"Take the Charizard down for me!" Ash shouted loudly.
The next moment, Blaziken struck Charizard's arms with a thud. Charizard's expression distorted sharply—it was clearly in immense pain. However, that was all. They saw a light flash in Charizard's eyes as it tightly grabbed Blaziken with its claws. The next moment, its wings suddenly beat, and it soared into the sky.
"It's Seismic Toss. This time, Charizard will definitely win!" Brock in the distance said, slightly excited. In his opinion, as long as Charizard used Seismic Toss and successfully hit Blaziken, it was impossible for Blaziken to win.
Cynthia on the side also nodded slowly. "Blaziken's strength is similar to Charizard's, but Charizard should win this battle."
"Ash, are you going to advance to the semi-finals?" Steven's eyes beside her brightened slightly.
Their gazes gradually followed Charizard's figure into the sky. When Charizard reached the highest point, blocking the sun, Ash clenched his fists at that moment and said loudly, "Now, Charizard, use all your power!"
As his words fell, they saw Charizard spiral toward the ground. At this time, Blaziken was a bit dizzy. It wanted to struggle but was completely unable to break free from Charizard's grasp.
With worried eyes on Harrison's face, the two Pokémon slammed into the ground with a thud.
Dust began to rise at that moment, and everyone looked over. They wanted to know if Blaziken had been defeated by this move.
As the dust slowly dissipated, the scene before them made everyone's eyes flicker slightly, and then they all cheered. Because under their gaze, they could clearly see Blaziken lying on the ground. The Charizard on the opposite side raised its neck at that moment, spitting flames into the air, venting its victory.
"Great, I won!" Ash said excitedly.
Harrison, who was opposite him, sighed helplessly when he saw this scene. But he still walked forward, gave Ash a hug, and said, "Ash, since you defeated me, don't stop. You must keep moving forward. I'm rooting for you to win the Silver Conference this time." After saying this, he walked off the field.
Ash accepted everyone's cheers and returned to the hotel. At this time, Ash was lying comfortably on the bed, an excited smile in his eyes. Beside him, Pikachu was also lying there, making the same expression as him. As for Ash's other Pokémon, they were also in the living room, resting.
"Clearly, you just made it to the semi-finals by reaching the top four. Why do you feel like you've already won the championship?" Brock asked curiously.
Hearing his words, Misty also looked over.
Ash raised an eyebrow. After a moment's thought, he smiled and said, "I don't know. It's as if, in fate, I was supposed to lose this match, but now I've won. I've defeated the version of myself bound by that fate, so I feel particularly excited."
Brock and Misty looked at each other, a little confused. Ash shrugged gently and didn't say much. They were all looking forward to the semi-finals the next day, wanting to see if Ash could win again.
The next day's semi-finals proceeded as scheduled. However, the opponent Ash defeated this time was even more ordinary than everyone had imagined—a complete background character. The Pokémon used were only common ones like Rattata and Pidgey. Ash didn't even take long; it took less than ten minutes for Pikachu to sweep the team.
This time, Ash wasn't as happy as when he defeated Harrison. Because he fully understood that the opponent across from him was definitely not as strong as Harrison. In other words, he felt that the strongest opponent he faced in this Silver Conference was probably Harrison.
"So, this Conference is practically over," Cynthia on the side remarked curiously.
Hearing her words, Caitlin next to her also shrugged. "Logically, that shouldn't be the case. But judging from the current situation, it seems so."
"Ash's battles against Harrison and Gary were pretty good. Especially Harrison—if Charizard hadn't displayed such a powerful attack in the end, maybe Ash wouldn't necessarily have been the winner. Ash's opponent this time just didn't seem that strong."
Everyone opened their mouths to analyze, but as they spoke, their expressions gradually calmed. Because they all knew that in such a situation, Ash definitely wouldn't really listen to their words. Otherwise, Ash might become overconfident. If that became the reason Ash lost in the end, they would all feel guilty. But now, it was clear there was no need to worry about that.
