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Even with Iron Defense, Iron Defense isn't Protect; it can't block all damage, only increase one's defense.
And Lucario had already used Aura Sphere and Quick Attack so many times before, coupled with Mega Lucario's incredibly powerful dual attacking abilities, Blastoise lasting this long was already quite impressive.
However, by this point, Blastoise was also on the verge of its limit; it had only a sliver of stamina left, probably struggling to even use one more move. This battle was over.
Ash quietly watched Blastoise collapse beside Gary, his eyes filled with thoughts, unsure of what he was thinking. Finally, he raised his hand, preparing to order Lucario to deliver the final blow to Blastoise.
At this moment, Gary suddenly shouted, "Blastoise, use Rest!"
Rest can clear all status conditions of a Pokémon and restore all of its HP. It is considered the strongest recovery move among Pokémon. However, this move is not omnipotent; if a Pokémon suffers overly severe damage, even Rest may not be enough to recover.
But for the current Blastoise, Rest restoring all of its HP was basically no problem. As Gary's command fell, Blastoise, lying on the ground, closed its eyes and instantly entered a sleep state.
The wounds inflicted on him by Lucario's Aura Sphere and close combat attacks completely healed as he entered sleep, leaving no trace.
"It even knows Rest? But this way, your Blastoise will be a sitting duck for my Lucario!" Ash, who was about to deliver the final blow to Gary, was stunned. He hadn't expected his opponent to still find a way to grasp a glimmer of hope in such a desperate situation.
But a Pokémon in the Rest state is a pure target. If it encounters a Pokémon with insufficient attack power, that's one thing, but Mega Lucario's attack power is among the best even when considering all Pokémon species!
"That's not necessarily true, Blastoise, use Sleep Talk!!" Gary uttered a classic line—Sore wa doka na!
His Blastoise, while knowing Rest, also knew the Sleep Talk move. However, since Blastoise knew a wide variety of moves, the move randomly selected by Sleep Talk also carried a great deal of uncertainty.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, Gary was very reluctant to use this move. After all, using Rest combined with Sleep Talk, while allowing an attack during sleep, also meant entrusting everything to fate.
If he was even a little unlucky and used some useless move, like Tackle or something, then it would basically be over.
But then again, if he didn't use Rest, he wouldn't even have a chance to gamble. With Rest, he could gamble with Sleep Talk, but without Rest, he would be directly defeated by the opponent. So Gary still chose to take a gamble.
Blastoise, in its sleep, stood up as if sleepwalking. Moments later, it raised its hands, and water began to gather in its two cannons—Water Pulse!
In its sleep state, Blastoise drew the most suitable move. To be able to draw this move from a vast array of moves, one has to say he could really go buy a lottery ticket.
However, the accuracy and speed of the Water Pulse unleashed by Blastoise in its sleep state were just so-so. Three streams of water shot towards Lucario, who didn't need to use any move, simply dodging with a Bounce.
"Sleep Talk again!" After using a move, it needs to continue using Sleep Talk to use another move, and the next move used is still random.
However, Blastoise once again randomly selected Water Pulse, and this time, it was aimed at Lucario, who was in the sky and unable to dodge!
"Nice! What luck! The scales of victory seem to be on my side, Ash!" Gary fiercely clenched his fist, a joyful expression on his face.
Regardless of whether this Water Pulse hits or not, even if it misses, Blastoise will wake up in about ten seconds. At that point, a full-HP Blastoise facing a Lucario with only about half its HP will still have the advantage!
If this continues, he might even be able to defeat Ash's Lucario!
"Lucario, Super Aura Sphere!" Just as Gary was daydreaming, Ash's voice suddenly rang out. Lucario in the sky extended its hands, and a dark blue energy orb condensed in its hands, quickly growing to the size of a basketball.
Normally, this would have been the standard for firing an Aura Sphere, but Lucario was still channeling Aura into it. The power of Aura surged wildly into the Aura Sphere, and in the blink of an eye, the Aura Sphere transformed from a basketball into a small meteorite!
Gary: ...Damn! Why does this thing look so familiar? Isn't this the move Lucario used at the end when battling Mewtwo? Mewtwo's ultimate move was directly shattered by this thing. The power of that explosion, if it weren't for Arceus's covenant blocking it, the entire Viridian City would have probably turned to ashes!
What did my Blastoise ever do to deserve you using this move? Are you even playing fair???
Water Pulse approached Lucario, who, in mid-air, suddenly pressed down the meteorite-sized Aura Sphere with both hands, and the massive energy orb collided with Water Pulse!
"Sizzle!"
A crisp sound rang out in the sky. The azure Water Pulse instantly disintegrated like a popped soap bubble, and fine water droplets splashed across the sky, instantly evaporating under the terrifying energy of the Aura Sphere!
"Oh my god! That Aura Sphere... it's bigger than my Snorlax!" Someone in the front row of the audience seats suddenly stood up, slamming the railing, their voice full of disbelief. An Aura Sphere bigger than Snorlax, is this even called an Aura Sphere?!
Trainers in the back rows craned their necks, wanting to get closer to observe the details of the Aura Sphere: "Before, when Lucario used Aura Sphere, it was at most fist-sized. This is literally ten times bigger!"
"This is impossible, just give up!"
"Can Aura Sphere even get this big? Is this a special ability of Mega Lucario?"
"..."
The people in the audience seats were all discussing the giant Aura Sphere, arguing incessantly. On the field, the Super Aura Sphere had already completely crushed Blastoise's Water Pulse. Its violent power even completely evaporated the approaching rainwater, while the distant rainwater was shaken away, scattering onto the audience seats.
The close-up spectators were all drenched, but no one cared. They all widened their eyes, wanting to see the final outcome of this battle completely.
