Chapter 147

Brock: "..."

Misty: "Why aren't we, the three Cerulean sisters, the ones representing the Cerulean Gym?"

Lt. Surge: "Would it even be okay to let you guys participate?"

If the Cerulean sisters were truly on the list, the Johto Gym Leaders would be in luck; whoever drew the Cerulean Gym would win on the spot.

【Under the gaze of all the spectators, the Indigo Plateau battle arena split in two, and a massive track appeared in the audience's view. As the spectators watched, a maglev train pulled into the arena.】

【Amidst the cheers of the host and the audience, the train doors slowly opened, and the sixteen Gym Leaders on board stepped down.】

Falkner: "No way. This entrance is way too explosive!!!"

Whitney: "The Kanto Gym Leaders are Brock, Misty, Lt. Surge, Sabrina, Erika, Janine, Blaine, and Gary. Wait, no Giovanni or Koga? Doesn't that mean we in Johto are guaranteed to win?"

Clair: "What are you all worried about? With me here, isn't Johto winning easily?"

Ash: "Gary? How did Gary become the Viridian Gym Leader? And why did he change his name to Blue?"

Chairman Goodshow: "Kanto vs. Johto, this concept is really great. Should we do this for the next Indigo Conference too?"

【The host began to explain the rules for this battle. The rules were not complicated; there was no limit to the number of Pokémon the combatants could use, and they could even send all the Pokémon they had on hand into the field at once.】

【However, as soon as one Pokémon loses its ability to battle, the match is declared over.】

Cynthia: "These battle rules really test the trainers. Because the match ends as soon as one Pokémon is knocked out, the combatants must carefully weigh the pros and cons of how many Pokémon to send out."

Steven: "I'd definitely send them all out. Use power to crush the opponent in one go."

Diantha: "If only it were that easy. The more Pokémon you send out, the larger your openings become. It's a double-edged sword."

A draw was held before the battle began, but the eighth round was fixed—it was a duel between the captains of each region. However, what the audience didn't expect was that the Kanto captain was actually Erika.

Erika: "Is there something unacceptable about me being the captain? My strength is also very strong!"

Lt. Surge: "Erika, are you being honest with yourself when you say that?"

Misty: "Erika's strength is alright, at least stronger than me and Brock."

As for the others, Misty wouldn't judge.

Erika: "..."

【The draw results were: Brock vs. Jasmine, Misty vs. Whitney, Janine vs. Falkner, Lt. Surge vs. Morty, Sabrina vs. Bugsy, Gary vs. Chuck, Blaine vs. Clair, and Erika vs. Pryce.】

【Kanto vs. Johto. On the surface, this battle was to let Pokémon battle enthusiasts experience the gap between the Gym Leaders up close, but the real purpose was to find the evil hidden among the eighteen Gym Leaders.】

【The Masked Man, who single-handedly stirred up a bloody storm in Kanto and Johto.】

Erika: "The Masked Man? An evil that made the entire Kanto and Johto regions tremble single-handedly? Could it be Pryce?"

Cynthia: "It's highly likely. You're in luck, Erika."

Erika: "Does that mean I'm doomed to lose the match against Pryce?"

Jasmine: "Don't worry, maybe Pryce will throw the match to hide his identity."

Erika: "That would be even worse than just beating me fair and square!"

While Jasmine and Erika were chatting, the first battle in the video had already begun.

The combatants were Brock and Jasmine.

The audience in the chat room was overwhelmingly supporting Jasmine at this moment, not just because Jasmine had the type advantage, but more importantly, they knew Brock's strength too well.

Three rounds—that was the audience's judgment for Jasmine to easily take down Brock.

But the result...

Bruno: "Whoa, is this really Brock? I have to look at him with new eyes!"

Lorelei: "The Pokémon's level and the trainer's skill are both top-tier. If it weren't for the fact that Brock in that world had never seen a Steelix, Jasmine really wouldn't be Brock's match."

Lance: "Jasmine is a bit too devious, actually disguising a Steelix as an Onix. That's cheating!"

Jasmine: "Hey, don't talk nonsense, that's tactics! And Mr. Lance, whose side are you on? You're from Johto, after all."

Lance: "I am on the side of justice!"

Clair: "Heh, you traitor to Johto."

