svetikya Chapter 510 Victory! The Ongoing Tournament
Chapter 510 Victory! The Ongoing Tournament
Shangzhi silently retrieved the fallen Speaker Cricket, his fingertips tracing the smooth surface of the Poké Ball, a sigh ultimately spreading silently in his heart.
At this moment, he was already backed into a desperate situation, but this was not unexpected.
He had anticipated this before the match, but Ash's strength was even greater than he had expected.
When he saw that Ash had also recalled Tauros, Shangzhi's tense lips curled into a slight smile of relief.
There's still a chance, isn't there?
Even if winning this match is difficult, we should at least take a small victory from Ash.
The two simultaneously pulled out their last Poké Ball from their waists. The air seemed to freeze, with only the referee's loud voice breaking the silence.
"Both sides, please send out your Pokémon!"
"They're going in! The Primordial Armor!"
"I choose you! Lobster Soldier!"
The red light shone brightly once again.
This time, what leaped out of Ash's Poké Ball was a lively Garchomp, waving its proud pincers and letting out an energetic shout: "Hehehe—!"
Shangzhi's ultimate trump card is an ancient armor with a body covered in a hard shell.
It stood there calmly, silently watching its opponent.
"Game start!"
As the referee's voice faded, Ash gained the first move.
"Lobster Soldier, Bubble Ray!"
The lobster soldier immediately understood, opening its pincers and spraying out a series of crystal-clear bubbles that cut through the air and rushed straight towards the ancient armor.
"Ancient Armor, Metal Claws, shatter it!" Shang Zhi commanded in a deep voice, his eyes fixed on the rapidly approaching bubble beams of light.
Upon receiving the command, the ancient armor's forelimbs instantly gleamed with a metallic sheen, and with a fierce swing, its sharp claws precisely slashed at the oncoming foam beams of light.
"Bang bang bang bang!"
A series of cracking sounds rang out as the bubble light shattered fragilely under the cutting of the metal claw, turning into countless flying water droplets that vanished without a trace.
"Rock blast!"
After successfully thwarting the threat of the bubble light, Shang Zhi immediately organized a counterattack.
The heavy body of the ancient armor trembled slightly, and countless sharp-edged stones instantly appeared around it, bombarding the lobster soldiers like cannonballs.
"Smash all the crab claw hammers!"
Ash and Corphish showed no intention of dodging the oncoming rock explosion.
The little lobster soldier excitedly waved its pincers, its eyes gleaming with eager anticipation.
"Hey—!" it roared, swinging its pincers, enveloped in white light, and smashing them precisely and swiftly at the flying rock fragments.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The dull thuds of impact continued incessantly, each strike containing astonishing power, shattering all the incoming rock fragments.
This scene was just like the ancient armor shattering its bubble beam in the first round.
The moment the lobster minions shattered all the rocks and exploded, both sides knew that their probing of each other had come to an end.
Ash seized the opportunity once again and issued the command: "Goblin, close combat!"
Without hesitation, the lobster soldier strode forward, brandishing its pincers, and charged toward the ancient armor.
Close combat is something that the Ancient Armor excels at, so Shangzhi naturally had no reason to expect the Ancient Armor to dodge.
"Use the cross-shear attack like this!"
The ancient armor let out a low growl, and its two huge scythe-shaped forelimbs crossed together, cutting through the air with a sharp whooshing sound, to meet the charging lobster minions.
However, the original advantage of the Primordial Armor in terms of size has now become its disadvantage.
When facing the small lobster soldiers, the Ancient Armor would have to bend down to hit them with its cross-shaped attack, which would undoubtedly expose a weakness in the ever-changing battle.
"Lobster Soldier, dodge to the side, Crab Claw Hammer!"
"Hey!"
The lobster soldier nimbly dodged to the side, skillfully avoiding the powerful cross-shaped shears of the ancient armor.
At the same time, it opened its left pincer and forcefully clamped the arm of the ancient armor with its left pincer, while its right pincer was suddenly fired like a long-awaited cannonball, slamming hard into the abdomen of the ancient armor!
"boom--!"
The dull thud shook the air. The massive body of the ancient armor shuddered violently, letting out a painful groan, and staggered back several steps, leaving a clear white mark on its hard shell.
