Chapter 1417

"The second round of the Masters Eight Tournament, the semifinals are about to be staged! Welcome to the competition site!"

The host's voice, accompanied by solemn symphonic music, echoed in the sky of the arena.

Countless audience members sat down excitedly, calling friends and companions, one after another; the noisy sound floated in the arena like a tide.

Following the heart-stirring first round, what followed was the critical semifinals.

The overall format changed from 3v3 to a full 6v6 battle.

The first match was dedicatedly presented by Sinnoh Champion Cynthia and Alola Champion Ash, still without limiting the number of systems; Dynamax, Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, etc., could be used at will.

All Baimu sat alone in the preparation room; his opponent for the afternoon, Leon, was not by his side.

Compared to the liveliness of yesterday and the day before, today was indeed a bit quieter, but this made it easier for him to let his Pokémon out.

Calyrex could also appear openly.

Yesterday, when it watched All Baimu's match, it ran to the "petals" on the exterior of Wyndon Stadium.

【Do you favor that brat more?】

"Favor? I bet he'll win." All Baimu opened his mouth slightly, and the evil fat Jigglypuff beside him reluctantly fed a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.

Calyrex glanced at this Trainer who had completely let himself go when no one was around: 【I dare not agree.】

"Does Your Majesty have any insights?"

【I observe this woman is second only to you, with a higher win rate.】 Calyrex sincerely believed Cynthia was very powerful.

As for Ash… it's not hard to see its evaluation of Ash from the way it addressed him.

In the player tunnel, Ash checked his Z-Ring, Mega Ring, and Dynamax Band, looked around at his partners, "Time is almost up, everyone, I'm counting on you!"

"Pika!"

"Roar!"

The Pokémon responded in unison.

On the other side, Cynthia stood with her arms crossed, her heart full of anticipation for this match.

Once upon a time, she had considered retiring after participating in the Masters Eight, but with the battle against All Baimu, and with the upcoming battle against Ash, her silent heart gradually ignited.

Perhaps she could hold on a little longer?

"Ash… All Baimu…"

The corners of her mouth curled up unconsciously.

In Professor Oak's backyard, the number of Pokémon watching the battle increased again; almost all of Ash's were present, and in addition to Professor Oak and Delia, Tracey was added as an extra spectator.

"Is everyone here? I'm counting on you for the cheering!"

"Roar!"

A group of Pokémon showed laughter.

Professor Oak turned on the TV, and the host's voice came out.

"Pokémon World Coronation Series Masters Eight Tournament, this tournament has gathered Champions from various regions, truly a special tournament!"

"The first match of the upcoming semifinals!"

"Masters Eight eighth place, Ash is entering the arena!"

The Rotom Drone focused the camera on Ash, who was walking out slowly, and the host's introduction continued.

"Ash shoulders the title of the memorable first Champion of the Alola region, having stepped onto the peak of the semifinals uprightly; what kind of performance will he bring us today?"

Then the camera shifted, and the host said: "Entering next is Masters Eight third place, Cynthia. As everyone knows, she is the Champion of Sinnoh; her strength and presence are exactly the style of a Queen!"

"So, who will be able to win the right to advance to the finals? Let's wait and see!"

Wow!

The cheers and shouts in the arena were endless.

Team Rocket's trio finished their outside interviews and continued their independent channel broadcast with great interest.

Having caught the tailwind of Pokémon and All Baimu, they really gained quite a bit of attention, so they were working extra hard this time.

"Audience! Now is the battle that is receiving much attention, Meowth!"

"Move your little hands, click follow! Let us present you with the most professional commentary!"

"Especially that brat—ahem, Alola region Champion Ash, our understanding of him absolutely exceeds your imagination!"

Several people shouted hard at the dozens of live people in the live broadcast room, hoping they would stay.

Under the circumstance that other big channels attracted 99% of the audience, it was not easy for bottom-tier streamers like Team Rocket's trio to have dozens of live people watching.

Inside the arena, Deng Pei announced the competition rules, his gaze sweeping across Cynthia and Ash, and he raised his hands high.

"Please choose your first Pokémon! Three! Two! One! Start!"

At the command, both sides threw their Poké Balls.

"Dragonite! I choose you!"

"Ride the waves! Milotic!"

Bang bang!

Light flickered, and the slender and elegant Milotic and the energetic Dragonite appeared one after another.

"Hehehe."

All Baimu watched this scene with a smile; Ash knew that Iris's Dragonite ended up losing to Spiritomb, yet he still chose his own Dragonite; he really is confident enough.

It's a pity Cynthia changed; it became Milotic, just like his.

