Chapter 105: Hitmonchan vs. Hitmonchan

"Ah? No way?"

Ash looked at Pikachu's situation in a daze; this didn't seem to match the fighting tournament he had watched on TV at all.

"Stop, Ash. We can't have a match like this," Misty advised.

"Pikachu, quickly use the ultimate punch move I taught you!" Ash commanded, ignoring Misty's advice.

Upon hearing this, Pikachu suddenly burst forth with a powerful aura, which startled Hitmonchan, who mistakenly thought Pikachu was about to unleash some great ultimate move.

"Now, use Rocket Punch!"

(Rocket Punch?) Misty and Brock looked at Ash in confusion. What kind of move was that?

Pikachu's fists suddenly launched, and with the force of the impact, Pikachu punched Hitmonchan in the cheek.

"Pika!"

Pikachu struck a victorious pose, raising his hands high.

But the injured Hitmonchan only touched its cheek, then put its hands on its hips and looked displeased at Pikachu.

"It had no effect at all," Brock grumbled.

"Carelessness and underestimating the enemy, a second of negligence, is a lifetime of pain. No matter what kind of enemy you face, you cannot be careless. I taught you this a long time ago, Hitmonchan. Go all out, go!"

The middle-aged man, who arrived late, reprimanded his Pokémon. Just as Hitmonchan was about to attack Pikachu, the prepared Hitmonchan paused, turning its head in surprise to look ahead.

In everyone's line of sight, a Hitmonchan emitting hot steam appeared. This Hitmonchan had clearly undergone extensive training, with its arm muscles visibly bulging.

"It's Big Brother!" Ash exclaimed excitedly, seeing Red and Cubone behind the new Pokémon.

"Is this a new Pokémon Big Brother caught?" Ash asked enviously, taking out his Pokédex to check Cubone's information. "Cubone, the Lonely Pokémon. It wears a helmet made from bone on its head. No one has ever seen its true face."

"How should I put it? In terms of joining order, this kid is Hitmonchan's senior," Red explained. The Cubone at his feet also puffed out his chest proudly, telling Ash not to underestimate him.

"What a cute kid~" Misty said happily, her heart stirred by Cubone's cuteness.

"This Cubone is very well-developed, and his eyes are full of fighting spirit. As expected of a Pokémon trained by Red," Brock praised.

(What an excellent Hitmonchan! If I could send him out to battle, perhaps I would be the Champion of this P1 Grand Prix!)

The middle-aged man's fervent gaze locked onto Red's Hitmonchan, his eyes filled with greed. To win the P1 Grand Prix, the middle-aged man had not been home for a long time, constantly training with his own Hitmonchan.

"Young man, let's have a match with my Hitmonchan!"

The middle-aged man issued the challenge first. Red's Hitmonchan glanced at Red, and after getting his permission, it walked alone to its counterpart, striking a battle pose.

However, the physical differences between the two Hitmonchan (Red's Hitmonchan vs. the other's Hitmonchan) were obvious. Red's Hitmonchan was very well-developed, reaching a height of 1.7m, a full head taller than the middle-aged man's Hitmonchan. Not only that, the muscle definition of both Pokémon's bodies and the hardness of their fists were incomparable.

"Hitmonchan, use Mach Punch!" the middle-aged man commanded.

His Hitmonchan quickly moved in front of Red's Hitmonchan, its right fist about to hit Red's Hitmonchan's face.

Seeing this, Red's Hitmonchan decisively used Detect, perfectly avoiding the former's attack, and then followed up with a Mega Punch that heavily struck Hitmonchan's abdomen, knocking it back several meters.

"What powerful punching force!" the middle-aged man exclaimed, feeling even more satisfied with Red's Hitmonchan.

(It's such a pity that this kid is training such an excellent Hitmonchan. I must get the right to train this Hitmonchan into my hands!)

The middle-aged man had already started scheming, subconsciously assuming that Red was just a naive young man, thinking he could coax Hitmonchan over with a few words. He had already prepared his speech, intending to tell Red this:

"Your Hitmonchan is a fighting genius. How about letting me take care of him? I will definitely train him into an excellent P1 Grand Prix Champion."

"Uncle, your Hitmonchan is about to lose," Red kindly reminded, displeased with the middle-aged man who was almost drooling in front of him, and he also guessed what the middle-aged man was planning—nothing more than wanting to get his Hitmonchan.

"What?!" the middle-aged man reacted, realizing that while he was daydreaming, his Hitmonchan had already been beaten to exhaustion, completely relying on its Guts to stay standing.

"Hitmonchan, hold on, we'll use Mega Punch too!"

The struggling Hitmonchan was panting heavily, but upon hearing the middle-aged man's command, it still stepped forward, intending to use its last move, Mega Punch!

Seeing this, Red's Hitmonchan calmly closed its eyes, recalling a scene from previous training. It calmly judged the approaching sound, cleverly dodged the attack, and landed a chilling Ice Punch on Hitmonchan, instantly freezing it into an ice sculpture.

"Amazing!" Misty exclaimed.

"They're not even on the same level!" Brock echoed.

"As expected of Big Brother's Pokémon!" Ash said excitedly.

Ash's trio praised Hitmonchan one after another, making it a little embarrassed.

"Cough, cough…"

The middle-aged man straightened his posture again, recalled the frozen Hitmonchaninto his Poké Ball, and slowly walked in front of Red, intending to use the speech he had just thought of to obtain the right to train Hitmonchan.

"Young man, I think your Hitmonchan is very…"

Before the middle-aged man could finish, a sharp punch wind rushed at him, nearly hitting his forehead. Red's Hitmonchan looked displeased at the middle-aged man. It naturally understood the middle-aged man's intentions, as his gaze during the battle had made Hitmonchan uncomfortable, and it also felt it was not worth it for its desperately fighting counterpart.

"You can't even beat my Hitmonchan, and you still think of training him?"

Red said disdainfully, placing his hand on Hitmonchan's shoulder. "I promised this guy that I would train him to be an excellent boxing champion. I don't want to break my promise."

"Hahaha…" The middle-aged man laughed awkwardly at the sight, then turned to leave, not forgetting to issue another challenge declaration to Red before he left, "Young man, I look forward to battling your Hitmonchan again in this P1 Grand Prix!"

Watching the middle-aged man's retreating figure, Ash's trio also began their own complaining.

"What the heck, he was easily defeated by Big Brother, yet he still wants Hitmonchan's Poké Ball, really…" Ash said indignantly, pointing and grumbling at the middle-aged man's back, "Only an idiot would hand over a Pokémon they painstakingly trained for him to take care of!"

"Pfft!"

Red inexplicably found himself laughing when he heard Ash's words. After steadying his emotions, Red silently placed his hands on Ash's shoulders, remaining silent.

"Big Brother, what's wrong with me?" Ash, deeply gazed at by Red, trembled, not understanding what he had done to offend Red again.

"Nothing, I just suddenly feel like you've become a lot smarter~" Red teased.

"What do you mean, I've always been smart!" Ash retorted.

[Chapter Complete]

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