Shaking his head, Corey quickly dispelled the absurd thought.
Damn it, this isn't a desperate situation yet. How can I be so discouraged!
He recalled his Rhyhorn and took out his third Poké Ball.
"Go, Venusaur!"
As his starter Pokémon, his decision to send out Venusaur at this moment was a clear attempt to use his strongest partner to halt his disadvantage and, at the very least, win back one round.
On the other side, although Gyarados's Flying type was super effective against Venusaur's Grass type, its own Water type was also weak to Grass.
Sticking to his consistent battle style, Natsui recalled Gyarados. He was about to send out another Pokémon to press his advantage to the end, but before he could act, he suddenly noticed the shadow at his feet stir gently.
Haunter emerged halfway and said to Natsui, "That Venusaur over there seems to be his strongest Pokémon. Why don't you let me take this one!"
"You want to play too?" Natsui raised an eyebrow, quickly weighing the compatibility between the two Pokémon in his mind, and then nodded. "Alright, then go ahead! But be careful, or you might lose an easy fight due to carelessness!"
"Nag, nag!" Haunter shot him a look, its body fully detaching from the shadow. It slowly floated towards the battlefield, leaving Natsui with a view of its stylishly departing back. "Now, you just stand there quietly and watch my performance!"
In the commentary box, the announcer saw Venusaur enter the field and couldn't help but smile. "It seems trainer Corey has chosen to send out his Venusaur at this time. This is indeed a good strategy. As the most outstanding partner among his many Pokémon, I believe it will surely be able to turn the tide and win back at least one round!"
Like many other professional analysts, this announcer also believed that while Natsui was highly likely to win the championship, he wouldn't be able to maintain his perfect streak and would lose at least two, or even more, Pokémon to Corey!
However, upon hearing this, Lance had a different opinion.
"Perhaps," Lance nodded, then gave a mysterious smile. "But from what I know, this Haunter is also one of trainer Natsui's strongest Pokémon. It certainly won't be defeated so easily."
"Oh? This is his strongest Pokémon?" the announcer said in surprise. "I thought Gardevoir or Gyarados was his ace! In that case, an ace versus an ace battle is sure to be incredibly exciting!"
In reality, however, a battle of the strongest versus the strongest, aside from an intense clash, could also result in a one-sided domination!
When the battle began, the spectators were amazed to find that, in front of Natsui's Haunter, this Venusaur seemed to be completely outmatched!
Whether it was Poison Powder or Sleep Powder, all were blown away by a sudden Ominous Wind. And the various other moves it used were all dodged by Haunter's ability to phase in and out of existence.
Even a fully charged Solar Beam was somehow negated by a seemingly ordinary Shadow Ball!
Nani!?
Seeing this result, Corey was dumbfounded, completely stunned by the scene before him!
What kind of monster is this!? How can it be so strong!?
The spectators in the stands, while surprised, couldn't help but start murmuring among themselves.
Wasn't this supposed to be a duel between aces? Why is Venusaur's performance so pathetic!?
They could see it clearly: Natsui was standing with his hands in his pockets, a relaxed expression on his face. He hadn't said a single word from beginning to end. It was Haunter, acting entirely on its own, that had pushed Venusaur into a desperate corner!
Hearing the chatter around him, the announcer also looked embarrassed.
After all, he had just been insisting that this would be a duel between aces, only to have his words thrown back in his face so quickly!
Fortunately, everyone's attention was on the battlefield at that moment, and no one was questioning his commentating skills.
In the end, Haunter teleported behind Venusaur and defeated it with an incredibly powerful Night Shade, changing the score to 3-0!
At that moment, in the control center of the Indigo Stadium, the broadcast director, John, was laughing so hard he could barely breathe as he watched the ratings soar.
In fact, Natsui's current strength and popularity had already proven just how wise his initial decision had been!
And because of his foresight, which had led to resources being poured into Natsui's coverage, he had not only reaped the rewards in ratings but also increased his own influence within the Pokémon League.
Therefore, looking at the cool, handsome man on the screen, John's admiration grew.
Just then, the door opened, and footsteps sounded from behind. He turned to see President Goodshow slowly walking in.
"Mr. President!"
The nearby staff quickly stood up, but the approachable Mr. Goodshow waved his hand dismissively, signaling them not to be so formal, and then walked slowly to John's side.
"How are the ratings?"
"They're alright," John said with a calm expression, but the smug tone in his voice betrayed his true feelings. "Just broke the historical record and surpassed it by a few points, nothing special."
Mr. Goodshow: ...
You're not the one battling, do you need to be so proud?
Shaking his head, Mr. Goodshow ignored him and turned to look at the main screen.
By now, after another switch from both trainers, the battle had moved on to the fourth round. This time, Corey had sent out Scyther, and Natsui had responded with Jolteon.
However, the Bug- and Flying-type Scyther was getting zapped so badly by Jolteon that it could barely stand.
Watching this, Mr. Goodshow suddenly said reflectively, "Ah, it's great to be young. If I were thirty years younger, I would definitely participate in the conference and chase my own dreams!"
"Mr. President, you're still very young! I think you could live another 30 years, no problem!" John said flatteringly. He then changed the subject, asking curiously, "So, were you also a trainer in your youth, Mr. President? You must have been very strong, right?"
It was just an ordinary question, but to everyone's surprise, Mr. Goodshow laughed upon hearing it.
"You're right. When I was young, I was a very famous trainer in Kanto. Speaking of which, this competitor, Natsui, has quite a bit of my spirit from back in the day! Hahaha!"
Has quite a bit of your spirit!?
John's eyes widened. He looked at Natsui's tall, slender figure on the screen, then glanced down at the short, elderly man in front of him, his face a mask of shock.
He simply couldn't connect the two, whose appearances were so drastically different.
He rubbed his eyes and, in disbelief, looked again at Natsui's handsome face, then back at Mr. Goodshow's weathered one.
Nonsense! There's no resemblance whatsoever!
Forcibly suppressing the urge to retort, John swallowed the word "shameless" that had already reached his lips!
Please, Mr. President, if you had any shame, you wouldn't say something like that!
------------------------
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