As Deng Pei waved his hand to announce the start of the match, Ash couldn't wait to give the command first: "Dragonite! Dragon Dance!"

"Oh!"

Dragonite let out a howl, taking the lead to seize the opportunity; its wings flapped fiercely, and it flew into mid-air, its body wrapped in rich indigo-colored flowing flames.

Whoosh!

The dragon flames grew with the wind, like living things, climbing and flowing along its limbs, torso, and wings, and a powerful aura was released from Dragonite.

Following that was the orange-red light lighting up.

It rode this bright light, its body turned into an orange-red afterimage, and charged straight toward Milotic with the sound of breaking through the air!

Cynthia: "Ice Beam."

"Milotic!"

Her Milotic's cry was low and magnetic; this is a sign of age. Facing Dragonite's fierce attack, it also twisted its slender body unhurriedly, and ice-blue brilliance condensed in its mouth.

In an instant, bone-chilling cold air spread outward with Milotic as the center, and the water vapor in the air gradually condensed into tiny ice particles.

The moment Dragonite's figure approached, a thick ice-blue lightning bolt shot out!

Ash shouted immediately: "Dodge!"

"Oh!"

Dragonite's body moved sideways fiercely, relying on the speed boost from Dragon Dance to let the Ice Beam graze its left wing.

The missed ice-blue lightning bolt hit the ground; a brilliant ice flower bloomed on the flat ground instantly, and the craggy ice pillars stood straight toward the sky, the surface covered in cold, curling mist.

"Dragon Claw!"

Ash quickly connected to the next command.

Dragonite took advantage of the inertia of the sideways dodge to approach, its claws wrapped in green light, forming a pair of sharp energy claw covers, and slashed fiercely at Milotic's torso with the momentum of tearing everything apart!

Cynthia: "Dodge."

Milotic twisted its body elegantly, its tail fin flicked lightly, and its figure shifted flexibly like a fish swimming in water, narrowly avoiding the swing of Dragon Claw.

"Milotic~"

The energy of Dragon Claw grazed its scales, leaving behind sizzling explosions and splashing sparks.

At the same time, the water vapor around Milotic surged, and countless water currents condensed and compressed in its mouth, turning into a majestic and surging high-pressure water current!

Cynthia's command was slightly slow: "Hydro Pump!"

Boom!

The thick water column was like a galloping river, carrying majestic impact force as it rushed toward Dragonite, colliding head-on with the second claw it swung immediately after.

Boom—!!

A deafening explosion erupted suddenly; the majestic water flow of Hydro Pump and the sharp dragon flames of Dragon Claw collided, and the huge impact force lifted dense water mist into the sky, causing the entire arena to tremble slightly.

The water flow and dragon flames tore, squeezed, and annihilated each other; white air waves spread wildly toward the surroundings, rolling up dust on the ground, forming a turbid air column.

The four-sided protective devices were activated simultaneously, and the host shouted: "It's a fierce clash between Hydro Pump and Dragon Claw! What terrifying power!"

"Oh!"

Dragonite was shaken back by this powerful counter-impact force, retreating more than ten meters before barely stabilizing.

In comparison, Milotic's figure was exceptionally stable, and its posture remained elegant and composed.

"Milotic~"

Its gaze was locked tightly on Dragonite, but it still didn't launch an attack first, waiting silently.

Ash was as straightforward as ever: "Hurricane!"

"Oh!"

Dragonite suppressed the discomfort in its body, its wings flapped fiercely, and the violent air current instantly swept out with it as the center.

Countless sharp wind blades condensed in the air current, rotating and intertwining to form a huge gray-white storm vortex, carrying gravel and dust, and rushed toward Milotic with the momentum of destroying everything!

The wind blades made a sharp whistling sound as they passed through the air; wherever they passed, it was foggy, and the sight of the audience outside the arena was blocked by the turbid storm.

"Mirror Coat."

Cynthia's gaze was calm, letting her Pokémon be attacked by Hurricane.

As the violent wind struck, a crystal-clear mirror-like light shield appeared in front of Milotic, smooth like rainbow glass, intercepting the incoming Hurricane wind blades and violent air currents.

In an instant, these storms were reflected back without reservation; the storm vortex that was originally rushing toward Milotic immediately changed direction, carrying even greater power, and rushed straight toward the Dragonite in mid-air.

Dragonite didn't expect the reflection speed to be so fast, and flew high to dodge in a hurry.

Unfortunately, the coverage of Hurricane was extremely wide, and even with its speed, it couldn't completely break free, so it could only gather its claws in front of its chest and fold its wings to resist; the sharp wind blades continuously scraped its wings and body, causing extreme pain.

