After spraying for several seconds, the beam of the Hyper Beam disappeared.
Unsurprisingly, Scizor had actually persisted until now under such tyrannical energy!
Although its surface appeared covered with scars, relying on its steel-like shell and outstanding perseverance, it had stubbornly withstood this outpouring of energy.
Natsui's hanging heart finally settled down.
"Very good, Scizor, use Quick Attack!"
Scizor first spat out a mouthful of black smoke, then its body accelerated abruptly, rushing toward Slaking at high speed!
Even though it had just taken an attack, Scizor had stubbornly completed its Swords Dance!
And powered up by Swords Dance, its two pincers gleamed sharply as they thrust toward Slaking from different angles!
Norman naturally wouldn't let Scizor have its way.
He shouted loudly: "Block it!"
Slaking once again waved those thick palms, attempting to intercept Scizor. However, Scizor repeated its old trick again, using Double Team to confuse Slaking's judgment.
Slaking looked left and right. Just like before, it still couldn't distinguish which one was the real body!
It roared, and its two palms began to claw wildly. It looked like it wanted to use this to break all these shadows!
It was just that because the distance was too close, it didn't have time to deal with these shadows simultaneously.
Its sharp claws shredded the two shadows in front of it into afterimages. Just as it was about to turn around to deal with the other shadows, it suddenly felt a sharp pain in its lower back at that moment!
Turning its head to look, it saw Scizor appearing there again, in the same position and with the same posture as last time!
It had guessed wrong again!
Only unlike last time, under the boost of Swords Dance, Scizor's attack finally took effect!
This wasn't the end of it. After succeeding in one hit, Scizor used Fury Cutter again. Instantly, its two pincers became fast enough to leave afterimages, slashing at Slaking in succession!
Slaking let out a strange cry from the pain and hurriedly dodged to the side.
Hmm?
Seeing Slaking react like this greatly surprised Norman.
After all, considering its defense, even if Scizor's attack was greatly increased by Swords Dance, it shouldn't hurt this much.
Unless…
Norman quickly understood what was going on. He looked up at Natsui and blurted out, "Your Scizor, its ability should be Swarm, right?"
Natsui nodded. "That's right, it is Swarm."
Actually, judging solely by the name, the ability Swarm could easily be mistaken for a sensory-type ability.
Many people who didn't understand it would think it increased visual ability, thereby allowing better dodging of opponents' moves.
But that wasn't the case. Its true ability was that when its own stamina was greatly reduced, it increased the damage of its Bug-type moves—just like Blaze for Fire types, Torrent for Water types, and Overgrow for Grass types.
The reason Scizor could trigger its ability at this moment was precisely thanks to Slaking's Hyper Beam just now!
In the field, the two Pokémon stood confronting each other again.
After the exchange just now, both had suffered damage. It seemed they had returned to the same starting line.
Misty in the spectator seats swallowed unconsciously, feeling nervous about this battle.
Even she could see that this Petalburg Gym was the most difficult one among all the Gyms Natsui had challenged so far.
On one hand, it was because Metang's strength was indeed slightly weaker and needed more tempering. On the other hand, Norman was truly very formidable!
Whether in experience or Pokémon, he far surpassed most Gym Leaders!
At least judging from the Vigoroth just now and the current Slaking, he was much stronger than Brawly of the previous Dewford Gym.
Natsui also swept a glance at the current battle situation.
Fighting until now, neither Pokémon had much more stamina than the other. It looked like the outcome would be decided soon.
Victory or defeat might be determined in the very next instant!
Almost simultaneously, he and Norman issued commands together.
"Scizor, X-Scissor!"
"Slaking, use Hammer Arm!"
Amidst the shouts of the two Trainers, Scizor and Slaking rushed toward each other. As they raised their arms, everyone's eyes were focused on them!
Not only Natsui and Norman, but even Misty and Caroline couldn't sit still anymore and stood up as well!
These two women, one big and one small, both had their hearts set on someone. Although it was inconvenient to say it explicitly because the other party was right beside them, each hoped that the person they liked would win the victory!
And under everyone's nervous gaze, the two Pokémon crashed into one spot!
Scizor's X-Scissor shot toward Slaking again. This time, Slaking dared not be arrogant anymore. It knew that under the boost of Swords Dance, the power of X-Scissor had reached its maximum. Relying solely on its pair of fleshy palms, it was almost impossible to parry it.
