"Boooom—!"
Aggron let out a painful roar, its limbs trembled slightly under the relentless flames, but its eyes still burned with a desperate resolve.
It demonstrated the meaning of unyielding rock-solid will, but unfortunately, some things can't be achieved by willpower alone. Even a will as strong as Infernape's would have fallen without a 'cheat' in the face of absolute power disparity.
And Aggron had no 'cheat'; its will was strong, but it ended there.
"Boom—!"
Another loud crash, and Aggron fell heavily to the ground, raising a cloud of dust. The flames slowly faded, and its body lay limp on the ground, its rocky shell covered in cracks, some parts even melting and emitting wisps of black smoke.
It tried to prop itself up, but as soon as it lifted its forelimbs, they fell weakly, and a faint whimper escaped its throat as its eyes slowly closed.
The battlefield fell silent for a brief moment, with only the residual heat from the flames and the lingering smoke. The referee raised the flag and announced loudly, "Aggron is unable to battle! Charizard wins!"
After the silence, thunderous cheers erupted again. With this, Paul had already lost four Pokemon, leaving him with only the last two.
Even though Paul still had his ace, Torterra, he hadn't used it yet. But Torterra is completely countered by Ash's Venusaur, plus Charizard's fierce performance. How could Torterra possibly overcome either Venusaur or Charizard?
So the outcome of this match was basically set in stone.
With an expressionless face, Paul recalled Aggron and immediately took out the next Pokeball: "Torterra, prepare for battle."
To everyone's surprise, Paul's fifth Pokemon was again Torterra. After Charizard's dazzling performance, releasing Torterra seemed like a path to defeat, didn't it?
However, as Torterra took the stage, the blazing sun in the sky slowly dissipated; Sunny Day was gone.
Without the boost from Sunny Day, Charizard's flames were certainly not as intense, but the situation remained unfavorable for Torterra.
Yet, at this moment, Ash took out a Pokeball aimed at Charizard: "Come back, Charizard."
"You did very well, thank you for your hard work," Ash comforted Charizard inside the Pokeball and then took out another Pokeball.
"I've decided, it's you, Venusaur!" Facing Torterra, Ash once again sent out Venusaur!
On Paul's cold face, there was no ripple of emotion; this result was entirely within his calculations. Having watched so many of Ash's matches and having battled Ash through a whole round, he had already grasped Ash's character.
Although he couldn't fully predict the strength of Ash's Pokemon, within the lineup Ash had used against Torterra, it was expected by Paul that Ash would choose Venusaur.
Though facing Venusaur was also quite disadvantageous, it was still better than facing Charizard.
"Looks like Paul had already figured it out, that in the face of Torterra, Ash would definitely bring out Venusaur to battle. That's why when facing Charizard, he chose to summon Torterra," said Brock from the audience, contemplating.
The opponent managed to comprehend Ash's character so thoroughly in such a short interaction. Yes, Ash is indeed easy to read, but we can't deny the opponent's strong abilities as a Trainer.
If Paul's opponent had not been Ash but another Trainer, the championship of this Quartz Conference might have already been in his grasp.
Alas... wait, what alas?! It's Ash winning the championship that they all hoped for, right?!
"Venusaur, this time you must take them down!"
"Veee!" In Venusaur's eyes burned a fiery battle spirit; last time, the opponent ran off halfway through the fight, and this time they couldn't possibly run again!
"Torterra, use Light Screen." This time, Paul did not attack recklessly but instead chose to set up a barrier. Venusaur was definitely not an easily defeated opponent; wanting to win, they had to be prepared for a prolonged battle, so reducing damage with a barrier was necessary.
"Frenzy Plant!" Ignoring the barrier setup, Ash had Venusaur directly unleash its ultimate move, cutting through all distractions, and going straight with Frenzy Plant!
"Veee!" Venusaur stomped the ground, and countless thorny green plants burst forth from the already tattered field, transforming into straight blades lunging towards Torterra!
As Frenzy Plant was about to hit Torterra, Torterra finally put up the Light Screen. Clearly, Torterra wasn't very skilled with this move; it had learned it but hadn't mastered it.
However, there was no issue using it in a battle.
"Boom!!" Frenzy Plant hit the transparent barrier, the powerful resistance causing Frenzy Plant to pause for a moment, but then it pierced through the barrier, although its force had almost halved.
"Bang, bang, bang!!" Frenzy Plant struck Torterra consecutively, a hint of pain on Torterra's face. Even with halved power, the ATK of Venusaur was formidable, coupled with the fact that it was a Grass Type ultimate move. So, despite the Light Screen, the damage was still considerable.
"Zen Headbutt!" Paul's eyes squinted slightly, and the moment Frenzy Plant retracted, he immediately countered. Psychic Type moves have a restraining effect on Venusaur, although Torterra wasn't very proficient in these non-STAB moves, as evident from the earlier Light Screen.
But as Venusaur used Frenzy Plant, its entire body was in a stiffened state, so even a relatively slow move like Zen Headbutt could precisely hit the opponent.
"dutai!" A deep blue energy appeared on Torterra's head, covering it and transforming its head into a hammer. Torterra then quickly charged at Venusaur.
"Dodge it, use Body Slam!"
Dodge it? Ash, are you out of your mind? With Venusaur having used Frenzy Plant, how is it supposed to dodge?
Upon hearing Ash's order, everyone, including Paul, wondered if Ash had forgotten that Venusaur was still recovering from the after-effect of using Frenzy Plant, which left it momentarily immobile.
Even Champion-level Pokemon can only minimize this stiffness and not completely eliminate it.
Could Ash's Venusaur do what Champion-level Pokemon couldn't?
Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, Venusaur suddenly jumped up, so high it seemed like it could fly, leaving the surrounding audience with their mouths agape.
Is this even possible?!
Torterra's charge missed as Venusaur leaped, and as Venusaur reached the highest point, all its strength converted into a downward force, crashing down with the force of a Body Slam—
"Boom!!"
A heavy sound reverberated across the field, the powerful impact scattering dust everywhere. Torterra was pinned down heavily by Venusaur, with not only Venusaur's weight but also the power of a Body Slam. Even though Torterra struggled mightily, it couldn't break free from Venusaur's suppression.
"Now use Frenzy Plant!" Even with the Light Screen, Ash still chose to unleash Frenzy Plant. After all... an ultimate move without downsides, why not use it?
Numerous thorny green plants shot out from the ground, tightly binding the pinned Torterra. A transparent shield appeared around Torterra, but could only block Frenzy Plant momentarily, then was pierced as easily as paper.
The Frenzy Plant coiled around Torterra, its thorns digging deeply into its body, continuously channeling Grass Type energy through them, causing Torterra to let out a pained howl...