Xia You left the arena and met up with Erika and the others outside the venue.
Although he had successfully advanced to the semifinals, Ash and Misty had both suffered elimination and could no longer compete.
Now that he was the only one left, all their hopes rested on him.
To be honest, neither Ash nor Misty, who had been brimming with confidence before the tournament, had expected this. They had thought a local competition like this would give them a chance to show their stuff and surely achieve better results!
Now, it seemed they simply weren't strong enough and had failed to reach their goals.
The results inevitably left them a little discouraged. For Ash in particular, it really was a blow.
After all, he had always considered Xia You the person he admired most, as well as his greatest rival!
During their travels through the Orange Islands, he and Xia You had both defeated Drake in turn and become Honorary Pokémon Trainers of the Orange League. For a time, that had made him think he was once again standing at the same starting line as Xia You, ready to compete with him!
Especially after arriving in Johto, he had not only caught many Pokémon on his journey but also won the Grass-type Pokémon Tournament and scored numerous victories in a series of other minor competitions. His confidence had grown considerably!
I've gotten stronger than before! The gap between me and Xia You must be getting smaller, too!
This was what Ash had firmly believed all this time, and it was what had given him the confidence to challenge Xia You in this Cup Tournament!
Yet, unexpectedly, after only a few matches, harsh reality had dragged him back down to earth!
Just like at the Indigo Conference, he had