Although the stadium was the same, the feeling for this round of the Top 16 was clearly much stronger than during the Top 32.
There were the same number of seats and the same number of fans, but the people were more excited. Their cheers were louder and stronger. It was clear that they expected these battles to be very hard.
The entire Ever Grande Conference area was full of a party feeling. Even in the big cities of the Hoenn region, photos of the trainers were at bus stations and stores. Some workers at big companies even stopped working just to watch this event.
This was even more popular than the Grand Festival that happened recently. In short, the whole country was watching.
Many people watched as the first match of the day started at 8:30 AM. It was the battle between Ash and Morrison.
No one knew what the two of them said to each other last night. Now, they stood in their boxes and looked very serious. Morrison was very different from his usual laughing self. He looked both nervous and worried. It was clear that he was having an internal battle.
The rules for this round were the same as the previous one.
The announcer introduced the two trainers with a loud voice. Then, they chose the field for the first half. It stopped on the Ice Field.
A rectangular field made of thick ice moved to the center of the stadium using gears.
Everything was ready. The battle officially started.
Natsui and his friends sat in the crowd. Natsui wanted to be comfortable and keep May from eating all the snacks. So, he prepared a lot of food. He also called over the Team Rocket trio and bought drinks from them at a very low price. He settled in to watch the match.
By now, Ash and Morrison had chosen their first Pokémon.
Ash's first Pokémon was Corphish. Morrison waited a long time and then sent out Girafarig.
Natsui and the others understood why Morrison was struggling. He did not know how to fight Ash.
This was hard for him. He was a happy boy, but he was struggling because he cared about their friendship.
On the other hand, Ash had already fought Gary and Richie. He also had a friendly fight with Natsui. He was used to fighting friends, so he was calm.
The focus went back to the Pokémon.
Girafarig is a Normal- and Psychic-type, while Corphish is a Water-type. No one had a type advantage, and the field did not help either of them. It should have been a fair match.
But Morrison was not calm. He acted like a beginner. His orders for Girafarig were messy. He also made many common mistakes, and the fight was not good.
The people watching were very surprised. They did not understand why a bad player was in the Top 16.
"It can't go on like this..."
Max shook his head even though he was not very close to Morrison. He said that if Morrison kept fighting like that, he would definitely lose.
Natsui drank some of his drink and looked at the match. He asked Misty and Brock if Morrison's state looked familiar.
Misty and Brock looked at him at the same time.
"You mean...?"
Natsui shook his head. He said it was just like when Ash fought Richie at the Indigo Plateau.
Richie?
Hearing that name, the two thought back to Kanto. They remembered that boy again. He also wore a hat and had a Pikachu, and he was even more calm than Ash.
Indeed, Morrison was acting just like Ash did when he fought Richie. He did not show his strength and barely wanted to fight.
Morrison was like a bigger version of Ash, so he had the same problems.
Natsui said it depended on Morrison if he wanted to be normal again. He also said he did not think Ash would just stand there and do nothing.
The group looked back at the field.
Corphish was using the ice pillars and rocks to bother Girafarig. Morrison could not give good orders because he was upset. Girafarig was not fighting well.
Finally, Corphish dodged attacks and knocked Girafarig down with Crabhammer.
Ash won the first round.
However, Ash did not look happy. He looked at Morrison with a sad face.
Morrison did not call back Girafarig or send out his second Pokémon for a long time. The referee gave him a warning.
This was a very bad sign.
If Morrison did not send out a Pokémon soon, the referee would say he quit. He would then be out of the tournament.
Some people in the crowd began to boo.
This was the Top 16 of the Ever Grande Conference. People did not like what they were seeing.
People were unhappy, and the feeling spread quickly. Max and the others were worried about Morrison.
"What on earth is he doing?" Max scratched his hair because the atmosphere was bad. He was very confused. "What is there to struggle about? Even Ash has made up his mind to fight with all his strength. Why is Morrison still acting like this?"
Natsui shook his head.
There was not much to say about it.
It was a choice between winning and friendship. Simple people like Ash and his friends get stuck in a "friendship cage" and cannot get out.
Morrison seemed to care about friendship, but he was failing as a trainer.