Without the obstruction of Water Pulse, the Super Aura Sphere, trailing a humming energy wake, smashed into the stadium ground.
"Boom!" A deafening roar shook the entire audience stand slightly. The ground was covered in thick smoke, making it impossible to see the situation inside.
Gary clenched his fists, a nervous expression on his face. Even if Mega Blastoise had fully recovered its stamina, it might not be able to withstand this attack.
The previous attacks were like a drop in the ocean compared to this Aura Sphere; there was simply no room for comparison. This attack had the potential to be a one-hit knockout.
However, at the same time, Lucario, having unleashed such an attack, would certainly consume a huge amount of stamina. If this attack failed to defeat Blastoise, then it would be Blastoise's turn to counterattack.
As the smoke gradually dissipated, the scene inside came into everyone's view. Blastoise had returned to its original form, lying silently in a huge crater in the ground.
The crater was almost ten meters in diameter. Blastoise lay inside, like a sleeping infant, motionless. Its shell even had several cracks, indicating that the injuries it sustained were not merely losing its ability to battle, but possibly even threatening its life.
Because when Blastoise's shell is shattered, it means that Blastoise has sustained damage far beyond its capacity to endure.
"Blastoise is unable to battle! Lucario wins! The victor of this match is... Ash!"
The referee confirmed Blastoise's condition, then waved the flag in his hand, declaring Ash's victory!
This match ultimately ended with Ash's two Pokémon completely defeating six of Gary's!
From beginning to end, Gary only defeated one of Ash's Pokémon, and that one was defeated because Ash was unwilling to recall him. Ash's two Pokémon each defeated three of Gary's Pokémon, which sounds quite embarrassing.
But those who watched this battle wouldn't think so. Gary had tried his best. In terms of battle intelligence, Gary was definitely far superior to his peers. He even had many tactics that surprised Ash.
However, Gary was up against a cheat. Gary's tactics could at most surprise Ash, while Ash's Pokémon could shock and awe Gary, and even everyone in the audience, including the Elite and Champions!
Gary had pushed himself to his limits in this battle. Even if an Elite Four or Champion had taken his place, perhaps the process would have been a bit more impressive than Gary's, but the outcome would have been no different.
Therefore, Gary's defeat did not receive any boos; instead, he received a round of applause. To have stood until now, he truly suffered.
After the match, Gary and Ash stepped forward to shake hands. Gary looked at Ash with some reluctance, but more with a blessing, saying, "Good luck in the finals, Ash. Don't lose to someone else after beating me. The only one who can defeat you is me!"
"Don't worry, I won't lose!" Ash nodded firmly, promising Gary.
From starting his journey until now, his short-term goal has been to win the Indigo Plateau Conference. Now, he is finally close to the end of that short-term goal. The opponent in the final, barring any surprises, should be Paul, who is also the strongest Trainer in this Indigo Plateau Conference besides himself.
Without considering other enhancement abilities, Paul's Pokémon are almost on par with his. His strongest Torterra has a Gym Peak level, comparable to Pikachu. The levels of his other Pokémon are unknown, but they are definitely not weak, so the opponent in the finals is not someone who can be easily dealt with.
But he wouldn't lose!
"Hehe, to use an internet phrase, isn't this called setting a flag?"
"Setting a ghost, the Champion will definitely be mine. You should think about how to get third place."
"You don't need to worry about that. If I can't beat you, can't I beat others?" Gary released his tight grip, shrugging indifferently.
After experiencing the pressure of battling Ash, he felt that as long as he wasn't battling an Elite Four member, no one else could give him such immense pressure.
He was also familiar with the information of the Trainer battling Paul. Again, as long as Paul didn't intentionally lose to target him, his chances of getting third place were at least eighty percent.
The handshake ended, and both sides exited the stage. The League staff also rushed to the field, bringing out Ground-type Pokémon to begin repairing the venue.
The next match was scheduled to start in about two hours. The League had anticipated that the semi-final battles might cause some damage to the venue, so they extended the interval between the two matches. However, they hadn't expected the venue to be damaged to such an extent.
Lucario's final enormous Aura Sphere had almost destroyed more than half of the venue, and the crater it created was very deep. Fortunately, the League had enough personnel to complete the repairs within an hour.
After the match, Ash and the others first had a meal, then returned to the Indigo Stadium to watch the upcoming match.
Paul's Torterra, after all, is not a speed-type Pokémon. During battles, it mainly focuses on taking damage and counterattacking. If Torterra sustains too much damage in this match, it could affect tomorrow's match.
So, in this semi-final, Paul probably wouldn't just use Torterra. After all, his opponent was no pushover.
The semi-final battle began. Paul's starter was still Torterra, while his opponent used Charizard. It seemed that the Trainer named Aquin had studied Paul, and starting with Charizard clearly anticipated that Paul would use Torterra for the battle.
Unfortunately, although Aquin's Charizard had a type advantage, its level difference with Torterra was too great. After dealing damage to Torterra with one Fire Blast, it was directly taken down by Torterra's Rock Slide.
Subsequently, Aquin brought out two more Fire-type Pokémon, Magmar and Flareon. It was evident that Aquin was determined to force Paul to use a second Pokémon. Facing numerous Fire-type Pokémon, even Paul couldn't help but frown.
After a moment of hesitation, facing Aquin's third Flareon, Paul chose to recall Torterra and sent out a very magnificent Pokémon—Electivire!
This was a recently discovered evolution of Electabuzz, a form that could only be achieved by linking and trading with an Electirizer, and it was first discovered in the Sinnoh region.
Ash glanced at the data for Paul's Electivire and found that its level was also as high as High-level Gym Stage!
This guy is indeed not easy to deal with!