I have added this story to my Patreon. You can support me and read the 50 latest and advanced chapters there. It also fed and motivate me to write more chapters!
Free Members will get 10 Chapters Ahead of the schedule on Patreon!!!
Link: Patreon.com/AVRKingsTL
—------------------—
Besides having a Torterra at the Gym Peak, Paul surprisingly also had an Electivire at the High-level Gym Stage, which was completely absent from the scouting reports.
The online intelligence regarding Paul typically stopped at Torterra being at the High-level Gym Stage. It was known that he possessed an Electabuzz, but according to the estimations of the online informants, Electabuzz's level should only have been around Professional Level Peak to the initial Gym Stage.
In reality, his Electabuzz had not only evolved into Electivire but even possessed High-level Gym Stage strength. This was a considerable deviation from the intelligence reports; trusting that information would have likely led to a lifetime of regret.
A Qin successfully forced Paul to reveal one of his cards, giving Ash a clearer understanding of Paul's strength. However, that was the extent of it; subsequently, A Qin's Pokémon were single-handedly defeated by Paul's Electivire.
Compared to the slow-moving Torterra, Electivire's physique, although also large, possessed unusual agility, meaning the strategy of trading blows like target practice was ineffective against Electivire.
Following Ash, Paul also performed a two-Pokémon sweep of six, and even more impressively than Ash, who had one Pokémon knocked out, Paul didn't lose a single Pokémon in the process.
Furthermore, the two Pokémon Paul used didn't sustain much damage; it was estimated that their stamina hadn't even dropped below half.
This situation has led to outside sentiment gradually favoring Paul to win the championship.
Although Ash had the precedent of defeating an Elite Four Class opponent, his performance at the Indigo Plateau Conference truly couldn't compare to Paul's. Even if Ash used MEGA Evolution, and the highly discussed evolution of Primeape, Annihilape, this was deemed unrelated to Ash's inherent strength.
They argued that Ash merely possessed creativity, while his demonstrable strength was slightly weaker than Paul's.
Look at Paul's matches from the Round of 16 to the Semifinals: before the Semifinals, he only needed one Torterra the entire time, and in the Semifinals, he only used one additional Pokémon. In contrast, in Ash's matches from the Round of 16 to the Semifinals, he usually had at least one Pokémon severely injured.
In terms of performance, Ash was still a notch below Paul. Past glory doesn't last forever; does defeating an Elite in the past mean he possesses Elite Four Class combat power now? Surely, one cannot claim that.
Such were the outside opinions, but this sentiment only barely held half the public opinion, while the other half vehemently criticized those claims.
To say Ash's performance was inferior to Paul's, one must consider what Pokémon Ash was using: Blastoise, Lucario, Annihilape... these Pokémon had never appeared in his previous battles against Elites.
If we're talking about performance... consider that MEGA Gardevoir. If it weren't for the League's barrier (as the League claimed), many felt the entire arena might have been obliterated by that one move from Gardevoir!
Why is performance not mentioned at a time like this?
As for Pikachu, Charizard, and that marvelous Bulbasaur, Ash has either not sent them out yet, or they have not fully displayed their true power.
Pikachu and Charizard only made an appearance during the battle against Ritchie and in the initial match, and both times they instantly knocked out their opponents, leaving no room to showcase their full strength. So, based on what evidence can anyone claim Ash's performance is inferior to Paul's?
Rather, it should be said that Ash is simply better at hiding his true strength!
The two opposing sides were fiercely arguing online, while Ash and the others were at home enjoying a feast prepared by Delia. To celebrate Ash reaching the finals, Delia and the Mr. Mime she brought made a table full of dishes, allowing everyone to eat their fill.
Although Gary lost his match, he still came to enjoy the celebratory banquet. He joked that Ash reaching the finals was one-third his doing; if he hadn't lost, could Ash have made it? (A playful expression).
Therefore, he ate at this banquet without any guilt.
After eating and drinking their fill, Ash and Misty sat in the courtyard outside the house, looking up at the moon. Gary and Professor Oak had already left, saying they would return tomorrow to cheer him on, urging Ash to rest well now.
