When Natsui walked out of the competitor's tunnel, he was greeted by the audience's thunderous applause and cheers. This sound was far more enthusiastic than during Misty and Trinity's battle, proving Natsui was truly the cup's most popular contestant.
Because he had paused in the tunnel, his opponent was already waiting patiently in the Trainer's command area on the opposite side.
Natsui walked calmly to his position and quickly assessed his opponent. The middle-aged man wore a well-tailored casual suit; judging by the material and style, it was custom-made and clearly expensive.
He had a slicked-back hairstyle, his head covered in hair gel, and a neatly trimmed beard that connected to his chin, giving him a masculine look.
Although he wouldn't attract fans focused on traditional looks, his distinguished aura held a certain appeal for some viewers with a unique aesthetic. Natsui thought such a man belonged in an office, sipping red wine and smoking a cigar while watching the sunset, not here.
This suggested that Pokémon competitions truly had universal appeal in this world, attracting people from all walks of life. From another perspective, if the Whirl Islands Cup hadn't had such a low barrier to entry, a man like him likely wouldn't have participated.
Since they were far apart, the two didn't exchange greetings. Instead, at the referee's signal, they immediately sent out their respective Pokémon.
The middle-aged man's first Pokémon was a Clawitzer. This Pokémon is very common in the Kalos region but has no natural habitat in Johto or Kanto.
Natsui wasn't surprised by this, having already seen videos of his opponent's previous matches and gained some understanding of his lineup.
This Pokémon suggested that the man was indeed a successful businessman who traveled frequently around the world. Otherwise, he wouldn't own a Clawitzer, a species abundant in Kalos.
Because of this, most Trainers here had never encountered Clawitzer and were unfamiliar with its abilities and traits. This lack of knowledge had allowed the middle-aged man to win consecutively and reach this stage. While Clawitzer's inherent strength was a factor, many Trainers were simply defeated due to their lack of exposure.
Natsui, as usual, sent out his Blastoise. The audience, however, expressed immediate disappointment upon seeing the familiar Blastoise.
They supported Natsui, but his exclusive use of this single Pokémon had become visually boring. Even though Blastoise was incredibly powerful and superior to most Pokémon here, the audience wanted to see something fresh. They couldn't understand why Natsui insisted on using only Blastoise when he clearly had other Pokémon.
As his opponent, the middle-aged man couldn't help but smile faintly when he saw Blastoise. He thought Natsui's single-Pokémon choice was an arrogant display of strength and an attempt to show off his uniqueness.
He was actually quite petty-minded beneath his seemingly gentlemanly facade. This guy is just a kid who got lucky enough to win a championship—what's so great about him?
He even intentionally came out ten seconds late just to bask in the attention! By projecting his own thoughts onto Natsui, the man found Natsui increasingly irritating, especially his young, handsome face, which made him feel defeated.
Listening to the crowd cheer for Natsui, the middle-aged man thought to himself, When I defeat Natsui, he's going to look so embarrassed.
Despite his inner thoughts, he showed nothing on his face. For the cameras, he consistently maintained what he believed was a charming smile.
At the referee's signal, the match officially began. Although the local crowd was unfamiliar with Clawitzer, Natsui was quite knowledgeable about it from games, anime, and his own recent research.
Clawitzer is a single-type Water Pokémon. Its appearance is similar to a crayfish from Earth, but it is mostly blue and curled up. As its name suggests, its right arm is a super-sized pincer, easily three or four times larger than its body.
The massive pincer is Clawitzer's main weapon. It can use the feelers on the pincer to sense prey and fire various Water-type and Pulse/Aura moves like a cannon. It can even function as an accelerator, shooting water from a tube-like part on its rear to move quickly underwater.
What's more impressive is its ability, Mega Launcher. Pokémon with this ability gain a significant boost in power when using Pulse and Aura attacks. Interestingly, the only other Pokémon that possesses this ability is Mega Blastoise!
This shared ability was one of the key points of the match. Unfortunately, as Clawitzer was not a native Pokémon, almost no one in the audience, not even the commentators, knew about this common trait with Blastoise—only Natsui did.
As the battle began, Clawitzer opened with Dragon Pulse, launching an aggressive attack. The two Pokémon battled fiercely in the arena.
Clawitzer fought like a long-range cannon, constantly assaulting Blastoise. Blastoise, however, acted like a thick shield, blocking every attack.
Multi-colored attacks shot from Clawitzer's massive pincer toward Blastoise. Blastoise retaliated with moves of equal power, refusing to fall behind. The audience was mesmerized by the continuous display of powerful moves.
The match seemed to be deadlocked for a long time. One was focused on offense, the other on defense, and the question was whether the 'gun' could break the 'shield' or if the 'shield' could disarm the 'gun.'
