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Since the start of the confrontation, Annihilape has been hit once by the opponent's Psychic, while Alakazam has been hit once by Annihilape's Phantom Force and Brick Break.
Under normal circumstances, Alakazam should have taken more damage, as Phantom Force is a move super effective against Alakazam, and combined with the damage from Brick Break, given Alakazam's fragility, he would likely have already been knocked out.
However, Alakazam had activated Reflect, so the damage from Phantom Force was halved.
Although Brick Break ignores the effects of Reflect, the damage dealt by the Fighting-type move to Alakazam was still halved.
Conversely, Alakazam's Psychic not only had a super effective bonus but was also boosted by Calm Mind.
Annihilape's strength lies in its attack and speed; its defense is a major weak point.
Being hit by Psychic took away more than half of its HP.
If it takes another hit, its debut performance in this battle will likely end in failure.
"Alakazam, the opponent is hanging by a thread. Finish him with the next move!" Seeing the panting Annihilape, Gary's eyes seemed to burst with infinite brilliance.
Could it be... today?!
Even if he couldn't beat Ash, surely defeating one of Ash's Pokémon was possible!
As long as he could defeat one of Ash's Pokémon, it would be making history!
Because up until now, whether battling him or competing in the Indigo Plateau Conference, Ash had never had any of his Pokémon knocked out, even when using his second team for battles.
When using his second team, Ash employed rotation and various tactics, never giving the opponent a chance to defeat his Pokémon.
And now, Primeape had just evolved into Annihilape.
Given Ash's temperament, it was impossible for him to recall Annihilape.
Retreating ignominiously right after evolving without defeating a single enemy wouldn't suit Ash's nature.
Furthermore, that would damage Annihilape's confidence and morale.
Therefore, Ash definitely wanted to win this battle outright, which gave him an opportunity.
As long as Ash didn't recall Annihilape, given Annihilape's current condition, he might actually be able to win!
"Alakazam, Psybeam!" Gary planned to use the same trick, using Psybeam as a feint first to see how Annihilape would respond, and then counterattack.
"Phantom Force." Ash's expression became slightly grave.
He instructed Annihilape to continue using Phantom Force, a move that allows it to vanish into the void, not only dodging the opponent's attack but also bypassing the opponent's barriers to hit the target.
Annihilape's condition was certainly poor, but was Alakazam's condition much better?
Without Reflect, if Alakazam were hit by Phantom Force, he would be knocked out instantly, especially since Annihilape's attack power far exceeded its current level.
Annihilape's figure merged into the shadows and vanished.
Alakazam's Psybeam struck the ground, creating a sizable crater, but failed to even touch Annihilape.
"Reflect!" Gary knew that Protect was useless against Phantom Force.
The only defensive measure was Reflect.
As long as he halved the opponent's attack and then seized the opportunity to counterattack, he could take down the opponent!
"Alaka!" Blue light emanated from the spoons in Alakazam's hands, and transparent, reflective walls appeared around him.
The next second, Annihilape emerged from the ground and punched Alakazam right on the chin!
His punch passed through Reflect, its power immediately halved, and the Ghost-type energy attached to it was also reduced.
Nevertheless, Alakazam was sent flying into the air.
"Alakazam, Ally Switch!" Alakazam was hit, but Gary showed no panic.
This was expected.
The effect of Reflect was evident at this moment; even Phantom Force combined with Annihilape's formidable attack power still failed to knock out Alakazam.
Using its remaining strength, Alakazam executed Ally Switch.
Space was swapped in that instant, and Alakazam's position and Annihilape's position were instantly exchanged.
Now Annihilape was in the sky, and Alakazam was lying on its back below.
Annihilape, having been swapped into the sky, failed to react immediately.
The emptiness beneath its feet and the sense of weightlessness left him somewhat bewildered.
"Now! Psychic! Finish him!!" Gary shouted excitedly.