Brock had gone to wash the dishes, and Delia was watching television in the living room, so only the two of them, along with the Pokémon Togepi and Pikachu, were in the courtyard.
"The finals are tomorrow. How are you feeling?" Misty turned her head slightly and asked Ash.
She had been by his side since Ash started his journey, watching him grow from a naive boy into the powerful Trainer he was today. The young man who once had to ask her about type advantages was now about to stand on the stage to become a Champion, even if it was just the Conference Champion stage.
"Feelings? I'm pretty excited and thrilled, but there's also a slight feeling of unreality." Ash propped himself up with his hands behind him, gazing up at the bright moonlight, speaking as if in a trance.
Forget others, even he himself felt like he was dreaming. Reaching the Indigo Plateau Conference finals in half a year, and doing so in a dominant fashion—when he first started his journey, he wouldn't have dared to even imagine such a thing.
Although he constantly talked about becoming a Pokémon Master, in reality, he knew his own capabilities perfectly well.
While he possessed a passionate love for Pokémon, his theoretical knowledge of Pokémon was abysmal. The only advantage he could claim was his good physical condition, but who cares about physical condition in a Pokémon battle?
Being physically strong offered an advantage mainly in wilderness exploration; otherwise, it was largely useless—at least, that's what Ash used to think.
Therefore, even though he shouted about becoming a Pokémon Master, he had no confidence in how likely that wish was to succeed.
Until the appearance of the Chat Group, his life was completely changed... In just half a year, he not only collected eight Badges but also entered the finals of the Indigo Plateau Conference with a high chance of winning the Champion title, having even battled two Elites and one Champion along the way.
He had thought about this scenario before, but battling Elites and Champions was something he thought he would only achieve by the time he was eighteen. Yet now, at just fifteen, he was already sparring with a Champion.
The difference between his state half a year ago and now was heaven and earth, with the magnitude of his progress being so vast that even he, the person involved, felt a sense of unreality.
"Unreal, huh... If I hadn't been by your side all this time, Ash, I wouldn't believe a complete rookie could reach this point in half a year." Ash felt emotional, and Misty felt even more so.
If the person involved felt like he was dreaming, then those observing felt like they were watching a movie protagonist, witnessing Ash rise from obscurity, proceeding smoothly with virtually negligible setbacks.
His only two setbacks were dealt by an Elite and a Champion, and that Elite was no ordinary Elite, but Lorelei of Ice, an Elite in name, but a Champion in practice.
By extension, both of Ash's losses were inflicted by Champion-level Trainers; even Koga, who possessed normal Elite strength, was defeated by Ash.
For a Trainer who debuted half a year ago, losing to a Champion isn't shameful, is it? That can't even be called a loss, merely receiving some instruction.
Moreover, Misty always felt that Ash hadn't used his true power when battling those two people.
If you want to know what Ash's true power is... refer to his battle against Mewtwo.
A God Domain Level Pokémon suffered a loss against Ash, yet he turned around and lost to a Champion? Wasn't that ridiculous?
For Misty, Ash's true strength remained a mystery even now. He could contend with God Domain opponents, yet he could lose to an Elite Peak opponent. She couldn't figure out what was going on.
"If you win tomorrow's match, come on a date with me~" Misty suddenly changed the subject. One moment she was reflecting on Ash's journey, and the next, she abruptly brought up the topic of dating.
The word "date" caused Ash to freeze. Was this the kind of date he thought it was?
Before Ash could ask, Misty had already stood up and, swaying slightly with her hands behind her back, disappeared from the sight of Ash, Pikachu, and Togepi.
A somewhat bewildered Ash looked at the two Pokémon beside him. Togepi understood nothing and just smiled happily when Ash looked over, while Pikachu wore an innocent and confused expression, shrugging to indicate it had no idea what had just happened.
How could the usually timid Misty suddenly make such an aggressive move? This left the electric mouse, who had always wanted to set them up, completely dumbfounded.
