Today Ash was back at Saffron City where he come to train his Pokémon at the Fighting Dojo, right now Buizel was sparring off against both a Hitmonchan and a Hitmonlee and it seemed to be doing well in striking back their attacks. As they finish sparring one of the senseis and Ash were observing their battles and the sensei was impressed by Buizel's skill "good movements" and ash replies "I know right it feels like we're on a roll and we're gonna win wverything" and though Ash felt confident the sensei gave him some advice "remember we're in the fighting Dojo I wouldn't talk too big, there isn't a strategy in the world that can beat our Karate Master" hearing this Ash becomes intrigued "can I battle the Karate Master" the sensei replies "I'm afraid he's battling right now in fact he just accepted a new challenger, but their battle should be over soon because the Karate Master is unbeatable". Just then ash's phone alerts him saying "there is a Pokémon World Coronation Series trainer nearby" hearing this the sensei realised something "so that would have to be the challenger battling the master" and hearing this made Ash very curious.
Ash put Buizel back in its poke ball and him and Pikachu walked up to the doors of the Dojo ready for what comes at them "here we go", the second he opened the door he was immediately knocked back by a Hitmonchan that hurled out the Dojo. Inside Ash got a look at the Karate Master facing off against a female trainer and some sort of blue Pokémon with tentacles but the Master seemed very on edge and almost frustrated but then says, "I guess that ends it" and the female trainer asks the referee "all right referee results", the referee announces, "the win goes to Grapploct which means the victor is Bea". Ash manages to get up and even up Hitmonchan "are you alright Hitmonchan" he asks but then the Karate Master comes up to his Pokémon and puts it back in its poke ball "Hitmonchan you battled very well now return", two of the students observing the battle were baffled by what they had saw one of them says "our Karate Master was barely able to land a single attack" while the other states "that Grapploct is scary but it's trainer didn't give the Master a single opening, what a perfect showing". After putting the Grapploct back in its poke ball the trainer compliments the Karate Master "it was a good battle I thank you" just then both her and Ash's phones alerted them "a battle challenge has been issued" this made ash realise "you're registered in the World Coronation Series right" then her phone asked, "do you wish to accept or reject it" and Ash introduced himself "my name is Ash Ketchum and I'm challenging the Pokémon World Coronation Series too so will you battle me" and she replies "I accept you're challenge".
Their phones announce the battels officiation "an official battle has been registered" and then the trainer introduced herself "all right I'm Bea I come from the Galar Region, will you allow us to battle here" she asks the Karate Master and he happily accepts "of course I don't mind at all, and your name you said it's Ash, I am the master of this fighting dojo people call me the Karate Master feel free to use this dojo as long as you want" Ash then thanked him "thanks so much Karate Master".
Ash and Bea both take their places ready to start the battle off while the Karate Master and his students sit at the side and observe the battle, however one of the students questioned why they observing in the first place "forgive me master but shouldn't we let them battle in private they have nothing to do with us" the Karate Master then answered "true but it is important we observe and learn in order to live alongside Pokémon, battle together with Pokémon, that is what we strike for always". Another student also questions how she was so strong "but how is that she is so strong for a young trainer" but the Master replies "Bea is a Gym Leader from the Galar region and because her Gym specializes in fighting type Pokémon that means she's an expert, the inheritor of Galar karate's hundred-year history and in addition, she is traveling the world, visiting every dojo challenging them and building up both her Pokémon and she, seeking to reach perfection".
Ash looks at his phone to see that Bea is ranked in 400th place and becomes a little overwhelmed but was still ready to put up a battle against her "I'm in the Great Class too 531st place and we've won every battle we've been in and my Pokémon have been training hard", Bea then senses their determination and knows the battle won't be easy. The Karate Master also notices and states, "I sense of fighting spirit it seems you and your Pokémon both have the same goals to reach let alone the confidence you'll have that you'll" and Ash replies "yeah the truth is we all want to get stronger, and we've taken on the Korrina the fighting type Gymleader of Kalos and she had a mega evolved Lucario", Bea then becomes surprised hearing this "you battled Korrina" Ash replies "yeah why did you battle her too" and Bea answers "yes we battled previously, she was overconfident and I defeated her" hearing this Ash becomes slightly angered "whaddaya mean, overconfident" however Bea was in no mood to explain herself "there is no need for further discussion but why are you here" Ash then calmed himself down and explained why he truly wanted to win "I want to get stronger along with my Pokémon and if I keep raising my rank I'll be able to battle Leon" hearing this Bea then understands why this is so important to Ash "I see...Leon, every trainer's biggest dream is to be able to defeat the champion and I wish to defeat him too and be recognized as the greatest in the world, that's why I'm competing" Ash then tries to protect his reputation "well I'm gonna be the best, we're going to be the ones who beat Leon" finally Bea proudly states "then let's give it all we've got".
