Chapter 278: Ash vs Ritchie, Turning Point of Fate
"Later, have your Machamp soak in a hot spring. It might help its injuries recover," Gary suggested helpfully.
"Machamp is unable to battle! Therefore, the final winner of this match is Gary from Pallet Town!" the referee announced, raising both flags decisively.
"Alright! Gary advanced too!" Ash exclaimed excitedly from the audience seats.
"Why are you so excited, Ash? Aren't you and Gary supposed to be rivals?" Misty teased beside him, instantly turning Ash's face bright red with embarrassment.
"That's not true! I just want to watch Big Brother defeat Gary!" Ash hurriedly explained, fumbling through his response.
Professor Oak, beside him, fell silent for a long moment, quietly sighing with resigned acceptance.
Though Gary possesses genuine talent, he ultimately cannot defeat Red, Professor Oak thought privately.
Time passed
After all Group A matches concluded, following a brief hour-long buffer period, Ash's group came to a nearby Pokémon Center to retrieve their resting Pokémon. Unexpectedly, they encountered Ritchie, who was also collecting his Pokémon from the recovery center.
"Ritchie, are you prepared?" Ash asked first, extending genuine respect toward his upcoming opponent.
"Absolutely! As someone fortunate enough to meet my idol's twin brother, I'm genuinely looking forward to battling you," Ritchie answered, his eyes radiating obvious excitement and anticipation.
"I'm equally excited!" Ash declared confidently.
"Being able to recognize each other's true strength through genuine all-out combat represents quite a meaningful experience," Nurse Joy observed emotionally from nearby.
Indigo League - Main Stadium - Fifth Round
The tournament timeline had progressed to Ash's fifth-round match. To prevent the foolish events from the original timeline, Red had used Teleport to reach Ash beforehand, successfully intercepting the disruptive phone call from Team Rocket's trio attempting to interfere.
After learning the specific time and location details, Red decisively commanded the Gengar concealed beneath his shadow to deliver Team Rocket a painful educational lesson they wouldn't soon forget.
In Red's assessment, without Team Rocket's unexpected interference, Ash possessed no logical reason to stop advancing at the fifth round.
Sigh, it's fundamentally plot-driven destiny anyway, since Ash represents a beginning trainer, Red thought with quiet resignation.
"Now proceeding with Group B's fifth-round main stadium match! Both sides are Ash and Ritchie! Each contestant may use three Pokémon! Whichever side's entire Pokémon team loses battle capability first loses!" the announcer proclaimed.
"Ash, let's have an excellent battle!" Ritchie shouted enthusiastically.
"Exactly what I want! Ritchie, don't lose to me too easily!" Ash said confidently, touching his Poké Balls with obvious determination.
The bell rang sharply.
After the signal, Ash and Ritchie simultaneously threw their Poké Balls, releasing their lead Pokémon onto the battlefield.
"I'm counting on you, Happy!"
"You're the one, Butterfree!"
Twin bursts of white light materialized. Ritchie's Happy—a Butterfree with distinctive upright fur tufting on its forehead—emerged alongside Ash's Butterfree with an identical deep blue-purple body and giant white wings bearing distinctive black veins across their backs. Both appeared simultaneously on the battlefield.
"How is this possible?!" Both trainers exclaimed in shock, utterly unprepared for their opponent to deploy the same Pokémon species.
"An astonishing development! Contestants Ash and Ritchie have both sent out Butterfree! However, identical Pokémon specimens will perfectly highlight the strength differential between these two trainers. What kind of exciting match awaits us? Let's witness!" the announcer explained enthusiastically.
Following the announcer's commentary, Ash and Ritchie simultaneously issued commands to their respective Butterfree.
"Happy, use Tackle!"
"Butterfree, also use Tackle!"
Both Butterfree simultaneously flapped their wings with tremendous force, charging fiercely at each other across the battlefield.
The collision impact echoed across the arena. After the brief exchange, Happy was ultimately pushed backward, knocked away by Ash's Butterfree's superior momentum.
This exchange immediately revealed the strength differential between the two Butterfree specimens.
"Ash's Butterfree isn't ordinary!" Ritchie observed cautiously, recognizing his opponent's Pokémon possessed formidable, genuine strength.
"This Ritchie guy is quite surprising, honestly," Gary remarked after receiving information from Leaf beside him, his expression reflecting obvious puzzlement. "The fact that he advanced to the fifth round genuinely astonishes me."
"Butterfree, Charmander, and Pikachu—these three Pokémon species aren't particularly impressive in raw strength," Leaf observed leisurely, agreeing entirely with Gary's assessment.
"Even considering that Ash's Butterfree survived wild conditions and successfully bred offspring, Ritchie's Butterfree couldn't possibly overcome it," Gary concluded calmly, already determining Ash's successful advancement with logical certainty.
Although these childhood friends maintained an obvious surface-level animosity, they actually recognized each other's genuine strength privately—they were simply too embarrassed to express such respect directly.
"Happy, use Sleep Powder!" Ritchie commanded, adapting his tactical approach.
Unable to overcome Butterfree through pure physical strength, Ritchie instructed his Butterfree to employ alternative tactics for victory.
Following Ritchie's directive, Happy immediately flapped its wings rapidly, releasing Sleep Powder clouds toward Ash's Butterfree in an attempt to induce sleep and secure an easier victory.
"Butterfree, show Ritchie and his Butterfree our genuine strength! Use Psychic!" Ash shouted with obvious excitement and confidence.
Butterfree's compound eyes immediately transformed brilliant azure. The creature controlled its Psychic power with precision, manipulating the incoming Sleep Powder clouds directly, then reversing their trajectory to propel them back toward Happy.
"Happy, quickly use Whirlwind to blow the Sleep Powder away!" Ritchie said anxiously, clearly shocked that Ash's Butterfree possessed Psychic mastery.
Happy frantically flapped its wings with desperate intensity, generating powerful wind currents that dispersed the incoming Sleep Powder, barely managing to avoid inhaling the dangerous spores.
"Butterfree, use Air Slash!"
Butterfree flapped its wings decisively, releasing two razor-sharp air blades that streaked directly toward Happy, striking its body and causing an obvious cry of pain.
"How is this possible?!" Ritchie said incredulously, genuinely unprepared for Ash's Butterfree to demonstrate such overwhelming power.
"That Butterfree represents Ash's first captured Pokémon. It's completely natural for it to have matured to this level," Misty sighed knowingly, having personally witnessed Butterfree's continuous growth throughout their entire journey. She understood completely its genuine significance within Ash's trainer career development.
Especially after receiving Red's dedicated psychic training, she added mentally.
"Happy, use Whirlwind."
"Butterfree, use Hurricane."
Both Butterfree in the air simultaneously flapped their wings with tremendous power, deploying their respective wind attacks to suppress each other's aerial domain.
After the brief tactical exchange, Happy ultimately proved inferior, struck directly by Ash's Butterfree's Hurricane, absorbing significant super-effective damage from the opposing flying assault.
"Happy lost after all," Ritchie said with obvious helplessness and acceptance.
Truly worthy of Lord Red's twin brother—his strength proves absolutely remarkable! Ritchie thought privately, assessing Ash's genuine capabilities.
"Butterfree, use the final Psychic!" Ash commanded excitedly, sensing victory within reach.
Butterfree's reddish compound eyes glowed brilliantly with concentrated psychic energy, immediately releasing raw Psychic power directly toward Happy. The devastating mental assault struck with absolute precision, robbing Happy of flight capability before it collapsed completely with eyes rolled backward.
"Happy is unable to battle!" the referee announced conclusively.