Pokémon: Simultaneous time travel, this Ash is too versatile

Chapter 463 Avalon vs. Cynthia! The Sinnoh Champion's Victory!

The group quickly arrived at the Pokémon Center and handed the exhausted Pokémon over to Nurse Joy. After a short rest, the Pokémon regained their energetic state.

After the Pokémon recover, their goal is naturally the Gym Badge.

There are two gyms in Smoky City. One is the local gym of Smoky City, whose leader is Lance's cousin, Lance Tsubaki.

Outsiders call her Xiaochun, and her strength is said to be around the peak of the Heavenly King realm, but that information was from half a year ago.

The other gym leader is Gibana from Motogaku City. He claims to be Leon's rival and possesses Champion-level or higher strength.

Ash's first choice was naturally the local Gym of Smoky City.

On the one hand, challenging the local gym first is also a way of showing respect to the local gym, just like when Ash came to Eden City, he challenged the Eden Gym first.

On the other hand, to put it bluntly, it's more effective to put the strong ones later on. On paper, Kotsubaki and Kibana are clearly not in the same league, so Kibana should naturally be placed later.

Ash stroked Pikachu's fluffy head, beaming, "Alright, target: Blackrock Gym! Dragon Badge, here we come!"

Yanmo Martial Arts Hall is located in the northwest corner of the city. The exterior walls of the building, constructed of dark stone, are carved with lifelike dragon reliefs, exuding a rugged yet majestic aura.

A black plaque hangs high above the main entrance of the dojo, with the four large characters "Yanmo Dojo" engraved in gold paint. The strokes are vigorous and the dragon's aura is restrained.

When Ash and his friends arrived at the entrance of the Inkstone Gym, Misty and the others were still marveling at the grandeur of the gym, while Ash had already keenly sensed an unusual aura.

"This is----"

He could clearly sense that two extremely powerful forces were colliding fiercely inside the Yanmo Dojo!

These two forces have clearly surpassed the level of ordinary Pokémon. According to Ash's initial estimate, they are at least Champion level!

Are there champion-level trainers battling inside the Inkstone Gym? Could it be that Raihana from Hammerlocke City has come to challenge the gym?

"What's wrong, Ash?" Misty noticed Ash had stopped walking and asked curiously.

"There are two opposing forces at the level of champions."

Upon hearing this, Xiaoxia and the others all showed surprise on their faces.

"Champion-level? Could it be the Gym Leader Chloe and that Gym Leader from the outlying region—" Serena guessed uncertainly, her thoughts coinciding with Ash's.

"The door is open, and there's no security guard—" Xiao Gang peeked around and looked left and right, finding no guard at all. Should they go in or not?

Without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Zhi stepped forward and rushed inside: "Let's go in and take a look!"

The group passed through the gate and rushed along the corridor toward the battlefield.

When they rushed into the battle arena inside the dojo, the sight before them made everyone involuntarily hold their breath.

In the center of the arena, an extremely intense battle is taking place. The swirling air currents cause the long blonde hair of one of the women to fly wildly, and the hem of her black coat to sway continuously. Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia!

Her Garchomp stood on the field, its claws carrying a powerful gust of wind that tore through the air, each swing producing a heart-stopping whistling sound.

Opposite her stood the champion of the Johto region, Dragon Knight Ichid. His Dragonite spread its wide wings, and Dragon Pulse transformed into a torrent of dark blue energy, colliding head-on with Garchomp's attack.

Two champion-level forces clashed fiercely in mid-air, and shockwaves spread outwards in ripples, causing the entire dojo to tremble slightly.

A transparent barrier lit up around the arena, blocking all the impacts; otherwise, a clash between champion-level Pokémon would have been enough to raze the Blacksmith Gym to the ground!

Two women with blue hair were watching the game intently from the sidelines.

The older one, around twenty years old, wore a dark blue cloak and had her arms crossed over her chest. She was Xiaochun, the head of the Yanmo Dojo. The girl next to her, who looked to be only a teenager, also had long blue hair and was staring intently at the fierce battle in the arena, her eyes filled with shock and longing.

The arrival of Ash and his friends did not stop the battle on the field; instead, it made it even more intense!

Cynthia's sharp golden eyes fixed on the battlefield. With a flick of her wrist, she coldly shouted, "Garuda, Dragon Claw!"

Garchomp's claws glowed with emerald green energy as it slashed at Dragonite with lightning speed.