Ash looked up at the half-moon hanging high in the sky and, for some reason, recalled a phrase: "The moon is beautiful..." The next morning at nine o'clock, the Indigo Stadium was completely packed, with not even standing room left. The ticket prices for this match, once Ash and Paul were confirmed as opponents, were instantly inflated to astronomical levels.
Even the standing tickets furthest away commanded an outrageous price, because some scalpers refused to sell, wanting to watch the match themselves!
This kind of match might be rarer than a Champion League final. Countless people, both at the venue and in front of their televisions, were eagerly anticipating which of the two genius youths would win this championship battle.
"Let us welcome the two finalists to the arena! They are Paul from Veilstone City in the Sinnoh region, and Ash from Pallet Town in the Kanto region!"
As the spirited announcement concluded, Ash and Paul both walked out from the waiting area. Ash still wore his bright, infectious smile, while Paul maintained his characteristic cold, expressionless demeanor.
Their appearances created a stark contrast, as if they were two completely opposite individuals.
"The Indigo Plateau Conference Finals officially begins! Please send out your starting Pokémon!"
"I choose you, Monferno!"
"Prepare for battle, Magmortar."
Both sides simultaneously released their first Pokémon. Ash's starting Pokémon surprised everyone; no one had anticipated that Ash would choose to use Monferno in the finals!
Although Monferno's strength was not weak, it simply couldn't keep up with the intensity of the Indigo Plateau Conference. He had been with Ash for too short a time, only being at the Advanced Stage when he joined Ash. Reaching the Superior Level in just over a week was already an incredible feat.
However, in the finals, where the battle intensity required at least Professional Level or even higher Professional Level Pokémon to cope, what could a Superior Level Monferno possibly do?
Even factoring in Ash's special abilities, he would still be easily defeated.
But Ash's decisions always defied expectations. Not only did he send out Monferno in the finals, but he chose Monferno as his starter!
Why he made this decision was perhaps known only to Ash himself. At the very least, even Lance and the others couldn't understand why Ash would start with Monferno in such a crucial match.
On the other side, the Pokémon Paul sent out, Magmortar, was the evolved form of Magmar. This was a newly discovered evolution, and the discovery site was in the Sinnoh region.
Magmar's habitat is quite widespread, with some found in every region, and their numbers are higher in Sinnoh and Kanto. However, it was the former region that discovered Magmar's evolution.
Magmortar's evolution, similar to Electabuzz's, requires an evolution via trade using a special item. The time of its discovery essentially coincided with that of Electivire; perhaps they were discovered by the same research team.
Regardless of the reason for the discovery, Paul was quick to follow the 'trend of the times'; shortly after Magmar's evolution was revealed, he evolved his Magmar.
It seems Paul possesses not only Trainer talent but also powerful resources, managing to immediately acquire the items needed for this new type of evolution.
Ash glanced at Magmortar's data: Mid-level Gym Stage. However, its various ability values had not reached the upper limit of its potential. Given Paul's training methods, this situation shouldn't occur, so there was only one explanation: Magmortar had only recently reached this level.
Paul hadn't yet had time to train its ability values to the maximum for its current level.
"Monferno? You are truly persistent." Paul was stunned when he saw Monferno. He hadn't expected Ash to send out Monferno as his first Pokémon.
Originally, according to his calculations, Ash's first Pokémon would most likely be the Bulbasaur that had never appeared, because that was Ash's personality: Pokémon that hadn't been used were often the first ones sent out in a new battle.
Just like Blastoise and Annihilape before.
He never expected that Ash would dare to start with Monferno against him. How was that different from suicide?
Given Paul's intelligence, how could he not understand why Ash sent out Monferno? Ash simply wanted him to acknowledge Monferno's strength in an official battle. This was likely a psychological hurdle for Monferno, even after it had become stronger.
To help Monferno overcome this hurdle sooner, Ash chose this match, this highly anticipated stage, to have Monferno battle him.
But the prerequisite for overcoming a psychological hurdle is... you have to win!
"Based on its current strength, Monferno is no match for Magmar. Recall him." Paul said something that surprised even Ash. Paul was actually asking him to recall his Pokémon?