I caught a Pokémon

However, Ash seemed to have carried over his confidence from yesterday. He looked very confident and seemed determined to win the game in one fell swoop.

However, as the battle began, things took an unexpected turn.

Because Ash used the same Pokémon for two days, it seemed that the man named Seablock had seen through Ash's weakness in his Swim-boost Pokémon. This allowed Seablock to gain the upper hand as soon as the two Pokémon started fighting.

Both the attacks from Lantern and the commands from Sea-Tooth were extremely threatening, catching Ash completely off guard.

Ash's stats kept decreasing, so much so that the first three blows from Sea Beast completely stunned him.

Fortunately, the splash of cool water on his face brought Ash back to his senses, allowing him to regain his composure and stop the disadvantage. In addition, it was his forte—fighting against type disadvantages—that enabled him to temporarily stabilize the situation and launch a counterattack.

However, the disadvantage in the early stages was too obvious. Even though Ash and Swim-boosted Itachi tried their best to catch up, and even used the combination move 'Ice Jet' to reduce the flashiness of Sea-boost's Lantern to about a quarter, they still lost to Sea-boost in the end.

This greatly surprised Xia You in the stands and Xiao Yao and the others in the lounge.

Ash actually lost?

After all, Xiao Zhi was able to get the second highest score in the whole competition yesterday, which showed that he was in good form. But unexpectedly, he suddenly dropped out overnight and was eliminated by an unknown person!

There were only 16 contestants in total, and he was eliminated in the top 16?

What's the difference between this and not even getting in?

Not only were the audience members discussing the matter, but Xia You also covered her face in frustration, as no one expected that Xiao Zhi, who had come in second place in the performance, would be eliminated in the top 16.

I am so silly.

They actually expected to test Ash's strength through such a competition.

This guy really gave me a super surprise...

But that is indeed his style.

With a helpless sigh, Xia You stopped looking at Xiao Zhi, who was leaving the stage looking frustrated, and instead focused her attention on Xiao Guang, who was about to take the stage.

Dawn sent out a Brill, the rabbit that's good at jumping, which wasn't a very wise choice. After all, this was a water-type area, and using a non-water-type Pokémon was like handing over the advantage of the terrain. Plus, there was very little room to move around, so it was really not a good idea.

Why not send her Bogarman?

This question flashed through my mind, but after thinking it over, I figured Xiaoguang must have his own plans.

As it turns out, Xiao Guang, once he recovered, was indeed a formidable fighter.

She was full of energy, and her Bunny was equally powerful. The two of them worked together seamlessly and managed to defeat their opponent's Wailord despite the unfavorable terrain.

This surprised the audience.

After all, in the battle just now, this girl displayed a creative attack method and excellent adaptability, and even deflected the Howling Whale's own attack, leaving a very deep impression on everyone.

It was precisely because of this performance that she won the battle with a significant difference in spectacle value when the 5-minute countdown ended.

Indeed, some people make us sigh, while others bring us pleasant surprises.

What's surprising is Hikaru, but as for the person who's feeling sorry for her...

I won't say anything; whoever loses will be embarrassed.

Xia You smiled silently, also happy for Xiao Guang.

After all, he understood that it was from this Mikkuri Cup that Xiaoguang truly began to grow, and it was a turning point for her.

At this moment, Brock, who was standing to the side, exclaimed, "Dawn's fighting style is becoming more and more like Ash's. If I hadn't seen the trainer, I would have thought it was Ash fighting."

Xia You nodded as she clapped along with the surrounding audience.

"Yes, but it's not that she's like Ash, it's that they're essentially the same kind of people, both cheerful and confident, which is why their fighting styles are so similar. Of course, Ash has definitely influenced her."

As she spoke, Xia You couldn't help but think of Xiao Yao again.

If Dawn and Ash are similar, then May is firmly moving in his style.

Although Xia You still sees Xiao Yao as very immature and with a lot of room for growth, it is undeniable that her style of being steady in the early stages and seizing opportunities to counterattack later is indeed very similar to his own.

This is what they call "being influenced by one's surroundings."

I really want to know what kind of sparks will fly when these two clash.

After all, Dawn and May are not only friends, but they also travel with Ash and themselves, and their styles are the same as Ash and themselves. Doesn't that mean they are Ash and themselves stand-ins, fighting on the field?

Thinking about it this way, he was actually looking forward to the final battle!

Is it Ash and Dawn's style that's superior, or will my style and May's style be able to overpower them?

