The Lily of the Valley Conference.
The match between Ash and Shinji had begun.
Lady Luck smiled on Ash.
The burn inflicted by Flare Blitz had dealt Aggron a heavy blow, and at the same time...
The excited commentator explained, "When a Pokémon is burned, its attack power is halved!"
Ash pressed his advantage.
"Infernape, Mach Punch!"
If even the referee knew that, Shinji naturally knew it too.
So he immediately abandoned Metal Claw.
"Aggron, Flash Cannon!"
Flash Cannon also had a secondary effect, with a chance to lower the opponent's Special Defense by one stage.
Unfortunately, it hadn't triggered earlier.
Otherwise, Pikachu might have suffered even worse injuries.
A streak of white light flashed before their eyes.
While Aggron was still gathering its Flash Cannon, Infernape had already reached it!
"What a fast Mach Punch!"
Infernape's full-power Mach Punch slammed into Aggron's right cheek, sending it flying.
Aggron crashed heavily into the arena wall, making it shake violently.
Broken rocks buried Aggron, and dust completely obscured its figure.
"Yikes! That was powerful too. That punch must have hurt!"
"Aggron is unable to battle.
Infernape wins!"
In this clash between fierce rivals, Ash had drawn first blood!
"You did it, Infernape!"
"That was so cool!"
Meowth's eyes brimmed with tears of excitement, his cheeks flushed...
Jessie and James couldn't help shedding tears for Infernape either. The spectators beside them watched the three melodramatic characters curiously...
Jessie raised her arms high. "Go, Infernape! Take down all five of the remaining Pokémon!"
But Brock, who wholeheartedly supported Ash, wasn't overly excited. "The match has only just begun."
Shinji remained expressionless. He simply recalled Aggron calmly and sent out his next Pokémon.
"Gastrodon, prepare for battle!"
The next Pokémon Shinji sent out was Gastrodon, a Water- and Ground-type Pokémon that Cynthia also owned.