【The second to go up was Misty. In this battle, Misty displayed an overwhelming advantage. No matter what, Whitney's Miltank couldn't catch Misty's Starmie, while Starmie could easily deal tons of damage to Miltank.】

【Using speed to strike the opponent, followed by Flash. Under the effect of Flash, Miltank couldn't even open its eyes. Seizing this opportunity, Misty had Starmie use Hyper Beam to end the opponent in one hit.】

Whitney: "Wait, is Misty really that strong?"

It was completely different from the Misty in her memory.

What made Whitney even more frustrated was that her own real strength in the video looked no different from her true self.

Does that mean everyone else got a boost, while she stayed in place?

Ash: "Unbelievable, the Misty in that world is actually that strong!"

Misty: "Hey, are you implying I'm not strong?"

Ash: "Yeah, after all, Misty has never won a single battle against me!"

Misty: "We've only battled twice. One was at the Cerulean Gym, which didn't even have a winner, and the other was for the Totodile, which I lost. But you don't really think you're stronger than me, do you?"

Ash: "Hmph, one draw and one win, the record speaks for itself."

Misty: "You guy!"

Third match, Janine vs. Falkner.

Like her father Koga, Janine mostly used Bug-type Pokémon, while Falkner happened to be an expert in Bird Pokémon. On the surface, Falkner had an absolute advantage.

The audience originally thought Falkner could easily crush Janine, but to their surprise, the battle was exceptionally intense.

Janine didn't play by the rules. The Pokémon she used was Muk, and the tactic she used was one the audience was very familiar with: the Minimize tactic.

The minimized Muk almost disappeared from the battlefield. Facing such a tiny enemy, Noctowl didn't seem to have a good way to deal with it.

Falkner finally managed to find Muk using the Foresight skill and was just about to launch an attack, only to be surprised to find that he had fallen into the opponent's trap.

Ariados had already woven countless webs all over the stage. If Noctowl moved recklessly, it would be firmly entangled by the sticky net.

The sharp silk threads spat from Ariados's mouth pierced Noctowl's wings.

Bugsy: "Wait, String Shot can be used like this?"

Bugsy was stunned. It was his first time seeing someone use String Shot as an offensive skill, but he had to admit, it looked quite practical.

【At a critical moment, Falkner recalled Noctowl and switched in Skarmory.】

【But the silk threads covering the field instantly entangled Skarmory, and Falkner was suddenly in a desperate situation.】

【"Attacking the silk itself is also a sharp blade. You made the right choice switching in Skarmory, but it's too late," Janine said expressionlessly.】

【The encirclement created by Ariados had already formed; no matter what Pokémon Falkner sent out, there was no turning back.】

【"So, so strong," Falkner knelt on one knee and slammed his hand against the ground. "However, I haven't lost yet!"】

【"I became a Gym Leader following in my father's footsteps. To uphold my father's glory, I will never admit defeat!"】

【Falkner's words touched Janine. Like Falkner, she was the same.】

【Just then, a figure flashed across the audience stands, and Janine was momentarily stunned.】

【"What are you looking around for? My Poké Ball contains a transparent feather from Skarmory. After Skarmory comes out of the ball, the ball will turn into a boomerang and spin on the field."】

【"Come on, let's decide the winner!"】

【Just as Falkner was preparing to go all out, Janine suddenly left the field; she forfeited the match.】

Bugsy: "Won? That's too lucky!"

Whitney: "Modifying a Poké Ball into a boomerang? No, are the people in that world all so devious?"

Cynthia: "They seem to value the trainer's quality as the key, rather than the Pokémon's strength."

The levels of the Pokémon that appeared weren't actually that high; not even a single Elite Four-level Pokémon appeared.

But by relying on the trainer constantly switching Pokémon and using various tactics, they allowed the Pokémon to exert their full potential in battle.

The cooperation between Pokémon and trainer achieved an effect where one plus one is greater than two.

134: Kanto-Johto Battle Royale, the strongest villain, the Masked Man!

Ash: "Ah! My brain is going to grow out!!!"

Misty: "No need for your brain to grow out, Ash. This battle style doesn't suit you. Just stick to your original battle style and you'll be OK."

Koga: "What a pity, Janine forfeited. Otherwise, we Kanto would have two wins."

Clair: "What are you talking about? Falkner didn't lose. Even if Janine hadn't forfeited, it's still unknown who would have won."

Koga: "Heh."

【"That seems to be Koga's daughter."】

【"Seems like it."】

【In the Kanto resting area, Lt. Surge and Sabrina were talking.】