Haha, in internet slang, aren't you claiming a flag?"
"Whatever! The Championship is undoubtedly mine; you should think about securing the third place."
"That's not your concern. Can't beat you, but I won't lose to others, will I?" Gary released his tightly held hand, shrugging indifferently.
After experiencing the pressure from battling Ash, he believes that barring the Elite Four, no other could apply such intense pressure on him.
He's quite familiar with Paul's competitor data; again, given Paul doesn't intentionally lose to target him, obtaining third place is at least eighty percent likely.
After shaking hands, both exited the platform. The league staff rushed onto the stage, using Ground Type Pokemon to repair the field.
The next match will start after roughly two hours, as the league anticipated the semifinals might damage the field somewhat, thus extending the intervals between matches. But even they didn't expect the field to be damaged to such an extent.
Lucario's final massive Aura Sphere almost destroyed half the field, and the pit was fairly deep. Fortunately, the league had enough manpower available to repair it within an hour.
After the match, Ash and others grabbed a meal, then returned to the Quartz Arena to watch the upcoming matches.
Since Paul's Torterra isn't a speed-type Pokemon, its strategy revolves around enduring and countering. If Torterra sustains excessive damage in this semi-final, it might affect tomorrow's match.
So, in this semi-final, Paul probably won't rely solely on Torterra, as the opponent isn't easy to handle.
The semifinals began; Paul led with Torterra, while his opponent used Charizard, indicating that the trainer named Ah Qin had studied Paul. Starting with Charizard clearly anticipated Paul would use Torterra.
Regrettably, although Ah Qin's Charizard has an advantage in attributes, its level is far inferior to Torterra. After inflicting damage with a Fire Blast, Torterra counterattacked with a Rock Slide, taking Charizard down immediately.
Ah Qin followed up with two more Fire Type Pokemon, Magmar and Flareon, clearly intent on forcing Paul to reveal another Pokemon. Facing numerous Fire Types, even Paul frowned slightly.
After a moment's hesitation, facing Ah Qin's third Fire Type, Flareon, Paul chose to withdraw Torterra, substituting in a sturdy Pokemon—Electivire!
Recently discovered, this is the evolution of Electabuzz, achieved through linking exchanges utilizing the Electirizer, first known in the Sinnoh Region.
Ash checked Electivire's data, noting its level was also at Gym Advanced!
This guy is definitely not easily matched!