Lily of the Valley Stadium.
Only Infernape remained on the field, panting hard but still standing proud.
After Electivire fell, thunderous cheers erupted throughout the stadium.
Many people had been moved by Infernape's fighting spirit.
Especially Flint, the Fire-type member of the Elite Four, and Volkner, who had accompanied him to watch the match.
Volkner and Luxray had been the first to truly experience the power of that Blaze.
"That special Blaze has gotten even stronger..."
Or perhaps Infernape had unleashed its strongest Blaze precisely because its opponents were Shinji and Electivire.
Shinji closed his eyes, his cold expression quickly giving way to acceptance.
He had already felt it during his battle with Infernape.
Just as Brock had said, Shinji and Ash were like two sides of a coin.
They seemed completely opposite, but they were still connected.
"We did it! We won!!!"
Dawn and Piplup jumped for joy.
After losing at multiple Pokémon League conferences, Ash had finally reached the semifinals, putting one foot into the finals.
Like the rest of the audience, Li Wei stood up and applauded Infernape.
This time, Ash had definitely not won simply by relying on his bonds.
Looking back over this victory,
first of all, he had not relied on Pikachu.
Pikachu had merely gone out and put on a little show with Aggron before smoothly leaving the field.
Then came Torterra's first win, followed by an incredible two-opponent sweep against desperate odds.
From now on, Torterra could finally shake off the nickname Sacrificial Turtle.
This also demonstrated how much Ash's command skills had improved.
Anyone who still viewed Ash as someone whose every tactic ultimately became a headlong charge would be completely wrong.
"You finally won, Ash."
Brock was thrilled for Ash, too.
Ash had already thrown his arms around Infernape in