Chapter 65: Zhang Feng vs. Gary, The Finals!

When the battle between枫 and Tetsuya came to an end, the ultimate winner was finally decided!
枫 won!
However, in this full six-on-six battle against Tetsuya, the strongest aces he sent out were probably only three or four, which did not represent his absolute strongest lineup of six!
Similarly, when 枫 faced Tetsuya, he also only deployed three Pokémon that truly served as his mainstays, so the gap in strength between the two was currently quite small!
However, by the time the Ever Grande Conference arrived, a winner might be decided very quickly!
After all, from the time he became a Pokémon trainer until now, 枫 had been traveling for less than four months, whereas Tetsuya had debuted several years ago!
In another two months, when the Ever Grande Conference opened, if luck was on his side, 枫 might already possess an Elite Four-level Pokémon!
Recalling Pidgeot, 枫 praised his partners who had participated in the battle!
Meanwhile, Tetsuya recalled his Skarmory, walked up to 枫, and said,
"枫, I lost today, but at the Ever Grande Conference, I definitely won't lose. Let's have a full battle then!"
Facing Tetsuya's outstretched hand, 枫 smiled and replied,
"Alright, but the championship of the Ever Grande Conference is mine!"
Watching the two shake hands, Gary and Vincent, who were up next, smiled and said,
"Hey, did the two of you forget about us?"
With that, everyone chuckled and cleared the battle field for Gary and Vincent!
As for the strength of their starter Pokémon, whether Blaziken or Blastoise was stronger ultimately depended on luck!
After all, Gary's Blastoise was very strong, but Vincent's Blaziken was equally formidable!
If not for plot armor, how could a Blastoise ever be taken down by a Charizard?
As soon as the two stepped up, they sent out their strongest starter Pokémon, but in terms of typing, Blaziken was completely at a disadvantage!
In the end, after a fierce and grueling battle, Blaziken was completely finished off by Blastoise's Water Spout, though following this clash, Blastoise's stamina was also pushed to its absolute limit!
Having lost Blaziken, Vincent wore a grim expression. The Steelix he sent out next was dealt with by Gary's Arcanine, while his other Pokémon fought evenly with Gary's.
Ultimately, the two concluded the match with a score of five to six, deciding the victory!
Gary won, and Vincent fell just short!
Therefore, the two finalists for the ultimate showdown were Gary from the Kanto region and 枫 from the Hoenn region!
Witnessing the final tournament results, Professor Birch could not help feeling a bit surprised!
Even though he had already held 枫 in very high regard, if he hadn't invited 枫 here this time, Tetsuya and Vincent probably would have both lost to Gary in the regional exhibition!
If that had really happened, then his reputation as the Hoenn Professor and the organizer would have been completely ruined!
Silently thinking himself fortunate, he restored the Pokémon's stamina, and the final showdown began the very next day!

...

This time, Brock served as the referee. As 枫 and Gary stood on opposite sides of the battle field, the ultimate showdown officially began!
"Go, my darling!"
As Gary flicked his Pokéball, a handsome Scizor materialized. At the same time, 枫's Infernape finally took the stage!
"Ding-dong, Scizor's current stats are as follows:"
Pokémon: Scizor
Level: 51
Ability: Technician
Types: Steel, Bug
Potential: Purple
Bond Evolution: Locked
Mega Evolution: Locked
Moves: Metal Claw, Wing Attack, False Swipe, Hyper Beam, Swords Dance, X-Scissor...
"Infernape? Isn't that one of the starter trio from the Sinnoh region? Can you actually encounter a Pokémon like this?"
At this moment, Gary, Professor Rowan, as well as Barry and Paul from the Sinnoh region, could not help feeling quite surprised by 枫!
Truthfully, no one could have imagined that a trainer who debuted just this year would possess so many rare Pokémon!
Not to mention, in the wild, who has ever seen anyone encounter a wild starter Pokémon of the fire type?
Even taking Ash as an example, aren't fire-type starters like Charizard, Infernape, and Pignite all abandoned by others?
In the Hoenn region, Ash had never encountered a wild Torchic either, and could only catch Torkoal!
"As a trainer, being able to encounter all kinds of Pokémon is what you call an adventure, right? Infernape, use Flamethrower!"
Hearing 枫's command, Gary quickly snapped back to reality and instructed Scizor,
"Scizor, use Swords Dance!"
The next moment, Scizor swung its two massive pincers and began to spin rapidly. When Infernape's fierce flames surged forward, they were faintly blocked by the spinning defense!
However, when Infernape saw that its attack was somewhat ineffective, it grew fierce, and the power of its flames escalated once more!
Under these circumstances, even Swords Dance could not withstand the fire-type move!
With a loud boom, Scizor was swallowed up by the flames!
"Charge in, Fire Punch!"
Nodding, Infernape rushed swiftly toward Scizor. The boost provided by the Iron Fist ability, combined with the fourfold type advantage against Scizor...

With a single punch, Scizor was blasted straight out of the battle field, completely losing its ability to battle!
"Ding-dong, Infernape defeated Scizor, gaining eight hundred experience points. Level up! Current level: Lv.48!"
Seeing 枫 dispatch one of Gary's Pokémon with such ease, everyone trembled inwardly!
"Then, I'll leave it to you, Electivire!"
Recalling Scizor, Gary brought out his next powerhouse!
"Ding-dong, Electivire's current stats are as follows:"
Pokémon: Electivire
Level: 55
Ability: Motor Drive
Type: Electric
Potential: Gold
Bond Evolution: Locked
Mega Evolution: Locked
Moves: Thunder Punch, Low Kick, Thunderbolt, Light Screen, Thunder, Fire Punch...
Seeing that Gary's Electivire possessed formidable strength, 枫 could not help but become serious!
"Infernape, keep fighting!"
There was a level difference of about seven levels, but in terms of potential, Infernape possessed red potential, so one could hardly call this battle a one-sided affair!
"Electivire, use Discharge on yourself!"
At Gary's command, Electivire violently beat its chest, and instantly, a powerful current engulfed its entire body!
Attacking oneself to trigger the ability and boost speed—truly worthy of Gary!
However, it was useless!
"Infernape, charge in, use Mach Punch!"
Following 枫's command, Infernape let out a furious roar, leaving a white trail behind as Quick Attack activated automatically to boost its speed!
Then, its fist, glowing with white light, slammed fiercely into Electivire!