---
The momentum of the battle shifted yet again.
Ash's Snorlax had put on a spectacular show, but Gary's Scizor entered the field with blistering speed, quickly overwhelming both Snorlax and Muk.
With Ash now down to his final Pokémon while Gary still had three, the outcome seemed all but decided.
The camera cut to the friends' section. Misty and Brock sat tensely on the edge of their seats, their faces tight with worry for Ash.
In contrast, much of the crowd was on their feet, cheering wildly the uncertainty only made the match more thrilling.
Ash took a deep breath and pulled out his last Poké Ball. "I choose you Charizard!"
Gasps rippled through the audience as the mighty dragon Pokémon roared into the sky.
"Wait a second," Erika blinked in surprise. "Wasn't Charizard training in the Charicific Valley? What's it doing here?"
Kai smirked knowingly. "Ash must've called it back for this match. Facing Gary, he probably felt he needed all the power he could get."
Both Kai's Charizard and Ash's had been training hard in the valley. The progress was rapid. Kai had already broken into the upper ranks, while Ash's was steadily climbing through the middle tiers. The timing couldn't be better for its return.
Gary, however, showed no hesitation. He kept Scizor in the battle to test Charizard's strength. The result was swift: one blast of flame was all it took to bring Scizor down.
Without a word, Gary sent out his next Pokémon a heavy, boulder-like Golem.
On paper, Golem's Rock typing countered Charizard's flames perfectly. Yet Charizard's aerial advantage kept the fight balanced. Ash attempted a seismic toss, but Charizard struggled to lift Golem's immense weight and was forced to drop it.
Undeterred, Charizard unleashed a Dragon Rage, striking true and bringing Golem down.
Just like that, Ash and Gary were even. Both had only one Pokémon left.
Charizard vs. Blastoise.
The crowd went silent, every eye fixed on the battlefield.
Gary's ace emerged with a roar, cannons gleaming under the stadium lights. Blastoise had rested earlier in the match and was brimming with strength, while Charizard had already endured two hard-fought battles.
Worse still, the type advantage couldn't be ignored Blastoise's Water attacks threatened to wash away Charizard's flames.
From the opening exchange, Blastoise dominated. It's Water Guns and Hydro Pumps cut off every approach, firing like anti-air artillery and keeping Charizard pinned.
Then Ash did something no one expected.
"Charizard — set the field on fire!"
Charizard unleashed torrents of flames, igniting the rocky terrain. The battlefield heated rapidly, stone glowing red-hot under the intense blaze. Gary frowned but adapted quickly, ordering Blastoise to spray water and cool the ground. The collision of fire and water filled the arena with thick, rolling steam.
Kai's eyes lit up. "That's it… Ash is using the steam as cover!"
As the mist spread, visibility dropped to zero. The audience held their breath. When the fog finally began to clear, gasps erupted Charizard had closed the distance and locked Blastoise in a grapple.
"Unbelievable! Using the steam to bypass Blastoise's defenses, Ash's Charizard has forced close combat!" the announcer cried.
With no room to aim its cannons, Blastoise was trapped. Charizard roared, carried its rival skyward, and executed a devastating Seismic Toss.
The two Pokémon crashed to the ground with a thunderous impact. Dust and smoke billowed.
When it cleared, both Pokémon stirred… but Blastoise staggered, then collapsed.
The referee's flag shot up. "Blastoise is unable to battle! The winner is Ash Ketchum!"
The stadium erupted in cheers. Delia jumped up and down with joy, while Professor Oak, beside her, smiled awkwardly, proud of Ash, but also pained to see his grandson, Gary, defeated.
"I can't believe it…" Erika whispered, hands over her mouth. "Ash actually won."
Kai, however, shook his head. "Gary slipped up. During that last Seismic Toss, if he'd ordered Blastoise to withdraw into its shell, it could've minimized the damage. That one mistake cost him the battle."
On the field, Ash stood frozen in disbelief before finally realizing he'd done it. He'd beaten Gary.
Gary, ever composed, simply recalled Blastoise and left the field without a word.
Back in the lounge, Kai downed the last sip of his drink. Three of the day's matches were now complete.
Only one match remained, featuring trainers from the opposite bracket.
For now, though, the Silver Conference was Ash's moment. Against all odds, he had turned the tide and emerged victorious.
◉◉◉◉◉
~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◉◉◉◉◉
For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access Patreon normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!