Throughout this match, Gary had been waiting for this exact opportunity.
As long as he could land one hit on Annihilape, he would secure the win!
"Annihilape, Rage Fist!" Ash's voice rang out in Annihilape's ears at that moment, injecting a powerful dose of reassurance into the somewhat flustered Pokémon.
Annihilape adjusted its posture in mid-air, facing downward.
Its fists swung out like machine guns.
Rage Fist isn't just one punch; the more damage Annihilape takes, the greater the power Rage Fist unleashes, and the shorter the interval between Annihilape's uses of Rage Fist becomes.
However, the power of Rage Fist depends on the number of times Annihilape has been attacked, not the amount of damage taken.
Otherwise, given Annihilape's current critically low HP, the power of Rage Fist would definitely be maximized.
Nevertheless, even so, Rage Fist, having been strengthened once, was instantly upgraded from a low-level move to a high-level move!
Every Rage Fist had power second only to Fire Blast!
And now, Annihilape unleashed more than ten punches!
Alakazam on the field unleashed invisible Psychic energy toward the sky, while Annihilape rained down Focus Punches from above.
The two forces collided mid-air, resulting in a fierce, booming explosion!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!"
The collision of the two forces in the air unleashed powerful shockwaves, and the spreading ripples caused the surrounding spectators to instinctively raise their hands to shield themselves.
The clash between the two forces on the field was coming to an end.
The black punch shadows shattered the invisible Psychic energy, then directly struck Alakazam on the ground!
"Rumble!!" A tremendous sound exploded across the field once more.
A hint of sluggishness appeared in Gary's eyes.
Although the field was now shrouded in smoke, everyone already knew the outcome of the match.
Annihilape floated lightly down from the sky, and the mist on the field dissipated, revealing the severely battered Alakazam.
Alakazam was utterly miserable at this moment; not only was he knocked out, but parts of his body were flattened.
If this were a human and not a Pokémon, he probably wouldn't have survived.
But for a Pokémon, this was still a very serious injury, and this outcome was unavoidable.
Rage Fist, executed while Annihilape was enraged, made it impossible for him to hold back.
So even though he knew Alakazam would be knocked out by a single hit, Annihilape still unleashed its full power, and even power beyond its full strength.
"Alakazam is unable to battle! Pri... Annihilape wins!" The referee waved the flag, declaring Annihilape the victor.
Since he hadn't gotten used to the name Annihilape yet, the referee almost called out the wrong name at first.
Gary quickly recalled Alakazam.
Inside the Poké Ball, the Pokémon's condition is maintained; whether knocked out or severely injured, the Poké Ball prevents its condition from worsening.
Otherwise, Gary wouldn't continue with the rest of the match now; he would rush to the Pokémon Center to treat the critically injured Alakazam first.
"Thank you, Alakazam, you did great... Don't worry, I won't let your efforts be in vain!" Gary said with a resolute expression towards Alakazam's Poké Ball in his hand, then put the Poké Ball away and brought out his next Pokémon.
"It's your turn. This time, we'll win with speed!" As Gary threw the Poké Ball, a majestic red dog appeared on the field.
Arcanine!
This was also one of Gary's signature Pokémon.
In previous battles, Gary's Arcanine had displayed extremely powerful speed, saving him from dire situations many times.
Aside from Blastoise, Arcanine was the biggest contributor to Gary making it this far.
"Arcanine, huh... Be careful, Annihilape.
This Arcanine is very fast." Ash's expression became even more serious upon seeing Arcanine.
Annihilape currently had very little stamina left.
If it were hit once, it would essentially be knocked out.
Therefore, Annihilape was currently walking a tightrope.
Facing a speedy Pokémon like Arcanine was difficult, but Ash still wanted to test Annihilape's limits.
"You're not switching out?
That's certainly your style, Ash.
But you're underestimating my Arcanine.
End this quickly, Arcanine.
Don't let the opponent drain too much of your stamina.
