Everyone watched as Ash's last Pokémon appeared. It was Grovyle!
At this moment, both Trainers had only one Pokémon left. The battle was in its final stage. The winner would move to the next round and be in the Top 16.
Everyone felt nervous. Max and the others were so tense that they held their fists tight. They all stood up and shouted to cheer for Ash.
"Ash! Go for it!"
"Don't lose!!"
While their friends cheered for Ash, May whispered a question to Natsui. "Natsui, can Ash really move on to the next round?"
She did not lack faith in Ash. But at this stage, one mistake could mean losing the tournament. No one knew who would win until the very end.
This was very different from watching Natsui's battles. Every time Natsui fought, they never worried he would lose. They only talked about how much of his power the opponent could make him use. But in Ash's matches, they worried when he was losing. Even when he was winning, it did not feel safe. He could be defeated at any time.
"Just trust him," Natsui said. He was not worried. He smiled a little. "Ash is the type of Trainer who handles pressure better when things are hard. If a battle is too easy, he does not fight as well. He only shows his true strength after he is in a hard battle like this."
May looked at the Trainer's area. She saw the serious look on Ash's face and thought about his style. She nodded.
She felt closer to Natsui now because she changed how she spoke to him. Lately, every time she heard Natsui's voice, she felt calm even if she was nervous.
It was truly amazing.
On the field, Grovyle and Walrein started fighting.
Walrein was Ice and Water type. Grovyle was Grass type. Both Pokémon could deal double damage to each other. Because of this, the battle would be very fast.
Also, even though Grovyle had not evolved into Sceptile yet, it was the strongest Pokémon in Ash's team. Many people called it his "Ace." Ash used it as his last Pokémon because he had a lot of confidence in Grovyle.
Two "Ace" Pokémon were fighting each other. Everyone knew it would be an exciting battle.
Natsui sat up straight as the fight began.
He wanted to see how much Ash had grown.
At the start, Walrein used Ice Beam. Grovyle moved out of the way and used Leaf Blade.
However, Walrein dove into the water. Grovyle missed its target.
Walrein used the water field to attack. It kept popping up from the water to hit Grovyle. This was hard for Grovyle. It could not fight back for a while. But Ash found a chance. Walrein used Ice Beam and froze the water. Ash used the ice to knock Walrein out of the water!
Walrein had used many Ice moves, so the water turned into a solid layer of ice. Walrein was stuck. It could not dive back into the water anymore. This gave Grovyle more chances.
Grovyle was a bit slower on the ice, but it still moved toward Walrein very fast. It used Quick Attack. Before Walrein could move, Grovyle hit Walrein's neck with its head.
This move was very good and knocked Walrein to the ground. However, Walrein used its own secret move.
Walrein got up and did the same movement as Grovyle. It hit Grovyle at a very high speed!
Grovyle was surprised. It moved back many steps before it could stand steady.
The crowd saw what happened.
Walrein used Mimic. This is a Normal-type move. It lets the user use the opponent's last move. Even if the type is different, the Pokémon can use it. It creates a surprise in a fight.
Because of this, Walrein could use Quick Attack. This helped Walrein move faster.
Ash was surprised. He stopped trying to use speed to move around it. Instead, he told Grovyle to fight close.
Katie told Walrein to rush forward to attack. But this was Ash's trick. When the two Pokémon got close, Grovyle suddenly moved away. At the same time, it used Bullet Seed and hit Walrein!
Max and the others were shocked.
No one expected that Ash knew how to use a strategy!
His move fooled Katie. Even the announcer and the crowd did not expect it. It looked like he wanted a close fight, but it was a trick!
Ash had definitely grown.
Grovyle could attack from far away or fight close. It was almost as strong as Tyson's Sceptile. If it evolved, it would be even stronger.
After that hit, Grovyle controlled the match. It was winning. In the final moment, it moved out of the way of Walrein's Quick Attack. Then, it hit Walrein's weak spot with Leaf Blade and won!
The match was over.
The referee announced the result. "Walrein is unable to battle! Grovyle wins! The winner of this match is Ash!"