After a while, those with more experience realized that despite Clawitzer's impressive display, it was mostly sound and fury, signifying almost no success. For Natsui, battling Clawitzer was relatively easy as long as he kept an eye on its massive pincer.
Just as Erika had said in the lounge, the skill level of the remaining contestants was very average.
Blastoise consistently found openings to launch successful counter-attacks while maintaining its defense. Clawitzer, conversely, simply could not penetrate Blastoise's defense.
Seeing Clawitzer slowly fall behind, the middle-aged man grew desperate. He decided on a risky final move, ordering Clawitzer to get close to Blastoise and use Crabhammer, aiming to defeat Blastoise in close combat.
The Crabhammer, which the man was so confident about, was blocked by Blastoise using a simple Withdraw. Clawitzer's huge pincer, flashing with danger, pounded Blastoise's shell like a hammer, only succeeding in making the shell spin.
After the failed Crabhammer, the shell suddenly rebounded toward Clawitzer, and Blastoise's large head shot out. It used Skull Bash, knocking Clawitzer out immediately.
The referee immediately announced the result. Amid the audience's cheers, the middle-aged man's face involuntarily darkened.
He had studied Natsui's Blastoise extensively before the match, only to find that its abilities were extremely well-rounded, with practically no weaknesses.
Now that he had lost, the situation had quickly become problematic. Although Blastoise had been defending for a long time, its condition was excellent, having sustained almost no damage.
Given its demonstrated power, winning against it with his second Pokémon would be incredibly difficult. He was already thinking of quitting.
It would be too humiliating if his second Pokémon couldn't even defeat this Blastoise. But having come this far, he couldn't just walk away.
Reluctantly, and under the referee's urging, he gritted his teeth and took out his second Poké Ball!
A flash of blue light revealed a Binacle standing on the stone pillar. Natsui raised an eyebrow upon seeing it. Another Pokémon common in the Kalos region?!
Does this guy own a business in Kalos or something?
Binacle is a Water/Rock-type Pokémon. It looks like a rock with two claws attached, and each claw has a face, making it ugly and bizarre. These two claws are actually two separate bodies; like Dugtrio, they are a cooperative team!
Natsui honestly didn't know much about this Pokémon, mainly because it was too ugly and completely failed to meet his aesthetic standards. Even its evolved form, Barbaracle, had always been a hard pass for him.
Since he was unfamiliar with it, Natsui had no choice but to pull out his Pokédex and aim it at the Pokémon.
Pokédex: "Binacle, the Two-Handed Pokémon, Rock/Water type. Two Binacle search for a rock of suitable size on the beach to live together. They move by leveraging their bodies to create a reactive force, dragging the rock beneath them. They rush onto the beach when the waves crash to eat seaweed. If they quarrel, one will move to a different rock."
Natsui put away the Pokédex and curled his lip. Based on that description, why do they sound weirdly cute? Realizing this disturbing thought, he shuddered and quickly shook the preposterous idea from his head. I absolutely will not let my aesthetic taste get weird!
Meanwhile, seeing Natsui pull out his Pokédex, the middle-aged man finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had found a Pokémon Natsui didn't know!
This is perfect. People are always wary and confused by the unknown! As long as he hesitates, I have a great chance to win! The man's slump instantly lifted, and his confidence rebounded slightly.
However, as soon as the battle started, he realized things weren't going his way. Why is this man using a completely different strategy and actively attacking? Shouldn't he be cautious with an unfamiliar Pokémon?!
In the arena, Blastoise abandoned its defensive strategy from the previous match and immediately went on the offensive. Natsui might not know much about Binacle, but it was unevolved, comprehensively weaker, and possessed a Rock-typing. What was there to fear?
If the previous match showcased Blastoise's elite defense, this one showed its fearless offense. After a few long-range Water-type exchanges with Binacle, Blastoise closed the distance and defeated the Pokémon cleanly with a close-range attack.
Seeing his Pokémon defeated so easily, the middle-aged man's face turned red and then pale. He had expected this to be his turning point, but he was defeated even faster than the first match!
The decisive factor was Blastoise's relentless, consecutive attacks.
He stared intensely at Natsui. Failing to defeat Blastoise with both Pokémon, he felt both deeply humiliated and shamed by Natsui.
He was about to pretend to be a good sport and say something gracious, but Natsui simply recalled Blastoise and walked straight off the field without looking back!
He! Just! Walked! Away! The middle-aged man's chest heaved, but there was nothing he could do.
Natsui, the victor, received the audience's cheers. The middle-aged man, the loser, could only depart gloomily.
For Natsui, the middle-aged man was a decent Trainer, but nothing more. They were strangers, and Natsui felt no need to offer comforting words.
Aside from his memorable attire and his two Kalos Pokémon, nothing else about him left a lasting impression. Yes... he would probably forget this person entirely by tomorrow...
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