This move was not what Morrison expected. He did not think Ash would combine two moves like that. This made the attack stronger. Ash even turned the Ice Beam around! When Ash has these strange ideas, it is very hard to fight against him.
Metang was frozen by the ice moves. Its body was cold, so it stayed stuck there. Frost and snow covered its body! Ash did not want to waste this good chance. He told Glalie to use Headbutt. Glalie hit Metang very hard!
The hit was strong. It knocked Metang onto the ground. Metang took a lot of damage. However, the hit also broke the ice. Metang was not frozen anymore because of the impact.
Morrison saw that Metang was normal again. He started his counterattack immediately. Metang flew very fast toward Glalie. It used Meteor Mash from a very close distance. This helped Morrison get back some of his advantage!
But Ash did not want to lose. He told Glalie to fight Metang from close range. The two Pokémon struggled. They hit each other like two tough fighters. They had a direct battle.
Everyone saw that the match would end soon. They did not look away. They were all excited and watched the battlefield closely.
Under everyone's gaze, the two Pokémon had their final fight. It was another clash between Meteor Mash and Headbutt. Right before they hit, Glalie moved slightly. It dodged Metang's punch and hit Metang at the same time!
Metang was hit hard. It leaned back and fell down in front of Glalie.
"It's over," Natsui said quietly.
Right as he finished speaking, the referee raised his flags.
"Metang is unable to battle! Glalie wins! The winner of this match is the competitor, Ash!"
Natsui and his friends stood up to celebrate like the other fans. They clapped and cheered for Ash.
Ash's victory in this match was not easy. Both Morrison and Ash were very strong. If they did not meet so early in the tournament, they both could have reached the top four. One can only say that fate was difficult. They were still put in the same group.
After the victory, Ash and Morrison walked to each other. They shook hands.
No one needs to describe their conversation in detail. It was impossible to hear them clearly anyway. After the two trainers left the field, they went to the stands. They watched the other matches with Natsui and the others.
Because Morrison was there, Natsui and the friends did not say too much. They gave Ash simple congratulations. They also said kind words to comfort Morrison.
Morrison waved his hand. He did not seem to care about their worry. Maybe he felt better now.
"No need to comfort me! Even though I lost and feel a bit bad, it can't be helped. My own mindset wasn't right. Ash beat me fair and square. We already agreed that Ash will work hard for my sake too!"
Morrison did not have bad feelings. He was still loud, simple, and a bit clumsy. This is why he stayed to watch the matches after he lost. He did not leave immediately like Tyson did. This was a great strength of his personality.
After the battle between Ash and Morrison, three more matches happened. The trainers had different skill levels. There were some good moments, but the matches were not as exciting.
However, the audience was happy. They loved watching the matches as long as there were no problems.
The group left the arena for lunch. They ate a simple meal at a restaurant nearby. During lunch, they talked about which trainers were strong or weak. Ash gave his serious opinion. After eating, they walked around the stadium for a while. Finally, at three in the afternoon, it was time for Natsui's match.
"Good luck, Natsui!"
"Do your best!!"
"Natsui, the overall strength of the trainers in this tournament is very high. Be careful not to lose by mistake!"
Outside the tunnel, Ash and the others supported Natsui. After Ash made his joke, Misty made a face at him.
"Hmph! Natsui isn't unstable like you. He won't almost lose! Just watch, he will defeat his opponent and win very quickly!"
"Alright, just wait for my good news."
Natsui waved and smiled. He walked into the tunnel. He looked cool as he walked away.
The crowd cheered. Natsui arrived at the trainer area. A female trainer wearing glasses stood opposite him. They looked at each other and nodded politely.
Her name was Lina. The name sounded gentle, but her battle style was fiery. The crowd cheered louder for Lina than for Natsui.
This was because of their previous fights. Natsui fought Tyson, who was very strong. However, Natsui won very easily. It was a crushing victory. The audience did not see a long battle. They knew Natsui was strong, but that was all.
Lina was different. She used violent ways to win quickly. She was a girl, but her style was not quiet. She left a strong impression on the fans, so she was more popular.
In the betting outside the stadium, most people thought Lina would win this battle.
The screen chose the Rock Field for the first half of the match. The referee gave the signal. Both trainers took out their first Poké Balls and threw them.
Natsui chose Blaziken. Lina chose Primeape.
