The early Indigo League Conference moved fast. Battlers fought almost every day, and every day large numbers were eliminated.
As the tournament progressed, the Trainers left standing mostly had real skill, and the level of battle kept rising.
Caster's second match was on the Water Field, and his opponent was clearly a cut above Otoshi. But the Water Field favored Shellder and let it fight at its best, so his opponent still lost all three to that one Shellder.
Caster's third match was on the Ice Field, and Shellder beat all three again, steady as ever.
It was not until the fourth round, on the Grass Field, that Shellder finally met its match.
His opponent was a burly middle aged man in a martial arts uniform, every muscle defined. He looked like he could really fight.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for waiting! The second battle of the fourth round on the Grass Field is about to begin."
The announcer's voice rang out, introducing both sides before the fight. "On Red Side, Mack from Saffron City. According to his file, Mack once trained at the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City under Wude, the Karate King, and his strength is extraordinary."
"On Green Side, facing Mack, is Caster from Cerulean City. Although Caster is a rookie Trainer this year, his talent is remarkable. He battled his way to all eight Badges, and he is also a major influencer with a million followers on PokeStation."
As the tournament moved forward, fewer matches were held each day, so the commentary was no longer as rushed as before. The announcer had to highlight each battler's strengths and record to whet the crowd's appetite before the match.
"So how will this fierce showdown turn out today? Let's wait and see!"
With the crowd warmed up, the referee stepped forward, raised his little flags, and signaled, "Trainers, please take your places!"
Caster again opened with Shellder, while Mack sent out a Pokemon wearing boxing gloves.
In the stands, Gary watched both Pokemon and frowned. "Caster has opened with Shellder four matches in a row, beating all three every time. He's made quite a name for himself at this Indigo League Conference. But using the same Pokemon and the same tactics every time, his opponent has to be ready for it, right?"
Gary was thinking in tactical terms. After three rounds of cuts, only one in eight Trainers remained. Every one of them was elite, and none would be easy.
Ash, sitting beside him, clearly was not thinking that hard. He laughed. "So what if he's ready? With Caster's strength, he's definitely going to win." Then Ash jumped up and shouted for Shellder. "Shellder, let's go!"
A bell rang, and the match began. Hitmonchan's eyes flashed. It threw a punch with such force that its whole body turned into a streak of light and appeared in front of Shellder in an instant. Hitmonchan lived up to its name. Its punches were incredibly fast.
"So fast!"
Ash gasped.
Gary narrowed his eyes. "That's Fake Out!"
Fake Out was a priority move even faster than Ice Shard. Even though Shellder's Ice Shard had reached the Mastered level, it still could not outspeed the higher priority Fake Out.
Padded gloves or not, Hitmonchan's fist still packed full force, and Shellder was punched clean into the air.
"Mach Punch!"
Mack's deep voice rang out, a cold smile tugging at his mouth.
For all his muscle, he did not fight with brute force alone. Before the match, he had studied Caster's last three battles and planned a counter strategy. So far, it was working.
Hitmonchan gave a sharp cry and threw another punch, Fighting type energy condensing into the shape of a fist as it howled after the airborne Shellder.
The punch connected. Hitmonchan's force was so terrifying that even Shellder's hard shell developed thin cracks. The force tossed Shellder again, leaving it unable to land safely.
Hitmonchan shuffled forward in quick little steps, closing in on Shellder to press its advantage. Bright arcs of electricity had begun to crackle around its fists.
"This is bad. That's Thunder Punch!"
Gary shot to his feet, eyes locked on Shellder still tumbling through the air. "At this rate, Hitmonchan's Thunder Punch will hit before Shellder even lands."
If that happened, Shellder would be in serious trouble.
"What a terrifying assault! Mack's Hitmonchan is terrifying. Not only is it fast, its punches keep coming like waves, each one stronger than the last. It gives its opponent no chance to breathe!"
The announcer's excited voice blared out. "So do Caster and his Shellder have any answer?"
On the command platform, Caster narrowed his eyes, but he did not look panicked at all. Watching Hitmonchan's Thunder Punch about to hit the falling Shellder, he finally spoke. "Shell Smash!"
Shellder's shell popped open, and the dark flesh and big pink tongue inside slipped right out, like a pilot bailing out of a plane.
Thunder Punch landed, but it only hit Shellder's empty shell, zapping both halves until they were charred.
In the opening left by Hitmonchan's punch, the freed Shellder flashed with light several times in a row as its aura climbed higher and higher. In that moment, Shellder looked like a king claiming the world, gazing down on all creation.
Shellder shot Hitmonchan a cold glance and condensed a huge shard of ice at incredible speed, striking before Hitmonchan could even react.
With both its Attack and Special Attack raised, Shellder could also unleash moves faster, cutting down the time it needed to gather energy.
Fast.
Too fast.
Hitmonchan had no time to react before the ice shard pierced its chest.
After a pained cry, Hitmonchan was sealed in terrifying cold, its eyes swirling.
After Shell Smash, Shellder's offenses and Speed had risen two stages, so finishing off a frail Hitmonchan was no problem at all.
"Yes! Shellder won!"
Ash nearly jumped for joy, then nudged Gary with his elbow. "See? I told you Caster would be fine."
Gary's face darkened, and he said nothing. He used to be the one mocking Ash, but lately Ash kept mocking him, and Gary was starting to lose it.
"So it gave up its shell's protection to bet everything on one gamble?"
Mack eyed the shell less Shellder coldly, thought for a moment, then threw another Poke Ball.
Red light flashed, and a humanlike Pokemon appeared. The top of its head, its legs, and its lips were bright red with pale yellow spots. The rest was white. Its upper body was slender, its lower body fuller, and its long arms each ended in three fingers.
"What Pokemon is that?"
Many in the crowd did not recognize it and stared in surprise.
Ash was no exception. He quickly aimed his Pokedex to scan it, but to his surprise, the Pokedex had no data on it.
"That's Medicham, a Pokemon that lives mainly in Hoenn," Gary said, looking at the field. "Its type should be Fighting plus Psychic. It has excellent physical strength and solid psychic power too. It barely has any weaknesses."
Ash looked impressed. "Gary, you know so much!"
"Hmph. I'm the grandson of Professor Oak, a top professor. I make my living with my brain."
Gary glanced at Ash and snorted. "You think I'm all brawn like you?"