When the battle began, Natsui and Tetsu issued their commands at the same time.
Unlike Tetsu's strategy of wanting to engage in close combat, Natsui had Blastoise attack directly from a distance.
Due to Quagsire's excessively slow speed, it couldn't dodge in time, and Tetsu was unwilling to just take the hits passively, so he was forced to retaliate.
Two streams of water shot out from the mouths of the two Pokémon.
Amidst the splashing water, the two streams—one thick, one thin—converged in mid-air. Needless to say, the thick one was Blastoise's Hydro Pump, and the thin one was Quagsire's Water Gun.
Swoosh...
As the two streams collided, the Water Gun was completely shattered by the Hydro Pump and scattered, turning into countless falling droplets in an instant. The Hydro Pump, its momentum unbroken, continued forward and finally hit Quagsire.
Hit by the Hydro Pump, Quagsire's body swayed slightly.
Although the Ground type is weak to Water, fortunately, Quagsire also possessed the Water type, which saved it from taking extra damage.
The reason it countered with Water Gun was not that Quagsire deliberately avoided using a more powerful Water-type move, but mainly because, as a dual-type Pokémon, it also had a certain number of Ground-type moves, making its arsenal of Water-type moves quite limited!
At this moment, seeing Quagsire at a disadvantage from a distance, Tetsu became even more determined to get close to Blastoise.
Under his command, Quagsire jumped into the water and swam towards Blastoise from underwater, thus avoiding another surface attack from Blastoise.
A blue figure swam through the water.
A few seconds later, when Quagsire leaped out of the water, it was already in front of Blastoise. Before it could land on the stone pillar, its two claws were already raised high, lunging at Blastoise!
The starting motion of this move was very obvious; it was the Normal-type move that many Pokémon can use—Slam!
Seeing Quagsire's fierce approach, Blastoise naturally wouldn't just sit and wait. It advanced instead of retreating, turning its body sideways and using the hardest edge of its shell to hit Quagsire's abdomen with a Tackle!
Bang!
The two Pokémon charged at each other and became entangled. However, Blastoise's shell was smooth, with nothing for Quagsire to grab onto, so its Slam attack failed. Instead, it took a heavy hit and was forced to take a big step back!
Succeeding with two consecutive attacks seemed to set the tone for this battle.
Although Quagsire's abilities might not seem outstanding in any particular area, apart from its very slow speed, its other stats were very balanced, with no obvious weaknesses.
This jack-of-all-trades nature made it not easily countered when facing certain Pokémon. But unfortunately, in this battle, it encountered the stronger Blastoise and a Natsui who was fully prepared for this match!
Except for stamina, every one of Blastoise's stats was much stronger than Quagsire's, and this advantage meant it would almost never be at a disadvantage in a direct confrontation!
The two Pokémon stood on the stone pillar, trading blows back and forth. In just a few breaths, they had already clashed several times!
However, as the number of attacks increased and the frequency picked up, not only did Quagsire take continuous damage, but Blastoise also took a few solid hits.
From this, it was clear that this Quagsire did have some strength and could cause some trouble for Blastoise. And Tetsu had clearly not been idle during this time, having also studied Blastoise's fighting style and characteristics.
Unfortunately, there was still a certain gap in strength between the two Pokémon, and this gap could not be bridged by tactics alone!
Finally, Blastoise and Quagsire both used Aqua Tail simultaneously, their tails striking each other heavily. With a loud 'smack', the water swirling around their tails was shattered into countless splashes and fell from mid-air. Looking at the two Pokémon, although it seemed like an even match, Blastoise was clearly the superior one. Seizing the moment while Quagsire was still off-balance, it closed in again and defeated Quagsire in one fell swoop!
Splash...
Quagsire fell backward into the water.
Looking at the unconscious Quagsire, the referee decisively raised the flag and announced the result of the match.
The first round, although there were some twists, was a relatively easy win for Natsui.