Putting aside the significant power gap between himself and Ash, he was now really interested in seeing the results of the clash between these two different styles from these two girls.

With that in mind, Xia You watched the rest of the match quietly, filled with curiosity.

The round of 16 to 8 requires a total of 8 matches. After Ash and Dawn finished their battles, including the time it took for the players to enter and exit the matches, the list of the top 8 players was completed in less than an hour.

As for Xiaoyao and that person named Xiaowang, Xia You didn't doubt whether they would advance. After all, their strength was there, and Xiaoyao had passed the stage where her strength fluctuated. It would be strange if she lost.

And just as he had predicted, both men won their battles with overwhelming superiority and encountered their respective opponents once again.

After a short rest, the battle resumed.

For Xiaoyao and Xiaoguang's friends, the outcome of the competition was already clear. As Xiaoguang's performance became increasingly hot and Xiaoyao's performance remained consistently strong, the two continued to advance, and finally, just like in the anime, they met in the finals.

As for Xiaowang, he was eliminated by Xiaoyao in the top 4.

Thus, Hikari and Haruka, these two best friends, met for the first time on the battlefield!

Chapter 1019 Xiaoyao: Xiaoguang, you...

Although the competition process was described in a very simple way, it was all based on the outstanding performance of the two girls. Without their usual hard work, things would not have gone so smoothly.

Anyway, Haruka and Hikari still met in the finals.

This was not unexpected for Xia You, since the final battle between these two was in the anime, and now the story was 'as it should be'.

The battle between the two beautiful girls alone is enough to generate a lot of buzz.

He still found it quite interesting to look at the expressions of the two people on the big screen.

At this moment, Xiaoyao and Xiaoguang were facing each other from a distance, but they didn't say anything. In any case, they had already said everything they wanted to say in private, and they had opened their hearts to each other many times. This scene was also what they had been looking forward to for a long time, so at this moment they just looked at each other with smiles in their eyes.

It gives off a feeling of...no hostility at all, and somehow, it's even a little sweet.

The host, unaware of the friendship between the two girls, was still diligently warming up the atmosphere. Only when the time and atmosphere were right did he signal the start of the competition.

For a moment, as the five-minute countdown began, everyone watched the battlefield with great interest.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, May and Dawn released their Pokémon.

Dawn has changed her Pokémon. Knowing how strong May is, she is on high alert and has finally switched to her Piplup, so that she won't be at a disadvantage on the field.

However, May's Pokémon was still the same Wartortle that she used in the first round of performance review.

That's right, just like Ash, May used the same Pokémon in the second round of the battle review as she did in the first round.

However, she is completely different from Ash. Ash used the same Pokémon and was defeated in the round of 16, while May used the same Pokémon and defeated her opponents all the way, even defeating the strong Nozomi, and made it to the finals.

Of course, this doesn't mean that May is necessarily stronger than Ash.

Ash's friends can all see that his potential is much higher than May's, but his performance is not as good as May's. His performance is inconsistent. On the other hand, May hardly makes any mistakes now. In addition, the rules of the Grand Tournament are different, so the outcome between the two is naturally very different.

In short, Ash's strength depends entirely on his performance, while May is more consistent.

However, looking at the Wartortle, Xia You still sighed.

Despite May having accompanied her on her journey for so long, it must be said that she has a limited number of Pokémon. If she had more, or if that Eevee had evolved, she wouldn't be using the same one in this situation.

There are still too few options...

He had mentioned before that May should catch more Pokémon, but May had politely declined.

It can only be said that what the trainer focuses on is not the number of Pokémon, which is why she is not enthusiastic about catching Pokémon.

But now...

As her companion, I should also try to figure out a suitable Pokémon for her.

Putting everything else aside, with the appearance of the two Pokémon, the battle officially began.

Despite their close relationship, Xiaoyao and Xiaoguang are ruthless when it comes to fighting.

Under May and Dawn's command, Wartortle and Piplup each used their own methods, one using Ice Beam and the other spitting Bubble Beam, both launching attacks from a distance.

From an attribute perspective alone, Ice-type moves obviously cannot deal much damage to Water-type Pokémon.

However, flashy battles don't consider Pokémon type advantages and disadvantages; they focus on the flashiness of the moves and the timing. Therefore, whether it's Bubble Beam or Ice Beam, as long as it's successfully executed, even if it misses, it will reduce the opponent's flashiness value.

Moreover, it's clear that Hikari has done a lot of research in order to deal with Wartortle.

