For Natsui, the first match was not worth watching, and he learned little from it. Although both contestants performed capably, that was the extent of it, with nothing particularly exciting happening.
The live audience clearly felt the same way, which was evident from their lukewarm cheers.
As the first match ended, Misty and Trinity stepped onto the battleground, and Natsui finally felt his spirit lift, sitting up straight. The real show was about to begin!
It was clear that Misty looked serious, and Trinity also wore a focused expression. Both women took this match extremely seriously, not just because the winner would advance to the Top 4, but because both had reasons not to lose!
When they were ready, the referee signaled, and both released their Pokémon simultaneously. With two flashes of blue light, Misty sent out her Poliwhirl, and Trinity sent out a Gyarados!
Seeing the fierce Gyarados, Misty's face suddenly changed, and she subconsciously took a step back in panic. Her heart pounded, and the mere sight of Gyarados's eyes almost completely deflated her confidence.
Natsui shook his head ruefully at this sight. Even after so much time, Misty still hadn't overcome her psychological fear of Gyarados.
The root of her fear traces back to her childhood. When she was very young and couldn't yet walk, she found a Gyarados near the Gym sleeping with its large mouth open, and out of curiosity, she crawled inside!
The Gyarados instinctively closed its mouth upon feeling something strange. Misty thought she was about to be eaten, but fortunately, the Gyarados realized its mistake and quickly spat her out.
Still, Misty was terrified and cried hysterically, developing an indelible psychological trauma of Gyarados ever since.
Although this incident was terrifying and caused Misty deep emotional harm, this hesitation couldn't continue. As a future Water-type Gym Leader, she couldn't afford to be afraid of a Water-type Pokémon!
Only by overcoming this hurdle and eventually mastering a Gyarados could she truly become a competent Water-type Pokémon Trainer. It seemed she would need much more time to hone her skills.
As her partner and the object of her affection, Natsui genuinely wanted to help her. After thinking about the situation, he decided the fastest solution was to fight fire with fire.
He resolved to let Misty interact more frequently with his Red Gyarados. Although the Red Gyarados looks quite scary, it is very docile around those it trusts and would never harm Misty. He wondered if this exposure would finally eliminate her deep-seated fear.
Back in the arena, Misty knew she couldn't retreat and quickly adjusted her mindset, forcing down her fear. As the referee announced the start of the match, she proactively launched an attack against Gyarados.
Following her command, Poliwhirl used Bubble Beam, immediately launching dozens of bubbles toward Gyarados from its spiraled belly. Trinity responded immediately with a devastating Hyper Beam!
Gyarados opened its massive mouth, condensing a powerful beam of light that shot directly toward Poliwhirl. The Hyper Beam's immense power instantly vaporized the Bubble Beam upon contact, continuing its path to strike Poliwhirl.
Bang! Struck by the attack, Poliwhirl was sent flying a great distance, crashing into another stone pillar. When it slid down, it was already unconscious.
It was an immediate knockout! The referee took one look and quickly announced the result.
Seeing Poliwhirl defeated in the very first exchange left the audience murmuring and gasping in disbelief. This was the Top 8, where all the weak competitors had been eliminated, making a single-move defeat extremely rare. The vast difference in strength between the two Pokémon was evident.
Misty's face showed great distress upon seeing Poliwhirl defeated. She had prepared extensively, but she never imagined Poliwhirl wouldn't even withstand one attack.
This clearly demonstrated that Trinity's Pokémon were exceptionally well-trained, which explained why she had approached them earlier at lunch.
Glancing at the camera aimed at her, she knew Natsui was watching her through the screen, which gave her immense courage. Natsui-kun is watching me right now; I cannot disappoint him!
So what if one Pokémon is down? The match isn't over, and I haven't lost yet! Taking a deep breath, she solemnly took out her second Poké Ball.
A flash of blue light revealed Misty's Corsola. By this point, Gyarados had recovered from the Hyper Beam's debilitating side effect, and its movement returned to normal.
It seemed the two Pokémon were starting from an equal position. This time, Trinity proactively launched the attack.
Under Trinity's command, Gyarados used Hydro Pump, sending a thick torrent of water toward Corsola. Misty countered instantly with Mirror Coat!
A strange light flashed across Corsola's body. When the Hydro Pump hit, Corsola immediately reflected it back with even greater power.
Faced with its own attack, Trinity commanded Gyarados to use Hyper Beam again. The powerful light pillar instantly shattered the returning stream of water and continued shooting toward Corsola.
Fortunately, Corsola jumped into the water just in time, avoiding the Hyper Beam. The Hyper Beam destroyed the stone pillar Corsola had been standing on, scattering debris, but missing Corsola completely.
In the lounge, Natsui had now observed that Gyarados's power was formidable. That last attack not only shattered the stone pillar but also instantly vaporized a large amount of seawater!
However, failing to knock out Corsola changed the situation. Just as Natsui predicted, Gyarados was temporarily unable to move after using Hyper Beam, giving Corsola a perfect opportunity.
