The soul penetrates Xiaozhi and destroys Gou Hao at the beginning

In a system where everyone has to act first, speed is crucial, and that's where the +2 speed bonus that Turtlemon gains from hatching comes in handy.

Otherwise, let alone the speed increase of 2 after hatching,

Even if you have +6 speed, as long as your skill priority is negative, your opponent will always be faster than you.

You're quite the talent, attacking the dragon's tail after it hatches!

If you attack the dragon's tail, then you'll lose the speed boost you get from breaking the shell, which means you only used the attack and magic attack buff from breaking the shell, which is a huge waste.

Silvally leaped into the air, raised its claws, and pounced on Blazing Turtlemon.

The Blazing Turtle Beast remained prone on the ground, attempting to parry with its tail.

However, this time, Torterra, having just used a Z-Move and expended a lot of its stamina, was...

Before the dragon's tail could even be activated, Silvally had already pounced in front of it, its tearing claws striking Blazemon head-on, successfully taking away the last bit of Blazemon's stamina.

"Blazing Turtle Beast!"

With a shout from Kachi, Blazing Turtle Beast collapsed to the ground with a thud, losing its ability to fight.

After taking two Swords Dance attacks followed by Outrage and one Tear Claw, it already dealt a whopping 1035 damage. Add to that the damage from Double Strike, and it's close to 1100-1200. Turtlemon's durability is already quite impressive.

It's not unfair that we lost this game.

"BlastTurtlemon is unable to battle, Silvally wins, therefore the winner is Gladion," announced referee Liz.

"This...this is so incredibly exciting! It's like a semi-final match that's even more intense than flames!"

"The one who emerged victorious from the fierce battle and advanced to the finals is none other than Gladio," Shi Kuang exclaimed excitedly.

Gladgio clenched his fist in excitement, celebrating his advancement to the final.

Kiawe walked over somewhat dejectedly, offered a few words of comfort, and then recalled Turtonator into its Poké Ball.

"Come back, Turtlemon. You've done a great job. Thank you."

Gladion also praised Silvally a few times, then put Silvally back into its pouch, walked up to Kiawe, and extended his hand, saying...

"Kachi, what a fantastic match."

Upon hearing this, Kachi reached out and grasped Gladion's hand, then pulled him close to him with a sudden burst of strength.

This puzzled Gladio, and the stark difference in their skin tones was also quite striking.

Kachi began,

"Yeah, Gladion, I've always only considered Ash as my rival, but from now on, you are too. I definitely won't lose next time."

Upon hearing this, Gladio smiled and replied,

"I am looking forward."

The referee, Lizhi, standing nearby, was already moved to tears, repeatedly saying...

"This is what Pokémon battles are all about."

The audience also sincerely applauded and cheered for the two's wonderful battle and beautiful friendship.

"Kachi is amazing," Mamane exclaimed in admiration.

"What a pity, Kachi," Shui Lian nodded.

"Even though we lost the game, my brother is still very handsome," Xing'er said with a smile.

“Yes, Gladio too, they’re both fantastic,” Mao said.

“Yes, they are both very handsome,” Xing’er said.

“You’re right, they’re both handsome,” Lillie said.

After saying that, the two younger sisters smiled at each other.

"Well then, it's my turn next. I can't lose to Kiawe and Gladion either," Ash said, standing up.

"Go for it, Ash!" Mallow said.

“Don’t be careless,” Mamane said.

"We absolutely cannot lose to that guy," Shui Lian said.

"Don't worry, Guzma is just a defeated opponent of mine. Watch how I leave him with a battle he'll never forget for the rest of his life," Ash laughed.

After saying that, he went to the players' tunnel to prepare to enter the competition.

Meanwhile, the Skull team members were gathered in the other player tunnel, cheering on their big brother Guzma with rap.

"Our Skull Team has a noble style, our Skull Team is famous, yay yay yay!"

Let's kick away the world's unpleasantness with a flick of our wrist; our Skull Team will never be defeated!

At this moment, Guzma, who was about to enter the match with Bulmi, walked over with a satisfied smile on his face and asked,

"Haha, how are you feeling, my worst yet best buddies?"

"Boss!"

"Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay!"

"I still feel terrible today, and my anxiety has reached its peak."

“That’s life, that’s how it is,” Guzma said.

"Boss, the semi-finals are coming up soon, good luck!" one of the Skull team members said.

"How boring. I don't care if it's the semi-finals or the finals, they're just a bunch of kids," Guzma scoffed.

"As expected of Boss Guzma, victory will definitely belong to our big brother. Defeat all the contestants who came out."

Seeing his underlings cheering incessantly, Guzma couldn't hide his smug smile and said,

"Alright, then I'll defeat them all for you."

"Yeah yeah!"

Just as everyone in the Skull Team was caught up in a frenzy of celebration, popping champagne ahead of time, Bulmi, following behind Guzma with a worried expression, spoke up.

"But boss, we shouldn't underestimate that guy named Xiaozhi. He could be in real danger if we're not careful."

As the saying goes, honest advice is hard to hear but beneficial. Although Boulme's words sounded harsh at this time, they were for Guzma's good.

"Hmph, have you forgotten? My undefeated legend." Guzma said with displeasure.

Having been defeated twice in a row by Ash, not only did it result in the loss of over 90% of Team Skull, but it also greatly diminished his prestige in the Alola region.

This incident was a scar that Guzma could never shake off, and it already made Guzma very unhappy. Now that Bulmei brought it up on his own initiative, how could Guzma not be angry?

"Brother is right."

“Our wise brother Guzma has never lost.”

The other Skull Team members also spoke up for Guzma.

Because none of them knew that Guzma had once lost to Ash.

After losing to Ash twice, the members of Team Skull who accompanied him were arrested, and Guzma also blocked the news internally, claiming that he had sent these people out on a mission and that they wouldn't be back for a long time.

Therefore, among the entire Team Skull, only Guzma and Bulma knew that Guzma had lost to Ash twice.

“Because none of you know the reason why Guzma has never lost,” thought Bulmiel.

Thinking of this, Bulmei couldn't help but recall the past, when they had just settled in Po Town.