"Wait, what is he doing?"
Platinum was completely stunned when she saw Ash choose Gengar to fight Drapion.
Drapion's types were Poison and Dark, while Gengar's types were Ghost and Poison. This didn't make sense.
Whether it was Ghost or Poison moves, both would be "not very effective" against Drapion.
To put it simply, Ash had actively chosen a very bad matchup for this battle.
It was true that Gengar was immune to the Toxic Spikes on the field, but fighting this way would be incredibly difficult.
Besides, even though Toxic Spikes were very annoying, there were ways to clear them away.
For example, he could use clearing moves like Rapid Spin or Defog.
Was it possible that Ash didn't have any Pokémon that knew those moves? That shouldn't be the case.
Even if he didn't have a move to clear the entry hazards, there should have been better choices.
Using Gengar was definitely not the best option.
This was why Platinum was so surprised.
"..."
Hearing Platinum's shocked and confused voice, Misty and Brock both looked a bit embarrassed.
How should they put it?
Ash's choice was indeed unexpected, but for them, since they had traveled with him for so long, they were already used to it.
"When it comes to surprises, Ash really has a talent for it," Damian said with a smile.
He wasn't surprised at all.
This was exactly the kind of thing Ash would do.
Furthermore, Ash's team had changed a lot.
Damian looked at that Gengar.
Along with the Dragonite, and if he also caught that Lucario, this team would be very different.
"Using Gengar? Have you lost your mind?" Paul also snapped out of his shock.
He frowned as he looked at the Gengar across from him.
There was a saying that a trainer who couldn't handle a battle with a type disadvantage wasn't a qualified trainer.
However, that usually applied when you were forced into that position by your opponent's switch.
What normal person would actively choose such a weak matchup?
"What are you talking about? I'm going to beat you!" Ash was very dissatisfied.
What did he mean by 'Have you lost your mind?'
Why did this guy have to be so annoying with his words?
Dammit!
"..."
Paul remained silent.
He felt that there was something off about Ash's way of thinking.
But it didn't matter.
He would just treat this as special training.
However, the battle that followed was very unexpected.
Gengar was a fast, Special Attack-focused Pokémon.
Drapion had already taken a lot of damage from Dragonite earlier.
Although Drapion had used Iron Defense to raise its physical defense, Gengar didn't rely on physical attacks to deal damage.
The boost from Iron Defense was essentially useless.
On top of that, Ash's Gengar was unusually flexible.
Still, under Paul's steady battle rhythm, Gengar was eventually hit by a Throat Chop from Drapion's pincer-tail.
But because of this, Ash became even more cautious.
The fight between both sides was intense.
Finally, after Gengar used Dazzling Gleam, Drapion crashed heavily onto the ground.
"Drapion is unable to battle. Gengar wins," Platinum announced the result.
"Alright! We beat Drapion!" Ash cheered happily.
Gengar also looked adorable as it put its hands on its hips and held its head high, looking very proud.
Seeing Ash win back the momentum, Misty and Brock both breathed a sigh of relief.
"Come back." Paul recalled Drapion.
He frowned hard, but he didn't blame Drapion.
He knew very well that Drapion had performed excellently.
Besides, it hadn't been at full health when it started fighting Gengar.
The key was...
"It was even able to dodge that Night Slash?" Paul found it hard to believe.
Halfway through the battle, Drapion's Throat Chop had hit Gengar once, dealing a heavy blow.
Paul, of course, wasn't going to miss that chance.
He immediately ordered Drapion to follow up with a Night Slash without any delay.
Logically, a Gengar that had just been hit by Throat Chop should have found it very hard to dodge a follow-up—especially one that fast.
Yet, when Ash shouted "Quick, dodge it!", that Gengar had actually managed to roll to the side just in time.
It avoided the Night Slash by a hair's breadth.
This... this wasn't right!
If that Night Slash had landed, Paul had already planned to have Drapion follow up with Earthquake.
Gengar definitely wouldn't have been able to handle it.
After all, Gengar's defense wasn't high; it was naturally a fragile attacker.
However, there was no point in thinking about that during the battle.
Paul gathered his emotions and took out his second Poké Ball.
"Hmph! Did you see that? I won't lose to a guy like you!" With the situation tied again, Ash immediately started talking back.
"Is that so? We'll see." Paul's calm words made Ash feel no satisfaction at all.
Tsk! This guy!
"Honchkrow! Prepare for battle!" Paul threw his second Poké Ball with a flick of his wrist.
Honchkrow cried out and spread its wings, appearing in the air in front of Paul.
"A Honchkrow, huh."
Ash looked at the Honchkrow and thought about it for a moment before recalling Gengar.
Against a Dark- and Flying-type Honchkrow, Gengar really wasn't a good match.
"Pikachu has an advantage over Honchkrow, but..." Ash thought to himself.
An Electric-type like Pikachu should have no problem beating this Honchkrow.
Ash trusted Pikachu very much.
But the key was the Toxic Spikes on the field.
Once Pikachu entered the battle, it would be hurt by them.
He still had to deal with the Toxic Spikes first.
Ash understood the hidden danger of the Toxic Spikes.
Based on this point alone, Ash's strategic vision for battle was actually much stronger than it was in the original anime.
In the anime, even during the Lily of the Valley Conference in the Sinnoh region, Ash initially tried to fight while ignoring the Toxic Spikes.
He suffered too many losses before he finally thought about dealing with them.
The battle continued.
Ash sent out Squirtle to clear the Toxic Spikes with Rapid Spin.
However, Paul took that opportunity to attack relentlessly.
Paul's ability to seize opportunities was outstanding.
Honchkrow defeated Squirtle and was still in good condition.
Ash followed up by sending out Pikachu.
