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"What is this?" Gary asked Ash after taking two deep breaths.
The fact that Primeape could still evolve —he hadn't just never seen it, he hadn't even heard of it.
"This is Primeape's brand new evolution, achieved by merging with the power of the Ghost-type. If your Primeape knows Rage Fist, everyone can try to evolve your Primeape. As for the evolution method... you just need to find a way to integrate Ghost-type energy into its body, making it part of its typing."
Ash directed his last sentence toward the surrounding audience, announcing Primeape's evolution method without hesitation.
While having his Pokémon be the most unique might be nice, firstly, Ash wasn't a selfish person, and secondly, the more Annihilape appeared in the world, the more opportunities there would be for Annihilape's progress and development methods.
One person's power, no matter how great, is limited. When more Annihilape appear, there will be more methods for training Annihilape, as well as more ways for Annihilape to battle, and so on. Wasn't Ash's success achieved precisely this way? It was because of the help from the experts in the group chat that he was able to reach this point, emphasizing that strength comes in numbers —though quality is also very important, of course.
Currently, only Ash owns an Annihilape, and his current battle methods might serve as an important reference in the future.
"What is the new evolution called?"
"Annihilape."
"Annihilape... Did you come up with the name?"
"It literally says its name."
Although Annihilape was appearing for the first time in this world, in parallel worlds, Annihilape was actually not a rare Pokémon, and its evolution method was already widely known and extremely simple: after learning Rage Fist, the user just needed to keep using Rage Fist during battles.
The required number of uses ranged from thirty to fifty. This evolution method was incredibly simple; all you needed was enough battles.
But in this world, even if you punched until your fists were raw, it wouldn't evolve. His Primeape was able to evolve not only because it coincidentally learned Rage Fist, but also due to Gengar's assistance and the power boost from that ancient Gengar artifact.
Only then was it able to successfully break through the world's limitations and evolve into Annihilape.
However, after his Primeape evolved into Annihilape, the difficulty for other Primeape to evolve would also become relatively easier. Furthermore, as the number of Annihilape increased, the evolution difficulty would gradually decrease, eventually becoming the same as in other parallel worlds.
Seeing Ash's hesitation, Gary didn't suspect anything. It was just a name; there was nothing suspicious about it.
The main focus now was the battle. After a brief period of shock and dialogue, the semifinal match was truly about to begin.
The aura Annihilape burst forth with after evolving was clearly visible to Gary. Although its appearance had become terrifying, its strength was only around the Professional High level, and compared to Ash's other main Pokémon, it hadn't reached an unbeatable tier.
The Alakazam he sent out was the second strongest Pokémon he owned, boasting Professional High level strength, the same level as the opposing Annihilape. Furthermore, it had a type advantage over Annihilape...
Wait, it wasn't certain who countered whom now. Ash had just revealed Annihilape's evolution method, mentioning that it evolved by integrating Ghost-type power into Primeape's body, which suggested that Annihilape's typing was very likely to include Ghost-type.
"If the original typing hasn't disappeared, then it's Ghost/Fighting-type... They counter each other. I'll strike first then. Alakazam, use Psybeam!" Gary muttered his analysis, ultimately choosing to launch the first attack!
Annihilape's data was originally unknown, but from the scattered words Ash spoke, Gary accurately deduced that Annihilape possessed both Fighting and Ghost typings.
Although the Ghost-type counters the Psychic-type, the Psychic-type also counters the Fighting-type. The opponent, to Alakazam, was like Gengar, whose typing is Ghost/Poison, also having a mutually counteracting relationship with Alakazam.
Therefore, in this match, although Alakazam no longer held an absolute type advantage as it normally would, it wasn't at a disadvantage either, meaning there was no need to switch Pokémon.
"Alakazam!" Alakazam gave a cold shout, crossing the spoons in its hands in front of its body as a multicolored beam shot toward Annihilape!
"Dodge it, and use Rage Fist." Ash commanded calmly. Given Annihilape's speed, it was impossible for it to be hit by such a sluggish attack.
Annihilape stomped its foot, its figure flickering as it instantly vanished from its spot.
Psybeam missed its target, while Annihilape continuously darted around the field. A few seconds later, it appeared right in front of Alakazam, swinging its massive fist fiercely!
A pitch-black fist shadow burst forth from Annihilape's fist, aiming straight for Alakazam's face.
"Protect!" Annihilape's speed greatly astonished Gary. This kind of speed was not typical for the Professional High level, but Gary was already somewhat accustomed to the fact that Ash's Pokémon were all special.
Psybeam was intended as a feint, so he hadn't expected it to achieve anything. Therefore, Gary had already prepared a defensive measure the moment Annihilape counterattacked.
Alakazam did not lower the spoons crossed in front of its body; instead, it continued to output energy, manifesting an emerald-green barrier in front of itself!
"Bang!" Annihilape's Rage Fist slammed onto the barrier and was immediately deflected. A close-range attack hitting Protect is like a normal person punching an indestructible piece of steel —it not only fails to damage the steel but also causes the attacker to suffer recoil damage.
When Annihilape used Rage Fist, the surrounding spectators watched the scene with wide eyes, because Ash had said that the key for Primeape to evolve was learning Rage Fist!
Many people had even pulled out cameras or Pokédexes to record the scene, intending to let their Primeape learn from the footage if they ever caught one in the future.
However, the power of this Rage Fist didn't seem very impressive. Even though the Protect barrier made it impossible to see how much damage it would inflict on Alakazam, some experienced Trainers could estimate the approximate damage level of a move just as it was being executed.
