At Miwako's command, Ariados immediately leapt behind a massive tree. Murkrow's shadow flashed across the air as countless Wind Blades shredded the front of the trunk, carving deep cuts into the bark.
"Aerial Cannon."
Ash smiled—subtle, cold, and confident—sending a chill through Miwako. She suddenly felt a very bad premonition.
As expected, the moment Ash gave the order, a sphere of compressed cyan wind-element energy materialized beside Murkrow and shot straight toward the tree where Ariados hid.
"What is he thinking…? Ariados is completely protected by that tree."
Miwako frowned deeply. The trunk was so large it would take three people linking arms to circle it. No casual attack would simply break through.
But the moment the cyan projectile was about to hit the trunk—
"Boom!"
"Wha—!?"
The Aerial Cannon vanished, slipping out of sight—and instantly reappeared behind the tree, slamming into Ariados and blasting it away.
"Aerial Cannon is one of my custom techniques," Ash explained calmly.
"It curves behind obstacles before striking. Very demanding on elemental control, but worth it. Its base power is B-rank, and since Flying restrains Bug, Murkrow's hit landed with B+ impact."
If Murkrow were closer in level, the type advantage would have pushed the damage into A-rank territory.
Seeing Ash's composed expression, Miwako didn't get angry—only frustrated. She'd never faced Ash's custom move-set before, and every one of Murkrow's techniques caught her unprepared. She could only defend passively.
"Damn… even my King-tier Ariados is being pressured like this by an Elite-tier Murkrow. What an experience."
Realizing Ariados was in far worse shape than expected, Miwako decided she had no choice but to unleash its strongest technique.
"Ariados, use Megahorn!"
Ariados's horn ignited with brilliant white light—gathering immense kinetic force. Ash's Sharingan picked up the buildup instantly.
"So we're not dodging, huh. Murkrow—Steel Wing!"
Ariados's Megahorn was incredibly fast. With Murkrow's current speed, it could only avoid about half the time. Since the odds weren't in their favor, Ash chose to clash head-on—the Wind Blade enhancement still empowering Murkrow's wings, increasing its cutting force dramatically. With luck, the counterattack might even knock out Ariados.
"Ga!"
"Shaah!"
"Boom!"
Their attacks collided with a deafening shockwave. A burst of air swept across the field, flattening the grass and shaking loose branches from the trees.
"Ariados and Murkrow are both unable to battle. The round ends in a draw.
Both sides, please send out your next Pokémon."
Both Pokémon had been thrown backward by the recoil, collapsing simultaneously.
But in truth, Murkrow had won in spirit—it held only Elite-level strength, still far from King-tier, yet managed to bring a King-tier Ariados into a draw through technique mastery and type advantage.
Ariados's defeat felt almost unfair. To be forced into a tie by a Pokémon a full rank lower was humiliating.
"My sister's Ariados actually lost… Who is that guy? She said he's the Kanto Champion, but the Pokémon he used is only Elite-tier."
Referee Abi muttered, still confused. Miwako had already mentioned Murkrow's level aloud, so he knew exactly what he'd witnessed.
"Ariados, you worked hard. I was too careless this time."
Miwako recalled Ariados gently into its Poké Ball. Never in her life had she imagined her King-tier partner would fight an Elite-tier opponent… only to end in a draw.
"A true master of custom skills… what a terrifying guy."
Miwako watched Ash calmly recall Murkrow, unable to hide the flicker of envy in her eyes. Someone so young had already reached a peak most trainers would chase their entire lives. Even witnessing just one of his battles was enough to stir admiration—and jealousy.
"My next Pokémon is this one. Let's go—Heracross!"
She hurled her second Poké Ball. With a flash of white light, the imposing dual-horned Bug-type appeared—its dark blue armored shell gleaming, its forked horn sharp and threatening.
"Heracross… Bug and Fighting typing. A physical powerhouse."
Ash immediately recalled its data. He had always liked Heracross—its raw strength, its stubborn endurance. If he had encountered one during his earlier travels, he would have raised it into a devastating pure-power Pokémon.
"Clefable, it's your turn. You haven't had a proper fight since evolving."
He tossed his Poké Ball, and Clefable emerged gracefully—its Fairy typing shining faintly around its body like a soft aura.
Seeing the matchup, Miwako's eyelid twitched.
Fairy-type.
Against her Fighting-type Heracross.
A terrible attribute disadvantage… again.
Ash raised a hand casually, as if sensing her thought.
"This isn't intentional. I really only have a few available Pokémon on me. And battling is battling—matchups are part of the game. It's not a dirty tactic."
He said it lightly, without arrogance—just a matter-of-fact truth of the battlefield.
Even so, Miwako couldn't help the bitter smile tugging at her lips. Facing the Kanto Champion was already difficult. Facing him with constant type disadvantages bordered on cruel.