Lance showed no weakness; his short red hair stood on end in the strong wind, and his cloak billowed behind him. He decisively commanded, "Dragonite, use Hurricane to counter!"

Dragonite flapped its massive wings, and a violent gust of wind swept towards Garchomp, the powerful gust acting like an invisible wall, hindering its progress.

Just as the storm disrupted Garchomp's movements, Lance's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he seized this fleeting opportunity: "Now! Dragon Pulse!"

A blue-purple energy ball condensed in Dragonite's mouth, and a dazzling beam of light tore through the storm, transforming into a giant dragon head that shot straight at Garchomp.

However, Cynthia had already anticipated her opponent's intentions. A slight smile played on her lips as she calmly gave the order: "Dig a hole!"

Just as Dragon Pulse was about to hit, Garchomp dove into the ground, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow. A dark hole was left in the ground; the beam of Dragon Pulse missed its target, striking the ground in the distance and blasting a huge crater.

The pit was bottomless, but it didn't affect Garchomp; she had already dug deeper into the ground.

Seeing this, A-Du frowned slightly. Although Garchomp used Dig to dodge Dragon Pulse, Dig itself cannot affect Dragonite.

When the opponent emerges from the ground, Dragonite can take advantage of the opponent's skill transition to launch a counterattack, thus maintaining the upper hand.

The correct response should have been to use Guard, and A-Du has already prepared a follow-up strategy for when the opponent uses Guard.

This digging trick slightly disrupted his plans, but it didn't cause any major problems.

Before the thought was even finished, the ground beneath Dragonite exploded with a deafening roar!

Garchomp burst from the ground, its sharp claws carrying the immense kinetic energy of its burst, and slashed fiercely at Dragonite! The blow landed squarely, and Dragonite let out a painful roar as its massive body was sent flying backward.

It was only then that A-Du suddenly realized—Cynthia had Garchomp use Dig, not because she expected it to be effective against Dragonite.

The purpose was not to cause damage, but to avoid the raging storm and then launch a surprise attack with the dragon claw from the blind spot!

This Garchomp truly lives up to its reputation for being able to maintain its Dragon-type energy while digging a hole!

In this encounter, Dragonite was clearly at a disadvantage.

At this moment, both Lance and Cynthia noticed Ash and his friends rushing in from the side. They exchanged a glance and reached a tacit understanding.

"Let's settle this with one move from now on," Cynthia said in a cool voice, indicating that she was not going to engage in any further battles with Lance.

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Lance flicked his cloak and shouted, "Dragonite, use Dragon Dive!!"

"Garuda, Dragon Dive!" Cynthia made the same choice as Lance, and the two used the same move in their final clash!

A massive amount of energy condensed in the arena, causing Xiao Chun's expression to become more serious, while a hint of excitement also appeared on her face.

People are always comparing who is stronger, Lance and Cynthia's ace. The two have never had a formal battle in public. Today, they fought because they were in the mood, which was a feast for her eyes.

Whether her cousin Dragonite is stronger, or Cynthia's Garchomp is superior, we'll find out today!

The two Pokémon were simultaneously enveloped in deep blue Dragon-type energy, transforming into two shooting stars that collided violently in mid-air!

The loud noise reverberated throughout the dojo, and the shockwave spread outwards like ripples, causing the entire arena to tremble slightly.

The two dragon energies clashed fiercely, causing the air to explode under the strain, and the spreading shockwaves pounded against the surrounding barriers, creating ripples in the air.

The blinding light was so intense that everyone's eyes were blinded. Only a few trainers could withstand the strong light and see the battlefield clearly. Ash was one of them.

He was even estimating whether the barrier was strong enough to withstand a clash between champions at their peak!

This must be the latest technology in the League. The League didn't have a barrier of this level before. Is the reason why Cynthia and Avalon are fighting here today to test the strength of the barrier?

The clash on the field was coming to an end. In the end, Garchomp's Dragon Dive was the better move, shattering the energy of Dragonite's Dragon Dive!

Immediately afterwards, Garchomp, carrying the remaining impact, slammed into Dragonite, sending its massive body flying and crashing heavily into the transparent barrier at the edge of the battlefield with a dull thud.

Dragonite struggled to stand up, but it was clearly badly injured and its movements were much slower.