If moves were divided into four levels —Elementary, Intermediate, High, and Top —then moves like Blast Burn and Hyper Beam would be at the Top level. Major moves like Fire Blast and Flare Blitz would belong to the High level. Below that are Intermediate moves, which are more widespread, ranging from Water Pulse to Surf.
Below that are Elementary moves like Quick Attack.
These levels only categorize the damage of the moves and do not account for special effects. Otherwise, a move like Quick Attack wouldn't be classified as Elementary. Even though its damage is low, as a priority move that can also be used to dodge opposing attacks, combined with its easy learning difficulty, it is an undeniable divine technique!
Annihilape's Rage Fist seemed to have power only at the Elementary level, perhaps slightly stronger than Quick Attack. This signature move belonging to Primeape didn't seem very effective.
"Alakazam, Reflect!" As Annihilape was bounced back, Gary did not rush to continue the offense but chose to set up a wall for defense.
The move Reflect halves the damage from physical attacks and can also affect subsequent Pokémon, making it a very bothersome move for Pokémon that rely on physical attacks.
On the other side, Ash wasn't too concerned when he saw Primeape get repelled after using Rage Fist. If Gary couldn't handle even that move, he wouldn't be Gary.
"Annihilape, Phantom Force!" Before evolving, Annihilape had already received Gengar's true teachings. Although it had just evolved, it had already learned many Ghost-type moves, including the divine Ghost-type attack, Phantom Force!
Protect is ineffective against Phantom Force, although Reflect can still reduce the damage dealt by Phantom Force.
The instant Ash's voice fell, Annihilape's figure vanished into the ground. Gary immediately tensed up, staring intently at the area around Alakazam.
"Use Calm Mind!" Since it was impossible to know where the opponent would attack from, and the target was not currently on the field, strengthening itself was the best option at this moment.
Alakazam closed its eyes and began Calm Mind. As it meditated, Alakazam's Psychic power began to rise, and its defense against special attacks was also boosted.
The next second, Annihilape suddenly appeared behind Alakazam, its body, imbued with Ghost-type energy, slamming fiercely into Alakazam!
"Bang!" Alakazam, which was meditating, was directly knocked away, rolling several times on the ground before finally stopping.
Seeing this, Annihilape clearly paused, a look of surprise on its face. Was its attack that weak? A single Phantom Force could only knock that golden-furred fox less than ten meters away.
"Don't worry about it, that's the effect of Reflect. Keep using Rage Fist!" Ash guessed Annihilape's thoughts. Reflect was a move Annihilape was seeing for the first time; after all, in internal training, his Pokémon usually didn't use status moves but focused on continuous offense, occasionally catching opportunities to use Protect.
So, it was normal for Annihilape not to know the effect of Reflect. What it needed to do now was constantly attack and not give Alakazam a chance to breathe!
Hearing this, Annihilape immediately cast aside its earlier confusion. It stomped its foot and charged out, its black figure leaving a dark afterimage across the field. In the blink of an eye, it arrived in front of the fallen Alakazam and fiercely swung its fist!
"Protect!" Gary's voice sounded just in time. Alakazam, which was facing the sky, immediately raised the spoons in its hands, forming a thick green barrier in front of itself.
"Boom!!" Rage Fist was defended against by Alakazam once again, but this time, Annihilape was not repelled. Instead, it pressed its Rage Fist firmly against the Protect barrier, seemingly attempting to smash the barrier open.
"Trying to punch through Protect? How amusing. If it were Ash's Pikachu, maybe, but you should save your strength. Alakazam, Psychic!" Gary sneered, showing disdain for Annihilape's overestimation of its abilities.
I might have to call Pikachu 'Master Pi' here, but who do you think you are? Dreaming of punching through a Protect used by a Pokémon of the same level!
"Brick Break!" Ash's command sounded almost simultaneously with Gary's. Just as Alakazam's eyes flashed blue, Annihilape turned its fist into a palm and chopped down fiercely!
"Smash!" The sound of a barrier shattering rang out, but what shattered was not the Protect barrier —it was Reflect!
Brick Break is a move that can directly shatter wall-like moves such as Light Screen and Reflect. This way, Reflect loses its effect without having to wait for its duration to end.
Moreover, as Brick Break was used, Alakazam's Protect had already disappeared. The Protect move remains active as long as it is under attack, and the barrier only vanishes when the attack ceases.
Therefore, when Annihilape withdrew its fist, Protect vanished along with it, allowing Brick Break to deal damage to Alakazam!
"Boom!!" Without Reflect to mitigate the damage, Alakazam was directly struck by Brick Break on the two spoons in front of its body. The spoons, made of an unknown material, were immediately bent by the chop, and Alakazam's figure was simultaneously blasted backward.
However, Alakazam had also managed to use Psychic. Annihilape was hit by Psychic. Psychic has two modes of attack: one is to use most of the power to control the opponent and continuously inject Psychic energy into the opponent's body to cause damage.
The other is to directly blast a massive amount of Psychic energy into the opponent's body, foregoing the control effect to inflict enormous damage.
And Alakazam used the second method!
A powerful force surged into Annihilape's body, dealing massive damage to it. Both Pokémon were sent flying backward almost simultaneously, skidding dozens of meters across the ground before finally stopping in front of their respective Trainers.
"Alakazam, are you alright!"
"Annihilape, can you keep going?"
Encouraged by Gary and Ash, Annihilape and Alakazam both stood up. The damage from that last Brick Break on Alakazam was only half the normal amount, as it was a Fighting-type move. However, Alakazam's Psychic attack was super effective against Annihilape. Coupled with the fact that Alakazam had used Calm Mind once, Annihilape was clearly more heavily injured than Alakazam.