Chapter 1428: Ash Emerges Victorious

Garchomp dove down from the high altitude.

Dazzling earth-yellow radiance enveloped its entire body, forming a large arc under the pressure of the atmosphere, as if a shattered Saturn were falling.

The previously falling Draco Meteors were the fragments after Saturn shattered. The fierce prelude ended, and the fiercer finale arrived!

"Garchomp!"

*Rumble—*

The deafening roar echoed in his ears. Ash's forehead unconsciously overflowed with sweat, but his eyes were exceptionally firm, his arms crossed, causing the Z-Ring to emit a golden radiance.

"Let's go! Pikachu!"

"Pika!"

Pikachu followed suit, overlapping its paws and making the same movements as Ash. Pokémon, Trainer, and nature resonated within an extreme amount of time. The light of the Z-Ring spread to Ash's entire body, presenting a silver-white energy halo.

*Cheers! *

The audience erupted again. The host shouted: "Contestant Ash is using a Z-Move again!"

As he spoke, the radiance had already descended upon Pikachu. Following Ash's roar, its small body rose from the ground.

"Release our full power! Catastropika!"

"Pika—"

Pikachu's cry was melodious. Z-power caused its body to spin at high speed, silver-white light wrapping its entire body, mixing with its own golden color, quickly condensing into a dense, giant spiral energy drill!

*Hum—*

The sharp whistling of air friction and the roar of High Horsepower falling followed one after another.

Steel Z had arrived!

The spiral-shaped Steel-type energy became increasingly rich, glinting with cold silver-white radiance, carrying sharp wind pressure and formidable penetrating power, making this drill increasingly dazzling and eye-catching!

And in the expectant gaze of all the audience, the giant golden-silver spiral drill headed straight for the sky, rushing toward the falling Garchomp without showing any weakness!

Both Pokémon rushed toward each other with all their might, without the slightest intention of deviating, prepared only to use a head-on collision to end this battle!

The next instant.

*Boom—!! *

Two energies pushed to the extreme collided violently. The earth-yellow Ground-type energy and the silver-white-gold Steel-type energy intertwined, instantly forming a huge energy storm that swept across the entire arena, blowing the already sandy ground into a huge cloud of smoke rising into the sky!

The sunlight was obscured by the thick dust, and the entire visible space was incredibly dim.

The scale of this smoke cloud was so large that it could be clearly seen even from the city center several kilometers away from Wyndon Stadium, truly breathtaking.

The ground inside the arena and even the audience seats were shaking violently. The protective device that had held up for over an hour seemed to have reached its limit, starting to flicker incessantly.

The audience seats were filled with screams of excitement or shock, but not a single person was willing to leave, only because the battle in the arena was still ongoing.

The continuously released energy storm dispersed the smoke, allowing everyone to barely see the shattered "Saturn" and the "drill" rushing straight into the sky.

However, the radiance was too dazzling; even the people of the Pokémon world could only watch for a very short time before turning their heads away.

Does this scene seem familiar?

Everyone couldn't help but think of the battle between Cynthia and Iris in the previous round.

It was also a head-on collision between High Horsepower and a giant drill, also an attack from high altitude to low altitude. So, could Garchomp continue the previous result this time?

Countless people looked forward to it.

Cynthia and Ash in the arena looked up at the mid-air, their expressions unexpectedly the same.

—Trust.

Unreserved trust in their Pokémon!

"Garchomp!!"

The diving Garchomp gritted its teeth tightly. Facing the constantly drilling Catastropika, its body couldn't help but start to spin along with it.

It wanted to use the opposite direction of drilling to counter Pikachu's drill, thereby reducing the opponent's power!

But was that easy to say?

Garchomp, as Cynthia's trump card, was indeed not weak, but how weak could Pikachu be?

In the official match, it wasn't holding back!

"Pika—"

Pikachu roared. The speed of its rotation actually rose by another dimension, causing Garchomp, which had just started to rotate in the opposite direction, to be uncontrollably dragged along, starting to spin in the same direction as Pikachu!

Cynthia's expression changed instantly. "Garchomp! Break free!"

It was too late.

Catastropika drove High Horsepower. The angles of both sides went from one high and one low to gradually leveling out. In the end, Catastropika tore through the earth-yellow stream of light and slammed into Garchomp's body!

*Thud! *

A blinding, astonishing light erupted in the center of the arena again, swallowing the audience's vision.

The energy storm raged across the arena, and the protective device began to waver again.

No one cared.

Their gazes were locked on the ground below, waiting for the result.