The battle had many exciting parts. The audience was very happy. They saw Ash win and cheered loudly. Max and the others stood up and shouted at Ash.
But it was too loud. Ash could not hear them. No one could tell what they were shouting.
Natsui did not stand up, but he clapped to congratulate him.
He saw Ash's progress in this battle. Ash's style was the same, but he was stronger and used more plans. He had grown a lot since he started his journey.
Ash was more of a threat now, but Natsui still thought he was a beginner.
Ash walked into the tunnel. Natsui and the group stood up and left the stadium.
The group met outside. Ash waved at them with a big smile.
"Congratulations, Ash! You successfully made it to the next round too," Max and May said as they walked to him.
Natsui also smiled and said, "That was a good battle. You've grown a lot."
Ash's smile was very big.
"Chuckle, it was nothing! I'm really strong, you know. There's no way I'd lose in this round!"
Misty was not nice to him. She spoke immediately. "You talk a lot. If I did not watch the match, I would think you won easily. But you almost lost in the last match!"
Ash was afraid of Misty's sharp words. She was sharp with almost everyone except Natsui and May.
His proud look went away.
"Alright," Natsui said. He rubbed Misty's head and smiled. "Stop fighting, you two. Katie was not weak. If she did not fight Ash, she had a good chance of moving to the next round."
Ash smiled again. He looked at Misty.
"See? Even Natsui thinks Katie is strong. I beat her, so I am even stronger!"
Misty was not trying to be mean. She just teased him because they had traveled together for a long time. She laughed and looked away.
After Ash's match, there was another battle. Then it was Morrison's turn.
He won his match by a lot. Ash felt jealous.
Ash had a hard time winning, but Morrison won easily. Ash felt like Morrison did better than him.
Tyson was out of the tournament, but Ash and Morrison both moved on. They wanted to fight each other in the future.
To celebrate being in the Top 16, they had a party in the evening. Ash and May wanted pizza. They found a shop with a high rating and had a big meal.
The shop had pizza baked in a stone oven. The crust was crispy and the cheese was melted. It had meat, seafood, and fruit on top. The group enjoyed the food.
Ash and Morrison competed to see who could eat more.
Ash's stomach was smaller than Morrison's. Morrison won.
Ash was sad. He said he would win the next competition.
While they laughed and ate, the Top 16 pairings were announced.
They received the message and were not in the mood to eat. Natsui paid the bill. He led the group back to the player hall.
It was far, so it took some time. When they arrived, the screen showed the pairings.
Ash and Morrison both froze. They looked at each other.
On the screen, they were in the first group. Their faces were next to each other!
They just ate together, but tomorrow they had to fight each other!
They were shocked and felt many things.
They knew they would meet eventually, but not this early!
This meant one of them would win, and the other would have to leave the tournament.
Natsui looked at his own pairing. He was in the second row.
His opponent was a girl with a ponytail and black glasses.
Natsui thought about her.
There were not many players left now. He remembered her. In the last round, she was very aggressive. She beat her opponent easily.
Interesting.
Natsui thought about this.
He met Tyson first. Now he met a strong Trainer. Maybe he would meet the strongest person in the Top 8 too.
He thought it was just his luck.
Even if he knew the Pokémon League planned this, he would just laugh. He was too strong for any tricks.
He looked at Ash and Morrison again, but Morrison ran out the door. Ash followed him.
May and the others were surprised.
"They..."
"Don't worry about them," Natsui said. He waved his hand. "It's just some drama between two boys. It's no big deal. Let them handle it themselves. We don't need to step in. Let's go back to the dorms and wait for them."
Ash and Morrison were friends and rivals. They had to fight tomorrow. No one could help them.
May and the others understood. They followed Natsui back to the dorms.
After they left, Mr. Goodshow watched Natsui from a window on the second floor.
He was the one who picked the opponents.
He picked the strongest Trainer to fight Natsui!
Natsui was in the Top 16. This was dangerous. If he was not stopped now, he would be in the Top 8 or Top 4. Then Mr. Goodshow's plans would fail.
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