Author's Note: I keep saying this week might be rough still somehow find time to write the chapter, well this one would introduce the other protagonist of the games better , I hope and I dont know what I was initially thinking when I thought of this arc as I thought it would end in 5 but its more than double and doesnt seem to be ending , well at least the content seems to be coming out nicely so enjoy.
Third POV
Ash eventually went back to the stands where Misty and Brock congratulated him on his victory. Ash thanked both of them for helping him get this far in the tournament.
Misty then jokingly complained, "You should have used the Pokémon we worked with for so long."
Ash quickly shook his head.
"That wouldn't have worked well against Stefan's Normal-types. Pidgeotto's speed and flying ability kept me in the match. But don't worry, I'll use that Pokémon in the semi-finals."
Brock nodded at that.
"Then we'll help you prepare for it."
There was a fifteen minute break after the match, during which the arena staff quickly cleaned up the battlefield before the next quarter-final.
After the break, the match between Blue and Alex would begin.
Grey got ready to properly watch this battle. He was hoping Blue would reveal some new Pokémon or strategies so that there would be fewer surprises in the future if they ever faced each other.
The match began quickly after the break and ended just as quickly.
Alex used Scyther and Beedrill, while Blue sent out Charmeleon.
Knowing Alex was a Bug-type trainer, the match honestly was not even close.
Beedrill initially caused some problems by poisoning Charmeleon and maintaining distance while attacking from angles, but Blue calmly adapted. A Smokescreen covered the field, ruining Beedrill's vision, and after that Charmeleon's Flamethrowers made quick work of it.
The battle against Scyther ended even faster.
Charmeleon and Blue seemed to know exactly how Scyther fought. Every slash attempt was countered cleanly, and Charmeleon moved almost instinctively against the mantis Pokémon. It honestly felt like Charmeleon had specifically trained against the Scyther line before.
Within minutes, the match was over.
Blue qualified for the semi-finals with overwhelming dominance.
Another fifteen minute break was announced before the final quarter-final match between Red and Aria would begin for the last remaining semi-final spot.
Eventually Blue came out of the arena and headed toward the stands. After spotting Grey, he walked over and sat near him.
"So, how are you doing?" Blue asked casually. "Guess we both made it to the semis."
"Yeah," Grey replied simply.
Blue leaned back confidently.
"You had a way better match than me at least. No idea how that guy even made it to the Top 8. Well, whatever. Any matches from now on are gonna be uphill battles."
Grey nodded slightly.
"You might face either of those two. Both are pretty good."
Blue snorted.
"Nah, it's gonna be Red for sure. No way this Aria chick is that good. She looks pretty, but that's where it ends. Red's way stronger."
Grey did not reply much to that.
Personally, while he had seen Red's matches and knew how talented he was and what he could become, he still had not actually battled him yet. And unlike Red, Blue, or Ash, there was no Aria in the manga or anime he remembered from his previous life.
So he genuinely did not know what to expect from her.
Still, deep down Grey also felt Red would probably come out on top.
The crowd, however, had a different opinion.
Most people believed this would be another incredible match, maybe even as good as the first quarter-final which had already become a major upset after the Celadon kid defeated a Blackthorn clan member.
This time it was a noble girl with an extremely prestigious background, someone who even possessed a starter personally given by Lorelei during the trainer exams, facing a boy from Pallet Town, a place mostly known for Professor Oak.
Granted, Red also had one of Oak's starters.
But the question remained.
Could he really defeat Aria?
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After fifteen minutes, both trainers entered the arena and the referee explained the rules for the match once again. Both Red and Aria nodded calmly.
"At the count of three, release your Pokémon!"
The referee raised his hand.
"Three… two… one… release!"
Aria released Piloswine while Red released Ninetales.
The moment Ninetales entered the field, the temperature around the battlefield suddenly increased. The sunlight above the ship intensified dramatically, the bright rays pouring down onto the arena with unnatural force.
Grey and Blue immediately realised what was happening from the stands.
Blue narrowed his eyes. "Drought…"
Grey's expression also became serious.
Red had a Ninetales with the ability Drought.
For both trainers watching, that was bad news.
Blue internally clicked his tongue.
Just when he thought he had caught up to Red a little, Red casually pulled out a freaking Ninetales. The last time Blue had met him was back in Cerulean City, and Red definitely did not have this Pokémon back then. Meaning Red had either caught a Vulpix sometime between Cerulean and Vermilion and evolved it quickly, or he had somehow caught a fully evolved Ninetales itself.
Either option was absurd.
Grey meanwhile thought a bit further ahead.
If Red had a Drought Ninetales, then his next Pokémon was very likely Ivysaur with Chlorophyll.
The synergy between those two Pokémon was honestly dangerous.
Back on the field, Aria herself was surprised. She had not expected to see a Ninetales in a three badge level tournament. Still, she had confidence in her Piloswine. In her mind, this was probably Red's strongest Pokémon.
The battle began immediately.
"Piloswine, Ice Fang!"
The large pig Pokémon charged forward, tusks glowing with icy energy.
"Fire Spin," Red replied calmly.
Ninetales unleashed spiraling flames that trapped Piloswine inside a vortex of fire, but despite being engulfed in flames, the giant elephant pig Pokémon kept charging straight through the attack to land Ice Fang.
"Quick Attack!"
Ninetales blurred away at high speed, narrowly avoiding the attack.
Realising close combat was difficult, Aria changed tactics immediately.
"Piloswine, Icicle Crash!"
