Chapter 106: The P1 Grand Prix

"Um, can I ask you for a favor?"

The young girl who had been hiding behind a tree came out. Her appearance was beautiful, and her figure was mature, causing Brock to blush the moment he saw her. The sadness of his recent parting with Erika completely vanished. After all, Brock was not a man who would give up after one failure. Having endured the pain of many rejections, his heart was already unyielding.

"I'm so sorry, my father caused you trouble!"

Unexpectedly, the girl directly bypassed Brock and walked up to Red, bowing apologetically.

"A favor?" Ash asked, puzzled.

"Please, you must defeat my father's Hitmonlee!" the girl pleaded.

Seeing the confused expressions of Ash's trio, the girl explained her situation. Her name was Rebecca, and the middle-aged man from before was her father, Anthony. To win the championship of the P1 Grand Prix, he refused to go home, which made Rebecca sad and worried, fearing he would become obsessed with the tournament. Since he couldn't win the championship, she wanted him to taste a complete and utter defeat, hoping it would make him give up his delusion.

"I was planning to participate in the P1 Grand Prix with Hitmonchan anyway," Red said indifferently.

Red and his companions followed Rebecca to her residence. The place where Rebecca and her father lived was called the Fighting Spirit Gym, and it was filled with various kinds of fitness equipment. According to Rebecca, her father was obsessed with the P1 Grand Prix because he wanted to run an official League Gym specializing in Fighting-type Pokémon, hoping to achieve his great dream through this opportunity.

"What exactly is the P1 Grand Prix?" Brock asked, puzzled.

"The P1 Grand Prix is a fighting tournament specifically for Pokémon. It's said to be organized by the Elite Four member, Bruno, which has attracted the attention of many trainers," Red explained, holding a promotional poster for the event.

"That's right. Because there's a chance to meet a member of the Elite Four, my father has always been obsessed with being the champion and has been holed up in the mountains, ignoring things at home," Rebecca said sadly, lowering her head.

"Leave this matter to us!" Brock guaranteed, looking at Rebecca with a blush.

"Us? Brock, are you also going to participate?" Ash asked.

"Not just me. Ash, don't you also have a Primeape that's great at fighting?" Brock said.

"That's right, this kind of competition is perfect for Primeape!" Ash realized.

"This competition might be able to mend your relationship with Primeape," Red said leisurely.

"Then what Pokémon will you send out, Brock?" Misty asked.

"I can send out Geodude. The poster says that using Normal-type physical moves is also allowed," Brock explained. "I also want to try my best to defeat Hitmonlee for Rebecca!"

Red looked at Brock with slight surprise. He never thought Brock would be so stubborn as to send a Geodude, which is doubly weak against Fighting-types, into a fighting tournament.

Due to Red's reappearance, the Team Rocket Trio had wisely disappeared, returning to their old profession of selling snacks and drinks at the competition venue.

"Everyone, thanks for waiting! The grand celebration of Pokémon fighting techniques, the P1 Grand Prix, is about to begin!" the announcer at the venue shouted, hyping up the atmosphere. "The competitors are entering the ring one after another!"

"First up is Hitmonlee, known as the fighting machine, and its trainer, Anthony! He's this tournament's top contender for the championship!" Anthony and his Hitmonchan slowly appeared in the ring.

"Next is the kicking demon, another Hitmonlee, and its trainer, Giant!" The tall and mighty Giant also appeared in the arena. Originally, Team Rocket had planned to target this person, but due to Red's presence, they had honestly gone to work part-time to earn money.

"Following closely is last year's champion—Mr. Kyo and his partner, Machamp!" Kyo, with a height comparable to Giant and a strong physique, appeared with Machamp.

"Finally entering are the three temporarily registered contestants: Red, Ash, and Brock! It's worth mentioning that Red and Ash are twin brothers, and I personally have very high expectations for Red's Hitmonchan!"

According to the draw, Red was the first to battle. He came to the ring and sent out his Pokémon.

"Alright, the first match of the tournament begins now," the announcer explained. "Facing the muscular Machoke, the rookie Red shows no fear, calmly sending out Hitmonchan to battle."

"Match start!" the referee announced.

"Machoke, use Brick Break!" the opponent commanded.

"Comet Punch!" Red said indifferently.

Hitmonchan, with its excellent punching speed, unleashed a continuous volley that neutralized Machoke's Brick Break, then struck Machoke's body, using its fists to drain its stamina.

"How is that possible?! Machoke, quickly use Cross Chop!" Unable to believe his Machoke was so fragile, the opponent quickly issued another command.

Machoke crossed its arms and used Cross Chop on Hitmonchan, but Hitmonchan inexplicably chose not to dodge.

"Brother, why aren't you telling Hitmonchan to dodge?!" Ash, sitting in the audience, anxiously looked at the Hitmonchan that was about to be injured, his expression slightly panicked. Pikachu on his shoulder also tightly gripped Ash's neck, fearing it would fall off.

"Don't worry, Ash. Red wouldn't do anything without confidence. Didn't you notice that Hitmonchan deliberately took Machoke's damage?" Brock explained.

"It took the hit! Now, use Counter!"

Hitmonchan crossed its arms, enduring Machoke's attack head-on, then erupted with an astonishing aura that intimidated the Machoke as it tried to avoid the counterattack. Hitmonchan punched Machoke to the ground, the force of the blow even breaking through the ring's floor.

Seeing the referee still in a daze, Red reminded him: "Mr. Referee, you can announce the result of the match."

Upon hearing Red's words, the referee quickly reacted and said: "The winner of this match is Red!"

The audience was shocked by Hitmonchan's strength, and after realizing what had happened, they burst into cheers and applause. Seeing this, Hitmonchan joyfully raised its hands, pacing back and forth on the ring, enjoying the praise from the audience.

"What an amazing move…" Ash said in surprise, turning to Brock. "Brock, what kind of move is Counter?"

"Counter is a Fighting-type move that returns double the damage taken from an opponent's physical attack," Brock explained.

"No wonder Machoke was defeated by Hitmonchan in one punch," Ash understood.

[Chapter Complete]

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