Pikachu paid a small price but managed to defeat Honchkrow.
The situation was tied once again.
Paul's third Pokémon was the Ultra Beast, Buzzwole.
Ash had Pikachu test it out briefly.
Pikachu used Thunderbolt.
But Paul immediately had Buzzwole counter with Earthquake.
Not wanting to trade damage, Ash had Pikachu jump to avoid it.
But then, Buzzwole used a Bug-type Lunge that nearly slammed Pikachu directly into the ground.
Ash recalled Pikachu and sent out Gengar.
However, Gengar was no match for Buzzwole either.
Instead, it gave Buzzwole a boost from its Beast Boost ability.
After that, Ash sent out Charizard.
Seeing this, Paul decisively swapped out Buzzwole.
After all, Buzzwole had a double weakness to Fire and a quadruple weakness to Flying.
How could it fight Charizard?
Paul didn't think fighting with such a type disadvantage was logical.
He sent out his fourth Pokémon, Electivire.
Ash chose not to switch Charizard out.
Ash's Charizard was very strong.
Especially with Ash's encouragement, its will was incredibly tough.
However, after a fierce battle, it eventually fell to Electivire.
Next, Ash's final Pokémon was Snorlax.
Paul switched Buzzwole back in.
Buzzwole defeated Snorlax, triggering its Beast Boost again.
Ash was now down to only Pikachu.
"This guy..." Misty was already sweating as she watched.
In her eyes, Ash's talent as a trainer was actually quite extreme.
She hadn't expected this trainer from Sinnoh to be able to suppress Ash from the beginning to the very end.
"His tactics and thinking are too clear. He's almost like a robot," Brock praised Paul sincerely.
From Brock's perspective, Paul had made almost zero mistakes in his commands throughout the battle so far.
Furthermore, his tactical design and battle logic were solid.
He avoided disadvantageous matchups, and his Pokémon were basically always in a position of strength.
Ash, on the other hand, was being completely suppressed in this fight.
"Ash is going to lose." After his praise, Brock let out a helpless sigh.
Ash only had one Pikachu left.
Meanwhile, Paul had only lost two Pokémon: Drapion and Honchkrow.
Although Electivire had been heavily damaged by Charizard, it had already been switched out.
Was it possible for Pikachu to take down four Pokémon in a row?
Misty remained silent.
As Ash's most trusted ace Pokémon, Pikachu returned to the field to face Buzzwole.
This time, Ash was even more cautious and more serious than ever before.
He used Pikachu's excellent mobility to fight Buzzwole.
Finally, Pikachu's explosive Thunder hit Buzzwole, but at the same time, Buzzwole's Hammer Arm smashed directly onto Pikachu's head.
"Buzzwole and Pikachu are both unable to battle. Ash has lost all six Pokémon; Paul is the winner," Platinum announced the result after entering the field to check.
Hearing this announcement, Ash stood frozen on the spot.
He clenched his fists tightly, looking at the unconscious Pikachu.
He had actually lost...
"He's still inexperienced. Has he improved too slowly?" Damian thought, resting his chin on his hand.
In his opinion, there was absolutely nothing wrong with Ash's strength.
However, Ash's battle experience was clearly far behind Paul's.
This led to Ash being completely overwhelmed.
In terms of pure power, Ash's team was not weaker than Paul's—it might even have been stronger.
Yet the result of the battle was this one-sided.
It was obvious that because his natural talent was so great, Ash hadn't gained much battle experience while fighting through the Gyms.
Even though he had many "brilliant ideas" during battles and his Pokémon were doing their best to support him, it still wasn't enough.
In contrast, Paul was a training fanatic.
After joining Team Rocket, he worked even harder.
He also frequently had special training and practice matches with people like Platinum and Gladion.
Paul's strength and battle experience had exploded.
However, this wasn't a huge problem.
It could be fixed with training.
"..."
Paul glanced at Ash and recalled Buzzwole.
He looked at the Poké Ball in his hand and went quiet, thinking.
Winning the battle wasn't a surprise.
From the moment Drapion beat Dragonite, Paul was certain he couldn't lose this full battle.
Because if he were the one commanding that Dragonite, a Drapion could never have beaten it.
It only showed that the opposing trainer's commands were flawed.
But the key was that many "special" situations in this battle left Paul feeling confused.
For instance, attacks that he was sure would hit were somehow dodged.
Or, the opponent's Pokémon stayed standing when his judgment said they should have already collapsed.
The perfect example was Pikachu.
With Pikachu's level of defense and stamina, it should have been defeated long ago by a Buzzwole that had its Attack boosted by Beast Boost.
But it made no sense.
Paul thought back.
Pikachu had taken a Dark Pulse while fighting Honchkrow.
During its first matchup with Buzzwole, it took a Lunge.
In the second matchup with Buzzwole, it took two Brick Breaks, a partial hit from Lunge, and a glancing blow from Rock Slide.
Finally, it took a Hammer Arm before it went down.
This was completely and utterly unscientific!
Logically, that second Brick Break should have already defeated Pikachu.
But Pikachu just kept fighting while gasping for breath, and in the end, it even managed to take Buzzwole down with it.
Especially the power of that last Thunder—it almost made Paul lose his composure.
How on earth did this guy train a Pikachu like that?
Is this Pikachu even legal?
As a training expert, Paul's brow was furrowed.
He seriously suspected that Ash had put Pikachu through some kind of brutal endurance training!
Otherwise, there was no way to explain how Pikachu could take such a beating.
It couldn't possibly be because of Ash's shouting during the battle, saying things like "Hang in there, Pikachu!" or "Stand up, Pikachu!", could it?
This person was a bit strange, and his Pokémon were strange too.
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