However, its Hammer Arm was something Scizor equally couldn't withstand!
In the sparkle of flint, the two Pokémon had already engaged.
The X-Scissor and Hammer Arm collided, cancelling each other out. This wasn't the end; Scizor's two pincers followed closely behind, hacking at Slaking. However, they were grabbed by Slaking's two large hands. Immediately lifting Scizor, relying on its massive physique and superior strength, Slaking used Fling to throw Scizor away. Scizor flapped its wings continuously in mid-air. After landing steadily, it turned back again, waving its two pincers to hack at Slaking once more…
Everything happened too fast.
In just a few short seconds, the two Pokémon had exchanged blows several times!
It was even fast to the point where Natsui and the others were overwhelmed by what their eyes were seeing!
Strenuous exercise came at the cost of massive stamina loss.
Fighting to the end, the speed of both Pokémon inevitably slowed down. They could no longer fight as fiercely as just now. Just then, Natsui suddenly sensed an opportunity again.
"Use Double Team!"
With his command, Scizor split into multiple clones again. Seeing this move that had injured it twice before, Slaking was both shocked and angry!
Shocked because it had to face this skill again. The first two times it failed to guess correctly and was toyed with by Scizor, leaving it with a certain psychological shadow, very afraid of guessing wrong again.
Angry because being injured twice in a row made it wish it could knock Scizor down with one punch so it could never use this move again!
But no matter what, the problem before it was still the same.
Which one was the real one!
Scanning all the shadows with its gaze, because it had been fooled twice, Slaking grew a bit wiser this time. It clenched its fist, then turned around abruptly and swung its fist diagonally backward!
Didn't expect that, did you? I actually turned around!?
Hmph, I won't fall down three times in the same place!
I will never be fooled again!
A gleam of excitement flashed in its eyes. It even foresaw the scene where Scizor would be sent flying by its punch after it guessed correctly!
A heavy and powerful punch hit Scizor right in the face.
But what shocked Slaking was that its confident attack actually passed directly through this Scizor, going right through Scizor's head!
Needless to say, obviously, it had guessed wrong again and had hit a clone once more!
It was just…
How was this possible!!?
Slaking was instantly stunned!
Clearly, the previous two times, that Scizor had attacked it from this position! Why did it change positions this time?
It didn't make sense…
It shouldn't be…
Without time to think much, it heard the sound of breaking wind from the back of its head. But its fist hadn't been retracted yet, so how could it dodge!
In the next second, severe pain came from its back, causing Slaking's eyes to roll back directly as it collapsed softly forward onto the ground…
The referee glanced at it and raised the flag: "Slaking is unable to battle! The winner is Scizor!"
"It's finally over…"
Seeing the dust settle on the match, Natsui also breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.
It was truly too hard to fight.
Even he had fought to this extent; he wondered how many people could successfully clear this Petalburg Gym if Norman didn't go easy on them.
However, from this aspect, one could also see that precisely because such a Gym Leader was holding the fort, the overall strength of Trainers in the Hoenn region was a cut above. When challenging the Ever Grande Conference later, the opponents encountered wouldn't be mostly novices like in the Indigo and Silver Conferences.
It seemed that compared to before, this conference should be the most challenging one!
Recalling Slaking, Norman, Caroline, and Misty clapped their hands simultaneously.
"Truly a wonderful battle," Norman laughed. "Especially that clone trap Scizor set at the end; it completely confused Slaking. Did you train that yourself?"
"That's right." Natsui nodded. "It was a tactic I arranged beforehand. Actually, not just it, but my other Pokémon that know Double Team have also undergone the same training."
"Mixing truth and falsehood is what truly makes one unfathomable. As expected of Mr. Champion."
After praising Natsui a few times, Norman took out a badge from his chest pocket and handed it to Natsui.
"Please accept this. This is my Balance Badge, and also the proof of defeating the Petalburg Gym."
Natsui said thanks and received the Balance Badge in his hand.
This badge was a bit strange. It didn't look like the ordinary round style but more like a pair of balance pans, or a pair of headphones connected together.
Strange aesthetic.
Putting the badge into his badge case, Natsui thanked Norman again, then walked to the Gym entrance with Misty, who had hurried over.