In a flash, the energy storm slowly subsided. The scene inside the arena gradually became clear. Everyone suddenly saw Garchomp sent flying outside the arena, while Pikachu landed in the center of the arena.

It bent over exhaustedly, and many fine scars could be seen on its body, but it still maintained a certain amount of energy overall.

"Pika... Pika..."

It panted heavily, looking upward. A huge figure projected downward against the sunlight.

It was Garchomp, returning to the arena.

Its body was also covered in scars, showing a battle-damaged appearance, its chest and abdomen heaving high and then relaxing.

Both Pokémon stared at each other.

The host shouted: "Both Pokémon have persisted to the end! The battle is still ongoing!"

Ongoing?

Actually, there was no way to continue.

Cynthia knew very well that Garchomp only had the strength for one last strike, and even for this last strike, she had to consider which move to choose.

If she chose wrong, a situation where the move stopped abruptly halfway through would occur.

Pikachu...

Cynthia narrowed her eyes, unable to judge the opponent's state. Was the damage dealt by High Horsepower not enough?

She took a deep breath and said: "Dragon Claw!"

"Quick Attack!"

Ash followed up with the command.

Pikachu acted first, its legs kicking the ground and transforming into a white light, shooting toward Garchomp above.

Its reaction was so swift, as if it still maintained the combat power of its peak period!

Garchomp roared loudly, relying on willpower to swing its fin blades, causing their surfaces to glow with cyan-blue flames, slashing toward the incoming Pikachu!

"Dodge!"

Ash shouted loudly.

Pikachu moved in response to the sound, making a feint of leaping. The moment Garchomp moved upward, it shifted laterally, arriving at its side and slamming into it fiercely.

*Thud! *

Garchomp was sent flying directly, its body sliding several meters backward under the impact, its fin blades inserting into the ground and leaving deep gullies.

"Ga, Garchomp... Garchomp..."

Its pupils trembled. It turned its head to look at Cynthia, who was close at hand, then looked at Pikachu not far away, suddenly roaring loudly and pouncing over.

Pikachu dodged backward, but stopped halfway.

Because Garchomp's movements paused, stopping abruptly halfway, its eyes vacant.

"Pika?"

No response.

Deng Pei entered the arena to observe. After a few seconds, he took a deep breath and announced the result in full view of everyone: "Garchomp is unable to battle! Pikachu wins! The winner of this match is—Contestant Ash!"

"It's decided! The entry ticket to the finals is obtained by Contestant Ash!" the host shouted loudly.

The audience erupted in earth-shattering cheers.

"We won!"

Hop stood up excitedly, and people all over the world watching Ash were also overjoyed.

The Team Rocket trio hugged each other with tears in their eyes. "They really won! An upset in the true sense!"

"The brat really defeated Cynthia!"

"Too amazing, Pikachu is too amazing, Meow!"

"Wobbuffet!"

They were the opponents most familiar with Ash. Seeing Ash defeat Drake and Cynthia one after another, they inexplicably felt a sense of honor.

This emotion was too complex, leaving them completely at a loss as to how to handle it.

In the preparation room, All Baimu stood up, stretched, and said: "What do you say?"

*'My defeat.'*

Calyrex lowered its eyes. *'This person is indeed extraordinary; you must be extra careful.'*

"Of course."

All Baimu nodded.

In this semi-final, Ash's bond power could only be considered a small test of skill, and it was only reflected in Sirfetch'd.

As for Pikachu...

It could only be said that this version of Pikachu plus the Z-Move was just very strong, stronger than the previous few seasons. If you're not happy, don't play.

Cynthia's Garchomp at least battled Sirfetch'd for a long time, while Steven's Metagross didn't really exert much effort, Mega Evolving in a near-peak state, only to be taken out by a half-crippled Pikachu with one 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt and one Iron Tail.

Before that, it could even dodge Thunderbolt easily.

In the backyard of Professor Oak's laboratory, the Pokémon led by Charizard were excitedly releasing skills everywhere, either breathing fire or spitting water; Tracey couldn't stop them in time.

Tears welled up in Professor Oak's eyes, and he laughed loudly: "Let them go! This is a day to be happy!"

"Ash~~ Pikachu~~"

Delia was deeply gratified.

How difficult it was to defeat Cynthia. After years of traveling, it finally blossomed and bore fruit.

Backstage, Leon looked at the screen, vibrating his cape violently: "Really... it's fired up!"

He strode toward the outside.

At the competition site.

