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Relying on Claydol's astonishing defensive power, Kanae managed to defeat Charizard with great difficulty. However, as soon as Ash's Glalie entered the field, a single Ice Beam was enough to send Claydol crashing down.
Kanae's expression turned grim.
This was simply too difficult to deal with.
Although she could defeat some of Ash's Pokémon, every time one of them approached the point of being unable to battle, it would suddenly unleash incredible power. Even if they couldn't achieve a one-for-one trade, her own Pokémon would be left in no condition to continue fighting effectively afterward.
Was the gap between them really this large?
With the match nearing its conclusion, the Team Rocket Trio were already thinking about leaving early and selling another batch of merchandise featuring the Pokémon that had performed well today before the crowd dispersed. The food and drink sold inside the stadium didn't offer much profit, so they had little motivation to continue hawking their wares.
Luther simply leaned against the railing, eating snacks with the Team Rocket Trio while discussing the battle.
In his view, once Charizard had successfully defeated Onix despite the type disadvantage, the match had essentially lost all suspense.
It wasn't as though Kanae had lacked a chance to turn things around.
During the battle between Onix and Charizard, Charizard had taken several Rock Slides head-on and was already close to its limit. Yet Kanae had misjudged Charizard's condition and ordered Onix to use Dragon Dance, hoping to finish Charizard with the next attack.
This kind of high-risk gamble had become quite popular in this tournament. It seemed Misaki had been the one who started the trend.
The difference was that Misaki could accurately judge the condition of her Pokémon.
Kanae could not.
As a result, Charizard erupted with unimaginable strength, forcibly lifting Onix from the battlefield, dragging it into the air, and smashing it back down.
Kanae's decision had truly been baffling. Charizard was already nearly dazed from the barrage of Rock Slides; one more would probably have knocked it out. Why bother with a Dragon Dance boost?
And Onix itself was barely hanging on, having been beaten into a critical state by an opponent it should have resisted. Yet she still dared to use Dragon Dance right in front of Charizard?
It was much like Barry's Empoleon.
This time, the difference lay in the Trainer's judgment. There was nothing wrong with the Pokémon themselves.
One detail during the match particularly caught Luther's attention.
After Glalie was defeated by Machamp, Ash originally intended to send Pikachu onto the field.
Luther and the Team Rocket Trio were already preparing to cheer for Pikachu, but before Pikachu even reached the edge of the battlefield, Ash hurriedly called it back.
Ash had changed his mind at the last second.
After crouching down and saying something to Pikachu, Pikachu climbed back onto Ash's shoulder to watch the battle. Taking Pikachu's place was Heracross.
Machamp versus Heracross.
A pure contest of strength, and an extremely entertaining one for the audience.
The Trio kept muttering complaints about Ash not letting Pikachu have its moment, but Luther sensed something else.
"So he's finally figured it out," Luther said with a smile, gently shaking the can of juice in his hand.
Ash was preserving his Pokémon's condition.
He was already thinking ahead to the finals.
Pikachu absolutely could not miss the championship match.
With Kingler and Charizard having already secured a massive advantage earlier in the battle, there was little reason to send Pikachu out. It was better to give his other Pokémon more opportunities to shine at the Lily of the Valley Conference.
Even with four arms, Machamp couldn't overpower Heracross.
Heracross forcibly launched Machamp into the air with Megahorn, sending it flying across the field.
"What incredible power! Machamp is famous for its strength, yet it couldn't win a direct power struggle! Just how has Ash trained this Heracross?!"
The commentator's words brought a slight smile to Luther's face.
Bulbasaur would probably have plenty to say about that.
After all, Heracross had spent no small amount of time chasing Bulbasaur around, trying to suck nectar from the bulb on its back.
Since the establishment of the Lily of the Valley Conference, no Trainer had ever managed to come back and win after falling into a one-versus-four situation.
Even the most optimistic spectators felt that Kanae had no hope left.
Kanae's final Pokémon was Magmortar. Seeing this, Ash decisively made a switch and sent out Totodile.
Now that the match had reached its decisive stage, Ash no longer stubbornly insisted on fighting against type disadvantages. Instead, he intended to end the battle as quickly as possible, which greatly pleased Luther.
Luther figured Kanae was probably not in a very good mood right now.
Magmortar had already reached its final evolution, while Totodile had not evolved at all. Even so, Magmortar still couldn't land a hit on it.
Totodile hopped and skipped around the battlefield, dodging left and right while continuously wearing Magmortar down under Ash's commands.
With the type disadvantage and her shaken mentality beginning to affect her Pokémon as well, Luther clicked his tongue and turned to meet up with Mai and the others, preparing to leave before getting caught in the post-match crowd.
When he turned around, he noticed that the Trio had already packed up their merchandise and were heading out of the stadium.
It seemed Team Rocket's judgment wasn't bad either.
At this stage, the only way to turn things around was to fight with confidence and showcase your best performance. If you became impatient and threw yourself into disarray, there was no point watching the rest of the match.
As Luther and the others walked out of the Battle Arena, a wave of cheers erupted behind them. The giant electronic screen outside the stadium displayed Ash's portrait.
Inside the arena, Ash had run onto the field and was hugging Totodile, excitedly celebrating his first-ever advancement to the finals.
When Luther came back to his senses, he realized that Mai and the others had silently moved a short distance away from him.
A group of reporters who had apparently been waiting for quite some time suddenly swarmed forward and surrounded Luther completely.
A flood of chaotic questions instantly engulfed him.
The scene was so disorderly that even Luther, who was usually very patient with the media, couldn't help but let out a loud shout, startling all the reporters into silence.
Only then did he sigh and ask them to question him one at a time.
"First of all, congratulations on advancing to the finals. We'd like to know, during your match against Dakota today, you used several techniques that hadn't appeared in your previous matches. Were you deliberately conserving your strength?"
This was the kind of question that could easily offend people if answered poorly.
Luther could only smile and tell a harmless lie.
"I hadn't fully mastered those techniques before. Today I was pushed into a corner, so I decided to take a gamble and use them. Fortunately, the gamble paid off."
Nearby, Dakota curled his lips.
That's definitely not what you said in the waiting room earlier.
"Among all contestants who have reached the finals in the history of the Lily of the Valley Conference, you're the one with the fewest Pokémon. What are your thoughts on that?" another reporter asked.
"There are two reasons. First, my luck is terrible, I can never meet Pokémon that truly suit me. Second, I'm a very picky eater."
The reporters burst into laughter.
After all, there had long been rumors that whenever Luther went looking for a Pokémon he wanted, he could never find one. It was as though he carried some kind of invisible deterrent aura. Those Pokémon would sense his presence from afar and immediately run away.
"Your finals lineup doesn't appear to have changed. If you ultimately become champion, you may be the only champion in history without a flying Pokémon capable of carrying you. How do you feel about that?"
Can this joke about me not being able to fly ever die?
Then Luther remembered this particular reporter.
The guy had asked a very similar question before.
So he was deliberately chasing after the joke.
Well, Luther understood.
Having come this far, he was already considered a fairly well-known Trainer in the Sinnoh region. Being turned into a running joke was simply one of the privileges of being a public figure.
"Looks like if I ever want to visit Hoenn, I'll have to swim across the ocean," Luther replied.
After all, he and Groudon shared the same predicament.
Making a joke at Groudon's expense shouldn't be a problem.
(End of Chapter)