Finally, the drone arrives and announces, "you have been approved for an official Pokémon World Coronation Series Great Class battle the two competitors today are Gym Leader Bea and Ash Ketchum, Each of you is allowed to use three Pokémon so will both challengers please bring out your Pokémon, 3... 2...1...go". The battle screen then appears Ash and Bea both throw out their Pokémon at the same time "Hitmontop let's go" "Muk let's go" Bea releases Hitmontop who starts spinning on it's head and Ash releases Muk who opens its large mouth menacingly. The drone then officially starts off the battle "battle begin".
Hitmontop starts things off by using Gyroball and starts spinning on it's head everywhere while Muk fires off a Sludge Bomb attack however Gyroball deflects all the Sludge Bombs and ends up charging into Muk and knocking him back. When Hitmontop comes back around Muk takes it head on using Mud-Slap and the results force the both of them to get hurled back this time but Hitmontop just kept spinning on it's head however, to get it too stop Muk uses Poison Gas and due to how bad the gas was Hitmontop stopped spinning and started coughing. The Karate Master then notices the sheer speed of Ash's attacks "those are quick follow-ups" and one of the students states "it looks like Ash is going to win through speed strategy". Muk uses Sludge Bomb again which greatly damages Hitmontop however it perseveres through and stands strong again using Focus Energy which the Karate Master notices "Focus Energy increases the chance for Hitmontop's attacks to do massive damage" using this power up Hitmontop then uses Triple Kick on Muk which greatly damaged him. Muk was almost knocked out however as Hitmontop tried to finish this with another Gyroball however Muk launched a Body Slam attack and pinned Hitmontop right against the floor, it tried to break free by using Rapid Spin but Muk's slimy and heavy body was too much to endure and because of Muk's stench and toxic body Hitmontop was knocked out. The drone then flies closer and announces "Hitmontop is unable to battle" the scoreboard then turns one of Bea's poke ball icons grey and then Ash became happy about the win "yes we just got our first win good going Muk" Muk was exhausted but shook off the sweat and gave a thumbs up. The students were baffeled by what they had just witnessed "I can't belive it not only did he land attacks but he also won the first round" but the Karate Master stated, "true but when battling you must never get cocky and over confidents on the first round for who knows what your opponent could possess".
Bea returns Hitmontop back into its poke ball "you battled very, now go Hawlucha" Bea then releases Hawlucha from it's poke ball who sores in mid air and makes a dramatic landing, Ash then remembers how his Hawlucha battles and warned Muk "Muk be careful when Hawlucha is in Midair". Muk strikes first using Mud-Slap but Hawlucha avoids it and repetitively uses Karate Chop both damaging Muk and knocking him off balance. Hawlucha glides in midair and Muk then tries to get up and immediately attacks with Sludge Bomb but Hawlucha takes the attack while coming in with a Flying Press and landed right on top of Muk which then knocked him out. The drone then flies closer and announces "Muk is unable to battle" this time the scoreboard then changes one of Ash's icons to grey. The Karate Master then tells his students "observe my pupils Muk may have had stamina but used a lot of its energy against Hitmontop leaving it defenceless".
Ash returned Muk back into its poke ball "take it easy Muk you earnt it, now Noctowl I choose you" Ash releases Noctowl who flies and does a loop in midair and lands readying to fight, one of the students becomes impressed with Noctowl's colours "a yellow Noctowl I thought they were brown" another student replies "must be a shiny". Hawlucha powers it's self us with Hone Claws but immediately Noctowl attacked with air slash but Hawlucha managed to dodge every single one of those attacks not one landed or even touched him, and once it got close enough Hawlucha strook a Karate Chop right on top of Noctowl's head which caused him great pain. Noctowl tries to buy time using Whirlwind however Hawlucha was too strong and pushed through but Noctowl then immediately attacks using Extrasensory which caused major damage to Hawlucha and knocking him back. Hawlucha stood again and sored in but Noctowl charged full force using Sky Attack and landed a direct hit and was about to come again for a second attack but immediately Hawlucha launched a High Jump Kick and both moves collided with each other hard and created a dust cloud. The Drone flew in close and once the dust had settled it had revealed both Noctowl and Hawlucha had been knocked out unconscious "both Noctowl and Hawlucha are unable to battle" on the scoreboard both their icon slots had gone grey meaning they both had only one Pokémon left. Some of the students become confused by this battle as if they don't know who exactly would win "Master I don't understand their evenly matched but I can't shake the feeling Bea somehow has the advantage" the Karate Master then explained "you see though Ash is beating Bea's Pokémon his Pokémon use up too much of their strength to do so, even if they beat one they either go down with it or become heavily exhausted, but right now it's anyone's guess on who would win".
