Grey POV
That was quite the match I had just watched.
Now I was sitting in my room with my Pokémon beside me while thinking about the finals. There was an hour gap before the final match to give Blue enough time to heal his Pokémon from injuries and fatigue. Not that it would help much. Both my team and his team were exhausted at this point.
Exeggcute was healed no doubt, but even I knew it would not be able to participate at the same level it normally could. The same went for Shellder after the beating it took from Kingler. Persian, surprisingly enough, was still fit enough to go all out because Pikachu had not exhausted him too much.
Which meant, just like I had thought earlier, Blue definitely knew I would bring out Persian and Axew for the finals.
Man, this sucks.
If I had more Pokémon then maybe things would be easier, but at the same time I could not just randomly catch a lot of Pokémon because of the six Pokémon carry limit idea I had set for myself. I had to really be sure of what Pokémon I wanted on my permanent team instead of catching things recklessly.
From the prizes, I could for sure get that Charmander because Blue would never pick that option. Or I could take the Pawniard if I wanted to go with that route. Kingambit would honestly be a monster in the future.
The only problem was actually evolving it.
Getting Bisharp itself takes time and evolving Bisharp into Kingambit requires a Leader's Crest and all that defeating other Bisharp nonsense. Did I even want to get into all that stuff?
Honestly, I was already guaranteed a Charmander anyway. That alone fixes my lack of a Fire type and gives me the Fire Water Grass core I wanted.
I sighed and leaned back on the chair.
"Honestly, I could just take this final easy. No need to put my Pokémon through hell and tire or injure them so much when I am already getting what I want."
The moment I said that, Axew suddenly jumped at me and slapped me across the face.
I blinked in shock.
"Axew?"
Axew started yelling angrily in gibberish while pointing at itself and then at the Poké Ball case on the table.
I stared at him for a second before trying to make sense of it.
"You want an all out battle with Blue even if you get injured and tired despite the team already being exhausted?"
Axew immediately nodded.
Not just him.
Shellder clicked its shell loudly.
Persian lazily opened one eye and nodded as well.
Even Exeggcute bounced slightly in agreement.
I stared at all of them for a moment before slapping both my cheeks hard.
Right.
Take it easy.
What I had just said was not strategy. It was laziness. It was me trying to take the easy way out because I was guaranteed a prize anyway.
Blue was going to come at me with everything he had despite being at an even bigger disadvantage than me when it came to exhaustion. His match against Red had happened much more recently.
Of course, he also had a bigger overall roster than me and probably more hidden Pokémon in reserve that I did not know about.
I exhaled slowly and sat properly.
Then I started thinking seriously about what I could do against him.
Honestly, a lot of this match would come down to luck and strategy.
I knew I could not outthink Blue in a straight tactical battle. He must have already thought of every possible combination and permutation I could use. The guy probably analysed my entire battling style after every single round.
But if I could get lucky during the opening matchup then maybe I could control the pace of the overall match to some degree.
Normally I either led with Shellder or Exeggcute to set up or stall.
I could still do that.
But Blue would obviously have counters prepared for those two.
At the same time, there was also a chance Blue expected me to think that way and would instead use something effective against the Pokémon he thought I would switch to after predicting his counters.
Meaning he could predict my prediction of his prediction.
...
Was I overthinking?
Yeah.
Definitely.
I slapped my cheeks again.
Then suddenly an idea came to my head.
A Pokémon Blue mostly did not have a proper counter to.
And more importantly, a Pokémon he would never expect me to use first.
————————————————————————-
Third POV
An hour had passed and both trainers arrived at the arena to battle for the championship.
On the right side was Grey Mallory from Celadon City.
On the left side was Blue Oak from Pallet Town.
Both trainers looked tense. Each had spent the last hour thinking of multiple ways to approach this battle and counter the other.
The stands were packed.
Every trainer who had participated in the tournament had come to watch the finals.
Ash, Brock, Misty, Red, Ryu, Aria, Stefan, Alex, and many others were present. No one wanted to miss the battle that would decide the winner of the S.S. Anne Tournament.
Inside the VIP room, the Champions were also watching attentively.
All of them agreed that the two finalists had earned their place here. They had fought through strong opponents and proven themselves worthy of reaching this stage.
Now only one of them could win.
The referee stepped forward and raised his flag.
"Final match! Begin!"
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
"Go!"
"Come out, Pidgeotto!" Blue called.
"Come out, Axew!" Grey shouted.
Both Pokémon appeared on the battlefield.
Grey was a little surprised to see the Flying type once again.
He knew Blue owned a Pidgeotto in the games, but if he remembered correctly, Blue caught it much later in the manga timeline. Not that it mattered now.
Blue had one.
And it was standing right in front of him.
Blue was equally surprised.
Out of all the possibilities he had considered, Axew was one of the least expected leads.
He had fully expected either Exeggcute or Shellder.
While he knew how monstrous Exeggcute was after watching it fight Ash's Pidgeotto, he had prepared several tricks specifically for that matchup.
Now all those preparations had gone to waste.
Dammit.
Unlike Red, getting a proper read on Grey was difficult.
Blue immediately ordered an Aerial Ace.