"Press the attack! Bubble Beam!" Ash seized the opportunity and launched a relentless offensive.
The lobster soldier pressed its advantage, relentlessly pursuing the ancient armor, and once again unleashed a powerful burst of foam beams from its pincers, heading straight for the armored figure who looked pained and seemingly incapacitated.
"Ancient armor, hold on!"
Shang Zhi reacted quickly, immediately ordering the ancient armor to defend itself.
The ancient armor spread its arms, quickly forming a green energy barrier that firmly protected itself.
The bubbly rays bombarded the defending barrier repeatedly, creating ripples, but they could not break through this solid defense.
However, both the light from the bubble and the time it can be held are limited.
The moment the power of the bubble light weakens is also the moment it is about to fail.
"Hey--!"
The lobster soldier had been waiting for a long time, and the moment the defense effect disappeared, it rushed forward again.
Wielding its pincers, it launched another fierce attack with its crab claw hammer!
If you use Guardian repeatedly, its effect will be greatly reduced, or even completely ineffective. This is common knowledge in battle, and Shangzhi is certainly aware of this.
Ash targeted this point, which is why he sent Corphish to launch the attack at this moment.
"Harden, increase defense!"
In a flash, Shang Zhi made a new judgment: he would withstand the attack and buy the Ancient Armor a chance to counterattack.
Upon receiving the command, the ancient armor tensed its muscles instantly, and a faint sheen appeared on its gray-brown surface.
The defensive capabilities of the ancient armor were instantly enhanced.
"boom--!"
The crab claw hammer struck the ancient armor solidly once again. This time, the hardening effect worked. Although the dull impact was still startling, the ancient armor only trembled slightly and was not knocked back as before.
The hardened ancient armor stood firmly there, maintaining a very close distance to the lobster soldier.
A glint flashed in Shang Zhi's eyes; he knew the moment to strike back was now.
"Ancient Armor, use Cleave!"
The ancient armor let out a low growl, and its right forelimb suddenly swung downwards towards the position of the lobster soldier.
However, just as the ancient armor's scythe was about to strike the lobster soldier, a blue light suddenly flashed!
"Water jet, strike first!"
Ash's voice rang out again, and Corphish's water jets were almost synchronized with Ash's voice, even a little earlier.
In other words, before Ash gave the instructions, Corphish had already figured out how to counterattack.
The trainer and the Pokémon's thoughts are synchronized during the battle, which is why Corphish's counterattacks are so swift.
"Hey--!"
The lobster soldier roared, and a powerful current of water erupted from its body, propelling it forward like an arrow.
Before the forelimbs of the Primordial Armor could swing to their maximum distance, it fiercely broke through the cleaving attack, and the remaining power of the water jet also landed on the Primordial Armor.
"boom--!"
Another dull thud.
Although the ancient armor had previously used hardening to enhance its defensive capabilities.
However, the continuous attacks, the elemental advantage, and the fact that the Ancient Armor was not in a defensive posture at the moment caused the Ancient Armor to be unable to maintain its previous posture.
Under the powerful impact of the water jet, the massive body of the ancient armor could no longer maintain its balance and staggered backward.
The imbalance caused by the ancient armor's footwork also became a factor in the outcome of this battle.
"Use the Bubble Ray with full force!"
"hey-hey--!"
The lobster soldier opened its pincers again, and a beam of foam shot out, accurately hitting the ancient armor that had just been repelled by the water jet.
“A——”
The ancient armor let out a painful cry, though it still endured the pain in its body, trying to open its eyes and launch a counterattack.
However, under the continuous output of the bubble light, the enormous body could no longer withstand it.
After letting out a final mournful cry, the ancient armor was carried away by the bubble beams, eventually crashing to the ground and raising a cloud of dust.
The dust has settled.
The ancient armor lay heavily on the ground, its eyes closed, completely incapacitated.
After confirming the condition of the Primal Armor, the referee raised his flag high, and a rousing voice resounded throughout the arena:
"Ancient Armor is unable to battle! Corphish wins! Therefore, the winner of this match is Ash from Pallet Town!"
The entire stadium erupted in thunderous cheers, deafeningly loud.
A beautiful 3-0 victory.