Seeing it entangled by its own Hurricane,

Cynthia seized the opportunity and launched a fierce attack.

"Ice Beam!"

"Milotic!"

Milotic condensed Ice-type brilliance in its mouth again; the ice-blue lightning accurately and swiftly locked onto Dragonite and fired into the air.

Crack crack crack—

The air made a crisp sound of freezing; Dragonite had just broken free from the reflected Hurricane and couldn't dodge completely at all.

It could only dodge sideways subconsciously; when its wings flapped, the Ice Beam hit its left shoulder, and the bone-chilling cold air invaded its body in the blink of an eye, freezing a layer of thick, hard ice on the outside.

Dragonite's figure fell sharply.

Ash shouted anxiously: "Dragonite!"

Fortunately, it soon stabilized its figure, endured the ice and discomfort in its body, and responded loudly to its Trainer: "Oh!"

Milotic shot another ice-blue lightning bolt; Ash gritted his teeth and shouted: "In that case—Extreme Speed!"

Dragonite flapped its wings, and a faint white light appeared around its body, turning into an almost transparent afterimage; its speed was already fast to the extreme!

It bypassed to behind Milotic at a speed that Milotic couldn't react to, and slammed into it fiercely!

Bang!

Milotic's slender body flew out horizontally; the speed after the Dragon Dance boost was indeed not inferior, and what was very fortunate was that the Ice Beam didn't hit its wings, so the impact on its speed was minimal.

Seeing the opponent rolling out, Dragonite quickly connected to the next move.

"Draco Meteor!"

"Oh!"

Dragonite responded rapidly, its wings folded and then spread, gathering a huge purple-red light ball in front of its mouth, and suddenly sprayed it into the high sky!

Bang!

The light ball exploded, turning into purple-red meteors all over the sky.

Each meteor contained violent dragon flames and scorching high temperatures; the air along the way was burned and distorted, pouring down like a torrential rain with destructive pressure!

Thump thump thump!

Where the meteors fell, the earth cracked into shallow pits of varying depths, and the air made sizzling burning sounds, with smoke rolling.

Milotic, having adjusted its center of gravity, wandered among them, relying on its flexible posture to dodge, avoiding one meteor after another.

But Cynthia's response strategy made All Baimu raise his eyebrows.

Not using Mirror Coat?

Only seeing Milotic continuously spraying bright blue water columns from its mouth, while chasing Dragonite's figure, it defeated the meteors that couldn't be avoided one by one.

But the number of Draco Meteors was too dense, and several powerful meteors still broke through the interception of Hydro Pump, hitting its torso and tail fin heavily.

Bang bang bang!

The scorching dragon flames burned its body, bringing it pain.

"Recover!"

Cynthia's gaze was deep.

Milotic's body was immediately covered in soft, moist, milky-white light; the soft light was like warm water, and the burned, blackened scales were rapidly repaired under the nourishment of the light.

Ash was unwilling to let it recover: "One more time! Use Extreme Speed to interrupt it!"

"Oh!"

Dragonite's figure flashed, leaving behind illusory afterimages in the air, and in the blink of an eye, it came to Milotic's side again.

However, this time Milotic didn't sit still like before; it had long anticipated Dragonite's action, and when the latter flashed over and hit its side, it actively disengaged Recover and entangled it!

Bang!

A dull collision sound rang out; Dragonite actually couldn't dodge its entanglement, and both fell to the ground and rolled together.

Cynthia shouted: "Now! Ice Beam!"

"Dragonite! Break free!"

Ash only felt his hair stand on end.

Unfortunately, Dragonite's shoulder area was damaged earlier, and the strength of its struggle was too small, completely unable to break free from Milotic's restraint.

Seeing the ice-blue brilliance in Milotic's mouth getting brighter and brighter, Ash had to shout: "Hyper Beam!"

Dragonite rapidly accumulated orange-red brilliance, opposing the ice-blue lightning in Milotic's mouth.

Next instant.

Boom—!!

The lightning suddenly froze the bodies of the two, condensing a huge ice flower; the extreme cold air completely froze Dragonite's body inside.

After a while, the huge ice flower slowly cracked in the air, and finally shattered with a bang, with ice fragments splashing and scattering all over the ground.

Milotic and Dragonite each escaped from it; the latter's body lay weakly on the hard ground, its wings spread loosely, its eyes closed, completely losing the ability to battle.

With a 4x effective Ice Beam hitting fully, Dragonite basically had no possibility of remaining.

Deng Pei: "Dragonite is unable to battle, Milotic wins!"

The first battle of the second round is won!

All Baimu turned to the side, thinking: "Actually choosing to show a flaw; Cynthia is also taking risks now."