"Eh? You guys are leaving already?" Caroline showed reluctance on her face and said with regret, "I thought you would stay a bit longer. At least leave after finishing dinner."
Stay longer?
Natsui shook his head. If he stayed any longer, his ears would grow a size bigger!
"Thank you for your kindness," he declined politely. "I still have other Gyms to challenge, and time is a bit tight. If there's a chance, we'll visit again next time. Or when May and Max return someday, we'll come visit again."
"Is that so…" Caroline also knew that as a Trainer, it was impossible to stay in one place for too long, so she nodded and didn't insist on keeping them. "Actually, I want to thank you today. I can see that Norman hasn't enjoyed himself this much in a long time. Thank you very much!"
Good heavens, no wonder today's battle was so hard to fight. It turned out Norman had also used his full strength…
But thinking about it, it made sense. If Norman usually fought others with this kind of strength, probably very few people could take a badge from his hands.
Seeing his wife expose his little thoughts, Norman laughed heartily and extended his hand to shake Natsui's.
"Do your best. I have high hopes for your path ahead, and I believe you will definitely continue to win the championship at the Ever Grande Conference. When the day of the competition comes, Caroline and I will cheer for you in front of the TV!"
"Thank you…"
Waving to the Norman couple who had walked them all the way to the main gate, Natsui and Misty adjusted their luggage, then didn't linger and turned to leave this Gym.
With things reaching this point, the journey in the western part of the Hoenn region could be considered completely concluded.
He had also successfully won his fifth badge, taking another step closer to the Ever Grande Conference.
Because it was still early, not even 2:00 PM yet, and seeing there was still a long time before sunset, the two didn't delay. After leaving the street where the Petalburg Gym was located, they walked straight out of Petalburg City.
"May's mom and dad are really nice people! The food was delicious, they have a sense of humor, and they are very fashionable…"
Until they had walked far away, Misty suddenly sighed with emotion.
Hearing this topic, Natsui didn't make a sound. He just walked silently side by side with her.
From her tone, he could feel that Misty seemed somewhat… envious of this.
But this topic wasn't easy to continue.
After all, in his understanding, Misty had lived with her three sisters since she was young, and he had never seen their parents appear.
If he accidentally said the wrong thing, that would be terrible…
Fortunately, Misty only made a brief sigh. In the next second, her smile returned, and she turned to ask, "Where should we go next?"
Natsui took out his phone and opened the map to take a look.
"In terms of distance, the closest one to us next is the Fortree Gym in Fortree City. However, to get there, we need to cross through central Hoenn. Walking on the ground would be simply too far."
"So, are we going to take a boat?"
Natsui nodded and placed his finger on another city on the map.
"Let's take a boat to Sootopolis City first to challenge the Sootopolis Gym. Then, using that as a center, we can advance to the other two Gym cities around it. Whether in terms of distance or transportation, it's much more convenient."
Misty naturally had no objections. Since Natsui had already decided, she just had to follow.
Leaving Petalburg City, the two arrived at the seaside town next to Petalburg Woods before sunset and bought boat tickets there.
This was a luxury cruise ship going directly to Sootopolis City. However, because it was too late, they had to wait until early tomorrow morning when the cruise ship would dock here and depart again after resupplying.
With no other choice, the two could only stay near the port for the night.
After dinner, while the two were walking along the coast, Natsui looked at the sea under the night sky and suddenly said to Misty, "After we get on the boat tomorrow, it might take several days to reach Sootopolis City. During this time, help me train my Pokémon!"
"Eh?" Hearing Natsui ask her to help train, Misty was slightly surprised, but she nodded very readily. "Which one do you want to train? I can do it, but you know, I only know how to train Water-type Pokémon; I'm not good with others."
"It doesn't matter; the one I want to train is Feebas!" Natsui smiled. "Currently, the usable Pokémon in my hand are still too few. Moreover, it's been a long time since I captured it, but due to venue issues, I haven't had a chance to train it. To be honest, I also want to see what it looks like after evolution sooner. Of course, the main thing is that after evolving into Milotic, it can expand my lineup so I don't have to constantly use Combusken and Metang to battle over and over again!"
---------------------------------------------
Currently on Patreon: 830 chapters available.
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/LEYI396