Author's Note
I will skim this semi final a bit since I want to finish this tournament arc in three chapters including this one and wrap up the S.S. Anne in around five chapters. But I do have a surprise planned for this chapter, something most of you probably would not have guessed.
Third POV
After the match between Ash and Grey ended, both trainers headed straight toward Nurse Joy to get their Pokémon treated. It was necessary for both of them. Grey still had a finals match left after only a short gap from the semi finals, so the faster his Pokémon recovered from both injuries and fatigue, the better his chances would be.
On the other side of the ship, after a fifteen minute break, the second semi final between Blue and Red had begun.
Both Ash and Grey were watching the battle from separate Pokémon Centers aboard the S.S. Anne. Ash was sitting with Brock and Misty, who were trying to cheer him up after his loss by telling him he had still performed well.
Grey, meanwhile, was quietly watching the match alone.
Grey's POV
I watched the battle very intently because whoever won this would become my opponent in the finals.
In an ideal scenario, maybe these two should have been fighting in the finals already, but one of them had to lose here.
Internally, I thought Red would probably win, but that was honestly my bias speaking after knowing he was the protagonist. Still, if there was anyone I knew who could beat him, it was Blue.
The match had started with Blue sending out Golduck while Red responded with Poliwrath.
The moment I saw the blue frog Pokémon, only one thought came to my mind.
Again.
Just like Ash, even Red had brought out a surprise.
But unlike Ash's Kingler, this evolution actually worked against Red. Poliwrath's newly gained Fighting typing made the matchup worse against Golduck.
The fight itself was long and dragged out.
At the start, both sides used Water type attacks to keep their distance. Poliwrath creatively mixed Ice Beam into its attacks, trying to pressure Golduck from range, but Golduck countered constantly with psychic attacks.
Poliwrath tried using Rain Dance to boost its Water attacks, but Blue immediately shut that strategy down through Golduck's Cloud Nine ability.
Red then tried capitalizing on Poliwrath's Fighting typing by ordering Submission attacks, but Golduck was simply too agile. It dodged the attacks and retaliated with Confusion whenever Poliwrath overextended.
Both Pokémon also knew Hypnosis, but neither trainer even bothered trying that strategy because both sides already knew the counters to sleep tactics.
Eventually, after a long dragged out battle, Golduck managed to defeat Poliwrath.
Blue even commented afterward,
"Guess your Poliwhirl just recently evolved. It's still not used to its Fighting abilities."
Red simply nodded at that.
Then Red sent out Ivysaur.
Ivysaur made quick work of Golduck, but in doing so it gave Blue the chance to bring out Charmeleon afterward.
The next match was also extremely long despite Charmeleon having the type advantage.
Red was using all kinds of stall tactics and had even poisoned Charmeleon at one point, but Blue looked completely confident in his ability to handle the situation.
Then Charmeleon suddenly turned the tables using Will O Wisp to burn Ivysaur.
That honestly surprised me.
Blue was countering status conditions by inflicting another one entirely.
Charmeleon had also landed a Fire Spin, trapping Ivysaur inside the flames while simultaneously burning every Leech Seed Ivysaur attempted to throw before they could even connect.
Red tried using Sunny Day to increase the sunlight advantage, but Blue immediately told Charmeleon to charge Flamethrower.
Red countered with Solar Beam.
Both attacks collided in a massive explosion and cancelled each other out.
Despite Solar Beam normally being stronger, Flamethrower boosted under the sunlight had become powerful enough to compete.
Eventually the battle became a test of endurance and stubbornness.
But Charmeleon came out on top.
The combined burn damage and Fire Spin wore Ivysaur down badly. Ivysaur did not know Synthesis yet, and Red had been hoping to recover through Leech Seed, but Charmeleon kept burning the seeds before they could land.
Honestly, it almost felt like Blue had anticipated this exact matchup beforehand.
Everything kept going his way.
Red tried multiple tricks during the battle.
Using Vine Whips to jump and dodge attacks like Ash did.
Mixing Poison Powder with Razor Leaf.
Trying to create openings through unpredictable movement.
But Blue had an answer prepared for every single tactic.
At that moment I genuinely felt both excitement and fear watching this version of Blue.
It was almost as if he had created multiple counters specifically for Red.
Despite Red throwing curveballs like Poliwrath or Ninetales earlier, Blue still seemed ready for everything, almost like he had predicted Red's entire lineup beforehand.
He was fully showing me why he was called The Trainer.
At the same time, Red was also showing exactly why people called him The Fighter through his incredible battle instincts and adaptability.
Then Red released his third Pokémon.
Ninetales.
That honestly surprised me because I had expected him to send out Gyarados instead.
But then I realized Red probably wanted to stop Blue from safely using Scyther as his final Pokémon, which made Ninetales the better choice here.
The battle between Charmeleon and Ninetales was intense.
Both Pokémon abused the harsh sunlight.
Both sides continuously used Flamethrower to cancel out each other's attacks.
