Chapter 278: Silver Conference (Finale)
As soon as Lucario entered the field, it was hit by the Stealth Rock left behind by Steelix.
Fortunately, Stealth Rock is a Rock-type move, and Lucario has a 4x resistance to Rock-type moves, so it didn't take much damage.
"Blaziken, this opponent is very strong, so give it your all! Use Fire Punch!"
"Hacha～!"
Blaziken's fists were covered in flames as it swung them repeatedly at Lucario, but Lucario relied on its fighting instincts to dodge.
"Lucario, use Bone Rush!"
Lucario brought its hands together, condensing a long, white energy bone staff, and swept it out with one strike, knocking Blaziken back several steps before it could steady itself.
Condensing a bone staff to use as a weapon was something Ash had asked Lucario to try; the idea was to use the move to condense it first and then maintain it with the Aura in its body. Given Lucario's current limits, this energy-condensed bone staff could be maintained for about fifteen minutes.
Then came a shift in offense and defense; facing the lashes of Lucario's energy bone staff, Blaziken was forced to retreat repeatedly.
Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, Harrison hurriedly shouted, "Blaziken, use Flame Charge!"
Blaziken covered its entire body in flames, its speed increasing by another level as it charged straight at Lucario.
"Lucario, use Brick Break."
Facing the charging Blaziken, Lucario swung its energy bone staff violently, bringing it down on Blaziken's head.
Startled by this heavy and powerful blow, Blaziken hurriedly jumped to dodge.
However, this was exactly the moment Lucario had been waiting for. She jumped up after it, twisted her body, and swung the bone staff in her hand again, striking Blaziken squarely in the waist.
Having suffered a heavy blow to its waist, Blaziken fell to the ground hard like a kite with a broken string.
"Blaziken, hang in there!"
Harrison shouted to rally it.
Blaziken arched its back, its brow furrowed tightly. It glanced at Harrison and forced itself to get back up.
"Very good, Blaziken. Now, use your final Flare Blitz!"
"Hacha～"
Blaziken roared at the sky, its entire body covered in flames once again, and then slammed into Lucario.
"Lucario, use Aura Sphere!"
As soon as Ash finished speaking, Lucario dropped the bone staff, conjured an Aura Sphere nearly two meters wide, and launched it in the direction of the charging Blaziken.
Boom!
An explosion rang out, and the grass field instantly turned into a mud field; almost the entire arena had been overturned by the blast.
When the smoke cleared, Blaziken could be seen lying in the middle of the field, its eyes spiraling.
As for Lucario, while she looked disheveled, she had actually only sustained minor injuries—the kind that she could heal in under three seconds by using Heal Pulse herself.
"Blaziken is unable to battle. Since all six of contestant Harrison's Pokemon are unable to battle, the winner of this match is Mr. Ash from Pallet Town!"
After confirming, the referee solemnly announced the result of the match.
After defeating Harrison, there was one remaining opponent in the Silver Conference, a contestant named Dushe whose strength was on par with Harrison's.
After Ash defeated this Dushe in the semifinals, the finals were a breeze.
After Charles Goodshow presented Ash with the Champion trophy, the Silver Conference came to an end.
In the contestant village.
Ash had won the championship again, and his mother, Delia, had specifically borrowed a kitchen from the staff to show off her cooking skills in celebration.
"Congratulations, Ash!"
"Ash, congratulations on winning the championship!"
Everyone chimed in to offer their congratulations.
"Thank you, everyone!" Ash replied.
"Ash, where are you going to travel next?" Harrison asked curiously.
"Me? I think I'll go to your Hoenn region and take a look around," Ash replied.
Upon hearing this, Harrison's face brightened: "That's great! Professor Birch contacted me yesterday and insisted that I invite you to visit Littleroot Town."
Ash's expression stiffened as he asked, "Uh... Professor Birch, did he say what the specific reason was?"
He was a bit afraid to contact those top scholars in the academic world now, and for no other reason than that old man Charles Goodshow had publicized the research results on Mega Evolution within the League without consulting him first.
Now, scholars from many regions were pulling strings to contact him, wanting to find out more information about Mega Evolution.
Harrison shook his head, "He didn't say, but it should be related to the Mega Evolution you used during your match with Gary."
"If it's about that, Ash, I'll send a copy of those materials to Professor Birch later and let him look at them first. Anything he doesn't understand, you can discuss once you get there," Professor Oak suggested.
Hearing this, Ash felt a sense of relief: "Then I'll leave it to you, Professor Oak!"
If he had to let Professor Birch ask questions from start to finish, Ash was certain he would go crazy. Most importantly, Professor Birch was the type of person who liked to find specimens in the wild to conduct his research.
If he were accidentally dragged off by Professor Birch to dig for stones, that would be a loss that outweighed the gain.
Of course, if the price was right, Ash wouldn't mind using the points he had worked so hard to accumulate to draw for a super evolution stone.
After the meal, Ash's mother and Professor Oak returned to Pallet Town.
As for Gary, he was striving toward the two research topics Ash had mentioned to him. Since his first topic was Magmortar, he headed off to the volcanic region to investigate.
Harrison, meanwhile, continued his journey through Johto.
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