Using a Pokémon like Primeape showed that Lina had a fiery personality. There was no useless talk. The battle started immediately!
Primeape was angry and restless. It jumped toward Blaziken with large steps.
Blaziken also moved toward Primeape. It did not want to look weak. However, before it reached the middle, it used Flamethrower. The fire hit Primeape.
Primeape wanted a close fight. It did not expect Blaziken to use fire so suddenly. The flames covered its whole body.
Blaziken did not stop while the fire was burning. It moved faster and used a high kick. It hit Primeape again!
The battle had just started, and Primeape had taken two hits. Max laughed in the stands.
"As expected, compared to Ash, Natsui is the one who likes to use strategy more!"
"What was that?" Ash said with a pout.
"Didn't you see me use my brain a lot before? I'm not the kind of person who just likes to rush in blindly anymore!"
"Brains and strategy are different," Misty laughed.
"Don't you understand? Max means that compared to Natsui, you are still a long way off!"
"How annoying!" Ash looked annoyed. He muttered, "Just focus on watching the match!"
In the field, Primeape got up. It finally started fighting Blaziken from close range. Both were Fighting-type Pokémon. Their close battle was more exciting than other fights.
Lina's Primeape was very strong. It used moves like Low Kick, Karate Chop, Cross Chop, and Scratch perfectly. It was full of energy. Its fighting skill was as good as a Fighting-type Gym Pokémon.
Blaziken did not focus only on fighting skills, so it did not have an advantage. However, it did not fall behind. It could still fight well for now.
The trainer's role became clear. The close fight was not winning quickly, so Natsui changed his strategy. He stopped struggling with Primeape and used fire to attack instead.
With Natsui's help, Blaziken took control of the fight. It used Blaze Kick at close range. It used Flamethrower when they were far apart. Fire attacks were powerful. Primeape was burned until it fell to the ground!
The audience cheered. They enjoyed the match. Primeape lay there, and the referee raised his flag.
"Primeape is unable to battle! Blaziken wins!"
Lina frowned in her area. She had watched videos of Natsui. She knew he was a strong opponent, but she believed in her own strength. She did not think she would lose.
Primeape had the advantage for most of the middle of the match. Lina thought she would win this round. But the man across from her changed the pace. Suddenly, she lost!
She felt like she had a chance to win, but also felt like she did not. It was a strange feeling.
Lina took out her second Poké Ball. A Dodrio appeared.
Dodrio had three heads. Natsui saw that Lina liked short-tempered Pokémon. Primeape and Dodrio were both like that. This matched her battle style.
Natsui did not switch Pokémon. He kept using Blaziken. Ash and the others were surprised.
"Eh? Natsui didn't change his Pokémon?"
"True, that is quite rare."
"He must want to focus on training the Pokémon he caught in the Hoenn region," Brock said. He rubbed his chin and guessed.
"After all, his other Pokémon are already extremely strong. They all had a turn before. So, based on his personality, it is time to train these new Pokémon."
Ash and the others agreed. However, training Pokémon in a Top 16 match was not normal. Ash and Morrison would not dare to do that.
But these new Pokémon from Hoenn were actually very strong. Blaziken and the others could challenge for the Championship. They were only "training" compared to his other Pokémon. Only a fool would think they were weak!
The battle between Blaziken and Dodrio started.
Dodrio was like Primeape. It rushed in and attacked fiercely. It was faster than Primeape. Having more heads gave it more ways to attack.
But Blaziken had just fought a similar style. It dealt with the attacks calmly.
It did not use any Fire-type moves this time. It used only Fighting-type moves to beat Dodrio. It even created a famous scene!
Blaziken grabbed one head with each hand. It stepped on Dodrio's middle head with its right foot. It held Dodrio against the ground. It was an execution-style restraint! Dodrio could not move at all!
Lina saw that things were bad. She tried to call Dodrio back to its Poké Ball. But Blaziken was faster. It pressed down hard with its hands and foot. It choked Dodrio until it fainted!
Many cameras flashed. This moment was saved forever from every angle!
The score was two to zero. Natsui had pushed Lina into a dangerous spot!
The audience was shocked by Natsui's strength. People who bet on Lina became very nervous. They did not expect her to be in this situation!
Luckily, she still had four Pokémon left. The match was still full of possibilities!
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I also want to apologize for the lack of updates this month, haha. My PC completely died, and uploading chapters from my phone was pretty complicated.