Bogarman used his Bubble Beam technique quickly and densely, with a downward trajectory, precisely to avoid colliding with the Ice Beam.

From this perspective, Xiao Guang is really quite clever. He knows that there is still a gap between his strength and Xiao Yao's, so he uses this method to make up for it.

But against a more experienced and longer-traveling 'senior' like Wartortle, this little trick is still powerless.

The freezing beam's chill instantly destroyed all the surrounding bubbles, causing Piplup's attack to crumble halfway. Even though many bubbles eventually reached Wartortle, those remaining were no longer anything but spectacular.

Although not afraid of ice-attribute attacks, Hikari still managed to make Piplup dodge when the freezing beam arrived.

The next second, the freezing beam struck the spot where Piplup had been standing, instantly freezing it into a crystal-clear ice surface.

On the big screen, Xiao Guang's visual appeal was reduced somewhat.

This is what makes flashy battles different. Even if a move misses, as long as it's flashy enough, or even if the opponent catches or negates it, the flashiness value will still decrease accordingly.

At first glance, it may seem a bit unfair, but to some extent, it helps the weaker Pokémon, making the game more interesting and evenly matched, and ensuring that the weaker Pokémon are not completely helpless.

It was for this reason that, the instant it dodged the freezing beam, a water gun sprayed out, also aimed at Wartortle. Although Wartortle also dodged, it still lost some of its splendor points.

Fortunately, since neither Pokémon managed to hit the target, their stats were only slightly reduced, so it didn't have much impact on the overall battle. The clash was just a small warm-up.

After this probing attack, the two Pokémon returned to the same starting line and began to go all out.

Between the moves, they fought from the platform to the water and back again, presenting the audience with a truly memorable and highly anticipated final. The spectacle was thrilling and left the audience thoroughly entertained.

Just as everyone was focused on the battlefield, Xia You looked up at the scoreboard.

Not only in battles, but also in the intense pursuit of flashy stats.

However, from beginning to end, Xiaoyao maintained a slight lead, but Xiaoguang was chasing closely, which made Xiaoyao dare not relax at all. She remained fully focused from start to finish.

"Hikaru played really well today, he managed to keep Haruka occupied for so long!"

Xiao Gang sighed, which drew Xia You's attention back to Xiao Guang's face.

Indeed, Xiaoguang's condition and fighting spirit were exceptionally good today, and they're only getting better.

Actually, it wasn't just today; she was in great form yesterday as well. It was as if the disappointment and depression that had been hanging over her before had vanished in an instant after she successfully entered the second round. This allowed her to win smoothly all the way from the first battle in the round of 16, to the quarterfinals, the semifinals, and now the finals, and to compete with Xiaoyao.

It seems that confidence really can change a person.

She and Ash are the same; as long as they have confidence, they can unleash their full potential. However, once they are affected by their emotions, they will fall into an awkward situation of fluctuating up and down. Now is the time for her to show her true colors.

but……

Xia You glanced at Xiao Yao again and shook her head.

Three minutes have already passed...

Xiaoyao's slow-burning nature should be dissipating by now.

Just as he expected, in a single instant, Xiaoyao's attacks suddenly became fierce.

Although Hikaru had learned about Haruka's fighting style beforehand and had made preparations, he was still caught off guard... no, it should be said that he was caught off guard and caught off guard.

From her perspective, Xiaoyao seemed to have suddenly become a different person. Not only was her defense impeccable, but her attacks were also becoming increasingly deadly, giving no one a chance to breathe. In just a few small combos, she caused Bogarman to suffer repeated damage, and his flair value dropped rapidly, almost as fast as the total value of the previous three minutes combined, which was terrifying to watch.

This was the first time she had encountered an opponent with this style.

Bogarman's rhythm was completely disrupted, and his flashiness level plummeted in an instant, putting him in a precarious situation.

Even the audience was surprised that the situation would change so suddenly.

They seemed evenly matched before, so how did one side suddenly collapse in the middle of the fight?

Only Xiaoyao's friends, witnessing this scene, could only sigh with emotion.

At first, it didn't seem like much, but the further it goes, the more Yao resembles Xia You...

Forced into this situation, Xiao Guang naturally wouldn't sit idly by and wait for death. Her focus reached its peak as she frantically racked her brains for solutions and attempted a final desperate gamble.

Despite her excellent condition, the tide had already turned, and Xiaoyao was also in full force. Even if her resistance did cause a ripple, it was still suppressed by Xiaoyao.