"At this point, Wentai on the green side has only one Pokémon left, while Xiao Yan on the red side still has three. It looks like he's switching in another Pokémon."
"Thanks, Sandslash!"
Xiao Yan recalled Sandslash and sent out his third Pokémon.
"Go, Garchomp!"
Garchomp stood on the rocky battlefield, glaring fiercely at the opposing Ponyta.
"What's going on?! Is Ponyta trying to run away?"
Ponyta fled from Garchomp in a panic.
"Get back there and fight, Ponyta!"
Xiao Yan's opponent was clearly anxious.
"Dragon Claw."
Garchomp chased down the fleeing Ponyta with the speed of the wind. A moment later, Garchomp had knocked Ponyta to the ground.
"Ponyta is unable to battle, so the winner is Xiao Yan on the red side!!! That concludes this morning's matches. Please take some time to rest, everyone. We'll continue the tournament this afternoon."
Xiao Yan took the Pokémon that had just competed in the third round to the Pokémon Center to recover.
"I still have a match this afternoon. I just didn't expect him to be my opponent this time. I can't let my guard down."
After thinking it over for a long time, Xiao Yan finally decided which Pokémon to use in his next match.
"Xiao Yan!" A familiar voice reached his ears.
"Gary?!"
Gary had also brought his Pokémon to the Pokémon Center for treatment.
"I heard who your next opponent is."
"Yeah..."
"Until you face me... don't lose to anyone."
Gary looked at Xiao Yan with determination in his eyes.
"I know. We promised each other that two years ago."
"So you still remember!"
Then the two looked at each other and smiled.
Thanks, Gary!
"Good afternoon, Pokémon fans! Up next is the twelfth match of the fourth round, held on the ice battlefield.
On the red side, we have Xiao Yan from Pallet Town, and on the green side, we happen to have another trainer from Pallet Town, Ash! What Pokémon will they send out on this slippery ice battlefield?"
"I've waited so long for this moment... I finally get to battle my idol on the stage I've always dreamed of."
Ash looked at Xiao Yan excitedly, but the venue was too noisy for Xiao Yan to hear what he had said. All Xiao Yan knew was that he had to give this battle everything he had.
After the referee waved his flags to signal the start of the match, both trainers sent out their first Pokémon.
"Butterfree, use Stun Spore."
Butterfree scattered Stun Spore toward Xiao Yan's Glaceon.
"Use Hail."
Glaceon dodged the Stun Spore and roared at the sky. Hail began to fall.
"Butterfree!"
The sudden barrage of hail knocked Butterfree out of the air and onto the ground.
"Ice Fang." Glaceon charged at Butterfree, who had yet to get up, with cold air surrounding its fangs.
"Butterfree, get up!!!"
Hearing Ash's voice, Butterfree finally got up, but Glaceon was already right in front of it. Butterfree let out a cry and collapsed.
The hail stopped, and the sky cleared again.
"Butterfree is unable to battle! Ash, please send out your next Pokémon."
"Let's go, Pidgeot!"
Ash sent out another flying Pokémon.
"Glaceon, Ice Beam."
Glaceon fired an Ice Beam at Pidgeot as it flew overhead.
"Dodge it!"
Pidgeot swiftly dodged Glaceon's attack.
"Pidgeot, use Gust."
Pidgeot whipped up a powerful wind with its wings and sent it toward Glaceon. Glaceon lost its balance and slipped on the icy battlefield.
"Use a wide-area attack, Blizzard."
Glaceon got up, but suddenly couldn't use its move. It had become paralyzed.
Could it be... the Stun Spore Butterfree left in the air earlier was blown toward Glaceon by Pidgeot's wind?!
"Now! Use Double-Edge."
Pidgeot dove from high above toward the immobilized Glaceon.
"Glaceon is unable to battle! Xiao Yan, please send out your second Pokémon."
"I'm sorry, Glaceon... I made the wrong call." Xiao Yan recalled Glaceon and picked up another Pokémon Ball.
"You're up, Pidgeotto."
Xiao Yan's Pidgeotto and Ash's Pidgeot stared at each other in midair.