The audience found this result both unexpected and seemingly reasonable.
After all, Natsui was the champion of the Indigo Conference, so it was natural for him to win. It was just unexpected that Tetsu, as the second favorite, still didn't pose much of a challenge to Natsui.
Is the skill gap really that big?
In the trainer's box, seeing Tetsu recall Quagsire with a look of resignation, Natsui also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he made it look easy, the mental pressure of this battle was still high, especially when Quagsire, after its early setbacks, erupted with strong fighting spirit in the mid-to-late stages and had once turned the tables!
Fortunately, he still won in the end. It was a close call.
Just as he was waiting for Tetsu to send out his second Pokémon, his ears twitched, and he suddenly heard a few familiar voices from the nearby audience stands.
Turning to look, he happened to see Erika, Misty, Ash, and Brock sitting in the second row, waving at him continuously!
Compared to the previous matches, they were lucky to get good seats this time, so Natsui spotted them at a glance.
What was even more interesting was that Ash's Pikachu and Misty's Togepi were each holding a small fan, jumping up and down to cheer him on!
Giving them a big smile, Natsui turned back to his opponent.
At this point, Tetsu had already taken out his second Poké Ball. He stood there, took a deep breath, then brought the Poké Ball to his mouth and whispered something, seemingly making some pre-battle prayer!
Is he ready to go all out?
Natsui crossed his arms over his chest, not letting his guard down in the slightest.
The more critical the moment, the more focused he became. Even if his opponent unleashed 120 percent of their strength, he would not give them any opportunity!
Come on, let me see your final strength!
After a while, Tetsu finally threw the Poké Ball forward. When the light flashed, a Feraligatr appeared on the stone pillar.
As the final form of the Johto region starter Totodile, Feraligatr was very popular with the trainers here. On one hand, it was for its cool yet goofy image; on the other hand, it was, of course, for its strength!
Feraligatr looked like a bipedal crocodile. Its scales were blue, with rectangular scutes that enhanced its defense. Compared to its pre-evolved form, Feraligatr's forelimbs were much stronger, and its attack power looked greatly increased.
As a pure Water-type Pokémon, Feraligatr usually moved slowly, but when pouncing on prey, its speed was too fast to see!
Although its large body made it hard to support on land, when it crouched down and used its powerful hind legs, it could also move quickly on land. In battle, it would open its large mouth to intimidate opponents, push off the ground with its strong hind legs, and charge at an astonishing speed. It would also bite opponents with its large, powerful jaws and then thrash its neck to tear them apart.
Compared to Natsui's Blastoise, apart from a different focus, Feraligatr's overall abilities were not inferior. Moreover, both Pokémon were pure Water-types. If you looked only at this, the outcome would be really hard to predict.
But obviously, besides physical stats, Pokémon battles also depend on experience, momentum, and on-the-spot performance, and even more on whether their trainers command them properly. Even the battle venue and the live audience can have a great impact on the match.
This is why many Pokémon perform excellently in normal times but fall apart in major tournaments; it's mainly because their mentality affects their performance.
But Natsui believed that after traveling with him for so long, not only having performed well in a major tournament before but also having settled in at Sakuragi Park for a period, his Blastoise could definitely defeat this Feraligatr!
At the referee's signal, the second match officially began.
Before Natsui could even give a command, the Feraligatr on the other side had already launched a fierce attack.
With his back against the wall, Tetsu's desire to attack in this battle was soaring. Under his command, Feraligatr erupted with even more astonishing power!
It lay flat on the water, paddling forcefully with all four limbs like a real crocodile, closing the distance with Blastoise in an instant. Then, before it could even catch its breath, it launched another ferocious assault.
At first, Blastoise wanted to counter-attack on the defensive, but Feraligatr's strategy was to trade blows, completely disregarding any damage it might take itself!
This tactic certainly had some effect. Blastoise was forced to defend. Fortunately, it was good at this. With Iron Defense and Protect, plus the divine skill Withdraw, it created an impenetrable defense against Feraligatr's attacks.
