Sceptile looks like a lizard and a Dilophosaurus. This is likely where its design comes from.
Sceptile is the Grass-type starter from the Hoenn region. It is only a Grass-type. Most of its body is green. It has a large tail that looks like thick leaves. There are sharp leaves on its wrists that look like blades. The round seeds on its back have many nutrients. These nutrients can help trees grow very quickly.
Scholars have studied and watched Sceptile. They found that Sceptile usually takes good care of trees in the forest. It also sunbathes to control its body temperature. It is even better in rainforests. There, it can run fast through the jungle. it can jump between branches very quickly. It will attack enemies from above or behind. It uses the sharp leaves on its arms to win the fight.
It is a very strong Pokémon. Many new Trainers love it.
This is why Professors in the Hoenn region suggest it for new Trainers.
Natsui had seen Sceptile before. However, the one Tetsuya had was probably the strongest one he had ever seen.
He wanted to see how strong this Sceptile was. He wanted to see how it would fight against his Blastoise!
He was very sure of himself. He was confident in the Blastoise he caught at the start of his journey. It had not been in a competition for a long time. It also had a type disadvantage. Even so, Natsui believed he would win. He trusted its power. He also trusted its experience from two different Pokémon League competitions.
Blastoise and Sceptile were ready. The referee gave the order.
The match was for the Top 16. Friends, the audience, and the Pokémon League were watching closely. The battle officially started.
The referee waved the flags. Both Pokémon moved because of their Trainers' orders.
Sceptile is a Grass-type Pokémon that is good at fighting up close. It started the battle by jumping. It jumped over several rocks to get near Blastoise.
Tetsuya expected Blastoise to dive into the water to hide. But Blastoise did not do that. It stayed floating in place. It used a Water-type move to stop Sceptile!
A strong Hydro Pump shot out from the cannon on one side of its shell. It predicted Sceptile's move. It shot right at the place where Sceptile was going.
Tetsuya had traveled for a long time. He knew how to fight Water-type Pokémon. Sceptile began to dodge on its own without an order.
But as it moved, Sceptile was hit by the Hydro Pump!
"Huh?"
Tetsuya felt a bit surprised.
The accuracy of Blastoise's move was very high.
He did not expect this. Sceptile was moving very fast. However, Blastoise still predicted where it would land. The Hydro Pump hit it perfectly. Tetsuya realized something immediately. Meowth said this man was strong. Whether that was true or not, his Pokémon had very good basic skills!
Grass-type Pokémon are strong against Water-type moves. Because of this, it did not take too much damage. But the water stream was heavy and had a lot of pressure. Sceptile's attempt to get close to Blastoise failed. It had to flip in the air. Then it landed on a rock below.
Tetsuya was already prepared in his mind. He was surprised, but he did not worry too much. He told Sceptile to get close to Blastoise again.
There was no other way to win. Sceptile had a type advantage, but it did not have many long-range moves. it had to work hard to get near Blastoise to attack.
He did not believe Blastoise could hit Sceptile again. He was ready now!
Sceptile jumped high toward another rock. Blastoise used Hydro Pump again. It fired the move at Sceptile.
This time, Sceptile changed its plan. It used Double Team in the air. It made four clones. This helped it avoid the Hydro Pump. It also looked very confusing!
Tetsuya was about to feel better. But then he heard the man across from him speak calmly.
"Blastoise, attack the clone on the far left!"
Tetsuya was shocked when he heard this command. He looked at Sceptile's clones quickly.
To be honest, he was the Trainer, but even he did not know which one was real. Sceptile had used Double Team. Had the man already guessed the real one?
How was that possible?
Even a Pokémon could not see through it. A human should not be able to see through it...
Then he saw Blastoise's other cannon fire another Hydro Pump. It shot toward the Sceptile on the far left!
The Hydro Pump moved in a straight line through the air. It covered the distance in a second.
In the next second, the Hydro Pump hit Sceptile. It did damage. It knocked Sceptile into the water!
"What!?" the announcer shouted. "Blastoise actually guessed Sceptile's real body!? How did it do that? Was it luck, or did Natsui really see something!?"
The announcer was not the only person who was surprised. Ash and his friends in the stands were also amazed.
"That's... that's too amazing..." Morrison did not think Natsui was special before. But now he had to admit it. If he were there, he could not have done it. "How did he see it? They look exactly the same!"
Ash and his friends could not answer the question.
"That's why I said before that no one can beat Natsui," Ash said. He breathed out. His eyes looked very excited. He held his hands in fists. "When anyone fights Natsui, they feel how strong his Pokémon are. But no one sees that Natsui is the hardest part to deal with!"
"That's right," Brock agreed. He nodded. "Natsui's strength is not just his Pokémon. His Pokémon look unbeatable because of his mind and his orders."
They talked back and forth. Morrison looked at Natsui seriously again. In his mind, Natsui looked more complete and mysterious.
May was the person who felt this the most.
She did not know much about Pokémon battles before. She knew Natsui was strong because he won two regional Leagues. But she did not know what that really meant. Now she was a Pokémon Coordinator. She had been in the Grand Festival. She realized this handsome man with a kind smile was much stronger than the Grand Festival Champion, Robert.