"What?! Xiao Yan has actually sent out Pidgeotto, Pidgeot's pre-evolved form, to face Pidgeot! Does he have something else planned?"
"Pidgeot, use Wing Attack."
"Pidgeotto, we'll use Wing Attack too."
The two bird Pokémon struck each other with their wings in midair, locked in an evenly matched stalemate.
"Take Down."
Pidgeotto slammed straight into Pidgeot.
"Use Swift."
Pidgeot turned around and used Swift, hitting Pidgeotto. Both Pokémon had taken some damage.
"Take Down."
"We'll use Take Down too."
The two Pokémon slammed into each other. A moment later, the much stronger Pidgeot sent Pidgeotto flying, and it crashed to the ground. One of Pidgeotto's wings was injured. It tried to fly but couldn't get airborne.
"It's over. Pidgeot, use Hyper Beam!"
White light gathered steadily in Pidgeot's mouth, and Pidgeotto closed its eyes in despair.
"Pidgeotto, this match isn't over yet. I won't let you give up. Open your eyes and keep fighting."
Pidgeotto opened its eyes just as Pidgeot fired Hyper Beam toward it.
"Pidgeotto is una-"
After Hyper Beam struck, Pidgeotto was nowhere to be seen.
"Where did Pidgeotto go?"
While everyone was searching for Pidgeotto...
"Sky Attack!"
A Pidgeot dove out of the clouds.
"What?!"
In an instant, Ash's Pidgeot was knocked to the ground.
The entire crowd erupted with excitement.
"Pidgeot is unable to battle. Ash, please send out your third Pokémon."
"This is my final ace." Ash sent out Charizard, while Xiao Yan recalled his Pidgeot.
"Go, Pikachu!" Pikachu, who had been sitting on Xiao Yan's shoulder, jumped onto the battlefield.
"Charizard, Flamethrower!"
Charizard fired a Flamethrower at Pikachu, but Pikachu calmly dodged to the side, letting the attack miss.
"Double Team." Pikachu moved rapidly, creating the illusion of duplicates.
Pikachu's duplicates now covered the battlefield.
"We'll use Double Team too."
Charizard's duplicates also spread across the battlefield.
"Charizard, use Swift."
Swift struck the Pikachu duplicates from every direction, until only one Pikachu remained standing on the field.
"Found you! Charizard, use Fire Spin."
Charizard created an enormous vortex of fire and sent it toward Pikachu.
"That was an afterimage too?!" The Pikachu caught in the Fire Spin vanished.
"Seismic Toss."
Xiao Yan's Pikachu immediately emerged from a hole beneath Charizard.
Pikachu grabbed Charizard in midair. Charizard tried to break free, but Pikachu unleashed a Thunderbolt to keep it under control, then slammed it headfirst into the ground.
"Charizard is unable to battle! The winner is Xiao Yan on the red side!!!"
Ash recalled his Charizard with a look of disbelief, while Pikachu had already returned to Xiao Yan's shoulder.
"Congratulations on making it to the fifth round too!"
Gary was the first person Xiao Yan saw after leaving the venue.
"So you won too..."
"Of course!"
Ash's group came out soon afterward.
"Xiao Yan... you're really amazing..."
Ash looked at Xiao Yan with tears in his eyes.
"By the way, what did you say before the battle started?"
"I said I finally got to battle my idol on the stage I'd always dreamed of."
Pikachu was so startled that it fell off Xiao Yan's shoulder.
"I'm your idol?!" Xiao Yan was shocked too.
"Could you give me your autograph? I'll definitely come watch your matches from now on."
Ash took a photo of Xiao Yan sleeping in bed out of his pocket and handed it to him to sign.
"How did you get a photo like this...?"
"I asked Pikachu to sneak into your room in the middle of the night and take it."
After signing the photo for Ash, Xiao Yan happily headed back.
After leaving their Pokémon in the care of the Pokémon Center, Xiao Yan and Gary went to the draw venue together. With so many people eliminated, only a handful remained there.
"Xiao Yan, you draw first!"
Xiao Yan pressed the button on the table, and the result left both of them stunned!
"Xiao Lan?!"
"Your sworn little sister?!"
Before you continue