Lina took out her third Poké Ball.
This time, she sent out a Houndoom.
Natsui knew Houndoom very well. He had fought Team Magma and Team Aqua for a long time. He knew how to fight them very easily.
He looked at Blaziken. It was still in good condition.
Blaziken nodded at him, and Natsui smiled. He did not change his Pokémon. He let Blaziken stay on the field.
Misty laughed from the stands.
"It looks like Natsui plans to let Blaziken defeat three Pokémon in a row!"
Ash and Morrison watched closely.
Winning against three Pokémon in a row was not easy in a match like this. They had just finished their own battles, so they knew the trainers in this round were strong.
They knew a "sweep" was hard to do. It needed the right field, the right types, and a healthy Pokémon. Most importantly, the Pokémon needed to be very strong.
In a normal match, this might be possible. But the trainers got stronger as the tournament went on. It was not impossible, but it was much harder.
For example, Ash and Morrison both defeated two Pokémon in a row. But their power was very close, so they could not defeat three.
Lina did not know Natsui's plan, but she felt he was looking down on her.
He had already beaten two of her Pokémon with Blaziken. She wondered if he was still not satisfied and wanted to keep fighting with it.
She felt insulted.
She became angry, so she became more aggressive.
When the battle started again, Natsui saw that Lina was very determined. She shouted her orders louder.
However, strength and health decide a Pokémon battle, not how loud the trainer is.
Houndoom used the rocks on the field to move around. It tried to attack from a place where Blaziken could not see.
But Blaziken jumped onto a big rock and took the high ground. By using this simple method, it stopped Houndoom's sneak attack.
From the top, Blaziken could see every move Houndoom made.
Lina had to change her plan. She told Houndoom to attack from below.
But Blaziken's strong kicks stopped it. Houndoom was hit several times by Blaziken's feet.
Lina tried to use fire attacks. The rocks became red and cracked from the heat, but they did not hurt Blaziken. The attack failed.
Lina finally understood how difficult Natsui was to deal with.
She felt she had a chance to win, but she just could not do it. She felt like he was controlling the whole match.
She saw that she could not land a hit and that Houndoom might lose.
Lina took a slow breath to stay calm. She switched her Pokémon quickly.
Natsui was surprised when Houndoom disappeared. Lina seemed like someone who would fight until the end. He did not expect her to change her Pokémon.
But this was the right choice.
If you cannot win, you must change your team immediately. If you do not, you might lose in the next second and feel sorry later.
Lina opened her Poké Ball, and a Claydol appeared.
Most of the audience and trainers did not know this Pokémon well. Claydol is a Ground- and Psychic-type Pokémon.
It looked like a black mud doll. It was about 1.5 meters tall. It had short arms and legs, many eyes, and strange patterns. It floated in the air and looked very unusual.
People say this Pokémon was made 20,000 years ago from mud dolls. An ancient civilization made them. The dolls came to life after a strange beam of light hit them.
Some people say ancient people made them to look like things from the sky.
It can move through the air using its mind, even when it is sleeping. Its arms are not attached to its body. It uses its mind to make them fly.
It can shoot beams from its arms. If it gets wet, its body melts. So, when it rains, it uses its psychic power to protect itself.
This Pokémon had a strong type advantage over Blaziken.
However, Natsui was very good at fighting when his Pokémon had a disadvantage. He did not switch Blaziken out just because the matchup was bad.
Blaziken was a bit tired after fighting Houndoom, but Natsui trusted it. Blaziken still wanted to fight!
The people in the stands had different ideas. They wondered if Natsui could still win against three Pokémon now that the opponent had a type advantage.
"It won't be easy to get a sweep now," Morrison said.
He crossed his arms and shook his head.
"After all, it has already fought nearly three matches. Now it's facing a Pokémon that counters its type. Blaziken must be very tired. Even if it is strong, it probably can't do it."
Ash agreed with Morrison. But he hesitated because it was Natsui's Pokémon.
"I also think Natsui won't be able to defeat this... this..."
Max pushed his glasses and helped him.
"Claydol."
"...Right... exactly, it's Claydol! I was just about to say that name!"
Ash looked a bit embarrassed. He quickly changed the topic.
"Against any other opponent, Natsui would be fine. But Lina reached the main tournament. This proves she is strong. She probably won't give Natsui a chance!"
Misty listened to them. She was a bit annoyed.
She did not even try to argue. She thought these two guys were being silly. They did not understand how strong Natsui really was!
Natsui thought about his strategy in the trainer area.
