For this preliminary match, Ash naturally sent out his most trusted partner-Pikachu.
His opponent was a man wearing a white judo uniform with a red ribbon tied around his head. With someone dressed like that, there was no need to guess. His outfit alone told you his Pokémon had to be a Fighting-type!
Sure enough, a glance a little farther ahead revealed his Pokémon: a Hitmonlee!
In terms of type matchups, Ash had made the right gamble. He had not run into an opponent with an advantage over him, though even if he had, he probably would not have cared, given his personality.
He was not called the Type-Disadvantage Master for nothing!
They had arrived early enough to catch the start of the battle. The match had barely begun, and Hitmonlee was already racing toward Pikachu, trying to launch Close Combat.
But Ash's Pikachu was certainly not intimidated. As Hitmonlee swept a leg across, Pikachu leaped high, then used Iron Tail, striking Hitmonlee squarely on its big, round head and slamming it into the ground!
The difference was clear at once!
It might have been only one exchange, but Pikachu landing the first blow meant this probably would not be a difficult battle for Ash.
And just as Xia You had expected, after Hitmonlee got back up, it attacked Pikachu again with High Jump Kick. Pikachu easily countered it with Quick Attack, then knocked it straight to the ground with another Iron Tail, leaving it unable to battle!
Throughout the entire match, Pikachu had not even used a single Electric-type move!
That alone showed just how much Ash had grown.
It also made Xia You realize clearly that he could no longer treat Ash as the careless, somewhat sloppy child he had been when he first set out on his