The battle in the arena continued.
Sceptile's Double Team was broken. It fell into the pool. Natsui saw this. He gave Sceptile no chance to get out of the water. Blastoise dove into the water. It swam toward Sceptile.
The air suddenly felt very tense.
Even people who did not watch many matches knew what would happen. A Water-type Pokémon had caught a land Pokémon in the water.
Some nervous people even closed their eyes!
There was an underwater camera. People could see Blastoise moving like a large, dark shadow. It moved toward Sceptile very fast. This speed did not match its big body.
Sceptile moved in the water a few times. It found its position. It swam toward the nearest rock.
But it was not as fast as a Water-type Pokémon. In a few seconds, it was caught from behind.
"Sceptile, watch out behind you!!"
Tetsuya shouted. Sceptile heard him. It looked at the rock and felt the water move behind it. It turned its head. It saw a large, round head hitting it!
Thump!
Blastoise hit Sceptile into the bottom of the pool. Sceptile was not a Water-type, but it was not afraid of water. It held its breath before it sank. It did not go to the surface immediately. It raised its two arms. It was careful and guarded against Blastoise's next move.
But it was not a normal attack.
It was a giant, spinning turtle shell!
The shell spun very fast. It made ripples under the water. it went straight toward Sceptile's face!
If a normal Pokémon attacked, Sceptile could use its arms to block. But it was hard to block a spinning shell.
It could not block it. Also, touching it would be very painful. How could it react?
They were under the water. Sceptile could not hear orders from Tetsuya. it had to survive on its own.
It could not escape. It had to try to block the attack.
It let out some bubbles. It moved its body to a better angle. Then it crossed its arms. It used X-Scissor against the spinning shell!
Two shockwaves moved through the water. One was horizontal and one was vertical. They hit the shell, but they did not stop it.
It wanted to use other moves, but there was no time. The shell was very strong. It reached Sceptile quickly and hit it!
Tetsuya was in the Trainer's box. He was waiting for Sceptile to come up. Sceptile was still underwater. He could not see it with his eyes. He had to watch the big screen like the audience to see what was happening.
He saw Blastoise use Withdraw. It hit Sceptile hard again. Tetsuya felt very sad and worried.
He looked at the other side. The man's face had not changed. He was winning, but he did not look happy or proud. Tetsuya felt this was very difficult.
He knew this kind of opponent was the hardest to fight.
His mind was very quiet and steady. He made no mistakes. It was almost impossible to find a moment where Natsui was not careful. He did not become arrogant because he was winning!
Sceptile did not faint after being hit. It used the power of the hit to leave the water. It returned to a rock.
However, Sceptile had many wounds now. It looked like most of its energy was gone.
This was bad news.
It had not hit the opponent one time. But it had been hurt a lot. If nothing changed, it would definitely lose.
Tetsuya was not a stubborn person. He saw the situation. He did not care about looking weak in front of the audience. He took out a Poké Ball. He called Sceptile back!
The audience cheered.
Misty was the most excited. She was far away, but Natsui seemed to hear her.
People respect strong trainers.
The winner was not decided yet. But one player had switched Pokémon first. This meant he admitted he was weaker in this part of the fight. He had lost his momentum.
The fight was not over, but the audience liked this result.
Mr. Goodshow was on the main stage. He sighed.
A temporary loss might just be a plan. It might be a change in the team. But this trend made him worry.
Was the situation going to become what he feared?
Everyone had different thoughts. Tetsuya's second Pokémon appeared.
There was a flash of blue light. A Metagross appeared on a rock.
Natsui raised his eyebrows. He was surprised.
He did not expect both of them to have the same Pokémon. He did not plan to use his Metagross today. If he did, they could have fought with the same species.
Natsui took out a Poké Ball. He called back Blastoise. Then he took out his second Poké Ball.
His Dragonite appeared in the sky.
Ash nodded in the stands when he saw this Pokémon.
"It's Natsui's Dragonite. It looks like things are stable again."
Brock nodded too.
"Yeah, that Dragonite is indeed very strong."
Morrison looked at them.
Why did they think Natsui would win no matter what Pokémon he used?
Did they not trust Tetsuya?
Or did they think every one of that man's Pokémon was very powerful?
Was that really possible?
It is not easy to train every Pokémon to be an "Ace." You need much training. You also need many real battles.
Usually, a team has one or two Ace Pokémon. There are a few main members. The others are weaker. That is normal. That is what most Trainers can do.
The Blastoise from before was clearly an Ace. If Ash and the others were right, then this Dragonite was also an Ace. Natsui had used two Aces in the first two rounds. He had shown his best Pokémon!
What would he do later?
Tetsuya's strongest Pokémon was his Meowth!
Now Natsui had shown his best cards. What would he do when it was time to fight Meowth? Meowth was waiting while Natsui's team got tired.
Morrison looked at Ash and the others again. They did not seem worried. They were watching the field with interest.
Morrison was very confused.
Did they not see the problem?
Or was he just thinking too much? Did Natsui have more Pokémon?
Morrison was wondering about this. Then the second round of the battle started. He looked back at the battlefield!
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