Ash disappeared into the crowd's cheers and walked off the arena once more. His gaze looked into the distance, where he saw a familiar figure. However, he just glanced at the figure before it disappeared, which made Ash raise an eyebrow slightly. But he didn't say much because he was truly excited at that moment. He believed that with his current strength, he could even win the championship in this tournament. After all, he was very powerful.
Brock and Misty followed Ash as he left. Their eyes looked back, where countless people were watching. "If the Silver Conference ends, will we be able to see the scenes from Black Ash's world again?" Misty suddenly said at that moment.
Hearing her words, Brock beside her raised an eyebrow slightly and subconsciously wanted to speak but finally closed his mouth.
As for Ash next to him, he showed an excited expression at that moment. "Yes! The big screen in the sky hasn't disappeared. After this tournament is over, we'll probably be able to see the situation on Black Ash's side again. Tell me, if I can take first place here, how high can Black Ash place in his world?" Ash said softly, a hint of expectation in his eyes. For Ash, he had already shifted his goal to Black Ash. Because the two of them had the same talent, and their Pokémon were essentially the same—the difference wasn't too big.
But the difference in the achievements they had made so far was a bit huge. Black Ash had even obtained several Legendary Pokémon. As for Ash himself, he didn't have a single one. This wasn't to say he didn't have opportunities to obtain Legendaries, but he himself hadn't seized those opportunities. This made him seem so ordinary now, ordinary to the point of making people feel helpless. However, no one said anything because everyone knew they still needed to wait and see the final outcome.
Soon, the next day arrived. This was the final championship match. When Ash stepped onto the stage, he saw the figure standing opposite him—an ordinary-looking man. The other party took the lead in sending out a Charizard.
At this time, Ash raised an eyebrow slightly and released Pikachu. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
As the words fell, they saw Pikachu eject huge lightning at that moment, directly striking the figure across from it. A sizzling sound rang out. Although the opposing Charizard roared wildly, it was directly defeated in an instant.
Seeing this scene, Ash frowned slightly. He felt it was all too… ordinary.
The man opposite looked very normal. Clearly, for him, he knew the person he was dealing with was Ash—the real protagonist who had attracted much attention over the past few months. Under such circumstances, he naturally wouldn't do anything unnecessary. He just released his second Pokémon, Blastoise.
Looking at the Water-type Blastoise, Ash raised an eyebrow slightly and, without hesitation, had Pikachu use Thunderbolt again. This time, the scene didn't change much. Although the opposing Blastoise resisted for a while, it was directly defeated the next moment.
Seeing the Blastoise lying on the ground, everyone present fell silent. They frowned slightly at that moment, as if they had anticipated something.
"Actually, in this Silver Conference, apart from Ash and the previous Harrison, there weren't any truly powerful competitors, right?" Cynthia's voice held a note of ordinariness, with a hint of calmness shining within it.
Beside her, Steven also nodded slowly. "We probably won't get to see that much-anticipated battle. But now, I'm looking forward to Black Ash's performance in that world."
"I have some expectations too. Black Ash should be completely different from what we imagine. He will definitely surprise us," Lance's voice also sounded nearby.
Everyone looked at each other and then didn't say much more. Because they all knew what they wanted to see next.
Half an hour later, when Ash very easily won the Silver Conference championship, he still smiled. "I won the Silver Conference!" Ash clenched his fist, raised it high, and swore loudly to the sky.
Hearing his words, the eyes of others also flickered slightly. They looked at Ash at that moment, their eyes filled with expectation, a trace of calmness within that expectation.
That night, Ash met up with a group of friends to celebrate at the hotel. They sat at the dining table, eating delicious food. On the ground not far away, their Pokémon also ate the special Pokémon food provided by the hotel. Everyone was very happy.
But while chatting, everyone intentionally or unintentionally glanced at the huge screen in the sky. They were all waiting, looking forward to the performance of Black Ash from another world…
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