As a highly anticipated dark horse and the first trainer to compete in the Lily of the Valley Conference, Ash lived up to expectations and won.
Although the battle between Ash and Takashi lacked thrilling reversals, their fight was still full of passion.
Ash, the victor, displayed the strength befitting a champion, while Shōji, the loser, did not disappoint the audience. His repeated counterattacks demonstrated that Shōji's combat skills were by no means inferior.
Shang Zhi looked at the fallen Ancient Armor with a complicated expression, but in the end he could only smile in relief, take out the Poké Ball, and put it away.
He cast an admiring glance in Ash's direction and slowly walked forward.
"What a wonderful battle, Ash." Shangzhi said sincerely, his eyes filled with admiration. "I have no regrets about being able to fight you in the first match of the Lily of the Valley Conference."
After Shang Zhi finished speaking, he plucked a string from the zither.
"It's a pity that I couldn't defeat any of your Pokémon until the end of the match, but this regret will become my motivation to keep going. Let's have another Pokémon battle when we meet again in the future."
"Yes, of course! I'm always ready to welcome Pokémon battles!"
"Pickup!"
"Hey!"
Pikachu and the lobster soldiers also showed fighting spirit in their eyes.
Seeing this, Shang Zhi smiled with satisfaction, then turned and left gracefully while playing his harp, leaving everyone with only a poetic silhouette.
......
The first match of this year's Lily of the Valley Conference ended with Ash's victory.
But today's battle is far from over.
Whether it was intentional on the part of the League officials or just a simple coincidence, the group that appeared on the same stage right after Ash was none other than Kouping, Shinji, and Ash.
One after another, the dark horse contestants who had attracted much attention at this year's Lily of the Valley Tournament took the stage.
The enthusiasm of the audience was continuously ignited.
"3:0!"
"Another 3-0!!"
"My God, it's still 3-0!!!"
The commentator's incredulous shouts and the deafening cheers of the audience echoed repeatedly throughout the arena.
Kou Ping, Shinji, and Ash, the trainers who appeared right after Ash, all defeated their opponents cleanly and decisively with an absolute advantage of 3:0.
The cheers and discussions at the scene spread like invisible waves in all directions, even reaching outside the Lily of the Valley convention venue.
Outside the venue, in a slightly secluded corner, a simple yet bustling stall was operating diligently.
Wearing a slightly exaggerated promotional outfit, Musashi shouted loudly, vigorously promoting various merchandise printed with Pokémon images.
Kojiro wiped the sweat from his brow as he deftly packed the customer's goods, his face beaming with a professional smile.
Meanwhile, Meow Meow, dressed in tiny clothes and wearing a funny little hat, was squatting behind the stall, helping Kojiro hand over the takeout boxes.
After hearing the cheers coming from the venue, Meow Meow, who was handing out boxes, looked towards the venue with some confusion.
"Meow... It seems a bit too lively over there, meow? Could there have been an upset in the match?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Kojiro said, sounding rather disappointed.
"With today's matchups, how could there possibly be any upsets? Do you really think that kid will lose to that bard? Maybe even Musashi will... uh, never mind..."
Kojiro, who almost let slip the secret, quickly shut up after feeling the gaze coming from Musashi and quietly continued packing goods for the customers.
At the same time, Musashi also withdrew his gaze.
"That's right! And another thing! Instead of worrying about all that nonsense, we should hurry up and pack our bags! Taking advantage of the crowds in the first couple of days to make as much money as possible is the real priority! Only when we've made enough money can we focus on watching the game later!"
"Sonams!!"
Sure enough, Weng jumped out to express his agreement.
Meow Meow sighed, sounding rather aggrieved.
"Okay, okay, meow..."
As she said this, Meow Meow continued to hand Kojiro takeout boxes.
But at the same time, Meow Meow's ears suddenly twitched.
It looked towards the venue again.
For some reason, the venue, which had been bustling with activity just moments before, fell into an unusual silence.
.......
P.S.: Sorry for only one update yesterday. I've been quite busy and exhausted lately. Starting tomorrow, I'll be working from 6:20 AM to 6 PM for the next four days. I also need to finish grading the exam papers tonight. I might have to take a day off tomorrow—I'm very sorry!