Chapter 1159 - The Knockouts (9)

Ash and Simon looked around in awe as they saw people on their feet cheering for him, Ash has been in this position many times but he still cannot get used to it.

For a 10-year-old he has achieved heights that none of them has ever come close to, his name echoed around the stadium louder than his opponents showing that he is clearly the favorite one here.

Now that both of them have taken the stage, the referee also took his position and began explaining the rules of this battle.

Since there are only two stages before the final rounds start, these two rounds being the top 16, the rules of these two rounds are different.

This will not be a regular pokemon battle but a double battle with both trainers using two pokemons at the same time.

Since the league can change the rules every year, it is not a surprise to see a double battle in the middle of the tournament.

With two rounds being double battles, it will quickly filter up trainers before the final rounds begin, this will help the league finish the conference earlier and it will save them a lot of money, it cost a lot of money to host this event just for a day so the longer the leagues stretch the conference it will cost them more.

Referee "This will be a double battle, both trainers will send out two of their pokemons at the same time, the battle will end once both pokemons of a trainer are unable to battle, the winner will advance to the next round"

After the referee explained the rules he asked if both trainers are ready, getting a nod from both Ash and Simon he didn't delay the event and started the very first battle of the day.

Referee "Both trainers choose your pokemons"

The referee called out.

Ash went first and pulled out two pokeballs from his belt and tossed it into the battlefield, the pokemons that he chose are Greninja and Noivern.

Julian looked at Ash's pokemon and couldn't help but praise Ash in his heart, the Noivern is clearly very strong and with its big wingspan it can easily intimidate any opponent but Ash's best pokemon in this league is certainly his Greninja.

When Julian saw the Froakie for the very first time he knew it was an outstanding pokemon and Julian was not lucky enough to get it himself, the little fellow chose Ash and Julian is impressed by how Ash has trained Greninja.

Clearly, one of Ash's strongest pokemon even though it is the newest addition to his team of pokemons.

Ash's opponent also sent out his pokemons into the battlefield and his choices are Lucario and Raichu.

Lucario is a steel/fighting type and has an advantage over Greninja who is a water/dark type. His other pokemon Raichu is an electric type and it also has an advantage over Greninja.

It looks like Simon has done his research on Ash and he knows that Greninja is Ash's strongest pokemon so taking it out first might put him in an advantageous position.

Ash doesn't seem to be worried about his opponent's choice and was excited for the battle to start.

The referee looked at both trainers and after confirming that both of them are ready, he raised the flags in his hand and waved them to indicate the beginning of the battle.

Referee "The battle may begin".

He yelled and waved the flags.

As soon as his words were out both trainers who were on edge made their move, Simon made the first move.

Simon "Raichu, use Thunderbolt. Lucario, use Bone Rush"

Simon ordered and his pokemons followed, his Lucario charged at Greninja while using Bone Rush, it created a staff of energy made of ground energy and swung it at Greninja.

Raichu also let out its war cry and blasted a powerful Thunderbolt at Greninja as well, this forced Greninja into a corner, if it does one, it will get hit by the other but this is a double battle, Greninja can rely on its teammate to take care of the other problem.

Ash "Greninja, counter with Night Slash. Noivern, use Dragon Pulse"

Greninja spread its arms wide creating blades made of dark energy countered Lucario's downwards swing with its left hand and then sliced at Lucario's stomach without worrying about the Thunderbolt that was aimed at it.

Noivern which is in the sky puffed up its chest and then suddenly released a powerful Dragon Pulse directly at the Thunderbolt from an upward angle and completely canceled it, Noivern didn't stop there and it followed the path of the Thunderbolt back to Raichu trying to finish it in one go.

Raichu changed its target from Greninja and put its everything to counter the Dragon Pulse head-on, both attacks tried to push the other back but Raichu couldn't keep up with Noivern.

The Dragon Pulse soon started to overpower the Thunderbolt and as the Dragon Pulse pushed its way towards Raichu, Noivern put more power into it causing the Dragon Pulse to just zap through the Thunderbolt completely engulfing it in its path and hit Raichu.

Raichu got blasted into the air and it crashed hard on the ground.

And the exchange between Greninja and Lucario wasn't much different either, by blocking the downward swing from Lucario with its left-handed blade made of dark energy, Greninja used its right dark blade and sliced at Lucario's stomach and got a direct hit sending Lucario rolling on the ground.