Ash looked around blankly, as if he couldn't detach himself from the emotions of the match, or rather, couldn't believe he had really defeated Cynthia and obtained the qualification to advance.

It wasn't until Pikachu ran back that he jumped into the huge crater in the arena and hugged Pikachu, who was running toward him.

"Pikachu! We won!" His voice was full of excitement, pride, and joy.

Pikachu smiled and rubbed against him. "Pika Pika~"

Defeating Garchomp with Catastropika, in a sense, they could be considered to have avenged Iris.

On the other side of the arena, Cynthia walked to Garchomp's side, squatted down, and gently stroked the head of the behemoth. "Thank you, thank you for working so hard."

"Garchomp..."

"It's okay, this is a good thing!"

She smiled and looked at Ash below. "Isn't it a good thing that one powerful Trainer after another appears? We can continue to grow!"

"Garchomp!"

Garchomp gave an affirmative response.

Immediately, Cynthia recalled it into its Poké Ball, leaped lightly into the crater, and walked to Ash. "Ash!"

"Ms. Cynthia!"

Ash's eyes brightened slightly. He placed Pikachu on his shoulder and smiled: "Thank you for your guidance!"

"Same here."

Both sides shook hands in a friendly manner.

The two could be considered old acquaintances; not only had they met more than once, but they had also worked together to stop the conspiracies of certain evil forces.

This battle was perhaps destined back then.

"Let's fight together again someday! I'm very much looking forward to it!" Cynthia looked at Ash with burning eyes.

Just like she had faced All Baimu before, she issued a challenge to this young man.

Ash was stunned. From the tone and expression of the person in front of him, he knew she was serious.

He also nodded seriously: "Okay! I will always be ready!"

Even if it happened again, the final winner would still be him!

*Boom boom boom! *

Ceremonial cannons exploded around the arena, and countless ribbons fell, celebrating Ash as the finalist.

And after both of them left the arena.

A large number of staff members entered quickly, looking at the devastated arena with a headache.

"A Champion-level Full Battle... too exaggerated."

The destruction caused to the arena by 3-on-3 and 6-on-6 was simply not on the same level.

It was hard to imagine what the arena would be devastated into in the next match.

As the staff members looked at each other, they only felt their scalps tingling.

They sincerely hoped that the two Champions would show mercy!

Sharing the same thought were the maintenance engineers of the arena's protective devices; one machine after another buried underground was overloaded.

The redundant defense effect that was promised before was actually still lacking now!

"It's time to improve it!"

A serious female voice came from behind.

The engineers turned back and saw the current CEO, Oleana. "CEO!"

"Ms. Oleana!"

Oleana nodded to everyone. "The World Championships that the Chairman cares about so much absolutely cannot allow any accidents!"

Chairman?

Ah!

She must be talking about the former Chairman, Rose!

The engineers exchanged glances with the corners of their eyes, then responded in unison: "Yes!"

The first half of the Masters Eight of the World Championships came to an end.

After the morning match ended, there was a lunch break lasting several hours. The audience left their seats one after another, discussing the content of the match enthusiastically.

"Sirfetch'd is really amazing!"

"Mega Lucario Z is also very strong!"

Compared to the final showdown, what received more attention was indeed Mega Lucario Z, this new Mega Evolution, and Sirfetch'd, which dealt heavy damage to its opponent by piercing Aura.

The chivalrous spirit it possessed was too infectious, leading to heated discussions on the internet.

Countless Farfetch'd Trainers pointed at Sirfetch'd, hoping it could become like this.

However, Galar Farfetch'd were one thing, but how could ordinary Farfetch'd do it?

Countless Farfetch'd could only look at their Trainers with cold sweat, not knowing how to explain to them that this duck was not that duck, and there was a world of difference between ducks.

In short.

The internet was stirred up by Sirfetch'd.

But at this moment, it was not in a good mood.

After all...

"Ga."

Sirfetch'd held its tattered leek shield, its expression somewhat desolate.

This thing wouldn't recover after the match ended; once broken, it was truly broken.

Cynthia saw this and felt inexplicably embarrassed. "This..."

"It's okay! Sirfetch'd!"

Ash spoke first to comfort it: "As long as there is a sword! We are still knights! Don't forget what Mr. Bea taught us!"

"Ga!"

Sirfetch'd nodded heavily.

There was no other way; all it could do was accept it.

Sirfetch'd appeared strong on the surface, but was despairing on the inside as it put down its leek shield.

At this moment, a voice sounded from the side, "So you don't want this thing anymore? I can help you fix it." ===== CHAPTER 1429 =====