Go all out from the start! Use Extreme Speed!"
Regarding Ash's decision not to recall Annihilape, Gary felt both surprised and unsurprised, because that was Ash.
Sometimes he was rational, but more often, he was emotional.
Even knowing it was disadvantageous, out of consideration for his Pokémon's feelings, he would still choose to continue battling that way.
That's why Ash chose to let Annihilape continue fighting.
But this was also Ash's weakness.
Seizing this chance to take out Annihilape without taking damage meant the scales would remain balanced!
"Extreme Speed?
Extreme Speed shouldn't work against Annihilape, right?
Didn't Gary realize that?" In the audience, Brock couldn't help but feel confused after hearing Gary instruct Arcanine to use Extreme Speed.
Gary should have realized Annihilape's Ghost-type, especially since Ash had said as much right after Annihilape evolved.
Any Trainer with a bit of battle intelligence should have been able to discern Annihilape's type.
But why would Gary tell Arcanine to use Extreme Speed?
"Just watch.
This is a unique power Gary developed for his own Pokémon, one he hasn't used in previous matches," Professor Oak said with a chuckle.
He seemed very confident in Gary's original technique.
"Original technique?" The group looked toward the field with puzzled eyes.
Arcanine on the field used Extreme Speed and instantly vanished from its spot.
Afterimages of Arcanine appeared everywhere on the field, making it impossible to discern where Arcanine had actually moved.
Ash's eyes, however, kept moving, as if Arcanine's figure could not escape his sight.
He didn't know what trick Gary was trying to pull, but he knew Gary wouldn't simply have Arcanine use Extreme Speed.
He wasn't that foolish; there might be some scheme involved.
"Now, use Flare Blitz!" Gary suddenly spoke after a few seconds, and Arcanine instantly appeared in front of Annihilape, its body already engulfed in raging flames!
Extreme Speed plus Flare Blitz?
A Fusion Move!!
This was similar to when Ash had Pidgeot use Aerial Ace combined with Brave Bird—an extremely difficult combination of moves.
Extreme Speed is a move that unleashes speed far beyond one's limits.
If a Pokémon's speed is one hundred, Quick Attack can temporarily boost that speed to two hundred, and Extreme Speed can reach four hundred, or even faster!
This is a move that frantically squeezes all of the user's power to fuel its speed.
Under such a move, using other techniques is basically impossible.
Forget Extreme Speed; even stacking other moves on top of Quick Attack is extremely difficult.
This isn't like drawing a circle with one hand and a square with the other; it's equivalent to making your body run to the left while simultaneously running to the right.
Exactly.
Simply put, it's impossible, but Arcanine did it, or rather, Gary made it happen.
This was why Professor Oak was smiling without speaking.
How could he not feel proud that his own grandson could execute a fusion move with such precision?
Just based on this fusion move, Gary's Arcanine could easily contend with Gym Leader Level Pokémon.
However, while this combination move was powerful, its drawback was that it couldn't be used for long periods or multiple times, or the user's body would give out before the opponent could even attack.
But that didn't matter now, because as long as this move hit Annihilape, it would instantly knock Annihilape out.
Even if Annihilape managed to dodge the move, or even blocked it with Protect, Gary had already planned his next countermeasure.
'Come on, Ash, let me see how you respond.
Will you dodge?
Or Protect...'
Under countless watchful eyes, Ash's choice was... to stand firm and have Annihilape take the hit!
"Use Endure!" As Ash's voice sounded, a burst of white light appeared around Annihilape, and Annihilape crossed its arms to guard itself.
"Boom!!" Flare Blitz slammed directly into Annihilape, erupting in unparalleled flames.
The raging fire shot into the sky, piercing the clouds, and the immense force was fully exerted upon Annihilape's body.
The terrifying power continuously eroded Annihilape's remaining stamina, yet, precisely at the last sliver, it couldn't be completely worn away!