Ninetales lay collapsed on the ground, its eyes rolled back, completely unconscious.
Charizard stood nearby, panting slightly, but aside from a few superficial wounds, it was clear that Ninetales had not inflicted any significant damage.
Rudy looked stunned, seemingly unable to believe that his Ninetales had been defeated so easily.
Even the referee hadn't expected the battle to be over so quickly.
As one of Rudy's subordinates, he knew just how formidable this Ninetales was. It had helped Rudy defeat countless challengers and was considered one of the most outstanding Pokémon in the gym.
Never before had it been defeated so easily and decisively.
Although his heart was with Rudy, the referee had to be impartial. "Ninetales is unable to battle! The winner of the first round is Natsui!"
Hmph, I'll give you that one.
Rudy recalled his Ninetales, admitting to himself that he had underestimated Natsui.
He had thought that the Jolteon from yesterday was Natsui's ace, but now it seemed that this Charizard was his real trump card.
No matter, there are still two rounds left. As long as I can win the next two, victory will be mine!
With this thought, Rudy took a long breath and readjusted his mindset.
"Alright, let's hurry up and start the second round."
But then, as if remembering something, he smirked maliciously. "Ah, right… I forgot to tell you. The rule here is that you can't use the same Pokémon twice, so that Charizard of yours can't battle anymore~"
Although it sounded like Rudy was specifically targeting him by preventing Charizard from battling again, Natsui wasn't too concerned.
All of his Pokémon were strong fighters. It didn't matter to him which one he sent out.
Recalling Charizard, Natsui gave it an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
"You did great. Thanks for your hard work."
With that, Natsui didn't immediately put the Poké Ball away. Instead, he took a second one from his belt and threw it onto the battlefield.
"Alright then, it's your turn next. Go, Jolteon!"
As the blue light faded and Jolteon appeared in the center of the field, Rudy wore a smug expression that said, 'just as I expected!'
So he did send out Jolteon!
Ever since Jolteon had easily passed the test yesterday, he had anticipated it would appear in the match. And now, it had!
Rudy smiled faintly. Since he had been prepared for it, he naturally had a countermeasure. Without a second thought, he confidently threw out his own Poké Ball.
On the hot-air balloon, seeing the familiar Pokémon appear, Mahri's earlier disappointment vanished, and she exclaimed excitedly, "That's great, it's Electabuzz! That's also one of my brother's really strong Pokémon! He definitely won't lose this time!"
"Oh?" Sabrina glanced at her. "Do you have that much faith in your brother?"
"Of course!" Mahri nodded emphatically. "He's the strongest person in the world! So your companion has no chance of beating Electabuzz!"
The strongest person? No chance?
Sabrina frowned. She knew it was because the overall skill level of the trainers challenging this gym was weak, leading to Rudy's frequent victories, which gave Mahri this misconception.
Although she shouldn't get angry with such a young child, given her current relationship with Natsui, how could she remain indifferent after hearing someone belittle him?
If it had been Misty or Koharu, they would have certainly laughed off such childish words and not taken them to heart.
But the one facing Mahri now was the psychic girl, Sabrina, who had once used her immense power to toy with the hearts and minds of others.
In some matters, not even her parents, or even Natsui, could always guess her thoughts.
So, one should never try to measure her thinking by ordinary standards.
"No, you're wrong." Sure enough, although Sabrina's expression didn't change, just like that time in the Saffron Gym, she used her ruthless words to shatter Mahri's belief. "I don't know who the strongest person in the world is, but it certainly isn't your brother. And in a moment, he will be defeated by my companion."
Instantly, Mahri felt that this pretty lady had become incredibly hateful. She shook her head and said firmly, "You're lying! I don't believe you! My brother won't lose!"
"You don't believe me?" Sabrina snorted, lifting her chin slightly. "Then you should watch closely below!"
Hearing this, Mahri's heart skipped a beat. She quickly gripped the railing, stood on her tiptoes, and peered down.
It turned out that while they had been talking, the two Pokémon had already engaged in a fierce clash.
By the time Mahri focused on the field, the battle had taken a sharp downturn. Under Jolteon's ferocious assault, Electabuzz was overwhelmed. It tumbled a few times and crashed to the ground.
Although it tried to struggle back up, it lacked the stamina and finally collapsed, unable to move.
"What!?" Mahri's eyes widened in disbelief. "How could this happen!? My brother lost again?"
Was it a surprise?
Perhaps for Mahri, it was as if she had witnessed something incredible. But for Sabrina, this was a battle with a foregone conclusion.
One was the newly crowned, red-hot champion of the Indigo Plateau Conference; the other was a gym leader of an unknown, minor league on a remote island.
Between the two, there was indeed a significant gap in skill.
Inside the hot-air balloon, before Mahri could even process it, the referee had already announced the result.
"Electabuzz is unable to battle! The challenger is the victor!"
On the field, Natsui looked at the extremely embarrassed Rudy and, without kicking him while he was down, calmly asked, "So, are we still fighting? If it's a best-of-three, I believe I've already won."
Rudy's mouth twitched.
He was naturally unwilling to be defeated so easily. At the very least… at the very least, he had to win back one round!
It wasn't just because he had lost face in front of that beautiful woman, but more importantly, he didn't want to make such a pathetic exit in front of his beloved younger sister.
Besides, he was convinced that after sending out Charizard and Jolteon, Natsui couldn't possibly have any other strong Pokémon left.
"You won!" Rudy took a badge from his pocket and said with forced casualness, "According to the rules, you can take my badge now. But to be honest, my strongest Pokémon has yet to appear. It would be a real shame to leave just like this. So, how about it? Do you dare to have one last battle with me!?"
After speaking, as if afraid Natsui would just take the badge and leave, he quickly added, "Of course, if you don't have the confidence and want to give up this final battle, I can understand. After all, it was my mistake not to send out my strongest Pokémon right away. But that's just how the rules are. Even if you won two rounds by a fluke, there's nothing I can do to stop you!"
Natsui immediately recognized this as Rudy's attempt at reverse psychology and saw right through his intentions.
Seriously, he's already lost, but he still refuses to drop the act, trying to salvage some dignity?
He's just being stubborn to the end…
However, he rarely refused a battle that could give his Pokémon valuable experience.
"Alright." Letting out a feigned sigh of reluctance, Natsui smiled inwardly. "Sigh, since you insist, I suppose I can play along a little longer!"
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