The water surface churned, and countless energy spikes suddenly emerged from underwater, piercing the surface and shooting toward Gyarados at an incredible speed. It was clearly the Normal-type move, Spike Cannon!
Gyarados had no way to dodge and was hit by multiple Spike Cannon strikes. Crying out in pain, its body uncontrollably fell sideways and crashed into another stone pillar.
Trinity immediately grew tense, but since Gyarados had yet to recover its mobility, her urgency was pointless.
In the next second, Corsola suddenly leaped out of the water and used its four horns to slam violently into Gyarados! Bang!
Despite Corsola's small size, it possessed enormous power. Struck by the impact, Gyarados wailed and collapsed completely!
Natsui shook his head. This was baffling. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Natsui wouldn't have believed a Gyarados could be defeated in just two or three hits. Was it a critical hit?
He concluded that Trinity's Gyarados must have low defenses and high attack—a flaw in its training. While this approach works well when dominating a match, once countered, it cannot withstand many attacks.
After defeating Gyarados, Misty danced for joy where she stood. Even through the screen, Natsui could feel her happiness.
In contrast, Trinity showed little disappointment. She calmly recalled Gyarados, then smiled as she threw out her second Poké Ball!
A flash of blue light revealed a Lanturn floating on the water's surface. The small Lanturn created a stark contrast with the massive Gyarados, and the audience was surprised that Trinity's final Pokémon would be such a small one.
However, no one dared to underestimate it. Lanturn is an Electric/Water-type. Its Electric-type moves were undoubtedly devastating in this arena; anyone who dared to enter the water would be severely shocked.
Misty swallowed, knowing the real challenge had arrived!
As the third phase began, Lanturn immediately shot a current toward the sky. The current quickly created dark clouds, and within seconds, a thick lightning bolt fell. Lanturn had opened with Thunder!
Facing a move that could instantly knock out Corsola, Misty's face turned pale, and she frantically commanded Corsola to use Mirror Coat for protection!
In a flash, the lightning struck Corsola. Fortunately, Corsola reacted in time, successfully using Mirror Coat in the final millisecond, and the reflected lightning shot back at Lanturn with even greater power.
Sizzle! Lanturn did not dodge and was hit by the lightning. But when the smoke and electricity faded, it was still floating there, completely unharmed. Natsui shook his head ruefully.
Lanturn clearly had the Volt Absorb ability. This meant not only would it take no damage from Electric-type attacks, but it would also recover its own health!
This was truly bad. Lanturn's Electric-type moves had a type advantage over Corsola, yet Corsola's reflected Electric attacks caused no damage. How could she possibly win?
Misty also realized the situation was highly disadvantageous, and she looked worriedly at Corsola's condition. Corsola had used Mirror Coat several times in a short period, putting a massive strain on its body.
Before Misty could find a solution, Lanturn attacked again. This time, it used Confuse Ray. Misty, having no other option, had Corsola dive underwater to dodge.
But this was useless. Lanturn immediately extended its two long, lantern-like tentacles into the water, using Confuse Ray indiscriminately underwater!
A powerful pink glow rapidly spread underwater. The Confuse Ray completely enveloped Corsola underwater.
The cornered Corsola was forced to climb back onto the stone pillar, but its eyes were pink from the Confuse Ray, and its body swayed. Its consciousness was clearly completely confused.
No matter how Misty shouted encouragement, Corsola couldn't snap out of its confusion. Trinity didn't give Corsola any time to recover.
Following her command, Lanturn used Discharge, decisively knocking out Corsola!
Seeing Corsola faint, the referee immediately announced the result. This meant Misty was defeated by Trinity, eliminated from the competition, ending her run in the Top 8!
In the lounge, Natsui sighed and stood up to leave the room. He didn't look at Misty's discouraged face on the screen, nor did he wait to comfort her in the lounge. He had to prepare for his own match.
In the competitor's tunnel, he walked past Misty. Seeing him, Misty's body trembled, and she looked down, avoiding his eyes. She felt most guilty toward Natsui for losing; she had failed to win, betraying his confidence.
Natsui-kun must be so disappointed right now.
Natsui stepped in front of her. Seeing her look like she had done something wrong, he smiled slightly. "What's wrong? Are you upset about losing?"
"No, of course not..." Misty shook her head, her voice getting quieter. "Ms. Trinity's Pokémon are truly powerful. Losing this time is genuinely due to my lack of strength, but... but..." The rest of the sentence wouldn't come out.
Natsui gently raised her chin with his finger. His radiant smile instantly filled Misty's vision. "Your lack of strength is a fact, but don't be discouraged, and don't feel guilty toward anyone. You should get back up where you fell down. Your Pokémon definitely need improvement."
He continued: "I think after the Silver Conference, you should travel with me to the next region."
Hearing this, Misty's body shook, and she couldn't believe her ears! Natsui-kun is actually asking me to travel with him?
Certain that Natsui wasn't joking, she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and quickly nodded. In that moment, she felt as if her heart was entirely surrounded by dazzling, warm sunshine!
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