Pidgeotto blurred forward at incredible speed and slammed into Axew.
"Take the hit and hit back!" Grey ordered.
The moment Aerial Ace connected, Axew winced in pain but endured it.
Immediately afterward, it swung back with Dragon Claw.
The glowing claw slammed into Pidgeotto and sent the bird flying.
Pidgeotto managed to stabilize itself in midair and quickly gained altitude again.
Both trainers immediately understood what the other was trying to do.
Blue knew Axew was not fast enough to properly react to Aerial Ace. The move was incredibly quick and Pidgeotto itself was already one of the fastest Pokémon in the tournament.
That was why Grey had told Axew to tank the attack.
Once Axew knew where Pidgeotto was, it could retaliate with its far stronger close-range attacks.
Grey knew Blue understood this strategy.
Blue knew Grey knew he understood it.
But neither trainer had a better option at the moment.
For Axew, taking a hit and returning one twice as powerful was simply the best strategy.
In the stands, Ash jumped from his seat.
"What the heck is that move? Why does Blue's Pidgeotto know it?"
Brock chuckled.
"That's Aerial Ace. It's an extremely fast Flying type move. It's even faster than Quick Attack in many situations."
Ash's eyes widened.
Immediately dozens of training ideas started forming in his head for his own Pidgeotto.
Back on the battlefield, Blue chose to keep his distance.
"Air Slash!"
Pidgeotto launched blades of compressed air.
"Dragon Rage! Burst fire!" Grey responded.
Axew fired multiple Dragon Rages in rapid succession.
The attacks collided in midair and exploded, cancelling each other out.
Blue narrowed his eyes.
Time to increase the pressure.
"Heat Wave!"
A massive wave of scorching air surged forward.
It had taken Blue a very long time to teach this move to Pidgeotto.
In fact, Pidgeotto had learned it faster than Charmeleon, which was still struggling to master the attack.
Even now Pidgeotto was not an expert at using it.
Still, it was one of Blue's trump cards.
Originally he had developed it specifically to deal with Grey's Exeggcute.
Now it would have to be used here instead.
"Dragon Rage!" Grey ordered.
Axew launched another Dragon Rage.
The fiery wave pushed straight through it.
The attack struck Axew directly.
While Dragon types resisted Fire attacks, the damage still accumulated.
Grey immediately realized he could not afford to let Blue slowly wear Axew down with Heat Wave.
He needed to get close.
Fast.
"Use Dragon Rage on the ground and launch yourself upward!"
Axew obeyed instantly.
The explosion beneath its feet launched it high into the air.
Blue's eyes widened.
He had not expected that.
"Pidgeotto, use Aerial Ace! Evade first, then redirect and attack!"
Pidgeotto blurred away from Axew's trajectory and circled around.
Then it reappeared behind Axew.
Aerial Ace activated.
The bird dove in.
But this time Axew reacted.
Twisting its body in midair, it turned around and slashed with both arms.
A cross-shaped Dragon Claw erupted.
The attack smashed directly into Pidgeotto's face.
The bird cried out as it was overpowered.
Before it could recover, Axew directed both claws downward and slammed Pidgeotto toward the battlefield.
Then Axew pointed its mouth downward.
"Dragon Rage!"
The explosion accelerated its descent.
Blue's eyes widened.
Axew was using Dragon Rage like a rocket booster.
The dragon came crashing down after Pidgeotto like a meteor.
"Get out of the way!" Blue shouted.
But it was too late.
Axew descended with another Cross Dragon Claw.
The attack slammed directly into Pidgeotto.
BOOM!
Dust erupted across the battlefield.
For several moments nobody could see anything.
When the dust finally cleared, Axew walked out.
The small dragon was visibly injured and breathing heavily.
Across from it, Pidgeotto struggled to stand.
The bird looked far worse.
Still, it refused to stay down.
Blue smiled slightly.
"Take flight."
Pidgeotto obeyed.
Slowly but surely it rose back into the air.
Grey watched carefully.
Trying to stall now would only get Pidgeotto beaten up again.
Blue seemed to arrive at the same conclusion.
"Pidgeotto! Aerial Ace and Wing Attack together!"
Pidgeotto screamed.
Its body glowed white while its wings shined brilliantly.
The bird accelerated to an incredible speed.
Grey understood immediately.
This was a final charge.
A kamikaze attack.
A decisive clash.
He smiled.
Then he chose to honor it.
"Axew! Strength and Cross Dragon Claw!"
Axew roared.
Its muscles bulged as Strength enhanced its physical power.
Dragon Claws formed on both arms.
Pidgeotto descended from the sky wrapped in white energy.
Its glowing wings illuminated the battlefield.
Axew charged forward.
Neither Pokémon slowed down.
Neither Pokémon backed away.
Then both attacks collided.
A massive shockwave erupted from the center of the battlefield.
The crowd went silent.
When the dust settled, only one Pokémon remained standing.
Axew stood there breathing heavily.
Covered in injuries.
Looking almost menacing despite its exhausted state.
Across from it, Pidgeotto finally collapsed.
Knocked out.
The first match of the finals belonged to Grey.