"I'm the trump card?" Gengar looked at Natsui suspiciously. "Didn't you always say your trump cards were those three stupid birds? When did it become me?"
For the Pokémon that had just won him a victory, Natsui naturally had to shower it with praise. He put an arm around Gengar and said with a laugh, "Nonsense! That's all just for show! How could they be as considerate and reliable as you? You are my real trump card, no one else comes close!"
Unfortunately, Gengar didn't know the saying about a man's deceiving mouth.
Hearing this, Gengar was overjoyed and grinned broadly. However, what it didn't see were the three Ultra Balls on Natsui's belt, shaking furiously to show their displeasure.
As the shaking grew more intense, Natsui, while Gengar wasn't looking, quickly used his large hand to secretly soothe them.
Just then, the referee in the center of the field crossed the red and green flags in front of his chest, signaling a pause in the match.
"We will now change the battlefield!"
Since one side had lost three Pokémon, according to the Orange League's rules, the battlefield needed to be changed at this point, both for the sake of spectacle and to give the losing contestant a chance to turn the tables with a different strategy.
And during this break, the two trainers could go to the chairs on the side to rest for a moment.
With a relatively relaxed heart, Natsui went to a chair under a sunshade.
Because it was closer to the spectator stands, the people could see him more clearly. For a moment, all the spectators near Natsui focused their complex gazes—a mix of hostility, curiosity, and awe—on him.
Natsui could even hear their undisguised whispers clearly.
But he didn't mind. He first took a sip of water to wet his throat, then leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes to rest and recover his strength, while also strategizing for the upcoming battle in his mind.
Next, he had three more battles to fight. If he could win them all, he would be able to lift the Winner's Cup—the second trophy of his career.
On the field, the announcer was still diligently working to warm up the crowd.
"…Speaking of which, it's been a long time since we've seen this happen. I can't even remember the last time the battlefield was changed. I have to say, to be able to push Drake to this point, Natsui is truly worthy of being the Indigo Conference champion. He certainly possesses top-tier strength!"
One could tell that with Drake losing three rounds in a row, a bad feeling had already started to form in the announcer's mind. The reason he was praising Natsui so highly now was simply to mentally prepare the audience, to give them a heads-up, so that even if Drake really did lose in the end, it wouldn't be so unacceptable as to cause any trouble.
Clank, clank…
The sound of gears and machinery suddenly interrupted Natsui's thoughts.
He opened his eyes and saw the rock field being slowly lowered by an elevator. As the platform turned, a brand new grass field appeared in the Pummelo Stadium.
Looking closely, this grass field, apart from a small hill made of rocks in the middle, was mostly flat ground. However, the flat ground was covered in lush, overgrown grass, at least a meter high. It looked as if it hadn't been used for a very long time.
The announcer introduced, "Oh? The grass field has been chosen. Let me see… The turf, having not been used or maintained for a long time, has grown so lush. It's truly incredible!"
At this point, the announcer paused, then continued, "Actually, the grass field originally didn't have any special features. But because the grass is so dense now, it will definitely make it easier for smaller Pokémon to hide and ambush their opponents… Oh, the referee is already waving his hand. Alright, we now see that the field has been changed. The two contestants have also had a short break and recovered some of their stamina, and they must be even better prepared for the upcoming battle. So now, let's turn our attention back to the field!"
As the announcer's reminder came, the audience quickly turned their attention from the field and saw Natsui and Drake stand up simultaneously, walking towards their respective trainer's boxes…
…
In Pummelo Town, while the Winner's Cup was in full swing, three figures were running through the still-crowded streets, rushing towards the Pummelo Stadium.
"Misty, Tracey, hurry up! I can already hear the cheers!"
You could tell who it was just by the voice. Needless to say, these three were Ash, Misty, and Tracey.
Misty, while running, looked at the boy in the cap ahead of her, her chest heaving.
"Hey! Ash! Wait for us! You're running too fast, we can't keep up!"
"Misty's right!" Tracey, running at the very back, also said, panting, "And listen, it sounds like the match isn't over yet! We can totally make it in time!"
"But…"
Hearing them, Ash glanced at the stadium, which was now just a stone's throw away. Although he was anxious, he slowed down a bit.
Since parting with Natsui, they had rushed to challenge the Trovita Gym. After winning and obtaining their four badges, they had hurried here without stopping, traveling day and night, finally arriving on Pummelo Island at this moment.
The reason for such urgency, besides wanting to catch up to Natsui's progress, was that Ash also wanted to see Natsui's match with his own eyes.
As the three of them entered the stadium and made their way into the packed spectator stands, where even the aisles were full of people, they saw Natsui's Scyther deliver a remarkably cool X-Scissor, defeating Drake's Venusaur in a flash.
"Wow! Venusaur is down! The score is now four to zero!" the announcer exclaimed. "In this battle, although Drake chose Venusaur, which matched the field, it still had no chance against the Bug-type Scyther!"
Four to zero!?
Ash quickly looked at the scoreboard and saw that on the red side, four of the Pokémon icons had indeed dimmed, while not a single one of Natsui's Pokémon had been defeated.
As expected… Natsui is as strong as ever…
"That's great! Natsui's going to win!"
Beside him, upon seeing the state of the match, Misty's eyes lit up. Her gaze locked onto Natsui, and she began waving her hands, cheering for him loudly.
Although her cheers were barely a ripple in the noisy stands, her spirited voice still made some of the nearby Orange Archipelago spectators turn to look, curious to see who was cheering so hard for Natsui.
When they saw it was a young girl in her early teens, they were extremely surprised.
So young? Is she also a fan of Natsui?
But Misty paid no attention to these gazes and continued to cheer at the top of her lungs. Although her voice couldn't reach Natsui's ears, she wanted to cheer him on in this foreign land, to support the person she liked the most.
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