Large icy crystals were launched toward Ninetales, but Red responded instantly.
"Flamethrower!"
Boosted by the harsh sunlight, the Flamethrower burned through the incoming icicles before crashing directly into Piloswine again.
The Ground and Ice type visibly felt the pain from the fire attacks, but it still shrugged them off and remained standing.
Even Red looked surprised by that level of defense.
Internally, he wondered if Piloswine was somehow resistant to Fire attacks, because otherwise there was no way it should still be taking hits like this.
From the stands, Blue spoke up.
"There's a high chance Piloswine has the ability Thick Fat. That's probably why it's still hanging around despite taking two super effective attacks. Combined with its natural bulk, it's tanking way more than it should."
Grey nodded in agreement.
Aria then decided to capitalise on Piloswine's Ground typing.
"Use Mud Bomb!"
Piloswine began firing mud projectiles toward Ninetales, but the fox Pokémon dodged the attacks using Quick Attack boosted movements.
"Now charge in with Take Down!"
Piloswine started rushing forward while building momentum.
"Another Flamethrower!" Red ordered.
Ninetales fired another stream of flames, but Aria reacted quickly.
"Use Mud Bomb while running!"
Piloswine continuously launched Mud Bombs while charging forward. The mud attacks acted almost like a protective shield against the flames while it built momentum.
"Quick Attack away!" Red called.
Ninetales tried retreating, but right then Piloswine increased the number of Mud Bombs at close range, bombarding Ninetales directly before slamming into it with a full powered Take Down.
Ninetales cried out as it took the super effective damage.
Piloswine itself looked exhausted after pulling off that combination attack, but Red remained calm.
"Nasty Plot."
Right at that moment, Ninetales focused itself and sharply boosted its Special Attack.
Aria immediately tried to continue the pressure.
"Piloswine, Mud Bomb again!"
Piloswine launched another barrage, but this time Red changed his strategy.
"Go in close!"
Ninetales moved swiftly through the battlefield, dodging the mud attacks with its agile body while closing the distance rapidly.
"Another Mud Bomb!" Aria shouted.
Piloswine prepared to launch the move again, but before it could properly fire, Ninetales suddenly unleashed a Flamethrower at point blank range.
The flames completely engulfed Piloswine.
The giant Pokémon emerged from the fire still standing, shocking even Red internally.
What kind of monster was this thing?
It had tanked an absurd number of boosted Fire attacks already.
Red was about to order another attack when suddenly Piloswine collapsed.
It had only remained standing through pure stubbornness.
Aria stared in shock.
She could not believe Piloswine had lost.
Until now she had genuinely thought this tournament would be easy, something she would simply clear on her path toward greater ambitions. She knew there were talented trainers participating, but somewhere deep down, acing the trainer exams had made her overconfident.
Only now was she realising something important.
There was a massive difference between being good at trainer exams and being an actual battle trainer.
Battles involved far more than theoretical and practical knowledge.
She withdrew Piloswine slowly before looking back toward Ninetales. While the Fire type still looked imposing, it was clearly injured after all the Mud Bombs and Take Down damage.
Aria then released her second Pokémon.
"Shellos!"
Grey's eyes widened slightly upon seeing the Sinnoh Pokémon.
Internally he thought, just how many advantages did rich people even have? First Darumaka, now Shellos. It honestly felt like half her team consisted of Pokémon that were not even native to Kanto.
Still, he doubted it would matter here.
Red, meanwhile, was unfamiliar with Shellos. At least with Piloswine he had known it was an Ice and Ground type and had specifically used Ninetales to counter it.
But this Pokémon was completely unknown to him.
The battle resumed.
"Water Pulse!"
Shellos launched a sphere of water toward Ninetales, but Red ordered Quick Attack and Ninetales dodged the move cleanly.
"Flamethrower!"
"Water Pulse!"
Both attacks collided head on.
The flames evaporated much of the water while the Water Pulse weakened the Flamethrower, causing both attacks to cancel each other out.
Steam and fog spread across the battlefield from the collision.
Aria immediately capitalised on that.
"Mud Bomb!"
Through the cover of the fog, Shellos launched Mud Bomb directly at Ninetales, hitting it fully.
Ninetales staggered heavily.
It was now clearly on its last legs.
Red quickly pieced things together.
Water attacks. Mud attacks.
This Pokémon was probably Water and Ground type.
Meaning Fire attacks were almost useless now.
Seeing Ninetales already heavily injured, Red decided to end things aggressively.
"Quick Attack with Feint Attack!"
Dark energy coated Ninetales as it blurred forward at extreme speed and slammed directly into Shellos.
But at that exact moment Aria shouted, "Water Pulse!"
At point blank range, the Water Pulse struck Ninetales directly and finally knocked it out.
Red quickly withdrew Ninetales before releasing his second Pokémon.
"Ivysaur!"
"Shellos, Recover!"
Shellos immediately began healing itself, restoring some of its lost stamina.
But Red had no intention of prolonging the match.
"Solar Beam!"
Aria initially thought the move would take time to charge and believed Recover would heal Shellos enough to continue fighting.
But under the harsh sunlight created by Drought and Ivysaur's ability boosting its speed, Solar Beam charged almost instantly.
A massive beam of sunlight erupted from Ivysaur and slammed directly into Shellos.
Even after partially recovering, the sea slug Pokémon could not withstand the attack.
One hit was all it took.
Shellos fainted instantly, ending Aria's run in the tournament.