"So strong!! Whoa!"
From the stands, Ash was so excited he could barely contain himself as he watched Pikachu fighting Aggron in the arena.
His big brother and the Pikachu he loved most were battling side-by-side on the grandest stage. How could he not be fired up?
"Pikaaa—chuuuu!!"
Ash's Pikachu stared wide-eyed in awe at the senior Pikachu on the field.
"Pikachu, one day we will stand on a stage like this and defeat our opponents too!"
Ash declared this with blazing ambition and confidence.
He had decided: once his journey ended, he would make it into the Masters Eight and shock the world with Pikachu by his side.
Misty, for once, didn't tease him. Brock only smiled. Gary scoffed but didn't deliver his usual sharp remarks.
"Heh… having a goal like that is a good thing."
Professor Oak chuckled approvingly. A pure-hearted Trainer like Ash having a bright future was no surprise to him.
He believed Ash would absolutely accomplish it.
On the field, the battle neared its end. Pikachu was finally struck by Aggron's Iron Tail—but still managed to take down Aggron with Thunder.
Red took the first win.
"Amazing!"
May gasped. Aggron was one of her core battlers, yet it couldn't defeat that little electric mouse.
Absurd—but it only made her fighting spirit burn hotter. That was the kind of opponent she wanted!
Her third Pokémon, Metagross, managed to defeat Pikachu after suffering some damage.
Red sent in Roaring Moon. As a Dark-type, it countered Metagross, but May didn't switch—she trusted her Metagross.
Roaring Moon excelled at close-quarters combat…
But so did Metagross. Would it lose in a melee exchange?
May didn't believe that.
And then—
Her Metagross was smashed by the ferocious Roaring Moon, though Roaring Moon also suffered significant wounds.
May sent in Blaziken next, which defeated Roaring Moon.
The back-and-forth continued, but it was obvious to any keen eye—Red's advantage grew little by little.
When May's Latios finally fell to Red's Tornadus, she was pushed to the brink.
Her ace Swampert mega-evolved, but without rain, Swift Swim couldn't activate—an undeniable disadvantage.
Yet even so, her Mega Swampert showed terrifying strength—surfing upward, landing a barrage of Ice Punches, and knocking out Tornadus.
Such a powerful ace made Red's blood burn. He countered with his own ace: Mega Charizard X.
Mega Charizard X vs. Mega Swampert—two fully evolved starters.
Strictly speaking, Mega Swampert held the advantage. Not because Water beat Fire, but because Ground-type moves struck Mega Charizard X super effectively.
Originally Charizard had Flying-typing, but Mega X changed it to Dragon—making it Ground-weak.
Still, Charizard X hit like a truck in melee.
This battle depended entirely on strategy and the Trainers' rapport with their Pokémon.
The fight was intense. Neither Charizard X nor Mega Swampert yielded an inch—they were stuck in a deadlock.
"This girl is really strong…!"
Leaf couldn't help praising sincerely. She rarely saw Red pushed to this degree.
May was truly exceptional.
"Indeed. But Red is about to win."
Dylan nodded. When Charizard X dodged Mega Swampert's High Horsepower and countered with Dragon Claw, the outcome was sealed.
Both Pokémon were heavily injured—such a strike was fatal.
Charizard X immediately followed up with Dragon Rush. Mega Swampert raised its arms to brace, but couldn't withstand the full force. It was slammed into the ground repeatedly.
BOOM!!
Dust exploded upward.
"Huff… huff…"
Charizard X landed heavily, panting. When the smoke cleared, Mega Swampert lay motionless on the ground.
A flash of light—Swampert was forced out of Mega form and fainted.
"I… lost…"
May stared blankly at her fallen partner and exhaled a helpless sigh.
She fought her hardest.
And still lost.
It hurt.
She accepted the result—but the sting of loss, especially one so rare for her, was hard to swallow.
"Swampert is unable to battle. Charizard X wins," the referee declared.
"May has lost all six Pokémon. The winner is Red! Red advances, May is eliminated!"
"Victory decided! After a fierce battle, Red defeats the powerful May and advances to the semifinals!"
The announcer's passionate voice echoed through Indigo Plateau.
WOOOAAH!!
Thunderous cheers erupted across the stadium.
"Red! Red! RED!!"
"Yes! Two semifinal spots already taken! Kanto is the strongest!"
"Our Kanto 'monsters' aren't losing to anyone else's!"
"What a shame—she was so close."
"Charizard was unbelievably cool. I want to train one too!"
The crowd was deafening, and the livestream was exploding with comments.
"Aah… just a bit more…"
Wallace sighed. If May had won, Hoenn would have had a semifinalist.
"The opponent was simply stronger," Steven murmured.
Even if Mega Swampert defeated Charizard X, Red still had a healthy Venusaur waiting.
Mega Swampert—four times weak to Grass—would never pass that wall.
"If May had Latias' Mega Stone, she could've beaten Red, right?" Wallace asked.
"Who knows." Steven shook his head.
Even if Latias could Mega evolve, Steven wasn't sure it could beat Red.
And realistically, May would never give the Mega slot to Latias.
Swampert was her most trusted partner—even without Mega, it was stronger.
"So, depending on the next matchup, if Hop's friend doesn't get paired against Yellow or Giovanni, then all four semifinalists will be from Kanto."
Steven looked at the display—Red's portrait lit proudly.
"Huh?" Wallace blinked, then realized.
Yes—if Gloria wasn't matched against Yellow or Giovanni, she had zero chance.
She could not beat Dylan.
Her only chance of surviving was matching against Yellow or Giovanni—and even then, her chances were only fifty-fifty at best.
People said Gloria was close to Leon in strength, but Yellow and Giovanni were not weak—both had defeated Lance.
If Yellow fought Giovanni and Gloria fought Dylan, all four semifinalists would inevitably be Kanto trainers.
On the field—
"A great battle. Congratulations on advancing, Red."
May walked up, offering her hand with a bright smile.
"…"
Red lowered his cap, paused, and shook her hand.
"It's only in tournaments like this that I get to meet such strong rivals… too bad my journey ends here."
May smiled wryly at the big screen.
"You're strong," Red said quietly.
"You're stronger this time, Red." She blinked playfully, eyes curving into a radiant smile.
"But next time, I won't lose!"
She clenched her small fist, full of spirit.
"…"
Red didn't answer, but under his hat, his red eyes sparkled with fighting intent.
Two semifinalists were set. The schedule was tight—tomorrow the remaining two matches would begin.
Selene and Red had advanced. Four remained:
Dylan, Giovanni, Yellow, Gloria.
The entire arena held its breath.
"Please, please let Gloria avoid Dylan…"
Gloria muttered prayers for his friend.
Three-in-one odds. Nothing but luck now.
Gloria sat upright, face tense and pale.
All eyes were on the screen as the first portrait locked into place—
Black-haired, sharp-eyed, handsome.
Dylan.
"…It's my turn?"
Dylan raised an eyebrow—not surprised at all.
Now the real question—
Who would be matched against him?
Yellow gripped her clothes nervously.
Even Giovanni stared hard—he desperately didn't want Dylan.
He promised Silver he'd reach the finals.
He could NOT afford to face Dylan now.
(End of Chapter)