Charmeleon attempted the Smokescreen strategy Blue loved using, but surprisingly Ninetales could still navigate through the smoke effectively and continue battling properly.
Eventually both sides transitioned into close range combat.
Charmeleon used Metal Claw.
Ninetales countered with Feint Attack.
The two Pokémon clashed repeatedly at close range until eventually Charmeleon finally fainted from poison damage.
Still, not before injuring Ninetales heavily in return.
Blue withdrew Charmeleon and paused for a few moments.
Then he made his choice.
"Kadabra!"
Kadabra appeared onto the battlefield.
And unfortunately for Red, at that exact moment the harsh sunlight faded away.
Red immediately ordered,
"Ninetales, Sunny Day!"
I was honestly surprised seeing Red teach Sunny Day to Ninetales despite it already having Drought.
But before Ninetales could even properly use the move, Kadabra teleported directly in front of it.
Red tried shouting for Flamethrower.
But Kadabra's Confusion struck first.
The psychic attack slammed directly into Ninetales' face and sent it skidding backward across the battlefield.
At that moment, Red realized something.
Blue was not even going to give him the time to set up the sun again.
Red quickly realized that trying to play defensively against Kadabra would only make the situation worse.
So he changed tactics immediately.
"Ninetales, Quick Attack into Feint Attack!"
Ninetales blurred forward, cloaked in dark energy as it rushed toward Kadabra. Instead of trying to overpower Kadabra directly, Red was now attempting to match the rhythm of Kadabra's teleports with pure speed and pressure.
Slowly, Ninetales started adapting better to Kadabra's movement patterns.
Every time Kadabra teleported nearby to launch a Confusion, Ninetales would immediately swing out with Feint Attack, the dark type energy forcing Kadabra to retreat before getting too close.
For a few moments, Red actually stabilized the match again.
Blue narrowed his eyes slightly before speaking.
"Kadabra, Tri Attack."
Kadabra formed the strange tri colored attack and launched it toward Ninetales.
"Flamethrower!" Red countered immediately.
Ninetales unleashed flames and both attacks collided in the center of the battlefield.
But the moment the explosion happened, Kadabra disappeared.
Teleport.
Kadabra suddenly appeared right beside Ninetales.
Before Ninetales could even stop using Flamethrower, Kadabra's eyes glowed blue.
"Confusion."
Ninetales was suddenly grabbed mid attack and violently swung into the arena wall.
The impact cracked part of the battlefield.
Then Kadabra teleported again instantly.
Appearing directly in front of Ninetales.
Another Confusion slammed into it point blank.
Red reacted quickly.
"Flamethrower!"
Ninetales tried firing flames at close range.
But Kadabra's psychic powers held the Flamethrower in place midair.
That honestly shocked me a bit.
Kadabra was literally overpowering the attack directly with psychic force while continuing to damage Ninetales using Confusion at the same time.
Then Kadabra fired another Tri Attack directly into Ninetales' face before teleporting backward to create distance.
A massive explosion erupted from the impact.
Smoke covered the battlefield for a few moments.
Eventually Ninetales slowly walked out of the smoke.
But it looked horrible.
Its breathing was rough, its fur was burnt in multiple places, and it was barely standing now.
Red still tried one final command.
"Ninetales, Feint Attack!"
Ninetales attempted to move forward.
It took one step.
Then collapsed unconscious.
The referee raised his flag immediately.
"Ninetales is unable to battle! The winner of the match is Blue Oak!"
The crowd erupted loudly at the announcement.
Red's tournament run had officially ended.
And Blue had qualified for the finals.
Meanwhile, I just stared silently at the screen.
Honestly... I was surprised.
In my mind, I had fully expected Red to reach the finals against me.
But Blue had defeated him.
Not only that, he had defeated a version of Red that had hidden surprises like Poliwrath.
Which meant something terrifying.
Blue had analyzed Red that deeply beforehand and still adapted to unexpected changes.
Then what about me?
Unlike Red, I had already shown almost all my cards throughout this tournament.
Blue had probably seen everything I could do already.
And suddenly, for the first time since entering this tournament...
I genuinely felt pressure about the finals.
Author's Note: Before you guys flame me in the comments , Blue at this point was either equal or slighter better than Red in the manga ofcourse by the lavender town chapter i think Red was better as Blue was possesed by a gastly , second this Blue had not just Red but Grey as a rival forcing him to work harder and train and use his skills more when he said he would look forward to a rematch to Grey he meant it , Third Both ninetales and poliwrath were recently evolved so they werent used to fighting in thier new forms and I will be explaining how in some chapters, fourth Blue analysed and had a counter for most of Red's team even if he used Pika or Gyarados it wouldnt matter, and before you guys bring in the games to argue remember you play red and hence you win , if you get to play blue you would still win . That being said did u get surprised by this or not and also I want to ask a question as I have been reading the pokemon adventures manga recently who is has the most megumi of the series among dex holders.Personally I think either Ruby or X .