If it were Natsui, he would say sorry and then use all his power to win.
That would show the most respect to a friend.
Morrison still did not move or send out his next Pokémon. The referee raised his flag again.
"Since Trainer Morrison has lost his will to fight, therefore—"
However, Ash interrupted the referee. Natsui and the others could not hear what Ash said. They only saw him shouting at Morrison. Morrison became serious and finally took out his second Poké Ball.
Morrison's second Pokémon was Growlithe. This was not a smart choice for the types.
Ash still had Corphish on the field, and Morrison had already lost one round. He sent out Growlithe, which had a type disadvantage. He was making things harder for himself.
But a Fire-type on an Ice Field might be interesting. However, the ice would melt and turn into water. That would only help Corphish more.
This made people even more confused about Morrison.
Was he so upset that he sent out the wrong Pokémon?
While people were confused, the second round began.
Ash did not change his Pokémon. He told Corphish to attack hard. He wanted to wake Morrison up.
After that happened, Morrison became a lot better. He still did not want to attack Ash's Pokémon directly, but he gave the right orders.
Unfortunately, that was not enough. Corphish had the type advantage, and Morrison was still hesitant. The battle ended very fast. Ash won again.
The spectators were even more unhappy.
What kind of fight was this?
The booing was louder than everything else.
Even Natsui was impatient.
It was not that he did not understand, but people came to see a match. They did not want to see a trainer act sensitive. This was wasting time and the passion of the Hoenn region.
The annual Ever Grande Conference was a festival for everyone. People traveled far or watched the broadcast. If this was what they saw, what would they think?
One round was one thing, but acting like this for two rounds was unacceptable.
Being young or valuing friendship was not an excuse.
Just then, Ash shouted at Morrison again. Morrison's face changed clearly.
He looked ashamed, then angry, and then hurt.
He held Growlithe and whispered to it. Then, he roared loudly.
No one else could hear what he was shouting.
But suddenly, all of Morrison's spirit returned.
"Finally back to normal."
Natsui yawned and snorted.
The friendship between Ash and Morrison moved them, but not others. Now that the match was getting better, he felt a little bit of interest.
Morrison was lively again. After he called back Growlithe, he did not wait for the referee. He took out his third Poké Ball immediately.
With a flash of light, a Swampert appeared.
Ash did not call back Corphish, even though it was tired. He let it fight Swampert.
Corphish had just defeated two Pokémon, so it had a lot of energy from winning. Also, Ash did not want to take advantage of Morrison.
When the battle started, the two Pokémon ran at each other. They used many different attacks.
Hydro Pump and Bubble Beam hit each other.
Mud Shot met Aqua Jet.
Focus Punch hit Crabhammer.
The two Pokémon fought directly. For a few minutes, they were equal.
The ice rocks broke into pieces, and the ice surface cracked. The field changed because of the battle.
Finally, Focus Punch and Crabhammer hit at the same time. There was a big explosion. Both Pokémon fell at the same time.
The referee looked and raised his flags.
"Both Corphish and Swampert are unable to battle. This round is a draw!"
Fans change their minds easily. They can boo a player, but they can also cheer for a great match.
That is what happened now.
The battle was exciting. The fans cheered loudly for the two Pokémon. They forgot about the bad start.
Because Morrison had three Pokémon out, the match had a break.
Max and the others went to the waiting room to cheer for Ash. Natsui stayed in his seat.
The short break ended quickly.
When the trainers returned, the field for the second half was the Grass Field.
As soon as it started, Ash sent out Pikachu. Morrison sent out Steelix at the same time.
This was both good and bad news.
The good news was that Pikachu sometimes shows great power against Pokémon that have a type advantage. It can win against them quickly.
The bad news was that this did not happen very often.
In this match, Pikachu ran and attacked, but it did not use its full potential. In the final clash of Iron Tails, Steelix hit it to the ground. Pikachu lost.
In the main tournament, Pikachu had now lost twice in a row against type disadvantages. It lost to Dugtrio before and now to Steelix.
This was surprising, but it also made sense.
After all, people say Pikachu has a "50/50" win rate!
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I also want to apologize for the lack of updates this month, haha. My PC completely died, and uploading chapters from my phone was pretty complicated.