Chain reaction

The round of sixteen at the Lily of the Valley Conference was in full swing.

This round featured two highly anticipated matches: Barry versus Paul, and Ash versus Kōhei.

The first to take place was Barry's showdown with Paul.

"Skarmory, use Spikes!"

Facing his idol, Paul, Barry was incredibly excited.

Right from the start, he ordered Skarmory to scatter a mass of sharp spikes across the field.

He intended to use Spikes to restrict Paul's Pokémon switches.

"Magmortar, use Fire Blast."

But Paul completely ignored the hazard and simply ordered a Fire Blast, knocking Skarmory out in a single hit.

"Hahaha, th-that's Paul for you! You really are amazing!"

"Come back, Skarmory! Empoleon, take care of this for me!"

With an awkward laugh, Barry recalled the unconscious Skarmory and sent out his starter Pokémon, Empoleon.

As a Water- and Steel-type, Empoleon had a type advantage against the Fire-type Magmortar.

With Spikes limiting Paul's options, Barry still had every chance to even the score.

"Magmortar, come back for now! Electivire, stand by for battle!"

Seeing Barry send out a Water-type Pokémon, Paul immediately recalled Magmortar and replaced the Pokémon with the Electric-type Electivire.

Clearly, he paid Skarmory's Spikes no mind.

Thud!

The moment Electivire entered the field, the Spikes dealt damage.

However, after Paul's grueling training, Skarmory's Spikes were little more than a tickle to Electivire.

That was why Paul had the confidence to switch Pokémon without worrying about Spikes.

"How is that fair? That's cheating! You're getting fined! You have to pay a fine!"

Seeing Paul trample all over his carefully devised strategy, Barry finally lost his composure and shouted in frustration.

"Electivire, use Thunder!"

Paul acted as though he had heard nothing, focusing entirely on the match as he gave Electivire the command.

He had not come here to