But over time, it inevitably began to struggle to keep up.
Like its master, Feraligatr seemed to have staked everything on this. It completely ignored its rapidly depleting stamina, a fire burning in its eyes, knowing only to attack, attack, and attack again!
The attack frequency was so high that as soon as Blastoise defended against one move, the next one followed immediately, leaving no energy to launch a counter-attack!
Even if it used Rapid Spin, Feraligatr could just dive underwater to evade the move, which would only waste its own stamina.
Seeing this, the audience immediately became restless.
Since Natsui had entered the competition, his Pokémon had always been extremely dominant, defeating opponents with a huge advantage in every battle. Now, in the semi-finals, someone could finally suppress his momentum!
Of course, saying 'suppress' might not be accurate, but at least the scene before them now was Feraligatr constantly attacking while Blastoise was desperately defending!
Their spirits lifted, and they instinctively sat up straight, all wanting to see if this Feraligatr could defeat Blastoise. Even Ash, Misty, and the others widened their eyes, too nervous to breathe!
In the arena, Natsui's eyes narrowed.
Feraligatr's performance at this moment was beyond what he and the others had predicted before the match. Before this, Feraligatr did not have such a fighting style; it could be said to be completely different.
It seemed Tetsu had indeed been pushed into a corner by him, forcing him to change his battle style and go all-out without reservation!
He carefully searched for an opening in Feraligatr's assault.
Taking hits passively was not his style. Although at the current rate, Feraligatr would likely run out of stamina and stop attacking first, you can't just rely on tiring out the opponent to win.
And now, it was a test of his commanding ability as a trainer!
After watching for a while, he unexpectedly found an opportunity!
As the two Pokémon fought fiercely, with various moves flying around, they were causing quite a commotion. Although neither could get the better of the other, the stone pillar beneath their feet couldn't withstand such a beating and had slowly started to crack without them noticing!
The crack wasn't obvious, but it was undoubtedly a hidden danger, and the crack was facing Natsui, while Tetsu couldn't see it at all.
A thought flashed through his mind, and Natsui shouted loudly, "Blastoise, stomp your foot, now!"
Hearing Natsui's command, Blastoise was stunned at first, not understanding what he meant. But out of absolute loyalty to its trainer, it didn't hesitate, lifting its right foot and bringing it down heavily.
Crack!
With Blastoise's already heavy body, plus the force of the stomp, the originally flat surface of the stone pillar instantly shattered, creating a large gap!
Both Pokémon immediately lost their balance and fell towards the water.
Fortunately, Blastoise was somewhat prepared. It only staggered for a moment and, relying on its weight, stood firmly on the pillar. In contrast, Feraligatr was caught completely off guard and fell directly into the water!
This up-and-down moment gave Blastoise a breathing spell and also signaled the start of Natsui's counter-attack.
Following the principle of hitting an opponent when they're down, Blastoise attacked Feraligatr from above. As the cannons on its back continuously fired jets of water, Feraligatr took several hits, struggled in the water for a while but couldn't climb back up, and finally had to dive under.
But hiding underwater was not a solution. After lurking for a while and seeing that Blastoise showed no openings and wasn't coming down to pursue, Tetsu had no choice but to have Feraligatr surface again and try to climb the stone pillar.
Unfortunately, it was no longer possible for it to get close to Blastoiso.
Moreover, the after-effects of Feraligatr's frantic attacks were now showing. Its stamina was critically low. It was already panting heavily just as it climbed onto the pillar.
Tetsu's expression changed as he realized what was happening.
And seeing this, how could Natsui miss such a golden opportunity!
Under his command, Blastoise took a running start and slammed hard into Feraligatr's body!
Hit by Blastoise's charge, Feraligatr fell backward. With a 'splash', just like its partner Quagsire, it also lay unconscious and limp in the water...
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