"Ah, Miss Sumire, you're leaving!"
Although Brock lost on his way to the finals, Sumire, the mature beauty in black stockings, looked at him in a new light due to his outstanding performance.
After all, having decent strength, medical skills, and a sense of responsibility allowed Brock to fully showcase his strengths.
However...
This Sumire, who initially seemed quite arrogant, suddenly felt that her own strength was not worthy of Brock, so she hurriedly exchanged a few words and departed.
Brock, who had mistakenly thought his spring of romance had arrived, became dejected once again.
He could only vent this frustration on Ash and Dawn, urging them to do their best and definitely take the championship.
The two naturally laughed and agreed to this "vengeful" request, and then, following the announcement over the broadcast, they headed to the final match.
The final opponents facing Dawn and Ash's 1314 duo were, naturally, the bespectacled Conway and the poker-faced Paul.
"Go, Elekid!"
Facing the opponent he had never defeated in the past, Paul surprisingly did not send out his strongest Torterra, but instead sent out the Elekid that had always been by his side.
"Vivi~"
This Elekid, primarily yellow with black stripes and a plug-like head, stood arrogantly on the ground, staring in Ash's direction.
His teammate was a deep blue, giant stag beetle-like King of Insects—Heracross.
Unlike the arrogant Elekid, this Heracross behaved as calmly as its Trainer, Conway.
"That Elekid is as arrogant as ever, just as annoying as its Trainer!"
Dawn complained about Elekid's attitude and then unhurriedly threw out her Poké Ball along with Ash.
The Pokémon the two sent out were their grown Grass-type mainstay, Grotle, and an Audino that had been born for some time.
"This..." Brock looked a bit hesitantly at the Audino, which was smaller than normal size. "Even though Audino has moved past its infancy, is it really okay to send it into battle so early?"
Brock's concern was not without reason, because Audino had no combat experience at all; its strength was low, and it simply couldn't participate in the fight.
"Could it be..."
Brock looked at the confident Ash. Could it be that he wanted Grotle to fight one against two with Audino's support?
"Elekid, Thunderbolt!" Looking at the somewhat exaggeratedly sized Grotle, Paul chose to have Elekid test the waters.
"Heracross, Pin Missile!" To this, Conway made the same choice.
A bolt of golden electricity and a dense barrage of Pin Missiles struck toward Grotle and Audino's position.
"Grotle, tank the Thunderbolt, then use Protect!"
Since Thunderbolt and Pin Missile had different speeds, Grotle relied on its excellent durability to tank the Thunderbolt, then raised a shield to block the Pin Missiles.
"Audino, use Sunny Day!" Seeing this, Dawn gave a sharp cry and began to issue orders.
"Tabunne~"
Audino, hiding behind Grotle, nodded seriously, its blue eyes looking with admiration at the Grotle that had tanked all the attacks.
Immediately after, red energy swirled around its pink fur, gathering together before being released into the sky.
It used a Fire-type move it had accidentally learned—Sunny Day!
"What!!!"
Not only were Paul and Conway stunned, but Brock in the stands was also somewhat dazed.
Because anyone with eyes could see that Audino was just a baby that had recently passed its infancy, yet it immediately pulled out a weather skill like Sunny Day.
"Hehe!" Seeing everyone's shock, Dawn revealed a hint of pride. "Didn't expect that, did you? My Audino is just that amazing!"
Even Ash, standing to the side, couldn't help but nod.
He had only learned from Happiny that Audino had actually learned Sunny Day.
It was said that it suddenly felt like it could do it after watching Grotle's training, which had made Ash's scalp tingle when he heard it at the time.
"Heracross, Aerial Ace!"
Heracross used the speed boost from Aerial Ace to charge toward Audino's position, wanting to knock it out first.
"Rock Climb!"
Grotle stomped its feet heavily on the ground, timing it so that the rocks beneath Heracross's feet rose rapidly, interrupting the opponent's attack.
"Elekid, follow up with Brick Break!"
The coordination between the two was quite perfect, using Heracross as a decoy while Elekid's right hand glowed with white light as it secretly charged.
To this, Grotle had to temporarily ignore Heracross and once again use its body to tank Elekid's Brick Break.
"Gro~"
Compared to the first Thunderbolt, Elekid's Brick Break made Grotle feel a touch of pain, and it even roared at the Elekid in front of it.
"Leaf Storm!"
Ash didn't let Grotle take the damage for nothing and immediately ordered a counterattack.
"Gro~"
The two small groves on its back immediately glowed green, and accompanied by a strong wind, they enveloped Elekid, blowing it into the air before it crashed to the ground.
"Heracross, Mega Horn!"
With Elekid driven back, another Heracross came, waving its massive horn and charging at Grotle at high speed.
"Rock Smash!"
Disregarding its injuries, Grotle raised its front body and collided with Heracross's incoming horn, the evenly matched strength kicking up a cloud of dust.
"help!" Dawn's voice rang out again as Audino provided support.
help can increase a teammate's output by 50%, making it a very effective support skill.
"Tabunne~"
Instantly, a milky white glow appeared on Audino's fingers as it touched Grotle's shell.
"Gro~"
A surge of power rose from the soles of its feet, and Grotle immediately overpowered Heracross's horn, knocking the opponent flying in the process.
"Leech Seed!"
Afterward, Grotle added a pea-sized seed, which sprouted on Heracross and began to drain the opponent's stamina.
"Eh, Elekid evolved!" Dawn cried out in surprise.
Because the Elekid that had been thrown back earlier suddenly grew in size, its body still primarily yellow with black stripes.
However, in Ash's eyes, Paul's Electabuzz had become a yellow gorilla with some tiger-like features on its head; its appearance had declined significantly since its time as an Elekid.
"Synthesis!"
"Life Dew!"
On the other side, Grotle took advantage of Elekid's evolution to let its body glow with a lush green light to begin healing, while also enjoying the boost from the blue droplets provided by Audino.
Combined with the stamina from the Leech Seed on Heracross and the Sunny Day state, Grotle quickly recovered to its state at the beginning of the battle.
"This is bad!" Conway looked at the situation and calmly analyzed the scene. "Even though Elekid evolved, our chances of winning are still not high!"
The poker-faced Paul also agreed with the other's assessment in his heart.
The Grotle before them was incredibly powerful, having taken a Thunderbolt, Brick Break, and Mega Horn.
Not only did it not fall, but it also relied on its own Synthesis and the healing from Audino's Life Dew to fully restore its health.