After Ash's match concluded, it was Natsui's turn to enter the arena.
Having been through two major competitions, his face was calm, and he felt completely unflustered by the scene. He walked out of the competitor's tunnel with an unhurried pace.
At the other end of the stadium, his opponent was clearly participating in this kind of event for the first time and was noticeably much more reserved. The opponent could only stare at the path in front of him, afraid to look up at the surroundings.
As is customary, the host gave a brief introduction of the two contestants as they entered to give the audience some background.
The introduction of Natsui's opponent started normally, but there was a distinct pause before the host began to introduce Natsui.
After two seconds, the host continued in a slightly surprised voice: "Oh? I've just received news that this contestant, Natsui, is no ordinary Trainer. He is the champion of this year's Indigo Plateau Conference and an Honorary Trainer of the Orange Islands! We never expected the Whirl Islands Cup to attract a competitor of this caliber!"
The Indigo Plateau Conference Champion? An Orange Islands Honorary Trainer?
The audience immediately became restless.
Being an Orange Islands Honorary Trainer was one thing; although the Orange Islands are much larger than the Whirl Islands in terms of island count, economy, and population, their League is still a minor event. Its prestige is low, and its international standing is only slightly better than a local tournament like this.
But the Indigo Plateau Conference Champion was an entirely different matter!
That is a real League tournament, with a scale and strength almost equal to the Silver Conference, which commanded serious attention.
The audience craned their necks to look at Natsui, and even the High Priestess, Maya, in the viewing box, looked at him in surprise.
They truly couldn't believe that a League Conference Champion would come to a local cup of this nature.
Natsui smiled and waved to the audience, walking calmly to the Trainer's command area.
His opponent, already a bit timid upon hearing he was battling a Champion, felt his eye twitch nervously.
Swallowing hard, he reluctantly looked up at Natsui, who was not only handsome but whose entire manner was calm and composed. The opponent immediately lost whatever confidence he had left.
Sigh, how was he supposed to win against that?
Meanwhile, Natsui was also observing his opponent.
He was a somewhat chubby teenage boy, about fifteen or sixteen, displaying visible nervousness and restraint. Based on his demeanor, he seemed less composed than the six or seven-year-old boy who had battled Ash earlier!
Despite this, Natsui would not underestimate his opponent. After all, everyone who makes it through the preliminaries, aside from a few lucky individuals, usually has some decent skill.
Seeing that both were ready, the referee signaled, and both simultaneously sent out their Pokémon.
Natsui had no choice but to send out his Blastoise, while the large boy sent out a Corsola.
Corsola is mainly pink, has four horns on its back, and is a common Pokémon found by the sea.
The two Pokémon stood on their respective stone pillars, observing each other.
The host clearly maintained a high level of interest in Natsui, and upon seeing his Blastoise, the sound of paper rapidly shuffling could even be heard through the speaker.
After a few seconds, the host announced: "According to the data, contestant Natsui's Blastoise is one of the Pokémon he caught early on. It accompanied him all the way to the Indigo Plateau Conference finals and is one of his ace Pokémon! To think he would send it out now—could his purpose be to ensure his advancement to the next round without any risk?"
Although information was available for research, the host clearly didn't know enough about Natsui. He still considered Blastoise to be Natsui's ace, unaware it was only at a second-tier level in Natsui's current lineup.
Logically speaking, this assumption made sense; Pokémon caught earlier spend more time with their Trainer, gain more battle experience, and grow quickly. For these reasons, Trainers generally trust them the most, and they are often developed into their ace Pokémon.
The battle area for this competition was vast, a large circular pool about the size of four regular fields, enclosed by high walls. This gave Water-type Pokémon plenty of room to maneuver without worrying about going out of bounds.
With the referee's signal, the match officially began.
The audience fixed all their attention on the arena, eager to see the true strength of a Champion.
Unfortunately, even though Corsola was much tougher than its Trainer and seemed more reliable, it was clearly no match for Blastoise, unable to force Blastoise to use its full power.
This was a one-sided battle with no difficulty for Natsui.
Corsola managed to hold on against Blastoise for only a few rounds before Blastoise lifted it high and then slammed it heavily onto the stone pillar, where it was knocked out.
While the audience was slightly disappointed by this quick result, they were even more eager for Natsui's upcoming matches.
Amid the cheers, Natsui calmly left the arena and walked toward the competitor's tunnel, his expression as relaxed as it was when he first entered.
After successfully advancing to the Top 32, he would have another match at three in the afternoon; winning that would qualify him for the Top 16 and allow him to continue his push for the championship tomorrow. Before then, he could rest in the lounge and wait for Misty's match result.
Misty's match was right after his, the ninth of the morning. Since the schedule was tight, she had already entered the arena before he even made it back to the lounge to wish her luck.
Inside the lounge, Natsui joined Ash to watch Misty's match.
Misty's battle had already begun.
Her opponent was a middle-aged man wearing a straw hat named Hyde.
Hyde's attire somewhat resembled a pirate, and looking at the two Pokémon, Hyde sent out a Qwilfish, while Misty, for some reason, also sent out a Corsola!
However...
The audience was not very optimistic about Corsola.
Even though a Corsola had just been easily defeated by Natsui, and this was a different one, the audience's perception of the Pokémon was still poor.
Fortunately, compared to the somewhat scruffy-looking middle-aged Hyde, Misty's image as a charming girl still prompted many spectators to cheer her on.
Having watched Ash and Natsui's battles, Misty was in high spirits and immediately launched the first attack.
Hyde, perhaps seeing his opponent was a cute young girl, wore a look of contempt, clearly not taking Misty seriously and assuming he would easily advance!
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