Once Natsui and Marina were ready, they both threw their Poké Balls at the same time.
As the two beams of blue light faded, it was revealed that Natsui had sent out his Scyther, while Marina had sent out a Croconaw.
As the first evolved form of Totodile, Croconaw looked fierce. Its body was primarily blue, with a beige pattern on its belly. Its mouth was full of teeth, and it had a red, crest-like bone plate on its head.
Natsui took out his Pokédex and pointed it at the Croconaw.
Pokédex: "Croconaw, the Big Jaw Pokémon. A Water type. The evolved form of Totodile. The tips of Croconaw's teeth are curved back like fishhooks. It will attack with its mouth wide open. Once it bites down, it won't let go until its teeth fall out."
From a type perspective, the Water-type Croconaw had no advantage over the Bug- and Flying-type Scyther, which made Marina secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
Facing the Indigo League Champion, she was already under immense pressure. If she had a type disadvantage on top of that, she might as well just surrender.
The two Pokémon's sharp gazes met, neither willing to back down.
As the battle began, Marina, unable to bear the pressure, was the first to attack.
And under her command, Croconaw went all out from the start!
Marina seemed to understand that to defeat a powerful enemy, one must show absolute momentum from the very beginning, aiming to take down the opponent in one fell swoop and not letting the battle drag on for too long!
For a moment, Water Guns flew through the air, creating a shower of spray. Before the water could even hit the ground, Croconaw had already charged in front of Scyther.
Relying on this bold and aggressive momentum, Croconaw actually managed to fight Scyther on even terms!
This showed that Croconaw had been raised quite well. But in the end, Scyther was clearly the more skilled of the two. As Croconaw continued to attack, its stamina quickly depleted. Scyther found an opportunity and, with a single X-Scissor, decisively defeated it!
"I lost!"
Seeing Croconaw fall, Marina was quick to admit defeat.
But there was no sadness on her face. It was clear that in her heart, she had long accepted that she wouldn't be a match for the champion. In fact, being able to battle Scyther for so long was already something she was happy about.
Looking at the slightly panting Scyther, Natsui smiled and nodded at Marina.
"To have come this far, you're already very impressive. You should know that I've been traveling for much longer than you, so I've naturally been through more training. I believe that with a little more time, you will definitely become an exceptionally skilled trainer!"
Hearing this, Marina's face lit up with an unparalleled brilliance, as if she had received great encouragement!
"Hehe," she rubbed her nose. "Actually, being a trainer isn't my goal. My dream is to become an outstanding Coordinator!"
A Coordinator...
For some reason, Natsui's mind suddenly thought of May and Dawn. Their dream was also to become outstanding Pokémon Coordinators.
Wait a minute!
Speaking of Pokémon Coordinators, Natsui suddenly remembered that the Marina before him would indeed go on to become a top-tier Pokémon Coordinator in the Johto region!
No wonder she looked somewhat familiar!
"I see. That's a great goal. Keep it up. It's a tough road as well!"
Before Marina could say anything more, Kenta, who had been eagerly waiting on the side, came over to the trainer's box and nudged her out of the way.
"My turn! My turn!"
Kenta's first impression on Natsui was that he was very similar to Ash in some ways. An opponent of this type would surely be much tougher than Marina. Therefore, Natsui didn't let his guard down and recalled his Scyther.
The two sent out their Pokémon at the same time.
This time, Natsui sent out his Dragonair, while Kenta's Pokémon was a Typhlosion.
Seeing Dragonair, Marina's eyes instantly lit up!
"Wow, it's a Dragonair! I've never seen one before! It's so beautiful!"
Girls naturally have little resistance to cute Pokémon, especially one as rare as Dragonair. If it weren't for the fact that a battle was in progress, she looked like she wanted to rush over and hug it.
Ignoring the bouncing Marina at the side, Natsui carefully observed the Typhlosion before him.
Just like Marina's Croconaw, Typhlosion was Kenta's starter Pokémon and his most trusted partner.
Typhlosion's appearance was somewhat similar to that of a weasel from Earth, but it was much larger and fiercer.
Natsui once again took out his Pokédex and pointed it at Typhlosion.
Pokédex: "Typhlosion, the Volcano Pokémon. A Fire type. The final evolved form of Cyndaquil. When the heat waves around Typhlosion begin to shimmer, it is a sign that it is ready to battle. It will create heat waves with its scorching flames to hide its figure, and it also attacks by rubbing its blazing fur together, using the blast of fire. The blast of fire can burn anything to ashes, and when Typhlosion is at the peak of its anger, it is so hot that it can instantly ignite anything it touches!"
In terms of evolution, the two of them, who had started their journey from New Bark Town together and both received a Johto starter, were on different paths. Marina's Totodile had only evolved into a Croconaw, while Kenta's Cyndaquil had already evolved into a Typhlosion.
While this didn't prove everything, it at least showed that this Typhlosion was definitely much stronger than the Croconaw.
Staring at Dragonair, flames ignited around Typhlosion's neck, its battle stance.
Kenta waved his hand, adopting the same tactic as Marina.
"Typhlosion, let's go! Let's show it what we're made of!"
As the battle began, the two Pokémon immediately clashed, fighting in a fierce deadlock.
But just as the battle had begun, a large, thick dark cloud suddenly floated over from the distant sky.
The cloud appeared so abruptly, bringing a cool wind and blocking the sun above them, that Natsui and the others noticed it almost immediately.
The cloud was as dark as the bottom of a pot, with lightning occasionally flashing within it. It was clear that a downpour was inevitable.
"It's going to rain."
Natsui was a bit surprised. After all, the sky had been clear just a moment ago. Why would a dark cloud appear out of nowhere?
But regardless, this battle had to end quickly. He had no desire to get soaked to the bone.
And compared to Natsui, Kenta was undoubtedly more anxious. After all, Fire-type Pokémon were at a great disadvantage in the rain. Although it wasn't as afraid of water as a Charmander, its fighting ability would be severely affected.