The next day dawned with exceptionally clear skies, perfect weather for Pokémon battles.
Especially when the competition was between Grass type Pokémon.
"Everyone, thank you for waiting! The annual Grass Type Pokémon Tournament of our town is finally about to begin!" the announcer declared enthusiastically, instantly igniting the excitement of the crowd.
In the waiting area, Ash saw numerous Pokémon Trainers and their Grass type Pokémon, including Victreebel, Parasect, Tangela, and many others. Judging from their appearance and spirit, they were all well trained.
Then he noticed one Pokémon that clearly didn't fit in.
Ash spotted a strangely dressed Sunflora. Although it looked convincing at first glance, the stitched patches on its costume and the claws sticking out of its hands immediately gave it away.
It was Team Rocket's Meowth in disguise.
As for the Trainer beside it, that was obviously Jessie in costume.
Ash also noticed James. He had entered the tournament with his own Victreebel, which was a legitimate Grass type Pokémon. As long as James didn't cause any trouble, Ash had no intention of exposing him. Unlike Meowth pretending to be a Sunflora, James wasn't cheating by entering Victreebel.
"Contestant Ash, you're up next," a staff member reminded him.
"Let's go, Bayleef."
That's right. The Pokémon Ash had chosen for this tournament was Bayleef.
The previous day, Ephraim had come to see him, saying that he hoped Ash would battle with his full strength. Even if he lost, he wanted to have no regrets.
So Ash had decided to send out the strongest Grass type Pokémon on his team. Bayleef had also learned many new moves recently, making this the perfect opportunity to test the results of its training.
After calling to Bayleef, Ash stepped onto the battlefield.
"Our next contestant is Ash, who signed up at the last minute. Rumor has it that Ash won the Indigo Conference Championship, reaching the pinnacle of success at the very start of his career. Let's see what kind of exciting battle he'll bring us today!"
Ash had no idea how they had learned that he had won the Indigo Conference, but the introduction instantly made him the center of attention.
His first round opponent was a Trainer whose name he didn't catch. His Pokémon was a Gloom.
"Go, Gloom! Use Petal Dance!"
"Bayleef, counter with Poison Powder!"
As the swirling petals rushed toward Bayleef, a cloud of purple Poison Powder drifted toward Gloom.
The poison took effect almost immediately, and Gloom's expression visibly changed.
"Now! Use Energy Ball!"
Bayleef opened its mouth and fired a glowing Energy Ball.
The attack slammed directly into Gloom and exploded.
Gloom was knocked out on the spot.
"Amazing! Just two moves were enough to win the first match!"
The battle had ended so quickly that even the commentator was momentarily stunned. However, his professionalism quickly kicked in as he announced the result.
At that moment, the audience became even more convinced that Ash had a real chance of winning the tournament.
"The next match features contestant Ephraim and his Skiploom against the mysterious Mr. Semaj and his Victreebel!"
Since James had entered through legitimate means, Ash had no reason to expose him.
What surprised Ash, however, was James's performance.
At the beginning of the battle, Victreebel used Vine Whip and Razor Leaf to force Skiploom into fighting at its pace.
In the end, Ephraim cleverly took advantage of Skiploom's lighter opponent and used Double Team to create an opening, allowing Skiploom to overwhelm Victreebel and claim the victory.
"Alright! The next battle is contestant Ash's second match! His opponent is the mysterious and beautiful contestant, Miss Jess! Let's welcome her to the stage!"
Sure enough, Ash looked over at the fully disguised Jessie and Meowth dressed up as a Sunflora.
If you want to play, then I'll play along.
"Go, Meow... I mean, Sunflora! Use Tickle!"
"Bayleef, Energy Ball."
Before Meowth could even get close, Bayleef fired an Energy Ball that struck him head on, completely blowing away his disguise.
"W... What's going on here?" the commentator exclaimed in confusion.
"Since you asked so sincerely..."
"We'll kindly answer!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"Stop!" Ash interrupted before they could continue. "Team Rocket, can't you come up with some new lines? You've been using the same introduction forever. Aren't you tired of it? Because everyone else certainly is."
"Hey, twerp! It's rude to interrupt people while they're talking!" Jessie protested.
"We're taking the Leaf Stones!" the Team Rocket trio declared as they dropped their disguises and charged toward the tournament's grand prize.
"No, you're not. Bayleef, Leaf Storm!"
Bayleef unleashed a violent Leaf Storm, sending Jessie, James, and Meowth blasting into the sky.
"We're blasting off again!"
"That line never gets old," Ash muttered as he watched them disappear into the distance. "It just wouldn't feel right without it."
The remaining matches went by quickly.
Bayleef defeated every opponent in three moves or less, advancing smoothly to the finals.
On the other side of the bracket, after Ephraim's hard fought victory over James's Victreebel, the rest of his matches were much easier, allowing him to reach the championship match as well.
"I didn't expect our rematch to come so soon," Ash said with a smile.
"This time I'll give it everything I've got. I won't lose to you again," Ephraim declared confidently.
"Skiploom, use Double Team!"
"Bayleef, cover the whole field with Leaf Storm!"
As Skiploom's clones surrounded the battlefield, Bayleef simply unleashed Leaf Storm from where it stood.
The raging storm shredded every clone and blasted the real Skiploom away as well.
"Keep up the pressure! Energy Ball!"
A glowing Energy Ball shot toward Skiploom just as it landed, knocking it to the ground once again.
"Skiploom, don't give up! We've worked so hard to get this far! Until the very last moment, we will never surrender!"
Watching his partner struggle helplessly under Bayleef's relentless offense, Ephraim continued encouraging it with all his heart.
Bruised and exhausted, Skiploom slowly forced itself back onto its feet.
Then, the flower on its head began to glow.
"Oh? It mastered Solar Beam?" Ash smiled. "Bayleef, let's use Solar Beam too!"
Two brilliant Solar Beams erupted across the battlefield and collided in the center.
The only difference was that Bayleef's Solar Beam fired much faster.
"Skiploom is unable to battle! Bayleef wins! And the champion of this year's Grass Type Pokémon Tournament is Ash from Pallet Town!"
Ash claimed the tournament championship.
His prizes were a trophy and thirty Leaf Stones.
Remembering the kindness Ephraim's family had shown him and his friends the previous day, Ash gave five of the Leaf Stones to Ephraim.
Ephraim accepted them with great joy.
After offering Ephraim a few words of encouragement, Ash and his companions bid farewell to Ephraim's family and continued their journey toward their next destination.
Ecruteak City.
...
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