Ash and the others were right. Blaziken was tired and had a type disadvantage. This was a difficult match.
Blaziken was powerful and excited, but it was still tired from the other rounds.
A trainer's job is to change a disadvantage into an advantage. They must make impossible things happen.
The referee waved his flags.
The battle officially began.
This time, Natsui chose to attack first. He could not just wait to be hit. He had to be aggressive to find a way to win.
Blaziken ran around the rocks just like Houndoom did before. It moved around so Claydol could not use its psychic powers.
Lina used Natsui's old plan. She told Claydol to fly high and attack from above.
But Blaziken was different from Houndoom.
It used Flamethrower first. The fire went into the sky to hide Claydol.
While the fire blocked Lina's view, Blaziken jumped high. It reached Claydol's height and kicked into the middle of the fire!
Lina could not see through the fire. She was careful.
She did not tell Claydol to use Teleport. She told Claydol to use its psychic power to protect itself.
She thought that using Teleport without seeing might be dangerous. By using a shield, she could be ready for anything.
But Natsui was tricking her!
Claydol used its mind to make a shield before the fire hit. A second later, the fire was all around it. Because of the shield, the fire could not touch the Pokémon.
The Flamethrower was very fast. The fire started to go away quickly.
But Lina felt something was wrong. She could not see Blaziken where the fire had started.
Where was it?
She felt worried and looked around. She could not find Blaziken on the ground or behind the rocks!
Oh no!
She thought of something and looked up.
Right then, Blaziken came out of the fire! It kicked Claydol's shield!
Claydol's shield was very strong. It blocked the Flamethrower.
But it could not stop everything. The shield took damage from the fire and then the kick. It broke in front of everyone.
Blaziken did not stop. After breaking the shield, its foot hit Claydol's body!
Claydol was surprised and flew backward. It could not stay balanced and fell hard onto the ground!
It was a very powerful kick!
The audience cheered loudly. This was the kind of battle they wanted to see!
Lina's face turned red. She did not expect the man to guess her thoughts! She was too careless!
She did not think her shield would be broken by a kick!
Luckily, the kick was a Fighting-type move. It broke the shield, but it only did half damage to Claydol.
But Lina still felt a lot of pressure. Blaziken was still performing well against a Pokémon that was stronger than it!
It was hard to fight.
It was hard, but the fight continued.
If Claydol could not beat Blaziken, Lina would be in trouble!
Lina told Claydol to attack. Claydol used many Psychic-type moves.
Blaziken had to hide behind a rock, even though it had just hit Claydol.
Now, the type advantage was clear.
Claydol floated toward the rock where Blaziken was hiding. Its attacks came from different angles. Blaziken had to move back toward Natsui's side.
Soon, it was near the edge of the field!
Lina saw that Blaziken was stuck. She did not relax. She became even more careful.
She was right to be careful.
When Claydol used its psychic power again, Blaziken fought back!
Another blast of hot fire came out. It covered the area in front of Claydol.
Lina remembered her mistake. She told Claydol to use Teleport to move back. It moved to a safe distance so Blaziken could not attack through the fire again.
Claydol went back to its own side.
But when the fire stopped, Blaziken did nothing.
Lina was confused. She looked at the ground. Blaziken was just standing there. It had not moved at all!
Damn it! I was tricked!
Lina was very angry. She fell for the trick.
Blaziken jumped back to the middle of the field. It took back the area that Claydol had just taken!
She understood now. It was a fake attack to make her move. The match was back to the start!
What a scary man!
Lina realized she was being played with.
She wanted to give another order. She wanted Claydol to push Blaziken to the edge again.
This time, she would not stop. Even if Claydol got hurt, she would not back down. She had to beat Blaziken!
But Natsui started his counterattack first.
Blaziken was getting tired, but it seemed to find more energy. It became faster and faster.
It ran toward Claydol very quickly!
Lina became worried. This man had beaten two of her Pokémon this way. She had to be careful!
She could not let Blaziken succeed!
Lina shouted, "Stop it, quick!!"
Claydol tried to use its psychic power to block Blaziken.
But Blaziken was too fast. Claydol had to aim, and that took too long. By the time the energy hit the spot, Blaziken was gone!
Claydol tried a few times but could not hit it.
It changed its plan. It used a Rock-type move to block the path.
Many stones appeared in the air. They flew very fast toward Blaziken!
----------------
You can also read 2 chapters ahead for free on my Patreon.
Currently on Patreon: 1100 chapters available.
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.