Ash returns Noctowl back into its poke ball "you did Noctowl take a rest" Bea did the same with Hawlucha "thank you for lending your strength Hawlucha", they then were ready to release their last Pokémon "Buizel I choose you" Ash said while Bea announced "Grapploct let's go" then the blue tentacle Pokémon comes out in which Ash checked the Pokedex about it "Grapploct the Jujitsu Pokémon: a fighting type, Grapploct's entire body is made up of overlapping muscles so it's tentacles have terrifying power for squeezing attacks, when searching for an opponent to test its skills against it emerges onto land and once the battle is over it returns to the sea". The students become worried now "oh no that's the Pokémon you were battling against earlier" and the Karate Master responds, "yes neither my Hitmonlee nor Hitmonchan stood a fighting chance against its strength so this might end up being a quick finish". Buizel runs in while Grapploct readies it's tentacles with Liquidation but Buizel also builds up an Ice Punch and was fast enough to land a direct hit onto Grapploct, however Grapploct immediately used Octolock and grabbed Buizel squeezing him to take damage. Buizel was taking heavy damage Buizel immediately let off a Sonic Boom attack which was able to break free from Grapplock's grip however Buizel's defence and speed was reduced. Grapploct then struck forward with Liquidation but Buizel charged in with Aqua Jet and both were taking damage however Grapploct then used Detect and then no matter what Buizel wasn't able to land a single hit but Grapploct was able to lay down multiple attacks onto Buizel. Buizel fell to the ground and was almost fainted however in a fit of rage he rose up and screamed out in which he then started glowing blue and changing form which surprised Ash "could it be" once Buizel had stopped glowing it was shown that it had evolved into Floatzel "I don't belive it you evolved" Ash was so overjoyed to see this, Bea remained unfaced but the students were in total surprise and the Karate Master commented "Buizel's fighting spirit allowed it to evolve but it also retained a lot of damage already it's anyone's win now". Floatzel came charging in using Aqua Jet but Grapploct caught and tried to bind it use it Octolock however because of all the water generating Grapploct couldn't get a proper grip on him and ended up taking a lot damaging, Grapploct was down and was about to get up however it had seemed Floatzel had learned a new move and fired a Hydro Pump which was strong enough to knock it out. The Drone came in closer and announces "Grapploct is unable to battle which means the victory goes to Ash of Pallet Town".
Bea returns Gapploct back into it's poke ball and gives thanks "I thank you for this battle", Ash goes to congratulate Floatzel "we did it Floatzel…" Floatzel then collapsed into Ash's arms out of pure exhaustion. The Drone also announces, "as a result of today's battle there has been a change in the World Coronation Series rankings effective immediately" Ash's phone then chimed in which he checked and saw that he was now ranked 415th place, Bea then proceeded to leave but not without thanking the Karate Master "I will take leave of you at this point so thank you for letting us use your Dojo" as she left Ash was happy he won again but as Floatzel was laying in his arms Ash didn't feel like he won and Pikachu saw this jumped on his shoulder and tried to make him feel better, the Karate Master also told him "Ash the reason you feel bad was because you pushed your Pokémon beyond their breaking point, we all have our limits of how much we can take but always remember there is no shame in accepting defeat when wanting to care about the condition of your Pokémon" hearing those words made Ash realise what he had done and took them to heart.
Later at the Pokémon Centre Ash had healed his Pokémon and after their treatment he brought them out their poke balls and apologised for over working them "Muk, Noctowl, Floatzel I'm sorry to pushing you guys to hard in that battle so next time if you really can't take it I'll understand if you wanna give in…" they shook their heads no meaning they'll always persevere through if means they'll rise to the top, Pikachu jumps on Ash's shoulder and wonders what ash will say next "I've never had a battle like that before but next time we'll win strong".
This battle was unlike any other battle for our hero and who knows what will come in his way for his chance to battle Leon, as the journey continues.