Seeing this, Xiaochun, who was watching from the sidelines, decisively waved her hand to indicate: "That's enough! This battle has been decided. Cynthia's Garchomp is clearly in better condition. Cynthia has won this battle."

Aru shook his head helplessly, took out a Poké Ball to recall Dragonite, and whispered comfortingly, "You've worked hard, get some rest."

After saying that, he put away the Poké Ball, looked up at Cynthia, and said with a sincere admiration, "As expected of the Sinnoh Champion, Miss Cynthia's strength is indeed well-deserved."

Cynthia also recalled Garchomp, humbly replying, "You flatter me. Mr. Lance was simply distracted by Ash and the others' arrival; otherwise, the outcome would have been uncertain."

After they finished speaking, both of them turned their gazes to Ash.

Cynthia smiled and waved to Ash, her tone warm: "Ash, you're finally here."

Ash quickly stepped forward, looking at Cynthia and then at Lance, his face full of curiosity: "Miss Cynthia, Mr. Lance, what's going on?"

A-Du crossed his arms and explained, "I happened to come to Yanmo City to visit my cousin Xiaochun, but I didn't expect to run into Miss Xilona here."

"As trainers, we naturally get itchy to fight when we encounter an evenly matched opponent, so we had a sparring match and agreed to stop when it was over. What you just saw was this sparring match."

Clearly, neither side intended to fight to the very end; otherwise, Lance would never have allowed Dragonite to use a move like Dragon Dive to go head-to-head with Garchomp.

His Dragonite uses a dual-wielding style, meaning it has a balanced development of both Special Attack and Physical Attack; otherwise, it would be a waste of Dragonite's excellent move set.

Compared to Cynthia's Garchomp, which focuses on physical attacks, his Dragonite is naturally slightly inferior, and Lance is certainly aware of this.

The reason for making this choice is that we intend to condense this battle into this one strike. After all, Ash is here, so this place should be reserved for the real protagonist.

However—even in a match that's just a friendly contest, losing still feels really bad!

"Let's have another all-out battle at the Eight Masters," Awata said to Cynthia.

Cynthia nodded: "If I encounter them, I won't hold back."

The eight masters are matched by drawing lots. To guarantee a match, both players must reach the finals, in which case there is a 100% chance of them facing each other. Otherwise, they may be separated.

"Ah! Miss Cynthia, I've always felt that we two are bound by fate—"

"Fate, my foot!!" As soon as Xiaogang fell ill, Xiaoxia had already grabbed Xiaogang's ear as if she had foreseen it.

There were two mature beauties present, so it would be strange if Xiaogang didn't have a seizure. Therefore, Xiaoxia was prepared.

Ash glanced awkwardly at Brock, who had been pulled away, then looked at Cynthia and remarked, "A sparring match, huh? Cynthia, little..."

"My sister is still as amazing as ever. Pikachu and I have always wanted our revenge."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu waved his little fist, and a few electric currents emanated from his cheeks. Clearly, he remembered that defeat and was ready to fight Cynthia again at any time.

"Revenge? Ash, have you ever battled Cynthia?" Ash's question piqued Lance's curiosity. How come he didn't know that Ash had battled Cynthia?

"It was just a friendly battle. Ash and Pikachu showed me the extraordinary possibilities between humans and Pokémon. Pikachu must be much stronger now, right?" Cynthia crouched down and ruffled Pikachu's fluffy head.

Pikachu, who is supposed to keep strangers away, showed no aversion to Cynthia at all. On the contrary, it comfortably enjoyed the "torture" of Cynthia's little hands.

"Yes, Pikachu is not what it used to be! We'll definitely win this time!"

"Hehe, let's save the battle with me for later. Ash, didn't you come here today for another reason?" Cynthia chuckled as she declined Ash's challenge, then looked at Tsubaki and her apprentice who were walking over.

"So you're Ash, who's recently become famous? You do have the air of a seasoned trainer. Cynthia said you'll be challenging the gym soon, and she won't hold back against you. Are you ready?" Tsubaki looked Ash up and down, a hint of satisfaction in her eyes.

It seems this person is not just all talk.

"Oh right, I was going to challenge the gym. Um—you must be Tsubaki, the gym leader! I'm Tsubaki from Pallet Town."

"Zhi, please guide me!" After being reminded by the two women, Xiao Zhi suddenly remembered his original purpose for coming here.

He then gave an awkward smile and loudly introduced himself.

To ignore the gym leader and challenge another trainer is simply too impolite.

>