"Ah, Marowak is down! Can it possibly get back up and make a desperate counterattack!?"
In the center of the field, after a barrage of Grass-type moves, a battered Marowak collapsed onto the grass.
It had just tried to get up when it was hit by a sweeping Razor Leaf, losing its ability to battle.
"Oh, what a shame! Competitor Damian has lost again! On the other hand, competitor Natsui, with a huge advantage, has reached match point!"
Overall, this battle was also very brief. And through the announcer's loud voice, the audience could clearly see that Damian was now pushed to the brink. If he didn't bring out a more powerful Pokémon, he would definitely be easily defeated 3-0.
Recalling Marowak to its Poké Ball, Damian gritted his teeth and took out his final Pokémon.
"Hmph, I had intended to keep this Pokémon as my final trump card, hidden until the semi-finals or even the finals. It seems I have to reveal it early now!"
Hearing his words, Natsui became slightly more cautious. Under his expectant gaze, a flash of blue light occurred, and Damian's final Pokémon was finally revealed.
With fiery red fur and a large, bushy tail, it was a Flareon!
"..." Natsui was silent for a moment. "I see. So this Flareon is your strongest Pokémon?"
"Good that you understand." Perhaps sensing the slightly disappointed tone in Natsui's voice, Damian snorted coldly. "Don't you underestimate it. I know you're friends with those people who took my Charmander. Let me tell you the truth, it was precisely because I got this Flareon that I chose to abandon that Charmander! In terms of strength, it won't lose to you!"
Since it was his opponent's ace, Natsui also became fully focused.
He recalled Venusaur and in its place sent out his third Pokémon—Blastoise.
To ensure a smooth advancement, he would treat every battle seriously, trying to use type advantages to increase his chances of winning.
When the referee announced the start of the match, the Flareon was very active, leaping up and down, clearly full of spirit.
And during the battle, its performance was indeed stronger than the previous two Pokémon. But after all, fire and water don't mix. Even though it struggled for a long time, in the end, its flames were extinguished by a series of Water-type moves, and it followed in the footsteps of the others, collapsing as well.
"What was that? That was really simple." In the spectator stands, Ash couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief seeing Natsui win the match so easily. "It seems this conference isn't as difficult as I thought."
Misty shot him a look, "Do you really think it's easy? The reason he won so easily is that Natsui's skill is clearly much stronger, while Damian's is weaker, which created that illusion."
"Misty's right." Brock nodded in agreement. "Ash, you can't afford to underestimate your opponents."
In the command area, Damian stood there in a daze, wondering if he was hallucinating.
I... didn't even win a single round!?
But I'm so strong, I could have definitely gotten a much better ranking!
He pinched his thigh in disbelief, and the sharp pain made him clearly realize that he had indeed lost completely and utterly.
The referee then raised his right hand high and announced the result of the match.
"All of the red corner's Pokémon have been defeated! This match goes to the green corner!"
The announcer also said, "Congratulations to competitor Natsui for advancing with a huge advantage! Now, let's give him the warmest round of applause!"
Amidst the cheers of the audience, Natsui waved to the crowd, then recalled his Pokémon and calmly walked towards the competitor's tunnel.
...
In an ice cream shop outside the stadium, Natsui, Koharu, Ash's group, and the dozen or so bikers were all sitting together, joyfully enjoying a relaxing time.
The group was spread across several tables, and Natsui had ordered drinks for everyone as a thank you for coming to cheer him on.
Masa laughed heartily at his sister, nearly spraying ice shavings onto her face.
"That Damian guy was a total pushover! Getting swept 3-0 just like that. I feel like even if I went up against him, I probably could have won that match!"
His voice was a bit hoarse, a clear sign of how hard he had been cheering for Natsui.
Unexpectedly, his words stirred up trouble.
Outside the door, Damian and a few of his friends also happened to arrive at the same ice cream shop.
He had lost the match and was fuming inside, planning to get a cold drink with his friends to cool off, when he directly overheard Masa's comment.
"Who's talking nonsense over there?"
He flew into a rage upon hearing the words and rushed over to Masa in a few steps. But when he got a clear look and saw Masa and Misa's biker attire, he couldn't help but take a step back.
"Well, well? If it isn't the boss's loser?" Masa glared at him. "What? Not happy about it? Want to start a fight?"
Cautiously glancing at Masa's leather jacket and pompadour, Damian then glanced over at Natsui's group. Seeing that it was mostly just kids and women, his courage surged back up.
Relying on the fact that he had a few friends with him, he thought for a moment and decided not to let it go, especially not wanting to lose face in front of them.
"I only lost to you because of luck! If it were a 6v6 battle, I definitely wouldn't have lost!" With that, Damian said aggressively, "Are you bad-mouthing me because you want to get your teeth knocked out?!"
But as soon as the words left his mouth, with a sudden scrape of chairs, the group of bikers at the nearby tables all stood up at once, glaring at him with vicious eyes.
Not only did the bikers have the advantage in numbers, but their intimidating aura was also terrifying.
"This..."
Damian was shocked. He had just entered the shop and hadn't gotten a good look at the environment. He had thought it was just the two delinquents, Masa and Misa, but he never expected there to be so many others in the booths nearby!
It wasn't really his fault; the decor here included many tall, semi-wooden bookshelves that blocked the patrons' lines of sight from each other.
Seeing the bikers' menacing posture, one of Damian's friends whispered, "Hey, Damian, this doesn't look good. We should get out of here, quick."
Damian swallowed hard, knowing he had spoken too soon and had been too impulsive.
"I... I just remembered I didn't lock my bike outside. You... you guys just wait!"
After saying that, he and his friends scurried out of the place.
For Natsui and his group, this was just a small interlude that no one paid much mind to.
They continued to enjoy their desserts until it was about time, then Natsui turned his head back to Ash.
"Well then, it's your turn next. Although your opponent is very famous, I'm confident you can win."
Beside them, Koharu thought for a moment and kindly reminded him, "I remember, that person named Mandi is also a magician, I think. I've seen him on the news more than once. You'd better be careful."
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