Chapter 108: Battle Against Ash
A few days later, Ryan easily made it to the finals, and Ash also advanced through the ranks.
The finals were about to begin. Ryan and Ash arrived at the competition venue. Looking across at Ash, Ryan sighed, "As expected, I'm going to face you, Ash."
"Hehe. I told you I've become very strong," Ash said.
At the referee's command, Ryan and Ash each sent out their Pokémon. Ryan sent out Gyarados, while Ash once again sent out Kingler.
"Well, let's strike first!" Ash said. "Kingler, Bubble Beam!"
Ryan said, "I'll borrow a page from your book, Gyarados, Twister!"
Kingler sprayed a large amount of foam at Gyarados, but Gyarados quickly spun, forming a tornado. The tornado absorbed a large amount of water, becoming a waterspout. The waterspout enveloped Gyarados, and the Bubble Beam had no effect on the waterspout, unable to penetrate its defenses.
"Kingler, Vice Grip!" Ash gritted his teeth.
Kingler fired a powerful beam of energy from its claws, piercing the waterspout. But after the waterspout dissipated, Gyarados had disappeared from the surface.
"In the water! Kingler, dive in and attack with Crabhammer!" Ash shouted.
Ryan smiled. After using Twister, Gyarados had retreated underwater and begun using Dragon Dance. It took quite a while, considering Gyarados was quite powerful now!
"Gyarados, Aqua Tail!" Ryan shouted.
Gyarados launched a massive wave in the water, its tail colliding heavily with Kingler's Crabhammer. Kingler was then ejected from the water, slamming hard into a stone pillar before bouncing back and landing on a rock platform.
"It's over," Ryan said confidently.
"Kingler, come on! Stand up! You can do it!" Ash cheered Kingler on.
Then, under Ryan's astonished gaze, Kingler stood up. Ryan rubbed his eyes. How could Kingler stand up when its HP was clearly at zero? This didn't make sense!
"System, scan Ash for me," Ryan secretly contacted the system. Something felt off.
"Ding. Scan completed," the system announced, then displayed Ash's information.
Character: Ash Ketchum Gender: Male Age: 11 Height: 160cm Weight: 46kg Strength: 10-300 Stamina: 10-999 Intelligence: 10 Spirit: 30 Special Powers: Aura Guardian, Ho-Oh's Blessing, Suicune's Blessing
Ho-Oh's Blessing: When Ash encourages a Pokémon in battle, there's a chance to restore its health and a small chance to restore its combat capabilities.
Suicune's Blessing: When Ash encourages a Pokémon in battle, there's a chance to grant it immunity to status conditions.
Ryan looked up at the sky in silence. What the hell is this! Ash is the one cheating!
"Gyarados, Hurricane!" Ryan wasn't going to give Ash another chance.
Gyarados leaped from the water, unleashing a powerful gust of wind from its mouth at Kingler. But Ash ordered Kingler to dive into the water to avoid it.
"Rain Dance, then Thunder to end it!" Ryan said.
Gyarados unleashed a blast of energy into the air, and dark clouds gathered as rain began to fall.
"Now! Kingler, use Guillotine to finish off Gyarados!" Ash called out.
Kingler leaped high from the water, its massive claw clamping down toward Gyarados. Ryan smiled and said, "This is the moment I've been waiting for! Gyarados, Thunderbolt!"
Gyarados erupted in intense lightning. While Gyarados's Special Attack wasn't particularly strong, it was more than enough to deal with Kingler's low health.
Before Kingler could even reach Gyarados, it was struck by the Thunderbolt, falling into the water, its body charred and knocked out.
"Kingler is unable to battle, and Gyarados wins. Ash, please send out your next Pokémon," the referee announced.
"Come back, Kingler, you did great," said Ash. "Now it's time for Feraligatr!"
Ryan also recalled his Gyarados and said, "Then I'll give it my all too, Ash. Go, Greninja!"
Greninja appeared on the competition platform, quietly observing Feraligatr and Ash before him, a focused look in his eyes. Ryan then formed hand seals, unleashing the full force of his bond. Greninja was instantly enveloped in a stream of water. The water dissipated, revealing bond Greninja on the platform.
"I couldn't ask for more! Feraligatr! We have to give it our all too!" Ash said excitedly. "Feraligatr, Aqua Jet!"
Feraligatr, enveloped in water, charged directly at Bond-Greninja. Bond-Greninja remained calm, its Hydro Pump firing directly at Feraligatr.
The powerful Hydro Pump was beyond Ash's imagination. Feraligatr crashed into the Hydro Pump but was no match for it. He was directly knocked away and slammed heavily against the stone pillar, sliding powerlessly into the sea.
"Ryan's Greninja has become even stronger," Ash's eyes narrowed, knowing that the fight was going to be difficult.
After all, his Feraligatr's speed was no match for Greninja, and now that its Hydro Pump was so powerful, a head-on confrontation with Greninja would be suicidal.
"Then we'll have to go all out! Feraligatr, Thrash!" Ash declared.
Feraligatr instantly leaped from the water, swinging its powerful limbs at Greninja, completely disregarding its own defenses and simply charging forward.
Greninja drew its Water Shuriken, and Feraligatr's Thrash slammed into it. After a few blows, Greninja instantly dissipated, leaving Ash and Feraligatr stunned.
Then Ash realized what was happening and shouted, "Oh no! It's a Double Team! Feraligatr, be careful!"
But it was too late. A dozen more Greninjas burst from the water around them, followed by flying Water Shurikens. Countless Water Shurikens struck Feraligatr. While the damage wasn't severe, it did successfully stop Feraligatr's movement.
Ryan grinned and said, "Let me show you something special!"
He then performed a Z-Move pose and shouted, "Hydro Vortex!"
Greninja fell into the water, and a massive vortex formed at the center of a rock platform. The platform, unable to withstand the intense centrifugal force, shattered piece by piece, and Feraligatr on the platform also fell into the vortex. The powerful centrifugal force battered Feraligatr. Ash watched helplessly, knowing that everything was finally decided.
Sure enough, after the vortex disappeared, Greninja leaped onto a rock platform. At the center where the vortex had been, Feraligatr gradually emerged from the water, now knocked out.
"Feraligatr is unable to battle! Therefore, the winner is Ryan from Pallet Town!" the referee shouted.
Ryan welcomed the cheers of the crowd, feeling a surge of excitement: finally, enough popularity points!
He immediately opened the system menu and spent 2 million popularity points to remove the restrictions on the main quest.
No way around it! There's a chance he'll run into legendary Pokémon trainers in the future. If he can't use his own legendaries, what's the point? Besides, Ash has already obtained Articuno, and there will probably be more and more legendary Pokémon in the future. According to the system's instructions, it will probably get harder and harder. Maybe he'll only be allowed to use new Pokémon to challenge the Pokémon League.
Ryan still has some self-awareness. In the future, opponents will become stronger, but the restrictions imposed by the system will also increase. So, he decided to spend a huge amount of popularity to unlock this feature and remove the restriction.
(End of Chapter)
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